Embracing Dreams

Warnings: reference to violence, fluff, dialogue, possible humor

Part 37

The field duplicate never made it as far as Sisco. He was still a long way from the three mutants when he dissipated. He never got close enough for a better reading of them, but he did pick up something just before reaching the end of his leash. He thought there might actually be four out there, something he could feel just a hint of, even further out. Possibly on the ocean, boat or plane. He'd never imagined sensing anything that far away. Losing the copy proved there was a limit. Either it was distance, or the energy used to create one wore off after a certain amount of time.

Kyuubi mulled that over after Naruto returned to his own room for the night. Sasuke had ended the cuddling session the moment Naruto started dozing off. Afraid of being jumped in his sleep? He needn't have bothered. Kyuubi had already had plenty of opportunities to do that. He had far more restraint than even he'd given himself credit for.

He dozed off after a while. Although he didn't actually require sleep the way Naruto did, they had used a lot of energy in the last few days. Naruto slept to replenish the body, Kyuubi to replenish the energy. If they did risk the 'burnout' thing Kakashi and Sasuke had warned of, Kyuubi knew he was the one who'd end up out of commission.

The thought followed him into his sleep and he dreamed about his first awakening. Just as he'd described to Sasuke, except much bloodier. He'd been too furious to bother with his claws. Snatching them up whole, still flailing on his tongue and against the roof of his mouth when he chomped down and ground them up. He'd vomited repeatedly, not because he couldn't stomach them but because he hadn't wanted them in his stomach. His tails had torn into the buildings around him, his fiery energy racing to burn those out of the reach of his jaws. There had been a few mutants there and they had attempted to fight, to survive. He'd swatted them like flies, just one sweep of his tails, each with the force of a tornado. Concrete shattered with each step he took. If he'd leapt, just once, the shockwave of his landing would have leveled buildings for miles. He'd been invincible.

Then he'd turned back, why, and licked the little broken body as lightly as he could, why hadn't Naruto healed himself, until the wounds closed, how had he known that would help, and then he'd looked down at him, he detested broken things so why, and closed his eyes, stupid, lowering his head to press his nose against him, so stupid, and when he opened his eyes again, so much time lost, he was trapped in Naruto, how had he known his name when he hadn't before, with the knowledge, where did it come from, that to separate again might kill them both, why would it, because something had changed, what, and he'd never be invincible again, so very stupid.

He woke simmering in ancient resentment that would never truly go away. He'd been a God, or as close to it as any living thing could come, and now he was nothing but a shadow in the back of a teenage boy's head.

'Bad dream?' Naruto mumbled, stumbling into his den.

Kyuubi tensed, still curled tight. He couldn't even blame Naruto. No one and nothing to take that resentment out on except maybe himself. Naruto had been the victim from the start. He couldn't take it out on him. And blaming himself was useless. He couldn't change what he'd done and now...he was so deeply connected to the brat he couldn't even wish that he had left him to die.

'Me, too,' Naruto admitted sleepily. Kyuubi was huge right now. He rarely was these days. Naruto climbed onto one of his legs, using the fur to pull himself up and up. Then he tilted forward and let himself tumbled down until he was lost in the fur between Kyuubi's neck and one of his curled tails. His fox heaved a long sigh that Naruto echoed. 'No more bad dreams tonight,' he said firmly. That enormous tail curled over his head so everything was dark and warm and they both went back to sleep.

.-.

Iruka went alone to pick up Neji. He'd considered inviting Kakashi along, but he didn't see a glimpse of him until he came down Monday morning. Although as friendly as ever, Kakashi wasn't the least bit flirtatious. After dealing with his disappointment, he decided it was just as well. It would have been more fun if Kakashi had been a bit more tenacious. He'd regret not sleeping with him at least once before he left. Their brief encounter in his office led him to believe he was as easy-going in bed as he was out. Not at all controlling and selfish the way most self-proclaimed 'experts' often were. He'd look back on this as a missed opportunity. Now, though, he knew it was for the best. This week would be difficult enough without that complicating things.

