"Guardian of the Fox"
Chapter 12
"Two people seek information."
When Naruto finally arrived at the Ramen Stand Iruka noticed that he looked... different. Happier, somehow.
The boy always looked carefree but it seemed… more natural now.
His smile wasn't plastered for the sake of being there, it was genuine. So much so that his blue eyes sparked with joy.
He wondered if it had something to do with the recent improvement in his grades.
"Hi, Iruka-sensei!" Came the enthusiastic greeting, as the child sat down next to him.
"Hello again, Naruto-kun." The teacher smiled. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm doing great, thank you!" The blond chirped, swinging his legs back and forth. "Today is an amazing day because I was better than Sasuke! Oh! And I tried new amazing food too! It's not better than ramen, because nothing is better than ramen, but nii-san says it's definitely healthier!"
…
Nii-san?
"Nii-san?" Iruka's mouth echoes his thoughts. "Naruto, what?"
"My big brother!" The child responded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I adopted him not too long ago, so I'm still a bit new to this whole brother thing. He saved me from bullies, and carried me home! He's like a very nice ANBU! Though, he says he's not a ninja, but he's just as awesome as one!" The boy chirped, swinging his legs back and forth. "He even helped me with my essay! He's very smart, even though he's not from our village and didn't know what a 'Hokage' is. But that's okay! He knows a lot of other things! Like how to cook amazing meals that aren't ramen! And his handwriting is amazing! So fancy and loopy! I'm gonna write like that too, one day! Oh! And he's also very nice! He said that a proper future Hokage always enco-encu-cheers his future followers on, even if they do better than him! Because their strength is my strength." He recited, looking proud for having remembered all that, while Iruka looked… conflicted.
On one hand, he can see that, whoever it is, is definitely a great influence on the boy, what with the improvements in his grades and healthier food. But on the other, he's too old to believe that someone would help out a poor orphan demon child without ulterior motives.
He will have to choose his next words very carefully.
"Naruto…" Iruka started slowly, using the serious tone he uses when he wants his students to pay careful attention. "I need you to go over to one of the ANBU that guard you and tell them about this… 'Nii-san' of yours." He's about to add that he shouldn't just blindly trust everyone that's nice to him, but the child beat him to the punch with what he says next.
"Oh they've already met!" Naruto said between slurps of ramen. "They even took him to the Hokage! And he let me adopt him!"
"H-Hokage-sama knows about this person?" Iruka asked, blinking in shock though, to be completely honest, he should have expected such a turn of events. The ANBU aren't known for being incompetent, especially with a captain like Wolf leading the charge. There was literally no chance that this 'Nii-san' would go unnoticed.
"Uh-huh! And I think he likes him!" Naruto nodded his head vigorously. "He let him live with me so he's an 'Uzumaki' like me now! The ANBU even gave him a nice t-shirt with our symbol on it!"
'Interesting.' Iruka thought, nodding his head along to the flow of the blond's words. 'I'll have to ask Hokage-sama about this later.' "That's all very nice, Naruto-kun." He said, ruffling the child's head. "But could you perhaps tell me something more about this nii-san of yours?"
"Hmm well… what would you like to know?"
"His name for example."
"Oh! Right! I guess I forgot to tell you, huh?" Naruto laughed, scratching his neck. "Nii-san's name is very strange so he told me to call him Maik."
"...Maik?"
"Yup!" The blonde popped the 'p' on the end.
"But what is his full name?"
"Well he said it's 'Maikurofuto'. But, like I said, he likes to be called 'Maik'. It's much easier!"
"M-Maikurofuto?" That certainly is a very… unique name.
"Yes, exactly!" Naruto grinned at him. "Woah, Iruka-sensei, you made saying that so easy! You really are amazing!"
Huh…
"Say Naruto, would you mind asking your brother if he could meet with me sometime?" The teacher asked, rubbing his chin in thought. They had a lot to talk about, he and this new boy.
Perhaps he'll even have a little chat with Hokage-sama beforehand, just so he can have a better idea of what he's dealing with.
"Sure! I don't think he'd mind at all!" The boy grinned, finishing up the ramen bowl with one loud slurp. "You'll like him, Iruka-sensei, he's really smart!"
"Hmmm so I've heard." The teacher wondered if he'll have the chance to see said intelligence in action during a test, because so far, it seemed like enrollment in the Ninja Academy was only a matter of time.
A big loud burp pulled the scarred teacher out of his thoughts.
"Ah that was good! Thanks for the meal, Iruka-sensei, but I better get back home. Nii-san said that I should always go straight home if I'm out alone."
An understandable concern, Iruka thought, considering the amount of bullying the child was subjected to by the older villagers.
He then wondered if the new brother knew why Naruto was hated…
When Naruto told him that his teacher, Iruka-sensei, wanted to have a little chat with him, Mycroft couldn't say it was surprising.
From what he heard, the teacher was the closest thing the small child had to a guardian. It was natural to be suspicious when an unknown kid suddenly shows up and declares himself the 'older brother' of one of his students. Especially since it was Naruto Uzumaki, the child that the red head already knew was hated by people in the village for a reason that is currently unknown to him. Something he decided it was time to remedy.
