Knock On Wood Konoha

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Chapter 2: :Kotei sa reta buttai 

An immovable object

***

Remember this, Tarta, one who is willing to die is strong. The only ones who can defeat them are the ones who know their own worth.

Magic Knight Rayearth

***

Present Day

: :The Road to Konoha, Land of Snow, Land of Iron: :

Rule number two: Run far. Run fast. Kill first. Kill last.

When Kikyo had been young, truly young, there had been no roads. 

There hadn't been any villages or monuments either. 

Humankind had been in its infancy, crawling around the earth, lost and dirty and at the mercy of the gods and beasts that already called it home. 

When her great-grandmother had eaten the god fruit and begun mankind's mastery of chakra, she'd set them on the path to civilization. A few dozen generations later and there were entire villages hidden across the land, cities, and ports that traded goods from around the world, and shinobi that had managed to turn the study of chakra into an art form.

Then, a weapon.

The beasts that had once ruled the world had been sealed away, then freed, and were now scattered around the world, interacting with humankind only when they felt the desire to.

The old gods had turned their backs entirely, content to remain hidden in the in-between and their pockets of the Pure Land. A few would come when called by the blood they favored…if they felt like it. 

Deals made with the old gods were much less reliable than contracts signed with spirit clans.

The world ought to enjoy any peace while it could, but it never did. 

Kikyo had lived long enough to know that everything came and went in the cycle of life. 

Kaguya would always try again. They would always choose to seal instead of kill. Someone would want the power of the tailed beasts again. One Hidden Village would make an attempt on another. 

They would collapse and be rebuilt over and over. 

And someday, someone strong enough would finally challenge Kikyo and win, and she would move on in peace.

Although, judging by the current quality of shinobi, it was going to be a while for that one.

She stopped to stretch, felt her muscles shift and wake, fighting off the constant chill that seemed to permeate the Land of Snow. The Uchiha ran hot, always had, but an extended stay could wear even Kikyo down. The Uchiha's mountain fortress had been an excellent place to hide out for the years it took to heal Shisui and then Itachi and to recover her own chakra after the extensive process.

Konohagakure's reach had never managed to extend to Snow either, despite the Hatake's origins in the high peaks, so they'd remained hidden from the whole world until it was time. Despite Root's attempts, they'd never managed to suss out the Uchiha hideouts beyond the borders of the Land of Fire. 

Too young of an organization against a clan preparing for ages. Since long before the lands had borders.

In the grand scheme of things, Root would barely end up a footnote in history, but they were still a problem now, and Kikyo's admittedly microscopic patience was already running thin. 

Kaguya had only recently been defeated and sealed away. They were still within the window where her waning strength was enough to break free if the appropriate attention wasn't paid and the seals weren't given time to do their work.

There was no telling how far her reach had extended this go around. Madara had resisted her the first time, but she'd gotten a hook into him years later.

It was likely she already had another puppet working her release and Kikyo had felt the seed of the God Tree crack open and sprout just days ago.

It would grow quickly now, fed by the excess chara dispelled from those who'd died during the war and the lingering pain of loss and heartache in those who'd survived. It lent a unique taste to chakra that made it all the more appetizing, and it wouldn't be long before the sapling was visible on the horizon and, months after that, its roots deep enough to take hold in this world.

She would target Konohagakure and the remaining Uchiha first, as always. 

The first shinobi village had always been one of the strongest, but more than that…it was home to the Uchiha, the Senju, the Uzumaki, the Hyuga, Namikaze, Inuzuka, and Aburame. Clans descended directly from her traitorous sons that helped seal her away every time she managed to claw her way back into the world.

For someone so old and learned, she would never be able to move past her children's betrayal. 

The same way she'd destroyed Uzushiogakure all those years ago.

With the immense losses of the Fourth Shinobi World War still being counted, the Village Hidden in Leaves was ripe for the picking by any of her enemies. 

Itachi, easily the most farsighted of her descendants, had wanted to return to the village immediately in a rare show of impatience. 

And Shisui, naturally, had agreed with him. 

It had taken all of Kikyo's impressive reasoning skills -she'd beat them into the ground every time they tried to leave- to keep them in place for a few weeks more, to give Iruka a chance to warn them before she suddenly showed up with two family members who were supposed to be dead.

But Shieldbearer Shisui and Dragonheart Itachi were not easily put off, and as such, they were moving out two months earlier than she'd originally planned. 

Stubborn brats.

