Chapter 12: The Ways in Which Genma and the Kids Were Able to Move On and Help Sasuke in His Time of Need: Even though he had never thought about becoming a parent, Genma found himself becoming Naruto and Sasuke's legal guardian. And as he spent more time taking care of kids and making sure they were fine, he found out that the ache in his heart wasn't as big anymore. And it was around this time the last of the demonic children he ended up taking under his wing appeared.
..~..~..
He had been asked to adopt Sasuke. The Hokage had almost pleaded for him to take up the Uchiha. And, quite frankly, Genma thought he had been underestimated by the man if he had thought Genma would not have stepped forward. As wounded and betrayed as he may have felt because of Itachi's actions, he wasn't about to leave Sasuke out in the cold. And there was no way in hell he would allow the council to leave him in the Uchiha Compound. That had just been an unbelievably stupid idea.
But... Naruto.
The kids had all been troopers throughout the aftermath of the massacre. They had all been there for Sasuke and stayed with him through the worst of nightmares. They refused to leave him alone. Which meant that they had all just about moved into his apartment for three whole months.
The parents hadn't minded. They had merely helped wash the kids clothes every now and then and brought groceries so Genma didn't run out of food.
All of them had done excellent work to keep Sasuke afloat. In their own, personal ways, they showed the Uchiha that they loved him and cared for him. They all made sure that he never felt alone. And they made sure to tell him that he wasn't weak, and that his brother had been wrong to tell him that.
But, out of all of them, the one that had really surprised Genma had been Naruto.
The blonde and the Uchiha had always had a good relationship. Even though they weren't the best of friends, they were just about the closest thing to it. They hung out extremely well, enjoyed each others company, and loved to plot.
Naruto had refused to leave Sasuke alone. Wherever the Uchiha went, Naruto followed. And whenever Sasuke tried to push him away with violence and shouts, the blonde would just hug him tightly and promise him that the world wasn't nearly as evil as it may seem now.
"I... If I'm going to take on Sasuke, I would like to also take care of Naruto."
Genma had surprised himself when he said this. And the Hokage had been just as taken aback. "I don't think I should adopt either of them... I'm not really looking forward to being scrutinized by the council every time I so much as breathe simply because I have Naruto and Sasuke living under my roof... So adoption's off the table. But I'm sure that a guardianship wouldn't hurt."
"You've read up on your options."
Genma smiled softly at the older man, "I know I'm not going to be allowed to adopt Naruto. The council would throw a fit over it. But there's no reason that I wouldn't be allowed to be his guardian, seeing how I already do most of the things a guardian is supposed to. And I can't adopt Sasuke if I'm just going to be Naruto's guardian..." He finished with a noncommittal shrug, feeling rather self-conscious.
He still wasn't over the Fourth's death. But the more time he spent with Naruto, the easier it was to see him as his own person. And he knew that he couldn't really adopt Sasuke if he left Naruto out in the cold. Not just because of how Naruto would feel, but because of how the rest of the kids would feel. So this was the best medium he could get to.
Guardianship over the last Uchiha and the village's demon container.
How had this become his life?
"I will have the papers for you to sign tomorrow morning." Genma glanced up to find the Hokage looking at him with a soft frown, a quizzical glint in his eyes. "Genma... How have the children... How have you explained what happened?"
The younger male winced slightly at the question. "It... It wasn't easy, sir... One day Itachi's here and being a great big brother and friend... And the next he's turning against his clan and hurting his younger brother..." He breathed out regretfully, closing his eyes to try and compose himself.
He couldn't believe what Itachi had done. The kid had been too good and kind to ever possibly have done this all by himself... And then there had been that conversation they'd had so long ago...
Just like with Torune, there was a rank smell of wrong all around the situation.
But Genma kept quiet about his thoughts, more than aware of possibly being branded an accomplice if he didn't tread carefully.
"They can't understand why Itachi would do such a thing. Hell, they can barely understand the fact that none of the Uchiha killed will come back... But they're dealing with a lot better than most kids would... They're there for Sasuke. And even though some find it hard to understand that Itachi did such a horrible thing, they don't talk about him near Sasuke... They're a lot more tactful than one would think a kid could be."
