Chapter Text
Impossibility, like Wine
Exhilarates the Man
Who tastes it; Possibility
Is flavorless – Combine
A Chance’s faintest Tincture
And in the former Dram
Enchantment makes ingredient
As certainly as Doom-
- Emily Dickenson.
Chapter 1: Naruto Uzumaki!!
The world was spinning around him, which was only appropriate given the spiraling nature of Obito’s technique. He’d closed his eyes instinctively after he’d thrown himself into the portal, and as soon as he’d entered, it was like he was frozen. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even open his eyes to try to see what was going on around him. The chunin felt like he was falling. ‘Was this what it felt like to go back in time?’ he wondered. It seemed to last an eternity and yet, in his state of suspended animation, there was no evidence that time was passing at all. He hurtled faster and faster (or at least, it seemed like it) until he felt something almost like a collision, as if he’d smacked into the ground.
Izumo snapped his eyes open with a gasp. At first, he didn’t recognize his surroundings, but years of instinct took over even while his brain was rebooting. He could smell the thick, leafy scent of the forest. The wooden and thatched buildings were familiar to him. This was the chunin standby station. He was in Konoha.
For a horrible, terrifying moment everything was silent. Just because he was in Konoha didn’t mean that he had gone back in time. Where were the sounds of the birds, the bustle of the city? The leaf village should be alive, even in the dead of night. He squeezed his eyes closed. What if Obito hadn’t succeeded in sending him backwards in time? What if he’d just translocated him to their Konoha? Was Izumo now the only person alive free of Kaguya’s thrall? He could feel himself start to breathe too rapidly, when all the sudden he felt hands on his shoulders, shaking him somewhat roughly. His eyes flew open.
“Izumo!” he heard the person in front of him call, and realized with a start that he could in fact hear just fine. His senses had just taken a while to completely adjust after their trip through time and space. With a hot rush of relief, the chunin listened intently to all the sounds he had been trying to hear the first time around. It sounded like there were hundreds of shinobi busily making their way through the area, talking amongst themselves. Izumo felt like sobbing in joy. Wherever, or whenever he was, it certainly wasn’t in the same place or time as Kaguya.
“Izumo, are you all right?” the man in front of him repeated, and he jerked a little bit, surprised. With a start, he realized that it was Kotetsu. Of course it was. If this really was the past, then there would be no one else that he would be with.
Almost on auto pilot, he replied “Yeah, Ko’,” the nickname felt sacred on his tongue. “I’m just feeling a bit dizzy.” After he’d said it, Izumo realized that it was true. He’d been feeling terrible even before (later? In the future?). His chakra had been drained by the World Tree and according to Obito he wasn’t even entirely human anymore. However, the trip through time and space disoriented him further. It was only pure willpower keeping him upright at this point.
“Are you sure?” Kotetsu asked briefly, an odd look in his eye. He seemed almost distant, in a way, and backed up quickly. Izumo was used to his friend crowding him a lot more physically, especially when he wasn’t feeling well. “You’ve picked an awful time to get sick, pal. We’ve gotta go.”
Go? Where did they have to go? He couldn’t ask that question, knowing it would be too suspicious. Alright, Izumo, are you a ninja or not? He glanced around quickly, taking in all the data he could observe. The trees outside the building still had all their leaves, and few to no budding flowers could be seen. That meant it was roughly summertime. Now, what year was it? Izumo glanced at Kotetsu’s hands. A couple of years ago (a couple of years from now, maybe?) Kotetsu had gotten a small scar on his left hand. It wasn’t there. Okay, so he was at least two years in the past.
(He was in the past. Izumo could hardly believe it, but he pushed the panic down. There was no time).
He needed more information. Izumo glanced around at the shinobi making their way through the chunin standby station. Their movements were frantic. This wasn’t just some sort of event. Something was going on, something bad, judging by the furious looks on their faces. Okay, given Kotetsu’s hair style and lack of the scar, he was somewhere between two and four years in the past. The major, village wide events that had involved chunin running around (it was a manhunt of some kind, he recognized from the hand signs and protocols being followed) were few in number. There had been the Invasion, but that happened during the day; it was currently night time. The only thing that came to mind was…
“Naruto,” Izumo gasped.
“Yeah,” Kotetsu said, sounding like he was commiserating with his partner. “I can’t believe that brat stole the Sacred Scroll! After everything we’ve done for the little monster.”
Izumo was shocked at the vitriol in Kotetsu’s voice, and remembered with a flush of shame that he’d said similar things about the boy, before he knew better. “We need to find him,” he muttered.
“We’re the best guys for the job!” the other chunin chimed in. “With our combo, we can knock him out, no problem.” Kotetsu suddenly grinned slyly. “Hey, maybe the Hokage will be so grateful to us that he’ll promote us to jounin!”
Izumo could feel his head spinning. All he could think about was Naruto. The boy was their only hope at defeating Kaguya, and he was in danger. If he’d been thinking straight, he’d remember that things turned out alright the first time around, but he couldn’t leave it up to chance. “C’mon, Kamizuki, think… think.” Kotetsu stayed silent, likely trusting his partner’s ability to reason through situations like these.
