Disclaimer: None of these cut scenes 'officially' happen in the Connections series, so they may contradict what the original story shows.
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Iruka-sensei had been a teacher for many years. He had worked with children to improve handwriting, corrected their posture doing backflips, coached them through target practice and applied bandaids, soap and sweets as needed. Most mornings he woke up tired, and not one hundred percent ready to face a day of hyper children and the constant threat of accidental disembowelment, but he rarely woke up feeling despondent or ready to go on a killing spree, so he figured that must mean he liked his job. Some days were certainly better than others, and he wasn't blind to the fact that the very predictability of his life in a village of nin was a blessing in its own right. And as much as he probably shouldn't, he did have his favorite students. There were always one or two in each class that pulled at his attention, either because of their humor or their kindness or their fierce determination. Jounin might talk possessively about their students, but Iruka had his own collection of precious memories for each one of those students.
And then there was Naruto Uzamaki.
Their relationship had had somewhat of a rocky start, to say the least, but it had matured and developed over the years into one Iruka was proud of. His most troublesome student was well on his way to becoming a great nin, and even more importantly, a good friend. So when he asked Iruka for some help with training, of course he said yes.
He should have predicted that would mean teaching the new strange Uchiha.
"This is Harry-kun," Naruto had introduced him, pushing forward a thin black haired boy with large glasses and unruly hair. "He's a wizard. Which means he can do weird chakra stuff but nothin' normal. We're workin' on that. But can ya teach him some of the other stuff? 'Cause teme tried to do kunai lessons, and Harry's not bad at it, but Sasuke sucks as a teacher."
The boy had withstood Naruto's introduction with a kind of calm that was part familiarity with Naruto's exuberance and part blind acceptance of the things outside of his control. He'd given Iruka a hesitant wave and a small smile that was as open and genuine as Naruto's.
Of course, Iruka wasn't going to say no, though it had occurred to him that he had better hope Sasuke was as keen for this arrangement as his teammate. Iruka had clear memories of the serious, fragile young boy the last Uchiha had been and he suspected little of that had changed over the years despite the significant, staggering events that spanned that gap. Still, they had set up a time after Iruka's usual duties and Iruka had gone home to draft up a limited, speedy syllabus to hopefully provided the newest Uchiha the skills he would need to survive in their world. Iruka had seen more than enough children used as pawns in the violent strategies of nin to understand the dangerous position Harry occupied. He had known right away that he would have to do his best to give the boy a fighting chance.
He was pleasantly surprised at how quick a learner the boy proved to be. Even without the sharingan, Harry only needed to be shown how to do something once or twice before he understood it. He couldn't always replicate the action, but that was an issue of muscle and flexibility that would come with time if he trained seriously. But judging by the intent way Sasuke-kun followed every step of his training, that was guaranteed to happen.
"Try shifting your weight more firmly onto your left foot, Harry-kun," Iruka told him, watching carefully as the boy shifted his center of gravity to accommodate for the momentum of his arm. There was an ease of motion in his limbs that came naturally to some people and that made his work easier. It was a trait he shared with his cousin, who from the very beginning required very little correction when it came to taijutsu. But unlike Sasuke-kun, Harry took directions well. There was no pride or frustration at being corrected. Harry merely shifted his foot, waiting a patient half beat to make sure he had it right, before continuing forward.
The hit was slow and lacked enough force behind it to take on a nin above genin level, but the form was good and the timing smooth. Sasuke tolerantly let it connect, moving smoothly through the motion with his cousin with a patience Iruka had never seen before. His counter was carefully controlled. It was fast enough that Harry would need to get his guard up quickly to block, no time for hesitance or error, but it was still limited to something a new student like Harry-kun could manage.
"Sasuke-kun's not nearly as bad of a teacher as you made him out to be," Iruka commented. He was supervising, for the time, being from his perch on the academy fence. Sasuke had initially tried to argue for a different, more private location, but Iruka had insisted. If this was going to be training for a citizen of Konoha, then it would be conducted as a part of the village. They had drawn a small audience the first few days, but eventually the novelty of the new Uchiha had worn off. This was a nin village after all, missing members and secret adoptions were really not that impressive gossip wise compared to some of the other things that happened.