Meanwhile, Iruka's communications had been short and to the point, unable to risk anything longer with Root regaining its foothold.

The situation in Konohagakure was deteriorating. 

Tsunade was ready to move on, but Hatake wasn't ready to take over, and the Council was moving into the gap. Koharu and Homura had slowly been chipping away at the power of the clans, and Iruka believed they were already too weak to stop the Council when they moved, the old alliances lost to time and politics. 

Tsume was a hairsbreadth away from declaring a civil war. Kikyo's first student had always been quick to fight, would rather destroy and rebuild entirely than try to patch with a bandaid.

And it wasn't the wrong approach or the right one, merely one option of many. 

Kikyo herself wasn't ready to say that was the way to go, but if it became necessary, she'd happily burn the entire village and all the bad memories within to the ground. 

There may even come a day when the only way to save Konohagakure was a complete reset. Her shinobi were so obsessed with attaining strength that they'd forgotten what it actually was, why shinobi had come into existence, to begin with.

They were going to get a nasty wake-up call when that day came.

She glanced at Itachi and Shisui, keeping an easy pace as they made their way across the islands that separated Snow from Iron. She hadn't been able to completely erase the side effects of the plague Itachi had suffered from most of his life, and Shisui would never get his eyes back, but both were fighting fit by Uchiha standards. Which put them beyond everyone else by a notable margin. 

They wanted to go home, to rejoin the last of their family. Angry at how long they'd had to fight alone, and even Kikyo could feel the call of blood from the Village Hidden in Leaves, and she'd had much longer to become accustomed to the feeling of longing that could drive them to madness when it went unanswered.

Traveling mostly at night and under heavy genjutsu layered over and over had slowed their progress, and they still had to cover close to a thousand miles before they'd reach the border of the Land of Fire. 

Dawn broke as they crossed the last of the small series of islands along the coast of the Land of Iron. Racing the sun, they only had a couple of hours more before they'd have to stop and rest. 

Kikyo had always been fond of the samurai way of life that presided throughout the Land of Iron, and the Uchiha had a long history in the area. Iruka's adoptive parents had moved to Konohagakure from a small village on the coast, bringing their swordsmanship and warrior philosophy to the Uchiha, who'd recruited them quickly into the military police.

When Fugaku had needed someone to raise Iruka while he finished things with his mother and drew away Danzo's attention, the Uminos had stepped up, desiring a child they couldn't have on their own and further tying them to the clan. 

Their deaths battling the demon fox had saddened many.

Fields of wheat stretched as far as the eye could see as they made their way into the heart of the Land of Iron. 

Itachi had talked himself voiceless, telling Shisui everything that had happened since his death, and Kikyo had shared Iruka's news whenever she got it.

They'd ripped apart a few of her plans in the meantime, and Kikyo was an odd mix of proud and annoyed. It reminded her of trying to plan things with Tobirama and Kagami and the constant push and pull that came with working among equals. Itachi and Shisui were almost there. Iruka was close, but he was so, so angry, and Obito was already lost to the pain.

Sasuke was…Sasuke was so young and so hurt. He had the potential to surpass them all if he found something worth fighting for.

"We'll have to stop soon," Shisui murmured, sightless eyes turned towards the rising sun.

There was a small farmstead just off the road. Nothing more than a house with a straw roof, a well, and a small garden surrounded by rippling fields of gold. The farmer was already up drawing water from the well, and the idea of a mouthful of cold, clean water was enough to make Kikyo stop. 

Itachi and Shisui followed her off the road, double-checking the genjutsu that made them look like weary travelers with absolutely no weapons who were definitely not shinobi as the farmer bent over the haul another bucket out.

"Good morning." Itachi was the least threatening-looking of the three of them, genjutsu or not. Shisui was just as kind-hearted, but somehow, people seemed to be able to tell he'd ripped out his own eyes rather than lose them to someone else, and Kikyo…well, she didn't usually bother to try and not look threatening. 

Genjutsu could only do so much.

The farmer straightened, turned to them with a bright smile, and they stared at him through his cheerful good morning.

They kept staring until his smile faltered and became strained at the edges. "Do you need water? You're welcome to the well. I think I have some bread inside."

He started inching towards the house as the silence turned well and truly uncomfortable.

"No, thank you." Itachi turned on his heel and started back towards the road, Shusui hot on his heels.

Kikyo's mouth opened and shut, but nothing came out as the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure blinked owlishly at their backs.

