Heal Bite AU pt3
iruka whips his head around for any observers and catches teuchi with eyes wide between naruto’s arm and his own
he makes eye contact with the older man as teuchi’s eyes harden on his and knows that teuchi will keep this quiet, and from the way he points to the back entrance of the restaurant ‘employees only’ the older man must know iruka will ensure it too
he shushes naruto and ushers him inside through the door into a storage room and attached kitchen, watching for anyone and sighing when he senses no one else, teuchi must have called his daughter to help him up front
“hey! iruka-sensei! what’s the big idea! did i do something wrong?” naruto’s voice catches his attention in the way the last part was spoken with hesitance, naruto’s turned around to face him, his hands fidgeting and eyes wide as though he’s about to be scolded
iruka softens his posture and crouches, taking naruto’s hands in his own much bigger ones “no naruto, you didn’t do anything wrong. this is a wonderful gift that you have. you’ll save so many people with it.” iruka promises, but there’s danger that comes with any ability that can instantly undo chakra exhaustion, especially if it heals injuries and restores fatigue with it, it’s like a fix-it-all miracle cure
konoha may be kinder than other villages with tighter knit teams and better relationships between shinobi, but that doesn’t mean it can’t see a tool or an asset where a person stands, and a jinchuuriki with naruto’s personality (always seeking for attention, acknowledgment) sitting powerless in a hospital with a miraculous healing ability is an easy one to exploit
“do you want to be a nurse or doctor with this power naruto?”
“no way! i already said i’m gonna be a shinobi! i’m gonna be the hokage ya’know!” iruka knew that would be his response but he still breathes a sigh of relief, at the very least a shinobi would have more power to protect themself than a civilian doctor
“well, but- i can still fix people with this as a shinobi right?”
“of course naruto. maybe you can become an iryo-nin and heal people on the field. they don’t do as much fighting but they’re incredibly valued and good healers are always in short supply.”
“then i’ll do that! a healer shinobi hokage sounds super cool ya’know!” but iruka’s still worried. a healer is trained to always avoid injury so naruto’s recklessness will benefit from it greatly but healers are also required to take a backseat in most fights and naruto’s not the type. he‘ll rush in to the frontlines and get injured with the meager offensive training most iryo-nin get.
iruka’s eyes wander to naruto’s arm where two scars are still present on otherwise unblemished skin, one from a cat and the other from him for a small wound that would have been gone in a week, his chest pangs at the thought of naruto getting permanent scars for such an unfair exchange, at the thought of more to come, he hardens his resolve and forces naruto to realize the seriousness of his request
“naruto i want you to keep this power a secret for now okay? don’t let anyone know you have it and don’t use it on anyone. i’ll help you train more after school so you can be an iryo-nin, but at least until you reach my rank don’t use it.” he’ll do research on naruto’s power in the meantime and see if there’s ways to improve and control it so naruto can’t be exploited
naruto must sense the gravity in iruka’s eyes seeing as he agrees with equal solemnity in his tone, though it disappears when he groans out complaints about not being able to use and reveal his newly discovered power
iruka’s smile softens at that