Another chapter up, finally!
Chapter 11
After a year of taking chunin-level missions, on top of many more days spent assisting at the Academy, studying and preparing diligently, Iruka was now quite confident that he was qualified and ready to take the last step to apply for the official title of 'sensei' – the examination.
Mizuki, with only three months of tolerating the teaching aide position, was not yet qualified to take the test. He very much preferred that the two of them take it together.
He knew better than to ask Iruka to wait.
He'd have to come up with something better.
It was actually a fairly simple solution that he settled on when the right situation presented itself at the last minute. Iruka and a chunin teammate were to go on a two-day mission just a few days prior to the exam; it should have returned them to Konoha with a day or two to spare for last-minute studies.
Mizuki used his superior stalking skills to follow them. He henged, tricking them, making it easy to capture the two nin just outside of home territory.
It wasn't lost on him just how much the other chunin liked his Iruka. Yumi was always trying to get him to go with her for a meal or drinks after the school day. She was a significant annoyance. He was well pleased that she was the partner Iruka had drawn for this particular mission. For his purposes, it was perfect.
His henge as one of the village's most popular and respected jounin lured them close, and he actually kept that form throughout the capture when their eyes were uncovered, playing the part of a two-faced traitor to the hilt. He strung them both up with unbreakable restraints, hooded their heads and placed a concealment around them. His excitement knew no bounds. Not only would he have his revenge on the kunoichi, he would have inexcusable fun with Iruka without his ever knowing his assailant's true identity. He could illustrate to Iruka – at least, while conscious – the difference between the sweet, considerate love his partner gave him – and what the rest of the world might give him instead if he wandered.
It was a full five days of the sick shinobi's darkest dreams come true. By the time the exam was a day past, far too late for any make-up test, he had done all that he had desired to do with his captives. If not for the silence jutsu, their screams would have cleared the area of wildlife for a mile at least. He had never really had the opportunity to flex his fantasies this fully into reality. The aftermath of each session was almost shocking when he stared at it, imprinting in his memory the images he would likely never have an opportunity to produce again.
For a fleeting moment during the capture, while pushing the very brink of his restraint, his thoughts had turned to what he would do if Iruka left him for this woman. At that point he nearly lost all control; the evidence of that outburst stood out among the other injuries in its severity and extreme cruelty. Once the momentum of his anger began to wane he managed to get a grip on his imagination, firmly pushing that provoking scenario aside for later consideration; that touch of sanity had been the only thing that had saved Iruka's life.
Yumi had no such reprieve. Her only role in Mizuki's life was that of rival.
It was only because he was reaching the end of his ability to maintain all the jutsu that he finally called an end to the festivities. At that point, she had been dead for about a day already, and there was more than just a trace of that particular odor beginning to form. It would work to his advantage. Once he had removed all possible evidence of himself from the scene, and of the scene from himself, he wanted Iruka found and attended to. He made sure that the young man's injuries would not end his life if treated soon enough.
The scene was a work of horrific art, even if he did say so himself. It was magnificent. While he - in general - objected to anyone seeing his love's naked body, in the manner it was presented here, he severely doubted that anyone, himself excepted of course, would have inappropriate thoughts now.
On one level, he did regret having to deal with Iruka so harshly. But the end justified the means. And it might serve to appease his own more violent, long-repressed impulses, and allow him to be more kindly and gentle to his partner for some time to come. It was a big win/win as far as he was concerned.
With a last look to fully cement this vision in his head, he released the concealment and teleported as far away as his chakra strength would allow, once, then twice, then all the way back into the academy. There, his clone was still busily filing in the student drop-files , the drone-like task he had been assigned to when the week started. It seemed that the other sensei were not nearly so drawn to be near him as they were to his little belle-of-the-ball Iruka. It worked to his advantage here in spades.
The idiots may have denied him his jounin status, but it hadn't diminished his remarkably strong jounin-level abilities. To have maintained this clone so flawlessly while henging, teleporting, and engaging in such provoking acts was a feat worthy of the highest ranks. Had the powers that be promoted him as they should have, he would have been using those powers as their loyal servant.
