Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Spirit of Konoha	By : phoenixsdark Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2621 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. No money is made. I am doing this only for fun and happen to be incredibly poor.

Chapter List
- 1-Spirit of Konoha
- 2-The Guardian
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- 2
WARNINGS ARE FOR ALL CHAPTERS. So please do not expect everything in the warnings to appear in each chapter. SEE this section of each fic for comments and warnings as they change and for each part. I changed the description as it would appear people were thinking Mary Sue. So I made it clear that the Main Character is Iruka. The OC shows up for one chapter and goes bye bye.

WARNING: THIS IS NOT A DEATH FIC. I know what you will be thinking when you finish, BUT just calm down and move on to part 2. Trust me. And ignore the insane laughter in the background.

They were all gathered in the hospital officially to guard the children after the attack. Unofficially, they were all gathered around the room Lady Tsunade was frantically working in. The village’s strongest nin’s were standing grim-faced outside the door or leaning on walls as regular citizens filled the chairs. Only Asuma was seated as he had a sleeping Konohamaru in his lap.
“It’s not supposed to be like this,” Genma growled, a bit of killing intent escaping his control and making the nurses flinch.
“We don’t know for sure yet.” Ibiki reminded him.
“He’ll be okay,” Raidou proclaimed with false bravado. “He’s strong.”
“Stronger than we knew,” Kurenai whispered on the verge of tears.
That morning, the Academy had a field trip into the forest to teach the children how to find plants that would help them.   In addition to three ANBU, four teachers had gone along. No one thought anything would happen, but with Sound still alive and well, they weren’t taking chances. In the end, however, it hadn’t been enough.
The full story came from Konohamaru who had stayed behind and would likely be traumatized for life by what he saw. A band of ten nin had dropped, literally, on top of the ANBU. Though they wore no headbands, their fighting techniques marked them as ninja.
A man had ordered those not fighting the ANBU to “Get the Bloodline brats and kill the rest.” Then chaos had broken out for a few minutes as the teachers tried to protect the students. According to Konohamaru, Iruka-sensei had managed to kill two enemies before ordering the other teachers to get the children to safety and get help. Then he’d stood between the enemy and their targets.
He had stood against three unknown nin. Being himself, Konohamaru had stayed behind determined to help his favorite teacher. However, as the enemies unleashed their killing intent, all the boy could do was sit frozen behind a bush and watch; his young mind overwhelmed by the sheer violence and evil Iruka-sensei’s opponents broadcasted.
According to him, the ANBU were barely holding their own against the five targeting them and Umino Iruka was forced to defend himself against what those gathered at the hospital suspected were S rank criminals.   Yet the young man hadn’t retreated. In fact, he’d succeeded. Every child made it back to Konoha. The same could not be said for the teacher.
He’d fought well, using improvised traps and tags, illusions, and sheer determination. It wasn’t enough, of course. There was no way the teacher could have expected to win. Which made everyone so much prouder of him. Umino Iruka fought to give his fellow teachers time to get help. Did he think they would come in time for him? Not according to Konohamaru and the two surviving ANBU who had overheard Iruka taunting the enemy.
He let no one pass him. No one. Despite being hurt again and again, he got in their way. And when they realized they’d been delayed too long? That was the part of the story burned into Konohamaru’s mind. The enemy nin had cast some sort of jutsu and fled. The remaining ANBU first tried to save their comrade, but the screams from Iruka drew their attention.
He’d been suspended in some sort of web. At first, the ANBU told them, they’d felt contempt for the panicking teacher; then the slashes appeared on his clothes. Before their eyes entire strips of his skin were peeled away, taking his uniform with them. Unable to do anything for their dead teammate, they’d tried to reach Iruka-sensei. Tried. Some kind of chakra barrier had defied their best attempts to break it.
They watched with growing desperation as the man who’d helped save their young charges was slowly skinned alive. About twelve minutes later the cavalry had arrived. A full squad of ANBU, one of HUNTERS, and just about every powerful nin not out on a mission. It hadn’t taken more than a few seconds for the new arrivals to understand the situation. A good third of Umino’s body was missing skin by then.
Working together, they’d managed to dismiss the trap, but not before witnessing the skin from both shins peel back, revealing white bone, and drop to the ground. By that time, its victim wasn’t screaming any longer; all he could manage were some weak whimpers.
Genma had rushed forward and caught Iruka as he fell. Blood soaked into his uniform frighteningly fast.   He was preparing to teleport the wounded man to the hospital when Iruka actually spoke.
“The children,” he rasped softly, “are the children safe?”
None of them had expected him to be able to talk much less be coherent. In that single moment, the nin of Konoha found themselves stunned and awed.
“The children?” he repeated, despair and fear in his tone. His eyes roamed over the group looking for someone to tell him.
“They are fine, Umino-sama,” one of the escort ANBU told him. “They reached the safety of Konoha.”
Iruka-sensei smiled, sighed, and stopped breathing.
Kakashi didn’t even think; he grabbed Iruka and teleported right to the emergency room of the hospital. A doctor arrived not twenty seconds after him. Konoha doctors could all sense chakra and were trained to recognize the emotion behind it; it was a program Tsunade instituted shortly after becoming Hokage. Kakashi’s energy all but bellowed EMERGENCY.
Thirty minutes later, the other Nin arrived; Asuma was carrying Konohamaru who was busy sobbing and recounting what he’d seen. Ibiki was following the pair, having everything the kid said written down.   Then Lady Tsunade had blown past them all rushing into the surgery.
Over the next hour, more and more families had arrived; all brought by the news Umino Iruka-sensei was badly injured. Even the most powerful put in a short appearance, usually leaving someone behind to gather news. Kakashi had counted off the Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, and Nara among a handful of others.