Naruto asked to go with him. It was hard to refuse him. Hinata had confided more in him than she had even in Kurenai. Because Naruto did know so much, he thought that made him the best equipped to deal with Neji's problems. Iruka did his best to dissuade him from meddling. Neji had spent the last year dealing with his problems. What he wanted now was to put them away on a shelf and get on with his life. While it was unfortunate that he insisted on putting Hinata on the shelf as well, it was his choice. She accepted it, even approved in that selfless way of hers. Naruto was convinced he could change their minds, fix things, through sheer determination. Badgering, in other words. Iruka would have to keep an eye on him. Naruto had a bad habit of doing the wrong thing for all the right reasons.

It took an hour to fill out all the paperwork. Iruka's stomach was tied up in knots by the time it was finished. That shameless, disgusting, man had brought along a witness. The way both of them behaved toward Neji was infuriating, and there was absolutely nothing he could do except put up with it. How could the courts have placed a kid with someone like that? Let alone leave him there for so long. Even if it had gone to trial, he'd have been better off in a detention center. Iruka knew he was overreacting. Neji's attitude during the entire ordeal was condescending and disinterested. In the end, it was Neji who'd purchased his freedom, and if he could handle the last minute nastiness with aplomb, the least Iruka could do was keep up a calm front. He did his best. He might have held his tongue all the way back to the house if they hadn't been ambushed in the parking garage.

A teenage boy was sitting on the hood of his car. He was paler than Sasuke, dressed entirely in black, short black hair, dark eyes, and a tight shirt that left his stomach entirely exposed. Iruka suddenly wished he'd brought Lee along, after all. Compared to this boy, Lee's penchant for green would have seemed normal. He'd hoped to have Neji firmly established at the house before Tiedoll's 'student' showed up. He should have known better. The boy slid off the hood and presented his hand with a wide smile that touched nothing but his mouth.

"Umino Iruka?"

"Yes." His hand was shaken twice, the gesture as wooden and phony as the smile.

"I'm Sai. The Order sent me." His eyes flicked to Neji and narrowed, making his smile real if not any more pleasant to look at. "You must be the one who murdered his uncle. That was very cleanly done. I'm a great fan of your work."

Iruka could have died. He might as well have brought Hinata and Naruto along. The knot in his stomach rolled, lurching up until he had to struggle not to be sick.

"How nice," Neji said flatly. He looked at Iruka. "Is this person staying with you?"

"Only for a week." Iruka's tone was equal parts apologetic and pleading. He snapped a frigid glare on the smiling boy. "That is not common knowledge. Kindly keep anything your 'Order' has picked up or predicted to yourself. Understood?"

"Certainly. Though we could use someone like you," he nodded to Neji, "if you ever get tired of the quiet life."

"You're not recruiting any of my kids!" Iruka immediately regretted raising his voice. Neji was staring at him, likely taking exception to the possessive or to the reference to him as kid. Sai looked taken back, though, so maybe it was worth it.

"I apologize," Said said formally, though his tone was more curious than anything. "It's not my intention to anger you. We desire your cooperation. I will refrain from making offers to anyone else in your care."

"Thank you," Iruka said stiffly. "Let's just...get back to the house."

Neji got in the back, shutting the door in Sai's face when he attempted to join him. Iruka couldn't blame him, though he'd rather have had Sai alone in the back than seated right next to him. He'd barely started the car when the boy started in on him.

"Is this the best vehicle you could afford?" asked Sai. "The Order would be more than willing to compensate you for your cooperation if you're that low on funds."

Iruka gave a tight smile. "No, thank you. This car is perfectly suited to my needs."

"I've never seen a car without a cd player built into it. It must be very old."

"I like it just fine," Iruka said, as calmly as he coud. He was relieved when Sai turned his attention to the duffel bag in his lap. He'd had the radio off on the drive here, content with the sound of the wind rushing through the open windows. The windows were up now and turning the radio on would be a rudely obvious cue for silence. The boy produced a sketch pad and proceeded to stare at him. Iruka bore it stolidly.

"I get nothing from you," Sai remarked. "Are you mentally handicapped?"

"Excuse me?" Iruka blurted.

