Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and its characters…except for my own created OCs.

AN: I forgot…. In the start of the anime, Itachi and Iruka are only supposed to be 17 and 25 respectively. Just a note: Since I don't want Iruka to seem too old for Itachi, I changed both their ages to 20 yrs old to fit my story better. So sorry for the mistake…

PS: Ignore the text inside the () for they are merely my comments.

PPS: The italicized words are flashbacks.

Tutor et Ultor

Formerly known as 'Shards of My Secret Unkempt'

By Paranoia-shoujo & lain-trigger01

Chapter 10 :: Before it begins

Entering the crowded building, Jiraiya looked around silently. He was too pre-occupied to notice the gorgeous blonde watching him from the shadows. Sitting by the bar counter, he raised his hand to call the bartender but stopped when a pale slender hand touched his.

"Jiraiya." Tsunade greeted, as his eyes met hers.

"Tsunade-hime…" he replied, his eyes taking note of her pale visage.

Tipping the sake bottle in her hand, she poured a small amount for both of them before asking, "What brings you here?"

Smiling slightly, he sipped on his proffered cup before turning to her. "What makes you think I didn't merely pass by this joint?"

"Passing by?" She laughed, amused. "I'd believe you if this was a brothel or even the hot-springs but this bar?" She motioned to their surroundings "…not a chance."

"Aa."

Jiggling her bottle to see if it was empty, she muttered. "Shizune heard of a white-haired man looking around for me." Eyeing him with a raised eyebrow, she continued. "You, I believe?"

"…"

Looking down her empty cup, she drew a shaky breath before whispering. "What's your purpose here, Jiraiya?"

Watching her now, he could clearly see that the past was still haunting her. The pain of their deaths was still far too fresh for her to come back. Shaking his thoughts out of her head, he mumbled, "Nothing," before drowning himself once again in alcohol.

One thought stayed prevalent throughout their drinking session. /When will you learn to let go of the past, Tsunade?/

Meanwhile back in Konoha…

Tense air hung about the room. A cackle of energy pulsed between their eyes but they paid it no heed. Their connection was cut off however when Iruka, with a pained smile on his lips looked away before sighing. "I must have heard wrong. I could swear Hatake-san just nominated Team Seven for the upcoming Chuunin Exams."

Kakashi paused, his gaze becoming intense upon the in-denial chuunin. "That is because I did, Umino-san."

That statement was like a bucket of ice-cold water to Iruka. He sputtered before replying, "No! I won't allow it…"

"You have no choice in this matter. You are no longer their sensei. I am." Kakashi voiced out, his tone hardening in front of the mule-stubborn man.

It was obvious that the words hurt him more than Kakashi imagined. His mouth opened to form words of apology but he remained stone-impassive. He could only hope that this would not be the dent that would destroy their could-have-been relationship.

Staring at him, Iruka whispered. "But they're still too young… inexperienced…They're not yet ready."

"They've faced Zabuza and the Demon Brothers. They've survived those… They're more than ready."

"No, they are not."

"You're just overprotective!"

"And you're uncaring!"

"How would they grow if you don't let them?"

Iruka's eyes widened at those words.

How will I grow stronger if you hold me back?

It had been so long since he'd last thought of that day…

/Flashback

"You're going on another mission." It was a statement; Iruka knew that there was no question that he, Itachi, would leave Konoha by the morrow.

"…"

"It's dangerous."

"I know. We are shinobi, we live in constant danger…"

"But"

"How will I grow stronger if you hold me back?"

He closed his eyes before murmuring, "So that's what it is? A way for you to get stronger? Is that all you care about? Don't you even care that your only brother is growing up and you're not even here?!"

"It is my duty…"

"Duty to whom? Your clan? What about Sasuke? …What about--"

"I do."

"Wha-?"

"I go on missions for you and Sasuke, for what other reason would I kill so mercilessly?"

"But…You said…"

"I train, I fight…all to get strong enough to protect the two of you…

"You might die out there!"

"I won't die"

"You can't promise that"

"I won't die because you and Sasuke would cry…"

"I'm not a crybaby!"

"Aa."