Now look what they reaped for their petty actions. Yumi was no loss at all to Mizuki; but she was a definite loss to Konoha. Iruka, well, he was going to be Mizuki's no matter what. But he would have been spared this downtime from his work. Once again, Konoha's loss.
He release the clone and examined its experiences for the week, The search for the missing team had just become big news around the academy. By the fourth day they were declared officially overdue, and a second team had been sent out in routine pursuit, to trace them by their given directions. It had returned with no results. The exams had already been held anyway. Iruka, dear boy, was clearly out of luck, one way or in many.
They had questioned the clone only once and in passing. No one here was hot to reveal their suspicions that Iruka and Mizuki were more than just comrades. They probably didn't want to believe it, Mizuki had decided. They all liked Iruka so much, tried to buddy up to him, tried to put their filthy hands on him. They didn't like to think that he was already spoken for, getting all that a relationship could give from Mizuki's strong, capable embrace.
He pulled his thoughts back and began to wonder a bit. They hadn't actually given up on looking for the missing team, had they? He wasn't really sure how long Iruka might last, left hanging there defenseless like that. There were beasts of prey and scavengers to consider, although they did have the semi-fresh filet of kunoichi to snack on first. And there was always a chance of enemy nin, although he had been careful to pick a fairly safe spot just beyond the border.
But it worked to his advantage that the kunoichi had that very worried, antsy jounin friend who fancied becoming her boyfriend. She had actually been the lead on the mission, her superior rating and double the mission experience meant that Iruka was along as her second. Said boyfriend-in-waiting was raising a huge stink and rousting out more help to go look. Mizuki bit back on the incriminating urge to suggest a direction to search in. He only knew that they had not managed to search the area he had captured and held them in. He had not detected a search party nearby at any time during his private sessions.
"You aren't going out in the search? Why?" Hayate's voice startled him as he picked up a bundle of practice targets.
He turned and looked down his nose at the much shorter man.
"I'd just be in the way, Gekko-senpai, if the official opinion of my skill level is correct," he said icily.
"You're kidding. What kind of an excuse is that?" Hayake's breath caught as he tried unsuccessfully to fight off a coughing fit.
"Am I supposed to be impressed that you're going to go out looking with that cold, or whatever it is?" Mizuki sneered.
"Forget it. I should have known better than to think you'd make sense."
"No. No, Gekko-senpai, enlighten me. What are you driving at?"
"Okay, then. I'm going to help with the search this afternoon when class lets out. Do you know why? Because I care about Iruka, that's why. Now you tell me why you aren't going to go."
"You care, hm? I have noticed that you do seem to be 'hands on' when you're working with him. That kind of care? That's what motivates you?"
"You aren't answering my question."
"That's right. I'm not. My question is more important. Answer it first."
"More im…you're serious? More important than your closest friend going LIMS?"
Yeah. He's probably just late. It's only been a few days; all kinds of things can delay you out there. They don't declare a team Lost in Mission Status until a week has passed. That's nin 101 stuff; tell me you didn't know that."
"You are unbelievable. The LIMS alert was issued today, by the Sandaime himself."
"So? That just means that I have more faith in him than the rest of you That's why I'm not worried. Does that answer your question?"
"You know what? I hope you're right. I hope it isn't that the Sandaime had a vision." Hayate was running out of breath for talking, and motivation for arguing.
Mizuki straightened and frowned. Visions. He'd forgotten about the old man's crystal ball.
"Wait. Did he have a vision? Did he see something bad happening to Iruka?"
"I don't know, not that they've mentioned. I was just guessing." Finally, Hayate thought. Mizuki's smug look had faded. Finally, he gets it. Something very possibly had happened to Iruka and Yumi. ANBU were going to be sent now that the team had been officially listed as LIMS. This wasn't some prank or false alarm.
"I have to go." Mizuki calmed himself, reminding himself that if the Sandaime suspected him, he would have been hauled in for questioning already. He would already know that Mizuki could lead them straight to the missing chunin if his crystal ball had revealed him.