So he readily agreed to attend the meeting.
Making sure Naruto was sitting at the kitchen table doing what he can of his homework (the rest they'll deal with once Mycroft came back from the meeting), the older boy wished the blonde luck before locking the door behind him and stepping out into the village, hoping to catch the teacher at the ramen stand.
While he walked towards the destination, the location of which was rather clumsily explained to him by the small Uzumaki who told him to 'follow your nose, nii-san! You're bound to find it!', he took the opportunity to look around the unfamiliar village.
The majority of buildings looked rather old school, reminding him of the samurai movies he saw advertised back in England, and once more he wondered just how advanced Konoha is technologically.
There weren't any cars that he could see, nor any other machines one would typically spot in cities of the same size back in his world, making the air much less polluted and a pleasure to breathe compared to that of a foggy London. Konoha also seemed a lot less crowded compared to its counterparts back in Mycroft's world, but, then again, his world wasn't solely occupied by Japanese speaking humans with the ability to bend the four basic elements to their will, using strange hand gestures, so maybe comparing the two wasn't the wisest thing to do.
Perhaps they didn't need technology with all the jutsus and special techniques they had to practically bend reality to suit their needs. Hmm... something to ask the teacher, perhaps?
Now… if he were a ramen stand owner where would he place his stand to gather the most clients?
He paused and looked around, looking for some sort of clue, before deciding to just find a crossroad and start the search there.
Iruka was just about to pay Teuchi Ichiraku for the ramen both he and Naruto had consumed, when a young boy slipped into the stool next to him. One wearing a plain white shirt with the Uzumaki symbol printed on the back, and an unassuming pair of black shorts.
If his instincts were to be believed, then his meeting with the mysterious 'Nii-san' will happen far sooner than he expected.
"And you are?" The teacher asked, finally turning fully towards the boy to get a better look at him.
"I've been told, by a mutual friend of ours, that you wished to speak with me… Iruka-sensei." It was odd how much the child resembled the Fourth Hokage and his wife, possessing both the fiery red locks of Kushina and the striking blue eyes of Minato. Had he known them from descriptions alone, he would have no trouble accepting the boy as another one of their offspring.
Though there were differences of course: neither of the adults had this many freckles decorating their nose, and while Kushina's hair may be red, it certainly wasn't this... curly.
This small analysis nearly made him forget that said boy addressed him by his job title.
"I do indeed, Maik-kun." He nodded, settling back into his seat and signaling Teuchi to get the newcomer a fresh bowl. "I'd like to know more about you, if you don't mind. Where you came from, who are your parents…" the teacher then narrowed his eyes. "And why are you so interested in Naruto."
Maik, to his credit, didn't seem put off by the glare he was on the receiving end of, simply shrugging and leaning onto the counter with one arm.
"A reasonable request, all things considered." The fox haired child allowed, icy blue eyes scanning Iruka from head to toe. "I suggest we strike a deal, a… trade, if you will. Information for information. For every answered question… I get to ask you something in return." He then snapped back up to look into the teacher's own brown eyes. "Do we have an agreement?"
It was then that the teacher noticed the immense wisdom hiding behind those deceptively youthful blue irises. Those were not the eyes of a typical ten year old child, even from a village as threatened by war as Konoha, but that of someone much much older.
He needs to thread carefully. If the Uchiha children have taught him anything is that kids with immense genius are not to be underestimated.
"Alright then, I'll bite." Iruka said. "Where are you from?"
Maik started to tap the wooden counter with his pointer finger, a sign that Iruka came to associate with deep thoughts.
"My name is Maikurofuto." He began, clearly choosing his words carefully, and making the teacher wonder if he's telling the truth. "I was raised in a bunker outside my village to be used as a secret weapon once I'm old enough due to my… special memory technique." Iruka noticed that Maik, after finishing that sentence, glanced at his face. Clearly trying to gouge out his reaction to what's being said, trying to see if Iruka is buying what he's selling. "I escaped not too long ago and managed to find my way here, to Konoha, where I ran into Naruto being attacked by an angry bunch of villagers." The boy's body language communicated truthfulness. He wasn't twisting in his seat, his hands weren't restlessly moving atop the table, and blue eyes remained rooted to the teacher's own. Even his heartbeat was as steady as ever. Nothing he was saying was at odds with his body.
The only thing that caused the teacher to doubt his words… was his chakra aura.
While he couldn't see the energy like the sharingan and byakugan wielders can, he was attuned enough, after teaching children for as long as he had, to sense the person's emotions, even those they try to hide, by focusing on them. It helps during tests, when he can just sense the people cheating by their increased nervousness.
Maikurofuto's chakra felt... forcefully calm. The type of serenity one could feel during an intensely stressful situation, when one is making themselves settle down.
Which in of itself is rather fascinating considering that the child has no chakra control training, something evident in the fact that it was blaringly bright and uncontrollable for all to see. The fact that he managed to make it reflect his body language so flawlessly, was remarkable.
Either he was indeed telling the truth… or Iruka was talking with a child in perfect control of his body. An expert liar that put professional spies to shame.
