8Everyone has already cleared the classroom and gone outside for lunch as you're waiting for your tutor the next day. Iruka is cleaning off the blackboard and you're taking your time packing your things into your bag, wondering if you would actually get a new tutor as Danzo promised, or if you'd be stuck with Ichirou again the entire day.
The door opens as you're strapping on your sword, which you just got back from Iruka. It's a bit cumbersome, but it is probably for the best, you don't want to lose control and swing it at one of your classmates. You look up and feel relieved to see that it's not Ichirou, but a man with a familiar bandana and a senbon in his mouth.
"Oh hi Genma-san, what can I help you with?" Iruka asks as he notices the new arrival.
"Can I have a few words with you outside?" Genma says.
Iruka nods but shoots a frown back at you, "Sota, I hope you've not been pestering him about teaching you, didn't I tell you to wait?"
"Calm down, he didn't ask me, I've been asked by someone else," Genma intercedes on your behalf. He smiles around the senbon, "And don't worry, he's in safe hands. I could teach a toddler and they wouldn't risk more than ink stains on their clothes."
Iruka raises an eyebrow, glancing at Genma with a knowing look. "Danzo, right?"
Genma's smile fades, a flash of irritation crossing his face. "Yes."
Iruka sighs. "Alright. Go with him, Sota, and don't cause him any trouble."
"I had hoped to use the classroom, if it's okay with you?" Genma asks.
"Ah, go ahead, the rest of our classes are outside this afternoon, anyway." Iruka says, turning to pack up his papers and things. It's not long before he has everything packed messily into his bag. "See you tomorrow, Sota."
"See you tomorrow, Iruka-sensei," you reply before turning your full attention to your new tutor.
"My name is Shiranui Genma. Danzo tells me you have a knack for seals, and he's asked me to teach you the basics," he says, finally addressing you directly.
"Hi, I'm Uzumaki Sota, nice to meet you."
Why did you say that? He obviously already knows who you are.
"Nice to meet you, Sota. I was told that you have done some sealing before, so what do you know?"
You hesitate. "Umm... Actually, I've forgotten everything… Iruka-sensei showed me how to activate storage seals."
"I see," Genma frowns, thinking for a moment, then continues, "It's muscle memory, just like throwing a kunai or writing your kana. You should still have it in your fingers, we just need to bring it out. Today, I'll teach you how to make your own storage seals, and we'll see how it goes from there."
You nod.
He takes out a small stack of paper strips, two brushes, and two jars of ink.
"Follow my lead, but if you feel that you start to remember anything, just continue on your own. I'll make sure that you're not doing anything dangerous."
You pick up the paper, brush, and ink and put them in front of you. "Okay, I'm ready."
He dips his brush in the ink, and you follow suit. He makes nice sharp strokes one by one, and you're able to copy them without much trouble. A few minutes later, he stops, and you have something resembling the tags you found in your room.
"Good work, Sota, I didn't expect you to get it so fast," he says and pats your head.
"Thanks," you mumble, embarrassed at the unexpected praise. "So how do we store something in them?"
"These are just ink on paper, you need to channel chakra while drawing for the seals to work," he explains.
"Oh… So let's do that, then."
"Not so fast, I want you to draw it on your own now," he says and gives you another piece of paper. "You can look at your finished one as a guide."
"Okay," you mumble.
You try to recall his steps. It's surprisingly easy, and you start to speed up as you get more comfortable.
Not long after you have another copy in front of you.
"Good work, now do it without any guide," he says and takes away both of your copies.
This is a bit harder, but you get into it in not too long. While you struggle to visualise everything in your head, your hand picks up the slack to fill in the blanks.
"If you continue like this, you'll be teaching me in no time."
You look away, trying to hide your embarrassment. You can't help but feel a sense of pride. You may not be an expert, but you feel like you've found something you can really do well.
He lets out a short laugh. "Now, let's make one for real."
You perk up and look at him again.
Genma puts a drawing of the same seal in front of you. Some of the lines are drawn with red and blue ink. "This time, you'll apply chakra as you draw. You need a little bit all the way, but use more in the blue regions and less in the red."
"I'm not that good at controlling my chakra yet, it's quite unstable," you say.
"It's fine, as long as you put a lot more into the blue lines and a lot less into the red ones. It will be less efficient if you have sloppy control, but it won't change the performance of a storage tag too much. That's why we start with this seal, unlike others, it's a very forgiving technique."
You nod and get started. The brush seems quite willing to suck up any chakra you give it, and you quickly get into a rhythm of adjusting your chakra output. You draw a bit slower than you did before, as regulating your chakra output takes quite a bit of your focus.
"Good work," Genma congratulates you as you complete the last stroke.
"So, will this work?"
"Maybe," he shrugs. "Your control is sloppy, but it should be safe enough to test."
He takes a little rock from his pocket and puts it on the seal you've just made. Then he forms a ram seal, and the seal sucks it up.
