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The Esoteric

IV

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It was almost the same scene from two days ago. Naruto was complaining to Iruka-only this time it was about him.

"No! Why do you have to leave now, Iruka-sensei?" wailed Naruto as he clung onto the older man's waist.

Sakura looked embarrassed by his behavior and hit him hard over the head. "Stop whining, Naruto! Konoha Village is more important, remember?" she reprimanded lightly. She smiled at Iruka. "I hope you come back safely, Iruka-sensei!"

Her tone was hopeful and encouraging. Iruka smiled kindly at her.

"Thank you, Sakura. Now I'll see you all later," he said, waving at Sasuke in particular, who was watching him intensely. He wondered what the boy was thinking. He hadn't said much at all in the past few days.

"Don't die, sensei," the dark-haired boy finally muttered quietly.

Iruka stared at him in shock. Sasuke merely gazed back at him calmly. Even Naruto had taken a pause in his ranting to stare at Sasuke in amazement.

"He speaks!" exclaimed the blond as he poked him in the arm.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and Naruto grinned.

"Oi, Iruka, we better get going now," called out Genma from a few yards away.

Iruka nodded and gazed at the trio one last smile before walking off. Genma was waiting patiently with his arms crossed and Gai was in the middle of lecturing Lee about not overstraining himself while he was gone. He also made him promise to not doing any intensive training. Then he went and made Neji and Tenten swear to watch over their teammate. Iruka smiled fondly at all of them. He still remembered them back from their Academy days. They were such rascals then.

"Ah, Iruka! Shall we get going now?" greeted Gai once Iruka reached him.

Nodding, Iruka waved once at the three pupils of Gai. "See you all later," he said warmly.

"Good-luck," chimed in Lee and Tenten. Neji offered a casual nod of the head.

Gai suddenly wrapped an arm around Iruka's shoulders. "Come, my friend! We have great distance to cover! Let this be an adventure of a lifetime!" he exclaimed.

"We're only going to the Metal Country," remarked Genma offhandedly. "There's nothing much there really. I wonder why Hokage-sama is sending us there."

Iruka looked at both of them confoundedly. "Wait, you mean you two don't know?" he asked in alarm. Hadn't Tsunade informed them of Hidden Shade? He sighed inwardly.

"Don't know what, Iruka?" asked Genma, arching an eyebrow.

The Chuunin lowered his gaze to the ground and cursed at Tsunade. Naturally, the woman probably thought it too much work to debrief the entire mission to Genma and Gai.

"There's a lot more to this mission than Hokage-sama revealed."

"Yeah, I figured as much. She did warn us that we could lose our lives-but it's like that with every mission," commented Genma.

Iruka looked at him with a sour smile. "Trust me, this mission is a little different from others," he said.

"Perfect! The great Gai is always up for challenges!"

Iruka bit lip. "The only thing is, is the challenge up for you?" he asked.

At Genma and Gai's questioning looks, Iruka sighed deeply.

"Let me tell you something about a place called the Hidden Village of Shade…"

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Iruka had forgotten how much he loved traveling. The world outside of Konoha Village was a vast and wondrous place. Perhaps that was why the Third Hokage had taken him out of doing missions to take up the post of teaching-when Iruka was on missions, he would often go off on his own for hours on end while making his teammates worry. There were also times when he would come back to the site late and the platoon would end having to reschedule the entire plan. He was recklessly attentive to his own needs in those days-the missions barely made an imprint on his mind. All he had wanted to do was explore the woods, go swimming in the lakes, and run in the wild plains with the sun and moon as his only witnesses. Iruka smiled ruefully. He had no time for fun now, though.

The Metal Country was far up north, meaning that he and the others would have to pass through the Earth Country and quite possibly make an encounter with Hidden Stone. Their people and Konoha were on somewhat decent terms, but avoiding them the best as possible was what they opted for. Of course, nothing was guaranteed once they entered their country. And that was only after they went through Hidden Grass. Iruka sighed in frustration. Two shinobi villages before they reached their destination-it would probably take them an estimated week to arrive at the Metal Country.

"Ah, smell that breeze! It's always so nice to be going through a forest," commented Gai as he tilted his head back, grinning widely.

Genma regarded him indifferently.

Iruka shook his head at the two. They were polar opposites. Gai being his overenthusiastic and outgoing self while Genma being more reserved and calm. We're a strange group, thought Iruka with a faint smile.

"What kind of training do you suppose Hidden Shade will have in store for you?"