"Some wild cards are obscured due to brain damage. The lack of activity in certain parts of the brain make trying to view the mentally challenged similar to viewing moss. Except I have no trouble drawing moss, while you are more akin to an inanimate object. I could depict the outside, but see no activity within. Are you very stupid?"

"I am not!"

"I apologize. I didn't mean to offend you."

Iruka clenched his teeth. If the boy didn't mean to offend, then he was the mentally challenged one. Forget being polite. He reached over and turned on the radio. When Sai immediately pointed out how cd players in modern cars eliminated commercials, he turned the volume up.

.-.

Getting them into the house didn't go over as badly as Iruka had feared. Neji had no issue with sharing a room, probably because Shikamaru greeted him with a nod and then rolled over and went back to sleep. He'd be the quietest roommate Neji had ever had as well. Sai was impressed by his room, admitting that after the dilapidated vehicle, he'd expected far shabbier accommodations. Iruka did not respond to that taunting insult. Most of the kids were in the livingroom. They greeted the newcomers with friendly interest for the most part. There were open stares directed at Sai thanks to his clothing, but that just meant less attention to Neji. He'd be retreating to his room any minute now, so Iruka hurried to get the rest of the introductions done first.

"Where's everyone else?" asked Iruka.

"Out back," said Sakura. "Kakashi's giving a lesson. We're not supposed to go near them or else Naruto-kun would be self-conscious."

Iruka couldn't get out there fast enough. When he did reach the back door, he took one look and then slammed it before Neji or Sai saw anything. "Why don't you...settle in. You can meet Naruto later." He didn't want to leave Sai alone with his kids for even a few minutes, but he wanted them seeing what he'd just seen even less. Kakashi was dead. So very, very dead.

Kakashi was still sitting on the rock when Iruka went outside. The naked woman was still standing a few feet away, running her hands over her flat stomach. And Iruka was furious enough to kill. Then the blonde bombshell glanced over her shoulder and blushed. Her hands flew up to cover her breasts and she squeaked out a horrified 'Iruka-sensei!' Iruka could have died.

"It's not what it looks like!" Naruto yelped. He rushed over to stand in front of the girl, who'd ducked down to hide her naughty parts. "I was just working on the contours!"

"He keeps making the pelvis too wide," Kakashi put in helpfully. "He did manage to shorten the legs enough to stand up without falling over, though."

"This is all your fault!" the girl wailed from behind Naruto. "I knew this was a bad idea!"

Iruka couldn't get his brain to function. The girl was taller than Naruto, a much higher pitched voice, most definitely female, but the scars were there on her face, wide blue eyes, and... "Kakashi."

"Now, hold on," Kakashi protested, finally realizing the peril he was in. "That thing is as real as a barbie doll and not nearly as attractive. This really isn't what it looks like."

"You will die."

Naruto gulped and whirled around, dispersing the girl clone. Then he made two more Iruka-sized ones to head the dangerous man off. "Look, Iruka-sensei! I'm just working on my talent. This is totally innocent! Honest!"

Iruka halted. At first glance they looked identical to Naruto. Then one of them stepped toward him and fell over. Iruka blinked.

"Stork legs again," Kakashi sighed, shaking his head at Naruto. "You've got to lengthen the torso, not just the legs."

"I was in a hurry," Naruto snapped. "Saving your ass, in case you didn't notice."

The other high-legged Naruto was swaying in place, his too-short arms out for balance. Iruka stared at him for a long while, then at the other one on the ground, who was trying and failing to get up. "Naruto. Come here."

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto cringed, moving as slowly as he could to delay reaching him. "Please don't be mad. I was only using the female 'cause it's totally not my body and since he's gay and I like Sasuke it wouldn't be weird or sexual or anything."

That was the first time Naruto had mentioned his interest in Sasuke to his face. Iruka might have paused at that under different circumstances. "Naruto," he said quietly. "Why was she naked?"

Naruto shuffled his feet, sending a quick grimace at the downed stork clone. "I can't figure out how to change their clothes to something I'm not wearing. If I could get the body right, clothes should be easy. It's quicker to make one without clothes than to have them strip down each time. I went through a bunch to get one as good as that one..."

"Why would you ever need to know how to do...that?" The look Naruto flashed him was stunned, accusing. There wasn't a single hint of guilt.

