Hi! Yeah, tis me again! Here's another fic for you!

Rating: T Rated for gore, slight language (bad boy, Kakashi), and angst to come.

Beta: chibi heishi! She's a trooper! Read her awesome fic Shinkirou- totally worth it!

Disclaimer: I do not own. If I did, this would be canon! (There's a reason it's called FanFiction.Net. Shh! don't tell- it's a secret.)

Dedicated to all war veterans and victims- no matter whose side they fought on. In the end, we're all human- we should act it more often, and trade our guns and kunai for bubbles and chocolate. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you:

That Night

Chapter One- Desperate Times

Something was very, very wrong. He had recently learned the Body Flicker Technique, practicing it until he could flicker to his father's shop immediately after class and surprise his dad with help in the kitchen, but the ramen shop owned and operated by his father had been abandoned. No one was at home either. Now, an eerie red glow was on the horizon, steadily growing brighter. Civilians were being herded away by ninja in porcelain masks, shinobi raced through the streets, talking frantically as they prepared- for battle? Were they under attack? He could only catch one word in their frantic shouts: Kyuubi. It was an evil word.

Without warning, a bright red streak of chakra tore through houses and buildings not ten yards away. The young boy cried out in panic and rolled away from the flying shrapnel. A piercing roar echoed throughout Konoha, shivering his will. What- what is that? Is that a tailed beast? A real live tailed beast... oh, Lord, am I going to die? Father! Mother! Where are they? I have to find them!

He jumped to his feet, new resolve kindled within him, and drew a kunai from his holster, thanking God he hadn't removed it at the house. He raced down the streets, kunai in clenched in his trembling hand. Brown eyes, dark like damp earth, narrowed in concentration as he searched in vain for his mother and his father's chakra signatures.

A scream of pain from a nearby house attracted his attention. He stopped running, torn between continuing the search for his parents and his duty as a shinobi. His father's words about feelings echoed in his mind, and he made his choice as another scream echoed from the building.

He raced to the source of the screams, bursting into a house. Half of it had fallen in on itself and he had to squirm past fallen debris, finally locating the source of distress. A lady was screaming as blood dripped down her head. A brown-haired teen about 17 years old, her flak vest stained with gore, was trying to tend to the injured woman, but the screams were so loud and shrill, it was obviously distracting her. Finally the girl's temper snapped. "Be quiet! I can't concentrate with you screaming!" she shouted in frustration.

He stepped timidly into the room. Both of the women looked at him, eyes boring into him. He flushed and proffered his kunai to the wounded woman. "Bite on the handle," he shyly murmured, "You won't scream then." He'd read the trick in Bladeheart, his favorite book.

The teenager looked at him with approval in her eyes, but the lady scowled at him. "Put my mouth on that? You must be crazy!" The teenager took the kunai from him and stuck it in the old lady's mouth, despite her protests, and resumed bandaging.

"It isn't safe here," the medic said as she resumed her work, "We have to get out of here, but I can't move her until I finish sterilizing the wound. Can you move any fallen debris between us and the door so we can move easier?"

"Yes, ma'am!" He leapt to it, moving the falling debris as quickly as he could. Yet another rumble cut the air. The house shuddered on its foundations and a wooden beam fell not five feet from his head. They all looked at each other nervously, and continued their various tasks with redoubled speed. "Ok, it's done," he announced, shoving the last piece of wood out of the way. The medic pulled the lady up, who was still scowling. The boy reclaimed his kunai, wiping the worst of the spittle off the handle with his shirt.

"Good work," the medic acclaimed, "Now, help me carry her out of here." He acquiesced, placing her arm around his shoulders.

"What are your names?" he asked.

"They call me Hoya," the old lady muttered.

The medic smiled. "My name is Tsumero Rin. And you are?"

The boy puffed up with pride. "I am Umino Iruka!"

They dropped the lady off in the secret hideout in the Hokage monument, and he automatically followed Rin as she turned to go. "What are you doing? You should be in there!" she ordered, pointing firmly into the hideout. He shook his head.

"You can't be out there alone. We can protect each other," he argued, "Besides, I have to find my parents."

She scowled. "You're a pre-genin."

He scowled back. "I'm not a civilian. I know basic first aid and Tochi-sensei says I'm good at dodging flying objects."

She was about to argue again when the Hokage seemed to appear out of nowhere. His face was pale, and he looked like he was about to be sick. "Rin, thank heaven! I need you."

She frowned in puzzlement, than her eyes widened in shock. "What? Now?" He nodded. She grabbed her medical kit and her sensei's hand, and they vanished with a poof.

He sighed. Alone- again. Better keep moving.

*/*/*

Umino Ryū burst into his home, frantically calling the names of those precious to him. "Hoshi! Iruka!" He stopped and hit his head with his hand. Think, Umino, think! Hoshi's in ANBU, she'll be fighting the Nine-Tails. Nothing I can do there- it's her job to protect the village. Iruka- what about Iruka? The academy let out ten minutes before the Nine-Tails showed up, and it's a twenty minute walk here. He should have been here by now! He dashed up the stairs into the room he shared with Hoshi, his wife, and pulled the sword from his Kiri ANBU days off the wall, strapping it hurriedly onto his back with trembling fingers.