"That is..." The Hokage stopped for a moment, thinking on his words, then sighed, "As good as I think we could have hoped for." Then he looked directly into Genma's eyes, face hardening. "No matter what someone may tell you, Genma, what you are doing is great. Ignore anybody that may try to tell you otherwise. And keep Sasuke around those friends of his. He needs to be reminded that there is good in this world."
There was a harshness in the man's words that allowed Genma to know that some of the things he meant were way above what Genma was supposed to know. But there was also a softness and caring that let him know that, no matter how difficult life may get, he truly thought that he was doing the right thing.
And if the Third thought he was doing good... Then he must truly be doing well.
"Of course, sir." He smiled lopsidedly at this, "I would never have even thought to leave that kid out on the curb. The rest of the ankle biters would have made my life a living hell."
"Welcome to your new home."
"Genma, this is still your apartment. We've been here for forever. You don't need to give us a tour."
The man frowned slightly at Sasuke's words, but looked over at Naruto and smiled. Even though the Uchiha wasn't all that excited for the tour of his apartment, Naruto was. (He guessed it was because of the fact that Naruto would never have to go back to the orphanage ever again, but he was still happy to see the kid so elated.)
"Okay, fine." Genma murmured, then entered his home, one bag clutched in each hand. "Because you know most of the place, I'll just take you to the most important place: your room."
"We get our own rooms?!"
"No, Naruto. We'll be sharing a room."
The blonde deflated for just moment, then smiled broadly and ran in front of Genma to throw the guest room's door open. "Cool! Sasuke, we get bunk beds! Do you want the top bunk or the bottom bunk?"
Genma smiled softly as he saw Sasuke's pace speed up just a bit at Naruto's question, but soon followed after them to the room. When he got there, he found Naruto scrambling to climb up the ladder, all the while Sasuke looked over the room with wide eyes.
"You... You changed a lot, Genma."
The guest room had been plain with a simple bed inside of it and a few pieces of furniture. But after the parents had heard he would be taking legal guardianship of both boys, they had pitched in to help give them a room they would love.
"The bunk beds came from Tenten's parents. Takeo had the structure from when she was a kid and has taken pretty good care of it." He explained as he moved to place either kid's bags on their new beds, then moved so he could push Naruto up so he could finally reach the top bunk. The kid was so excited he couldn't properly grasp the rungs.
Then he turned to Sasuke and motioned to the mattresses and sheets. "These came from the Hyuga clan. Hiashi said they didn't really need them anymore and that you kids deserved some proper sheets." He smiled at the memory of the stony faced Hyuga telling him this, then pointed towards the desk, drawer, night table, and chest of toys. "And those came from Tsume. If you find a bone, Kuromaru would like it back."
Inoichi had gifted him the brand new shower curtains for the guest bathroom and Choza had brought along old clothes for Naruto and Sasuke to wear until they were able to buy new ones. And Shikaku had given Genma a large wad of money (that he'd tried to refuse) to make sure he would not run out of money while he adjusted to his new life.
For a moment, everything was quiet. Naruto and Sasuke both stared at their new room with fascination and awe. And Genma smiled at the sight, oddly warm as he turned from one kid to the other.
And suddenly he was back to worrying over their well being when Naruto decided to jump from the top bunk over to him with a shout. He turned quickly and caught the kid. But before he could start to properly scold him, Naruto was crying out a thousand thank you's.
"I've never had a family before! But now I do! Thank you, Farmer man!"
Genma was caught off guard by the heartfelt words. And then his surprise grew when Sasuke slowly walked towards him and patted his thigh softly.
"Thank you."
All the man could do was blink at both kids.
Was this what having a family was supposed to feel like? Cause it wasn't a bad feeling.
"What do you mean I can't buy instant ramen?"
"It's unhealthy, Naruto! You're not supposed to be eating that! Just like Genma shouldn't be buying it!"
Genma blinked at Ino's shouts as his hand froze, caught halfway to its destination. And Sasuke stared at the girl in confusion, hands clutching a pack of frozen dinners.
"Uh... Ino... Are you okay?"
"Yes!" The blonde shouted, then turned to glare at him. "But it's not because of these instant dinners you keep buying! Farmer man, it's bad for your health to eat these things!"
"We don't even eat them that often." Sasuke muttered, glancing down at the food in his hands. "Just when Genma's too tired to cook."