"Looks good," he says.
"Do you want to release it?" He asks.
You nod and form your own ram seal. The stone flies out quite violently, spinning in the air before falling to the ground, and rolling along the floor.
He gives you an embarrassed smile. "Yeah, that's the one danger of using too much chakra."
"You said it didn't matter," you say and glare at him. Wasn't he supposed to make sure nothing bad happened?
"I underestimated how much chakra you were able to use," he admits with a chuckle, "I'll keep that in mind for the future. Just keep practising and you'll get it down to a more manageable level. For now, you should use paper balls instead of anything dangerous."
You nod.
"Do you have any other questions?" He asks.
There was something that bothered you. "These do not look exactly like the ones I found in my apartment."
"Oh…" he mutters.
"And it seems to spit out stuff with a lot more purpose than the way the rock flew out," you explain.
"This is a basic seal," Genma explains, "There are a lot of possible modifications that can be made. Bring one with you next time and we can take a look. It can be dangerous to activate unfamiliar seals, so please don't try to open them on your own. If you promise to practise at home every day till we meet again, I'll see if I can teach you how to notice the modifications and defuse any trickery like that."
He doesn't question why you're in possession of such a seal, if he's curious, he's hiding it well. Anyway, you're quite happy that you don't have to explain.
"You need more precise chakra control before I can teach you anything new, so use a lot less chakra from now on and just see how many you manage to get working."
You nod and start drawing again. Genma quickly stops paying much attention to what you're doing and picks up a book to read.
As you finish the seal he looks up from the book and observes as you load it with a small ball of paper that you've just crumpled up.
Right as you activate it again, the ball shoots straight toward Genma's eyes.
"Careful, and much less chakra," he says as he rubs his left eye.
"I'm sorry," you mumble. It felt like less, but you clearly have to try harder.
He returns to his book and lets you continue in peace, only looking to see if it's successful or not, with much more care than the first time.
A lot of paper and ink later, you have finally made some progress, although the pile of failed seals is much bigger than the successful ones.
"Good work," Genma says, closing his book. "You seem to be starting to get a hang of it, and while you still have a long way to go, your paper balls seem to have calmed down a lot. We'll call it a day for now, but I want every single paper in here to be filled when we meet again next week. Make sure to do a bit every day, and it won't be overwhelming."
He takes out a wooden box that he fills with the ink and brush you've used along with a fresh stack of paper and hands it to you.
"Okay," you shift things around in your backpack to fit the box and look up again when the door opens once more. Your heart plummets when you see Ichirou walk in.
"Sota, come with me," he says.
Genma gives you a bracing smile. "Good luck, kid," he says, "I'll see you next week. Don't work him too hard, Ichirou, his sealing homework will require a lot of focus, so let him rest a bit."
"He can rest when he has surpassed me," Ichirou says and motions for you to join him.
You sigh and reluctantly follow. You're not about to try running again, so it's best just to get your training over with.
-x-
The week passes in a blur. Iruka has already left the classroom and you're resting on your desk, sealing materials out in front of you, as you wait for Genma.
"Hi, Sota, ready for another lesson?" He greets you and sits down next to you.
"Hi," you mumble tiredly, as you sit up in your chair.
"So, how did the homework I gave you go?"
You look away before answering hesitantly, "I couldn't finish everything… I did most of it." You push the box of seals toward him.
Genma flips through the stack of papers, noting the blank twenty or so pages at the bottom. "It will have to do for now, but try finishing next time will you?"
Your fingers curl into fists, and you resist the urge to take your anger out on him. Genma's homework wasn't unreasonable, but on top of everything else, when were you supposed to find time to finish everything? Despite your efforts, you find yourself glaring at him.
"Don't be angry with me, Sota." Genma frowns, setting the box of completed seals aside, the remaining blank papers on the paper between you. "Is something going on? I spoke with Iruka-sensei, and he mentioned you've been dozing off in class and handing in incomplete homework assignments. I thought this was important to you. What are you spending your time doing, if you can't finish your homework or your sealing assignment?"
Your eyes tear up at the disappointment in the man's voice. "I'm doing my best! But Ichirou extended my lessons, even more, to make up for the time spent with you. Even before my lesson with you, I barely had time to finish my homework before falling asleep, but now I can't even do that anymore. I do as many seals as I can, but my hands ache after spending hours practising with my sword, and Iruka-sensei has been giving me extra assignments for not paying attention in class. I just–I don't have enough time!"
You collapse onto your desk, your eyes too filled with tears to see anything. You shouldn't have trusted Danzo, but with his threats, it was hard not to.
"I tried talking to Iruka, but he said he won't give me special treatment just because I have a tutor. I tried talking to Ichirou, but he doesn't care, just tells me to work harder. I'm really doing my best. But I can't keep up with everything."
Genma is silent.
"I'm sorry," he says and pats your head. "I wasn't aware that Danzo was pushing you that hard." His voice is softer than before.