He turned to Kikyo, "Would you like something to eat?"

Itachi and Shisui didn't even pause as they reached the road, applying all of their impressive mental prowess to ignoring the fact that the Yondaime was apparently alive and well and farming in the Land of Iron.

And hadn't aged a day since the night he'd died.

For his part, Namikaze Minato didn't seem to recognize any of them and certainly didn't carry himself as the shinobi he had been.

Kikyo had never had many dealings with him, even when she'd been in the village. His close relationship with Fugaku had meant Kikyo wasn't needed to maintain close ties to the Hokage office the way she had in previous generations, and she'd turned her attention to things outside the village. 

The few times they'd met hadn't gone well. He'd found her insulting and loud and didn't believe she was as skilled as she was. She didn't like that he hesitated so much and was such a pushover when it came to conflict.

Fugaku had learned quickly not to bring them around one another.

She'd voted against his Hokage nomination, though in the end, she had tried to make it back to the village in time to save his life.

Unfortunately, she'd miscalculated Danzo's reach, they all had, and he'd managed to undo all of Minato's wishes after his death, including who would care for his orphan son. Mikoto had been inconsolable after the Sandaime had refused to allow her to adopt the newborn. 

How would he react when he found out what the village had done to his friend's family?

To his own….

Itachi and Shisui were almost out of sight now, muttering quietly to themselves that they weren't going to stop despite Kikyo yelling at them to get back here!

"Uh, is everything alright?" 

God, just as much of a mouse now as he was before, Kikyo seethed. 

***

A deafening crash finally made Itachi and Shisui stop a few hundred yards down the road.

"Don't turn around."

"I won't if you won't."

Itachi stared ahead, halfway convinced he could see the border of Konoha if he squinted hard enough.

"We can make it to Konohagakure in two weeks if we don't stop now." The loss of his eyes hadn't slowed Shisui down in the slightest. He'd always had an above-average sensor ability, could read the weather almost as well as he could read his enemies on the battlefield. 

A storm was coming. The air was heavy and warm. One of the last summer thunderstorms, but they lasted in Iron. Lightning and pouring rain for weeks on end. It would delay them if they didn't get ahead of it now.

But…

Kikyo wasn't the most patient of people. 

And they had both liked the Yondaime. 

It would be a shame if she killed him.

They shared a sigh and turned around.

"What the hell, Kikyo-mejin? You destroyed his house!"

***

Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.

Dennis Prager

***

Present Day

: :Umino Iruka's Apartment, Konohagakure: :

Iruka diced vegetables with one eye on the simmering broth as he tracked the approaching chakra signatures. He had to fight down his smile before Sasuke saw it, camped out at the rickety kitchen table with one of Iruka's photo albums. 

The boy was still wrapped in rage and misery, would be for a long time, Iruka figured. The Uchiha had always been good about nursing their wounds until they bled out. 

Gone was the innocent arrogance he'd carried in the academy, bled away into what was, at its core, hurt. 

The village he'd been raised to protect had betrayed him. No one outside the clan ever understood exactly how much of the Uchiha was focused on protecting the village. 

From birth, Sasuke had been taught subete wa mura no tame ni. 

All for the village.

The Senju may have been at their side to found it, but the village had far more significance for the Uchiha, whose nomadic tendencies and mercenary practices had far outreached any other clan on the continent. They had unmade themselves to fit in the village. Breaking themselves down to the foundations and rebuilding in the image of something else. 

They had never regretted it, exactly…but the wanderlust was always there, always drawing the Sharingan to the horizon, to what could be, to what there was left to learn.

All those new jutsu and fighting styles. All that knowledge just waiting.

You must always be prepared for the enemy, new and old, they always said, but it was an excuse. An excuse to leave and travel and quench the undying thirst for movement, for knowledge. The Uchiha libraries are the most extensive historical record and collection of jutsu on the continent, lusted after by all and sealed away, untouchable, since the night the clan fell. 

ANBU regularly tested their new recruits against the barrier. 

They always failed. 

The Sandaime tried regularly those first years before the guilt got to him. 

Tsunade and Jiraiya tried their hands when they returned to the village, but even Gamabunta could not solve the puzzle. 

Whatever they had used was something even the Great Toad Sage hadn't recognized. 

Kakashi's Mangekyon could barely even look at it without becoming so overwhelmed it felt like something was trying to rip it out of its socket. He tried one last time the day he'd returned from the war, heart filled with regret, and ended up in the hospital for two weeks.