Naruto just grunted. He was sitting on the ground, his head bent over as he worked studiously at cleaning his spar set of kunai. His brevity was thunderous. They had reviewed proper maintenance of equipment last session. Iruka had demonstrated the best methods of cleaning and storing kunai and other tools so that Harry-kun would be able to independently maintain his own. It was only natural that Iruka use Team 7's own work as an example. Sakura's work had been impeccable. Sasuke's more than sufficient. Naruto's almost as bad as when he was a genin. Hence, the supervised 'remedial' lesson.
"I expected more fights similar to your academy days," Iruka continued. Sasuke hadn't had much patience for his classmates back then. It had been the one area he had had to mark the boy down in – leadership. Watching him carefully work his cousins through Iruka's lesson plan, not chaffing at the speed or belittling any rookie mistakes, Iruka wondered if maybe he would need to mentally mark the Sasuke higher.
Naruto snorted again, but he glanced up from his work. "You missed the early days. Seriously, Iruka-sensei! I had to channel you all the time and be the responsible, reasonable one. It just wasn't right."
Iruka laughed, pleased and fond once more at how easily Naruto loved the people around him. "I'm sure you did well, my apprentice."
Naruto shuddered. "Ugh. Don't say that. I'm not teachin'. Couldn't pay me enough. I know what those brats are capable of."
Iruka hummed understandingly. "Yes, but don't worry, you still hold the record."
"What're ya talking' about? I was awesome."
"In a manner of speaking," Iruka replied. "But I think Sasuke-kun may make an excellent jounin-sensei one day."
"That guy?!"
Iruka smiled down at him. "People can surprise you."
Naruto grumbled but didn't disagree. Iruka went back to watching his new temporary student and his former student repeat once more the task he had set for them.
"Hey, Iruka?"
"Hmm?"
"Can a team of jounin have a team of genin?"
Iruka focused his attention back on Naruto. One never quite knew what was going to come out of the boy's mouth. "A team?" he asked, trying to work thorough the idea. "That's – not quiet how it works, Naruto."
"Why not?" he replied petulantly.
Iruka smiled. "Lots of reasons. Resource management, training requirements and diversity, team dynamics and individual attention." But he knew none of those reasons mattered to Naruto. "You can't do everything together," he told him gently, though he understood the impulse. It was like having someone you were close to come back from a mission seriously injured. There was a need sometimes to stay close, to keep a watchful eye out, to compensate for any possible lingering weakness – regardless of whether or not it was needed. A good shinobi did whatever was needed for the village and because of that, was also a protector at heart. Learning to let go again would only come with time. "How are Harry-kun's other lessons going?" he asked as a distraction.
It was a poor one, though, as Naruto groaned dramatically. "Terrible. Give the teme another couple of weeks and he'll break and ask you for help with those too. Harry can't even manage a small Katon. We know it's gotta be possible, 'cause he can manage all kinds of other stuff, but it's just not workin'."
"You're running out of time," Iruka warned him.
"I know."
"This is a serious mission, Naruto.'
"I know!"
"You'll be representing not just Konoha but also all nin villages. And you can't afford to underestimate what these people are capable of."
Naruto looked up sharply, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Iruka. Iruka's jaw tightened and he wished he was better at controlling his responses around Naruto, but it came so easily to be open with him.
"What're you worried about, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked in complete seriousness, all of his attention focused on what his former teacher might impart.
"Nothing definitive," Iruka reassured him quickly. He didn't want to worry Naruto, but at the same time, he couldn't shake a lingering feeling of apprehension. He sighed. "But I've been watching Harry-kun, the way he learns, what comes naturally to him and what does not. And there's one conclusion I've come to: he's not a civilian. Not in the way we're used to, and I suspect, not in the way he thinks he is. Which is what worries me the most."
Naruto frowned. "There's nothing wrong with Harry."
"Maybe," Iruka agreed easily. He didn't want to get into the philosophical debate with his big-hearted student. Naruto saw the best in people, made them want to be better, and that's what Iruka loved about him. But as someone who cared about Naruto, he couldn't help but see the risk and danger that trait brought with it. "But I want you to be careful, Naruto. Don't show too much of yourself. Follow Sakura and Sasuke's lead. You know they're better at this kind of ninjutsu than you and don't start that argument with me. I taught all three of you and I know better. Try to listen – really listen – and learn as much as you can. It might be what keeps you alive. And you know the Hokage-sama and I will want to hear all about this school, so take careful notes for your old teacher. And yes, take good care of Harry-kun. He might need you more than you realize."
A very serious young man looked up from his work and answered. "I will."
