Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…I merely use already existing characters and throw them into some doomed plot and later watch as they squirm. In short, they are not mine!
Mine Alone
A Yang Production
I plucked a red petal from the rose. He loves me…He loves me more…He loves me…He loves me more…and so on. Upon reaching the last petal I said in a small whisper, " He loves me."
Iruka woke up and notice that Naruto was not in his room. Naruto normally had to be doused in icy water and be told that his Ramen was going to freeze before he would even make a moment to indicate that he would get out of his bed. The smell of ramen drifted over to his nose.
" Naruto?" He peeked into the kitchen. A ball of orange with a tuff of blonde hair was sitting at the table. There was the crinkling of paper in his hands and the sound of ramen being slurped. " Naruto?" He looked up and noticed Iruka.
" Iruka-sensei!" What ever he had in his hand, he scrambled to hide it. " What are you doing!"
" I'm always up at 5 this morning. What about you? Something wrong?" The father figure within himself surfaced.
" Well.." Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair. " No! Nothings wrong. I'm going out for a walk!"
" I'm coming too. You can't wander alone at this time of the day." He grabbed a warm jacket and followed Naruto out. The moon was still outside casting it's eerie light on the road. A stray pebble became the center of Naruto's attention as he kicked it. It bounced along till it came to a rest a little ahead of him. Bent on beating the rock that had caused him no harm what so ever, he kicked it again.
" Iruka…what's it like to be in love?"
Iruka jumped a little in the air from Naruto's question. " Wha-?" Then a smile came over his face. " Oh! You finally found some one to love? I knew it! Who's the lucky girl?" Iruka ruffled Naruto's hair. At the comment, Naruto blushed and quickly came to his own defense.
" NO! It's not like that…I'm just wondering what someone who is in love does?"
" That's it? Here I was planning your wedding too! Just kidding Naruto!" He laughed off the look that Naruto was giving him. " Well, love is a hard emotion to really describe. It's different for each person. But love makes people do crazy things sometimes…" An image of the perverted Kakashi popped into his mind. " and it's hard to get over that feeling."
" What kinda of crazy things?"
" Oh, you spend ridiculous amounts of money on gifts, you blush like mad and can't talk in front of that person. Sometimes they might leave a giant cake with your name on it outside your home and when you get it inside, they jump out scarring you for life and give you something really revealing that they force you to try on and model for them…and then you kick them out of the house and they return with the biggest teddy bear, a box of chocolate, and a dozen roses with a balloon that says 'I'm sorry', and of course you can't say no, so you bring them in saying, 'come in you big jerk' and both of you sit on the couch and eat the chocolate while watching a tearjerker while he just reads his perverted book." Iruka blushed at the thought and looked at Naruto. Naruto was rolling on the ground and screaming something about Virgin ears and tainted image. " Sometimes, you get so carried away you do things that are sometimes unlawful…" His thoughts drifted to the time that Kakashi had written on the Hokage building in big black letters ' KAKASHI LOVES IRUKA 4EVER!' It was memorable, but he spent five days cleaning it up. He continued to walk, not hearing what Naruto had said about the last comment.
" Even murder?"
Sasuke hated mornings, he always woke up to an empty house. Just once he wished he could wake up and have someone next to him say 'Good morning.' Suddenly a orange clad hyperactive blonde popped into his mind. A slight pinkish tint appeared on his skin, but he pushed that feeling away and decided that he would skip breakfast. He'd go out and train. Yeah, training would get his mind off Naruto…why the heck was he thinking about Naruto? Even in sleep he couldn't help but bug him. Taking a stroll towards the training ground who should appear but the person of his dreams?
" Sasuke? What brings you here?" Iruka asked as he leaned against the rail of the bridge.
" Walk."
" Don't talk like that to Iruka-sensei! Show respect!" Naruto gladly flipped Sasuke off but was punished for it.
" You know, you should be alone right now."
" I'm not afraid to face him. There's nothing for me to die for." The wind blew ruffling his hair.
" Alright, since you two are here why don't you just stay together? I need to report to the Hokage office in about 5 minutes. Be nice and don't ki-err…beat each other to a bloody pulp alright?" Getting two nods, Iruka disappeared in a small puff of smoke.
" Hmh…murderer." Sasuke stared down at the water watching the small ripples in the surface of the water as it flowed. " The only real murderer around here is my brother…and he's long gone."
" Eh?"
" Nothing…I'll see you later." Saying nothing else, Sasuke simply walked away.