Iruka had felt every attempt over the years, some more deeply than others, and always reported them to Kikyo. 

She doubted it was even about getting inside anymore. It was a matter of pride to solve the unsolvable shinobi riddle.

Root still wanted in; they made a new attempt every week, but never made any progress, and Iruka took a vindictive pleasure whenever it backfired on them. They'd lost more shinobi to the Uchiha barrier than they had in their Machiavellian attempts to take over the village. 

Their desperation for the Sharingan still left a sour taste in his mouth after all these years. 

He just doesn't understand it. 

Well, that's not accurate. He understands its value. What he doesn't get is the obsessive, all-consuming lust Danzo has for the dojutsu. He barely paid attention to the Byakugan when he was alive, but he hounded the Uchiha to the ends of the Earth for a shot at the Sharingan. 

Not that the Byakugan was as valuable or important as the Sharingan, but still. 

Why us and not them, Iruka used to ask, and no one had an answer for him.

He hates us. That's all they could say. He hates us, and he has hated us for so long.

Always.

Danzo had been Iruka's first experience with hatred. His first time dealing with someone who hated him for no reason. Iruka had never pranked him before. Though he certainly did after. He'd never fought him on a decision or tried to take away his authority. He'd never insulted him or called him names. Danzo had just looked at him one day and hated him for a bunch of things Iruka had no control over.

Danzo was responsible for Iruka's conception, and while logically, clinically, he understood why. Emotionally, he never would. How someone could do that, treat a child that way?

It still made Iruka shake with anger whenever he thought about it, and he had to put the knife down for a few breaths. 

Sasuke was making a very good showing of not watching him, though every survival instinct Iruka had said he was being watched. He'd slept another two days after Iruka caught him trying to sneak out, only waking up the other morning and stumbling around the apartment half-asleep until Iruka guided him into the shower and turned on the cold water. 

He'd had a lot to say about their ancestors then.

Iruka had done his best to heal their injuries, surprisingly nothing serious, aside from the fact that it seemed they both had blown off their left arms in their fight.

He didn't find that as surprising or as concerning as the fact that someone had surgically attached replacements before they'd both woken up. 

There were very few medical-nin capable of that level of work, and Iruka recognized the seal as an odd combination of ancient Uzumaki fuinjutsu and more modern Uchiha fuinjutsu based on their studies of Uzushiogakure before its fall. 

Iruka could count on one hand the people who had that kind of knowledge, and none of them were a comforting thought.

Why would she take a risk like that? If the Council found out she was still alive…

The arms seemed to work fine. At least Sasuke's did. Since Naruto had an even stronger ability to heal and Kurama was unlikely to allow his vessel to sustain a long-term injury, Iruka didn't worry too much about it for now.

"Kaka-," Iruka glanced over. Sasuke's face twisted with something that looked like pain before it smoothed out, and he continued, "Hatake's father was Hanta?" 

He was hunched over a picture of the second generation of Hanta. Sakumo young and beaming between Tsume and Fugaku. He'd have been younger than Kakashi was now when that was taken.

"He was the Fukuro of the Akarui Hikari."

"Does he know?" Sasuke had been very careful not to call Kakashi anything other than Hatake or he. His anger at his former sensei still bright and boiling. 

The question of whether or not Kakashi had known the truth about what happened to the Uchiha hung over them. Iruka couldn't answer for sure, and neither could Sasuke, so Kakashi remained a possible enemy instead of an ally they could have used. 

And Iruka suspected that Sasuke's anger was more personal. For most of his life so far, Kakashi had been the only other person with a Sharingan he could trust, and as irrational as it was, Iruka suspected Sasuke felt betrayed by Kakashi's inability to truly train him in it. 

Or to bond with him over it. His only link to his family, and Kakashi had made no secret that he didn't celebrate gaining it. He carried Sasuke's family legacy like a curse instead of a blessing. 

And then Kakashi had been willing to kill him, and Naruto, who Sasuke had actually attempted to kill, hadn't been. 

Sasuke might have been Kakashi's chosen pupil if he hadn't also had to contend with the son of Kakashi's beloved teacher. Or Kakashi hadn't lost Obito to gain his eye. 

Instead, he was just another Uchiha set aside in favor of someone else. Desiring love from someone not ready to give it always ended that way, and Iruka couldn't blame either one of them.

Hopefully, they would be able to move past it.

"No, he doesn't."

Sasuke snorted. "This other one, Might's father?"

