Summary: Iruka can't sleep because that baby won't stop crying. Not because he misses his mom and dad and home.

wc: 756

Iruka hated these nights—the dark ones, the cold ones, the lonely ones. He was tired, but he couldn't sleep. The room was full of other boys, but he was alone. Inside and all around was the dark, gaping hole where his parents and the warmth of their home should be.

And that baby who wouldn't stop crying!

He rolled over in the bed, the rough bedding an irritation against his skin—he wanted his own bed, the soft sheets and blankets with their familiar patterns—and mashed the pillow over his head to try and drown out the sound.

It didn't work.

Iruka wanted to scream.

Through the Haze

For @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt "Fractured Forms" which first brings to mind Edo Tensei.

Summary: Iruka came back to himself, finally, sitting at a campfire, a cup of soup in his hand, and a body newly sat beside him.

wc: 455

Warnings: set immediately after 4th War battle.

The fighting was finally finished, and Iruka stood in a kind of stunned shock. He vaguely supposed that there would be little skirmishes here and there, but this moment, here, was the end. Silence rang in his ears, though he knew, intellectually, that the field was not silent. The world around seemed frozen, though he also knew that the world had not stilled, nor those he’d fought beside.

Even he was not still—he breathed, and his hands moved automatically to put away kunai and shuriken and explosive tags. He moved to help the fallen around him. He carried or supported those too injured to walk to the healer’s tents on their own. He moved the dead into rows to be identified and burned. He picked up those kunai and swords and shuriken as could be salvaged. All this is a kind of daze.

He came back to himself, finally, sitting at a campfire, a cup of soup in his hand, and a body newly sat beside him.

“I had not thought to find one of mine here,” the Nidaime began.

Iruka’s brows furrowed together. He couldn't imagine how he would be one of the Nidaime's any more than any other Konoha shinobi, or why he, a chūnin academy sensei, would be singled out in any way.

The Nidaime must have read it on him—Iruka couldn't imagine much of anything was kept from him, if the stories of his prowess as a sensor were to be believed.

“Very few ever knew that I had children.”

Iruka’s eyes widened.

“I spent quite some time in Uzushio when I was much younger, he explained. “Before my father grew old enough and slow enough that we knew it would be sooner than later that Hashirama became clan head. I had to come back to support him. She did not want to move into the war zone that most of Fire Country was.” He closed his eyes. “I, too, believed they would be much safer there.”

Iruka wasn't so dull that he couldn't put the pieces together, though he could hardly believe the picture they formed.

“You— me— ?”

Tobirama put his hand on Iruka's shoulder. “Yes, you. If my sense of it is right, you are my great-grandson.”

“Oh” was all the sound that escaped Iruka’s lips.

Tobirama laughed. “You also very much have the look of a Senju about you, no matter how many generations removed you are.”

This Iruka knew, though he'd never really known why. He laughed ruefully.

“A few have joked about my resemblance to Shodaime-sama, but I never thought…”

“Indeed.”

The fractured form of his great grandfather wrapped around him in the first hug he'd had from family in far, far too long.

Endless

The story that clears the third roadblock for @kakairu-rocks Maze Challenge: Teleported to Another World AU.

Summary: Iruka didn't know how he got there, but he was standing back to back to back with Kakashi and Sakura. Enemies kept appearing on the other side of the bridges in endless waves.

🐬 🌸 🐺

Iruka didn't know how he got there. One moment, he was sitting at his desk at the academy, the next, he was standing, back to back to back with Kakashi and Sakura, strange weapons in his hands. No matter that he hadn't seen them before, ‘weapon’ was a look he recognized anywhere. They were in… an arena? A flat, open floor. A centre stage accessed only by bridged, narrow pathways. Lights were on the bridges, but not elsewhere. He looked up. There was some kind of buzzing, hovering… things. They looked like a streamlined, flying version of the daimyo’s cameras.