It was after another half-day of worrying, with Mizuki now seriously considering offering to join the search teams to push them in the right direction, when the word came back that the lost shinobi had been found. He didn't have to fake his anxiety when he rushed to meet the men returning with their find. ANBU were moving with lightning speed with two rolled bundles of human cargo. Most of the hopeful faces fell at the sign of the worst – the ANBU were scent-cloaking. It usually indicated that they were covering the smell of death.
There would be no need for speed if there were two dead bodies, so the scenario was made to order…but he followed them anyway. He knew the smell they were cloaking was not his Iruka, but it didn't mean he was going to be all right. For the first time, his heart truly began to chill with realization. He may have gone too far this time. For all the times he gloried in his games in the woods, toying with Iruka's life as he took his pleasure – this was the closest he'd come to actually ending it all between them. It was an intolerable thought. He pushed past the orderlies and was shoved back. He resisted, and one of the ANBU moved to block him.
"Stay back. The medic-nin need to do their work."
"I want to know about Iruka. How is he? Is he…is he alive? Tell me! At least tell me if he's alive!"
"He is. Now stay back, before I have to remove you."
On the hospital bed, being hooked up to the tubes and devices needed to begin his treatment, Iruka was pale and still. The pair of ANBU who had taken him down from the restraints spoke quietly to one another, still taken aback at the variety and viciousness of the physical insults that the two Konohan nin had been subjected to. They knew of no group or clan given to the very unique display of vile behavior that had been left for all the world to see; they strongly suspected a truly insane person or persons. Once they conferred with Ibiki, who was now taking evidence at the scene, they didn't think the conclusion could be anything else.
The Third hovered in the room for some time watching over the medical team before leaving to consult with Ibiki. It was known to the torture specialist that their leader had a soft spot for the young Umino. He expected to be held to a very high standard for this investigation.
"I want to be there when you debrief him, Morino," the Sandaime said. "I plan to suppress his memory of this incident afterwards, before it can damage him further while he's in such a vulnerable state. So you need to get all of the information necessary from this one session."
"But with respect, I disagree with that. Just the one interview? He may remember more later. He's shinobi, he'll cope. It will build his character to have survived such an ordeal."
"Nonsense. Unless I hear something in that interview that changes my mind, I have made my decision." The old man turned and swept away, his pipe puffing in determination. "That boy has had enough character-developing adversity. He needs a chance to make it into adulthood without another life-shattering incident."
Excluded from the hubbub, Mizuki could only pester for Iruka's condition and push for visitation rights. By the evening, his involvement in putting Iruka in this situation became distant, and his concern became the reality. By the next day, he was almost convinced himself that he'd had nothing to do with it. His concern and distress over Iruka's condition rang as true in his head as it did to the unwitting medical staff.
They let him in for a short visit the next afternoon. Iruka was semi-conscious. In spite of the healing, and the brief push into consciousness forced by Ibiki for the debriefing, he was in terrible shape. The Third was unable to keep his consciousness level high enough to manipulate his memory yet. He tossed weakly in distressed twilight. Mizuki went to him, holding his hand and kissing it softly. His prize, his pet, was right here in safekeeping. He would not be advancing to instructor for quite some time. By the time the next teaching exam was scheduled, Mizuki would qualify to take it as well. They would advance together.
He took his huge hand and lightly touched the bandaged face. The orderly, who stood by with no intention of leaving, cleared his throat sharply and shook his head when Mizuki looked up. The frowning shinobi took his hand away reluctantly, rankled that they would dictate how and where he could touch his Iruka.
"That's enough for now. Let him rest," the orderly said quietly.
Mizuki ignored him for as long as he could, until he sensed the orderly had reached the end of his patience and was starting to move. He applied a quick, last kiss to Iruka's hand and left with a pointed glare at the attendant.
Ibiki's interview was both revealing and far too little help in the investigation. They had found no fault in Iruka's performance; the team's leader had clearly taken them straight into a trap, misled by the identity of the shinobi asking for their help. Neither of them had been fooled beyond that initial meeting; the behavior of the man who appeared to be Nara Shikaku quickly revealed the deceit in spite of the excellent henge.