"I forced them to leave and then carried Naruto back to his home." Maik continued, eyeing the ramen bowl that Teuchi placed before him with great interest. "I made sure he was taken care of after the beating and then departed for a store. A place I never got to because I was… stopped by a certain group of people."
"The ANBU I presume." Iruka interjected, continuing to watch the boy.
"Yes, exactly." The red head nodded and pulled the given chopsticks apart, getting ready to consume the food. "Can't say their interrogation was very fruitful, however. There was very little I could say about my hometown that could be of any use to them, after all."
"Mmm." The teacher hummed thoughtfully. "Did they ask you about your interest in Naruto?"
"They did, and I told them what I shall tell you." Sharp blue eyes then calmly turned to him again. "There is no 'interest' in the child beyond natural concern a person might experience when witnessing another get hurt. I simply wanted to make sure he was alright."
"Then how exactly did Naruto come to call you 'Nii-san'?" Because that isn't a title one can bestow upon every person that helps you.
"Not so fast, Iruka-sensei, remember our deal." Maik smirked and wagged his chopstick at him. "You can save this question for the next round, now allow me to make an inquiry."
The teacher huffed, a little exasperated, but otherwise nodded in agreement.
"Very well, Maik-kun, ask away."
Maikurofuto hummed, sipping the ramen before asking.
"When they took me for interrogation, I was taken to a dark claustrophobic room, tied up in a chair, bloodied up so much I saw stars, and mercilessly questioned." Iruka didn't exactly like the calm and slightly disinterested tone the boy's voice had when talking about rather distressing torture methods. "Nothing strange there, these are standard procedures when acquiring information from an unwilling suspect, ones I've both used and been on the receiving end of more times than I can count." Now not only could Iruka see the massive dissonance between the presented imagine of a civilian ten year old boy, and the immense knowledge shining in his eyes; but could also hear it in the words and tone he used when he spoke. This boy was not at all what he seemed.
"But there was one thing that, I must admit, caught me off guard. Well… two actually, but the other one was already explained to me."
"And what would that be?" The teacher took the time to reach over the counter and give the shop owner his due payment.
"The eye." Maik said, voice hollow and eyes distant, as if he was reliving a memory. "Bloody red with an iris surrounded by three black tomoe shapes. They moved, and when it did I was spellbound. I expect that, if they told me to give away my deepest darkest secrets, I would have." The boy frowned and stabbed a vegetable in his ramen, making the teacher start to see him as a person that clearly dislikes not being both in the know and in control. "I've never seen such a thing before, and I want to know what it is.."
Ah.
"Ah." Iruka huffed knowledgeably. "You must have met Agent Wolf."
"Apparently." Maik grumbled. "He seemed kind of young for someone possessing gray hair. And the impressive rank of Captain in a black ops squadron."
The teacher coughed.
"Yes we'll, he is a... special case, so to speak." He said, smiling awkwardly. "But enough about him, let me answer your question about the eye."
With that Maik turned his full attention to the teacher.
"The eye that you've been subjected to is called the Sharingan. It's a hereditary eye technique possessed only by those of the Uchiha clan. It's earlier form, the one you've seen, focuses on illusions and mind tricks to confuse it's opponents. However it also has other uses. One that Captain Wolf in particular is very fond of is the ability to copy any jutsu technique performed before him. Other hereditary skills of Sharingan require a specific bloodline."
"So you're telling me I've been... hypnotised." The boy was clearly having trouble accepting these revelations. "By an eye."
"You've been influenced by a very powerful genjutsu, a mind technique. One not easily breakable, especially if the user is skilled in its use." The teacher corrected softly.
"Mmm." There were gears turning in that head of his, Iruka could practically hear them clicking and clacking. "Very well, next question."
"How did you escape your captors?" Iruka asked. "You don't look very well trained in the art of combat."
Maikurofuto chuckled and his eyes flashed with mirth.
"Looks can be deceiving." He said wisely. "Though hand to hand isn't my specialty, I do know enough to defend myself if necessary. My true talent lies in memory." Maik then shrugged. "Memorising the layout of my bunker wasn't hard, and neither was sneaking out of my cell once the guard was lowered. They didn't even notice I was gone until it was too late."
"Hm so you're a schemer."
"I wouldn't be opposed to that label." The boy shrugged. "Do you find this answer satisfactory?"
It was so odd hearing such language come out of such a young person.
"Yes, I believe I do."
"Good. Now as for my question…" Mycroft took a bite of his ramen and spent a few seconds savoring the taste before swallowing. "I'd like to know why a boy, as nice and loving as Naruto Uzumaki, is called 'demon' by his fellow villagers."
And here we go.
The hard question.
"It's… a long story." Iruka sighed. "One without much of a happy ending."
"I've got time." Mycroft said, watching him intently. "You can tell me the entire story."
The teacher sighed once more.
"Oh dear boy where do I even begin?"
AN: Next up story time by Iruka-sensei. :D
And to Mariela huiza, I'm not angry XD
I actually am really interested in seeing what kind of kekkeigenkai Mycroft could have that would put him on pair with the Sharingan XD
