Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Shinnen ❯ Seige ( Chapter 6 )

Could you believe in heaven,

If heaven was all you had?

             ;            -Smashing Pumpkins

Chapter 6: Seige

Kakashi opened the door to the Hokage's chambers and stepped inside, Iruka trailing behind him. Iruka felt an intense relief to finally have arrived. The last two days seemed like the longest days of his life. Everything was happening at a quick unpredictable pace, and Iruka felt good beyond measure to have finally taken a step forward and done something, even if it was only making it into the presence of the Hokage in one piece. The Hokage was sitting at his desk, a paintbrush in his hand, signing some papers. He looked up as the two entered and smiled that soft smile of his, smoke from his pipe floating lazily into the air. The air above his head was thick with it already, and Iruka realized that they were, in fact, quite late.

"So good of you to show up, Kakashi. I thought for a moment there your tardiness had rubbed off on Iruka and you two were never going to show up." The Sandaime said wryly, with only a hint of sarcasm. He didn't seem too upset about it, Iruka found himself thinking, on the contrary. The gaze he fixed on Kakashi seemed, to him, a carefully constructed expression of dissatisfaction. Iruka found himself relaxing.

Kakashi laughed. "You know me; I like to make a dramatic entrance." He said it with the air of someone who was very used to saying the same thing over and over but never tires of it.

There was a flash of amusement in the Hokage's eyes, but his word were sharp. Iruka realized suddenly that it was the amusement and calmness that was a sham, and that the Hokage seemed tense, angered. "Indeed. Your attendance is a thing of legends. It is even said that while on mission, a teammate of yours almost died because you didn't arrive on time."

Whatever amusement had been in the air vanished in a flash. There was a sudden wooden expression on Kakashi's face. Iruka recognized an admonishment when he heard it, but he was surprised at how harsh it had been. The feeling of ease he had felt a moment before was fading away, and now he felt guarded.

Kakashi bowed his head slightly in a stiff movement. "Forgive my tardiness, Hokage-sama. It will not happen again."

Iruka felt the words leave his mouth before he had a chance to think about what he was doing. "If you're going to admonish Kakashi, Hokage-sama, then you should admonish me as well, for I was as late as he was."

There was a moment of silence as Sarutobi regarded the young man standing before him. Iruka bowed his head so he matched Kakashi.

"Your punishment, Iruka, I will decide later, since you are so eager to be the equal of the Jounin next to you."

A veiled insult, Iruka registered. There was something wrong here, he realized. There was something in the air that didn't seem right. An emotion, an aftermath, like something had been here, but had hurriedly been cleaned out before Iruka and Kakashi arrived.

Iruka's eyes flicked up to meet those of the Hokage's for a moment, before returning to the floor. He was reminded of the sea.

"And." Iruka said, and he could feel two sets of eyes fix on him in surprise. "You have my condolences."

Sarutobi stiffened. "Your condolences, Iruka?"

Iruka nodded, and prayed that he was not wrong. "Yes, Hokage-sama, for the loss you just suffered. You are saddened by someone's death and for that, you have my condolences."

Time seemed to slow to a standstill. Iruka stood there for an eternity, aware that Kakashi's shoulders had leaned back in a silent message of 'what are you talking about?' and the startled gaze of the Hokage had never left his bowed head.

The silence was finally broken. "Kakashi…" Sarutobi said, and Kakashi looked up at him, and his eyes looked prepared for another admonishment, perhaps for bringing in such an insolent guest. "You said you wanted to show me something?" he inquired, his gaze shifting almost imperceptibly to Iruka. The two teachers breathed out an unnoticeable sigh of relief for having escaped another biting reply, but they were both now keenly aware that the Hokage did in fact looked deeply troubled. His eyes had that hollow quality of one who was physically there, but whose mind was in another 'where'…

Or perhaps another 'when' Iruka thought.

"Yes." Kakashi confirmed, and cleared his throat. His voice gained back some of its old strength, but it was still subdued. "I have something quite interesting." He said, and one hand gestured to Iruka, who lifted his head.  "Iruka here has a rather useful talent I'm sure you would… appreciate." He said. Again, that veiled response that had previously bothered Iruka. Like he was constantly hiding something.

The Hokage raised his eyebrows. "Iruka?" he questioned. "Iruka, you never informed me of any unusual talents. And I thought you knew about village code. Anything unique to your person must be reported and documented. You know this, do you not?"

