Oni

A Naruto AU loosely based on Japanese history.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of them but the versions that live in my head. Kishimoto-sensei is a genius in my mind.

- Chapter 3: The Missing -

The days drew by slowly. Slower then he was ever use to, actually. But it gave Iruka a chance to really learn about the children. Though, some things didn't take long to learn.

"Sasuke, please let the girls go?" He tried for the sixth time to coax the boy to back off from where Ino and Sakura were huddled, sniffling by the sakura garden in the village square. He knew it would be only a matter of time before this would happen. Uchiha Sasuke had finally snapped and lost the calm, cool composure to the yelling annoyed boy he should have been acting like all this time. Well, maybe the yelling bit could be set aside along with terrorizing the girls.

The boy finally backed off but continued to glare at them.

"Now, is someone going to tell me what happened here?" Iruka quickly took control of the situation, steering Sasuke over to sit on a stone under the sakura before helping the two girls up and moving them as well.

"Chouji said he saw the Oni again. And when we were talking about who it could be, he attacked us!" Sakura explained between more sniffling. Ino nodded along and stuck close to Sakura as they were both still shaken.

Looks like their rivalry only exits part of the time. Iruka glanced over at Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun? Is this what happened?"

Sasuke just glared before snorting and turned away with his arms folded.

Great. He finally starts coming to class, but he still won't talk.

"They mentioned his brother's name. That is why he snapped." Neji provided wanting to get this over with and start the lesson.

"His brother?" Iruka wanted to ask more, but with Sasuke sitting right there, it probably wasn't a good idea to go on about the dead.

"He's the oni. That's what Ino said." Konohamaru called from his current spot high in the trees.

Iruka tried to keep his temper in check. "Konohamaru-kun, please get down. You don't want a repeat of yesterday when you got stuck in that karamatsu tree, do you?" Was this kid really only 5 years old?

The young boy sniffed and made his way down. "I didn't get stuck." He denied.

Shikamaru smirked at that. "Then what do you call Neji having to go up and get you?"

Konohamaru huffed and folded his arms in defense once he was on the ground again. "Not stuck. I didn't want to come down."

Iruka rubbed his forehead as he waited for the current argument to finish. In some ways, he couldn't wait for the schoolhouse to be completed so they could start their kanji lessons. That gave him an idea.

"And I said it before, sushi tastes so much better from the ocean towns then from here." Ino continued, the argument having moved to other topics fairly quickly.

"How would you know?" Sakura accused. "You haven't even been there."

Ino glared back. "My father brought some back."

Iruka gave a cough to get their attention and glanced over to make sure Sasuke was still sitting there.

"Yeah right. It would not last that long. Father says the fish have to be fresh." Sakura refused to let Ino have the last word.

"Would you two please pay attention?" Iruka's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He didn't want to have to yell to get them to listen.

They quickly fell silent and looked up at him mumbling a quick apology.

Iruka smiled again. "We need to start today's lesson. The school house will be finished soon so I thought it would be good to get some wood and practice our letters. Then we could hang them on the walls." There was a joint groan from the kids, including Sasuke, which surprised the teacher some. "It would give you a way to see how you're improving."

"Sensei, what if we get worse?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, hopefully it'll motivate you into fixing that." Iruka gave him a look hoping the boy wasn't really taking about a true event. "It's only hiragana. We'll be working on kanji after the school is finished."

Chouji looked up at that. "How long will that be, Iruka-sensei?"

"Well, the last time I checked, it looked like it would be done in about two days or less from now." Iruka grinned. It would be nice to have a central area to work in without having to bother Asuma for space when it was raining. The shrine ended up being a little far to walk in the rain for. Something was still nagging Iruka about the whole fact of the schoolhouse not being ready. Did they always do this when a new teacher came in? He hoped they weren't going through all the trouble just on his account.

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"Good night, sensei!" Sakura called out before disappearing into her home.

Iruka smiled in reply and continued on towards the next house, the last four trailing quietly behind him and Konohamaru slept on in his arms. Walking the kids home at night was a tradition he always upheld, even as an assistant. It was just polite and made sure the kids were safe, though it was usually not this late.