The feeling of an icepick to his brain. If it wasn't for a lifetime of training, he'd have dropped the weapons. Then, in an instant, he knew what the weapons were, how they worked, where they were… what they needed to do.

Just in time for the first wave of foes to appear on the other side of the bridge.

He fired in an instant, just a touch of chakra creating a projectile. And again. And again. And again. His… enemies… exploded, each shot taking out a group. The waves were endless, barely a moment to take a deep breath between them. Iruka caught glimpses of skeletons, and things that were skeletal, but… wrong. Some creatures looked like bear summons, but they stood on two legs and threw bombs.

Iruka didn't understand why he wasn't dead already from the poisons the bombs released when they broke open. Then he was struck by an arrow, and it disappeared. WTF? In his confusion, his shots faltered, and he was hit by two more. He gathered himself to ignore the pain—he didn't want to die—and kept firing.The ache remained… for a moment… and the wound closed.

There was healing energy coming from Sakura in a continuous flow. She was healing them. He did his best to expand his awareness from the foes in front of him, letting his weapons fire automatically, and now he felt the rumble of earth (but there was no ‘earth’ here. Sakura must be creating it with chakra, as he was his own projectiles) and a crackle in the air of Kakashi casting lightning bolt after lightning bolt.

There were more enemies, coming faster and faster. They were harder to kill now, too. He had to fire more than once to kill each creature. He took more hits from their arrows and bombs. Now there were ghouls getting close enough to drain his chakra and energy. He heard grunts from both Kakashi and Sakura taking hits. Sakura’s healing wasn't keeping up anymore.

The first creature reached the centre. It swung a sword at him. Iruka didn't have anything to block it! Not even a kunai! He dodged to the side and shot the skeleton three times in the head. It exploded into ash before it could swing again. Iruka knew that it was only a matter of time before he died. Before Kakashi died. Before Sakura died.

He dodged again, and his foot came in contact with a bottle dropped by the creature. He knew, like he had with the weapons, that it would heal him, if only he had a moment to open it. As if wishing made it so, it opened and released its healing powers. Iruka felt a rush of energy.

“Touch the bottles when you can! They heal!”

Fire.

Fire.

Fire.

He felt Sakura moving more as she sent out blasts of earth. Heard Kakashi inhale sharply. Iruka was practically dancing as he fired, picking up more and more bottles. He drank them as quickly as he was able, and occasionally tossed open bottles Kakashi or Sakura's way.

The extra healing only worked for a time. Hours, maybe. It certainly felt like hours.

Fire, fire, fire.

Faster. He had to be faster.

His energy was draining faster than the potions could replenish it.

A spread of arrows came his way. There was no place to dodge. Three to the chest, he could see them dripping with green poison.

Fire, fire, fire, fire.

A gout of flame came from the back. All three of them took damage from that one.

Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire.

Energy bolts struck and enveloped them.

And everything went black.

🐬 🌸 🐺

Iruka woke up. At his desk. He felt a visceral level of panic like never before in his life. He bolted for Kakashi's office.

He practically ran into Kakashi just outside the open door. Sakura arrived a moment later. Both had the wild look in their eyes that he could feel in his own self. Iruka touched Kakashi all over, making sure he was whole, with no holes. Kakashi's hands were doing the same to him, then to Sakura. Sakura’s hands were on their backs, wreathed in green.

It had all been real.

Clearing my first roadblock for @kakairu-rocks 2024 Maze Challenge: Single Parents AU

A seal appeared after Kakashi tried to skip roadblocks and teleported him back to the start. Bad Kakashi!

Summary: Kakashi volunteered to chaperone for Naruto's field trip. That... may have been a mistake. But Naruto was pretty cute like this. And he got to meet Iruka, who understands the trials and tribulations of single parenthood. So, really, it was good.