"Which is just about every day now." Tenten rolled her eyes as she appeared at the opening of the aisle, arms full of vegetables and fruits. "Gen-Gen, you're giving them unhealthy food. You shouldn't be eating so many instant foods."
Hinata and Sakura followed after Tenten, their own arms filled as well. And Neji and Shino appeared behind them, carrying assorted types of meats.
"I can't cook every day, kids." Genma retracted his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, "And it's not like you eat at my place every day now. You shouldn't be so-"
"We worry because we care, Farmer man!" Ino huffed, then slapped Naruto's hand as it tried to reach for the instant ramen once more. "What good is having you around if you get fat and die!"
Being a ninja, it was virtually impossible for him to get fat. But Genma wasn't allowed to say that before he suddenly found the shopping cart being taken away from him by Ino and Tenten.
"We'll take over the shopping now. You three can go sit in the corner and think about what you've done." Tenten offered, then looked over at the rest of her friends. "Let's make sure he never even sees another packet of instant food ever again."
The food conscious kids left them in that aisle after her words. Which left Genma, Naruto, and Sasuke blinking after them in confusion, unsure of what they were supposed to do.
"Did I... Did I just get grounded?"
"You did, Genma."
The man turned around to find Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chouji walking up to him, both munching comfortably on their bags of chips. "But don't feel bad. They did the same thing to Lord Yamanaka a week ago. And to Kotetsu and Zumo yesterday." Chouji answered with a smile, which then made Kiba smirk.
"You should see Kotetsu. He's still crying about not being able to buy those cookies he loves so much."
"Why am I not surprised?" Sasuke breathed out with a shake of his head, then turned to look at Genma in slight confusion. "Are you really going to let them boss you around like that?"
Genma was about to answer when Naruto suddenly decided to shout out, "But I want my ramen!"
And after that, the man patted both children on the back. "That, kids, is a losing battle."
"You know... You're taking the Uchiha massacre a lot better than I thought you would have."
Genma quirked an eyebrow at Kakashi's easy tone, even though he was speaking of such a heavy thing, then looked over at the younger man in intrigue.
Itachi had... He missed the kid. There wasn't a single day that passed in which he didn't think about the kid that he had once hoped to bring happiness to. Sometimes it felt like a true miracle to not even end up thinking about him. His thoughts usually always drifted to the teenager that had burrowed his way into his heart without any difficulty. But he couldn't really allow himself to think too much on him when there were so many kids to keep taking care of.
"What did you think I was going to do?" He murmured softly, although he had a suspicion gnawing at him that told him he wouldn't really like the answer he'd be given.
Kakashi breathed in deeply as he leaned back into his couch, then shrugged slightly. "What you tend to always do when shit hits the fan, Shiranui. Detach yourself from everything that's going on and get yourself sent on suicide missions."
He had to hold back the disbelieving scoff his habits told him to make as soon as he heard the words. Kakashi was telling him this. Kakashi Hatake was the one calling him out on his patterns of behavior after tragedies. The same guy that just about fused with ANBU after his mentor's death. The same guy that was the poster boy for traumatized shinobi and what could happen to a genin if they had terrible strokes of bad luck paired with bad decision making.
"That's..." Genma blinked for a moment, then shook his head and got up from the couch. "Want some coffee or something? My shift at T&I starts up in an hour."
He could have called Kakashi out on his hypocrisy. He could have told him that he was being a jerk and that he needed to take a good long look at himself before he said things like these. He could point out that he was the pot calling the kettle black.
But where would that get him? Into yet another argument with one of his best friends. It'd get him nowhere, that's where. Other than into a dark place of mind he didn't really feel like going into now that Sasuke and Naruto were legally his to take care of at all times. And, even though they had yet to give him any warnings or threats, he was more than sure that the council the Hokage answered to had more than just one ANBU looking in at him, hoping that he would slip up so they could do whatever they wanted with the kids.
"Can I get it half and half?"
"No." Genma rolled his eyes at the question, then ignored the whine of hurt that the younger let out afterwards. "You hate sweet things and always end up dumping your coffee out to make it even more bitter. So either you drink it black, or you don't drink at all. This is the good blend, after all."
"Ooh! Bear's blend?"
