AN: I'm glad you liked it, but i'm sorry it took me so long to update. Looks like this story is almost over! The beginning chapter, like the previous chapter, will be similar to that of an introduction just so you're not confused, but I plan to actually have dialogue in this chapter. Anyway, I was thinking of Naruto finding out a different way, but it's like him to jump to conclusions without questioning authority which is exactly what he will do in this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
OOOOOO
Reaping
Three years had passed since that dreadful time in Iruka's life, and in three years, Iruka was starting to feel a lot better than he had in ages.
Every day, however, the twinge of guilt associated with separating a potential family still haunted him, but the wound wasn't as deep as it had been at first.
Occasionally, he checked up on the youngest Uzumaki, whose name had been changed for protection.
Not a traditional name, not at all. Christopher, or Chris for short, as for his last name, he took that of his foster family.
Shizen.
He was familiar with Iruka, and the three year old usually called him "The Strange Man", because what normal citizen hung upside down with no ropes or anything of the sort?
His family lived in the civilian area, far away from the ninja academy, yet his mother and father had raised three children in the past that turned out to be successful ninja, the rest pursued different passions, such as clergy, music, art. etc, and now they were content with just raising Chris, another foster child, and their own biological daughter.
He was happy, Iruka could see it in the boy's eyes whenever he visited him.
Now he only lived with facing Naruto daily, seeing the same blue eyes that had held so much fear the day he was forced to give birth to a child he held no love for, nor knew anything about. The guilt, Iruka hated to admit, sometimes ate him alive. He believed Naruto had a right to know, but for his own good, and for the good of many others, he kept the secret to himself.
As for secrets, others had been revealed to him over the past three years.
The rape wasn't an accident, it was an experiment for the "Greater Good" spearheaded by the Village Council itself.
It was a failed experiment, and one that never should have been. Thus, the threat on Iruka's head remained, only to be calmed when the child was deemed "untouchable" by the Hokage.
Things hadn't changed much after the Sandaime's death.
However, being the newly appointed Hokage, Tsunade was left with the sensitive information regarding the incident that had befallen Naruto, the incident he had no idea about.
Of course, trust between the new Hokage and Iruka had been timid at first, but through various conversations, she began to understand the Chunin's resolve, as well as the situation he'd been put in.
Therefore, she'd agreed to keep Naruto's past a secret from him, but when the resolve had been made, she warned Iruka that such a secret would come back with terrorizing results.
And though he reassured her countlessly that he was prepared for the consequences to come, both sides knew that one was lying.
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Seeing Sasuke Uchiha was equivalent to seeing a blue moon. It almost never happened, and when it did, like a blue moon, it usually left a lasting impression.
The lasting impression usually being the effects of Sasuke's sharingan, the sharingan that had the power to tap into the darkest memories of one's mind and usually use it against them.
Sasuke had used this once against Naruto, and as a result, had access to the monster locked deep within Naruto's head.
That encounter had been a short one and a displeasing one.
The same could be said for Naruto's recent encounter with his "friend", except, it was longer and much more displeasing.
Presently, Naruto Uzumaki walked back into the village ahead of his team, fist clench hard enough to puncture his palms, breath hitched, eyes narrow, borderlining slits laced with red, and one person dead on his mind.
Iruka Umino.
The mental war waged between him and Sasuke was still fresh on his mind, and memories came flooding into his head. Memories that were sealed away from him. He remembered the shocked look on Sasuke's face when the genjutsu was broken out of pure pity and some twisted respect, the pitiful look, the confused look drilled into Sasuke's face, all directed towards Naruto.
Team Taka had disappeared quickly after that, as the genjutsu had been exposed to everyone. It was Sasuke's idea of torturing Naruto even further, bringing him down to his lowest level and exposing his pain to the new Team Seven.
He hadn't expected to find out Naruto had been raped which resulted in a three year old son. The image, he could tell, scarred Sasuke and his team.
Now Naruto was positively seething, and his team was right to give him space. Any words of soothing they had directed towards him would only result in him lashing back at them tenfold.
Sai's expression, as always, was unreadable. And quickly, he disappeared before they made their way back to the village.
Kakashi eyes held a twinge of disdain in his one visible eye, and perhaps a hint of disgust in the one covered by his headband.
Yamato, as usual, looked utterly shocked.
Sakura's expression however wasn't shocked or disgusted, it was pitiful, and almost angry.
Naruto hated the feeling of eyes on him, it was a reminiscent of the villager's stares directed towards him. And oh, how he wanted to make them pay.
He would hurt Iruka, not physically, but the man had no right to keep something like that against him...not at all. He trusted Iruka, yet he was being lied to day after day.
Clenching his fist, he made his way through the village, not even stopping to greet the gate keepers.
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Iruka had an uncanny ability to feel when something bad was coming, and even more so when something bad was coming his way.
It usually began with the "pins and needles" feeling, than later, depending on the level of the danger directed towards him, the feeling of butterflies erupted like a volcano in his stomach making him terribly uncomfortable.
