Author's Note: So Iruka dies in this story and Naruto becomes the ninja world's Batman equivalent as a result. Also, if it wasn't obvious this is going to be a bit more edgy than one of my usual stories. But he is basically Batman so that's to be expected.

Prologue

It was raining. Those that had come to visit the memorial stone to pay their respects to a fallen ninja had left quite a few hours ago. There was only one person left out in the rain, standing there. Naruto hadn't had it easy throughout his life. There had only been a handful of people that actually cared about him. Old man Tuechi, Ayame, the Hokage...Iruka. Mizuki tricked him into stealing the Scroll of Sealing. Knowing that he had done it he sounded the alarm that Naruto had stolen it. Iruka found him first, and then Mizuki arrived. They fought and after a while Mizuki threw a Fuma Shuriken at Naruto, knowing he'd throw himself in the way to save the boy.

What he learned from the scroll was a jutsu called the Shadow Clone Jutsu. He used it to it's fullest after witnessing the death of Iruka. It took every ounce of willpower in him not to kill Mizuki. But he wouldn't do it, he wouldn't be like Mizuki, he wouldn't be a coward. He beat Mizuki until he was barely recognizable, but he was alive. His tears mixed with the rain so you couldn't tell he was crying. He was drenched but he didn't care. He had never felt anything like when Iruka died before. Loneliness, sure, but never this. Something he almost didn't recognize had wormed it's way into his heart.

It was hatred.

A type of hatred he had never experienced before. It wasn't just a hate of Mizuki anymore, but traitors and criminals too. He was surprised that he didn't kill Mizuki. The thing that held him back was the fact that Iruka wouldn't have wanted it. He had been foolish. If he was stronger, if he took his training more seriously, if he was smarter maybe Iruka wouldn't have died. It was, ultimately, his fault. He was partly to blame. Iruka wasn't just a teacher to him. He was like a parent. He was the only one adult he knew that actually cared if he ate right, if he had gotten enough sleep, if he kept up with his studies. He wished he listened to him more.

Someone put their hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a man, a Jonin, who he had never seen before. He wore a face mask and he had jagged white hair with an eye covered by his headband. "It's going to be okay." For some reason this angered Naruto beyond belief. He shrugged off his hand and turned around, facing the man. "No it's NOT! He was like a father to me! Now he's gone and I'm all alone all over again! I was barely holding on as it was!" Kakashi knew Naruto was a lot worse off mentally before he had lost Iruka than most his age. The only one that kept him holding it together was killed a few days ago right in front of him. That couldn't have been good for him.

Unfortunately, there weren't many therapists around and the ones that did choose that profession were completely swamped by other traumatized ninja. The waiting list was years. Naruto started screaming again. "He taught me a lot of things but I never listened! This time I'll listen to his last lesson for me, I'll never forget it! You can't trust people! Especially ninja! So no! I don't believe you when you say it will be okay!" Naruto finished, panting. Kakashi thought carefully of what to say. If he wasn't careful he could screw this kid up more than he already was.

"Listen, the way I see it you have quite a few options left for you. One of them is you can live your life ruled by the fear of losing someone else, never getting close to anyone else. Or you can learn from this, grow stronger, wiser. And never let anyone else you love fall the way Iruka did." Naruto looked down in contemplation. He really didn't know what to do. While he was thinking Kakashi spoke again as he was leaving. "Oh, and just a tip: that Shadow Clone jutsu you learned can be used for training too." With that bit said, he left.

Naruto looked back to the memorial stone for a while longer. Then walked towards his house, it was getting late.
Hokage Tower

Kakashi entered the Hokage's office through the front door for once. "Well, I talked to him." Hiruzen lit his pipe and took a huff. "What do you think?" Kakashi gave his honest opinion. "He's definitely far more unstable than he was before, but I don't think he's a flight risk. Honestly, I think he'd be perfect for Internal Affairs operations. He may not be a prodigy but that Shadow Clone jutsu more than makes up for that. More importantly he has the hunger for it, and he wants to learn." Hiruzen thought about the boy's possible role. The boy obviously needs training. Kakashi would do quite well developing the boy's skills. However while Kakashi's not bad at interrogation, he's also not the best. Maybe Anko? No, she just didn't have the same style that he thought the boy would work well with. Ibiki was more of a better fit.

Ibiki was far better at attacking the enemies confidence as well as being knowledgeable on the most painful parts of the body. Naruto would do better with him. He'd be calling Jiraiya soon to also help train the boy when the time was right. "Kakashi, team placements are in five days. I want you to get him up to par in that amount of time. You will not be his only teacher. I sense that he will be quite dangerous when grows older."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Are you sure Hokage-sama? Usually only Genin that show greater promise than usual get trained by multiple senseis." Hiruzen nodded. "People will question me in this matter. Some may even disapprove. But he has a certain intelligence that both Minato and Kushina possessed. The only reason it's not as obvious is because it didn't get him as much attention as being a fool. From what you tell me however, it seems he is now far more interested in learning and growing."

Kakashi understood now. He just needed the motivation. "I'll start his training tomorrow. He needs time to grieve."
With Naruto

Naruto was in his house currently grieving the only way he could. He was doing as many exercises as he could before he collapsed. He went on well into the evening, not even taking a break. He wouldn't see results until about six weeks but it helped keep his mind off Iruka. When it was bedtime he crawled towards his bed, aching all over. He flopped on his back and thought to himself before closing his eyes. 'Your scars can destroy you. Even after they've healed. If they heal. But they can also make you stronger. Turn you into something else. Something terrifying."

Author's Note: I know, it's a bit short. But tell me what you think! Should I continue? Or does it suck?