Chapter 27
Life as a Fox
NSW
"Well what do you want me to do about it? You're the idiot who forgot to tell him!" Kakashi yelled at him. Naruto groaned "well I was busy! Excuse me for forgetting to tell some people I wasn't dead, but instead got transformed into a wolf demon! yeah something that is totally believable and easy to comprehend."
Kakashi rubbed his temples, "what happened to him"? Naruto asked, "What do you think? you died, you were like a son to him, what do you think happens when dad's lose their boys?" Naruto sighed "they say he's became bitter" Kakashi snorted, "at first he was depressed, wouldn't eat, wouldn't do anything, he swore to me he would never get like that again, he would never get attached."
Kakashi looked out the window, "which is why he pushes everyone away by being mean to them, he does it so if they do die, he won't feel the pain". Naruto whined, "Why didn't you tell me?" Kakashi glared at him "because you had to keep it a big secret, and while you were parading around as a magical talking dog, who was secretly planning revenge, Iruka was living in a world of pain".
Naruto looked down at the floor ashamed of himself, "you basically became like Sasuke when it comes to Iruka, and you totally ignored his feelings and went out on your quest for revenge". Naruto whimpered and buried his head into the chair pillow.
Kakashi sighed and got up, "I am not going to do your dirty work, besides, you have always been good at saving people you love, and you do it better than me, now go to him". Naruto looked up at Kakashi, "thank-you, Kakashi" Kakashi cleared his throat "so what are you going to say to him?" Naruto shrugged "I'm just going to go to his door step and say 'hi, Iruka sensei! Remember me! It's me Naruto, only I got changed into Wolf Demon by the kyuubi during the war, sorry for not telling you".
Kakashi stared at him "that's it!" Naruto shook his head "no, I am going to take him out for ramen after, duh" Kakashi face palmed himself, "Naruto! You idiot! You can't do that! It's...its stupid! And insane, and you have no idea if it's going to work!"
Naruto snorted "Kakashi if it doesn't work, I will have Ino erase his memories, and try it another way" Kakashi's visible eye twitched in irritation. He flicked Naruto on the snout, "dumb...demon, bad stupid idiotic moron!" Naruto growled, "I can make all the homeless dogs in the village howl all night outside your window you know!"
Kakashi muttered several oaths under his breath, "fine, try it, but don't come crying to me when he doesn't believe you."
Naruto knocked on Iruka's door, Iruka opened it up looking around for someone, but not noticing Naruto on the mat in front of him, until Naruto cleared his throat. "What the- oh, you are that Demon sensei right? Well...what do you want"?
Naruto cleared his throat, "to talk, may I come in?" Iruka was dubious but stepped aside, "just don't drag any dirt in" Iruka commented as Naruto stepped in. Naruto didn't let his annoyance show. "I would offer you tea, but I don't think you drink it".
Naruto nodded "you would be correct, besides I am not thirsty, I came to talk about" "your students? They are okay, average at best, I don't see them making past Chuinin" Naruto bite back his anger. "Well...we will see, but I didn't come to talk about that, I came to talk about your teaching methods."
Iruka crossed his arms, "listen, you might as well get out, I am not going to listen to yet another person chew me out about being 'mean' to their kids!". Naruto sighed, "I understand why you are mean to them, and you don't want them to get close, don't you?"
Iruka paused his mouth open, he looked stunned, he instantly closed it, "you...what are you talking about?" "You lost someone didn't you? A student of yours, and you were filled with pain, so much pain that you would rather live a life filled with nothing then to have to live through another deep loss like that again, am I correct?"
Iruka backed away "how! Can you read minds?" Naruto shook his head, "no, contrary to belief, I can't read minds, I can sense emotion though, just a little, but someone would have to be a complete dunce not to notice your motives."
Iruka stood stunned, "I...don't know what to say" "who was he?" Iruka glared at him "how did you know it was a he?" Naruto cursed in his head "well, it was a guess, seeing as; younger male teachers try to stay away from getting in a close relationship with female students".
Naruto hoped Iruka bought it "true, you are right, that does make sense, but yeah, it was a boy, he was an orphan, and I saw a lot of myself in him, I took him under my wing, taught him everything I knew, and yet I still failed him, he died in the war, he was a hero."