"Baka Itachi!"

End Flashback/

"Baka Itachi..," Iruka murmured, his affectionate tone snapping the Sandaime from his perverted daydreams.

"Did you say something, Iruka-san?" The Third asked, his tired eyes reading the scroll unrolled before him. It was after the meeting. Kakashi's request had been accepted minutes after his outburst. Not even Iruka could say no as the words triggered a part of his memory into awakening… memories of Itachi…

"Iie, Hokage-sama… Betsuni."

"Hm." /Nothing indeed…/

"Tadaima!" Naruto exuberantly shouted into his empty apartment. /Finally, home./ He thought as he toed off his sandals upon entering. Closing the door empathically, he sighed. His mask of constant cheerfulness and idiocy slipping at the familiar surroundings of the apartment he'd once shared with his Ayako-neesan back in the days of their estrangement to the clan… before he regained his rightful name and identity.

He was about to strip off his clothing when a white blur suddenly hug-tackled him, effectively enveloping him. "Okaeri, Naru-chan!" Haku murmured to his shoulder as he remained clinging to the abnormally morose boy.

Blinking in surprise, Naruto looked down to the older teen that seemed like a new attachment to him. "Haku?"

"'ai."

"What are you doing here?" he whispered into his hair, breathing in deeply the scent of wood and chamomile tea… the scent of Uzumaki clan home. "You should be at the clan house," Naruto voiced out warily, the village council had agreed to the arrangement but that did not mean that they trusted him, he was after all the kitsune-vessel.

Pouting adorably, Haku extracted himself from him, "You don't want me here, Naruto?" His eyes were becoming suspiciously watery as the words left him.

"Iie. It's not that! It's just…"

Sighing sadly, Haku reassured him distractedly that he had indeed gotten permission from Kenji-sama and that he had definitely not slipped away from the shinobi guarding him, nor had he tortured them and stuffed away their bodies somewhere… He was quiet thorough, thank you very much.

Naruto was about to scold him when he smelt something unusual in the air. "Haku?"

"Hai?"

"How come I smell blood..?"

Haku seemed thoughtful before he suddenly brightened "Oh! It must be that snake I killed minutes before you got here."

"Snake?"

"Hai. It was lurking around the apartment, Usagi-chan found it."

Blinking in surprise, Naruto mused aloud. "Why do you call her that anyway?"

Walking towards the apartment's opened windows, Haku sighed before turning back to Naruto with a sad smile, "Zabuza-san was the one who named her. I thought it was best she keep it."

"…Ah."

Ayako was staring at the carved faces of the past Hokage when she felt gentle tap on her shoulder. Turning around to, she was met with the worried gaze of her teammate, Kyle, and an apathetic look from Inuzuka Yuurin, their new recruit.

Seeing his teammate almost jump out in shock, Kyle shook his head tiredly. Ever since their escape, she had been preoccupied. Silently, he wondered on how they were even able to do so... He'd asked countless times but only received blank looks whenever he mentioned it. Lost in thought, he didn't notice Ayako's sad smile as she turned to the stone memorial that held names of those who died to protect their village... the same village that their former teammate, Omi, betrayed.

//Flashback

"And how can you fight me when you are so weak? After all, who are you compared to me? You, a puny girl to fight a powerful sannin, who do you think will win?" Orochimaru sneered. He continued minutes later, "Who do you think will win..., Omi-kun?"

Leaving the safety of the darkness, she saw her former co-captain, Chi TsukiOmi.

One word passed through her mind… /Traitor…/

End Flashback//

She let out another sigh when the haughty voice of Yuurin reached her ears. It was troubling to have two new teammates but as a captain of ANBU team, it was required to have at least two of her squadron to be always with her in missions. She could not completely say that this was welcome especially after his betrayal. She should have known, really. But she'd been idiotic enough to trust someone. How wrong of her….

Seeing the Hokage's messenger bird, she signaled to her two teammates and stood. She was a bout to teleport to the Hokage tower when her eyes met the lush green scenery of the forest. Its shade reminded her of their unexpected savior.