There was something odd about the way Kakashi said the ANBU members name. But Genma needed to get ready for when the children burst into his home and for his job. And because the kids would take up most of his time before he went to work, he needed to get ready before they arrived. Which meant he couldn't really get distracted by Kakashi being odd.
"Yes, Bear's blend. Now, are you going to take it black or should I just not give you-"
"I want coffee, Farmer man!"
"Great."
Even though Kakashi smiled broadly, Genma could only frown with a deadpan tone.
"No! Please, brother! Please stop! Itachi!"
"Sasuke, it's just a nightmare! You're fine!"
Genma flew out of his bed as soon as he heard the shouting coming from the boys' room. He raced as quickly as he could to reach the screaming children, throwing the door open without any kind of second thought about the way the door knob was going to leave a mark.
Naruto was hugging Sasuke tightly on the bottom bunk. The Uchiha had his sheets thrown to the side and was sobbing loudly, hands grasping and clawing at Naruto. It seemed that he was trying to protect himself from his nightmares and did not know it was Naruto that held him.
He quickly stepped over to both boys and wrapped them up into a tight embrace and used the most comforting tone he could. "Everything is fine, Sasuke. You're with Naruto and I. You're at my apartment. Itachi is not here. He can't hurt you."
The child sobbed, though. And now that he didn't have to be strong for Sasuke, Naruto himself began to cry softly.
Genma's face softened as he looked on at both boys, then sighed heavily and squeezed them even tighter.
"You're fine, kids. I'm here. And I won't let anyone hurt you."
Hiashi had somehow become Genma's substitute. Whenever he was forced out of the village for a mission or to complete some kind of assignment for T&I, he would tell the children beforehand so they knew that they would not be able to go back to his house after school.
He had started off asking Iwashi or Raidou if one of them could take care of Sasuke and Naruto while he was out. Even though Naruto was used to taking care of himself and Sasuke was intelligent enough to not get into too much trouble if alone, they were only seven years old. Genma could not, no matter how much they asked for it, leave them alone for days on end. They had almost burned the place down when he left them alone for an hour (although, he had to concede, Kiba and Tenten had been there, spurring them on to get in trouble).
But after a few missions, Genma noticed an interesting pattern. Even though he left the kids with Raidou and Iwashi, and even Kakashi that one time, they always wound up in the Hyuga household. They would spend their days there and beg to be allowed to stay the night. And, usually, Hiashi allowed them to stay the night. And after a while, he just allowed them to stay for the whole time Genma was outside of the village.
When they saw that Hiashi allowed Sasuke and Naruto to stay, the kids immediately took action. And they forced their way into Hiashi's home without any hesitation.
The fact that Kotetsu had been around the compound for when this happened may have been one of the reasons why Hiashi had allowed it. The teenager ended up staying with the Hyuga's for a whole month because of the severity of his injuries and how slow his recovery had gone.
Kotetsu had put up a fight most of the way to be as little a nuisance as possible. When he'd first been moved into the compound, he'd really tried to keep from bothering the members of the clan. He refused to ask for any help, even though the Hyuga maids were more than used to helping out, and had ended up injuring himself by trying to do things on his own. He'd jostled most of his injuries and ripped off quite a few bandages and stitches because of it. But Hiashi had allowed this to happen because he didn't want to push the teenager. Although that had ended when the idiot broke an arm by trying to grab his suitcase out from a storage space at the top of his room's closet on his own. He'd used a chair to be able to reach it but had tumbled down and fallen onto his left arm, crushing the bone beneath his body.
After that, Hiashi had been livid. He'd accepted a lot of Kotetsu's hard headed ways and refusal to ask for help. He'd allowed the teenager to harm himself in minor ways in hopes that he would, eventually, understand that his clan members were at his disposal and eager to help. But after he did something as dangerous and stupid as refusing to ask for help for such a simple task and had wound up breaking an arm, Hiashi had put his foot down.
He'd scolded the teenager and threatened him: If he didn't ask for help, he would not be allowed to see any of the kids.
Kotetsu had quickly straightened up after that. Although he didn't really ask any of the Hyuga for help if they weren't either Hiashi, Hinata, or Neji. But the man took that as a victory and made sure to always be available for the teenager.