"He promised me to shorten my sessions," you mumble, "But it just got worse. Ichirou says I'm too soft and wants to make sure I don't have time for friends. He claims Danzo approved of it and I don't think it's a good idea to ask him. Every time I meet Danzo my life gets worse, I'm not taking the risk."
"Do you want me to talk to him, tell him that he's taking it too far?" He asks. "He might respect my opinion more."
Your head jerks up in alarm, "Don't! Danzo will just send you to Rice Country, too! He sends away anyone that tries to help me…"
Genma considers. "I think I can make some changes that could help you, without making it too obvious. I'll request more lessons with you each week, but you won't have any homework from me, and we can use some of the time to get your normal homework done, too. Sound okay?"
You give him a careful nod.
"Just rest a bit. You can show me your progress when you're ready. I'll get some water for you," he says, standing up.
"Thanks", you mumble. You suddenly feel a lot better, like you can breathe easier than you have in days.
All that's on your mind now is the sound of the tap running as Genma fills a glass.
"Here," he says, setting the water on the desk in front of you. "Have a drink, it will make you feel better."
You slowly sit up and grab the glass with both hands. You empty the glass in one long drink.
"Feeling better?" He asks.
You nod.
"Alright," he says, smiling at you. "Show me what you can do."
He has already prepared everything you need, so you pick up the brush and dip it in ink before starting to draw another storage seal. You load it with a paper ball as usual and when you release it again it lies neatly on the table with a soft wobble that quickly dissipates.
"Good work!" He praises and tousles your hair. "Much better than I expected, even if you didn't finish all the practice. I think we can move on."
You smile at him, after the last week with both Ichirou and Iruka just voicing disappointment with you, it's really nice to hear some praise.
"You wanted some help with a modified storage seal you found, right? Do you have it with you?"
"Oh, yes," you say and grab your backpack. With a bit of searching, you're able to find it. You place it in front of Genma, who picks it up to get a closer look.
"Let me see… There are three things you want to do when encountering a seal you're not familiar with. First, compare it to a design you can trust. If you look at them side by side you notice that these lines are different," he says and points with the backside of his brush. "And secondly, lightly brush your finger across the ink. You should be able to sense how much chakra was used. It's hard in the beginning, but with experience, you should be able to get a good idea of how it was made."
He gives you a demonstration and slowly traces the seal you've given him.
"While it has even more chakra than your first seals, it is stable. So whatever caused it to shoot something out at you is due to the different design. There are many ways to deal with this, but I'll show you the simplest. As you can see, you've got a lot of space to work with on the paper. Draw a line from the extra lines until they loop back on themselves. That way it uses some of its energy to counteract itself. This doesn't work with every modification, but it should help with this one," he says as he makes the suggested change.
"Lastly, make sure it's aimed away from you," he adds as he loads it with a kunai before tilting the desk away from you and activating it.
The kunai doesn't fly far before it lands on the floor, making a small dent and toppling over. Judging how much energy was in the previous seal, this was a huge improvement.
"Thanks!" You smile, and now you can finally open the remaining seals that you've been avoiding for the last weeks.
"I'm happy to help. So what do you say to move onto explosive tags?"
You tilt your head in curiosity and can't quite contain your excitement at the proposal, "I thought I was too young for that. Are you really allowed to teach it to me?"
"You are way too young, but Danzo insists," Genma took the edge off his comment with a confident smile, "But I wouldn't agree if I didn't think it was safe." He taps your last storage seal, "As long as you can maintain this level of chakra control, there's nothing to worry about."
You grin, "I can do that!"
"Then, we'll start with the design again," Genma says, taking a blank sheet of paper.
You follow suit, grabbing your own paper, and settling in to follow his lead.
-x-
You feel a lot better than usual that evening despite Ichirou pushing you harder than ever. And thanks to Genma, your homework is already done.
So while dinner is cooking on the stove, you finally have time to expose your old secrets. You pick up one of the seals and study it, and to your surprise and perhaps embarrassment, it's completely normal. But just to be sure, you decide to be careful and stay back as you open it.
Out of it appears a stack of drawings. You look through them. All mundane things. Kunai, various fruits, kids you don't even recognize, and a drawing of Danzo, seemingly dozing off. All of them signed with the name "Toka".
It is quite strange, where did Sota get these? And something else that bothers you is that someone has poured ink over the last two drawings, making it impossible to make out the subject.
Was Sota unhappy with the drawings and ruined them on purpose? But why keep them?
But perhaps you can hang up the drawings on your walls, they're currently quite bare. Apart from the one of Danzo and the two stained ones, those can stay in the drawer.
You move on to the next seal. It's also a normal storage seal. You're not sure if you're more annoyed at yourself for being afraid of nothing, or annoyed at Sota for not committing to placing traps on all of his secrets.
When you open it, a small cube wrapped in paper appears. Your fingers start to shake as you pick it up, and something seems to resist your attempt to unwrap it.
