Author's Note: This story fits into the universe that I created with "Strangely Together, Uniquely Apart" and follows the events of "Flesh and Feelings." That being said, this story reads independently and has a slightly different format than the previous two. For one thing, it takes place largely in and around Konoha, and for that reason it highlights Iruka-sensei's relationship with many more people.

Also, though it remains basically essential to the plot, this story focuses more on what makes Iruka unique aside from his aptitude for survival. However, returning readers, be not concerned. At its core, it's purpose remains the same;: to slowly reveal the character and ability of our favorite sensei while seeking to realistically define the growing friendship between him and Kakashi.

Mythos of a Shepherd
by Swiss

Chapter One

The Land of Fire was a beautiful country, rolling and abundantly lush with foliage of every kind. The great trees, guardians of Konohagakure, stretched high in their late summer splendor. They were banners of welcome at the same time they were looming sentries, and they seemed to whisper, 'The forest has swallowed greater men than thee,' in the breath of rustling leaves and the creak of ancient boughs.

Captain Shouda, ambassador of Kusagakure – the Village Hidden in the Grass – reigned in his beast and shifted in his saddle under the heavy blue shadow. He'd been sent here as a diplomat, far from his homeland of endless pasture and mist in the morning and swaying horse-hair grass. He'd been charged with a particular task, he and the men that followed him at a sedate pace.

They moved boldly, not bothering to mask their presence. They'd been sighted hours ago as they drew nearer to Konoha down the only path visitors were welcome. Their lack of concealment stated their intentions: we come to do no harm. Still, there was risk. Approaching a ninja village always held risk. Though the fact that they were not hanging from the tree limbs in pieces did seem hopeful.

One of his two subordinates commented, "I expected to be greeted already."

"Hm," Shouda pondered, fingering his reigns. "When we come within sight of the wall they're sure to approach us. Though I suspect they'll be nonchalant, at least on the surface."

It was a notable choice; Mist would have had unannounced guests screeching for mercy by now, and even in his own village a party would have been sent out to ask difficult questions. But here they road, invisibly watched yet unimpeded. And, for the one hundredth time, Captain Shouda wondered what kind of place Konoha would be.

A break in the heavy canopy drew up their heads, and – ah. There was the wall. It wasn't as magnificent as one might have imagined. In fact, it hardly stood out from the surrounding wood. Three times the height of a man and studded with watch towers, it was the protective skin over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The only gate stood open, guarded by a triad of sentries.

Courteously, Shouda dismounted his animal before approaching, signaling for his men to do the same. This first meeting would determine much of their mission, and he intended to begin it on the best possible terms.

Two stony faced gatekeepers dressed in the regalia of Konoha awaited them. They had drawn no weapons, but the captain wasn't a fool. Shinobi weren't chosen as gate guardians for nothing, and the one on the left – distinctive only for the narrow strips of bandages across his cheekbones – was favoring the intruding party with a particularly unfriendly look.

"Kotetsu," the third shinobi spoke, the senbon in his cheek twitching. "You shouldn't glare at our guests like that. You might frighten them away."

The near humor was distinctly off-putting, and the captain felt his men tense behind him. 'Clever,' he silently praised their welcome party, consciously biting down on the quirk that attempted to manifest on his brown face. That almost-friendly statement had managed to 'frighten' his men more than any open hostility could have, and he wondered, was this his first taste of Konohagakure's strange ways?

Stepping forward, he inclined his head courteously with a bat of sharp, black eyes. "I am Captain Shouda," he introduced himself. "An ambassador from the Land of Grass and Kusagakure. My leader sends his greetings and requests that I be given audience with your Hokage."

The third shinobi nodded, idly reaching to adjust the bandana tied backward over his forehead. "That's very convenient; the Godaime is interested in speaking with you as well." Pointedly, he added, "We won't bother to go through the tediously vain request that you surrender your arms, but understand that we would happily eviscerate you and the horses you rode in on if you should feel inclined to be tiresome."

This time Shouda truly smiled. Vain; what a true description. Shinobi never truly disarmed. "You have my word that we are here to do no harm," he assured.

A half-lidded eye roll. "Of course," said the man, and then he gestured for the sentries to let them past. As he turned to guide them through, he offered his own introduction. "I'm Genma, Tokubetsu Jounin. My specialization is kicking your ass and leaving no trace of the body if you cause me any trouble."