Genma believed that by busying himself with his clan responsibilities and taking care of the children and Kotetsu, Hiashi kept himself busy enough to not think too much about his deceased wife. And this helped him recover and get over it, if the way he smiled much easier now was any indicator to go by.
"Can Lord Hiashi take care of us for the week, Genma? Lord Inoichi told us you're going to be out with Ibiki to track down some person or another."
Genma quirked an eyebrow at Sasuke's question, but was not allowed to say a single word before Naruto was elaborating upon what his friend had said.
"I like being in the Hyuga Compound. Kotetsu's fun and playing hide and seek in their gardens is really cool because of all the different flowers and trees they've got there! Kiba can't cheat with his nose because of all the smells!"
He knew for a fact, that Hiashi didn't mind having the kids around. Even though the rest of the Hyuga council did not particularly enjoy having so many outsiders in their home at the same time, Hiashi allowed it. And, from what he'd been told, a few of the more high ranking members of the Main Branch of the clan were even starting to enjoy the childrens' visits.
He guessed that may have something to do with the fact that the children had the astonishing power to make just about anyone like them. And the fact that Naruto and Kiba were so open with their admiration to their skills didn't hurt in the least bit, he believed.
Thinking about the Hyuga's for a moment, Genma ended up sighing and nodding. "I'll ask Lord Hiashi if he minds."
Kotetsu had changed after Torune's kidnapping. He wasn't as loud and brash as before. And while he was still hyperactive and almost annoying whenever the kids were around, he was much more reserved when they weren't.
Izumo had told him, in a moment of pure worry, that he was terrified for Kotetsu. He knew his best friend and he wasn't the same person that Izumo had come to love after years of always being together. He was worried that Kotetsu would never be the same after Torune had been taken.
Genma had told him the only thing he was able to think of at the time: "Only time will tell if he'll be able to go back to being the person he once was. All we can do is be there for him, Izumo. You can't push him into being the same. But you can't leave him completely alone. You have to be there if he asks for it and even if he doesn't. You have to be his friend."
The kid had grabbed onto his words as if they were the only thing tethering him to sanity. And he'd been there for Kotetsu as much as he could, although he ended up going out on a lot of out of village missions while Kotetsu healed up.
There was, apparently, a strong need for his skills to capture one elusive shinobi. And the Hokage knew that, even though he would like to be around for his friend, Izumo had a strong sense of duty and would go through with the missions as effectively and professionally as he could. And by the fourth time he was sent out, the kid returned with a broad smile and a captured nin ready to be interrogated by Genma's unit.
Right now, two months had passed since the two traumatizing events that had been the Uchiha massacre and Torune's kidnapping. Sasuke still had nightmares and tried to shrink into himself, much like Shino. But their friends refused to let either boy become too wrapped up in their own fears and forced them to play and recover.
Genma found himself inside of his apartment with Izumo helping him cook, all the while Hana, Iwashi, and Kotetsu entertained the children. Iwashi was here because he wanted to spend a night with his friends and the kids before he was sent off on a month long mission to Snow Country. And the rest of the teenagers were here for the free food and to help Genma out.
"Who do you think is better for Farmer man, Ko, Bear or Scarecrow?"
Izumo smiled softly as he stirred the rice he was cooking, then glanced up at Genma. The older male was frowning softly and in dejection. Even though he didn't like it, he knew there wasn't much he could do to stop the children from trying to set him up.
"I think they're both good for him, Shino. What do the rest of you think?"
"That Gen-Gen needs a love life!"
"He should totally go out with Bear."
"But Scarecrow's good for him too!"
"You know, I wonder why Genma refuses to adopt you and Izumo and Iwashi. He's already adopted Naruto and Sasuke."
"Because we're adults, Sakura. He doesn't need to adopt us. And I don't think he'd be able to, either..."
The children were thrown into a round of arguments about how Genma should totally adopt the teenagers, which made Genma smile softly but roll his eyes. These kids... They were quite interesting and unique.
"Hey, Genma, how much is left for the food?"
The man turned around to find Hana and Sasuke walking over to them. But before he answered, he was stopped by finding something odd. Sasuke had tear tracks on his cheeks... Just like Hana.
"Is everything alright, Hana?"
Both kids looked up at him with saddened eyes. But soon Hana nodded and smiled softly at him. "We were just talking about... What happened."