The lack of defense wounds supported his story that they had been taken completely by surprise with no chance to fight back; and that the aim of their capture was never made apparent beyond causing pain and mayhem, pure and simple, along with the perversities taken with great abandon on both nin. There had been no interrogation or mention of some action they might take that would stop the assault. Both Iruka and his partner had resigned themselves fully after the third day. It seemed that the perpetrator enjoyed maintaining that level of assault until the day he killed the kunoichi. The enemy had rendered Iruka semi-conscious first; it didn't spare him from witnessing the event entirely. Hearing those final cries and soft, sickening organic noises, he knew without a doubt the moment she had died. It appeared that much had occurred leading up to her final moments, and perhaps even after, but Iruka was in no state to describe the final hours in more detail than the fact that they both knew it was all coming to an end, finally. He had prepared himself for his own final assault and let go of his false hopes for rescue when he felt her life force disappear. He had tried everything in his power, as had she. In spite of his resignation to his fate, when his assailant then turned his full attention to his sole surviving captive, the debasing attacks had jellied his guts in abject fear and grief.
Sandaime was wise in his decision to muffle the memories. They ate at the chunin like piranha while he was outwardly quiet in his hospital bed. When he grew strong enough to struggle against the orderly, the Sandaime returned and applied his age-old powers to relieve the boy of the intensity of those unbearable memories.
"Ki," Iruka said softly. His was a dreamy, strange state of tired numbness. The injuries and painkillers, coupled with the thought-scrambling aftereffects of the memory treatment, had left him temporarily addled. He was slow and thick-witted, responding on the most basic level to those allowed in. He had leaned on Masato-sensei and hummed himself to sleep earlier. Relieved that Iruka was going to be all right, and forewarned of his sluggish thinking, Masato has been more than willing to comfort his protégé and stay until he was able to drift off and rest.
After he left, it was Mizuki's turn to visit.
"Ru-kun. How do you feel?" Mizuki crossed the room, glad that the orderly was no longer there full-time.
"Ki." Iruka held his hands up, and Mizuki hugged him carefully. Iruka let his weight meld into Mizuki's chest and sighed.
"It's okay, Ru. You're okay."
"Home."
"I know. I know. Soon."
"Stay. Please."
Mizuki's smile was as bright as the sun. His Ru, safe and snug, delivered to him begging for his company. He carefully broke off the embrace to pull the orderly's chair over and sat, taking Iruka's hand gently.
"Always, Ru-kun," he purred. "I'll be with you always. Does that make you happy?"
Iruka nodded with his eyes closed and a dull, drugged smile. "Al-ways."
"You've been on enough missions for a while. Maybe we can talk them into letting you stay close to home now."
"Why?" Iruka asked, wobbly sitting up in the bed. His voice slurred softly. "What happened?"
"Just a little mishap, Ru-kun. It's not for me to decide what you're supposed to know."
"Mis-hap. I'm hurt."
"You were, but you're a lot better, and you'll be just fine before you know it."
"It's hard to think. Can't…remember."
"So stop trying. You just need to relax and get well." Mizuki kissed his palm and tickled it gently. Iruka giggled.
"That's my boy. They said you'd be a little dopey still. Is it fun? Being dopey?"
Iruka's lower lip plumped out. "No. No fun."
Mizuki tickled his palm again until he laughed. "But it's not all bad, huh?"
"S-stop!" Iruka laughed nervously, reaching to support himself against the rail. "You make me fall!"
"Okay, I'll stop…but you aren't going to fall. You couldn't if you tried."
"Feels like…feels like falling." Iruka had an unsteady grip on Mizuki's fingers to stop any potential tickling.
"Sorry, Ru-kun. You look scared. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Gonna fall."
"No Ru. I'd help you. I wouldn't let that happen."
"Hold me?"
"Sure." Mizuki gathered him up and reveled in the feeling. Even when Iruka had been freshly orphaned and lost, he hadn't been reduced to this. This was all the result of his doing, and it was exhilarating to reap the rewards. This wouldn't last, of course. But as a memorable moment in time, it was a rare jewel.
