For Love of Konoha (Naruto, Itachikage-verse)
Fic: For Love of Konoha
Author: aishuu
Fandom: Naruto
Character(s): Iruka, Naruto, Itachi
Wordcount: 2,200
Rating: PG
Notes: Day 22 of 40 Days, theme from mya_in_ab: "It's not what the world holds for you, it's what you bring to it, part of the Itachi Hokage Verse.
Credit: Thanks to sophiap for actually managing to get me to write.
Summary: A prank gone right brings Itachi into Iruka's (his former teammate's) domain. Naruto ups the ante in his war against Itachi.
Iruka truly believes that children are Konoha's most precious resource, and that teaching them to thrive as ninja is the noblest service he can offer his beloved village. There is no greater calling than that of a teacher, and he's honored that the village trusts him with its greatest treasures.
He believes this with his whole heart, except when he's considering the many, many ways he can kill Naruto and hide his body where it will never be found. Knowing most of the villagers, he might even get an award for making Naruto disappear.
Right now, homicide is becoming a very attractive option. He stares down at an unrepentant Naruto, who isn't even trying to pretend he wasn't the one who set all the stink bombs off in the Hokage Tower. He has Naruto by the collar, and is holding him a couple of inches off the ground - just high enough to make him uncomfortable, but not so high that an inconvenient flailing foot can damage his family jewels. Iruka learns from past mistakes.
Naruto isn't putting up a fight, instead crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his bottom lip out in a tremendous pout. His lack of remorse sets Iruka off.
"WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Iruka shakes him once, rattling his teeth, but the boy just gives him a glare that resembles a puppy after losing a chew toy.
"The red-eyed creep had it coming," Naruto muttered, although he didn't use "creep." Iruka guiltily thinks that he's inspired some of the more colorful parts of Naruto's limited vocabulary.
"You're talking about your Hokage," Iruka replies. "You need to show him some respect."
"He's not my Hokage. He's my rival, since I'm gonna be the Hokage next!"
Naruto has a habit of going on and on about being Hokage. It's kind of funny to think of this klutz fixating on such an impossible goal, except that it's sad. Naruto doesn't know why people hate him, but it's clear he's decided the only way he's going to get respect is by becoming Hokage. It sometimes breaks Iruka's heart, since he knows it's never going to happen.
"You're not going to be Hokage if you don't graduate from the academy," Iruka growls out. "You should be studying, not pulling these stupid pranks!"
"Especially if the pranks set the ANBU on you," an unexpected voice says from behind him. "They're trained to kill without asking questions."
Iruka stiffens. He can't help but immediately recognize the soft tones. "Hokage-sama!" he declares, turning (with Naruto still hanging from his hand) to acknowledge the village leader.
Itachi is standing next to his desk, his hands at his sides as he stares at the perpetrator of this morning's inconvenience. He looks out of place in the classroom, but he's always looked out of place anyplace except for a battlefield. "I see you've caught the brat," he murmurs softly.
Naruto begins to squirm, trying to break free. "I'm not a brat!" he yells. "I'm Uzamaki Naruto, and I'm going to beat you! I'm going to be the next Hokage!"
"Do you really think causing an evacuation of the Hokage's Tower is the best way to go about that?" Itachi asks. His voice is monotone, but Iruka knows him well enough to understand he's genuinely curious.
"It's going to be my Tower someday, so I can do what I want with it!"
Naruto's reasoning always gave Iruka a headache. "It's going to be your Tower to clean today!" Iruka snaps, before remembering their company. "Assuming that's okay with you. Um, sir," he adds for Itachi's benefit.
"The punishment should fit the crime," Itachi replies. "I think repainting the Tower's exterior would keep him occupied for the next couple days."