Sasuke fidgeted slightly at Genma's intense gaze, looking away from him and at the floor. "We came to an understanding... Genma, do you think Hana and Kiba could stay the night?"
Sasuke looked so small... And Hana looked so hopeful... There was no way Genma could ever possibly tell them no.
"Of course they can stay, Sasuke. But I hope you know you'll have to share a bed with Naruto and Kiba to let Hana sleep alone."
"I don't mind!" The kid answered hurriedly, then blushed softly and took one step back. "I-I know I'm supposed to respect girls and give them their space."
"Good kid." Genma smiled softly as he took a step towards the kid and ruffled his hair, then glanced up at Hana without his smile ever wavering. "Hope you're aware you won't get any sleep tonight."
"I'm aware." Hana smiled back, picking at her nails.
Later on, Genma found out why it was that Sasuke had wanted Hana to stay the night. She knew how to deal with nightmares, apparently. And she helped him get through the night without ever screaming out and alerting Genma as to his distress.
Working at T&I was rather eventful. Not a single day went by without something extraordinary occurring. Often times, these events took place because Anko deemed her workplace too boring. At others, it was because someone else decided to pick up on Anko's slack. But today had been different. None of the members of the branch had been the ones to bring about utter chaos. It had been Genma's minions.
"Quickly, Kiba! We can't let that Anko woman get to us! I don't want to be eaten!"
"I'm running as fast as I can, Tenten! But you've got longer legs than I do!"
Genma sighed softly as both blurs ran past him and away from Anko. And a few seconds after they had passed, he heard a shrill and loud shout emit from the direction they had just come from.
"Genma!" Anko screamed, "I'm going to kill your brats!"
"You will do no such thing, Anko."
Ibiki appeared at the same time Anko did. The man was stoic and composed. The woman... Not so much.
"Look what they did to my clothes, Morino!" Anko seethed as she motioned to the burnt and ripped pieces of clothing, then glared over at Genma. "What the hell are you teaching your kids, you jerk?!"
With a shrug, the man murmured, "How to be strong and independent members of society?"
The answer was not taken too well by Anko. But before she could get her hands on the ninja toothpick, Ibiki had grabbed her by the collar of her coat and dragged her up, effectively stopping her from hurting the other man.
"You cannot hurt Shiranui, Anko. And you really shouldn't just stand there, Genma. You know how dangerous this one can be." Ibiki scolded them both with a heavy frown pulling at his lips, even though Genma only shrugged back at them both.
"In my defense, it was Kotetsu and Izumo that snuck these kids inside of T&I."
As soon as he had said this, there was a loud explosion from the break room. And when he turned around, Genma found Sasuke, Shino, Chouji, Neji, and Hinata running away from an ash covered Shimon.
"The fire style jutsu Ebisu taught me works!" Sasuke cheered as he ran past Genma, smile the broadest Genma had seen in a while. "Can you believe it?! I did it right, Gen-Gen!"
This was the first time in a long time Sasuke had used that nickname instead of Genma. And, sure, Ibiki didn't like it, but Genma couldn't scold him after that. Not when Sasuke was finally looking like he had before the Uchiha massacre.
"I'll let it slide just this once. No more after this one time, Ibiki." He promised with a small smile, then looked over in the direction of the interrogation rooms to find Ino skipping up to them with Inoichi and the rest of the kids.
"Daddy says he'll take us for some ice cream if we promise to not continue painting on the suspects." She smiled broadly as she jumped into Genma's arms, hugging him tightly. "Although I think that guy needed a makeover and a good mouth rinsing. He swore a lot."
Genma had no idea what the girl was talking about. But Inoichi's face was begging him to get the kids out of his work place and he knew that it was only a matter of seconds before the blonde lost his cool and forced him onto D-Ranks.
"Chickadees, round up! We're going for ice cream!"
Getting most of the children to appear wasn't too difficult. Most of them ran up as soon as they had been told they would be getting some ice cream. But, for some reason, Naruto and Shikamaru took their sweet time appearing. And when he asked why they had taken so long, they'd both remained awfully quiet even though they had smirked at him.
They had snagged weapons from the T&I weapons vault. That was why they had been so quiet and proud. And then they'd had the gall to try and sell them at a discount price to their fellow students in the Academy's school yard.
