A/N: Okay, short chapter here guys. But - hate me if you want - I just felt like I had to leave it there for right now. *grins nervously* Hopefully I gave enough little hints that this doesn't come totally out of the blue, but I also hope you all didn't figure it out chapters ago. I don't have much experience writing mysteries, so... *shrugs*.

Thank you to my reviewers: beyondthecrystalsea, iNsAnE nO bAkA, Auphora66, InARealPickle, Rangerfan58 and WhyMustIWrite. As always, you guys are great.

Disclaimer: Have you seen Naruto anywhere in this fic? Do you think I would name it after a character who doesn't even appear if I owned the Naruto world?

Kamizuki, Izumo sighed. He was supposed to be keeping a sharp eye on the people coming in and out of Konoha – and he was, really! – but at two minutes to seven o'clock in the evening, no one was traveling. Those who were on the road were likely setting up camp, and those who were going to travel wouldn't usually leave until morning. But the North Gate was still open, and so it still needed guarding. Especially now. Unfortunately for Izumo, just because something needs doing doesn't always make it interesting to do.

And so, the bored Chunin doodled randomly in the margins of his notebook. He was going to make himself some more coffee, work on his doodling and generally pass the three hours before night shift took gate duty off of his hands. …At least, that was the plan. Right up until running footsteps caught his attention. He tensed as the racing steps approached, was on his feet and sliding into a fighting stance as the door to the observation room burst open.

The wide eyed, pale faced Academy instructor nearly crashed into Izumo's desk, reaching for the alarm trigger even as he spoke, forcing out words between gasping for breath. "They're here! They're in Konoha, and they have hostages!!"


*-One hour ago-*

"I see. That's a good point, I didn't think about it like that. I guess… I really shouldn't be so upset about this, should I?" The man's voice was low, as thoughtful as the expression on his face. At least, until he chuckled suddenly. "Damn, Umino. I swear half the Village brings you its' problems. They should give you a medal or something for putting up with all of our bellyaching!"

Iruka ducked his head, once again mentally cursing the blush that he could never quite control. "No, Toba-san, it's nothing, really."

His companion just laughed again, reaching out to clap Iruka on the shoulder before they parted. "Well, I'll see you around, eh?" With a nod of agreement and a fond smile, Iruka watched the old ex-shinobi walk away, thankfully without the scowl that had attracted the Chunin's attention earlier. Still, he couldn't help but heave a small sigh. Iruka loved Konoha, and most of its' people, but sometimes… sometimes, the self-chosen role of peacekeeper wore on him.

Mentally shaking himself, Iruka turned to go home, tired after a day of 'spying' in the streets. His nerves were frazzled – all day long he had had a feeling that something was off, but he just couldn't put his finger on what. It had been bothering him off and on all month, but it seemed especially strong today. It was distracting, unnerving. So naturally, right about that time, someone ran directly into him. A very small someone.

The reflexes of a teacher, more than those of a shinobi, had Iruka's hand flashing out, catching the child by the arm before she could hit the ground. Setting the girl back on her feet, he saw big brown eyes looking up at him from beneath a fringe of black curls. Years of taking attendance allowed him to dredge up the names of the two girls standing in front of him, the older now fussing over the little one. "Seina-chan, wasn't it?" he asked the six year old, his mood lifted as she nodded shyly.

He turned his attention to the older girl, her brown braid swishing as she shook her head, firmly telling the younger to "watch where you're going!"

"And… Ishiko-chan, right?"

The ten year old gave him a bright smile. "Yes, sir."

Iruka smiled, amused by the pair. "And where are you girls going in such a hurry?"

Seina spoke up, her voice breathless with excitement. "We're going to finish our surprise. We've all been working on it for a long time, and we're gonna show our moms and dads. They're going to be so surprised, it's really cool! And-"

"And we have some more work to do, so if we're going to have it ready in time then we have to go, Sei-chan." Ishiko interrupted, her blue eyes shining with suppressed laughter.

Iruka chuckled then, stepping out of their way and wishing them luck as they darted through the crowd. "Kids." he murmured to himself.


*-Ten minutes ago-*

"Is it time yet? Is it?" he asked, voice high with anticipation.

A low laugh answered him. "No, not yet. Just a few more minutes. We don't start until the Hokage's Tower clock strikes seven. Just be patient a little longer."

-

Iruka was on his way home – almost there, in fact – when he had to snap out a hand again. 'What is it with kids running into me today?' he wondered in wry amusement. Though the little brunet was one of his students this time, and… appeared to be pouting. "Aki-kun, what's wrong?"

The boy looked up at his teacher, lips quivering and eyes swinging between hurt and angry. "It's not fair, Sensei!" the child cried. "I didn't do anything wrong, but Aya won't let me train with her anymore. She said to go away!"

Iruka blinked, mentally placing Aya as the boy's twin sister. But… the girl had failed the Academy entrance exam… "Train with her, Aki-kun?" he questioned, confusion seeping into his tone.

The child nodded fiercely. "Uh-huh. I could do the clappy-chakra-buildy thing too, I know I could. But they won't let me! All the girls said to go away, Sensei! It's just not fair!"

"Aki-kun, that's not… a…" Iruka trailed off, little memories suddenly clicking together. /Four little girls sitting in pairs… a rather complicated series of clapping… the oldest carefully correcting one of the others / Boys playing 'ninja', making up 'hand seals', the leader scolding boys who 'did it wrong' / Children laughing on the streets, whispering to each other and darting off together / High voices raised throughout the Village, different voices but the same chant, "suzu-me" / Brown eyes behind black curls, "We've all been working on it for a long time / His own voice, "seals are just habits, Takeshi-kun."/

Iruka's first instinct was to deny the impossible thoughts suddenly crowding his mind, but… 'It makes sense' he thought with growing horror. 'It explains everything… that's why we haven't found anything. We were all looking at adults, and trained shinobi, but we all forgot… adults and trained shinobi start as untrained children.' Iruka had used rhythm as a teaching aid before, and he quickly racked his mind for any jutsu he knew that could be taught to that particular rhythm. His face turned pale. "They're summoning" he whispered.

A shift of weight snapped his attention back to the child in front of him. "Aki, go home."

"Bu-"

"Just do it!" Iruka snapped, and then bolted at his top speed for the nearest alarm station.


*-Present-*

The children grinned uncontrollably, the occasional giggle breaking free in spite of their best efforts to be serious. One little girl squealed as the Tower clock struck seven. All across Konoha, girls and boys sat in small circles, girls clapping hands and boys forming 'seals', reaching inside of themselves just as they had been taught. A spike of power, a wave of exhaustion, a sudden cloud of smoke – and all across Konoha, the circles broke apart.

'What happened?' one boy thought dazedly. 'Wasn't there supposed to be lights? A cool show, she said…' "Guys," the eight year old called out, coughing harshly. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Yes," a deep voice answered him from out of the smoke. "Yes, it was."

The boy rubbed his eyes, looking up in confusion – and straight into the cold smile of a Hidden Rock Jounin.