It takes Iruka a second to figure out Itachi's reasoning, and he flushes a bit when he realizes Itachi has not only recognized a problem before Iruka thought of it, but solved it as well. Letting Naruto loose inside the Tower alone wouldn't be wise, but sparing someone to supervise him to ensure he properly works is a waste of manpower. But if Naruto works outside, there's little mischief he can create, since there's always ninja going in and out of the building.
"Go get paint from the Tower's supplies," he orders. "I know you know where they're kept." The incident with the graffiti on the monument still burns a little. He'd lost an entire school day to fixing that mess with the rest of his class.
"But..." Naruto starts to whine about wasting his awesome time, but Iruka's had more than enough of his shenanigans for a while.
"JUST GO!" Iruka roars, and watches with a bit of satisfaction as Naruto tears out of the room in fear. Maybe Naruto will actually start his punishment chore, but if he doesn't, Iruka knows where to find him. Eventually he'll end up at Ichiraku, and Iruka will make sure Teuchi won't serve him until he's met the conditions of his parole.
As soon as Naruto's gone, Iruka feels horribly embarrassed for letting Itachi see him lose control like that. It's true they had been genin teammates and Itachi saw him behaved poorly back then, but ten years have passed and Itachi has surpassed him. Iruka will always be Itachi's servant, and Itachi doesn't need the memories of a childhood long gone. They don't have anything in common, except for a love of the village they both serve.
"I'm sorry about that, Hokage-sama," he says. "Naruto's a good boy, he's just..."
Just lonely, Iruka knows, and starts to feel badly for yelling at him. Naruto has learned the unfortunate truth that bad attention is better than no attention. Iruka tries to treat him well and genuinely cares for him, but it's hard to keep control of his hot temper when Naruto pulls such stupid stunts.
Itachi shakes his head, cutting off Iruka's attempted explanation. "He's a brat," he says. "You're not to blame for what he does."
Iruka feels even worse. "But-"
Itachi's lips give a gentle smile, one which Iruka hasn't seen in years. "One word: Shisui."
Iruka bursts out laughing. He can't help it, remembering the wild scraps Itachi's cousin used to cause, and Itachi's attempts to control the damage. Itachi had been a sneaky little kid, even at six years old, and most of his sneakiness had been reserved for trying to make sure his cousin's latest hijinks didn't get traced back to any of them.
Itachi watches as he laughs, his face carefully serene. "Don't worry about the Uzamaki brat," he says. "I have my own ways of keeping him in line. Besides, he'll graduate in three months, and then he'll have more to worry about than playing annoying jokes."
Iruka's amusement subsides, and his shoulders slumps. He wants to believe in the blond, but... "I don't know if he can pass the exam. He's already failed once."
"The boy who successfully infiltrated Hokage Tower and left gas bombs behind can't pass the exam?"
Iruka blinks as he realizes what Itachi is getting at. Naruto's pranks seem mostly harmless, but that's because Naruto doesn't want to hurt anyone. If Naruto wanted to hurt someone...
"I am so sorry," Iruka murmurs, horrified as he recognizes how much damage Naruto could have done if he'd used a more lethal gas.
Itachi shakes his head again, cutting off another apology. "I'd rather learn about the flaws in our security from such a benign cause. He's not going to find it so easy to leave another 'present' for me."
But Naruto is incredibly stubborn. When pitting Naruto's pigheadedness against the best of the ANBU, Iruka knows who he's betting on.
"Maybe I should talk with him."
"If you think that would help." If Itachi was the type, Iruka knows he'd be rolling his eyes now.
"It can't hurt," Iruka replies. "How close was he to becoming an ANBU pincushion?"
"None of them caught him before the bombs went off. However the ANBU may be slightly resentful of their own punishment."
"Which is?"
"Someone has to clean the Tower."
Iruka snickers, raising a hand to cover his mouth. Itachi has a mean streak, sometimes. "Is that why you're here?"
"My quarters are in the Tower as well," Itachi says. "Naruto didn't get that far, but the stench is permeating the building. I won't be able to enter until tonight at the earliest."