That was the first time Genma had ended up in a parent-teacher conference with Iruka Sensei. But it certainly wasn't the last time.
"You're only seven! How can you kids get into so much trouble?"
"Well, Iruka Sensei, we're actually incredibly smart-"
Genma sighed at Naruto's words, raised his hand to shut him up, then glanced up apologetically at the teenager in front of him. "What punishment are you thinking of? Please tell me it's harsh and will finally teach them to not try and prank their teachers."
Normally, he wouldn't ask for a harsh punishment for the kids. But this was the fourth time he'd been pulled from his job to attend a meeting with the childrens' teacher and he was beginning to get real tired of it. And, unlike with Neji and Tenten back when they had been forced to listen to that evil teacher, the kids were pulling mean and almost injury inducing pranks on their teachers.
"But he told me that I was a monster!"
Genma's inner ranting froze as soon as Naruto said this. He turned to look at the blonde child with narrowed eyes and frowned, "This guy called you a monster and you didn't tell me? Naruto, what have I told you before? If ever you've got a problem with any of your teachers, you tell an adult. You can't take things into your own hands!"
The blonde's eyes widened at his harsh words, but soon he looked away and towards Kiba. The Inuzuka frowned back at Genma, then huffed out, "We thought we could take care of him."
"Kids..." Iruka sighed softly as he looked from one child to the other, then turned to Genma. "I had no idea about this. If I had, I would have talked to Hiroshi Sensei, rather than just call you in."
"I know." Genma murmured softly, although he never looked away from both boys. "You two know you can talk to me about anything, right? Or to Iruka Sensei. That's what we're here for."
"We know." Both boys mumbled out, mirroring each other in their reluctance.
"But we wanted to deal with things ourselves. You know, like real ninja are supposed to do." Kiba continued, then looked at Naruto. "He was being a jerk to my friend, so I was going to protect him. We got each other's backs, right, Narutard?"
"Right, Dog Breath!"
Genma breathed out with a shake of his head, then turned towards Iruka. "What do you propose we do? If the teacher they hurt had been harassing Naruto..."
The teenager's lips became a thin line as he looked back at Genma. Then he closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and asked, "Naruto, Kiba, would you mind stepping out for a moment? What I need to tell Genma-san is very important and not for your ears."
Both kids immediately sputtered out in indignation. They wanted to stay and listen. But then Genma reminded them that, if they waited outside, they could play ninja while he spoke with their teacher, and that had been enough to get them moving.
Then, once both kids were outside of the room and the door had been shut behind them, Iruka looked at Genma with a remarkably serious scowl.
"Naruto is not treated well by many teachers in the school." He began without any hesitation, then continued without allowing Genma to say a single thing before he had finished. "I try to keep him protected, as do a few others. But it's rather hard to keep him safe from the whispers and rumors when they're coming in from all directions. And I have a whole group to take care of, not just your kids."
The Third had feared this. He had worried that Naruto would be harmed in the Academy because of those that hated the fox within him. But... Why had he not heard of any of this until now?
"Having so many friends keeps him mostly protected. Because they see that so many people like him, the rest of the kids aren't too terrified of being with Naruto. Although some repeat the words they've heard from their parents..." Iruka sighed regretfully, then shook his head and stood up from his desk to look outside the window of his room, one which faced the playground below. "I guess that now that they see that Naruto has true potential to be a ninja, some teachers are worried that he'll graduate and are trying to sabotage him."
"Then what do you propose we do? We can't just let Naruto keep getting in trouble because of these teachers."
"What we've done until now. Teach him the right thing to do." Iruka smiled softly at what he saw outside, then looked back to Genma with a determined glint in his eyes. "Naruto is a good kid that was dealt some bad cards when he was born. But with you and those friends of his, he has a chance at a real future. And even though we can't fire every single teacher that doesn't like him- that would leave us short staffed-, we can teach him how to deal with bullies in non-violent ways."
Genma stood up with a nod then walked towards the younger male to join him at the window. And when he looked outside, he understood why it was that Iruka had smiled.
Kiba, Naruto, and Sasuke were running around playing ninja. The Uchiha had stuck around, waiting for Genma and both his friends. And they all looked extremely happy and ignorant to the hatred of those around them.