This night was legendary amongst Konoha shinobi. It had been the night that their hero, Naruto, had learned his most famous technique. The details were a bit fuzzy, because of the people involved, only the boy was willing to gossip about it. Plus, like any story of that nature, it had gotten told and retold hundreds of times, shifting a bit constantly. However, Izumo had been one of the chunin on patrol that night (this night), and so he had the details a little fresher than most. Where had Naruto gone? He snapped his fingers, excited with the realization.
“C’mon, Kotetsu, time to go!”
His partner grinned. “Alright Izumo! Lead the way.”
He took the two of them outside the village, towards the training grounds that should contain the missing boy and scroll. Izumo felt like he was running purely on adrenaline. He barely had enough chakra to function, but whenever he considered stopping, he had a sudden vision of Naruto, dead, and the world being destroyed by the Rabbit Goddess. It spurred him to go a little faster, even.
Neither he nor Kotetsu spoke, both of them used to the routine of chasing after a mark. They were sent together on retrieval missions quite often, as their skill set was well suited for it. Izumo was glad, because he didn’t think he could spare the breath to speak. As they reached their destination, he slowed down a little in caution. They plunged carefully into the woods and he let the other chunin take the lead. His partner was by far the superior tracker, but even Izumo could see the path they needed to follow. Whoever had made it clearly didn’t bother to cover it up whatsoever. He just hoped they weren’t too late.
The two chunin sped up as they followed the trail, and Kotetsu was visibly thrumming with anticipation. He could see the excitement on his partner’s face. The other man probably thought that corning an academy student would be easy work, but Izumo knew that there was far worse waiting for them. They burst into a clearing just in time to see the boy in question attacking his teacher. Izumo furrowed his brow in confusion, because it was Iruka that Naruto was fighting, not Mizuki. Kotetsu leapt between the two of them, causing Naruto to disengage from the chunin.
“Oh, you’re in trouble now, brat!” Kotetsu spat. “You really think you can take on three real ninja?”
Naruto’s eyes widened in shock and he backed up a step. “No wait, Kotetsu! You don’t understand.”
Something was wrong here. There was a feeling, like he was forgetting something… a part of the story was missing. Also, he wasn’t aware that Naruto was familiar enough with his partner to address him by name. Izumo’s eyes widened in realization. “No! Kotetsu, watch out!” he cried, but it was too late. The other chunin snapped to attention, eyes locking onto Naruto’s hands, looking for a threat, but he had the wrong person.
The point of a Fuuma shuriken protruded from Kotetsu’s shoulder. ‘Iruka’ had stabbed it into him. His partner had enough battle instinct to turn enough so that the blow was incapacitating rather than fatal, though. Iruka didn’t use that type of weapon, only…
Naruto threw himself at the chunin, causing the other man to retreat, dropping the transformation technique and revealing himself to be Mizuki in disguise. Their enemy chuckled darkly. “Sorry Hagane… If I hadn’t missed then you wouldn’t be suffering so much.”
Kotetsu stumbled to his feet and spat on the ground angrily. Mizuki turned to Naruto. “I have to admit I’m impressed, demon. How did you know that I wasn’t Iruka?”
The boy shook his head. “Because, you bastard, I’m Iruka.” With that, he dispelled the illusion, and where a short blonde boy had been before, a taller chunin now stood, vibrating with rage. Izumo leapt to Kotetsu’s side, pushing him down gently by his uninjured shoulder.
“Kotetsu stay back,” he hissed, frantic. “Leave this to the two of us. You’re too injured to fight.” He was just glad that Mizuki hadn’t had a chance to rip his weapon out of the other chunin’s body. He definitely would’ve died of blood loss then.
“Help me, Izumo! Quick, use your-”
“Syrup trap?” Mizuki taunted, cutting Iruka off. “You idiots. I know all of your techniques. Nothing you do will be any use. If you want to live, give up the brat and hand me the Scroll of Seals!”
“Never!” Izumo shouted. Like hell he was going to let this bastard get away with hurting Kotetsu. He was somewhat glad that Mizuki had given him an excuse not to use his water ninjutsu though. There was no way he had enough chakra to pull it off.
As if it was some kind of signal, all three of them (minus Kotetsu) jumped forward. Izumo veered left, trying to flank Mizuki’s back, while Iruka engaged him from the front. He did his best to slash at the traitor’s neck with a kunai, but he didn’t even have enough chakra available to enhance his body. Mizuki avoided both his and Iruka’s blows with ease, as if they were genin rather than experienced ninja. Izumo suddenly remembered that Mizuki was supposed to be promoted to jounin, and was only held back for political reasons, rather than by any lack of skill on his part.
“You fools!” Mizuki snapped. “Just run! You can’t beat me.”
“We’re not going to let you have the Scroll,” insisted Iruka.