Walking through the gates of Konoha was like being in the center of a blooming flower. The brown-olive of the forest passed away into a cacophony of vivid colors haphazardly arranged. Kusagakure had suffered and was even now rebuilding, but Konoha was a flourishing pinwheel of activity, like a pile of blocks held together with electric wire and laundry lines. It was dazzling.

Their escort, Genma, was watching the captain's face. "Your first visit?" he asked.

Shouda had to manage his breathing to keep it slow and even. Oh, how he wanted his for his own village. Quietly, he managed to answer, "Yes."

A margin of softening came to the serious face, a measure of pride. The Konoha jounin said, "Yeah, it's pretty incredible. I think so every time I walk back through those gates alive."

He lead them onward, through streets of people moving about gossiping, running errands, laughing, arguing, flirting, fighting. Contented faces living their lives without fear. The civilians parted for the shinobi, but even so there were no glares, nothing thrown, no one trembling.

A high bubbling of infant laughter tinkled in the ambassador's ear and he stopped, handing the reigns of his mount to his men as he moved toward the sound. They were walking through a courtyard, and across the way were two young boys and a little girl being lead by the hand. They were too small to tell if they were ninja, but the Kusanin was captivated regardless.

The children of Konoha were of particularly interest to his mission, and his examination of them was so focused that he didn't notice how close they had actually come until they were almost upon him.

"Excuse me." A soft-spoken voice broke through his study. He redirected his gaze, traveling up the Konoha-standard uniform to a dusky face looking at him with a peculiar expression. The deep brown eyes seemed whimsically paradoxical – an innocuous fierce. But perhaps Shouda was mistaken, because the greeting he received was nothing if not pleasant. "May I help you?" he asked. "You were staring."

Realizing that the inquiry was a request for explanation, Shouda assumed his most peaceable appearance. "Ah, no. I was just distracted by your pretty children. Are they your own?"

"Sensei," the little girl murmured from the vicinity of the young man's thigh. She fisted the material at the bend of his knee, looking up at the stranger with anxiety. Her guardian stroked her hair reassuringly.

"I'm their teacher," the man clarified, and for the first time Shouda noticed the pale scar across his cheeks. Yet, somehow, it gave an impression of gentleness rather than the air of a seasoned warrior as it should have.

The ambassador showed his teeth, very white against his face. "A pleasure. I'm here as a representative from Kusagakure. And who are you?"

"Umino," the shinobi answered simply, casting an interested look at the silvery hitai-ate with the zigzag mark gleaming in the sun. Then he reached for the hand of the child standing nearby. "We need to be going. Your mothers will be worried."

The girl nodded, but her large hazel eyes were still fixated on Shouda with a look of great reservation. Umino gave her a little tug. Then he disappeared as a bobbing dark tail in the sea of people, the little children following him like baby ducks.

"You're a brave man to provoke Umino-sensei like that, Ambassador Shouda." The shinobi, Genma, had come to stand behind him. His teeth were still working around his weapon.

'Provoke' – it was an interesting choice of words. "The teacher?" the Kusanin wondered, intrigued. "He seemed very agreeable to me. Harmless."

His escort openly smirked, a disconcertingly sharp expression. Amused, he offered, "You would think that, wouldn't you?" He nodded in the direction of the departing children and their guardian. "Perhaps I'll give you some advice. So far, you are our guests. However, no one in this village will take kindly to too much attention on our children. Least of all that 'harmless' teacher."

"Ah." It was an understandable sentiment; distracted, Shouda had not been very subtle. He explained himself. "I assure you my intentions are benign. I also work with young people, and seeing them made me think of home."

Genma did not seem convinced, but he made his face into an credible enough facsimile of a smile. "Are you ready to meet the Godaime, Ambassador?" he asked. And as they turned, "Oh, and by the way. If you wander off again, I'll pry your esophagus out with my fingers."

Pleasant poison. The Kusanin captain rubbed his stubbled chin thoughtfully. Konoha was a fascinating place.

The Sannin Hokage of Konoha was a formidable personage. Fair and well defined, another woman of her kind might have seemed like a joke in such a lordly position. But Tsunade radiated Power. It leaked out of her pores like a halo of chakra, like a robe she wrapped around herself for the benefit of her audience.

Suitably impressed, the captain had to deliberately fold away his sense of intimidation in her presence.

"I won't say this is an unexpected visit," the woman began as she eased into her high-backed chair. "My shinobi have been reporting a procession of Kusanin heading in this direction for over a week."