It hurt Genma to know that, even after years of being an innocent child, many still hated him. He didn't hate the kid anymore. And he barely felt bad whenever he was around. Even though sometimes he was reminded of Minato and what could have been, those didn't come along as often as they once had.
He was actually getting used to having Naruto around. Genma had never thought it to be possible... But there he was. Guardian to the demon container. And (dare he say it?), he may just like it a bit.
"I'll teach them about how to deal with bullies through the right network." The older male sighed as he rolled a senbon around in his mouth, then clinked it against his teeth as his eyes drifted away from the running children and over to a lone figure standing at the edge of the playground, where the practice dummies stood.
It was a boy with long black hair tied back into a braided ponytail and dressed in a kimono shirt with dark pants and sandals. He was standing with his back turned to the building, his shoulders tensed while he seemed to be fighting away tears.
"Hey, Iruka Sensei... Who's that?"
The teenager followed the finger he was pointing, then frowned softly, "That's Rock Lee... He's eight years old and can't perform either ninjutsu or genjutsu. Many of his teachers believe we shouldn't waste any time teaching him..."
The information caused a knot to begin to form in Genma's stomach. "Who's his teacher? In what group is he?"
"Hmm... I think he's in... Mikoto's group. He's a year above most of your kids." Iruka answered, then sighed, "He's not in Neji and Tenten's class, if that's what you're wondering."
He resisted the urge to breathe out in relief when he heard this, then nodded towards the younger male. "Thank you, Iruka Sensei. I'll be heading out now."
"Of course, Genma-san."
~/~
He didn't go to gather his kids as soon as he had left the classroom. Instead he made his way over to the practice dummies and found that the kid was sniffling and trying his best to keep from bursting out into tears.
There had been different ways he could have approached the situation. One of them was to leave the kid alone and just pick up his kids and go back to his apartment.
But there was no way he could do that. Not after he had heard that this kid was considered a lost cause simply because he could not perform either ninjutsu or genjutsu. Someone rather close to him had been striken down for the same reason back when they had been kids. And now he was one of the strongest ninja Genma had ever met. One of the most annoying, too, but he was a great friend.
Another way was to speak to kid and ask him what was wrong... But from the way he was glaring dangerously at the practice dummies, Genma felt like that wouldn't do much good either.
He rolled his senbon around in his mouth as he wondered over how he should begin the conversation, then smirked when he heard what was the kid's stomach groaning out in hunger.
"You know, there's a really good ramen place near here." He commented offhandedly, then found the kid gasping out and jumping to turn to look at him with wide eyes. "Hi. Name's Genma Shiranui." He waved at the kid, then pointed at the three kids running around a few feet away from them. "I couldn't help but notice you out here all alone. And it'd be outright cruel to leave a kid to walk home so late at night."
Idly, he wondered how this may be seen by anyone that didn't know about his penchant for picking up strays. Undoubtedly, some parents would worry that he had unsavory intentions for the kids he took care of. And this kid would have a right to be completely freaked out by a man like him appearing out of nowhere to offer him to go out and get some food.
But those thoughts were dashed away pretty quickly when the kid's terrified scowl became a bright smile, "I would love some food, Stranger!"
"Awesome." Genma smiled back, then offered his hand for the kid to grasp it. And when the boy did, he began to walk him towards the rest of the kids.
All three boys were surprised to find Genma walking towards them with a new kid. But they didn't really question it and instead cheered about having a brand new friend around. And the Rock Lee boy first looked surprised to be greeted so happily, then began to play with the kids with an energy that was eerily familiar to the senbon enthusiast.
Rock Lee's parents weren't all too thrilled about their son appearing at their home at eight at night on a school night with a complete stranger and three odd children following him, but Genma soon explained the situation to them and they were rather understanding. Although, he guessed they were pretty easy going about it because of the fact that his mother was a jounin and had seen all the pictures and heard all of the rumors that dealt with Genma taking care of little kids.
Integrating the kid into their group wasn't too difficult. All of the kids were rather intrigued by the new kid. And if they knew about Rock Lee's shortcomings, they never once pointed them out. Instead Kiba and Tenten eagerly taught him the beauty of paper bombs and Ino and Hinata taught him the beauty of flowers.
..~..~..
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