Iruka fidgeted. "Yes, Hokage-sama, I am well aware of that fact. But…" his voice trailed off. Today was being a regular battle of wits for him. He was feeling very uncomfortable, as he had forgotten he had never told anyone about his ability. "I never thought it important." he mumbled, realizing how hollow that sounded, even to his ears.

The Hokage sighed. "Regardless, I can't just let this pass. You're a teacher, Iruka, and you set an example for those you teach."

Iruka bowed forward, his eyes trained vainly on the lines of the wooden floor, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

Kakashi was exchanging looks between the Hokage and Iruka. In a twisted way, the tables had turned. Now Iruka was receiving the tongue lashing. Kakashi frowned, and he didn't know what to make of the fact that it didn't bother him all that much. Surely, he thought of Iruka in a kind light, but still, the fact that he didn't owe the man any overwhelming loyalty always seemed to rear its ugly head.

"It's fine, Kakashi. He had to find out sooner or later." Iruka mumbled. Kakashi felt a momentary flash of guilt.

Kakashi's hands planted themselves on his hips. "Yes, well, now I feel bad about it."

Iruka's eyes flashed in the Jounin's direction, perhaps confused on the emphasis of 'I'.  "Well stop feeling bad, because it's fine." He said sharply. He was embarrassed to be under the glare of the Hokage, but it just annoyed him to have Kakashi even acknowledge it, even though such annoyance was childish at best.

Now Kakashi rounded on him. "Don't get sharp with me! If I feel bad, I feel bad, no matter how 'fine' you insist it is."

"You're feeling bad over something ridiculous. It's my problem, not yours. I came here knowing this could happen, and you didn't. I could have refused if I wanted to. It's not your fault."

Kakashi crossed his arms. "Well fine!"

"Fine!"

The Hokage placed a hand to his face and shook his head despairingly. "Please, the both of you. You sound like school children."

"School children?" Iruka asked, indignant. Being a teacher, he took that as more of an insult than it really was. He lost all signs of shyness and intimidation and turned fiery eyes on the Hokage.

"Would you have preferred me to say you sound like a married couple?" The Hokage inquired, and his eyes drifted back and forth between the two of them, measuring, watching.

Iruka's cheeks colored, mostly from astonishment and anger than anything, but he said nothing. Which was fine, really, because Kakashi said enough for the both of them.

"What?! This, coming from a closet pervert like you?!"

The Hokage was on his feet in an instant. "What did you just call me?" His eyes flashed.

Kakashi glared at him, and felt himself speak before he really thought about what he was going to say. "You heard me. Pervert."

The Hokage's fists clenched and a dangerous fire rose in his eyes. Iruka jumped in between the two of them, his hands raised in alarm.

"Look, I think we all just need to start over." He rationalized. This entire meeting was like some sort of twisted dream. Just when he thought had a grasp of the situation, the entire atmosphere changed to something completely different for apparently no reason at all. The rapid-fire feelings in the room were confusing him, and a distant headache began to form.

Kakashi and the Hokage were still staring daggers at each other, but none of them voiced their disapproval.

Sarutobi slowly sat back down in his chair, releasing a sigh that sounded too old for comfort. Indeed, looking at him as he settled in the chair, the Hokage appeared to be every bit of his years, and a few more. It was disquieting, but when he spoke his voice still held its clarity and rough power. "I apologize to the both of you. It has been a trying day for me, and it has made me somewhat… unbalanced. I didn't mean to hurt either of you."

Iruka bowed low. "You also have my apology, Hokage-sama. I showed disrespect to arrive late, and it was unbefitting to someone of my rank and age."

Kakashi always bent forward. "And likewise, Hokage-sama, I apologize for my rudeness. I spoke without thinking on my words, and I only meant them to be biting- there was no truth to them. I am sorry."

There was a moment of silence as their words hung in the air, and a soft smile spread over Sarutobi's face. "It seems we've all had a trying day. Let us start over, and talk like the civilized men we are. Iruka?"

Iruka was relived that the tension was gone from the room, but a knot of nervousness had settled in his gut. He tried to ignore it, but it was insistent. He always felt this way in front of the Sandaime, always afraid of doing something dishonorable. The Hokage was the father figure he had lost, and he unintentionally sought approval from him in all things. Now was certainly no exception.