Shouda smirked whimsically, rolling knotted shoulders under the sharp scrutiny. This advanced knowledge of their approach didn't surprise him, nor did her delivery offend him. One did not sneak up on a hidden village, at least not if one came peacefully. And they were here almost in peace. Mostly.

The Godaime continued, "Perhaps a better question is, what exactly are you doing here?" She looked like a monument sitting as she was, her long legs crossed and her chin tilted down with eagle eyes. "Your leader has not contacted me."

"This is not an official visit," Shouda admitted. And his eyes glinted, just beneath his careful smile. She wasn't taking him seriously yet. "Officially, I'm here on a courtesy visit, only in passing. The truth, if I may skip the platitudes and political maneuvering, is that I was sent here by my Lord for a particular purpose."

The Godaime nodded, permitting him to continue, and so he explained, "My superiors were impressed by the latest batch of chuunin elect out of Konoha. There were quite a lot of surprises among your newest shinobi."

"You've come to see our genin?" The Godaime sounded doubtful. Her forehead was creased with lines, and the Kusanin wondered about the rumor that she was nearly a century old.

Whatever her age, she was obviously deeply intelligent. Having judged this, the captain chose to speak the truth. "Not exactly," he told her. "We're actually more interested in your monster tamer."

The silence that followed broke over them loudly, like a wave in the ocean. Intense russet eyes gazed at him unblinkingly in the pause. Then, finally, "I don't know what you mean."

Ah. So there were to be machinations after all. "I'm sure you're aware that the biggest rumor out of Konohagakure these days is that your village is harboring a secret weapon. A powerful master shinobi who is raising up your children into a force stronger than anticipated. He – supposing this teacher is a he – is becoming a growing legend among the Hidden Villages. I was commissioned to come and find him."

"You're here to find a legend?"

"Your legendary sensei, yes." Shouda nodded, and a little burn flared up in him, just as it had when he first received this assignment. It was hope and drive, all mixed up with bile. He finished, "We're looking for the one who tamed the Kyuubi. The one who's sending out your new soldiers."

A thoughtful, considering moment passed. Then realization. The Godaime folded her fingers into a temple before her face, hiding her mouth. There was a very unhokage-like rasp of laughter. "You're -" She took a moment to compose herself. "You're here to see Iruka?"

"Iruka?" Shouda asked, caught off guard for the first time during the audience.

The Godaime seemed to be fighting hard to hold back her mirth, and the show of almost snorting levity made the Kusanin feel a rise of ire. "Honorable Hokage, are you implying that there is no such master in Konoha?" he demanded.

"No," answered Tsunade, but she was still covering that poorly concealed smile of privately enjoyed irony. "He's here. Umino Iruka, one of the single greatest plagues upon shinobi philosophy, and a real pain in my ass."

The ambassador blinked. "Pardon?"

The Hokage had reached for a form on her desk and began filing it out. She spoke as she wrote, "You'll want to visit our academy. Though I warn you against showing too much interest - if you know what I mean - unless you'd like to leave clenching your own bowels. All of our teachers, even the ones that aren't," she snorted, "Legendary, are known to be protective. You visit at your own risk, understand?" She chakra stamped the document with her thumb, then handed the paper over to him.

"And I'll be able to meet him – this Umino Iruka?" Shouda asked, looking at it. It was a writ of free passage.

"Very likely," she temporized, but even so, the lilt of her voice was slightly wicked. "He has incredibly inconvenient timing, but it's in the middle of a school day. Whether you recognize him or not will be the real trick of it."

"Surely someone so esteemed–"

The Hokage waved him off once again, as though it was only by doing so that she was avoiding a fit of laughter. "Go," she commanded. "Look though Konoha to your heart's content. For three days. Then get out."

The ambassador saluted her, standing to dismiss himself. "With my thanks, Lord Hokage."

The Godaime waved cheerily, one finger at a time. "Enjoy your visit," she called, and though he didn't know quite why, it felt like a challenge.

Next Chapter: Captain Shouda goes looking for Konoha's legendary sensei, but will he recognize him?

Author's Note: Back by popular demand, this mammoth epic which doubled in size due to pair of troublesome readers (I'm looking at you Ally Plz and xDelta-Ha-chanx). I plan to put up the longer version they inspired, and then post the original ending as a bonus chapter. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. Copy and pasting something that stuck out to you would be a wonderful review. Doozo yoroshiku!