But you push through the weird feeling and find a picture frame. Pulling the frame from the box, you turn it over and find yourself looking at a picture of a boy around your age with a stoic look on his face, dressed in black.
You don't recognize him, but your body starts to tense up, your heart beats faster, and the frame slips from your fingers.
On instinct alone, you drop down to catch it before it can hit the floor. Without looking at the boy again, you quickly wrap it back up and place it back in its box.
What the hell was that? Why that strong reaction?
From your reaction alone, it seems like it was someone dear to Sota. Was it someone at the orphanage that Sota had to leave behind when he moved to Konoha? No, it must be from your previous village, before that as your stay at the orphanage would have been too short to make any friends. You look thoughtfully at the stack of drawings again. Were they connected to the photo, somehow? Perhaps the drawings were a farewell gift? But if that was the case, then what was that drawing of Danzo?
Two answers come to mind. One is that someone warned you about Danzo and gave you the drawing to recognize him, another possibility is that you were sent to kill Danzo. You had your chance at the orphanage but panicked as you didn't expect to meet him there.
An acrid smell distracts you, and you turn around and see the pan overflowing onto the stove. You run to pull it off the plate, forgetting the mystery of Sota's past in favour of trying to salvage your dinner.
-x-
It is pouring rain the next day, and as it approaches lunch, you can only hope for Ichirou to cancel today's training.
"Sota, do you want to stay with us after lunch?" Iruka asks as your morning classes wrap up. "You should be spending more time with the rest of the class, and you shouldn't be out training in this weather, anyway. We'll be doing indoor activities today."
You nod and smile at Iruka. It sounds fun and you really don't want to go out now. You got soaked just going to school earlier.
Iruka returns your smile, "I'll talk to your tutor, then. I've some other good news for you, this is yours right?" He asks and shows you the hairclip Danzo took.
"Where did you find it?" Shin interrupts as he leans over your desk. "We were looking for it ages ago."
"I noticed that it was sitting there in the teachers' room along with other lost items," Iruka explains.
"Thanks," you say and grab it before Shin can study it further. You pocket your replacement hairclip and gently put in the old one without stabbing yourself with it.
It's strange, you shouldn't have any real connection to it, but it feels like a big relief to get it back.
As you're finishing the last of your lunch, Ichirou arrives.
Iruka walks up to him, "Can I have a word with you?"
"Sure. We can talk on the way out," he answers, "Come on, Sota!"
"It's about that," Iruka says quickly, "Sota's not spending enough time with his class. And since the weather is bad today, he can stay here for some indoor activities and get to know his classmates more."
"I'm sorry, he needs to learn to deal with weather like this. If you've any issues with it, I suggest you take it up with Danzo. Come on, Sota," Ichirou calls again.
You hesitate as you do not want to go outside today.
"Danzo has asked for an update on your progress tonight, Sota," the man adds sternly, "I don't think he'd be happy with us if we skipped our lesson today, so come on."
Iruka looks at you with a concerned expression.
"It's okay, sensei," you say tiredly.
"Don't you think I see what's going on here?" Iruka raises his voice so that the rest of his class turns to him.
"As I said, take it up with Danzo," Ichirou says, completely shutting Iruka down. "Come on, Sota."
You look back at the class one last time before you reluctantly obey.
Shikamaru is sleeping on his desk, Shin looks back at you, looking a bit uncomfortable like he wants to do something but has no way of offering help. Sasuke is smirking at you, apparently happy about your misfortune. You glare at him before you finally follow Ichirou outside.
The rain has picked up since you left home this morning and what started as a light drizzle is now a respectable rain. And judging by the clouds, the weather might get even worse.
"Umm, I should probably go home and put on some better clothes," you suggest. Hopefully, you have a poncho buried in your closet somewhere.
"No need. You won't have a chance to go home to get better clothes if you get caught out in bad weather as a ninja," Ichirou replies flippantly.
You sigh but don't argue. You've completely given up on arguing with him at this point. Trying to fight with him always made things worse.
"So, what do you have in mind today?" You ask.
"Wait and see. You brought your sword with you right?"
"No," you mumble and look away. It wasn't a good moment to ask for your sword with everyone's eyes on you. Why did you even think that Ichirou would let you off today? Knowing him he'd just make you do the exercises without your sword. If only you hadn't let wishful thinking cloud your judgement and asked for it back straight away.
"How do you expect to survive as a ninja like this? Be glad Danzo forbade me from properly punishing you. I will go back inside and get it for you, but next time you'll have to deal without it. And don't even think about running away."
Does he really expect you to believe that Danzo is protecting you? He probably made Ichirou say that to make you trust him more.
It doesn't take long before he's back. "Strap it on," he orders and begins walking.
As you get to your usual training area, you notice that the ground is a lot wetter and slippery with mud.
"We're going to continue our training from yesterday," Ichirou says, "Find openings in my attacks and swing at me. The weather will make for an extra challenge."