If Itachi had been more like Sandaime, he would have relished the unexpected free time. Iruk respects the former Hokage, but has always known the old man is prone to playing hooky whenever he can. Rumor has it that he's luxuriating in his second retirement. Itachi, on the other hand, is a well known workaholic, and has never taken to idleness. Having nothing to do makes Itachi go stir-crazy. The one time Rin-sensei had given their team a day off to enjoy exploring Shukuba-machi, Itachi had sulked the whole time since he found it a waste of time.
"Is Shisui out of town?"
"Yes." Itachi doesn't bother asking why Iruka is curious. "I'm sure he'll find this incident amusing."
"As long as he doesn't try to improve on it."
They stand in awkward silence. Iruka doesn't have the right to start conversation with Itachi, and Itachi's always been the guy whose social ineptitude kills easy conversation. Iruka racks his brain, trying to think of some way to keep his Hokage entertained. "Have you spoken to Sasuke lately?"
"No." The denial is flat, and Iruka knows Itachi's minute changes in expression to read him better than almost anyone alive. Itachi is shutting him down, retreating back into the role of Godaime, and not Iruka's former teammate.
"I'm not surprised," Iruka says. "He's been very busy lately." Maybe a little too busy, but it wasn't unexpected. Sasuke had originally been trained as the "spare" heir that most of the great Clans tried to raise - skilled, but not too skilled to threaten the prized firstborn. It was a delicate balancing act, and Sasuke had been his clan's only heir for less than a year. Obviously the Uchiha had a lot of training to make up for if Sasuke was going to catch up to his older brother.
Iruka doubts it can happen. While Sasuke has the drive and the bloodline, he doesn't possess Itachi's gentleness. Iruka is one of the few people who knows that Itachi's kindness is why he is such a fearsome shinobi. He hates causing other people pain, which is why he's trained himself to finish things as quickly as possible. In a fight, Itachi will always go for the shortest route to victory.
"Is he doing well in classes?"
The question catches Iruka off-guard. Student confidentiality doesn't matter, since as Hokage, Itachi has the right to any information he wants. Iruka is used to hearing this question from families, and knows what they want to hear.
"He's the top student in his year, very gifted in all areas," Iruka says. Then he pauses, remembering who he is speaking to and that Itachi deserves the truth. "He's a loner, very much a child of your clan."
Itachi makes a thoughtful sound. "Have you begun making arrangements for the teams upon graduation?"
"Nothing official," Iruka said. "I'll have the final recommendations ready for your office after the final exam."
"Put Sasuke with Naruto," Itachi says. "And assign them to Kakashi."
Iruka's eyes bug out at the very idea. "They hate each other! And Kakashi's never passed a team!"
Itachi just raises an eyebrow.
The idea is ludicrous, but now that Itachi has suggested (ordered) it, Iruka can start to see the appeal. No matter how antisocial Sasuke is, Naruto won't back off and won't be awed by his "cool" personality. And if Naruto ends up forced together with Sasuke, it might lead to him pestering Itachi less. As for putting them with Kakashi... well, no one's figured out exactly how Itachi keeps the Copynin on a leash.
"You're evil," Iruka says.
"I'm Hokage," Itachi replies seriously. "My job is to work in the village's best interests."
And that is why shinobi like Iruka will follow him through the fire. It's not just Itachi's brilliance and skill that binds them to their Godaime: it is the knowledge that Itachi will always think of the good of the village before himself. In this case, Itachi's able to do what he wants while advancing Konoha's cause, but even if he didn't want it, he would do whatever he had to for love of Konoha.
Iruka's left to wonder exactly how brilliant Itachi is later that night as he walks home. As he passes Hokage Tower, he realizes that Itachi's cool logic can't account for all the ways Naruto might find to subvert his orders. Itachi might have commanded the delinquent to paint the structure, but he'd never specified which color. Iruka should be more surprised than he is to see the building painted neon orange.