"Kakashi was correct. I have a… well, I hesitate to call it an ability, but I have a sort of intuition that Kakashi seemed to think is important."

Kakashi took this a cue to step forward. "If I may tell him of the reports, Hokage-sama?"

Iruka didn't understand this question, but apparently Sarutobi did. He nodded. "I trust Iruka's discretion."

Kakashi turned to Iruka. "What I'm going to tell you, Iruka, isn't widely known and isn't meant to be advertised. I tell you this only because I feel you need to know."

This was unexpected. Iruka gave him his undivided attention, and nodded for him to continue.

"We have had, for some time, men tracking the movements of Orochimaru." Here he smiled faintly. "I trust you know who that is?"

Iruka smiled faintly as well, catching the humor. "Yes."

The smile was gone, and the seriousness was back. "He's been moving lately, moving more than usual. He's been visiting countries more frequently, staying long, and moving on to other countries. And he always visits the Hidden Villages."

Iruka wasn't exactly a mastermind at things like this, but he thought he had a fair idea where this was heading. Why else would one of the most powerful shinobi of the day be visiting shinobi villages?

"The last country he was reported in was Kiro no Kuni, and he did make a stop at Nami no Kuni while he was there."

Kakashi noticed the dawning recognition in Iruka's eyes. "Yes, we have reason to believe he's touching old contacts, flexing his influence to see who responds and who doesn't."

"In short, it looks like he's gathering power and testing it out." Iruka clarified.

"Exactly."

"But how can you know where he is? Surely Orochimaru would have no problem evading any effort to track him."

Kakashi grinned humorously. "Perhaps I over exaggerated when I said we had men following him. In actuality, our 'men' are our ambassadors to the other countries. We've told them to keep their ears open to what leaders and the elevated in other countries are whispering. It's hard to miss when you know what to look for. We often have reports of nobles confiding that a man has come to their country and has been worming his way into the power circles and undermining their authority. It takes little digging to find out what we need to know. But that's not what I wanted to tell you."

"Then by all means, tell me already." Iruka said, sounding impatient, yet also to a lesser degree reluctant.

"We can't track Orochimaru because we don't know what he looks like. Each of the 'strange man' reported in each country has been different in appearance, but we know it's the same person. But we never know it until the man has come and gone."

There was a hollow feeling in the pit of Iruka's stomach. He could see, vividly, where this train of thought was going. "And you need me because…?" he asked, even though he could see the answer.

"You'd know, wouldn't you?" Kakashi said softly. "I think you, and only you, would be able to tell."

There was a measure of silence, Iruka's face a mask. Kakashi found it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

The Sandaime looked at Kakashi and Iruka and frowned. "I've never doubted your judgment before, Kakashi. If you think that you are right in this matter, by all means, show me this talent of his." He said. "I don't know what talent Iruka could have that would be so valuable, but I must see it myself before I judge."

Kakashi nodded, seemingly pleased, and paused a moment to consider how he should go about the whole thing. He glanced from Iruka to the Hokage once or twice and stared heavenward as if expecting a little help. After a minutes pause, Kakashi spoke up.

"This, of course, must be done visually. All I need from you, Hokage-sama, are some Shadow clones."

Iruka knew what Kakashi was planning. And, though he was nervous, he knew this was the best way, and probably the only way.

"These clones must be made to the best of your ability, or you couldn't truly understand what it is Iruka can do. You are one of the 5 Kage, one of the most powerful shinobi in the world. If Iruka can see through you, then we have hope." Kakashi said, and his visible eye held that glimmer that sent chills down Iruka's spine.

Sarutobi regarded the two men before him, his silent, old eyes measuring, searching. Iruka stood a little straighter. It finally hit him, just then, under the powerful gaze of the elder before him, of what exactly was happening. One day, just one day with Kakashi had seemed to change his entire life. He had been content to his normal life of teaching, of waking up the next day to do the same thing done in the day previous. But now, because Kakashi had seen something in him, and Iruka had let him see it, everything had changed. He now no longer had an idea of what tomorrow would be, or the day after that, or of any length of time into the future. And here he was, standing in a room while the fate of his life was being decided. If he truly had something, if it wasn't just a mild, lucky hunch that struck him now and then, he would walk forward into something dark and dangerous. This wasn't just some average mission he handled every once and a while. They were talking about sending him out of the village, perhaps months, even years at a time, to search for one of the most dangerous men in the known world. This wasn't a game anymore. This had turned deadly serious. Iruka held himself a little higher, and he felt an emotion that he hadn't felt in a long time. Pride.