You nod. While these exercises are getting a bit repetitive, it is at least better than your first day. And you're starting to feel like if you're ever up against a low-level swordsman you're not completely dead. You grab a kunai with your left hand and your sword in the other and watch him carefully, as you know by now that you won't get any warning. But as he swings at you, you fail to get a good grip on the ground, and instead fall back into the wet grass, dropping your sword in the process.
"At least you dodged," he laughs, "Now get up before I hit you."
You carefully get up again. He seems to have no difficulty on the saturated ground while you really feel unsteady.
"We'll take it slow," he says.
With great effort, you manage to keep standing for the next hour. The more you move around, the muddier the ground gets, and the harder it is to stay upright and focused on Ichirou's strikes. Eventually, you fall again, face down into the wet mud while the harsh rain splashes on your back. The mud clogs up your nostrils and makes you feel even colder.
"Up!" he orders with a raised voice.
You try to push yourself up but your hands just slide forward in the mud and you hit the ground again.
"Dig your fingers into the dirt to get a better grip," he suggests.
It's worth the try and with careful footwork, you manage to get up on your feet. You try to wipe the mud off your face with your sleeve, but it's not much use as it's almost as dirty.
"How are you managing to stay upright?" you ask him.
"Chakra," he says. "It's too complicated to teach you today, so you'll just have to learn to improvise." Mid-sentence he strikes at you again, catching you off guard. His blow hits your chest, making you fall backwards.
"Can we please stop for today?" you beg as the cold mud makes you feel even colder than before.
"Your enemies won't wait for the weather to improve just to give you a fighting chance. You need to excel in every environment if you want to become a useful ninja for Konoha."
You let out a low sigh before trying to get up again.
"Here," he says and throws a pair of sandals at you which are reminiscent of the ones Jiraiya wears. The geta are obviously a lot smaller, but the teeth are even taller. "Mud sandals. They will make it harder to move until you get used to them but will let you keep your balance in the mud. Put them on while avoiding my attacks."
"Thanks," you mutter. You have to roll around on the ground to dodge his attacks as you struggle to pull your dirty sandals off.
Eventually, dirtier than ever, you manage to get the geta on. As you stand up, you notice that your grip is a lot better. You slowly get used to the way you have to move while wearing geta, only falling a few times over the next hour. As the falls occur less frequently, you slowly feel a bit of warmth returning to your body, although you cannot feel your fingers or toes any longer, and your grip on your weapons is weakening.
Finally, Ichirou stops attacking.
"Good work, Sota. Now I want you to take it a step further. I have the confidence that you might have a chance to hold your own even in this weather now, but your skills are no good if you're unable to actually harm your opponent," he says.
"A step further?" So it's going to get even worse than this…
"Yes, I want you to strike back. Slice me with your sword. Clean off your sword first, though, I don't want to risk getting an infection."
"I'm not going to hit you!"
"Why not? I know you don't like me, so consider this your chance to get back at me for everything I've put you through. I'll even move slower to give you a real chance," he explains in a helpful tone. It feels like he's mocking you.
"I refuse!" You yell out. Enough with his weird ideas, how many times do you have to explain that you don't want to hurt anyone? Even Ichirou. Danzo's idea about using fear to avoid future conflict may have had some merit, but it did nothing to make you more comfortable with actually doing it and there is no one around but Ichirou now.
"We're not leaving here before you do this," Ichirou says, his tone still cajoling, "After that, you're done for the day. I'll even buy you dinner and some hot chocolate, then you can go home. All you need to do is draw blood, Sota."
"No. I don't want to hurt you!" you shout.
"You'll hardly be hurting me, since I can heal myself perfectly afterwards," Ichirou says, "What if I were your enemy?"
"I guess it would be okay if it was in self-defence, maybe," you mutter. If it's you or them it's no question what you choose, but you don't like the way he says it.
"Alright then," he says and moves towards you.
"What are you going to do?" You cry out, you don't like how he's acting at all.
His answer is a solid hit with his wooden sword toward your temple which throws you to the ground.
"Show me that you're able to act in self-defence," he says as he stands over you.
Your head aches and you feel nauseous.
"Up!" he yells.
Even though the world is spinning around you, you're able to get up, though now there are suddenly two of him. You blink hard, and Ichirou slowly merges into one person again.
He swings his sword at you again, and thanks to all the repetitions, you're able to deflect it despite feeling increasingly dizzy. But you just can't hit back.
"How many times do you think you can keep getting hit?" Ichirou asks, striking at you again, "You might actually die if you don't defend yourself!"
You're moving to block, but you can already tell you're going to be too slow. You tense in anticipation of the strike, but instead, you hear the thunk of wood hitting metal and you open your eyes wide to see that Ichirou's wooden sword has been blocked by another sword.
"Enough!" the new arrival snaps. You turn to see what looks like Itachi in his ANBU uniform, his red and white fox mask in place. He jerks his sword, pushing Ichirou's away.
