Author's note: This idea hit me in the car on the way home from work today. As soon as I got in the door, I sat down to write it out. It's not my greatest since I haven't written in like…forever. . *Dodges flying candelabras*

Warnings (cause people'll flame me otherwise :p): YAOI, for you newbies, that means boyxboy action! And a little bit of olderxyounger situation (not sure what that's called exactly .)

The Burden of a Teacher

A Tribute to Umino Iruka for his Birthday (May 26)

Blood dripped from several of the trees in the forest. There was too much mist to see far, but Iruka knew the blood came from the scores of enemy ninja strewn across the canopy above. Several meters ago, he had been forced to the ground for that very reason. The lover level turned out to be just as treacherous a path however. Large burn marks scored the ground and several roots were exposed, their wick showing through bone white in the sea of red and black.

'What have we done?'

A few more steps and he suddenly reached the clearing he had been heading for. Chakra residue and the taste of blood was thick in the air. He stared at the devastation around him before falling to his knees and heaving up his lunch.

After emptying his stomach, he cautiously looked back into the hell before him. Even the mists stayed at the edge of the clearing, as if they themselves were scared of entering the scene.

Demonic hands reached upwards from the ground, remnants of the enemy ninja they had torn through still sticking to their wooden fingers. Corpses were piled around a pit slightly off-center from the middle of the clearing. Their faces screamed in unimaginable agony still, hours after their death. Blood stuck to the ground in pools, and more chakra burns had left their marks on the surrounding trees. Iruka gagged and looked away quickly. The swift motion hurt his head, but he forced the headache back and began to stand on wobbly legs.

He used a nearby tree to steady him as he stood and looked towards the center of the destruction. 'There,' a slight glimmer of faded gold. He let of of the tree and stumbled forward, blocking the surrounding from his mind, focused only on the image in front of him.

"Please… Naruto please be alive." As he got closer, the faded gold resolved into long blond hair framing a soft face marred only by three whisker-like scars on each cheek. "Oh Naruto!" The teacher fell to his knees beside his old student.

Even now, or perhaps because of now, Naruto looked like a fallen angel. His gold hair was faded only by time and had attained a softer look than its previous obnoxiousness. His skin had rarely scarred and over the years had tanned to match the skin on Suna nins more than Konoha nins.

'He has spent the last few months there though.' Iruka smiled. He looked at the gently sleeping figure in front of him and then up to the chaos surrounding him. He felt his eyes begin to burn and when he reached up, his fingers came away wet.

A small hand came up and wiped away his tears. "Don't cry nii-san." Iruka blinked and looked down into Naruto's clear blue eyes. Instead of helping, Naruto's words provoked a new flood of tears Iruka desperately tried to hide from his old student.

Immediately, Naruto sat up all the way, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry nii-san! What did I do wrong?" Naruto looked frantically around the burnt-out clearing hoping one of his dead enemies would be able to help him. He wrung his hands pathetically before beginning to awkwardly pat Iruka on the back, still looking for help.

The image was absurd to Iruka. Even though the blonde could easily cause all this destruction, he still floundered about helplessly off the battlefield. He laughed lightly and watched as Naruto calmed down.

"I didn't mean for you to cry harder nii-san." He squinted his eyes closed in his famous smile.

Iruka felt his throat tighten as he looked at that smile. "Why?" Naruto's gin faded and he opened his eyes. "Naruto, why do you—" A soft finger was placed on his lips. 'Why do you do this to yourself?' As bright as they were, it was easy for Iruka to see how clouded Naruto's eyes had become since childhood.

The finger pressed gently into his skin. Tears still fell slowly from Iruka's eyes.

"I'm a ninja nii-san. To protect my precious people, I must eliminate all threats to Konoha." A sad smile tugged at the corners of Naruto's mouth. "I just want you to be happy Iruka. That's why."

The finger was gone, but before his lips could cool, Naruto had his own mouth pressed against them. The kiss was very gentle and Iruka felt his eyes continue to burn even as his thoughts whirled around.

After just seconds, Naruto pulled back and gave Iruka another sad smile. "Naru—"

A swift breeze suddenly blew through the clearing and swirled the mist, which had desperately tried to stay out, into the clearing. Iruka blinked and when his eyes focused in front of him again, Naruto was gone.

Iruka sat for hours in that bloody clearing. He knew he couldn't catch up with Naruto when the blonde was running away. Not since they were younger…

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Iruka walked slowly back to his apartment, carefully balancing a bag of groceries in his hand. It had been two and a half years since the incident with Naruto at the clearing. Fifteen months ago, Naruto had died. Since their meeting, he had been taking missions non-stop and eventually overworked himself to the point not even Kyuubi could fix him.

Iruka had watched as they burned his body. To him, Naruto had still looked like a fallen angel; his only imperfection a slight frown on his forehead, a never-to-be-solved problem.

He still missed Naruto, and every time he goes by Ichiraku, he stops and buys two bowls. One he eats, but he leaves the other behind for Naruto because sometimes he can swear he still hears Naruto's voice pestering him for a bowl.

'Knowing Naruto, he probably has been.' Iruka sighed and shifted his groceries. He used one hand to shield his eyes as he looked west towards the ninja academy. Despite how much it hurt, Iruka still taught at the academy. He knew he couldn't just abandon the children. Only, after seeing what the war with Sound did to his students, he tried harder to teach them more than just ninja techniques.

His grocery bag began to tip and Iruka hastily righted it, not noticing the apple that had fallen out. Glancing at the sun, he cursed under his breath and sped up, still trying to balance the bag in both arms. 'Please don't make me be late making supper! I have to get up early tomorrow!'

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The next morning he wondered about the apple sitting on his desk. As he picked it up, he noticed the small swirl someone had carved into the desk underneath the apple. He smiled sadly and put the apple back down as the bell rang and students flooded the room. 'Despite the pain, I'm a teacher. I must teach these children how to protect themselves… and their precious people. No matter how much it hurts.' He glanced back at the apple. 'Right, Naruto?'

He turned back to his class as the final bell rang. "Alright! Pay attention—"

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Author's note: Aww man, this story just wanted to go on and on. I finally know what people mean when they say that stories write themselves. I totally didn't plan the little IrukaxNaruto action that ended up in there. I started out thinking it would be KakashixIruka. . So much for an author opinion.

I debated about putting that last part in there. The point of the last part was to get Iruka to acknowledge the pain ninja cause and how he helps create that. *sigh* I don't mean this to be a Ghost!Naruto story. The apple reminded me of Ryuk (from Death Note) when I was writing this. The whole 'Right Naruto?' think Iruka thinks reminded me so much of Advent Children with Aerith. I debated rewriting it because of that, but decided not to.

This is just a one-shot, so image whatever ending you think would work. Review please!