Chapter Thirteen: Discord
The morning sun filtered through the heavy curtains in Iruka's bedroom, causing dust motes to dance in patches of sunlight. The play of light woke Iruka, who yawned and stretched, pulling himself into a half-sitting position before he realized he wasn't the only one in his bed. Iruka blinked in a half-awake stupor at the silky blonde hair and smooth white skin of the woman lying next to him. Then, suddenly the events of the previous night all came back to him in a rush.
He and Suzu had gone back to his apartment after the festival. He had cooked dinner for her (and hadn't done a half-bad job, he thought) and after they'd eaten and cleaned up, they'd snuggled on the couch and talked for several hours. Eventually talking led to kissing, and kissing led to something more, and they soon found themselves in Iruka's bedroom, entwined beneath the bed sheets.
They had made love very sweetly – twice if Iruka remembered correctly – and then fell asleep in each other's arms, lulled to rest by feelings of euphoria and contentment. Now, with the morning dawning brightly outside, Iruka almost felt like he'd never woken up from a wonderful dream, and he watched tenderly as Suzu slept on next to him, soft and vulnerable and amazingly… his.
Iruka propped himself up on one elbow and continued to watch Suzu in her slumber, musing about whether he should get up and cook them breakfast. He brushed a strand of silvery blonde hair out of her face with a gentle hand, which caused her to roll toward him, snuggling close and burying her face against his chest. Resting a hand in the small of her back, Iruka kissed the top of her head then laid his chin against her crown, drawing her nearer to him. It seemed to him that Suzu sighed contentedly in her sleep.
Just then, Iruka's pleasant reverie was rudely interrupted by an abrupt pounding at his front door. Iruka groaned inwardly and released Suzu, whose eyes fluttered open at the sound. "Don't worry, I'll be right back," he told her, stumbling out of bed and looking around wildly for his bathrobe as the pounding continued. Finally locating it, he threw it over his shoulders, loosely tying the sash around his waist, before hurrying to answer the door.
On the doorstep stood the same wild-haired Chuunin who had originally summoned him to the Hokage's office for the mission to retrieve the refugees. Only this time there was no mirth sparkling in the man's eyes and the message he delivered had the utmost weight of seriousness, "Umino Iruka, you are summoned to the Hokage's office immediately to discuss a matter of the utmost importance."
"Uh, sure," Iruka stuttered, "Just give me a moment to get dressed and I'll be right there."
"The Hokage will be expecting you," the wild-haired Chuunin replied, giving Iruka a short nod before turning to make his way out of the apartment building.
Iruka just blinked at him for a moment, then shut the door and turned to head back to the bedroom to locate his clothing. Scratching his head in confusion as he entered the bedroom, he noticed Suzu was now sitting up in bed and giving him a questioning look.
"I just got summoned to the Hokage's office," Iruka told her. "It sounds serious. I'm really sorry, Suzu, but I have to go."
"No it's all right," Suzu gave him a worried smile, "I should probably head home as well. They might be worrying about me, and if something really is up, I probably need to be there anyway."
Iruka nodded as Suzu slipped out of bed and stood and stretched in the morning sunlight. Seeing her like that, for a moment he was profoundly sorry he had to leave. Then he shook himself awake and began pulling clothing from his bureau.
Suzu finished dressing first and waited until Iruka was completely done before exiting the apartment with him. Once they'd reached the street outside, Iruka paused to give her a parting kiss before she headed off in one direction and he in another.
Walking briskly to the Hokage's office amid the bustle of Sunday morning business on Konoha's streets, Iruka wondered and worried about what was so important that they'd actually gotten him out of bed. He supremely hoped it had nothing to do with Orochimaru's forces; he didn't think Konoha was ready for another attack.
Finally reaching the Hokage's office building, Iruka took the steps two at a time and arrived breathless in Tsunade's waiting room.
"Good morning," Shizune said, upon his arrival. "Tsunade-sama is waiting for you," and with that she opened the door to Tsunade's office and ushered Iruka inside.