"What gave it away?" Because you had to be blind not to see the resemblance. 

"Were they friends?" Sasuke scratched at the faded picture with a nail, forcing himself to look disinterested and casual, and Iruka had to turn away before Sasuke saw his smile. 

Still so desperately curious despite his anger.

Love was a many splendor'd, stupid, irrational thing.

"Not the way Kakashi and Gai are. Dai was closer to your father."

"Why?"

Before Iruka could respond, something heavy and warm slammed into him, and he barely had time to fling the knife into the wall before he and Naruto fell to the floor.

"Iruka-sensei, I'm awake!"

"I can see that. Did you have to tackle me?"

"Yes."

Iruka growled and caught him in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles over his skull as Sasuke watched from the table.

"Rub harder, Iruka-sensei. Maybe you'll generate some more brain cells."

"What the hell does that mean, teme?"

"It means you're an idiot, dead last."

Iruka climbed to his feet as Naruto launched himself at the cackling Uchiha. 

Apparently, oaths of eternal friendship and fights to the death weren't enough to change the foundation of their relationship.

Iruka ignored them rolling around on his kitchen floor as he dumped the vegetables in the broth and covered the pot.

Naruto left the fight long enough to squeeze the life breath out of him with another hug.

"Dobe, you're squeezing him too tight!"

"I am not! Iruka-sensei loves my hugs!"

"Not when they break his ribs!" Iruka let out a strangled laugh as Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the hair and attempted to drag him away. Naruto clamped onto Iruka like a koala while they were both dressed in his old pajamas that were far too big for either of them. 

This was what their childhood should have been. Would have been if Minato and Kushina's wishes had been respected. Iruka and Itachi would have watched them play-fight over the last desert or the solstice gifts until Mikoto kicked them outside to burn off the last of their energy before bed. Would have sent them off to the academy together in the morning and tutored them together in the afternoon.

Sasuke relaxed his grip, then yanked suddenly and succeeded in freeing Iruka from Naruto's grasp. They ended up in a heap on the floor as Iruka stepped over them to answer the knock on the door.

Sakura gave him a bright grin and held out a pastry box Iruka recognized from the fancy place near the Hokage's Tower. "Good evening, Iruka-sensei."

"It's good to see you, Sakura. Thank you." He took the box, mouth salivating. His sweet tooth barely under control. "How are you?"

"I'm great, learning tons at the hospital. They're going to let me start assisting with surgeries."

"You'll be running the place soon." 

A pretty pink that almost matched her hair stole across her cheeks. "That's the plan."

"Would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some." 

He stepped aside to let her enter, proud that she'd managed to make the visit look normal to the Root spies watching. 

Her smile didn't waver as Iruka closed the door, and the wards engaged.

"The others are on their way, Sensei."

"I figured, best get your turn in before they get here."

She beamed as Naruto and Sasuke stuck their heads around the corner to see what was going on. 

They both paled at the sight of her.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here, Naruto? My teammates didn't bother telling me what was going on, so I had to come find out myself!"

Iruka took the pastries to the kitchen, wincing at the crash that echoed through the apartment.

"Why are you bothering to run? Where are you going to go? Iruka-sensei's apartment is tiny. I'll find you anywhere!"

"Ow! Sakura-chan, that hurt!"

"You deserve it!"

"Why are you hitting me? I brought Sasuke back!"

"You didn't tell me either!"

He was just deciding between the chocolate cake and the passionfruit tart when another knock sounded, and Iruka found the rest of the Rookie 11 standing at his door.

With a blinding smile, Ino held out a card. "Good evening, Iruka-sensei."

"Good evening."

"It's the anniversary of our graduation from the academy. We got you a card."

Oh, it was, wasn't it? With everything going on, Iruka, flattered even though he knew it was an excuse, had forgotten.

"That's very kind of you, Ino-chan." He opened the card and nearly choked, holding back a laugh.

Hand over the idiots for their punishment, Iruka-sensei.

He was going to frame it and hang it on the wall.

"Well, you had better come in then. Sakura brought desert."

Theatrical yums echoed as they trudged inside, and Iruka closed and locked the door. 

He escaped to the kitchen as Sakura's rage got louder.

"Do you know how worried I was? How could you assholes leave me behind?"

"Get 'em, Sakura-chan!" Lee's cheers drowned out Naruto's screams for mercy and Sasuke's barely audible denials, and neither did anything to assuage her anger.