“Why are you two protecting that monster?” screamed the traitor. “Izumo, Iruka, he killed both of your families.”
“Shut up!” Izumo snapped. “Naruto is a hero! He’s protecting everyone.” For a split second he forgot that he was in the past, and that none of the events like the Chunin Exam or Pein’s attack had occurred yet. Had he given up the game so easily?
“Oh don’t be naïve, Izumo. You can’t seriously believe that tripe the Old Man feeds us about the kid protecting us from the demon fox? You’ve seen the way he acts. All he cares about is chaos and mischief. All that rage and hatred… He’s only capable of destruction. The Nine-tails will use that scroll to kill us all if it gets the chance.”
Iruka scowled at him, before bowing his head. “You’re right, Mizuki.”
Izumo did a double take. Iruka had always been Naruto’s biggest supporter. He couldn’t believe that the chunin would betray him now. He tightened his grip on his kunai. This must be some sort of trick.
Iruka’s head rose slowly, eyes burning. “The Nine-tailed fox would use the power in that scroll to destroy us… But Naruto’s not the Fox! That’s not who he is. He is not a monster. He’s a good, hardworking kid who puts his all into everything he does! Yeah, he messes up sometimes, and everyone gives him a hard time… but his suffering just makes him even stronger! That’s what separates him from the beast. So you’re wrong. He’s nothing like the Nine-tailed fox. He’s Naruto Uzumaki, of the village hidden in the leaves!” cried Iruka, before he sprang forward and resumed his attack on Mizuki.
The older man just kicked the injured teacher away, before he whirled on Izumo. “Sorry it had to be like this,” he said, sounding insincere. The man thrusted another oversized Fuuma shuriken towards him, and Izumo parried. Ninja combat was like a dance, somewhat. Mizuki slashed at him from his shoulder to his left hip, and Izumo pivoted on his left leg, pushing backwards to avoid the attack. In response Mizuki kicked out at his ankle, trying to break the fragile joint. They went back and forth, trading taijutsu techniques and matching each other blow for blow. Still, Izumo could tell that he was losing. It was only a matter of time before his exhaustion got the better of him and he left an opening too large to defend.
He stumbled, and his eyes widened in panic as Mizuki smirked, smug. Was this it? Was he going to waste his second chance by being killed not by Madara, or even the Akatsuki, but a measly chunin traitor? Suddenly, Mizuki aborted his blow and cried out in pain. There was a kunai protruding from his shoulder. Izumo followed the line of its trajectory back towards Kotetsu, whose hand was extended.
“You want to die first, cripple! That can be arranged,” snarled the traitorous chunin.
“You’ll have to go through me first,” Iruka cried, stepping in front of the downed ninja.
“With pleasure!” Mizuki used the body flicker technique to move towards the scarred chunin faster than Izumo could follow. Shit, he couldn’t catch up in time. Iruka braced himself. He didn’t look like he was in any shape to defeat Mizuki, and he was a worse fighter than Izumo. There was no way he’d be able to do anything but slow the traitor down.
Suddenly, a small, orange-clad form bashed into Mizuki, sending him stumbling backwards. It was Naruto!
“If you touch my sensei… I’ll kill you!” the boy snarled.
The man in front of him laughed derisively. “You can’t even pass the academy graduation exam, demon. I could kill you with a single blow.”
Naruto’s stance widened. “Try it! I’ll return any hit a thousand fold!” The boy raised two fingers on each hand, and crossed them perpendicularly in a distinctive sign.
Izumo could feel his breath catch. Could it be…?
“Shadow clone!” cried Naruto.
Despite having seen the jinchuriki in action before, Izumo couldn’t help but gape, impressed. Suddenly hundreds of copies of Naruto appeared all over the forest. He knew that he would die of chakra exhaustion if he tried making even a tiny fraction of these clones. Mizuki looked around in disbelief as he was suddenly surrounded by orange forms. They were on all sides of him, even hanging above him in the trees. They all moved as one, closing in on the traitor and punching him countless times. Izumo almost winced in sympathy for the beat down, but he got a glance of Kotetsu out of the corner of his eye. The man was gaping at the scene in disbelief, but the sight of the wound in his shoulder made Izumo’s blood boil.
Before long, Naruto dispelled all of his clones, leaving behind a beaten and bloody Mizuki twitching on the ground. “Oops,” the boy chuckled awkwardly, scratching at the back of his head with his right hand. “I went a little overboard.”
“Yeah,” Iruka agreed, looking stunned. Izumo made his way over to the beaten form on the ground, cautious. It was apparent though that this was no trick. The chunin was out cold, bleeding from multiple wounds all over his body.
Seeing that the traitor was taken care of, Izumo made his way to his partner. “Are you alright?” he asked softly.
“I’ll live,” the other man said shortly, wincing. He nodded towards Naruto. “Damn. I wouldn’t have believed that if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Who would’ve thought?”