They stopped again at a dark home. It looked cold and lonely. The Uchiha home. Sasuke bowed and headed on inside without a word. Iruka had offered for Sasuke to stay with him if he liked, but the boy had refused just like he had everyone else apparently.

Iruka sighed and walked on towards the Hyuuga homes. It was interesting how the family had decided to live right next to each other. But then, some families were tied very close to one another like that. When they got closer to their destination, Iruka got an odd feeling in his stomach. It was uncharacteristically quiet, even for the Hyuugas. "Hello?" Iruka called out. Hinata slowly inched closer to him.

Neji didn't seem too happy either, making sure Hanabi staid behind him. Something wasn't right, and somehow the young boy could sense it. Iruka noticed how he tensed up as if ready for something to jump out at them. It was that Samurai instinct that ran in his blood. At a glance around they found no one was home.

"Maybe I should take you to the Hokage's for the night. Just until your parents come back." Iruka suggested. Neji seemed to agree, nodding lightly.

Iruka quietly lead the way still not liking the situation. To up and leave like that without a word. Something had to be up, but what? It didn't look like they had gone anywhere. The children weren't informed about anything. And no one had told him. They hadn't even crossed paths during the day, which was odd. If they were going somewhere, their parents would have had to use the same road that they were on for most of the day.

A small flash caught Iruka's eye and he paused a moment to get a better look.

"Sensei?" Neji looked up at him in question.

"It's nothing. Just thought I saw someone." He quickly reassured the kids and walked on. It was the same as the first time he had visited the old daimyo's home. Dark, with the candle lights making it glow in an almost eiry way. "Hokage-sama?" Iruka called out.

There was shuffling of feet before the Hokage opened his door. He looked tired and worn, but still put on a smile. "Iruka-sensei. I hope he didn't fall asleep on you during classes."

"No, Hokage-sama. It wasn't until we were on our way home." Iruka passed Konohamaru over. "Oh, have you heard anything about the Hyuuga family going somewhere? We stopped by there but no one was home."

The Hokage looked over at the kids with sad eyes. "No. They can stay with me sensei. I had already gotten word of their disappearance. A search party is out looking now."

The kids silently nodded and came in, not asking any questions.

"Go home for the night, sensei. I will send word to you as soon as the searchers return." The Hokage gave him a short bow.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Iruka bowed back and said his goodnights to the kids silently, hoping for their sake the parents were found.

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It was cold. The type of cold that told you ice was on its way. The last harvesting days were here. Iruka had given the kids the day off due to the current circumstances. The Hyuuga family was still missing. Searchers were out in the woods, but nothing had been found. No clues at all. He quickly learned what a great tragedy it was for a samurai family to go missing. Pausing in his reading, he looked out the cracks in the window shutters. Dark and dreary, just like everyone's moods.

The Hyuuga children had an interesting way of dealing with the situation. They had stood by quietly and took in all the details. Only Hinata had looked somewhat sad. What got to Iruka was how everyone was mourning the missing as if they were dead.

A blast of the cold, late October air blew past him, signaling Asuma's return. The man had joined the search parties earlier that morning. Iruka drew the blankets closer as he shivered, huddled close to his reading candle.

"Umino-sensei, the cooking fire is not only for cooking." Asuma came in wearing his usual. "I know you do not want to hear this, but it is only going to get colder." His pipe was already out and smoke trailing from his lips. That was one of the few things he had learned about his host. He liked to smoke, a lot, but was generous enough to keep to the other side of the room when he did.

"I know. But winter is long here. You'll need all the wood you have stored up. I'll be fine for a while." Iruka put his book down and focused on Asuma. "How did the search go? Any sign as to where they went? I know Hinata's worried about them."

Asuma studied the teacher silently with a frown. "Sensei. I do not know if you have heard. But they are not coming back. Disappearing like this only means that they are dead."

"Why? There was no evidence of a struggle." Iruka asked, stunned. "Just because they go missing for a night, they shouldn't be declared dead." Yet again people were acting like they were dead, and Asuma of all people. What was going on?