Iruka entered the Hokage's office once again to see Tsunade seated behind her desk. The Hokage nodded in greeting, but remained silent as he took a seat in front of her. Finally, when Iruka had made himself relatively comfortable, Tsunade spoke.
"I'm sorry to have to get you out of bed for this. I felt things had gone far enough and thought it would be best to speak with you immediately."
Iruka just blinked at her in confusion, "What is this about, Hokage-sama?"
"The Sound ninja," Tsunade replied, bluntly, "Particularly the blonde you seem to have taken such an interest in. My sources tell me that you've been seen with her publicly on several occasions and then, last night, she spent the night at your home."
"What?!" Iruka was incredulous. "You got me out of bed for this?" His worried frown deepened to a scowl and he had to force himself to control his temper, which was threatening to explode in a vocal and messy way. "Yes, of course I've been seeing Suzu. It's not a big secret. I didn't realize it would be a problem. I thought you told us to treat the refugees like they were citizens of Konoha."
"Iruka," Tsunade sighed, "I said that so that citizens of Konoha wouldn't treat the Sound ninja like they were outcasts or make them feel unwelcome here. It's one thing to make sure your people aren't actively hostile toward someone you suspect, and another thing entirely to encourage them to sleep with the enemy."
"Enemy," Iruka shook his head, "Look, once and for all, the Sound refugees are not the enemy. They're normal people who've found themselves in a bad situation and all Konoha's continued suspicion and antagonism is doing is making the situation harder for everyone involved. If you could just take the time to get to know them like I have; take the time to trust them, then they could be an invaluable asset to you and the village."
"Look," Tsunade snapped, "I'm aware of several things that you can only begin to guess at. Do you think, in my position, it's easy to decide who to trust and who not to? What it comes down to is I've got to go with the option that makes things safest for the village overall. What you're doing, though it may be noble on some level, is jeopardizing the safety of Konoha if there's just the slightest chance that the refugees may be our enemy."
"Oh come off it," Iruka growled, dropping any semblance of formality or civility, "I spend my days in front of a room full of six year olds. There is nothing I could possibly betray to the Sound ninja that would put the village in any sort of danger. If you're worried about them finding out about evacuation procedures then you should pull the children from the school, since they'll learn those procedures there as well."
"Iruka," Tsunade said again, rubbing the bridge of her nose wearily, "You are a ninja and citizen of Konoha. You are an integral member of our village, just as all citizens of Konoha are integral members of the village. Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I'm worried about you specifically being in danger?"
Iruka sat back stunned, "You don't need to be, Hokage-sama. Trust me."
Tsunade looked up at him, brown eyes worried, "It's not you I don't trust."
"So what now?" Iruka sighed, feeling like he was losing this battle. "Are you going to forbid me to see her?"
"Do I have to forbid you?" Tsunade asked.
"I'll continue seeing her unless given a direct order not to, Hokage-sama," Iruka regressed to an overly formal but still sarcastic tone. "But I won't be happy about it."
"Then, no, I'm not going to forbid you," Tsunade sighed. "I called you here to try to talk some sense into you, but obviously you're not willing to listen. I am going to give you a new mission, however," she said, her tone turning flinty once more.
"Your new mission is to find out everything you can about the Sound refugees. Since you're in a better position to do this than anyone, I think we can safely say you're the best man for the job," she gave him an almost cruel smile. "You'll be expected to make weekly reports to me about everything you've learned. I think that, under the circumstances, what I'm asking of you is not unreasonable."
"You want me to spy on them," Iruka was disbelieving.
"First and foremost, you are still a ninja of Konoha," Tsunade said with gravity.
"Very well, Hokage-sama," Iruka said, bitterly. "I will do as you command."
Suzu slipped through Konoha's streets as quickly as she could, worried that something terrible might have happened while she was sleeping. It didn't make sense that they would summon Iruka from home, waking him up in the process, if it wasn't for a very important reason. Thus Suzu was trying to get back to the hotel as soon as possible to determine what was going on.