Izumo nodded, but he was used to Naruto pulling off impossible things from his experiences in the future (it was still strange to think about). The boy seemed to do it every time he turned around. He glanced over to the orange-clad ninja. It was still disconcerting to see him so small. He was used to the kid being a teenager, not tall exactly but with a certain strength to him. This Naruto probably would barely make it to Izumo’s sternum.
“Iruka!” he called. “I’m going to take Kotetsu to the hospital. Will you be alright handing things here?”
“Yes,” the other chunin agreed, before turning back to his pupil.
“Aw, Izumo, you don’t have to worry about me.”
“If we don’t get you to the hospital soon you’ll probably bleed out!” he snapped, irritated. Kotetsu huffed in irritation, but his lack of protest betrayed how injured he really was. Izumo gathered the other man in his arms, carrying him piggy-back to reduce the strain on his wound. As they left the clearing, the last thing he could hear clearly was: “Come here, Naruto… I have something to give you.”
~
Izumo was sitting on a chair in the hospital waiting room, elbows resting on his knees, cradling his head in his hands. He’d known that Kotetsu’s wounds were bad. Obviously. The man had had a weapon sticking all the way through his body. Still, he hadn’t really fully let himself understand just how severe it was. He was still used to having Lady Tsunade in the village. Even though she was the Hokage, she would always take the time to heal anyone who needed it, and even a terrible wound like Kotetsu’s would be a piece of cake for her.
It had only taken one look at the medic’s face when he brought the chunin in for him to figure out that things weren’t going to be that easy. They were each other’s next-of-kin, so the doctor had briefed him on the situation. Luckily the weapon had missed Kotetsu’s heart, but it nicked his lung and it was only due to the man’s skill with Yang chakra and bodily enhancements that kept the organ from collapsing. There was also, obviously, severe damage to the muscle and tendons of his shoulder, as well as severed nerves. Because they’d gotten to the hospital relatively quickly, and the wound was clean (no tearing or grinding), Kotetsu had a decent prognosis. Soft tissue damage was fairly easy for med nins to deal with. The nerve damage was harder, but still manageable. Still, none of them were Tsunade, or even Shizune. While they could heal him, it would take time. His partner would be off duty for at least a month, and in rehab a lot longer.
And Izumo was exhausted. During the last twenty-four hours (in the future and in the past) he’d fought a war, escaped an inescapable illusion, had his chakra (and his humanity) sucked out of him by an immortal God Tree, fled from the demon woman who had apparently birthed the legendary Sage of Six Paths (as well as all of ninjutsu in general) gone back in time, and now he almost got his best friend killed due to his incompetence. Izumo bitterly wished that someone—anyone—else had been the one to escape the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Literally a fresh-faced genin would probably do a better job at saving the world than he would. His first action in the past had been to nearly get himself and Kotetsu killed. If he hadn’t gotten saved by a child who wasn’t even a genin yet (granted, Naruto defied labels and expectations) the future would be damned to repeat itself. He groaned.
Someone cleared their throat pointedly. Izumo glanced up. “Doctor Yamada!” he started, standing up quickly. “Is Kotetsu’s surgery finished already?”
The man just looked at him disapprovingly. “Chunin Hagane is still in the operating room right now. I told you that it would take the better part of the night. I also recall telling you to go home and get some rest.”
“I can’t leave Kotetsu!” he protested. “It was my fault that he ended up here in the first place.”
The doctor frowned, but didn’t look angry. “It’s not my place to decide that. However, as a medic it is my responsibility to look after everyone in my hospital, and that includes you. You look like you’re dead on your feet, Kamizuki. You won’t be any help to your friend if you collapse.”
Izumo opened his mouth to protest, but Yamada cut him off before he could start.
“Let me make this very clear, chunin,” the doctor began, emphasizing his rank. In the field, the doctor would be a civilian, but in the hospital he outranked everyone but the Hokage and a few key other village officials. “You need rest. You can either go home to your own bed, or, if you insist on staying at the hospital I will admit you and assign you a physician to attend to your health.” He paused, staring down at the younger man. “I would much prefer the latter option, considering the preliminary reports from the medics that gave you first aid, but with so many resources being spent on Hagane I can’t afford to waste my time on someone who isn’t willing to cooperate.”
Izumo winced. The man was harsh, but he certainly knew how to get his way. If leaving would be the best thing to ensure that Kotetsu got all the care he needed, then he would body flicker out, chakra exhaustion or no. Also, he figured that it wouldn’t be a good idea to have an overnight stay at the hospital unless strictly necessary. If the World Tree ended up changing his blood type or something crazy, then he’d be sent straight to an interrogation room. “I understand, Doctor. I’ll go get some rest.”
Yamada nodded. “Good. Visiting hours begin promptly at eight AM. If Hagane’s condition changes, I’ll send a messenger to your residence. However, there is virtually no chance that he will deteriorate enough for that to happen.”