Asuma quietly watched him before sighing and sitting down.

The silence stretched on to the point Iruka felt he should just forget it and go back to his reading.

"Umino-sensei." Asuma spoke up finally.

"Please, you can call me Iruka. You are my host. I'm indebt to you." Iruka smiled back glad the man had finally spoken.

"Iruka-sensei then, I should tell you about what occurred in the schoolhouse a month back. We use to have a teacher for the students, curious like yourself. But she went missing."

"Missing? She hasn't been found yet?" Iruka wasn't sure how he felt about replacing someone else's position just because they were missing for a while.

Asuma looked even graver as he took in a lungful of smoke from his pipe. "She was found tonight. But all that was left were her bones wrapped in a dirty kimono."

"Bones?" Iruka looked confused. "But she's only been gone for a short wile, right?"

Asuma nodded.

"Even if she was dead all that time, it would take longer for only her bones to be left. Are you sure it was her?"

Asuma studied him for a long time before nodding again and set his pipe down. "It was her kimono to begin with. There were bloodstains soaked into the collar. The bones were definitely hers as well. The left pinky missing from a cart accident when she was little. And that smile of hers. She would smile all the time. Those teeth are easy to recognize."

Iruka was a little disturbed by the images that flashed to his mind with the descriptions. "Could it have been fire?"

"The bones were as white as snow." Asuma smiled lightly, looking as if he was remembering something. "Youkai live in these woods, Sensei. That is why no one has bothered us or tried to move in such a fertile area. This place is haunted." He looked back at his guest. Iruka was startled to actually see a slight bit of fear in the larger man's eyes. "The Hyuuga are not coming back."

"Youkai? You actually believe those stories?"

"This is not the city. Out here the Youkai are real. And as much as I wish I could say no, our youkai neighbors consist of Oni."

Iruka sighed. He wasn't sure how to take the news really. "Well, there's obviously something going on. But I highly doubt it's due to Oni."

Asuma nodded quietly and took up his pipe again to smoke for a while. "The schoolhouse has been completed. Only a few more tables needed to be picked up tomorrow morning. If you need anything, my house is still open for you to use."

Apparently the previous conversation was over. Iruka bowed slightly before getting up and collecting his things. "I thank you again for your hospitality." He only waited for a nod to acknowledge that he had been heard before he wondered back to the room he had been using. Only the bedroll needed to be placed away and a few books packed up. It wouldn't take very long. He had planed that morning on sleeping the night in the new schoolhouse to make sure everything felt right and he could take tomorrow to get it ready for the kids. Sighing he made his way over to the window to open one of the shutters and look out at the dead world it opened up to. All the trees had turned and lost their leaves in a matter of a few short days. No wonder this place was called Konoha, the Village of Leaves. They were everywhere, playing in the wind. It was a perfect place for youkai to live.

Iruka looked down at the still visible blood stain in the wood. Could it be possible for them actually to exist? And Oni of all things. But if they didn't, what left blood at night, bleached bones, and terrorized even grown samurai? He wasn't sure if he really wanted the answers.

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Author's note: Sorry this took a little while to get out, had a lot of RL issues due to school and family. Hopfully now that it's winter break I'll be able to get more chapters done.

Karamatsu: Is the Japanese Larch tree. A big old tree. There's good pictures on Google.

Note of apology: I apologize to all anonymous reviewers out there. I did not realize I had that option turned off. But The Gandhara was kind enough to inform me of this. It is now enabled. Hope this didn't discourage anyone from reviewing.

Also, the kids are a little OOC, I know, but it's hard to stop that with how they have grown up a bit differently from the canon story as well as them being younger then in the canon.

Smiley05 – Sorry for the confusion. On general, most of them are 10 years old.

Ages of all mentioned characters so far:

Iruka – 21

Asuma – 25

Sakura – 10

Ino – 10

Sasuke – 10

Shikamaru – 10

Chouji – 10

Hinata – 9

Hanabi – 5

Neji – 11

Naruto – 10

Konohamaru – 5

The Hokage – 66

Guy in black – around 25

The dead Sensei – around 42

Bandits – around 30s to 40s