"We're in the middle of training here," Ichirou growls.
"By my authority as Hokage's ANBU, I order you to stop and come with me. Sota, you too," Itachi replies.
"Alright, Uchiha, but take off your mask. We all know who you are. If you're not able to get respect without it, you have no business wearing it."
Itachi reluctantly takes it off and takes your hand as he leads the way back toward the village. He is moving much faster than you're comfortable with, but he doesn't seem to notice. You realise he's taking you to the Hokage Tower, and you wonder what's going on.
Itachi opens the door to the Hokage's office without hesitation, the secretary outside doesn't even attempt to protest.
It is warm inside the office, but that does little to help, as your soaked clothes are keeping you cold.
"What's this about, Itachi?" The Hokage asks, without lifting his eyes from his paperwork.
"Ichirou's training with Sota is getting out of hand," Itachi explains, "I brought both of them here so you can put an end to it."
"I see. And why is Sota's training your business?" The Hokage asks, still more focused on what's on the desk than the three of you.
"I've been thinking about something Iruka told me some time ago. If this had happened to Sasuke, Ichirou's dead body would have been floating toward the ocean by now. Since Sota doesn't have anyone to stand up for him, I had to do something," Itachi says.
"I'm glad you're looking out for someone other than your brother, but I'm not sure I understand what you're upset about. Ichirou has been tutoring Sota."
"What do you mean?" Itachi's voice rises, "The weather is horrible outside!"
"He's training to be a ninja, isn't he? He needs to learn in harsh conditions. You were pushed hard at his age, too," The Hokage says, his voice still calm and unflustered. He still has not looked away from his paperwork.
Why does Itachi even think he'll get any help here? Even you can tell the Hokage doesn't care. You turn to look at the door. Would any of them even notice if you left?
Itachi takes a step closer to the desk. "Yes, but this is going too far. Sota has obviously been training out in the cold and rain for hours—his clothes are soaked, and his fingers are so cold he couldn't even properly grip my hand on the way over. It will be lucky if he doesn't come down with pneumonia; if he wanted to teach Sota to fight in this kind of environment, he should have taught him about how to prepare for the weather and not just throw him out there without proper clothing. If I hadn't stepped in I don't think Sota would have survived today."
The Hokage finally looks up, glancing at you and then frowning at Ichirou, "Ichirou, I do trust you, but I must ask if you're taking Sota's young age into account here. Your training will be of no use if he dies due to your carelessness."
You try not to feel let down that this is all the Hokage seems to care about. He's not exactly the grandfatherly character you expected from his interaction with Naruto. Then again, why should he care about you, when you've only caused problems since you arrived here?
"Of course, Hokage-sama," Ichirou says with a small bow. "With all due respect to my comrade, I believe I'm a bit more familiar with Sota's limitations than he is. As an Uzumaki, Sota is quite durable. Of course I would not put any other children through the same training. He might suffer a fever from today, but that's it. Besides, his endurance is off the charts. I already spend as much time with him as I can, and today was the first time I got anywhere near finding his limits thanks to the weather. Despite what Itachi may have believed, his life was never at risk. I have experience with this, and even in an emergency, I know enough medical jutsu to keep him alive until we get to the hospital. I also intended to ensure he was warm and healthy before we wrapped up training for the day."
"Today's training was a success until Itachi arrived," Ichirou continues. "I must say, I've quite enjoyed my time teaching him, Hokage-sama," he adds, "He is certainly interesting and a fresh challenge from what I've been doing. I hope I have your confidence to continue to work with him and make him into a valuable asset for Konoha."
As far as you're concerned, the only thing Ichirou enjoys about tutoring you is the ability to satisfy his sadism. Yes, your reflexes are getting better, and you're somehow keeping up even when his exercises are harder, but even if he was really going to warm you up before you went home, there is no reason for him to push you so hard. You're much older than the real Sota, and you can hardly manage this. You can't imagine how the old Sota would have survived this abuse if you hadn't taken over, especially as he probably never would have caught the attention of Itachi, and would probably still be stuck in the mud, receiving a beating as he would be unable to get up.
And it's just multiple layers of luck that you're standing here. If Sasuke wasn't sick the day you woke up here, Itachi wouldn't have gone to retrieve Sasuke's homework and Iruka wouldn't have lectured him and gotten him to help you.
If Ichirou hadn't extended your lesson after you tried to hide from him, Itachi wouldn't have learned that Ichirou was pushing you too hard.
And what caused Itachi to come and save you today? You never told him where you were training. Was it just more luck that he happened to pass by when he did?
You need to thank him properly later, he might very well have saved your life despite Ichirou's objections.
The Hokage doesn't respond, a calculating expression on his face.
Itachi releases a long breath. "I think I understand," he says, "I guess it's to be expected when his tutor is a retired ANBU instructor."
The Hokage frowns, "Is there more?"