//Flashback

She had slept after Omi's failed attack on her being and when she had opened her eyes, she, along with Kyle, were already on the outskirts of Suna. The redhead boy was sitting by the fire, his back to her. She'd thought him asleep but was startled when he suddenly spoke.

"Nin of Konohagakure,"

Blinking owlishly, she turned to him.

Not waiting for a reply, continued, "Leave immediately." Turning to the still asleep Kyle, she was about to protest when his eyes met hers. "You and your companion…leave."

A glare settled on her face at his command. She was about to argue when he stood and faced the village of Suna. "A message," He whispered, handing to her a slip of paper, reading it quietly, she quietly gasped in surprise.

'Demon of Konoha, We will meet soon. Demon of Suna'

She was about to protest at the message when she realized that he'd already left. Closing her eyes in resignation, she whispered to the wind. "Thank you…"

End Flashback//

Tenten was watching her two teammates train. Their jounin-sensei was suspiciously absent so they had decided to train by themselves today. He was after all a jounin; the Hokage had probably called him regardless of his eccentricity. Spying movement on her right, Neji, her mind supplied; her breath hitching she hoped that they weren't going to go overboard in the training. Pausing to glance at Lee, she relaxed. They weren't going to attack… yet. There was still enough time for her plan to be put into action. Gripping her kunai tightly, she was about to let it loose when loud shouts caught her, them, by surprise. In unison the three teammates, jumped from the clearing to hide up in the tree branches, watching cautiously the ones to disturb them.

An orange-clad blond was leading the group, screaming obscenities left and right at his stoic companion who every few minutes would grunt in annoyance. A bubble-gum pink-haired girl was following them close behind, shrieking at the blond boy and cooing over the raven-head, her words a mass of 'Sasuke-kun', 'Naruto-baka', and other girlish squeals that were enough to make Tenten want to hurl a scroll-full of sharp objects at her. She was, in Tenten's mind, a weak and brainless fan girl. Such a waste of a kunoichi…

She was about to call her teammates' attention when twin sights of glazed eyes met her gaze.

"Lee!" She whispered harshly, trying to snap her green spandex-wearing friend out of his musings, "Oi, Lee!"

Frowning in frustration, she was about to throw her kunai in his general direction when he turned his heart-shaped eyes at her and proclaimed. "A goddess, an angel…. Tenten, I've seen an angel! She is the epitome of perfection. No one can rival her beauty. She…"

Tuning out Lee, Tenten sighed. Lee was enamored… he couldn't even see that his 'goddess' was obsessed, for lack of a better term, with her Uchiha teammate.

Noticing the sudden silence, not minding Lee's weeping, she realized that the band of three had already left.

"From what team are they of?" Lee wondered, his eyes still staring at where the group formerly stood.

Tenten gave no reply and she believed that Neji too had no idea of who the group was. So she was greatly surprised when he opened his mouth and said, "Team seven…"

Seeing their amazed expressions, he frowned and left the two in silence.

"YOU'RE LATE!!!" Sakura and Naruto screamed out in unison as Kakashi appeared before them five ad a half hours after their supposed meeting time.

Kakashi's eyes curved in amusement before he raised his right hand in greeting. "Yo! A dolphin chased me, spitting fireballs for being too cold. I had to dodge repeatedly while promising to look after his kit."

"LIAR!!!" The duo answered back while their Uchiha teammate just frowned at their still grinning sensei.

Kakashi was momentarily surprised though when he saw mischief and amusement dance on Naruto's sky-blue eyes before his fox smile hid it. He barely heard Sakura's ranting but unfortunately, her voice was too loud to completely ignore.

"…Furthermore, a dolphin cannot genetically have a kit. Kits come from foxes which are now extinct especially here in Konohagakure. A dolphin would have a baby dolphin, not a fox kit." Sakura tattled on, oblivious to her teammates' irritation and sensei's disappointment. So much for being smart. Kakashi thought as her words reached him ", and another thing, dolphins can't spit fireballs!" Finally noticing the silence, she looked around and noticed her teammates' metres away from her conversing with Kakashi.