Eventually, Konohamaru fell asleep and the families drifted out for food or simply because life does not stop no matter what their feelings in the matter. The hospital remained crowded though; so many cared for the teacher. It stunned the powerful nin. Would the people of Konoha hold vigils for them? Kakashi rather doubted it.
“This should never have happened,” Ibiki leaned against the wall next to the Copy Nin. His voice was very quiet and laced with chakra. Only other nin would hear it. A trick ANBU and HUNTER’s used in the field.
“Your findings?”
“My ANBU haven’t interviewed all the Families with special talents yet. Some left too soon. But what we did find is that they normally never allow their kids to attend field trips like this one. There’s too much risk. They teach it at home.”
“Then why…” Kakashi trailed off under Ibiki’s glare.
“They don’t know why.” His chakra spiked just a little with anger causing Konohamaru to stir.
Asuma handed his nephew over to Kurenai and joined them. The tension in his body betrayed his feelings. The frustration many of the nin felt was becoming hard to hide as the hours wore on.
“So we have another traitor?” He mused.
“One powerful enough to influence Families like the Huuygas.” Kakashi added.
“I don’t see another explanation.” Ibiki kept his voice steady, but his eyes betrayed enormous fury. Someone had attacked his home and the only bodies he had provided no clues.
“Do we know who attacked the children?” Genma asked from across the room, using Ibiki’s trick.
“No. Konohamaru and my ANBU didn’t see any headbands. As far as that jutsu, no one admits knowing about it. Which leaves me with Umino Iruka. I need to speak with him as soon as possible.”
“That may be a problem,” Tsunade’s voice brought everyone’s eyes to her.
Her face was heavily lined and she was showing her age badly. Which meant she had accessed her saved chakra. But was that a good or bad thing? No one moved or spoke.
“I’ve done all I can, but the damage was worse than we thought. The jutsu not only skinned him alive, it was rotting his internal organs.”
She paused to let everyone take that in. The waiting room was full of people. More than she’d ever seen there. In other circumstances it would have brought a smile to her lips; now it reminded her how many lives the young teacher touched.   The presence of the nin, however, was a bit puzzling. Jounin didn’t normally wait around to see what happened with a Chunin. Maybe there was something to Sarutobi’s faith in him after all.
“Umino Iruka has no direct family left, so I am sending for some distant cousins of his.”
That was all she intended to say, but found her way blocked by a very angry looking child.
“Iruka-sensei is going to be fine.” He demanded. “Say it.”
No one tried to move him. All around hopeful faces looked toward her. What could she tell them? They weren’t family. They didn’t have a right to the information. Yet, looking at the tense faces, feeling the nervous chakra of her ninjas, Tsunade wondered if her family comment had been correct.
“If he makes it through the night, he has a fifty-fifty chance.” There she’d given them hope.
“And his chances to make it through the night?” Kakashi would be the one to ask. Bastard brat.
Damn. All those hopeful faces. She really hated this part of being a healer.
“There was too much damage. He has a twenty percent chance of surviving the night.”
Faces collapsed into grief, children began crying, even her fiercest nin turned away at the news. But one person wasn’t going to stay quiet about her predictions.
“You’re lying!” Tears were streaming down Konohamaru’s cheeks. “Iruka-sensei is too tough to die. Tougher than any ninja in the village. He’s gonna wake up tomorrow and yell at you for doubting him.”
His voice was rising to a shriek; everyone let him confront Tsunade with his grief, perhaps letting him be a surrogate for their own feelings.
“I promised Naruto-niichan I would protect the village. Iruka-sensei can’t die like this. He saved us. He stayed behind. For us. For me! He can’t die. He can’t leave me until I become Hokage. He promised!”
Asuma snatched the boy up as he prepared to charge his Hokage. The screaming didn’t stop. Konohamaru continued his babbling litany of why his precious sensei couldn’t die. His small fists pounded Asuma’s chest needing a physical outlet for his pain. With an apologetic look, the man carried his nephew outside. That started the migration. Parents gave her quick bows or thanked her for all her efforts and quickly took their mourning children home.
Eventually Kurenai came over. “Iruka became like an older brother to Konohamaru after he lost his grandfather. It’s like losing family all over again.”
Tsunade nodded; the young woman bowed, following after her lover. It wasn’t as if the older woman was angry at the display of temper and grief. She felt the same way. Yet another nin dying because she couldn’t save them. Over her time as Hokage, Tsunade began to know all her nin. A few were tools. Some became friends.   A very few touched her heart like Naruto.   Though she did not know Umino Iruka well, that Naruto would mourn deeply for the man brought her pain.
“You should get some rest, Hokage-sama,” Genma said from her elbow.
She nodded, but made no move to head home. Was there something else she could do? A way to rebuild the damaged organs? Perhaps in one of the forbidden scrolls.
“Stay here, Genma. If there is any change in his condition, get me immediately. I think there might be a scroll that can help.” With that she teleported right to Hokage Tower.
Genma waved away the teleport smoke, wondering if he should feel any hope. Deciding not to give up on his friend, the nin stationed himself outside Iruka’s intensive care room. If anyone stood a chance at twenty percent, it was that stubborn Chunin.
The night wore on. Tsunade tore through the forbidden scrolls desperately searching. Families all over Konoha lit candles for the dying man. Ibiki and his ANBU combed the forest for clues. Asuma and Kurenai tried to comfort Konohamaru until he cried himself to sleep. Kakashi and the other Jounin said silent prayers, holding their breath. Chunin all over the city kept their thoughts on work, but silently worried for their comrade. And in a small, private room, Umino Iruka died.

NOW CALM DOWN. Notice how I said not really a death fic? Well, it’s not. Check out part two. You’ll see.
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Spirit of Konoha