Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Knock on Wood Konoha ❯ Siarad a+ ( Chapter 1 )

Title: Knock on Wood Konoah

 

Chapter 1: Siarad a+

 

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Life, for all intents and purposes, is often harder before it gets easier.

R.F.Fischer

 

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The war with Sound comes quickly.

 

Lacking their most powerful jounin ranked ninja Konoha has very little defense.

 

It falls to her hunters to step out of the shadows and take control.

 

Hunters still reeling from the death of Sandaime and personal tragedies, but they manage it, the first hunters to ever do so.

 

They have their reasons after all and vengeance is at the top of the list. They never claimed to be perfect.

 

And the war begins.

 

Hokageless Konoha fights on; her determination shown in the faces of her youngest fighters. A group of genin better known as failures then saviors who call themselves the Rookie 12 of Konoha. Ones a monster, two are slightly obsessed with another member whose rather antisocial and haunted with a need for vengeance, ones not capable of genjutsu or ninjutsu, ones got more weapons then she can hold, one eats constantly, one acts more like an animal then a human, one has a rather strange relationship with bugs, ones so lazy he actually slept through a mission once, and ones so shy she can barely get a sentence out.

 

Not exactly hero material.

 

The war has changed them though, hardened them in ways they never wanted to be hardened and they despise it for that, though they never hesitate to fight.

 

At some point they figured it out, that you can't not do something because you don't want to.

 

The 3rd Hokage taught them that.

 

Iruka sensei taught them that.

 

It was a hard lesson.

 

Then suddenly they have a Hokage, one of the legendary sanin. A healer. Exactly what Konoha needs right now.

 

Then Sasuke is back and everything starts to look up.

 

And then all of a sudden it's over.

 

The war with Sound ended before anyone realized it.

 

The attacks on the borders and the spying drop off slow but steady and before anyone realized it Konoha was at peace again.

 

It hadn't been without loss of course.

 

Yajirobi Yamaki, killed on a mission to Sound, it was rumored by his own former student's hand.

 

Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo killed by Sound infiltrators, they managed to stop them and later died of their wounds.

 

Namiashi Raidou, killed on a mission to Rain by missing nin, along with the eight other members of his team.

 

Uchiha Kikyo, killed protecting a group of children attacked by missing nin from Sound, the last tie Konoha had with the Uchiha clan.

 

Umino Iruka, killed protecting Naruto from Akatsuki.

 

And dozens of others.

 

The losses had hit Konoha hard and those close to them even harder.

 

Naruto especially had been hit hard, not surprising considering Iruka had died saving him.

 

The boy had been so shocked and upset he hadn't even been able to tell them what happened other then they'd been attacked and Iruka-sensei he'd, he'd and then the boy trailed off and tears started pouring down his face and no one had had the heart to continue questioning him.

 

Tsunade can still remember Iruka's funeral vividly.

 

It had been pouring down rain all day, in steady drops the size of grapes and everyone had been soaked in seconds. But no one had left, even thought about, Iruka was to well liked by everyone for any one to even considered insulting his memory by leaving.

 

They stood around the memorial stone, Tsunade had given the eulogy. Naruto was still to broken up but he'd stood next to her as she spoke. She watched faces as she spoke. All of his former and current students were there and they all looked distraught.

 

Naruto had disappeared after the funeral, all of the Rookie 12 had. Most people had left soon after, to give Naruto a moment in private, even if they didn't like him, they had liked Iruka and Iruka's love for Naruto was well known.

 

They owed him that much at least.

 

Tsunade sighed and signed another paper. God forbid she should run out of paperwork, she thought as Shizune brought in another stack.

 

“Where did all this come from, Shizune, there was never this much before!”

 

“That's because Iruka usually did most of it for you,” the younger woman answered calmly placing the stack on the desk.

 

Tsunade shut her mouth, keeping her comment to herself. Iruka's presence was sorely missed in the mission room and the academy and she hated to admit she was surprised to see haw important he had been. All she had known him as was a chunnin teacher adored by the Sandaime, though that should have been a clue within itself. Sandaime loved everyone in his village, but the level of adoration he'd had for the scared chunnin was something he rarely gave out and never easily.

 

She sighed and started on the next stack of paperwork. She figured another 30 minutes before she could successfully sneak out.

 

She had bets to place and sake to drink.

 

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Memorial Stone

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Naruto stood quietly, staring down at the white stone. Eyes tracing over the carved names over and over. Out of habit his eyes found Iruka sensei's parent's names and he stared at them.

 

He wanted to apologize, beg their forgiveness, tell them it was his fault but the words wouldn't come out. They stuck in his throat, making it impossible for him to speak. Tears streamed down his cheeks, but he found he didn't care. Nothing else seemed to matter now.

 

Iruka-sensei was dead.

 

They were all dead.

 

And he was alone.

 

“He told me you know. About the extra training he gave you. He did the same for me.”

 

No response.

 

Naruto sighed.

 

Should've known.

 

“He talked about you. Said you had the best aim with a kunai he'd ever seen. Natural.”

 

Still nothing.

 

“He was upset when you stopped training with him.”

 

Silence.

 

“He missed you and he was worried that you were lonely. He always asked me if you were okay.”

 

A shuffle in the trees.

 

“I told him you were a bastard. Teme. You were doing, were fine…I thought.”

 

Silence again.

 

“He wanted to help you.”

 

And suddenly there's a presence at his side and Naruto jumps and turns.

 

“He chose you over me.”

 

Naruto blinks.

 

“No he didn't.”

 

Eyes narrowed in anger and something else. Intense sadness.

 

Misery.

 

Naruto knows the feeling all to well.

 

“He started spending all his time with you. Talked about you constantly.”

 

“He talked about you to me all the time. He cared about both of us.”

 

Silence. Naruto can feel anger radiating off the other boy. And confusion. Naruto knows how that feels. He had the same reaction at first too. But he'd listened to Iruka sensei, and come to understand.

 

“He told me,

 

You can hold more then one special person in your heart Naruto. There's no limit to how many people you can love. Look at Lord Hokage, he loves every one in the village.

 

But Iruka sensei you can only have one special, special person that you looooove.

 

Iruka laughed. Naruto you can love as many people as much as you want. It's all up to you. No one else can make that decision for you.

 

But you're only supposed to have one special, special person!

 

Says who?

 

Every one!

 

Iruka laughed again, face alight. Naruto the only person who gets to decide what or who is in you heart is you.

 

So of I want I can have only one special, special person?

 

Of course.

 

Did you have a special, special person? Asked around a mouthful of noodles.

 

I have a lot of special people I care about.

 

But who was your special, special looooove person?!

 

I remember that because when he answered I saw a light in his eyes die, something just faded and went out like a candle.”

 

“What did he say?”

 

“He said

 

I used to. The sadness etched onto Iruka's face had been so powerful that Naruto had given into the impulse to hug him, even though they were in the ramen restaurant, surrounded by people.

 

Naruto sniffed and brought a hand to his face, rubbing away the tears.

 

Next to him, Sasuke shifted closer.

 

…diwedd…