Chapter 3

Compassion

Iruka and Sasuke had fallen into a routine. Although Iruka technically worked part-time at the mission desk, he had secured 45 hours of work a week. His longest shifts were on the weekend and he worked from open to close. During the weekdays, Iruka would go to the mission desk three times a week in the afternoons. His weekday mornings were spent shadowing academy teachers until noon. Iruka felt drained by the time he got home, but he made an effort to prepare dinner and help Sasuke with his training. After Sasuke went to bed, Iruka would spend an hour or two reading through his school textbooks.

Sasuke had not realized the extent of Iruka's workload at first. After the first week of observation, he began to feel guilt. Iruka was working long hours to support him. He had lost his job and been demoted because of Sasuke. On top of that, Iruka still made effort to teach him and cook for him. He purchased clothes and training weapons (only to be used under Iruka's watch) for Sasuke. He had even splurged and bought books so that Sasuke wouldn't only train. Sasuke also had his own key to the small apartment so that he could come and go while Iruka was working.

During the second week, Sasuke decided to make breakfast while Iruka got ready for work. He pushed a chair towards the kitchen counter and pulled out tea leaves. Iruka had prepared rice last nice and he could heat that up and make some egg to go with it. Sasuke set to work.

"Good morn…Sasuke-kun?" Iruka openly gaped at the breakfast carefully laid out on the kitchen table.

Sasuke scowled. "Hurry up and eat. You're going to be late," he mumbled, trying to hide his flushing face.

Iruka beamed. "Itadakimasu!" Iruka wolfed down the food.

The rice had been burnt a little, the egg was runny and too salty, and the tea was bitter and oversteeped. Iruka kept his face lowered so that Sasuke wouldn't see his pained expression as he swallowed every last bite.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" Iruka moved to put away the plates, but Sasuke stopped him.

"I'll clean it up after I eat. Just go to work already."

Iruka ruffled Sasuke's hair and bid him goodbye.

Sasuke sighed and sat down at the table with his own plate. He took a big bite of the eggs and spluttered. His wide eyes looked at Iruka's spotless plate. Why hadn't Iruka said anything?

Sasuke forced himself to down the awful breakfast just as Iruka had done. He was determined to do better next time. Tonight when Iruka made dinner and lunch for the following day, Sasuke would carefully observe him.

Hound chuckled. He had been spying on Iruka and Sasuke on and off for the past week for reasons he couldn't even begin to explain. They provided him with a source of entertainment while he waited to be assigned another mission. Most of his missions these days didn't take longer than a day, if that. It was a quiet time for the nations. The biggest problem Konoha had right now was finding Uchiha Itachi and bringing him to justice. So Hound found himself with more time off that he preferred, but it gave him a chance to progress his new favourite hobby – Iruka-stalking.

Hound perched himself on a wide branch overlooking the academy. There was a better branch with a clearer view of Iruka, but he didn't want to arouse suspicion. Changing branches made Iruka stalking more difficult, but it made it harder to catch Hound. Sometimes Iruka looked outside the windows of the academy as if he knew someone was watching him. This pleased Hound. Iruka's intuition would come in handy when he became a full-time teacher.

Iruka walked into Hound's view. He was dripping wet.

Hound choked. Why did Iruka wear white again? It was impractical.

Iruka was alone in the bathroom apparently, because he began to strip. Hound flushed with guilty pleasure. He had lost his sense of modesty at an early age. Iruka walked out of view as he untied the drawstring of his pants. Hound debated moving to another branch with a better view inside the room, but Iruka walked back into view. He was wearing a standard chunin uniform without a flak jacket. It must have been a spare in the school's supply room because it was overly large. Iruka readjusted the drawstring of the pants and rolled back the sleeves of his shirt.

Hound thought he looked cute, and young. He reminded himself that Iruka must only be a few years younger than himself. Hound settled back against his branch and waited patiently for Iruka to walk into one of the academy classrooms. Iruka hadn't reappeared anywhere when an ANBU jumped onto his branch.

"The hokage is requesting your presence." Owl bowed her head minutely and disappeared.

Hound sighed inaudibly and jumped away from the academy. He wasted no time in getting to the hokage's office, arriving punctually.

"Hokage-sama," Hound greeted, bowing.

Sandaime smiled warmly. "I have a mission for you. You might even find it challenging," he said playfully. He rolled his eyes inwardly when Hound didn't react.

"You are no longer ANBU." Sarutobi was serious now. "This is a top secret mission, and I will require you to take the role of a jounin. You will do reconnaissance and collection information of the whereabouts of Uchiha Itachi. Do not engage him in a fight. You are only to observe and report directly to me. As an ANBU your presence would attract attention, but as Hatake Kakashi, it would make sense for you to take S-class missions. You also will have an excuse to go to the mission room and keep an eye on Umino Iruka."

Hound took off his mask. "Umino Iruka? You suspect him of being in league with the Uchiha?" Kakashi frowned.

"No," Sarutobi admitted. "But he knows Itachi on a personal level and that might be useful. Something beyond my knowledge occurred the night of the Uchiha massacre, and my intuition tells me that the elders had a role in it. I cannot act until I have proof however, and that is where you will come in."

Kakashi nodded. "When do I begin?"

"Immediately."

Three Months Later…

Sasuke collapsed on the ground, sweating profusely.

Iruka frowned. "You're using too much chakra to throw the shuriken. Learn to throw the shuriken without using any chakra at all first. In fact, I know someone who uses shuriken that weigh ten times as much as regular shuriken. You can practice with those to increase the strength in your arms."