"I don't know why you're fighting back. You both know you deserve it!" Ino.

"Can't believe you fuckers!" Kiba.

"We've been so worried." Hinata.

"Morons." Shikimaru.

"Do you need help with tea, Iruka-sensei?" Tenten and Chouji.

Iruka smiled, "Grab the tea set, and someone make sure they don't break my coffee table!"

"Done." Shino.

By the time they brought out tea and the pastries, Sakura had progressed to full-on sobbing, clutching the two bruised boys to her so tightly it didn't look like either one of them could breathe. 

There were a few holes in the wall, and one of his bookshelves had collapsed, scattering books, scrolls, and pictures everywhere, Kiba's knuckles were bloody, and Lee was loudly expounding on the power of friendship and love. 

At least his coffee table was still in one piece.

***

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.

Helen Keller

***

Namikaze Minato had not, aside from his stock of blond hair, been much to look at growing up.

The clan's influence had long outstripped their numbers, and Minato had been the only child born to his generation. The last of the last.

Naruto had been the only one born to him, and until he had children, he would remain the only member of the clan in his lifetime.

Quiet, thoughtful Minato had been a pushover.

Or he'd seemed that way too many of his elders and peers.

Kikyo hadn't paid much attention to him.

She regretted that now.

Though, to be fair, she'd regretted it before he'd died, too.

Shinobi were trained to be quiet. Sneaky. To slip in and out of the tightest places without being noticed.

They were not, generally, quiet personality-wise.

Even Iruka's beloved Hatake, for all that he didn't speak much, wasn't a quiet personality.

Because he was Iruka's beloved. No one complained that much about someone they didn't care about, despite what the sensei insisted.

Which was good because Iruka would walk all over him if he were, and no one in her family did well with a significant other who wouldn't put up a fight.

Arguing was a love language to the Uchiha.

Maybe that was why she hadn't noticed Minato.

Why none of them had.

Except Fugaku.Who'd always been so far from what was considered typical of their clan that he was practically an outsider himself.

Whatever the moment was that had inspired them, because neither had ever confided in her, Fugaku and Minato had been close.

Closer than anyone in the village had realized.

Fugaku had wanted guardianship of his children left to Minato if something happened to him and had legally appointed him their godfather and vice versa.

She'd seen the copy of Minato's will leaving Naruto's care to the Uchiha.

Where the hell it had gone between then and his death, she had nothing but suspicions.

And Iruka and Itachi had found ways around that regardless.

Fugaku's heart had broken the night Minato and Kushina had died, alongside his wife's.

It wasn't much of a surprise that years later, when Itachi had come for them, they had chosen to die on their knees instead of fighting.

Uchiha die fighting, or they don't die at all, her father had decided, and they'd carried out his will ever since.

To die without fighting was to surrender. To die without honor.

To die of a broken heart.

After all those years, Fugaku had finally lost hope.

But back to the beginning, Minato had been a quiet child. Quick to listen and learn, slow to fight or argue.

People had underestimated him because of that.

And Minato had known that, used it to his advantage because he was smart enough to put its value above his pride.

It didn't, however, stop him from coming up with the stupidest names possible for jutsus.

"Spiraling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three!"

"What kind of name is that?"

BOOM.

"Just die, bitch!"

CRASH - there went what was left of the farmhouse.

"You're not even strong enough to scratch me because you spend all your time making up stupid names!"

"I'll show you stupid."

"You already are. I'm looking right at you!"

***

Watching the greatest Hokage in history and the first Uchiha throw petty insults and overpowered jutsus at each other was amusing.

And annoying.

The Yondaime was, well, the Yondaime, and Kikyo was Kikyo, and apparently, it was a good thing she hadn't spent much time in the village during his lifetime. Ever since they'd severed the red string, all Kikyo and Minato had managed to do was argue over everything, and Itachi was very close to just leaving them here to kill one another.

Minato wanted to go back to the village immediately, Kikyo wanted to wait. 

Kikyo was convinced he knew who'd resurrected him, but he swore up and down he had no idea and barely remembered coming back during the war. 

They both thought the other was stupid to use a nicer word than the ones they'd screamed, but Itachi figured they were actually pretty evenly matched and just being stubborn. 

It was interesting. Kikyo'd had a good friendship with Hashirama and an even closer relationship with his younger brother, as evidenced by Itachi's entire bloodline. 