" What's up with him?" Then he noticed something fall from Sasuke's pocket before Sasuke took off running in his normal training method. It was a small orange poppy, the one Naruto liked. Sasuke saw it outside growing next to a bunch of other wild flowers. Distinctly he recalled that Naruto mentioned those flowers as being his favorite. So why was he picking one? Why did he even remember that comment? Most importantly why was he so anxious about Naruto?
Picking it up, Naruto looked at it puzzled. Maybe it was just a coincidence? Let's hop that no one was lacing his tea!
" HEY! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"
" N-naruto-k-kun?" A shy voice timidly called out. Hinata was standing behind him with her cousin Neji at her side.
" Hey, Hinata-san! Neji-san. What are you doing out here at this time of the morning?"
" We could ask the same of you." Neji nodded his head. " I would think that you would still be asleep."
" No…Are those Poppies?"
" Yes…my cousin insisted that we go out and pick them this morning." He looked at Hinata who blushed bright red.
" Na-naruto-kun…t-t-these are for y-you!" She held out an armful of bright orange flowers. " Y-you d-d-didn't s-s-s-eem so w-well. I was w-worried."
" Eh? Well thanks…" Naruto took the flowers, gave her a smile, nodded to Neji, and head to town to buy a vase to put them in.
" That went well don't you think?" Neji held Hinata up as she had collapsed. " What now?"
" I'm gonna stay here just a bit…my head is spinning."
" Want me to stay with you?"
" No, I have it…" She activated her bloodlines famous art, Byakugan. Without turning her head, she could see her cousin walking away. A sigh escaped from her. " Love is a crazy thing…"
Iruka walked out peacefully holding a bunch of scrolls. He hummed a little tune as he went along his way towards his home. Kakashi had just visited him not too long ago, and he had left a note to visit him at his home at 7 for…reasons that young ones should not really hear. (wink wink nudge nudge). The street was empty so he was able to reach his home pretty quickly. He had just been inside for just a few seconds when I knocked on his door.
" Who is-ah! It's you, come inside, you shouldn't be out here alone." He opened the door.
" No time…Naruto…river! I think he was attacked. He needs your attention NOW!" I gasped. I didn't bother for a reply, grabbing his hand I dragged him away from the safety of his home.
" What! I need to alert the others!"
" NO! He's in danger! The murderer is after him!" Why is it when someone says murderer in a sentence the other person completely forgets the dangers?
We hurried along, gathering speed and reaching the river front in time. A tuff of blonde poked out from underneath a bush.
" Naruto!" He picked up 'Naruto.' A big old smiley face stared back at him, with the word Gotcha! scrawled on it. " Huh?" WOOSH! The world turned upside down as he hung suspended from a plain and simple noose tied around his ankles.
" And I thought Sensei would never fall for such a simple trap."
" WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!"
" Nothing…"
" Then get me down!"
" Nope!" A second rope snaked out and tied his hands together, pulling it under his head so both his hands and feet were bound. " I really just want to talk to you, Sensei. You seem to not like my late night visits to Naruto. My face still has the little gift you left me." A red angry welt still showed. " I merely wanted to see Naruto."
" You were the one who visited Naruto!"
" Yes. Now, Iruka-sensei, I request a small favor. Put some distance between you and Naruto."
" Hell no."
" I was hoping that you would agree." Two blank scrolls appeared in my hand. " Maybe I can get rid of you and never say I beat my teacher in a battle." The seals broke and they rose swaying like snakes. A little something that I read from the scroll that a certain someone had on their body. " Sensei, I ask you once more, will you or will you not put more distance between you and Naruto?"
" No. I love Naruto like a son, and I will protect him."
" Love? Love…You say that you love him? Would you dip your hands into blood freshly spilled?"
" My own student…have you no shame? No conscience?"
" No…No! Now Sensei, I must silence you!" The scrolls lashed out and wrapped themselves around him body, making him a mummy. The ropes loosened and he fell to the ground with a thud.
" Sensei, I need you to stay quite for a while. Why don't I take you to my place? First, those scrolls are lined with a very powerful nerve toxin that will leave you in a death like state until I administer the antidote." His struggle subsided and he became absolutely still. " Let's go…" There was complete silence and I knew that the Hokage was coming. Iruka was supposed to hand in the reports via the messenger eagle. I forgotten that the bird was trapped at home. Crap! I can't drag him home!
" Lucky Sensei! But you can't talk! I'll come visit you later at the hospital!" The scrolls tightened, then they rolled up, leaving Iruka on the ground. Pulling a mask over my head, I looked up to see 5 shadows leaping down from the trees.
" We have you now! Come with us." The Hokage glared at me before noticing that Iruka lay at my feet. " Iruka!" She turned her attention to him while I ran for it. Three ANBU guards began their chase.