So it was a touching scene that the Third walked in on – or might have been, had Iruka been held by just about anyone else in the village. The wise old man knew that Mizuki was a shinobi in a class by himself, a troublesome, insidious class by himself. He was a deadly, efficient, cold-blooded ninja. He still suspected him of being instrumental in tactical decisions directly resulting in the unnecessary loss of fellow nin. Nothing had been proven as far as intent, but the Third was still concerned that this might not be a trustworthy man when the chips were down. To see him growing so close to a young man he felt personally attached to – it gave him a moment to reflect on how every small decision he made had such far-flung effects. Because they had decided to let Mizuki have the benefit of the doubt, he was free to insinuate himself into the life of an innocent. What other ill winds might blow from staying the hand of punishment on this man?
"Touji." The Third entered quietly. He nodded as Mizuki straightened and stepped back. Iruka reached out, as if a toy had been taken away, urging Mizuki to come back.
"Iruka," the old man said. Iruka's head turned and he looked uncertainly at the man's regal robes. "Iruka-kun. I am so glad you are back with us now."
Iruka's arms dropped slightly. He seemed transfixed by the Sandaime's voice now, staring with liquid deep brown eyes.
"You will be fine now, my boy. I intend to watch over you myself until you recover. And after they release you, if you still need a bit of assistance for a few days, I'd like you to stay with me. You've taken some pretty severe damage, and you really shouldn't be alone right off."
Mizuki bit his lip hard to remain silent.
"I don't know your place," Iruka mused aloud, his bandaged head drifting a little to the side, adding to his overall spaced-out look.
"Well yes, you do, sort of. When you were little you used to come in with your father now and again. That was when the Fourth was Hokage, though. It wasn't quite the same. But we were friends then."
"Oh. With Dad." Iruka's gaze cast down, and he suddenly seemed disconnected from the conversation.
The Sandaime moved to the bed, and touched Iruka's forehead to bring him back into the present. "You have always been welcome there. You will always be welcome there. You are a very special person to me, Iruka. I hope you understand that." And he intended, by saying it now, to make sure that Touji Mizuki understood it, as well. That he understood who he would be taking on, if he did wrong by this young man.
"I am?" Iruka looked confused. "How?"
The old man smiled patiently. "Your mind is very foggy right now, son. Very foggy. You'll be much better in a day or two. We can discuss this again then. I really just came to see how you are, and to give you my best." Iruka leaned into the gnarled hand that patted his cheek.
"I'm glad you didn't send me away."
"Send you away? Whenever did you think I would do that?" the aged leader puzzled.
"For being alone and not strong genin."
"I would never send you away. You need to rest and let your mind heal. Don't worry yourself with such thoughts."
"He's confused,' Mizuki grumbled, trying to cover up. "Thinks he's still genin."
The Third kept his expression neutral as he contemplated the last exchange. Iruka thought he had been at risk of being sent away as a genin…and Mizuki was pointedly discrediting the statement. His famous intuition wasn't challenged much by this one. At least he had a good idea now why Iruka's behavior towards him had been so wary and distant when he was younger. No telling what other lies the boy had been fed.
"I will be seeing you soon. By my word, no one will send you away. Rely upon it." He punctuated that reassurance with a warm pat on Iruka's shoulder.
Mizuki hid his clenched fists and smiled benignly as the old man gave him a long look before bidding them both goodbye and leaving the room.
Exhausted, Iruka sank into the pillow. His eyes were closed and he began to slip into sleep.
Mizuki gave him a rough, open-mouthed kiss, sealing his breath off until his eyes flew open wide in discomfort and he struggled to turn away. The hovering giant broke it off and smiled with angry eyes as Iruka faded back into sleep, too tired to react anymore.
At least he'd suppressed the urge to bite Iruka for responding to the Third's little bid for attention. He'd never be able to explain that away to the hospital staff.
Get a grip, he ordered himself. Ruka is yours unless you do something stupid to screw it up. Get a grip. Leave now, before you do something damning.