🐵🐍🐻🐸🦫🦜🦊🦆

Kakashi almost couldn't believe that he'd volunteered to supervise Naruto's field trip to the local zoo. What did he know about either animals or 7 year olds? Then he looked down at Naruto, sitting, calmly for once (or so he assumed, based on what his teacher, Ms. Mitarashi was always telling him), and knew he'd do just about anything for the little brat (affectionate).

“As I call your names, go line up with your parent-chaperone.”

Kakashi could see most of the kids were paying attention, but at least three girls were “whispering” together at something under one of their desks, one boy was playing with cars on his desk, and another two? three? boys were passing a paper back and forth.

“Mr. Hatake?”

Kakashi waved at the kids.

“Naruto, Kiba, Amir, Zion, and John are with you.”

Ah, one of the boys no longer paying attention was Naruto. At least he knew who that one was. Another of the boys poked him on his way up the aisle toward Kakashi. When Naruto looked up to… say something, Kakashi made eye contact and raised his eyebrows. Naruto got with the program and grabbed his backpack to join them. Ms. Mitarashi was already calling the next group of students as Kakashi led his group out of the classroom.

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Iruka & Naruto

WC: 183

Summary: Naruto has a moment of doubt. Iruka doesn't.

“I'm not sure that I ever truly believed this day would come.”

“You didn't?”

This was a rare moment of vulnerability. Iruka couldn't help but be surprised by it.

“No. It always just seemed so far away. Or just out of reach.”

“Even after Pein came? Even after the war?”

Naruto looked thoughtful.

“All those people may have celebrated me in that moment, but they were still all the same people that kicked me out of stores.”

“That's true.” Iruka picked up The Hat to gather his thoughts. “The people most important to you, though, they changed, didn't they?”

Naruto nodded, fiddling with the sleeves of his robe.

“You and your classmates all grew up. You got to know each other as individuals. You all love each other.” Iruka looked Naruto in the eye to make sure he understood. “No fame will ever truly make for recognition and acceptance. Only love can do that.”

Iruka placed The Hat on Naruto's head. “I love you. I have had great expectations of you since I came to truly know you—whether you are Hokage or not.”

@flashfictionfridayofficial

Helping Hands Across Time

Written for the @kakairu-rocks Maze Challenge 2024. This is my Supernatural Creatures AU.

Also written for @kakairu-discord-server The Great Mission for a prompt of "Monsters."

Summary: Senju Kakashi and Uchiha Iruka weren't allowed to love each other in life. Now though, they can help another Senju-Uchiha pair get together.

WC: 1565

“Did you see them?”

“I did. You don't think…?”

“Yes, and we need to help.” It's quite definitive.

Senju Kakashi hasn't had to expend this much energy in a while. He doesn't like to interact with any other ghosts than Iruka. Which is fine—the few other Senju ghosts around Konoha don't like him much for loving Iruka. In some senses, they still don't see that Senju and Uchiha can be anything but the bitterest of enemies. Helping these two get together will satisfy both the romantic and petty sides of his personality. They were so cute(!)—each making eyes at the other when they thought no one was watching. Kakashi practically cooed thinking about it.

As soon as Senju Tobirama’s attention was all on Sarutobi-sensei, he moved Tobirama’s pencil over to Madara's place. That will get them talking…

“What the hell are you doing with my pencil, Uchiha?” Tobirama snatched the pencil back and gave Madara the stink eye.

“I didn't touch your pencil!” Madara yelled back.

Whoops, that's not the kind of talking he was aiming for.

For @flashfictionfridayofficial and brought into focus by some comments in the Discord chat.

Fandom: Naruto

Iruka-centric, but future(?) Kakashi/Iruka

WC: 1095

Further Than Skin Deep

No one really understood how or why it started, or why it struck the way it did. After all, everyone has fears, and people who admitted to phobias weren't horror shows to look at. Not even those considered cowards by, well, most everyone.

Regardless, it was really inconvenient for Iruka right now. The bruising first manifested on his chest, where it could be hidden and ignored. Well, not ignored, truly, because he couldn't resist putting his hand over the spot. Poking at it. But he could ignore, put off, meditating upon the reason it may have appeared at all.