Iruka looked at Genma in surprise. "I…I really have no idea," he admitted.

It was a topic he hadn't really thought much on. But now that the other man had mentioned it, he found himself mildly intrigued. As a child it hadn't been his father who watched over his training-it was his mother. She was the one who made him run through obstacles in the forest blindfolded. To teach him how to use his other senses, she had once told him. It was an esoteric method used only within her clan. And that was all Iruka ever found out about his mother's origins and of Hidden Shade.

"Hidden Shade…so do the shinobi in that village specialize in…shades?"

Iruka gazed at Gai in amazement. "Yes," he said, masking his exasperation. "That and…the manipulation of darkness and light, I believe."

"Eh? Sounds like an interesting village! I am glad that I have the chance to explore this place without that rival of mine here-he would probably copy all their techniques and try to use them against me!"

Gai's rivalry with Kakashi had never ceased to amuse Iruka.

"Sounds like you're afraid of Kakashi learning more than you," remarked Genma dryly.

"What?" asked Gai sharply, looking outraged.

Genma smiled slightly.

"I am appalled by your suggestion, Genma! Me afraid of Kakashi? Ha!" boasted Gai, throwing his chest out.

Iruka shook his head as the Jounin began his tall tales of hardships. They had been traveling for a good two days now and the border separating Fire from the Grass's territory was nearing. Fortunately, they were taking a path that wasn't too near the village, but most likely they would still encounter shinobi. Iruka frowned slightly. By nightfall, they would be trekking through foreign land. He had been to Hidden Grass's territory a few times on missions-it was very similar to the Fire Country's terrain only with less forests and more open fields. He prayed they wouldn't meet with any of their shinobi.

"So what have you been doing-before you went on this mission?"

Genma arched an eyebrow. "Other missions of course. Hokage-sama doesn't spare us from any of them," he replied.

"Training!" exclaimed Gai.

Iruka chuckled at Gai's antics. "You mean doing more of those impossible tasks you assign yourself?" he asked.

Gai eyed him darkly. "They are only impossible if you believe it. When you put your mind up to something, anything is possible!" he retorted.

"Don't get him started on his speeches, please," murmured Genma into Iruka's ear as the latter tried to hide his laughter.

It was already too late for that, though. Gai had soon after began a new lecture on accomplishing one's dreams while they continued leaping through the forest. The man's passion surprised Iruka slightly. He had heard from other shinobi on Gai's somewhat eccentric personality. Nevertheless, he was a dependable man and Iruka was glad to have him on the mission. He had successfully managed to lighten up the mood entirely and Iruka felt less anxiety on his mind as he watched Gai rave about his childhood years.

"Though if he talks any louder he'll be alerting every shinobi within a mile radius," murmured Iruka to himself.

However, Gai didn't seem to take in the risks he was causing and continued inexorably. Genma half-listened while chewing on his ever-present needle, occasionally nodding or chuckling. Iruka didn't understand it. Perhaps he was being too paranoid. They were Jounins after all. He should have more faith in them. Sighing, Iruka looked on ahead, seeing the grassy plains just a few yards off. It seemed they had finally arrived at Grass's domain.

"Hey, Iruka. Have you ever been to this land before?" inquired Gai.

The dark-haired man nodded. "A few times in the past," he answered truthfully. When Konoha had been attacked, he was almost scared of the condition of his abilities when he was issued missions again. He had been teaching in the Academy for quite some time and he was unsure whether he would be able to fulfill them properly. Fortunately for him old habits died hard. This time round, though, he didn't slack off like he normally would have when he was younger.

"I guess it's time for us to walk a bit," remarked Gai as they stepped into the clearing.

They were out of the forest now. The clear night air greeted them and there was no moon present in the starlit sky. Iruka was grateful for that; it meant they could sneak by more unnoticeably.

"How I hate open areas," commented Genma as the three began running quickly through the tall grass.

Iruka smiled slightly. To be honest, he loved being in the wide field. True it did promote easy sighting by the enemy, but it was also less stifling than the forest, which was what Iruka loved the most. He had grown up surrounded by forests. Any chance to be in a different landscape was welcomed by him-even now.

"How about we search around for a bit and find a place to rest before continuing?" suggested Iruka. His stomach began grumbling in response. It had been well over a few hours since they last stopped.

Gai nodded. "I agree entirely," he said as they stopped. "Let's all spread out and meet back here in fifteen minutes!"

A quick round of nods and they were off, Iruka heading west, Genma east, and Gai north.

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TBC