Naruto nodded "you know, that reminds me of a saying I once heard, 'When a person dies, he disappears, along with his past, current lifestyle, and his future. Many people die in missions and wars. They die easily and in surprisingly simple ways." Naruto took a deep breath; Iruka had a far off look to him "He was one of them, wasn't he?" Iruka nodded Naruto smirked "Those who die have goals and dreams. But everyone has something as important as those. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers... people who are important to you. They trust and help each other. The bond between the people who are important to you since birth has a string that binds them." Naruto took a breath but Iruka spoke next "becomes thicker and stronger as time goes by... It's beyond reason. Those bound to you by that string will do that because it is important."
Iruka stood there like a statue, Naruto looked up at him, Iruka's eyes were glistened over, Naruto spoke softly, "I want to say something else Iruka" Iruka looked down at him suddenly. "You never failed me, Iruka sensei, I failed you." Naruto then turned to leave.
Iruka snapped back into reality, "wait! It can't be possible! you-" Naruto turned to him, "do you really think death could hold me back from being Hokage Iruka?" Iruka stared at him, and then slumped to his knees, "your...dead, you died, you can't be" Naruto sighed and walked over "come, I will tell you a story, if you have ramen, you should crack it out" After a pause Naruto added "and sake, something tells me we need that as well".
Iruka stared at him from across the table, many bowls of Ramen littered the table, and most of them empty, as Naruto finished his eighth bowl. Iruka took another swig of Sake that was ninth. "So...you died" Naruto nodded "but before you did, you made a deal with the Kyuubi, which bound the Kyuubi to attack only the Akatsuki..." Naruto nodded.
Iruka rubbed his temples, "but, it also made you unable to go to heaven, so you wandered as a ghost, until the Kyuubi found you, then he called upon his goddess, whom I have never heard of, who turned you into a Wolf Demon".
Naruto nodded "yes, however, technically, I am a wolf/fox demon, but only fox like in behavior" Iruka stared at him. "Okay, I see, so you are now in this body, and you are happy?" Naruto nodded "quite, I can go to the bath room wherever I want... relatively...and I can eat whatever I want out of the garbage."
Iruka stared at him his mouth gaping, "hey! You won't believe how amazing mold makes some stuff" Iruka started to turn green, the staggered to his garbage and began to puke. Naruto sighed, "You drank too much Sake, and you can never hold your liquor well".
Iruka muttered under his breath, "well I am going to head home Iruka, I will drop by soon" Naruto got up (staggering slightly from the Sake) Iruka nodded, "oh and Iruka?" Naruto added before he left, Iruka looked at him, "never stop being you no matter what happens to you or others around you, because if I hear you become a 'tyrant' again I will be there ready to snap you back into shape".
Naruto then left, Iruka smirked slightly, for the first time in almost two years, he felt happy, he felt...at peace with himself, and with the world around him. He turned to his student's paperwork as if viewing it for the first time. He read through and saw how much he had lost himself, instead of placing tips on how to do something or encouragement, he just marked the answer wrong and actually wrote stuff on how idiotic that person was.
Iruka felt shame fill up inside him, "who could I have lived so...blindly"? He said to himself as he went through and re-corrected all the papers he had. Then he moved to his lesson book and re-did his lessons plan as well.
After almost three hours of work he finally put the last of his papers away, he sighed and stretched his weary body and got up. He fixed himself some tea, and then took the trash out. Iruka stepped outside and climbed up to his roof to watch the famous Konoha sunset.
He looked up at the last of the suns dying rays and said, "Thank-you Naruto for saving me" "ah so he did tell you" Iruka turned to see Kakashi, "oh, hello Hokage" Kakashi sighed and sat down casually taking off his Hokage hat. "I am off duty" he said stretching.
Iruka smirked, "so you knew?" Kakashi nodded, "he kept it mostly a secret and didn't reveal it to anyone until he had Sasuke where he wanted him." Iruka nodded "yeah he told me, so why didn't he tell me?" Kakashi scratched his head "well...he kind of forgot about you, until recently".
Iruka stared at Kakashi, "HE FORGOT!" Kakashi backed up a few feet, "that, little! After everything I did for him and taught! I was practically like a father to him! And he forgot about me! Oh! The next time I see that little runt I am going to give him...err...a detention for a thousand years! That will teach him not to forget about me the next time he dies and comes back to life"!
Kakashi stared at Iruka who was bent over and panting from his rant. Kakashi spoke, "well...then I see, I will just be going, and give you some time...to adjust, I have to go home and see my girls". Iruka nodded and Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke.
Iruka sighed and sat down, the sun had disappeared completely now, and dusk had settled over the village. Iruka smiled then began to laugh for no reason in particular, it felt as though he hadn't laughed in a long while, and for the first time in a long time, he laughed until he cried.
NSW