Hoshi... her death he could probably survive, though it would be hard. But to lose Iruka... his son, his only child... The men of his ancestry were known to have trouble conceiving. Iruka had been an unexpected arrival that had brought so much joy to their lives. After everything he had done in his lifetime, because of who he was and the blood that flowed in his veins, he did not deserve such a caring wife, such a bright, merry son. He couldn't imagine his life if that curious, gentle little boy were to be torn away from him. Nightmares had often plagued him of his son's death- and they seemed to be becoming reality. Exploding tags and soldier pills were slipped into the pockets on his apron, and then he closed his eyes. Think, Umino, think- where would he go? The cave? Most likely. Ryū leapt out of the window, racing across the battlefield toward the forest. Please, God, don't let me be too late! Spare my son... please...

*/*/*

Rin wrapped the crying baby with blankets, handing him to Minato. The red-haired woman had tears coursing down her cheeks. "Minato..." He flinched as she said his name, failing to meet her eyes. "I- I wish there was another way... but I know there isn't. I swear, I will not let him grow up alone."

They embraced one last time, both fighting back tears, neither one willing to let the other see them cry, their son held between them for an instant. "I love you." They weren't sure which of them said it- maybe it was both of them. Minato broke the embrace and darted for the door.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Rin asked, grabbing her sensei's hand. "Naruto has to be stabilized. He's just been born-"

"Rin!" She looked up in surprise at her soft-spoken sensei. Bright tears shone in his eyes.

"I- I don't understand," she whispered, "Why are you taking a baby out to the battle? Your own son-"

"Rin!" Kushina snapped. "Let him be. He has to do this."

"You're acting like you're not coming back," Rin sobbed. She saw it in his eyes. It wasn't despair. It was knowledge, something he knew would happen. And the guilt in his eyes, the heart-breaking guilt as he gazed upon his son's face...

There was a rending tear of stone. The screams from the outside renewed a thousand times over. "I have no choice!" He tore out of the room, holding his son close as if to shield him from the angry glares and attacks that would be directed at him for a lifetime.

*/*/*

He raced across the battlefield, eyes roving for any sign of his son. "Ryū!" He turned and frowned in puzzlement. An ANBU stared at him in disbelief, then reached up and removing its mask- revealing the face of his wife, Hoshi.

"Hoshi, have you seen Iruka? I can't find him anywhere!"

"He's not at the house?"

"No. I'm on my way over to check the cavern."

She squeezed her eyes shut, no doubt entertaining visions of her son's lifeless, twisted body. "That's where the carnage is worst," she whispered hoarsely. She bit her lip, tasting metallic blood as it welled up. "Ryū- I- I don't know what to do," she whispered after a moment, "I- the village-"

"Stay here, help keep the Nine-Tails back," he said gently, "I'll find Iruka. He can't be far- I swear, I won't let anything happen to him." They embraced momentarily, knowing full well that it may be the last time they looked upon each other alive. "Be careful," he whispered, "I can't raise him alone."

She broke the embrace and replaced her mask just as a new slab of stone fell nearby, kicking up dust. They shot away from each other, little knowing they would never see each other again.

*/*/*

Iruka raced in a random direction, with no idea of his destination besides the fact that he was searching for his parents, but was intercepted by a big-boned (no one dared call him fat), brown-haired man. He recognized him as one of the chūnin. Usually, he had a cheerful look on his face. Not today.

"And where do you think you're going, young one?"

He stubbornly stared back. "I'm looking for my parents."

"You shouldn't be here! It's too dangerous for Academy Students!"

Iruka toned the man's lecture out, eyes locked on a scene in the heat of battle. A man with his copper-red hair in a high ponytail was embracing a woman with long, silky black locks. Father and Mother!

"Get the civilians out! Get them out!" They both turned at the frantic voice, a black-haired pony-tailed man. His hands were together in the rat sign as he frantically attempted to keep a slab of stone from falling onto a building. Beads of sweat stood out on his face as he fought to hold his shadow in its position, and it was plain he wouldn't last much longer. The Shadow Bind Technique was never meant to be used on stone.

He tried to take to opportunity to scramble away, but the big man grabbed him and raced away. The pre-genin beat on the man with his fists. "No! Let me go! My mom and dad are still fighting back there!" he wailed. Chōza tightened his grip and finally set him down with the same old lady he had tended to just moments ago.

"Listen, kid. How would your mom and dad feel if you got yourself killed out there?"

He took a shuddering breath, sobs shaking his shoulders. "What if they die? What if the fox kills them because I wasn't there to protect them?" his voice rose hysterically.

Chōza placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then it's your job to carry on the Will of Fire that burned in them."

Inquisitive brown eyes met the chūnin's green orbs. "The Will of Fire?"

He was about to answer when the rending shriek of tearing stone silenced all of them. Iruka's eyes widened in horror as his parents vanished in the kicked-up dust. A blonde man, his hair also in a ponytail, raced toward the new carnage. "Shikaku!"

Chōza's eyes widened with fear for his comrade's life. "He's a stubborn one. Don't let him run off," he admonished Hoya. With that, he rejoined the battle, shouting his war cry, leaving the boy alone again. He quivered with fear, eyes tearing up. Father... Mother...

"Stop crying. Shinobi do not show emotions, do not show tears," Hoya snapped irritably at him.

The boy looked up, eyes fierce. "My father says that it is acceptable to show emotions, as long as it doesn't get in the way of your mission."

"Your father is a fool."

"My father is not a fool!"

She looked at him again. He was stubborn, she'd give him that. It was a good shinobi quality- but then, so was respect, of which he was sorely lacking. Then she remembered how she had felt the day she had lost her parents, how much it had hurt inside… "They'll be alright, kid," she said at last, turning away from him and staring out onto the battlefield. She wished she could be so sure.

Next Chapter: The Will of Fire-

In which Iruka gets help from an unexpected source, as does the Hokage. Naruto likes Ramen, I like Reviews!