For @kakairu-rocks KakaIru Valentine's Week 2024, Day 2 Prompt: Love Potion and @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt "Seal It Tight!"

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: lruka & Naruto

Pairing: lruka/Kakashi (future implied)

Word Count: 1092

It's (relatively) early on a Saturday morning in February when Iruka slips through the door of the Namikaze-Uzumaki household. The weather has been unusually warm for February, and everything outside is slippery from last night's freezing rain.

lruka quietly hangs his jacket (not his parka!) on a hook in the entrance, sets his boots on the mat, steps around Kakashi's backpack, and goes to find Naruto. Minato may or may not be home from work yet, and if he is, he'll be sleeping. Which is why he's here on a Saturday morning instead of his usual Thursday after school. Iruka is both surprised and worried that he doesn't hear Naruto. Naruto is loud at least 90% of the time that he's awake, and at—Iruka pulls his phone out to check—8:30 in the morning, there's no way Naruto isn't up.

Iruka pokes his head into several rooms, none of which hold Naruto, before he finally hears the babbling sound of a Naruto stream of consciousness ramble™️ coming from the kitchen.

lruka steps into the room and, even though Minato and Kushina said he didn't need to come until 9, wishes he'd arrived earlier. The kitchen was, well, not a <i>complete</i> disaster, but not far from it either. There are so many bottles of things from the fridge and cupboards on the countertops that lruka can't help but wonder if they are completely empty. The sink is full of dirty bowls, and there are puddles of… something on the floor and countertops.

Quietly, Iruka greets Naruto, “Hey, kiddo, whatcha up to?”

“Iruka!”

Naruto's whisper is so loud that it might as well be a shout.

"Is your dad home yet?”

“Yeah, he got home an hour ago. And Kakashi, that lazy bum, isn't up yet.”

Iruka snorts. Kakashi isn't remotely lazy, though Iruka understands why Naruto thinks he is.

“Did you have breakfast?”

Naruto grimaces, but nods.

“Dad made <i>so many</i> pancakes for supper last night!” Then he pouts. “We're gonna be stuck eatin’ ‘em ‘til Mom gets home!”

Iruka knows Kushina is gone for the next week, so this is definitely an exaggeration.

“What are you up to, then?”

“A potion to help Kakashi!” he exclaims.

“A potion?”

"Yeah!”

Iruka shushes Naruto before he gets even louder and wakes Minato. Naruto looks contrite for 0.25 seconds, but does continue more quietly.

“Me and Kakashi watched a movie last night—he let me stay up so late, it was awesome!—there was dragons and battles and wizards and witches—”

Iruka lets Naruto’s flood of words continue for a while, but none of them explain the mess in the kitchen or how any of it is supposed to help Kakashi, who is due to roll out of bed and stumble out the door late for work soon.

Eventually, Iruka interrupts, "Naruto. What does any of that have to do with this…?” Iruka gestures to the mess all around them.

“The sword guy had a crush on this sword girl, but she never even <i>noticed</i>, even though he was always talking stupid and turning red and watching her when they weren't fighting zombies!”

Iruka blinks in stunned confusion. Zombies? He thought it was dragons…

“So he went to this guy who made a potion so she would notice him and fall in love with him.”

Naruto sounds completely disgusted as he says those last few words, but he's also still young enough to believe that girls have cooties…

“Kakashi…?” Iruka prompts.

“Right. Mom said he has a crush. But he never does anything about it! Tch, lazy—”

“Naruto,” Iruka interrupts.

“Right. He needs <i>so much help</i>! So I'm making a potion so Kakashi can become awesome and the guy will notice him and fall in love.”

It's moments like this that show how much Naruto now sees Kakashi as his brother, rather than an interloper, because while Naruto’s tone expresses his disgust at the whole concept and how lacking he thinks Kakashi's person is for this, he <i>does</i> genuinely wanted to help. Which is cute, if misguided, but he decides to leave that conversation to Kakashi…

“And how is it going?”