" Let's see how they like to play with my earth clone ANBU. Shika-san liked them." Three figures rose, one wearing a frog mask, another a crow mask, and the last one a rabbit mask. " Take them down." They nodded and I jumped into the trees. This was not what I had in mind at all. First: paralyze Iruka, Second: Haul his ass home Third: KILL HIM.
" This poison…I don't know what it is." Tsunade rolled up her sleeves ready to try and see how much of the toxin she could get out. Her hands flared up with chakra, warm and soft as she placed her hands on his chest. For a second, the toxin moved and then it stopped. Iruka tensed up before he relaxed, but not in relief. If he had a voice it would have registered pure pain. Her hands jerked away in realization that she only made things worse. What ever this toxin was, it reacted negatively with chakra. There came a cracking sound and from the ground burst the earth ANBU holding the beaten human ANBU. They tossed them like rag dolls and one handed a scroll to Tsunade before they crumbled to the ground.
Seeing that is was safe, the Hokage broke the seal and read the ever famous note.
Poison of choice,
Flowing through the body,
Just even a bit of chakra,
Kills from the inside out.
He only has a few hours…
Iruka was rushed to the hospital, and Naruto was brought before the Hokage.
" Naruto." He hands were folded neatly in front of her. " I need to move you from Iruka's house. You can't stay there."
" Why? Where's Iruka-sensei? He was suppose to meet me for dinner."
" Naruto…" She stood up and walked towards Naruto. Placing a warm hand on his head, she told him what had happened. All the deaths, what had happened. Everything. During the time, Naruto sat still, all color draining from his face.
" Naruto…do you understand?"
He didn't reply.
" Naruto…" She pulled him into a hug as he still was in shock.
" Baa-san…why are they attacking them? They never did anything to me."
" I know…that's why, starting now, you will stay by my side…I can take care of my self. Let's go visit Iruka, okay?" They walked down to the hospital. Iruka was on the fourth floor.
" Iruka-sensei?" Naruto's voice was not at all like his usual hyper voice.
" He's asleep. We are trying to find an antidote. But, I'm afraid that he might not live."
" Is there anything you can do? What about chakra?"
" It speeds up the toxin…I never had to deal with this before. Naruto, I know how much you love Iruka, he love you too. It was the purest type of love, fatherly love. Today…he had signed the documents to be your adoptive father. You would have been his son."
Tears poured out of his eyes as he looked at the sleeping figure of Iruka. His father? Just today?
" He had worked on the papers for a long time…since three years ago. Even if it's for the shortest time, he is your father…"
" Ir-Otou-san…" Slipping his hands into Iruka's he made a promise. " I'll find out who did this to you." It must have been his imagination, but he felt Iruka's hand move. " Otou-san."
Tsunade looked on and smiled. They looked like a real family. So together. He reluctantly left, telling his father that he would come back later. The rest of the day, the two spent fighting about little things.
Stream of people came in to see their beloved Iruka, under supervision of course. Kakashi spent every single second of every single day in there. He watched over him like a guardian angel. Flowers piled up in his room after inspection, all his students sent in letters and card. The whole town had turned out to help their fallen loved shinobi. Naruto constantly joined Kakashi, and they both agreed that something had to be done. Then under the full moon, something devastating something.
Nurse came running, medical nins were rushing towards his room.. The poison had run it's course.
" Call in the Hokage!"
" He was just fine yesterday! Check all connections, check his god damn IV!" They pulled the IV out and ran tests. Traces of the make shift antidotes were found and the liquid that was being administered to him. His heart beat was slowing down. As the Hokage ran in, the Medical nins looked up and shook there heads.
" Baa-san?" It was Naruto.
" Naruto! Go back to bed!"
" Wha's going on? Is Iruka better?" He rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes. Medical nins and Nurse gave him a small pity look. They walked out, leaving only the three. Hokage tired to break it as softly as she could, but in the end, she had to give him a sleeping tea. Once again, the village has lost another member.
Forgive me Naruto, but I can not control myself. Forgive me! Please forgive this love crazed soul.
Yang-chan: (sobbing in the corner) Gomen! Forgive me Iruka!
Iruka: (rubbing his neck) You didn't have to make me just sleep the whole time.
Yang-chan: IRUKA! (glomp) Forgive me! I promise that in my next fic, you'll get your happy ending! WHAAA!
Iruka: It's okay, can I go? I have a meeting with Kakashi.
Yang-chan: Go! Have fun! DON'T LET HIM HET YOU IN HIS BED!
Iruka: Shut up!
Yang-chan: I know I'm gonna get some flames…I'll handle it. I know I will… I think. Note: I will be updating once a week. Maybe less if I can get things done on time. Thank you.