Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Esoteric ❯ Assignment ( Chapter 3 )

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The Esoteric

III

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Iruka had learned his lesson. Next time, when in consideration of having Naruto give advice to the Academy students, he would knock his head on a table with a resounding "no" for even thinking of such a thing. Granted, the children loved him. Naruto was spontaneous, he entertained them immensely, but when push comes to shove, he couldn't cooperate with Sakura if his life depended on it. Iruka was amazed at their behavior. Never did the possibility of Sakura and Naruto not getting along cross his mind. But when the show began, it was her and Naruto who were arguing, albeit it was mostly in humor. Sasuke had behaved remarkably well, though he barely uttered a word even when Naruto tried egging him on.

It had been a very frustrating ordeal. Sakura had felt the need to correct the exaggerations Naruto had put into his stories and thus, it resulted with the two contradicting each other the entire afternoon while the children were confused as to who to believe. It would have been a great help if Sasuke decided to settle the matter by voicing out his views, but the boy really could have cared less. Iruka had developed the worst migraine by the time Naruto and Sakura finally settled their dispute, which had been surprisingly orchestrated by Konohamaru and his small posse.

When classes had ended, Naruto had insisted on Iruka bringing him and his team to Ichiraku in fulfillment of his promise of ramen he had made so fool-heartedly the day before. What was supposed to be a simple dinner turned out to be another rage of disputes between Sakura and Naruto. Amazingly enough, it was Sasuke who finally calmed both of them down in a few simple words, "Argue any more and I will kill both of you." Iruka had to wonder how someone as young as him, who hadn't even made his first kill yet, could make those words sound so impressive.

When the dinner was finally over, Iruka could barely maintain his joy. Team 7 had thanked him graciously and departed ways within a few seconds, Sakura to try and convince Sasuke to walk her home and Naruto being all too eager to do that task. Iruka had arrived home with the exhaustion of someone who had just accomplished a nearly impossible A-ranked mission. He had turned to sleep as an outlet for all his woes only to wake up an hour later, panting deeply and unnerved to a great extent.

Iruka's final resolution was the rooftop. There he laid now, staring at the moonless sky and trying to comprehend all that was revealed in his daunting dream. Visions of blood tainted his mind and he remembered a creature shrouded in darkness, fatigued and angered beyond all reason. It was in pain, yet it was seething with such a wrath that it refused to surrender to whatever comfort there was. Iruka had felt that rage-it was directed at him. He had been on the receiving end of the creature's eyes as it gazed down heatedly on him. Emotions impacted him like a wave against the sand-hatred, vengeance, and a thirst to kill like none other. Iruka was so disturbed even now that his hands refused to steady themselves.

The creature lashed at him, it beckoned him to come closer. In his dream Iruka did not, and for that he was grateful. If he had, he wasn't sure if he would have ever woken up again. Such was the force of his dream. Iruka didn't know how to react. Even the nightmares he suffered as a child after his parents had died weren't as dreadful as this one dream. Folding his arms over his pulled up knees, Iruka rested his head atop them resignedly. There wasn't much he could do now but wonder.

"Umino Iruka."

Haltingly, Iruka looked up at his visitor in surprise. He hadn't even heard her arrival. "Hokage-sama. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he greeted, sitting up straighter while trying to hide his fidgetiness.

The blond woman regarded him carefully for a moment before speaking. "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," she began slowly.

Iruka narrowed his eyes. He knew it couldn't have been Naruto or any of the others-he had just seen them a few hours ago. Nevertheless, Tsunade's eyes held a look of hesitation as if her words were going to sting him greatly. Iruka waited for her continuation.

"I'm sending you off on a mission."

Blinking, the dark-haired man stared at Tsunade for a long while. Once the words sank in, he looked at the older woman bemusedly. "Why is that such bad news?" he asked mildly. A mission, his mind told him. The Academy had only just reopened and already he was off.

Tsunade sighed and crossed her arms. "Because this isn't your usual mission, Iruka. If I were to rank its difficulty, 'A' would only cover about a third of its risks," she replied, sighing deeply as she placed her hands in her pockets. "You're needed at the Hidden Village of Shade."

"What?"

Iruka could do little against hiding his bluntness. Hidden Shade was seldom mentioned to him as a child and the only reason it was even spoken about was because his mother had originated there. However, her people had declared her a pariah once she married Iruka's father and forbade her to ever return. So why would they want the outcast's son? Iruka looked at Tsunade expectantly.

