"Guardian of the Fox"

Chapter 13

"The demon issue."

"You may have noticed that Naruto tends to heal a lot faster than other kids."

Mycroft blinked because he did, in fact, notice that the bruises the small blonde sported the day they met disappeared without a trace the very next day. It was strange, yes, but this whole world is far from what he considered normal so who's to say this… chakra energy wasn't capable of healing one's body?

Now that Iruka made him aware that it's just as big of an anomaly here as it would be back in England, the red-haired boy was starting to feel on edge.

"It has come to my attention, yes." He responded eyeing the other man wearily. "Is that… bad?" It was probably the first question he asked the entire meeting that finally made him sound like the ten year old that he was.

"Well it's definitely a symptom of Naruto's condition." The teacher answered, sounding needlessly vague and mysterious.

"Condition?" Mycroft echoed, frowning. "Is he sick?" He didn't seem to be. His temperature was normal, he slept regularly, his appetite was appropriate for a growing body, and his skin was a nice healthy hue. As far as the ten year old was concerned, his new little brother was the picture of perfect health. Much more than Sherlock was at his age at least.

Of course there are illnesses that can't be diagnosed without a few tests, something Mycroft has no way of doing even if he wanted to, so there is a chance Naruto does actually have something wrong with his health with Mycroft being none the wiser.

And that's not taking into account all the sicknesses that aren't shared between the two worlds and are just native to this one.

"Sick? Oh no, no. It's... something a lot worse."

'Well…' Mycroft thought, frowning at the teacher even more now. 'Now he's just stalling for no reason.'

"I'd appreciate it if you were frank with me, Iruka-sensei." He says, hoping his voice, despite being squeaky and childish, was firm enough to make the older man stop beating around the bush so much.

Iruka took a deep breath, a sure sign that he's composing himself for what he's about to say.

"Before I say anything, Maikurofuto, I need you to promise me something." He said, his brown eyes boring deep into Mycroft's icy-blue ones. "That, regardless of what I tell you, you won't walk out on Naruto."

Immediately alarm bells started ringing in Mycroft's head, because that sort of promise is only made when the possibility of the other party walking out not only is very high, but happened before.

And that made him angry.

Because how dare someone leave such an innocent cheerful soul in the mercy of a village that hates him?

"I made that promise the second he became my little brother." The boy declared, his eyes hard as steel. "And I don't go back on my word."

He's safe with me. He tried to say, his eyes an unflinching silver, and hand silently going to rest over his heart. I swear it.

Iruka watched him for a long while, searching for something in his eyes and face, before smiling softly and leaning back in his seat.

"Alright. I believe you."

The boy blinked and raised an eyebrow at the adult.

"I could have been lying." He said, completely seriously. Because if he really wanted to, he could sell a lie convincingly enough that the average person would accept it as the truth.

"I know." The man said, still smiling. "But you weren't."

'Well no,' Mycroft agreed mentaly. 'but you weren't supposed to know that.'

Was he losing his touch? Or do his usual methods not work with this puny little body?

Probably noticing his displeased frown, the man explained the phenomenon with the words "Your chakra. It was... remarkably still. That's how I knew you weren't lying."

Whatever that meant.

"...if you say so." The boy decided to let it go for now, in order to finally hear the explanation to the biggest question he has.

Iruka sighed and rubbed his face.

"The reason Naruto is able to heal his wounds so quickly… is because he has a demon sealed in his body."

What?

"What?" He voiced his thoughts, caught completely off guard.

Out of all the things he expected the young teacher to tell him, this wasn't on the list.

"Naruto Uzumaki is a Jinchuuriki." Iruka said, as if that explained everything.

And maybe it does to people that lived here for more than a few days. Unfortunately Mycroft was no such person, and that sentence made absolutely no sense to him.

He was just getting used to the idea that everyone has a spiritual energy that, when wielded properly, could create tangible clones out of thin air.

"What the hell does that mean?" The boy asked, indignant in his confusion.

"Language." Came Iruka's automatic admonishment. "And I'm not sure what's there to explain." The teacher seemed just as confused as he was. Clearly he expected the red-head to know what he was talking about.

Yes, normally, he would know what being a jinchuuriki means, but he's not from here damn it.

Instead of loudly voicing his anger like his childish mind clearly wanted him to, Mycroft took a deep breath and calmed himself.

"So Naruto is… possessed?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "By a demon?"