He managed to take his own good advice this time. When Iruka was released to the Hokage's waiting staff, he held his tongue and pretended gratitude for the help. When he arrived to escort Iruka to his apartment at the end of his week at the Sandaime's, he found that they had already left to deposit the young man back in his quarters. He had to hang back and wait outside the apartment after detecting a non-shinobi presence inside. The Hokage's friendly domestic assistant took forever to finally leave.
Mizuki let himself right in without delay as soon as he was sure Iruka was alone.
"Oh!" Iruka gaped for a moment when the door unlocked, unsealed and flew open in a single action. Mizuki was quite good at that.
"Oh yourself, Ru-Kun." He watched the play of emotions on Iruka's face, satisfied that he was unguarded as he should be in his presence. He saw fear, confusion, embarrassment at the inappropriate reaction, a sort of blank moment which he assumed was the result of hitting a bank of suppressed memory , then a struggle to find an proper reaction between happiness for the company and deep, base pain. It was fitting. If Iruka's subconscious wasn't aware that Mizuki had the capability to do unspeakable things to him, it should be allowed to call itself a subconscious.
The outward response that resulted was a hesitant hug when he approached with arms outstretched; trying to overcome the need for support and general insecurity that he was obviously ashamed of. Not bad, very workable in light of recent events. It indicated that the short stay with the village leader had not served to poison their relationship. Mizuki hugged back warmly. "I've missed you."
"They…" he said hesitantly. "they didn't think I should be having any visitors."
"Of course. I knew it wasn't that you were refusing to see me." Mizuki smiled as his friendly manner was drawing Iruka to him predictably, relaxing him in his arms. "I knew I'd just need to wait until you got home."
"It was so quiet there. Too quiet," Iruka sighed.
"I bet. How long are you off-duty for, Ru? Did they tell you?"
"Four weeks, minimum. They wanted me to stay at the Hokage's the whole time. I just couldn't. I mean, I appreciated the offer. But…one week was more than enough. I just wasn't comfortable there. I wanted to be home."
"I'd have missed you." Mizuki smiled.
"Yeah. Me, too." His gaze grew a little unfocused.
"What is it, Ru?"
"I…they did something to me, Ki. They blocked my memory."
"So I heard."
"Like I'm some weakling. Like I can't take a hit, you know?" he mused, still looking at nothing in the near distance with a frown of concentration.
Mizuki felt inspired. "See? That proves everything I've been telling you."
Iruka shook his head to indicate he didn't understand.
"They don't give you any credit. First they decided to hold you back from advancing through the ranks. Now, they treat you like a second-class shinobi who can't cope with field work. By acting on it, they almost made it come true. You're so strong, Ru. They just don't want to acknowledge it. I can't fathom why."
"It makes my head hurt when I try to remember it now. If I try too hard, it makes it so I can't think at all. I mean, I'm sure they thought they were doing what was best, but…"
"It's all part of the game. Someday. Someday, we'll have the last laugh. You just remember that and you don't need to remember anything else. Just let me take care of everything."
Iruka grew quieter. "Did they tell you anything? It's driving me crazy not knowing how I got all these injuries. How could they think it was better like this? I'm still aware of all of the damage."
"Well, maybe not all of the damage." Mizuki smiled. This was probably information they did not plan on having Iruka hear. "They actually spared you quite a bit as far as that goes. I'd say at least half of your wounds were healed before they even messed with your mind."
"Half. Half?" Iruka sounded stunned. "It must have been a close call."
"Yes. At least you fared better than your teammate."
"Teammate?"
"Oh," Mizuki said, as if he were taken by surprise. "They erased that, too? Well, maybe I shouldn't…"
"Tell me! Ki, please!"
"All right. Yumi-chan was your lead on the mission, Ru. Ring any bells?"
"No. And she..?"
"Didn't make it."
"She died?" His hushed voice was touched with shock.
Mizuki nodded
"Did she die saving me? Is that what they're hiding from me?" Iruka pulled his robe tighter, clearly growing more upset.
"No. Hell, no, she didn't save anybody. Just calm down," Mizuki said in irritation. Iruka really did like that woman. Past tense. He was certainly glad she was out of the picture now. It meant less competition for Iruka's attention, and less competition for the sensei positions. "The ANBU saved you. All she did was lead you into some sort of ambush."