"All right, I know you want me to get to the point so here goes: a demon has escaped their vicinity and is currently lurking around someplace trying to gather its power. They need you to help defeat it because it was your mother who originally sealed the demon and only her blood can do it. You're her son and the only living descendent of her clan who can do this task now. Otherwise, their village falls to crumbles and this demon unleashes its wrath on others-mainly shinobi villages like us."

Iruka would normally have been floored. He would normally have started ranting to Tsunade on how absolutely absurd her words were and berate her for it. He would normally have laughed at her wild imagination and leave. But there was something about her words that coincided too perfectly with his dream to be normal. He could only stare at her now in a daze as the images flew across his vision. The renewed emotions overloaded his senses and he cringed slightly, shaking his head to try and clear his mind.

"Are you all right?" asked Tsunade in concern.

She had hated doing this to Iruka. Every instinct in her told her not to put Iruka in a situation like this but it wasn't just him anymore. This threat endangered everyone in Konoha Village. And she was Hokage now. She couldn't favor one shinobi over the rest of the people-and she wouldn't have even if she weren't Hokage.

Iruka cleared his throat and looked up at Tsunade with a small smile. "I see. So when do I leave?" he asked quietly, trepidation obvious in his eyes.

Tsunade felt her heart bleed for him as she replied. "As soon as possible. Hidden Shade wants you to come to their land. They have some sort of special training they want you to undergo before the demon reaches full power. It's supposed to help you they said," she explained, remembering Shinya's graveness when he spoke these same words to her. She prayed that whatever training it was, it would aid Iruka in the fight.

The man was silent as he stared at the tiles on the rooftop, his fingers tapping on them idly. "It really has to be just me, huh?" he asked, knowing all too well the answer that would come.

"Yes."

Iruka breathed in deeply and exhaled. Well, his intuition had told him his turn to protect his home would soon be coming up-he just didn't expect it to be so abrupt and lonely.

"Well, I mean, others will be accompanying you, but the fight is a solo one."

The Chuunin looked up suddenly and Tsunade threw him a wild grin. "What? You didn't actually expect me to let you go off by yourself! The dangers of one shinobi traveling alone is immense-especially now-and you're going to need escorts to accomplish this mission," she explained, giving him a thumbs-up.

For the first time that night, Iruka managed a smile. "Who would want to join this crazy mission?" he inquired lightly.

Tsunade began thinking to herself as she brought up a finger to her lips. "Weeeeell…Genma was willing to join and so was Gai. I would have liked to send some ANBU agents, but at present I can't disperse any," she answered.

Iruka felt touched that there were actually some shinobi who would want to accompany him, a mere Chuunin. And these people weren't just ordinary shinobi-they were the elite Jounins. He shook his head at how fortunate he was.

"You're to journey to the Metal Country with Genma and Gai as your-err-guards. These two will remain with you for the entirety of your mission, unless some emergency comes up here," went on Tsunade officiously.

Iruka couldn't help but smile at her attempt at sounding businesslike. "But are you sure you want to spare them just for this one mission? And we don't even know how long it will take to finish," he pointed out hesitantly.

Tsunade flashed her eyes at Iruka dangerously. "Dare to go against my word again, Iruka-sensei, and I will personally guarantee you not accomplishing this mission," she said menacingly. "Besides, this threat right now is realer than anything else facing against Konoha. If you do not stop that demon, we're all doomed. The Shade shinobi that came bearing this message was quite adamant about this fact. Not even the Sannin, if we were to ever join together again, would be able to stop it. Your blood can only defeat the demon for some mysterious reason. The Shade shinobi didn't bother to explain why. They really are such a secretive bunch of people."

"I guess I should leave tomorrow then. I could say good-bye to Naruto," remarked Iruka as he stood up tall.

The blond woman watched Iruka for a moment. She had doubts, yes, as to whether or not the man could indeed do this task. But now, as she gazed upon his fiery expression and the pride in Iruka's stature, she rested more easily. The Third had raised his people well. Tsunade smiled slightly and tapped Iruka on his shoulder as he turned to leave.

"I don't usually send off my blessing with each mission, but I feel this one deserves it," she said before lowering Iruka's forehead protector and kissing him on the forehead. Fortunately, she was standing on the upward slant of the rooftop so she needn't tiptoe much. Afterwards, she pulled the protector back up with a grin.

Iruka stared at her in surprise before bowing low. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I won't disappoint you or the village-I swear to it," he pledged loyally before disappearing from the rooftop.

Tsunade watched the empty area serenely.

"I certainly hope you won't, Iruka."

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TBC