"Ichirou's teaching him to be an ANBU agent, not a Genin," Itachi says, "It's common practice to find a new recruits limits before pushing them with high-intensity training during Hell Week. The only reason anyone makes it through is that we know eventually Hell Week ends, and they shift the focus to techniques, strategy, and team training. That also explains why Ichirou used the hinote training technique, trying to encourage Sota's aggression by telling him his training wouldn't end until he stabbed him. I'm still the youngest in ANBU, but I had four years of experience as a ninja before being recruited. The tests are not designed for children, yet Ichirou is forcing the same standards on Sota who hasn't even graduated from the Academy yet, and only has a few weeks of intensive training. He even violates some of the ANBU guidelines for this kind of training."
The Hokage turns to Ichirou, "Did Danzo tell you to use that exercise with Sota?"
"Not directly," Ichirou admits, finally sounding less confident than he did earlier, "I was told to get Sota ready to become a ninja. I may have used some training techniques Itachi recognizes from ANBU, but I use them because they are effective. And yes I've modified the exercises, but this isn't ANBU training; if it were, I wouldn't have gone so easy on him. The guidelines are there to make sure inexperienced instructors aren't going too far with the recruits and to ensure that enough recruits pass the test to fill our demand. Despite his young age, Sota has the potential to surpass all of his clan, but he hesitates to use his full ability and he has been allowed to waste his talents for too long."
You want to glare at him, but your head is too heavy to lift. So he was telling the truth earlier about Danzo protecting you from punishment. Though it feels like he's not being honest with you with the rest. And it doesn't change the fact that Danzo assigned Ichirou to you and should have known about his methods.
"I see," the Hokage turns his attention back to his papers and starts writing again, "I am removing you as Sota's tutor. He has a history of violence; he doesn't need to be pressured to use his sword against fellow Konoha ninja. If anything, he should be taught to have more self-control and encouraged to see Leaf-nin as comrades to be protected. We don't need another incident of him injuring his classmates."
"Thanks, Hokage-sama," Itachi says, relaxing a little.
"I can make adjustments to his training," Ichirou says.
"I'm sorry, but I consider the harm already done, Ichirou. Sota will without doubt harbour resentment towards you after this, and I fear he might try to kill you if he gains the skills and confidence to do so. Nothing you've done violates any rules so you will not be punished, but you've shown poor judgement here. He needs a tutor that sees him as more than just a sword to be sharpened," the Hokage says firmly. "I will speak to Danzo about this myself, clearly I showed poor judgement in recommending you to him, so it's only right that I correct that mistake. You may leave."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Ichirou says with a short bow before leaving.
Wait, Ichirou wasn't Danzo's idea? It's impossible to read the Hokage. Does he actually disapprove of Ichirou's methods, or is he just annoyed that he was called out for it? Or is this a test to see how Itachi will handle the situation?
"Itachi, I want you to take over as Sota's tutor," the Hokage says, wrapping up whatever he was writing by applying his personal stamp to the bottom of the page.
Itachi frowns, "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I don't have the time with my other duties, and what little free time I do have, I need to spend with my family. Sasuke relies on me."
"You're being suspended from most of your ANBU duties, so you will have plenty of time," the Hokage responds mildly, already working on his next piece of paperwork.
"Wait, what? You're suspending me? Because I refuse to tutor him?" Itachi asks in surprise.
"I've gotten a lot of small complaints about you from your supervisors, while none of them being of great significance, it adds up and I cannot overlook this anymore if I'm going to give you increased responsibilities," the Hokage states, "Additionally, you showed poor judgement by bringing Sota to my office rather than getting him home, and you abused your position by barging in instead of making an appointment to speak with me about this later. That way you would have avoided discussing classified information in front of both Sota and Ichirou. While this leak was not significant, that may not be true next time you speak out of place." He looks up, "You are skilled, Itachi, but I think we sometimes forget you are still so young. During your suspension, I expect you to spend a little more time with your father. Attend clan meetings and learn about responsibility and leadership. Your heart is in the right place, but you fail to see the big picture and the consequences of your decisions."
"I see," Itachi mutters, "I didn't realise… When you say increased responsibilities, do you mean…?"
"If you put in the work, yes. Come to my residence tomorrow for some tea after you've brought Sasuke to the academy, there is more I want to discuss with you," the Hokage says, turning back to his papers. "Please escort Sota home now, and ensure he is warm and cleaned up properly."
Itachi frowns, "I'm supposed to walk Sasuke home from the Academy today, I'm already running late. I'm sure Sota can go home by himself."
The Hokage looks up, brow creased in irritation, "The same Sota you already complained was pushed too hard and freezing to the point that he can't hold your hand? When you are back from the suspension I do not want to hear you using Sasuke as an excuse again. He is safe and dry at the Academy. Which one of these two needs your help more?"
Itachi bows his head. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. You're right, of course."