"Do they know who did it? Did they catch them?"
Mizuki shook his head. "Hey, that's about enough of that. Your Sandaime doesn't want you to remember, so maybe you should be a good citizen and stop trying to. Now let's get you back down so you can rest." Satisfied that this had turned out close enough to his liking, he stepped in to the role of supportive partner, ego inflated a hundredfold at the knowledge that he had bested Ibiki's investigation team and the Sandaime's powers of vision and intuition. The yokels were simply no match for his superior intelligence.
"I have to know."
"Hey, I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later. Tell you what. I'll keep my ears open. Anything I hear, I'll let you know. How's that? Whether they want you to hear it or not."
"Yeah. I'd appreciate that." Iruka returned to his former position at rest, but he was anything but relaxed. "I want my memory back."
"Well. Don't know if I can do anything about that. But I'll sniff around and see if I can find out what procedure they used. Find out if there's a way to reverse it."
Iruka nodded, and then caught himself. "I really appreciate it, Ki. Sorry to drag you into this."
"Iruka," Mizuki said reproachfully. "Don't apologize. After all, what are friends for?"
Time healed the physical wounds nicely, and the distractions of life helped to gloss over the feelings of resentment. Mizuki was only able to gather that their Hokage had used his innate powers to suppress his memory, and that such jutsu, while meant to be permanent, had been known to fade over time. He advised Iruka to keep trying to remember, to be patient and diligent in trying to break down the barrier. Eventually he might succeed. When he heard rumors about Iruka and Yumi's failed mission, he passed them all on, sometimes adding in a few details but not too much. If they suspected him, they never let on, and he certainly wasn't going to do something foolish to get himself caught. He made sure that he gave the name of the source to Iruka any time he passed on information. Information that only he was privy to as the perpetrator would have to remain unknown until either Ibiki's investigation results were released, or Iruka's memories returned. Right now, neither of those things seemed to be happening anytime soon.
Back to work at the Academy, Iruka hit the ground running, determined to avoid any further delays in promotion. When Mizuki joined him after work they spent a great deal of time comparing notes on their training. Iruka had the energy born of natural enthusiasm for working with kids; he carried it through into his studies, and used it to suppress his dark thoughts when the circumstances that brought him to this path came to mind.
Mizuki managed to tolerate the boredom of teaching by distracting himself with plans for their future. He had gone ahead and submitted one last bid for jounin status; from what he could tell, he was going to be denied again. They kept referring to the disciplinary actions against him for excessive force and violations of team unity practices. Fair enough. This was their last chance to have him in their stable. If this denial came through, as expected, he would begin laying the groundwork for his exodus from Konoha. The trickiest part of that, by far, was making sure that Iruka came along willingly. He would hate to have to take him by force and try to convert him afterward.
Iruka was beginning to get a little too attached to the kids, sometime putting off times they had planned together in order to put in extra hours at the academy. Although he hadn't taken the exam, they had increased his responsibilities to add to his experience to compensate, and he was given nearly the same parameters for his assistant position as he would have had in his probationary period teaching. The Sandaime kept coming around and encouraging him, and Iruka was just beginning to drop his guard around him. The other teachers had taken to the young man as a colleague right away, and Iruka found a whole different environment as a full-time staff member.
Iruka's positive contributions were a pleasant surprise to the others. They were drawn to him for team projects and collaborations. His sharp, creative mind added immeasurably to the brain-pool; and his excellent basics in the shinobi arts, a natural after being reared in apprentice mode from birth, fully qualified him for all the pre-genin levels. He was considered a sure thing at the next teacher's exam.
Not so Mizuki. He was proficient, and nothing more. He found the children annoying, but not so much so that he couldn't hide his true feelings. It was more a lack of rapport that became evident to the sensei he was assisting. It showed up in his ratings, making them lower than Iruka's. It was only the lack of personnel that kept him in line as a strong candidate for promotion.