Upon reaching the hotel, the quiet exterior belayed no sign of trauma or disaster. Suzu nervously pushed her way through the front doors and hurried upstairs to the suite of rooms she was sharing with her companions, hoping that nothingearth-shattering had happened in her absence. When she arrived, however, she found the rooms seemingly empty.
Suzu had just turned to leave when the door to Renjiro's bedroom opened, and the red haired Jounin stepped out into the common room. For a moment the two of them stared at each other soundlessly, as if daring one another to speak, before Renjiro finally broke the silence with a curt question.
"You've finally come home then?"
Suzu just nodded in response, "Where are the others?"
"I sent them out for a few hours," Renjiro replied, seemingly calm. "I thought it might be a good idea to have the place to ourselves when you returned."
"Why is that?" Suzu asked, warily.
"Because we need to have a serious talk," was Renjiro's response, as he moved to seat himself on the common room's couch, "And I thought it best we not argue in front of them."
Suzu groaned inwardly and took the chair across from Renjiro, preparing herself for what was surely to come. "Renjiro," she began, reasonably, "We really have nothing to talk about. I'm an adult. I made an adult decision. You should be able to respect that."
"Don't talk to me about respect," Renjiro snapped, finally losing his cool. "You don't respect the safety of your companions. You don't respect my judgements or decisions. You certainly don't respect yourself; throwing yourself at the first man who looks your way."
"Renjiro," Suzu said, fighting back a mixture of pity, disgust and anger, "We're not discussing this any more. You have absolutely no say in what I choose to do with my life. We only deferred to you because you were the most experienced ninja in our group. However this is not an assignment and you're not actually in charge. We are not required to take orders from you. If I decide to see someone while in Konoha, that's my decision. If I decide to spend the night out with him, that's also my decision. You have absolutely no say in the matter."
"I have no say?!" Renjiro roared, "I have no say?! Did you forget who got you here, you ungrateful little bitch? Did you forget who took you in and taught you everything you know? Did you forget who saved your ass in the village that night and brought you halfway across a continent to safety? I saved you. I made you what you are and now you have the balls to sit there and say that my opinions don't matter."
Suzu gritted her teeth to keep from yelling at Renjiro. She was determined that at least one of them remain rational. "Your direction and teachings have been invaluable to me, and I thank you for that. However, it's time I step out from under your wing and begin to make my own decisions. Contrary to what you may believe, I am more than the sum of what you've given me," she was losing it now, "I am not your creation, I am not your responsibility, and I'm sure as hell not your property!"
With that, Suzu stood up abruptly, eyes blazing, fully intending to storm out of the room. She'd had just about enough of Renjiro's possessive and insane behavior, and if that meant she'd have to find somewhere else to stay for a while, then so be it. Her flight was halted, however, when Renjiro suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her wrist, holding her in place.
"Suzu, listen to me," he said passionately, eyes wounded, desperate. "Don't do this. I promise you, I only want the best for you. He's going to hurt you, Suzu. Please. You can't do this to us. We need you. You can't do this to me. I need you. You're the only thing I've got left that matters anymore. If you go, I don't have anything."
"Renjiro stop," she whispered, fully knowing where this was heading but feeling powerless to stop it. "Just let it go. Let me go, please."
"Suzu I can't," Renjiro said in a strangled voice thatcaught halfway between a growl and a sob. "You must know that. You must know that I love you. I've done everything I can for you. Don't just leave me like this."
"Let me go, please, sensei," Suzu said recoiling coldly, though her eyes had filled with tears.
That honorific seemed to snap Renjiro back to reality. He released her wrist and buried his head in his hands, refusing to look at her any longer. Finally freed from her former sensei's intended possession, Suzu mindlessly fled the suite of rooms, to suddenly find herself on the unfamiliar streets of Konoha outside. Shaking and shell shocked, she turned and walked numbly in the direction of Iruka's apartment, hoping beyond hope that he would be home soon.