Izumo grimaced. Kotetsu was out of danger of dying. Only his career was at stake now. The chunin exited the hospital and slowly made his way to his apartment. It was only after he ended up at a bakery that he realized his mistake. His apartment complex didn’t exist yet. It had been constructed after Konoha had been rebuilt due to Pein’s attack. The chunin sighed and turned around, before smacking his face. The apartment to which he was headed had been purchased after the combined Sand/Sound Invasion. Shit. Okay, it took him a moment to orient himself but after that he ended up at the right place.
He had a difficult time getting the key into the door. Izumo’s hands were shaking hard from the combination of adrenaline crash and chakra exhaustion. He almost gave up and kicked the door in, except for the fact that someone would doubtlessly come running. Getting the key into the lock almost made him sob in relief. He felt pathetic. Izumo jerked the door open and stepped inside, toeing the door shut without even bothering to lock it. He collapsed onto his bed, bloody clothes and all.
He felt himself trembling from head to toe. It wasn’t the first time that Izumo’d had a panic attack. Every ninja had one at one time or another. It was so common that they learned the common signs and treatments in the Academy. Still, given the very nature of the condition he couldn’t keep a level head long enough to recall the first step.
Why had Obito chosen him? This was pointless. He was destined to screw this up even worse that he already had… It was…
~
When Izumo woke up, he felt like he was dying. He’d rarely felt this terrible in his entire life. However, strangely, he somehow also felt better than he had the night before, so at least he was improving. He didn’t want to get up; he felt like it would be a perfectly good idea to sleep the entire day, but with a start he remembered Kotetsu in the hospital and jerked to his feet before he even registered what he was doing.
The chunin got to the door of his bedroom before he caught a glance of himself in the mirror out of the corner of his eye. He was pale, hair askew, with blood, dirt, and sod all over his uniform, which looked (accurately) like it had been slept in. In short, he looked like he had just gotten back from a mission that went terribly wrong. If he stepped outside looking like this, he’d get sent to a holding cell or maybe to a month’s worth of mandatory therapy sessions if he was lucky.
Izumo threw himself into a cold shower, to jolt himself awake, and then changed into a fresh uniform. The clean, pressed clothes (because of course he made sure all of his things were neatly put away) made him feel a little bit more presentable at least. It was a little after noon. He’d slept for ten hours, so it was long after visiting hours had started. Kotetsu was probably wondering what was keeping him.
The chunin did a quick self-evaluation about his chakra levels. He was still low but he’d be alright to go the quick way, at least. Izumo opened his window and leapt from rooftop to rooftop, marveling at the familiar-yet-unfamiliar layout of the village. He’d spent the majority of his life going through the rooftops the way they were now, but the last couple of years (for him) had seen its skyline look significantly different. The nostalgia was almost overwhelming. As he was nearing the hospital, his stomach grumbled loudly, and Izumo realized that Kotetsu was probably causing a load of trouble. The man despised hospital food, and so Izumo would always bring him a snack.
The brunet carefully jumped down to the streets, careful not to startle any civilians (although most of them were accustomed to shinobi showing up at their sides at any given moment). He approached the nearest food vendor, which happened to be Ichiraku Ramen. That was fortunate. Kotetsu adored anything that could never pass for nutritional. He made his way to the stand, but suddenly froze. Pushing aside the curtains and exiting the restaurant was none other than Naruto Uzumaki.
Izumo wasn’t sure why he was so surprised. Teuchi had made his fortune in the future from his reputation as Naruto’s favorite chef. It was no secret around the village (even before the boy had become famous for good reasons) that the ramen stand was the jinchuriki’s favorite place. The kid had terrible perception of his surroundings, given that he didn’t even seem to notice the chunin standing still, staring at him. The genin (he noticed the headband now on the blonde’s forehead, and suddenly remembered that he’d been promoted irregularly after his capture of Mizuki) was about to pass him.
“Naruto,” he called out, not really certain what he was doing.
The kid turned to look at him curiously. His brow was furrowed and head cocked cutely to the side, before his face cleared up in recognition. “Hey!” Naruto yelled. Izumo winced; the boy really was quite loud. “You’re that guy from last night, Iduno or something, right?”
“Uh, it was Izumo actually, Izumo Kamizuki,” he corrected.
“Oh hey Izumo! My name’s Naruto Uzumaki!” he cried with a bright grin. There was no hint of wariness in his gaze. Rather, there was an odd gleam of affection there. Suddenly, the chunin remembered that he’d called the kid a hero last night. He flushed, simultaneously hoping that the blonde had heard it, and feeling a bit embarrassed and wishing the kid hadn’t. “Are you going to Ichiraku’s place? It’s totally the best restaurant in the entire village!”
Izumo heard Teuchi chuckle and say “You’re too kind” from behind the curtains, but he didn’t respond. Originally, of course, he had been intending to go to the stand. They’d started attracting a bit of a crowd though. Everyone knew what had happened last night, or at least, they knew that Naruto was supposed to have stolen the Scroll of Seals, and that for some reason he hadn’t gotten in trouble. The nosy people around him were probably trying to overhear some details. Suddenly, Izumo realized that they were staring at Naruto with disgust and disapproval. It had been so long since he’d seen those glares that he’d forgotten how the boy had lived during his childhood. He felt a hot rush of shame, both for himself and his entire village.