Author: aishuu
Fandom: Naruto
Character(s): Iruka, Naruto, Itachi
Wordcount: 2,200
Rating: PG
Notes: Day 22 of 40 Days, theme from mya_in_ab: "It's not what the world holds for you, it's what you bring to it, part of the Itachi Hokage Verse.
Credit: Thanks to sophiap for actually managing to get me to write.
Summary: A prank gone right brings Itachi into Iruka's (his former teammate's) domain. Naruto ups the ante in his war against Itachi.
Iruka truly believes that children are Konoha's most precious resource, and that teaching them to thrive as ninja is the noblest service he can offer his beloved village. There is no greater calling than that of a teacher, and he's honored that the village trusts him with its greatest treasures.
He believes this with his whole heart, except when he's considering the many, many ways he can kill Naruto and hide his body where it will never be found. Knowing most of the villagers, he might even get an award for making Naruto disappear.
Right now, homicide is becoming a very attractive option. He stares down at an unrepentant Naruto, who isn't even trying to pretend he wasn't the one who set all the stink bombs off in the Hokage Tower. He has Naruto by the collar, and is holding him a couple of inches off the ground - just high enough to make him uncomfortable, but not so high that an inconvenient flailing foot can damage his family jewels. Iruka learns from past mistakes.
Naruto isn't putting up a fight, instead crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his bottom lip out in a tremendous pout. His lack of remorse sets Iruka off.
"WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Iruka shakes him once, rattling his teeth, but the boy just gives him a glare that resembles a puppy after losing a chew toy.
"The red-eyed creep had it coming," Naruto muttered, although he didn't use "creep." Iruka guiltily thinks that he's inspired some of the more colorful parts of Naruto's limited vocabulary.
"You're talking about your Hokage," Iruka replies. "You need to show him some respect."
"He's not my Hokage. He's my rival, since I'm gonna be the Hokage next!"
Naruto has a habit of going on and on about being Hokage. It's kind of funny to think of this klutz fixating on such an impossible goal, except that it's sad. Naruto doesn't know why people hate him, but it's clear he's decided the only way he's going to get respect is by becoming Hokage. It sometimes breaks Iruka's heart, since he knows it's never going to happen.
"You're not going to be Hokage if you don't graduate from the academy," Iruka growls out. "You should be studying, not pulling these stupid pranks!"
"Especially if the pranks set the ANBU on you," an unexpected voice says from behind him. "They're trained to kill without asking questions."
Iruka stiffens. He can't help but immediately recognize the soft tones. "Hokage-sama!" he declares, turning (with Naruto still hanging from his hand) to acknowledge the village leader.
Itachi is standing next to his desk, his hands at his sides as he stares at the perpetrator of this morning's inconvenience. He looks out of place in the classroom, but he's always looked out of place anyplace except for a battlefield. "I see you've caught the brat," he murmurs softly.
Naruto begins to squirm, trying to break free. "I'm not a brat!" he yells. "I'm Uzamaki Naruto, and I'm going to beat you! I'm going to be the next Hokage!"
"Do you really think causing an evacuation of the Hokage's Tower is the best way to go about that?" Itachi asks. His voice is monotone, but Iruka knows him well enough to understand he's genuinely curious.
"It's going to be my Tower someday, so I can do what I want with it!"
Naruto's reasoning always gave Iruka a headache. "It's going to be your Tower to clean today!" Iruka snaps, before remembering their company. "Assuming that's okay with you. Um, sir," he adds for Itachi's benefit.
"The punishment should fit the crime," Itachi replies. "I think repainting the Tower's exterior would keep him occupied for the next couple days."
It takes Iruka a second to figure out Itachi's reasoning, and he flushes a bit when he realizes Itachi has not only recognized a problem before Iruka thought of it, but solved it as well. Letting Naruto loose inside the Tower alone wouldn't be wise, but sparing someone to supervise him to ensure he properly works is a waste of manpower. But if Naruto works outside, there's little mischief he can create, since there's always ninja going in and out of the building.