Beside him, Kakashi smiled.

Whatever Sarutobi was searching for, he must have found, because he murmured a quiet, "Very well," and lifted his hands. Wrinkled, yet nimble hands formed a cross with two fingers from each hand. There, he paused for a moment, his eyes looking thoughtful and calculating. Then the words, "Kage Bunshin no Justu;" issued from his mouth.

Iruka was aware then of a vast, frighteningly powerful chakra, but what struck him most in that instant was the unshakable will behind it. Then the flare was gone, and the chakra was concentrated towards its task.

An eerie sound filled the air, like knives being scraped against each other, as clones slowly began to separate from the Hokage. Even as they were being made, one by one, Iruka felt himself quaver just a bit. They were flawless in a way he had never seen before. Each one, as they emerged, was perfect, and Iruka had the impression that they were perfect, down to the last hair on their beards. This was not going to be easy, not by any stretch of the imagination.

At last it was done, and two dozen Hokage stood around the room.

Kakashi's eyes were expressionless, but Iruka had a feeling that Kakashi was deeply impressed. He could hear it in his voice as he spoke. "Yes, perfect. Absolutely perfect." He said, and bowed his head slightly. "What must be done next, Hokage-sama, is a shuffle. You need to be among the clones so we have no idea which one is the real you."

The Hokage behind the desk look intrigued, which was mirrored by the clones around him. He nodded, and backed his chair away from the desk and stood. He walked around the desk, where he paused. As one, the clones seemed to disintegrate into the air. They began moving, fast, so fast that Iruka lost track of the real one in a matter of seconds. Kakashi held on a bit longer in a valiant effort, but also lost sight of the Hokage in the shuffle. That was hardly surprising to either man. The clones were moving so fast that the papers on the desk were hovering, held aloft by the wind of their movement.

The whirlwind died down, the papers that had been lifted into the air slowly floated down, and Kakashi patted his hair, fluffing it back out.

"You turned my hair all pointy." He grumbled, breaking the somber mood of the room.

The Hokage clones around the room smiled faintly. Iruka, who had been feeling tense and nervous, relaxed and laughed.

"That doesn't even dignify a response." He said, and flashed the Jounin a grin, with just a hint of gratitude.

Kakashi's eye danced, and Iruka realized that it had been done on purpose. To him, his eyes seemed to say, 'I've gotten you here and I got you relaxed, and now it's all you from here'.

"Well, Iruka," Kakashi said, and one hand gestured around the room. "Find me the Hokage."

Kakashi stepped away from Iruka, a more symbolic gesture than anything else, his way of saying 'You're on your own now.'

Iruka took a deep breath. This was the moment. It was all decided here. He had never done anything like this before. Honestly, he had never thought about it before. Every time, he had just let it all come to him naturally. He didn't even know if it was something that could be forced. He didn't even know what it was he was forcing. It was a foreign effort to him, like trying to figure out how to make two plus two equal four, when you were used to just knowing that it did. He forced himself to continue breathing evenly, and to look at it rationally, but that wasn't going to work either. There was nothing rational about it. He either knew, or he didn't. It was as simple as that.

Iruka took a few steps to the side until he faced one of the clones. It stared passively back at him, nothing in its face betraying anything of the truth. Iruka put all distractions aside, and waited.

Nothing came to him. He stood there, staring at the form of the Hokage before him, and felt nothing.

He felt a vast loss, his entire body cold with the sudden realization that he really wasn't going to find it. The wrenching feeling like he had failed at something vitally important tore at him.

He almost called it off just then, but something held him back. A little tickle in the back of his mind. Something that said he was going at the whole thing all wrong, looking at it from the wrong angle.

"Well then…" he said softly to himself. And then he stopped caring.