That same feeling had shadowed him throughout his day. During the ninja academy, during his shift in the missions room, and now towards the end of the day when the sun was almost gone, the feeling was igniting in his stomach, paving the way for serious panic attack. They were terrible little things that usually involved panting, trembling and crying.
He hadn't had a panic attack in a while, nothing had been serious enough to trigger one.
Skimming through various food stands, Iruka tried to distract himself by looking at the different colors stacked up in certain crates.
There was yellow, green, blue, orange...orange. Orange like the jumpsuit Naruto sported,
and blue like his ocean eyes, and yellow like his wild hair.
Iruka shuddered. Why was thinking about Naruto worrying him? That boy was a ball of energy, a Godsend to anyone in need of a little light in their life.
But just like a Godsend, if betrayed and lied to, Naruto could be an omen of sorts as well.
Iruka sighed as he continued walking, nervously smiling at familiar faces, excusing himself as he partially collided with those in his path.
He didn't slow down though, he continued to quicken his pace.
He felt something coming, an enemy of himself perhaps, a personally created nemesis?
"Sensei, I really think you should go home now," pink hair was quickly glued to his side, grasping his arm and guiding him, if even possible, more quickly towards his destination.
Sakura's presence didn't calm him any, in fact, it panicked him even more.
"Sakura, what's_"
Iruka turned around .
"Oi! Iruka Sensei!" that voice, that once bubbly voice was now laced with venom and pure disdain.
Sakura paled beside Iruka and her hand loosened its grip, the air deflating from her body as Naruto parted his way through the crowd of busy villagers, his foul attitude acting as the primary divider.
People cast him ugly looks, while others simply ignored the boys rude gestures. However, Naruto had already spearheaded the beginning of a potential scene, as he'd unknowingly captured everyone's attention while practically growling his former Sensei's name.
Iruka already knew this wasn't going to be pretty, as Naruto stopped just feet before him. The boy was seething, his fist were clenched, his face was red, his breathing was uneven and his eyes were swirling with emotion, tinted red with hate.
He trembled with anger as Iruka slightly trembled with fear.
Not fear of his student, but fear of the harsh words that were to come.
"He knows," Sakura had said plainly, her voice barely above a whisper. And at the same time, Iruka thought the exact same thing.
Sakura didn't have to tell Iruka what exactly Naruto knew, because nothing else would unsettle the boy as much as the knowledge of his son would.
He had to turn the situation around, calm the boy down before it got out of hand.
"Naruto..." he began smoothly, keeping his place as the boy advanced to him.
"Don't Naruto me!"
Iruka jerked back.
Now people were casting glances their way. Some issued their families away at the sound of Naruto's raised voice, while others stayed where they were, pretending to read food labels while in actuality, they were dead set on seeing where this conversation led to.
"Why didn't you tell me?" the tone crushed Iruka. Years of trust melted before Iruka's eyes as Naruto glared at him, the sadness and mistrust the boy was emitting was almost too much for Iruka to bare.
He had to think of something.
"I couldn't..." Iruka responded rather sadly, yet his eyes stayed locked onto Naruto's, "I just wanted to keep you safe."
What a terrible thesis to build on. Keep him safe from what, humiliation, despair, early parenthood?"
He could say these things, but not here, not now, it wasn't the time nor the place. But Naruto was demanding answers, and Iruka was losing his ground. He was going to lose Naruto.
"To keep me safe? What the hell! I actually have a family, I actually have something that I love, someone that I love, and you chose to give them away, you chose to separate us! That's just plain selfish!"
Iruka stiffened, "Naruto...listen, let's take this somewhere else, I really can't_"
"Can't what," that voice was different, cool and silky, silky like...
"Kakashi-Sensei.." Sakura muttered.
There he was, as always, behind Naruto, further stealing the boy away from Iruka for ever. He assumed that the entire team had been notified, had somehow been made aware of Naruto's past.
And now Kakashi was against him, demanding the same explanation.
Iruka knew Kakashi dearly cared about his students, and to be exposed to such a past was enough to put the silver haired man on edge.
His words were calm, but his eyes shown with anger. Iruka was treading on ice.
"Don't you have a proper explanation, Iruka Sensei?" Kakashi continued, "why keep something this important from someone who is supposed to be this precious to you?"
"I told you," Iruka repeated flatly, "to protect him."
Kakashi's presence began to enrage Iruka, and with the new pain welling in his chest, he fought to control his anger.
Kakashi's scowl was clearly visible under his mask.
"Perhaps something of this sort should be brought to the attention of the Hokage?" that was Yamato's voice, stern and demanding.
Damn, this wasn't going where Iruka wanted it to go.
"She already knows," Iruka replied harshly.
Naruto stilled, and Iruka knew he'd done wrong.
The atmosphere dropped to a deadly low, and the two jounin behind Naruto took a slight step back. The boy's shoulders were tense and his palms were bleeding from his nails puncturing the calloused skin.