"An interesting way to look at it but yes." Iruka nodded, glad they were finally getting somewhere in this conversation.

"A demon as in… a vengeful spirit?"

Taking a hint from Iruka's odd facial expression, he made an educated guess that no, not by a vengeful spirit.

"No, not at all." The teacher confirmed his suspicions a few seconds later, shaking his head. "Where did you get that outrageous idea from?"

Mycroft blistered.

"Where I come from that's what being 'possessed' means." He said, feeling his face contort into an adorable little pout.

Iruka had the audacity to laugh at the image, making Mycroft pout even harder and even cross his little arms over his chest.

"Well…" the teacher said, after his little laughing fit has ended. "Here 'demons' are not… vengeful spirits, but giant monsters made out of pure chakra."

'And he said my version was outrageous.'

"Monsters." The boy repeated, trying to wrap his head around the concept. Which sounded ridiculous, mind you.

"Yes." Came the confirmation.

"That are… giant."

"That is correct."

'And he says it so casually too.' Like this type of thing was normal. Well… maybe it was but it definitely shouldn't be.

"And Naruto has one in his belly?" Mycroft tried to imagine it. He really did. But all he could come up with are those irritating 'Error' messages that sometimes showed up on Anthea's screen when she played Candy Crush for far too long. "...How?" And, more importantly, "Why?"

Iruka then sighed and turned away from him, his eyes now landing on the wooden counter they were sitting at. His kind and playful demeanor immediately giving way to something more somber and sad, making something twist in the redhead's guts.

"Seven years ago on a day not so different from this one, a tragedy struck the village." Iruka's voice was no longer soft and smooth, but rough and brittle as if he gurgled glass before speaking. "It was attacked, you see. By a monster, a tailed beast, a demon. The Nine Tailed Fox. It struck us... without reason or warning, completely out of nowhere, in the middle of the night." His eyes, usually so soft and gentle, looked around the ramen booth with a hollowness only seen in survivors, seemingly searching for something to chase down the bitter taste in his mouth.

"We were weakened after the Third Great Ninja War, most of our best Shinobi peppering fields on foreign land," Iruka cringed, reached out for a small cup of water left behind by another patroon and downed it in one go. "And whoever was left got slaughtered like pigs on first contact with the beast." With the cup now empty, he sighed and placed it back for Ichiraku to pick up next time he came around. "Not that it mattered much, in the end. The monster targeted everyone, be it Shinobi, civilian, child or adult. No one was spared." He still avoided Mycroft's eyes, but the boy could tell they were filling up with tears. "The beast was stopped, of course, but not before it managed to end the lives of hundreds of parents, uncles, sons and daughters."

"How was it stopped?" Mycroft asked, still watching him with eyes filled with quiet sympathy.

"Our leader, the Hokage, used a forbidden technique to seal the demon in the body of his infant son." The teacher absentmindedly scratched the scar going over his nose. "He died not long after, leaving the child orphaned and stuck with a monster in his body."

Mycroft felt physically nauseous in wake of this revelation, and had to fight to keep the casserole he ate for dinner where it belonged.

'What kind of sick, twisted individual would do such a thing to their own child?' He wondered, hands curling into angry fists. 'Was there no other way to solve this?'

"It's so easy to hate him, you know?" Iruka's voice pulled the red-haired boy out of his angry thoughts, sounding soft and distant. "To look at that innocent face and see nothing but the monster that killed my parents and gave me this scar." He sighed. "And I'm not the only one in this village who lost someone important that day."

Mycroft looked away, knowing all too well how easy it was for others to put all the blame on someone innocent associated with the situation because everyone else is dead.

"I hope this answers your questions, Maikurofuto-kun." Iruka said, making the boy look back at him, and nod.

Everything made sense now.

The bullying, the unexplained hate, the constant shadowing by this world's black ops, Iruka's promise… all of it.

"It does." Mycroft said, maintaining serious eye contact. "But what it doesn't do is change my mind about Naruto." The boy said, his eyes hardening to steel. "He's my brother, my responsibility, and will remain that till the day I die." He meant it, every word.

He stuck by Sherlock when the man wanted nothing to do with him, he'll stick by Naruto even if the entire village commits to making his life a living hell.

The teacher smiled at that, his eyes regaining a bit of their previous optimisms.

He then reached out and ruffled Mycroft's Red curls, not unlike he would one of his students.

"I'm glad to hear it."