He didn't care if he felt anything, he didn't care if he found the real Hokage among the fakes, and he didn't care if he woke up the next morning to do the same thing he had done the day before. He relaxed, and took his mind off the subject. He shifted his entire focus to something else. It flittered from the silent Kakashi, to the closed window off to the side that let sunlight stream in from a sun that had just passed its zenith, and then shifted back to his own private thoughts, and he thought of random things, like how he had felt so tired when he woke up this morning, and the odd feeling that the night before had been a dream. He thought briefly about Hattori, and the look that must have been on his father's face when he showed him his new skill. And very briefly, he thought about the floor of the room, and how if you let your eyes see past it instead of focusing on it, the high polish almost made you think you were floating.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, when his eyes grew unfocused as he stared at the floor, something in him clicked. He wasn't looking at it all wrong, he was looking at it all wrong. He wasn't supposed to look at it with his eyes. He was supposed to look at it with something else. What that something else was, he wasn't sure. He only knew that in an instant, it wasn't there, and in the next instant, it was. And he knew.

Just look… and know. How simple… Iruka thought with something akin to wonder, and he swept his eyes that weren't eyes across the room once before they halted at the Hokage closest to the door.

That was the one who was clear. The rest of them were lifeless. He didn't feel anything to be standing by them. They were so empty that they might as well not be there. He was right when he had said to Kakashi that it was more intuition than anything else. It was just like knowing when you walk out the front door that it's going to rain. You don't know for certain, you just feel it in the air, in your bones. Of course, the gray clouds overheard helped your prediction, just as the impression of a sea green helped seal the choice for Iruka.

"That's him." He announced, pointing to the clone by the door. There was a slight pause, and Iruka could also feel the excited anticipation radiating from Kakashi. Then, the clones around the room dissolved into smoke until only the clone Iruka pointed to remained, and the face of the Hokage stared at him with eyes that held a new glimmer of respect.

"Incredible." He murmured. He stared at Iruka intently and his eyes traced over his face in a calculating manner. "How did you know?" he asked.

Iruka rubbed the back of his head. "It's hard to explain." He said slowly.

Kakashi had stepped forward, and something in his stance screamed triumph. "Iruka told me it was more intuition than anything else. I assume Iruka associated you with a color--", he said, then paused.

"Sea green." Iruka supplied.

"Well that certainly wouldn't have been my guess, but if you say so..." Kakashi said, and his eye was amused.

"It's a natural association." Iruka continued for Kakashi. "Just something that just occurs without thought, like breathing. It's simply the way my mind sees it."

Sarutobi looked thoughtful. "Sea green is a noble color." He said after a moment.

The gleam in Kakashi's eye grew positively wicked. He bowed his head. "Yes, indeed it is, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi chose to completely ignore Kakashi. He turned to Iruka. "What do you call it? This talent of yours." The Hokage asked.

Iruka shrugged. "If I were to call it anything, I'd call it the Kehaido."

Sarutobi nodded. "Truly, this is a wonderful gift. The possibilities this offers are beyond count. But it is getting late, and I would like the night to think on this. I thank you both. I thank you, Kakashi, for bringing him here, and I thank you, Iruka, for coming." A smile spread across his face. "I will send word for you soon, and when it comes, I want you both to be prepared."

The two men nodded. Sarutobi smiled warmly. "I shall see you soon."

Kakashi and Iruka bowed, then turned and left the room. The door shut softly behind them.

"Let's go." Kakashi said, and promptly latched onto Iruka's arm and started pulling him. Despite Iruka's protests at being man-handled, Kakashi dragged the teacher down numerous halls, through a dozen guarded doorways, and out of the building. He had about pulled Iruka down the walkway to the road when the teacher wrenched out of his iron grip and stared at Kakashi.

Kakashi stared at Iruka, as if measuring him up, then looked away. "How about we talk about this over some ramen?"

Iruka raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean how about I treat us both to some ramen."

"You know me too well." Kakashi laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

Iruka sighed. "Honestly, the things I do for you."

Kakashi laughed. "But I'm so charming! How can you resist this face?" Kakashi demanded, one finger pointing at his face in emphasis.

Iruka gazed at him, deadpan, before turning slowly away and walking off. Kakashi grinned to himself.

"Oh come on, that was funny. Admit it." He called after him, and when the teacher did not comment, Kakashi ran to catch up with him. "You smiled, I saw it! That means you have to buy the ramen!"

"What?? What kind of logic is that?"

"The undefeatable kind."

Iruka stared at Kakashi, looking as if he was trying exceptionally hard to come up with a response to that, and was failing miserably. Finally, Iruka sighed in defeat.

"Lead on, then."

~*~

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