"Can I see him? Please?" Naruto tugged at the older ninja's jacket. The older man-Genma, he had said his name was-sighed, rubbing his hand over his forehead.

"Naruto," he said, patiently, "like I told you the first five times you asked, we have to wait for the medic-nin to finish his examination, and then we can go inside."

"We've been waiting for half an hour!" Naruto sat down on the tiled hospital floor, frowning.

"Iruka-sensei was pretty banged up. They need to make sure everything's alright."

For ten excruciatingly long minutes, Naruto stared at the golden oak door, each second dragging on until he was convinced he was going to explode. Then the door swung open, and a tired-looking man with short hair waved them in. He shot to his feet and dashed inside, very nearly knocking Genma over in his exuberant haste.

Iruka was shirtless, with bandages running up the left side of his torso, and his face was pale. He managed a wan smile at the blond hurricane that burst into the room.

"Naruto! I'm glad to see you're ok," Iruka said. "Thank you for bringing him, Genma."

"Hm," Genma snorted with laughter at that. "I'm pretty sure he brought me."

Gingerly, Naruto buried his head into the uninjured side of Iruka's body. He smelled like hospital disinfectant and bitter medicine, but there was one scent under the rest that made Naruto's blood run cold.

Smoke. The smell of smoke dragged his mind back to the clearing, when Iruka had crumpled to the ground and the smell of charred flesh had filled the air.

The dam broke, and Naruto sobbed. He had never felt so helpless, so useless. And then Mizuki had told him-

Vaguely, he heard Iruka calling his name, and then Genma's strong arms were pulling Naruto back, holding him up.

"Hey," Iruka said, his brow furrowed with concern, "what's wrong?" Naruto wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and listlessly stared at the older man.

"Is it true? Am I the nine-tailed fox?" Naruto felt Genma stiffen behind him, and Iruka let out a long breath.

"Naruto…" Iruka closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "Yes. The fox was sealed inside you when you were a newborn."

"Then the villagers-everyone, they really do hate me, don't they? I killed hundreds of them, Iruka-sensei. I deserve-"

"No," Iruka said, his voice cracking. "No. You protect this village by holding the fox inside you. They should be grateful to you."

Iruka's uninjured hand reached out, brushing away the moisture from under Naruto's eyes, then gently landed on his cheek.

"If anyone judges you based on something you had no control over, rather than who you are, then they aren't worth knowing. I know you, Naruto. I know that a good heart beats inside you, and that one day everyone will see what I do."

Naruto cried some more. He curled up into Iruka and sobbed for a while, out of fear and relief and pain. And Iruka let him, one hand stroking his hair. After a while, Iruka tapped him on the shoulder, and he looked up.

"Genma told me about when he found you in the forest. Is it true, Naruto? You can perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

"I learned it from the scroll, Iruka-sensei. Wanna see?" He slid off the bed and stood, smiling a little as he wiped his eyes dry.

"I'd love to see," Iruka said, smiling right back at him. Naruto focused for a second, then wove his fingers through the signs.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" And then there were two identical versions of Naruto, both beaming and bouncing with pride. Iruka examined him thoughtfully, and Naruto frowned.

"Is something wrong, Iruka-sensei?" he asked, dispelling the shadow clone. Iruka turned and clumsily scrabbled for something on the bedside table. Genma walked over and picked up the object, then turned and tied it over Naruto's forehead while Iruka sat back and gave a sigh of thanks. Naruto's fingers ran reverently over Iruka's forehead protector, now tied over his own head, and Iruka chuckled at that.

"Congratulations on graduating from the Academy, Naruto." Iruka said "I think it looks good on him. Genma, what do you think?" Genma flashed Naruto a smile past the senbon in his mouth.

"I think it looks great. Congratulations, Naruto."