Naruto sags. “Ugh. Not so good.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. We don't have any of the weird stuff the potion guy used, so I've been trying all kinds of stuff.”

That certainly explained all the bottles. Iruka decides to abandon the homework plan that was originally created for the morning and asks, “What can I do to help?”

Naruto actually pauses to think, and Iruka hears the front door close, so Kakashi definitely heard most of that. Iruka smirks as he imagines Kakashi playing along.

“It should be Valentinesy, I guess, maybe...?”

“That's a good idea. Maybe something chocolatey or sweet?”

Naruto's face lights up, “Yeah! And mom said something about being hot, so maybe spicy…?”

Iruka snickered, then sighed.

“Ok, well, we're going to need to clean this up before we can get started.”

Naruto makes a face, but doesn't argue, so Iruka starts putting bottles back in the cupboard, and Naruto grabs a dishcloth to start cleaning the spills.

Chocolate sauce.

Vanilla.

Honey.

Chili flakes.

Mustard powder.

Cinnamon.

They mix it all together in a clean bowl, and Naruto scoops some out for Iruka to taste. Iruka, having the advantage of knowing what's in it, doesn't grimace or wince once it goes into his mouth. He simply swallows and decides he's lucky that the flavours of the spices haven't had time to develop…

(Afterwards, he also adds some of Minato and Kushina's chocolate whiskey, but Naruto doesn't need to know about that.)

“Let's see if we can find a nice looking container for it, shall we?” lruka gives the concoction his seal of approval.

Before Iruka can stop him, Naruto jumps up, fist in the air, and shouts, “Yes!”

“Shhhh!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

“It's your dad you're going to need to apologise to if you wake him up,” is Iruka's stern response.

Together, they go and look through all of the vases, old perfume bottles, medicine bottles, water bottles, and food storage containers in the house. Nothing is quite good enough for Naruto. Naruto eventually hits the jackpot anyway with a little bottle in the recycling bin. Iruka thinks it was probably a sampler alcohol bottle Kushina brought home from her last business trip. The important thing is that it's cool looking enough for Naruto, and Iruka can wash and sterilise it.

“Seal it tight! You can give it to Kakashi when he gets home.”

Slyly, “Maybe <i>you</i> should give it to Kakashi instead.”

@flashfictionfridayofficial

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Kakashi and Iruka

Modern AU, teens

WC: 1048

“So? You gonna come or not?” Iruka blurts to his friend when they meet up at lunch time.

Kakashi isn't quite sure what to make of this question. He doesn't recall talking with Iruka about going somewhere in their recent conversations—and he's pretty sure he didn't accidentally tune him out during any recent rambles, either. He looks at Iruka closely, trying to make heads or tails of it. Iruka is slowly turning red. His posture is getting stiff. And that scowl isn't the one he wears when he's angry, it's the one he wears when he's nervous. Kakashi bites the bullet.

“Where would we be going?” He asks.

Kakashi’s not sure how it's possible, but Iruka turns even redder. And face palms.

“Ummm, sorry. There's a fair in Senju Park this week. Mom said I can go tonight. And stay late, since I did so well on my last report card. So…” and Iruka takes a big breath in, “…do you want to come with me?”

This is unusual. Not the going out part, they do that all the time. This nervous, blushing, asking-in-person part, rather than a quick text.

“Would this be a date…?” Kakashi asks. And he's not sure how he feels about that.

Iruka goes from bright red to dead pale in an instant.

“N-n-n-no,” he stutters out. “Not— not—”

Yes, it was absolutely meant to be a date.

“Yes.”

They meet up at the park a few hours later. Kakashi spent more time than he wants to admit to trying to figure out what to wear. His dad laughed at him. Especially when, in the end, he wore the same basic clothes he usually wears—comfortable jeans, sneakers, tshirt, and comfortable hoodie, but the green one that Iruka likes, rather than the red one he was wearing at school today.