"Go get paint from the Tower's supplies," he orders. "I know you know where they're kept." The incident with the graffiti on the monument still burns a little. He'd lost an entire school day to fixing that mess with the rest of his class.
"But..." Naruto starts to whine about wasting his awesome time, but Iruka's had more than enough of his shenanigans for a while.
"JUST GO!" Iruka roars, and watches with a bit of satisfaction as Naruto tears out of the room in fear. Maybe Naruto will actually start his punishment chore, but if he doesn't, Iruka knows where to find him. Eventually he'll end up at Ichiraku, and Iruka will make sure Teuchi won't serve him until he's met the conditions of his parole.
As soon as Naruto's gone, Iruka feels horribly embarrassed for letting Itachi see him lose control like that. It's true they had been genin teammates and Itachi saw him behaved poorly back then, but ten years have passed and Itachi has surpassed him. Iruka will always be Itachi's servant, and Itachi doesn't need the memories of a childhood long gone. They don't have anything in common, except for a love of the village they both serve.
"I'm sorry about that, Hokage-sama," he says. "Naruto's a good boy, he's just..."
Just lonely, Iruka knows, and starts to feel badly for yelling at him. Naruto has learned the unfortunate truth that bad attention is better than no attention. Iruka tries to treat him well and genuinely cares for him, but it's hard to keep control of his hot temper when Naruto pulls such stupid stunts.
Itachi shakes his head, cutting off Iruka's attempted explanation. "He's a brat," he says. "You're not to blame for what he does."
Iruka feels even worse. "But-"
Itachi's lips give a gentle smile, one which Iruka hasn't seen in years. "One word: Shisui."
Iruka bursts out laughing. He can't help it, remembering the wild scraps Itachi's cousin used to cause, and Itachi's attempts to control the damage. Itachi had been a sneaky little kid, even at six years old, and most of his sneakiness had been reserved for trying to make sure his cousin's latest hijinks didn't get traced back to any of them.
Itachi watches as he laughs, his face carefully serene. "Don't worry about the Uzamaki brat," he says. "I have my own ways of keeping him in line. Besides, he'll graduate in three months, and then he'll have more to worry about than playing annoying jokes."
Iruka's amusement subsides, and his shoulders slumps. He wants to believe in the blond, but... "I don't know if he can pass the exam. He's already failed once."
"The boy who successfully infiltrated Hokage Tower and left gas bombs behind can't pass the exam?"
Iruka blinks as he realizes what Itachi is getting at. Naruto's pranks seem mostly harmless, but that's because Naruto doesn't want to hurt anyone. If Naruto wanted to hurt someone...
"I am so sorry," Iruka murmurs, horrified as he recognizes how much damage Naruto could have done if he'd used a more lethal gas.
Itachi shakes his head again, cutting off another apology. "I'd rather learn about the flaws in our security from such a benign cause. He's not going to find it so easy to leave another 'present' for me."
But Naruto is incredibly stubborn. When pitting Naruto's pigheadedness against the best of the ANBU, Iruka knows who he's betting on.
"Maybe I should talk with him."
"If you think that would help." If Itachi was the type, Iruka knows he'd be rolling his eyes now.
"It can't hurt," Iruka replies. "How close was he to becoming an ANBU pincushion?"
"None of them caught him before the bombs went off. However the ANBU may be slightly resentful of their own punishment."
"Which is?"
"Someone has to clean the Tower."
Iruka snickers, raising a hand to cover his mouth. Itachi has a mean streak, sometimes. "Is that why you're here?"
"My quarters are in the Tower as well," Itachi says. "Naruto didn't get that far, but the stench is permeating the building. I won't be able to enter until tonight at the earliest."
