Chapter IX.

I was no stranger to fear. I had seen and endured the worst of Jiro for years, so much so that I had run out of tears. Ex-ninja or not, he was strong and he never held back. I'd also been through a lot the several times Jiro's friends had gone over to the house, but this stranger in front of me was... scary. I didn't get a good look at him before I turned my face downwards, but he was as tall and as broad as a small giant.

My time with Iruka-sensei had prepared me to deal with a different kind of fear too. I swear his head got twice as big and his veins nearly burst when he caught my classmates slacking off during class. The volume of his voice when he went at it could rival Jiro's. I went to too much trouble to be invisible at school to have ever been at the receiving end of one of Iruka's lectures, but, as I flinched when the stranger lurched forward to grab my shoulder, I wondered if maybe this feeling of being cornered was exactly what the other kids went through when they were caught.

I yelped and kept my eyes on the wooden sandals in front of me, feeling his stare. I just wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. Coming to the Academy had been a bad idea.

"Hey, what's the rush?" he asked. His deep voice reminded me of some of Jiro's friends, the ones who usually had already had too much to drink when they remembered there was a little demon in the same house who didn't deserve to be there. "Where are you going?"

"School, sir," I answered the floorboards beneath my feet. Maybe I should have spoken a bit louder, because my words were completely drowned out by a sigh from the stranger. I would have repeated myself, but my voice left me when he held my shoulder a bit more tightly.

"Come on, it's your lucky day. You get to play hooky and make your snotty, little friends jealous." He laughed at his own joke and started dragging me back towards the street.

I threw one slightly desperate look at the door to my classroom, but I realised that there were only a handful of students left outside. Everyone else had already gone in. I dug my heels into the ground and tried to pull myself free. I was as helpless as an ant trying to resist an elephant.

"Look, Kushina's going to flip when she finds out you left the house, so just come along, ok? Gods know how my airhead of a student puts up with her, but you wouldn't want her to yell at me, do you? I already got one dose of it today and it's not even nine o'clock yet..."

"But I have classes with Iruka-sensei!... Who are you?" The question slipped from my mouth. I'm not sure why I asked it - I hadn't thought it and it's not like it mattered. I really didn't like the sound of his voice and he had just admitted he was taking me to Kushina, whom by now I was pretty sure was my mother and wanted nothing to do with me.

I chanced a quick glance upwards to finally get a good look at the stranger's face. He had twin blood-red stripes going down from his eyes to his chin and a mane of white hair so shaggy and long, it was like some sort of furry animal had died on his back. Neither were reassuring images and I gulped as I shifted my gaze down again.

The second bell for the late students rang while I waited for his answer. I hoped his silence didn't mean my question had made him angry. From my experiences with Jiro, it was never a good thing to talk back.

"You don't know who I am? Ahhh, kids these days..." It sounded like he was seriously upset and I bit my stupid tongue. How soon had I unlearned all of Jiro's lessons. All it had taken was a day with Minato-sama and... I forced my thoughts to go elsewhere. "Why, I'm the famous, gallant - ever-popular with the ladies -, the great toad summoner and one of the Sannin... I am..."

"Sora!" I heard Iruka-sensei shout behind me at the same time the white-haired man groaned. I guessed he didn't like being interrupted. My teacher's footsteps were coming closer, though, and I'd never been so happy to hear him angry as now. "May I ask what you're still doing here, Mister Herupu? You're out past the second bell."

"I'm sorry, sir," I started to say. I would have followed it up with a "I'm coming", but the stranger didn't let me finish.

"Are you this little brat's teacher? Perfect. You can go back to your class, he's not going today or any other day for the rest of the week, for that matter."

"What do you mean, he's not going? And may I ask just who you are?" I could imagine Iruka-sensei's head starting to swell. Any minute now, the stranger would have to loosen his grip on me to deal with the teacher's wrath and then I would be able to run off and look for Kohana!

"Argh, kids..." the white-haired man groaned. He let go of me to rub a hand across his face and I didn't wait another second.

I dropped my bag and took off running. I had already crossed the gate that led out from the Academy yard into the street when I heard the first shouts from the two men. Luckily, I was fast and nimble, and since I'd had a good breakfast for once I had no trouble finding the strength to keep going street after street, turn after turn, until I was sure I'd lost both of them.

I stopped in the middle of the street and leaned forward on my knees to catch my breath. Suddenly I couldn't avoid my feelings about this whole situation. On the one hand, I'd just left behind the one person I knew that might still have helped me figure out what I was supposed to do with myself. Maybe Iruka-sensei would have known some place I could stay in. On the other, I couldn't help feeling free of all the fear I'd had to live with my whole life. For the first time ever, there was no one over my shoulder that I had to worry about, no worries whether or not the people around me would hurt me.

I felt lonelier than ever, though. I wished Kohana was there...

I lifted my head and tried to figure out which way the park was. If I was ever going to find her, that was where I'd have to go. As it turned out, I wasn't very far, and so I made my way there at a jog.

My spirits lifted at the familiar smell of the flowers as I got near. They reminded me of the time when I had first met the little fox and I immediately knew everything was going to be all right. My arm had been blistering from severe burns and I had had nowhere to go, so right now, as bad as things were, I was at least in better shape than then. And if I had been fine then, I would be fine this time too for sure.

I called out for Kohana, but for once there was no answer. I knew that was likely to happen - maybe she was looking for me elsewhere - but I still couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Still, I went over to our tree and settled down to wait.

With all the kids at school, the park was empty, so there was nothing but the soothing sound of the leaves brushing against each other in the wind and the occasional chirps of birds. Everything was peaceful and I closed my eyes to rest a little.

I'm not sure whether I fell asleep or not, but when I opened them again, there was Jiro.