"Iruka," Hayate smiled, coughing a few times to clear his throat. After the discovery that he was never going to recover fully from the incident that had caused his respiratory problems, he'd stepped down from missions and spent all his days working at the academy when he was well enough. He'd become friends with the sharp-witted brunette as they spent more time together as near-equals, at least at work. They joked around quite a bit now that Iruka had loosened up around him, and he really appreciated having someone else around that had a slightly off-beat, non-linear sense of humor. "Test time again, buddy. You up for it? Not planning on going LIMS to avoid it this time, are you?"
"I'm ready, wiseass," Iruka said pleasantly.
"What about your boyfriend?" he asked, a little less lightly. His instincts still curdled when Mizuki came up and hovered over Iruka.
"Shh," Iruka frowned. Relationships were fine, but not something to discuss when it was between two staff members. "He's ready, too."
"Things going okay for you two?" Hayate ventured carefully. He'd noticed a few things that disturbed him. Like the way Iruka seemed to have difficulty getting around the day after he had a disagreement with the platinum-haired shinobi. Like the subtle pressure that the larger nin tried to place unnoticed on the younger man to discourage him from interacting with the others, especially Hayate.
"Great. Everything's going really well these days. I hope it lasts, you know, that it's not just the calm before the storm. How about you?"
"What about me?" he coughed roughly and spit, shaking his head. "Nothing ever changes with me now, you know that. We have the cram session coming up in two weeks. It's up to you if you want to come. You don't really need it; I think you could probably teach it. There aren't that many people taking the exam this time."
"We'll see. I'm not sure if Mizuki heard about this yet. We're ready, though." They'd taken extra missions and tightened their belts for the period without missions once they passed. The incentive apartments were all occupied; but they'd already thought ahead, and once they both passed, they figured it would be reasonable for the two of them to move in together in Iruka's to save money. Under those conditions, it shouldn't cause undue tongue-wagging.
When the exams had been graded and the panel had completed their decisions on instructor selections, the newly approved sensei had their names posted in the hall. The candidates had been waiting there the entire time, a tradition of sorts, their anticipation creating a buzz of energy in the narrow passage. They crowded around good-naturedly when Hayate came out to tack up the listing and step back into the doorway to watch. Anxious and excited, Iruka and Mizuki shouldered up and looked for their names with everyone else. Iruka whooped when he spotted his name at the end; with Umino for a moniker, he always searched lists from the bottom up, and he found his name first at the last of the list. Another young man who had passed hammered him on the back in shared exuberance, distracting him for a moment.
When he turned back to celebrate with Mizuki, the dark look he got in return confused him at first. It took a moment for the smile to drop from his face, and for the meaning of that look to sink in. He shook his head and leaned back in to check further on the list himself. Mizuki's name wasn't among the ones listed. When he looked back up, the white-blond hair had disappeared from sight.
He trotted down the hallway, down the stairs and out into the bright daylight, blinking as he looked all around. The hulking form was nowhere to be seen. A drop of icy dread hit his stomach. Mizuki is going to be very upset.
Hayate had been standing in the hallway and witnessed the exchange. He had a feeling things were not going to go well. He, himself, had cast the deciding vote against confirming Mizuki. They wanted to make him wait until the next exam, to prove that he really wanted this job. Going strictly on score, the massive shinobi had passed. But when it came to the children, they went a little further in their analysis of the instructors, and they could not in good conscience unleash him on the kids unsupervised without a little more proof of his suitability.
The Third had voiced continued reservations. After they adjourned from the selection panel, the Hokage had requested that they meet privately at a later date to discuss their concerns further, just the two of them. Hayate was very curious to see how that meeting was going to go.
He went into the office and watched out the window as Iruka began trudging away from the academy grounds, missing out on the mini-celebration in the hallway to search for his partner.
He doesn't deserve Iruka and his loyalty, Hayate thought darkly. Iruka doesn't deserve to be subjected to someone like Mizuki. At some point, he has to figure it out. He has to understand it himself first.
As usual, he kept his observations to himself. But now he would have the opportunity to share them with the Third privately. It was a sordid mess, but it was no longer something he could dismiss as 'none of his business' now that the Sandaime had initiated the discussion of it.
He was looking forward to that meeting a great deal.
tbc