Running towards their direction, she heard Kakashi mutter, "Nice of you to finally join us, Sakura." Inner Sakura seethed at this and desperately wanted to punch Kakashi-sensei for this comment and she would have done so if not for the presence of her beloved Sasuke-sama.

"Very well…" Kakashi started, before pulling out a familiar orange book and opening it somewhere in the middle, "The Chuunin Exams would be starting three weeks from now," He said before turning the page, his eyes gleefully passing over the words.

Sakura couldn't' help but notice that Sasuke seemed unnaturally thrilled to hear the words.

Turning the page yet again, Kakashi paused before producing three slips of paper and handing one to each of his students. "I nominated you guys. If you wish to attend, come to the Academy, 7:00 a week from now." Finishing a chapter, he raised his eyes to meet their eyes before they curved to half-moon as he said, "No mission today. Ja!" and then disappeared in a whirl of wind and leaves.

Blushing slightly, Sakura faced Sasuke and shyly whispered, "Ne, Sasuke-kun," Sakura giggled before continuing, "Are you going to join the Chuunin Exams?"

Sasuke's expression of annoyance mixed with fear and resignation almost made Naruto suppress a smirk and a snicker. Before he could blow his cover, after all he supposedly had a crush on Sakura, he left without a goodbye to the two.

Glaring at Sakura, Sasuke stepped back and turned his back to her, walking towards his mansion, possibly to train. After all, he had more important things to do than to hear her out.

Seeing her crush leave, Sakura deflated. It was minutes after that she realized that there was something ultimately wrong today. She could not hear Naruto's whining for a date. Looking around, she realized that she's been ditched. Growling angrily, she stalked away, towards the direction of the marketplace. She was going shopping. The nerve of that dead last, leaving her alone there. Damnit!

Walking towards the clan training grounds, Sasuke let himself breathe easier. He was happy to hear that Kakashi had them nominated. His body was itching for stronger opponents that won't hold back as much as Kakashi did with them. He was going to attend it, who cares about Sakura and that dobe anyway…? His eyes lost the glare when he remembered Naruto. Lately, it seemed as if the blond was growing stronger than before. It seemed as if a dam that was holding him back from growing was shattered during their mission in Wave. /Zabuza… and Haku…/ Haku, he'd heard that a family had adopted him soon after their return in Konoha but no one knew which family did this. Not even Kakashi could answer his inquiries on their identity. /But Haku always appeared near Naruto…/ That thought spurred a memory to appear before his eyes.

//Flashback

"Naruto-chan! I brought your lunch! You left it at home this morning! Mou, I woke up real early so I could prepare your favorite so I thought I'd just-- ". The rest of Haku's sentence was cut off as Naruto went into a running jump and glomped Haku.

"Haku! You are the best, best, bestest bestfriend in the world! I loooooovve you!" Naruto squealed at him.

Haku laughed out loud and wrapped his arms around Naruto, one arm partially supporting the boy's bottom, as Naruto had wrapped his arms around Haku's neck and his legs around Haku's waist.

End Flashback//

/That bastard…/ His hands began o form a fist when he heard a disgruntled mewl. Looking around, he tried to locate its source but that proved harder than he thought. It was after another mewl that he found an injured kitten hiding behind overgrown and unkempt bush just meters away from his front door. Gingerly picking it up, he frowned. /How could an injured kitten like this get here?/ Staring hard at the kitten, he decided that no. this was not another plot of those annoying leeches nor was it a henge, and if Itachi finally wanted to kill him... he won't send a kitten to do the job. With that in mind, he walked up to his porch and cautiously cradled the kitten within his arms.

Opening the door, he toed off his sandals ad walked towards the bathroom. Looking around the cabinets, he spied unused bandages and a first aid kit. Deftly, he took to his arms the kitten before bandaging up its injuries. When he finished, the kitten which he decided to call Nahiko, mewled before licking his fingers in appreciation.

AN: To all those who've read this, I'd be very grateful if you'd help me think up a few more ideas for the chapters. Although i've some. I'd greatly appreciate suggestions and comments. Thank you for reading.

AN2: To all those who've reviewed, thank you... I hope you continue reading my fics.