“Hey… uh, Izumo. You okay?” the genin asked tentatively. Izumo realized that he had been staring at Naruto. He remembered what Iruka had said the night before, about Naruto growing from his suffering. It wasn’t right that the boy had had to be in pain in the first place.
Almost before he understood what he was doing, he bowed low to the boy. It wasn’t a polite ‘thank you’ kind of bow, or a respectful ‘you’re my superior’ kind of bow. Rather, his head was at a level with his waist. This was a supplication, the kind that was reserved for either a show of the greatest shame or the greatest gratitude imaginable. In this case it was actually both.
“I am alright Naruto. Myself and my partner… we’re both okay, and it’s because of you.”
“Woah!” the Uzumaki cried out, surprised. He felt small hands on his shoulders, lifting him upwards. Rather than comfort him, it just reminded him of how young the boy was, and how much he’d already done for them all despite that. “C’mon man, you don’t have to do that!” insisted the genin. Izumo complied, but his point had already been made. Such a gesture wasn’t normally made in public, and people were already whispering around them, staring intently.
“Naruto,” he said loudly, partially to speak over the chatter and partially to speak over the boy himself. He hadn’t realized it when he started, but he needed the kid to listen to him. “Don’t belittle what you did.” Izumo looked intently into Naruto’s blue eyes. The child looked uncomfortable, but didn’t break eye contact.
“Last night you saved my life. You saved the life of my partner, and of course, Iruka’s as well. There is nothing I can say to thank you enough for what you did.” He hadn’t gotten a chance to thank the teen after Pein’s attack in the future either. The poor kid was suddenly so popular, and Izumo hadn’t wanted to be another sycophant taking away his time from the people whom he cared about. He figured now was as good a time as any for that gratitude as well, even if the boy didn’t remember it happening.
“I am ashamed,” Izumo continued. He refused to be embarrassed by the people around him. Every one of them should be on their knees with thanks. The responsibility on this one boy’s shoulders… he had saved their lives so many times. He had literally died trying to save the world. Like he’d been hit with a hammer between the eyes, Izumo finally understood what he was trying to say. “I’m ashamed,” he continued softer. This wasn’t for the gawkers around him anymore, but for Naruto himself. “That I wasn’t strong enough to protect the people I love.” It was always Naruto. Izumo did his best (which didn’t amount to much) but in the end it always came down to Naruto saving them. “Last night I could only watch, but I’m going to get stronger. I swear it. Next time…” he paused. “Next time we can fight together, as comrades.”
Izumo stared at the genin for a little longer, but the blonde seemed at a loss. It was a rare sight, seeing the chatterbox completely silent, and he appreciated the fact that he was the one who’d affected the young hero so much. It made him feel like maybe he wasn’t so useless after all. “Naruto, you’re going to be a fantastic Hokage someday,” he finished.
As if those were the magic words, the boy beamed at him so brightly that it made the sun seem dim. The kid launched himself at Izumo, quite literally tackling him around the waist with a tight hug. “Thanks Izumo!” he yelled. Pretty much every statement from Naruto at twelve years old was a yell. The jinchuriki stepped backwards, and grinned up at the older man. “I’m going to get stronger too! So that I can protect you and Iruka-sensei.”
Feeling incredibly proud and touched to be counted among the boy’s precious people, Izumo reached forward and ruffled the boy’s hair. “I’m sure you will,” he agreed. “But right now I need to get my friend some ramen. He’s in the hospital and he gets very grouchy when he has to eat the food there,” Izumo explained. “Do you want to help me take it to him?”
“Sure!” the genin agreed, and the two of them headed into the stand (or back into the stand, in Naruto’s case), ignoring all the bystanders watching their interaction.
“Hi there, Izumo,” Teuchi greeted casually, but his voice sounded gruff with emotion. He’d surely overheard their exchange outside. “I heard Kotetsu’s in the hospital. Figured I’d be seeing you in here sooner or later. What’ll it be?”
“Hey Teuchi,” replied the chunin. “Can I get a chicken ramen, and one sushi for Kotetsu, both to go?”
“Of course. Ayame, you heard the man: one chicken and one sushi.”
His daughter nodded swiftly. She looked misty-eyed and the hand in front of her mouth didn’t do a very good job of hiding her smile. They waited in silence as the father/daughter combo prepared the food, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. When the man brought the bowls to the counter, Izumo pulled out his wallet, but the chef shook his hand and pushed the money back towards the chunin. “This one’s on the house,” he said simply.
Part of him wanted to protest. He could afford two bowls of ramen. However, he understood the gesture, and Izumo figured that Teuchi was the kind of man who would stick to his principles, and it wouldn’t do either of them any good to argue about something so petty. “Thank you,” he said simply. The man nodded solemnly at him.
He and Naruto made their way to the hospital, which was only a short walk from the ramen stand. Izumo eyed the way that the boy was swinging the food around enthusiastically as he walked, and took a moment to be grateful for the fact that the soup was in a sealed container. The genin chattered on about anything that came to his mind.