The Hokage turns to look at you. "Sota, you shouldn't let what happened today scare you from becoming a ninja. It seems like both Itachi and Ichirou have forgotten, but it's the one leading the mission that's responsible to ensure everyone is prepared and properly equipped for the situation. Until you've proven beyond doubt that you can handle it yourself, you won't leave the gates before your superior has checked your bags for everything you need, and any ninja who fails to supply you properly will face serious punishments for putting both the mission and the team in danger."
So making you fight in this weather without proper clothing was just sadism from Ichirou.
"What he means to say is that you will be safe," Itachi says. "Even when I was a chuunin, the older ninja on my team made sure I had everything in order, and it has probably saved my life many times as I overestimated myself and didn't pack warm enough clothes or packed things that had become too small for me."
It's good to hear in a way, it makes it a bit less scary to graduate in a year. Even if the thought of it is still terrifying, it sounds like even Itachi, despite being a real prodigy, wasn't just trusted that he could do everything on his own as soon as he graduated.
The Hokage turns back to Itachi. "Hatake-san is due back from his mission tonight. I want you to convince him to tutor Sota. It will be a good break for him, which he needs despite what he may claim. I've no illusions that he would listen to me, but you know him best, so you may just succeed in convincing him. You are free to use confidential information regarding Sota if needed, but don't try to trick him. Sota needs a tutor who actually wants to teach him."
"And even if he should decline, please try to get him to take a week off, at least." The Hokage turns back to his paperwork. "Now, you're late enough already." He applies his stamp to the bottom of the current page and picks it up, holding it out to Itachi, "Give this to Iruka in order to access Sota's records, and bring them with you when you meet him."
Itachi takes the note. "Yes, Hokage-sama," he says before turning to you. "Let's go, Sota, I'm pretty confident that I can convince senpai to teach you, so you should be in safe hands from now on."
He takes your hand again, and his hand feels hot against your frozen fingers. You don't really know how to feel about having Kakashi tutoring you. Anything is better than Ichirou, but you can't afford to go too slow, either, as you need to improve fast to make Danzo happy.
"Itachi," the Hokage interrupts before you can leave.
"What is it?" He asks.
"Are you happy in ANBU? As you don't have an assignment at the moment, you are free to quit if you feel you would rather prioritise your brother. It would be a great loss, but it doesn't exclude you from coming back again when Sasuke becomes a genin."
"Sasuke will always be my number one priority, but the best way to keep him safe is as an ANBU agent. So, no, I'm even more committed now than when I started."
"Glad to hear that. Don't forget the tea tomorrow," he says.
Itachi gives him a polite nod and you can finally go home.
Outside, the storm is worse than it was before. The rain is really pouring down, and the storm clouds are dark overhead.
Itachi looks up at them with concern. "Um… Sorry, do you think you can make it home alone? I really need to get Sasuke—if he tries to go home alone in this, he could get hurt."
You're too wet and cold to argue. You just want to go home. You nod and he turns to hurry back towards the Academy. You slowly turn to walk in the opposite direction, towards your apartment, when a flash of lightning lights up the whole sky, and a thunderous roar shakes you to your bones. All of a sudden, you're filled with a strong sense of dread—you can't breathe, your heart races and your legs give out on you. You drop to your knees, shaking.
"Sota!"
Itachi races back to your side. "Sota! Answer me! What's wrong?" He tries to shake you, but it doesn't help. Another flash of light and growl of thunder makes you whimper and squeeze your eyes shut.
Itachi picks you up, and you instinctively curl into the warmth of his chest. Despite the pouring rain, he manages to keep you dry.
Itachi starts to run in the direction of your apartment, and after a moment of listening to the beating of his heart and even the rhythm of his breath, you're able to calm down enough to open your eyes. Your heart is still pounding, but you're able to breathe again. You see smoke rising in the distance, from where the lightning must have struck something.
Soon, you're in front of your own door, and Itachi asks for your keys.
"They're in my right pocket," you mumble.
He fishes them out and opens the door, walking in with you still in his arms. While it's a relief to be out of the rain, you don't feel any warmer inside than you did outside. The walls are barely keeping out the worst of the storm. The rain is loud on the window, there's an icy breeze, even with the door closed, and water drips from at least three places in the ceiling—the two buckets you'd placed under leaks this morning are overflowing, and the third leak wasn't even there this morning.
Itachi puts you down again and walks to your bathroom. You try to turn on the light, but nothing happens. The storm must have knocked out the power.
"Um… Sota, where's your bathtub?" Itachi asks.
"I don't have one. Just a shower," you mumble.
"Oh… I guess that will have to do," Itachi says, "You need to get out of those soaking clothes and warm up."
"I used all the hot water this morning, usually it takes until the evening to heat up again, but the power is out," you mention. "But it's fine, I have plenty of blankets. If you could just get me something hot to eat after you've seen Sasuke home, I can manage."
"Couldn't you…" Itachi stops himself. "Never mind. Get on my back, I'm taking you home with me.