Iruka has changed, too. He's wearing Kakashi's favourite top—the one that shows off his forearms. And suddenly Kakashi realises that he's been looking at Iruka for a while. They've been friends for… well, almost ever. When did this happen? How did Kakashi not realise it before? Kakashi knows exactly how he feels about this now, and he is so, so happy now that Iruka was courageous enough to ask him out tonight.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

They stare at each other kind of awkwardly, which is bullshit because they've known each other forever.

“Shall we…?”

“Yeah.”

Iruka passes him a bright yellow wristband and leads him into the park.

Together they pick some rides to try. Iruka’s a bit of a daredevil, so he wants to go on the Drop of Doom and roller coaster immediately. Kakashi is somewhat less so, so he convinces Iruka that they should warm up with the Octopus and Monster rides, instead. Iruka agrees, and they laugh so hard and have so much fun that it breaks up any awkwardness remaining from their knowledge that this is a date. Kakashi feels really, really okay with that now.

An hour of rides later, Kakashi is more than ready for a break. Iruka reluctantly agrees, and they make their way to the food stands and carts that have been set up for the day. They find a truck they both like the look of and stand in line. A long line had to mean good food, right? Kakashi sure hopes so—he’s all about comfort in food and never ventures too far from his favourites.

Between them, the teens consumed one loaded chili dog, the greasiest hamburger Kakashi was sure he'd ever seen, a bucket of poutine, and a giant bear claw. Since the rides hadn't done him in, he is sure the food will. Then Iruka bounces up from the bench they've been resting on.

“There's one more place I want to check out!”

Kakashi isn't sure he can move yet, but he’ll try for Iruka.

“Let's go.”

Iruka helps haul him up from the bench, and Kakashi is surprised he can stand. And then surprised he can walk. He has no idea how Iruka is bouncing around the way he is—Kakashi is sure Iruka ate more than he did!

They meander through the crowd for a while, waving at the occasional classmate they see, but making no move to join any of them, when Kakashi sees the stand a little ways away and balks. It is an ice cream stand. The concept of ice cream now is okay, but this isn't just any ice cream. No, the Golden Scoop is the ice cream shop on the other side of Konoha that Iruka has wanted to try since they opened. Kakashi on the other hand…

The thing is, they make all these weird flavours, and they don't sell vanilla or chocolate at all.

Iruka turns around when he sees Kakashi isn't beside him any more.

“Are you okay, Kakashi?”

Kakashi doesn't want to ruin this for Iruka, but he's honestly not sure if he can make himself go over there. Curry Thai Chili ice cream just isn't something he can make himself eat…

“I don't think I can eat that,” Kakashi explains. “Why don't you go ahead? I'll wait here.”

“Are you too full?”

Iruka is offering him the perfect out, but Kakashi knows him, and if he takes it, then Iruka won't go.

Kakashi wants him to go—Iruka's been wanting to try the Scoop's ice cream for ages. He hesitates to answer. Long enough that Iruka notices. Kakashi watches his face light up with understanding.

“Oh. Oh!”

Iruka holds out his hand to Kakashi.

“Do you trust me?” he asks.

Kakashi knows a trap when he hears one. Or, well, it would be a trap from anyone but Iruka.

“Yes.”

Iruka holds out his hand.

“Take my hand. I know they'll have something you'll like, too.”

Iruka is so sincere when he says it that Kakashi believes him. So he puts his hand in Iruka's and lets Iruka pull him toward the stand.

Iruka walks away with a double scoop cone with lobster and strawberry chive flavours. Kakashi ends up with extra virgin olive oil ice cream. Iruka was right, they did have something he likes.

They continue on wandering the fair, looking at the craft vendors, eating their ice cream, but now with fingers slotted together.

@flashfictionfridayofficial "Fool's Quest"

wc: 865

Summary: Naruto wants to use his newest homework assignment to finally learn about his family. He gets something else instead.