"Iruka Sensei," Naruto spoke, calm, yet his voice was level and pained, "for more than half of my life, people hid the fact that I had a demon living inside of me, something that everyone hated me for, something that I hated myself for," his voice began to raise, a shrill barely contained, " and you, of all people, hide something that could have potentially made me happy? How could you, Iruka Sensei! I could've lived for something! Someone could've actually like me! Loved me! And you, like everyone else in the village, denied me that feeling for whatever selfish needs you have! Why Iruka, why! And don't you dare say, "To Keep me safe!"
Than what could he say? Naruto was at his breaking point, his voice was barely concealing tears.
"I have a son...I had a son," Naruto breathed, "Now he's gone, living with someone else...Iruka, how could you?"
Like gossip thrown to paparazi, an audible gasp was heard from the large crowd gathering around them.
Iruka paled...his head was definitely going to be on a platter. He was speechless, Naruto had done the unspeakable. He couldn't defend himself, he couldn't protect himself. Naruto was gone forever, no longer his.
Naruto growled as he resumed his pace, averting his eyes from Iruka and harshly hitting his former Sensei's shoulder. Sakura followed in suit, behind her Kakashi and Yamato.
Iruka made eye contact with none of them.
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By the time Iruka had arrived at his house, the pain in his chest was incredible. He was certain it was a panic attack. Everything felt like it was caving in, he couldn't breath, and as he staggered to the bedroom, his walking became erratic and unbalanced.
He felt like he was slipping away.
Quickly, he grabbed the door frame to his bedroom, knowing that if he couldn't collapse on his bed, he could certainly do so on his floor. Perhaps that would be more peaceful than breaking in a crowd full of noisy villagers.
Then it happened, quickly and silently.
The pain in his chest was no longer internal, but external. And as quickly as it had happened the first time, it happened a second, this time directly in his stomach area.
With his grasp loosening on the door frame, Iruka feel foward, body sliding off of the blade the pierced him.
"I'm sorry Sensei, but these are Danzo Sama's orders. Naruto will confide in you for more information regarding his child, and therefore, he'll delve further into Konoha's secrets regarding the conception. That just can't happen. No hard feelings," finalizing his apology to the bleeding body before him, Sai placed his blade back in it's holder as he began to exit the room. He would report to Danzo right away.
"T...ell N..aru..to i'm...so..sorry," his targeted managed to mutter. Sai flashed a fake smile as he turned to face the dying man, "It will be my pleasure Sensei."
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(Comic Relief)
Team Taka walked in silence away from the battlefield, trying not to recount what Sasuke had exposed them to.
Sasuke walking particularly further behind his group.
His head was down as he attempted to rid his mind of the memories he'd accessed from Naruto's head.
What he'd seen was fucked up, and honestly, it had sickened him a great deal.
At least Iruka Sensei had been there, and he assumed Naruto could make the connection to the absence, realizing that Iruka had taken care of everything for the child.
Sasuke shivered, maybe this whole Sharingan thing just wasn't working, peering into people's heads usually had terrible consequences.
Infact, the other day, he fought that one ninja who'd...
He didn't want to remember that either, and unfortunately, he couldn't erase the memories.
Perhaps he should change profession, take Team Taka along with him?
Sasuke had always been interested in the circus, and ninja were supposed to be athletic anyway...
"Jugo, Karin, Suigetsu..." he spoke to them. The three turned around, their faces still somewhat pale, "What do you think about running away with the circus?"
"If it doesn't involve your sharingan and pregnant jinchuriki's," Suigetsu replied, "i'm in."
"Me too," Karin said rather sickly, "that was a little too weird."
"Whatever you do, Sasuke," Juugo replied softly.
Sasuke nodded and caught up with them, another idea sparking in his mind, "Or how about outlaws?"
"I thought we were...outlaws," Suigetsu inclined, "I like the circus idea way better."
"What about journalism? We travel a lot, let's be journalist," Karin added, "since we're throwing idea's in anyway."
"Hmm," Sasuke thought about, "It could work, we'll keep a low profile, new identities_"
"Booooriing," Suigetsu interrupted, "pirates or circus performers, if it involves writing, i'm out!"
"Pirates! Where the hell did pirates come from!?" Karin exclaimed, "you're idea is dumber than mine."
"What about bookkeepers?" Juugo's suggestion silenced all, "it has to be something we all comply with, and something that fits Suigetsu's requirements. No pregnant jinchuriki's, no sharingan...I think it's a keeper."
Sasuke shrugged, "We'll toss a coin."
"We don't have a coin," Karin pointed out.
Sasuke paused and looked up at the sunset, "We'll become robbers then."
My teeth hurt, my face hurts, and i'm now terrified of the dentist office. I didn't know getting a filling for a cavity involved big ass shots. I didn't know it involved hours of pain afterwards.
I'll never eat sweets again.
I've always admired the sense of freedom associated with Team Taka. I tried my best to keep them all in character, and with Naruto's random outburst when he gets angry, I like to say I think i got him on check. Iruka was a little hard though, due to the fact that to say anything to defend himself meant death. There will be more speaking in the next chapter!
Anyway, hope you like it. Please tell me whatcha think about it, it took me a few days to write. THere will be two more chapters, so please hang in there. Tell me if you loved it, tell me if you hated it! Have a nice week, and God bless!