“Hey Izumo! I bet you know some awesome techniques. Will you teach me?”
The chunin blinked at the boy’s forwardness. It really was quite rude to ask another shinobi for their techniques without any reciprocal offering. Ninjutsu were the lifeblood of a shinobi. They were secrets, passed down from generation to generation in families, or created after years of hard work. In their line of business one didn’t simply hand out secrets like that. It was one of the reasons that tensions with the Uchiha clan had been high before… well.
“Uh, I’m not sure that I’m the best one to teach you, Naruto. After all, you’re the one that saved me!” he deflected carefully.
“Oh yeah,” the kid mused, as if he’d honestly forgotten. Izumo blinked. Naruto was certainly an… unconventional shinobi. The boy looked at him suddenly, a bright grin on his face. “Do you want to learn the Shadow Clone technique? It’s really cool!”
Izumo stopped in his tracks, looking around nervously as if an Anbu member would come and detain him on the spot. “Uh, Naruto, that’s a forbidden technique. You shouldn’t offer to teach that to people.”
“Ohhhh, right,” the boy nodded. “The Old Man said something like that!”
Izumo at rubbed the back of his head, chuckling awkwardly. Okay, so their hero wasn’t the brightest, but he was twelve. Everyone was stupid at twelve years old. The two of them made their way into the hospital and to the admissions desk.
“Hello,” Izumo smiled at the receptionist. “I’m Chunin Kamizuki. Could you please let me know what room Chunin Hagane is in?”
The woman gave a skeptical look at Naruto, but thankfully didn’t make a big deal out of it. “Chunin Hagane is located in room 114,” she said.
“Alright!” cried the genin. “Let’s go see Hagade!” He set off towards the right side of the desk at a determined pace.
“Naruto!” Izumo called. Once he had the boy’s attention the chunin pointed to his left, towards the sign that read “Rooms 100-120”. The kid laughed, embarrassed, and set off in the correct direction.
“And it’s Kotetsu Hagane by the way,” corrected the chunin.
“Hagane, got it!”
They reached room 114 and Izumo knocked softly (not wanting to be too loud in case his partner was sleeping) and pushed the door open.
A loud cry of “Izumo!” greeted the two ninja as they walked in the room. Kotetsu was on a hospital bed, looking a little pale but cheerful. He was dressed in a hospital gown, so Izumo couldn’t see his wound, but his left arm was bound tightly to his body, probably to keep him from moving it and aggravating his shoulder injury. “Woah! Did you bring me ramen? You’re the best, buddy.”
“Yeah, I got shrimp, your favorite. I think Naruto has it.”
The boy in question was half-hidden behind the chunin’s body, one hand curled into the fabric of the flak jacket at his back. It wasn’t like the kid to be shy, but Izumo figured he didn’t actually know Naruto all that well. He reached back and gently prompted the genin to move forward by planting his palm in the center of the boy’s back and nudging him. The kid shuffled towards the bed, holding the ramen out in front of him like it was a sacrifice to an angry god.
“Uh, here’s your ramen, Mr. Hagane,” he said, pronouncing the three syllables of Kotetsu’s name carefully. The genin glanced over at Izumo as if he were seeking approval.
Suddenly Izumo understood what was going on. He nodded and smiled at the boy approvingly. Naruto didn’t have much in the way of social graces, but he knew enough to understand that Kotetsu was important to Izumo. The kid probably figured that if Kotetsu hated him, then Izumo would do so as well. Sadly, the chunin guessed that it wasn’t the first time someone had broken off a friendship with the boy because their peer told them to.
“Oh man!” cried Kotetsu, grinning. “First you save my sorry ass in a fight, and now you’re bringing me culinary salvation? You’re my new hero, kid!”
Naruto’s back was to Izumo, but the man could guess what his face looked like based on the boy’s posture. Kotetsu looked a bit baffled at the boy, probably taken aback by the force of the genin’s billion-watt smile. “Ramen is the best food in the entire world!” he shouted. Kotetsu winced a bit at the volume and looked at the door nervously, but didn’t scold the Uzumaki. “Everyone should have it all the time, especially when they’re sick!”
“I definitely agree with you there, buddy. Hey, could you open it up for me? I’ve only got one hand.”
Naruto enthusiastically (a little too enthusiastically, given the fact that some broth was spilling out over the sides) opened up the container, and placed it on the chunin’s lap. Kotetsu used the chopsticks to eat the soup, while the two of them cheerfully discussed all of the various merits of ramen.
Just yesterday Kotetsu had been cursing the boy’s name along with every other citizen of the village. Izumo knew that the man was a good person, capable of forgiveness and kindness, but it was another thing seeing it directed towards the kid who needed it so badly (plus, it made all of his paternal (okay, maternal) instincts twinge). He loved Kotetsu so much sometimes that he could hardly breathe. To distract himself, he opened his own meal and started digging in.