“Our last thing for the day, a bit of homework for the weekend,” Iruka-sensei called out near the end of class. The groans were epic, and Iruka managed to keep his smirk on the inside rather than let it show on his face.

He turned to write on the board “Family Techniques,” then turned to face the class again.

“This weekend, you will start some research on shinobi techniques. For those of you with other shinobi in your family, you will find out about their techniques. For those of you who will be the first shinobi in your family, you will need to research the techniques of a Konoha shinobi of your choice. You will have time next week to work on your reports. I’m handing out a sheet with the expectations and some suggested questions to start off your conversation.”

Iruka-sensei moved down the rows of the classroom handing out a page to each student. After he was finished, he dismissed the class for the weekend.

Naruto was… well, he wasn’t sure exactly what he felt. He didn’t have any family, which made him sad, but he also didn’t know if he had any family techniques. It also made him a little excited, because maybe he could find out about an awesome ninja that he was related to! He was also a little disheartened because he <i>hated</i> research. Reading was so hard and boring and slow. Maybe learning cool ninja stuff would make up for it… He wasn’t exactly sure where to start, either.

Naruto started trudging home, thinking about it. Ugh, maybe he’d have to start with the, he heaved a sigh, library. Or! He could ask the old man! That would be way better! And easier! And the Hokage had to know everything about everyone’s family, right?!

Naruto made an abrupt about face and sprinted back to the academy. He’d head straight to the old man’s office to ask! This was gonna be his best report ever!

Thanks to his previous dawdle, Naruto made it back to the building in no time at all. Now, though, he had to be careful. The adults who were here could be mean, it was better just to keep quiet until he made it to the old man’s office. He moved really close to the walls and walked slowly and quietly through rooms and down hallways. Some of the rooms, he waited until the people had passed through, so no one would see him. Others, like the mission room, he waited until they were busy, so no one would pay attention to him. He worried that Iruka-sensei had spotted him moving through the room, but he didn’t say anything or glare or anything else, so Naruto figured he was fine.

Just before he got to the old man’s office, he stopped and peaked around the corner. He wrinkled his nose and squinted–that guy was still at the desk in front of the door. Shouldn’t he have gone home by now…? Naruto peaked again. The office door was open just a little… just enough… Naruto bolted for the door! He made it through before that other guy made it around his desk!

“Hey, Old Man!” Naruto shouted as soon as he burst through the door. The old man jumped and sent papers all over. Naruto could see that they were writing, but not the small, neat writing, and full pages that meant it was just those stupid puzzles he did rather than anything important. Then waved away the desk guy while Naruto continued, “Iruka-sensei gave us homework and you gotta help me!”

The Hokage’s face changed from relaxed to impassive in an instant, but Naruto plowed right on though, “We gotta find out about our families, so you gotta tell me all about the Uzumaki!” He ended on a grin that was brighter than the sun.

“Unfortunately, Naruto, I don't know anything about your family,” the Hokage responded. Naruto’s heart plummeted. “You could try looking in the Academy library, though. There is usually information on shinobi families there.”

“Sure, sure, whatever, old man.” And Naruto turned and slumped out the door.

He hadn't travelled more than two steps away when he heard a deep, gravelly voice—probably another old guy.

“Why send him on a fool's quest? You know we removed every mention of the Uzumaki from unclassified sources.”

Naruto froze.

“Better that he believes there is nothing to learn as soon as possible and stops seeking. No good can come from that,” was the Hokage's response.

A small part of Naruto was relieved that the desk guy wasn't there, while the largest part of Naruto was consumed with disbelief, anger, sadness, confusion, and inevitability that the only adult in his young life that he had considered ‘family’ was just like every other adult around. He could never trust any of them. He would never have family, whatever that really meant.

It took long minutes and every bit of will he had for Naruto to pull himself together enough to paste on his brightest, happiest, most carefree grin so that he could make it home to his lonely apartment to grieve the end of a dream.