She'd instructed Hiruzen when he was young beside Tobirama and, until the decline of relations with the Uchiha, the Sandaime had considered her a close friend and mentor. Her influence in the Hokage's office had been quiet but poignant, and the absence of it after had been a gaping wound. 

Hiruzen had not handled it well. 

As much as Itachi admired the man, he'd become the poster child of what grief could do to someone, and while Itachi had loved him once, he'd never trusted him again. Hiruzen had fallen under his own Curse of Hatred after Mari and Danzo, and like most Uchiha that fell, he'd never quite been able to pull himself out of it.

It was a sad end to a man who had once been great.

And proof, perhaps, that there was such a thing as being in power too long. 

The village had started to stagnate after Minato's death. The youngest Hokage in history had been meant to guide Konohagakure onto a new path, a fresh vision to break out of the old that was holding them back, but his sudden death had ended that. 

Madara and his stupid decisions made in anger. 

And hurt. 

Like Hiruzen. 

And Obito. 

Even Danzo, in his own way, though Itachi was less willing to spare him any kindness. 

In contrast, Minato, even after they'd told him everything that had happened while crammed into his tiny barn to wait out the last storm, had only looked contemplative. 

There had been flashes of anger, naturally. Minato was quiet, but he was also proud, as he should be. He might be the only person besides Kikyo that could withstand Itachi and Iruka together, and that was something to look forward to testing. 

The news that Kaguya wasn't dead hadn't seemed to surprise him much, and Minato had admitted that Fugaku had shared far more with him than any of them had realized. They had been working on plans for the future, he'd said, tracking down Madara and Kaguya and putting a stop to them before they'd even begun their grand plan. 

And all of it ruined by petty people. 

It made Itachi tired. More than he already was. Tired in the soul, not the body. To think there had been so many working to stop it, but the actions of a few short-sighted people had stopped them. 

No wonder Iruka was always so angry. 

No wonder Kikyo had abandoned the world for so long.

No wonder his father had become the first Uchiha to sit down and die without fighting back.

Uchiha die in battle, Itachi, or they don't die at all.

But he'd died on his knees instead. 

And they'd all followed him. 

One final great act of defiance and yet still a sacrifice for the village. 

Itachi wanted to go home. To Sasuke, to Iruka and Naruto. To one of the few places in the world where he actually felt safe and could rest. There were still a few threads to deal with, the last remnants of Root and then, of course, Kaguya, but after that…after that, they could all rest. 

Iruka could focus on teaching, Naruto on becoming Hokage, Sasuke on doing god knew what he decided he wanted after everything. Itachi could take on a genin team or an apprentice. Kabuto wanted to work with children, orphans specifically, and Konohagakure definitely needed help overhauling the orphanage system that had left Iruka and Naruto on their own as children. 

But they had to get home first. 

Preferably without Kikyo and Minato killing each other. The Yondaime was an incredible advantage they'd never expected to have and a significant presence on the battlefield that their enemy wouldn't be prepared for. 

If he was willing to go along.

Shisui nudged him, pressed his knee against Itachi's, and left it there to share his warmth. 

"I think we should leave them here." 

"They'll kill each other."

"They're not that stupid."

"They're not going to slow down anytime soon."

"They can catch up. I want to see Hana."

Shisui had never had a problem talking about his feelings calmly, making him somewhat of an anomaly among the Uchiha. They were all loud, passionate, and uncontrollable in their emotions, and they could never seem to talk about how they felt without yelling and drinking. 

When Shisui had first come home from the Academy and informed them that he was in love with Inuzuka Hana, they'd barely heard him. No one had believed it until he'd brought her home for dinner the next week and introduced her as his fiance.

They were seven at the time. 

Apparently, he'd proposed during snack time. 

Tsume and Mikoto had thought it was hilarious. Mikoto had proposed to Fugaku on a battlefield. His father had proposed to his mother in the midst of a peace-treaty meeting, and there were stories going back to the beginning of the clan of proposals during fights and arguments, even a few weddings and funerals. 

They weren't a clan known for their subtlety. 

"Let's go." Itachi rolled to his feet, blurred, and reappeared on the road. Shisui followed.

Kikyo and Minato would come to Konohagakure when they were ready, but Itachi was done waiting. 

***

Present Day

: :Umino Iruka's Apartment, Konohagakure: :

Naruto winced as Hinata healed a bruise on his cheek. No amount of flailing could dislodge Akamaru from gnawing on his arm, and Kiba refused to call him off the bastard.