If Itachi had been more like Sandaime, he would have relished the unexpected free time. Iruk respects the former Hokage, but has always known the old man is prone to playing hooky whenever he can. Rumor has it that he's luxuriating in his second retirement. Itachi, on the other hand, is a well known workaholic, and has never taken to idleness. Having nothing to do makes Itachi go stir-crazy. The one time Rin-sensei had given their team a day off to enjoy exploring Shukuba-machi, Itachi had sulked the whole time since he found it a waste of time.
"Is Shisui out of town?"
"Yes." Itachi doesn't bother asking why Iruka is curious. "I'm sure he'll find this incident amusing."
"As long as he doesn't try to improve on it."
They stand in awkward silence. Iruka doesn't have the right to start conversation with Itachi, and Itachi's always been the guy whose social ineptitude kills easy conversation. Iruka racks his brain, trying to think of some way to keep his Hokage entertained. "Have you spoken to Sasuke lately?"
"No." The denial is flat, and Iruka knows Itachi's minute changes in expression to read him better than almost anyone alive. Itachi is shutting him down, retreating back into the role of Godaime, and not Iruka's former teammate.
"I'm not surprised," Iruka says. "He's been very busy lately." Maybe a little too busy, but it wasn't unexpected. Sasuke had originally been trained as the "spare" heir that most of the great Clans tried to raise - skilled, but not too skilled to threaten the prized firstborn. It was a delicate balancing act, and Sasuke had been his clan's only heir for less than a year. Obviously the Uchiha had a lot of training to make up for if Sasuke was going to catch up to his older brother.
Iruka doubts it can happen. While Sasuke has the drive and the bloodline, he doesn't possess Itachi's gentleness. Iruka is one of the few people who knows that Itachi's kindness is why he is such a fearsome shinobi. He hates causing other people pain, which is why he's trained himself to finish things as quickly as possible. In a fight, Itachi will always go for the shortest route to victory.
"Is he doing well in classes?"
The question catches Iruka off-guard. Student confidentiality doesn't matter, since as Hokage, Itachi has the right to any information he wants. Iruka is used to hearing this question from families, and knows what they want to hear.
"He's the top student in his year, very gifted in all areas," Iruka says. Then he pauses, remembering who he is speaking to and that Itachi deserves the truth. "He's a loner, very much a child of your clan."
Itachi makes a thoughtful sound. "Have you begun making arrangements for the teams upon graduation?"
"Nothing official," Iruka said. "I'll have the final recommendations ready for your office after the final exam."
"Put Sasuke with Naruto," Itachi says. "And assign them to Kakashi."
Iruka's eyes bug out at the very idea. "They hate each other! And Kakashi's never passed a team!"
Itachi just raises an eyebrow.
The idea is ludicrous, but now that Itachi has suggested (ordered) it, Iruka can start to see the appeal. No matter how antisocial Sasuke is, Naruto won't back off and won't be awed by his "cool" personality. And if Naruto ends up forced together with Sasuke, it might lead to him pestering Itachi less. As for putting them with Kakashi... well, no one's figured out exactly how Itachi keeps the Copynin on a leash.
"You're evil," Iruka says.
"I'm Hokage," Itachi replies seriously. "My job is to work in the village's best interests."
And that is why shinobi like Iruka will follow him through the fire. It's not just Itachi's brilliance and skill that binds them to their Godaime: it is the knowledge that Itachi will always think of the good of the village before himself. In this case, Itachi's able to do what he wants while advancing Konoha's cause, but even if he didn't want it, he would do whatever he had to for love of Konoha.
Iruka's left to wonder exactly how brilliant Itachi is later that night as he walks home. As he passes Hokage Tower, he realizes that Itachi's cool logic can't account for all the ways Naruto might find to subvert his orders. Itachi might have commanded the delinquent to paint the structure, but he'd never specified which color. Iruka should be more surprised than he is to see the building painted neon orange.