Sasuke didn't even bother to hide his wince. Iruka chuckled at that. "We'll practice together," he offered.

Sasuke offered Iruka a genuine smile. In many ways, Iruka reminded him of Itachi. Iruka was cheerful and warm whereas Itachi was cool and distant, but both shared an intensity and focus that motivated Sasuke to do his best. Iruka had kept his word and had begun training him whenever he could spare time. As a result, Sasuke had found himself wanting to earn Iruka's praise, and Iruka, unlike Itachi, freely gave it to Sasuke.

Iruka was also surprisingly hot-tempered. Sasuke had learned the hard way not to get on Iruka's bad side. He shuddered as he remembered how red Iruka's face became when he had found Sasuke fighting with another boy. Iruka hadn't yelled at him, but his calm, even voice had reminded him of Itachi. It was infinitely more frightening coming from the assistant teacher though. Sasuke didn't like when Iruka lost his warmth. It almost felt like having his mother back. Once in a while, Iruka would bake and Sasuke would try not to cry as the scents he associated with his mother flooded the house.

"Sasuke-kun?" Iruka knelt down next to him and held out a canteen of water. "Are you all right?"

"How did you get that scar?" Sasuke asked, accepting the water.

Iruka didn't even blink. "I was six and I walked into a field of academy students doing target practice."

Sasuke frowned. He had expected a better story. Iruka grinned knowingly. "Let's go home. I think you've had enough for today. You could continue, but your chakra would be too depleted to do any training tomorrow."

Sasuke reached for Iruka's outstretched hand, but his body refused to cooperate. Iruka shook his head. "You overdid it again, idiot."

Iruka scooped the boy into his arms and carried him home. Sasuke fell asleep before he could muster up a convincing demand to be set down.

Iruka lay Sasuke down on the sofa when he got home. They hadn't eaten dinner yet, so Sasuke could rest while Iruka prepared dinner. Unbeknownst to the teen, a little boy was precariously perched in a tree, trying to peer in through the window.

Naruto wiped his runny nose on his dirty and torn sleeve. He was asking for trouble by spying on the chunin and the kid, but he had seen them in the training field and wanted to watch them for a little bit longer. Naruto had spent the day foraging for food and hiding from the townspeople. He had found a bag of half rotten fruit and had retired to the empty training field to have lunch. Fortunately, he had been sitting behind a tree when Iruka and Sasuke had come into the field. Naruto couldn't help but watch as Iruka carefully instructed Sasuke. A longing had filled his heart, but what he desperately wanted was so out of reach.

Naruto had settled for listening to Iruka's instructions so he could also practice, just like Sasuke!

"Use your hands to give yourself momentum. When you've perfected that, you can try the kick without using your hands. I'll show you what it looks like!"

Iruka squared his shoulders and slid his left foot forward. His movements were slow so that Sasuke could watch him. Iruka used the weight of his body to propel his right leg in a powerful sweep. Sasuke's eyes were determined.

"Now this is how it'll look when you use it properly," Iruka said.

Naruto could barely see Iruka. He moved so fast! Iruka foot had demolished a tree trunk this time. Naruto gasped. Iruka's eyes flickered over to his hiding spot, but the chunin didn't approach him.

He's so strong, Naruto thought to himself. I want to be that strong, and then no one will hurt me again.

Naruto sniffed and leaned forward, trying to smell more of the delicious aroma that had pulled him back to the present. Iruka was cooking something. The branch cracked and Naruto screamed as he fell roughly to the ground. He felt a breeze and then warm arms lifted him. Naruto opened his eyes and stared up into Iruka's horrified face.

Naruto trembled and violently struggled. "I'm sorry! Let me go! I'm sorry!"

Iruka held him tightly. "Cut that out! I just want to see if you're okay!"

Naruto stopped moving. "Me?"

Iruka frowned. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

Naruto's sniffed. "No," he lied. "Let me go…please?"

Iruka's frown only deepened. He set Naruto on the ground, but held him by one wrist as he examined the boy on his own. There was a nasty bruise forming on Naruto's leg.

He examined the tattered clothes and filthy face. "Did you run away?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head, eyes downcast. "They didn't want me there."

"What's your name?" Iruka felt overwhelming pity for this child that Konoha failed. He isn't the first and he won't be the last, Iruka thought bitterly.

"Naruto."

Iruka gasped. "Naruto?"

Naruto tried to pull his wrist away. Iruka had reacted to his name like the caretakers at the orphanage had. He had to get away before Iruka could hurt him. He managed to slip his wrist out of a stunned Iruka's grasp, but his leg was in so much pain. He collapsed only steps away from the chunin. Iruka hurried over and lifted him easily.

"Idiot! You could have hurt yourself even more!" Iruka chided.

Naruto winced. He was trembling again. "Don't hurt me," he pleaded. "I'll go away, please."

Iruka's face softened. "I'm not going to hurt you," he reassured. "You can stay with us until your leg heals, okay? Then you can leave if you want."

Naruto gaped. "Stay?"

Iruka nodded. "Sasuke won't mind." Iruka sweatdropped internally. Sasuke probably would mind, but he'd deal with that later.

"You can take a hot bath, and I made ramen for dinner," Iruka added.

Naruto couldn't breathe. Was this really happening? He looked at his leg. Well it's not like he could escape anyway, so he may as well.

"O..okay," he whispered. His hands had reached out to clutch Iruka's shirt while he had been deciding.

Iruka didn't seem to mind, so Naruto left his hands cocooned in the warmth.

Next Chapter:

More Naruto! What will Sasuke think about the interloper in his bed?