Sakura refused to heal anything she'd caused, so Ino was taking care of Sasuke while Sakura glared at both of them from her spot next to Iruka.

"How did you manage to get back into the village without anyone noticing?" Shikamaru, with his uncanny ability to look bored and curious at the same time.

Naruto shrugged. "I just jumped to Iruka-sensei's apartment."

The Nara's dark eyes turned to their teacher, who shrugged. "Wards."

"Pretty powerful wards," Tenten murmured.

"They have their uses," Iruka sipped his tea, looking for all the world like he didn't have the most powerful wards in Konohagakure wrapped around his shitty apartment in the poorest neighborhood in the village.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, what are you going to do now? There are people looking for you." Hinata's voice was still soft but less timid than before. She'd proved her worth during the war. 

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who managed to keep his face blank through Ino's less-than-gentle ministrations. 

"You will have to tell. Eventually," Shino pointed out, Kiba nodding along next to him, pressed together shoulder to hip. 

"I know that, but we don't have to do it this second, right Iruka-nii?" 

They all turned to their Academy teacher. Years of missions, betrayals they'd tell stories about for generations, and a war that would go down in history were not enough to erase his authority from their minds.

It was hard to remember that he wasn't that much older than them. Even younger than Kakashi and the Jōnin instructors. 

Now that Naruto thought about it, Iruka was only a few years older than Itachi. Naruto had fuzzy memories of the two of them together before he'd entered the Academy, but he could never quite focus enough to picture it clearly. They sat at the edge of his mind, like a shadow in the corner of his eye, and though the emotions from those memories was strong, the recollection was weak. 

He knew enough now to guess why, and there was no strong urge to ask questions that might bring back bad memories for Iruka. 

"They'll arrest Sasuke," Ino pointed out.

"We need a plan," Chouji looked pointedly at his teammate.

Shikamaru sighed and stared up at the ceiling, but before he could answer, Iruka spoke up. "Before you do that, you need to decide-"

"We've already decided," Sakura broke in. Voice strong like there was never any doubt. "We know it's going to cause problems, but we decided that no one is going to tell us how to feel about Sasuke but us." 

A volley of nods followed her announcement.

Sasuke's shoulders hunched as he seemed to shrink in on himself. It wouldn't last long, Naruto knew. For all that Sasuke might feel bad about leaving their friends behind, it was hard to argue that there wasn't reason for it.

The times he tried to kill them, though….well, he was probably going to get his ass handed to him in training for a while. 

That and he was paying for Naruto's ramen for the foreseeable future.

"It seems like the village needs a shakeup anyway," Ino flipped her ponytail over her shoulder.

"If everything you guys claim is true," Shikamaru ignored Naruto's outraged look and Sasuke's glare. "There's a much bigger problem anyway." 

To put it lightly.

Naruto had always carried a heavy weight on his shoulders. Even when he was too small to realize it was there. It had started out as loneliness, become a cloak of anger as his awareness developed, and he realized the village hated him for something he'd had no say in. 

Anger had become desperation, thick and dark, leaving him with a racing heart and parched throat no matter how much he slept or ate, assuaged only when Iruka took notice and helped Naruto with the weight of it. Slowly taking up more and more until Naruto was left with just a light pressure over his shoulders, the desire to prove everyone wrong buffered by a love unquestioned. 

Because Iruka would love Naruto no matter what he did or what he achieved.

Like he hadn't even hesitated to hide Naruto and Sasuke at his apartment despite one of them being Konohagakure's most wanted missing-nin. 

Which was ridiculous, in Naruto's opinion, but he'd deal with that soon enough.

He wanted to ask Iruka what he was planning, but he'd learned long ago that Iruka, no matter how much he loved someone, would not reveal his plans before he was ready. Naruto had begged for months to find out who his Jōnin-sensei would be, and Iruka had never budged. 

It was funny on a whole different level because Iruka so clearly didn't like Kakashi-sensei, but wouldn't tolerate a bad thing being said about him.

By anyone else anyway. Iruka-sensei had plenty to say.

There was more going on. Naruto had missed it when he was young and angry and distracted, but now, he could look at the village with fresh eyes and see the cracks. 

They'd just fought one war, and they were about to fight another. 

He glanced at Sasuke, found dark eyes already looking at him. 

Sasuke was brilliant. If Naruto had figured it out, Sasuke already knew. 

And he was still here.

***

If you will not die for us, you cannot ask us to die for you.

Jacqueline Carey

***

~tbc~