Before long, they were interrupted by the door opening once more. Yamada entered the room, and Izumo was impressed at how put together he looked. The chunin assumed that the medic had spent the majority of the night looking after his friend, but there was no evidence of exhaustion on the other man’s face. The doctor frowned in disapproval at the empty bowls of ramen, but made no comment, thankfully.
“Good afternoon,” he said simply. “I’m glad to see that you got some rest, Kamizuki.”
Izumo flushed. “Uh, yes sir, thank you.”
The man nodded sharply in acknowledgement before moving to Kotetsu’s side and peeling his gown back, muttering over his bandages. He glanced over at Izumo before his eyes settled on the orange-clad genin. “Naruto Uzumaki, correct?”
“Believe it!” the boy yelled cheerfully.
“Ah. Lord Hokage sent a messenger to the hospital to let you know that you’re late for your ninja registration photo.”
Naruto’s eyes widened comically. “Oh no! I totally had a whole plan! Gotta run, Izumo. See ya later!” With that, the boy literally sprinted out of the hospital room, Yamada rolling his eyes in exasperation at his back.
“Good, now that that’s over with, we can discuss your condition, Chunin Hagane,” he continued, no-nonsense.
Izumo and Kotetsu sobered, looking at the doctor seriously.
“The surgery was a complete success. We expect that you will have a full recovery.”
Kotetsu sagged back into his pillows, and Izumo felt, to his embarrassment, tears of relief prickling at his eyes.
“However,” Yamada continued sternly. “This is going to be a long process. I’ve recommended to the Hokage that you be taken off of active duty for two months. Your physical therapy will continue for at least a year. Make no mistake, you’re lucky to even have use of your arm at all. This is no laughing matter.”
“Of course!” Kotetsu agreed quickly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to recover. And I’m sure that Izumo will yell at me if I step even a toe out of line!” he grinned.
Yamada glanced at him almost approvingly. From the stern doctor, Izumo counted it as a win. The man was clearly used to dealing with stubborn ninja who didn’t know what was best for themselves. “Good. We’re going to keep you in the hospital for a week,” he was interrupted by Kotetsu groaning, but continued speaking as if there was no interjection. “To ensure that no infection sets in. We want to monitor you carefully for that time. You will begin physical therapy in one month from today exactly, unless your attending physician—that is me—decides that it will take more or less time for you to convalesce appropriately.”
Having said his piece, the doctor began exiting the room, before stopping as if he suddenly remembered something. “Oh, and Chunin Kamizuki, the Third asked me to let you know that he wishes to see you when you’re done visiting Hagane. He wants your report from last night.”
Izumo stared at the doctor’s retreating back. Oh crap. He’d known—intellectually speaking—that the Third was still alive, but it was another thing to really realize it. He was going to have to report to the Third Hokage, the Professor, and try to convince him that he wasn’t suspicious, or overwhelmed to see the man alive…
“Hey, Izumo, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Kotetsu called, concerned.
“Ah… It’s just been a rough night,” excused Izumo. His partner’s eyes softened.
“Yeah, you’re telling me.”
He stared at his partner. Izumo wanted to apologize for getting him in danger, but he knew that the man wouldn’t understand. From the other chunin’s perspective, it would seem like Izumo hadn’t done anything wrong. Kotetsu didn’t understand that if things had played out the way there were supposed to, he wouldn’t have almost die due to Izumo’s inability to stop a simple chunin traitor. Instead he distracted himself with something he could talk to the other man about.
“Thank you for being so kind to Naruto.”
“He’s a good kid.” Kotetsu waved his good hand negligently. “He saved my life and yours last night.” A mischievous look appeared on the chunin’s face. “Besides, if you’re going to bow to him in public and tell him that he’d make a great Hokage, you must see something in him. You’ve always been way smarter than me, so I figured I’d might as well start sucking up to him now,” joked his partner.
Izumo chuckled and covered his eyes with his hand. He was a little embarrassed but he wasn’t going to take back what he’d said. “We literally came straight here after that. How’ve you heard about it already?”
“Hah! You know how gossip travels in a ninja village. I doubt there’s anyone in Konoha who doesn’t know about it by now.” His face sobered. “But seriously… we all misjudged that kid. It says a lot about you that you figured it out first.”
He opened his mouth to protest. Izumo hardly was the first person to believe in Naruto, but in this time it wasn’t far off, so he couldn’t exactly say the things he wanted to. Instead he shut his jaw with a click and stared at a stain on the wall next to Kotetsu’s head.
“Anyway,” the bandaged man continued. “You’ve seen me, brought me food, heard my—thankfully positive—prognosis and everything. The Third wants to see you so you’d better make your way over to the Tower!”
Obligingly, Izumo stood up. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else you need?” he asked, hovering.
“No!” Kotetsu laughed. “Get! Go! I know that delaying an order from the Hokage makes you feel like your skin is crawling with ants. Get out of my hair.”
Izumo smiled and left the room. As he shut the door he whispered to himself: “I won’t let you down next time, Kotetsu.”