"You don't want me to master my talents?" Naruto demanded. "What's the point of having them if I can't use them?"

"I'm not saying that."

"But you're mad at me for experimenting."

"No," Iruka said sharply. "I'm mad at him for letting you think that was okay."

"But he was just giving me pointers..."

"While you were alone with him, in the guise of a very pretty, very naked woman."

Naruto blushed. "You think she was pretty?"

Now Iruka blushed. "That's not the point!"

Kakashi sighed and looked over his shoulder. "Help me out here."

"They haven't been alone," Sasuke called, his tone bland. "I warned the others not to go near the back windows. They haven't tried it so far."

Iruka looked up, spotting him in one of the trees. Somehow, knowing Sasuke had chaperoned made him feel better and worse about this entire situation. Better, because it meant he hadn't misjudged Kakashi, he'd simply underestimated the man's complete disregard for common decency...and common sense. Worse, because a Sasuke who was that bland about seeing a naked female Naruto wouldn't have trouble with a naked male Naruto. His belief that the kids weren't doing anything centered around the assumption that Sasuke was too restrained, if not downright shy, to give in to anything Naruto might suggest. This just threw that right out the window.

"It really wasn't weird like it looked," Naruto started again. Iruka's expression was getting more conflicted rather than less. He'd known Iruka would throw a fit. Iruka was much too innocent to see a naked girl, even a fake one, and not freak. Kyuubi was snorting in the back of his head. Naruto ignored him. He remembered how much Iruka had blushed during the pregnancy portion of The Talk. Of course he'd be horribly embarrassed by the sight of breasts. "It definitely wasn't sexual. That'd just be gross. It was more..."

"Clinical," Sasuke supplied.

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded, frowning at Iruka. "You shouldn't have given him a book with so many pictures of female bodies if you didn't want me to see it."

Iruka's mouth dropped open. "I never-"

"Anatomy 2.31," Sasuke said. "Figure 4.2," he flipped the page, "4.3, 4.4, 4.7..."

Kakashi caught Iruka's eye. "I think we've established that Sasuke is more interested in the energy used to make a female duplicate than he is in the way she looks."

"I use a lot more," Naruto explained. "I still don't think I'm getting the guts right, 'cause there are still some hard lumps inside that feel weird. It'll probably take even more energy to do it really right."

Iruka shook his head. This was just too wrong for him. "I don't approve. If you and Sasuke want to-" He stopped. Was he seriously about to suggest the two of them do this...bizarre naked experiment alone together?

Naruto squinted for a moment and then snorted. "Sasuke doesn't know what a naked girl is supposed to look like with her skin on."

"Neither do you," Sasuke snapped, glaring down at him.

"I watch movies," Naruto scoffed. "Every horror movie has at least one money shot. I know a lot more about it than you do!"

Kakashi waved at them both. Then he sent an amused look at Iruka. "Left to their own devices, they'd have cartoon figures or skinless monstrosities with intestines falling all over the floor."

"No," said Iruka. "Just...no. Look, I'm an open minded person." He glared warningly when Naruto snorted. "I am. But this-" His gaze paused on the book Sasuke was holding. He couldn't believe they were using a school primer to excuse this. "This is wrong. Really wrong. It's ten shades of wrong, Naruto. It just is. There won't be any more of this. Understood?"

"But I've almost got it," Naruto whined.

"Understood?"

Naruto hung his head. "Yes, Iruka-sensei..."

Iruka glanced at Kakashi, offended by the amusement in his visible eye. "Understood?"

"Yes, Sensei," Kakashi pouted.

Amazingly, Sasuke glared back when he turned on him, looking angry enough to argue. Iruka was tempted to take that book from him and hit him upside the head with it. He was the last one Iruka had expected to corrupt Naruto. "Understood?"

"Understood," Sasuke glared. "Provisionally."

So. He'd decided to switch from overly polite to abrasive, had he? Iruka was not impressed. "The provisions being...?"

"Teach him how to heal without putting himself or his fox into a coma."

Iruka flinched, feeling as if he'd been slapped. "What?"

"Damn it, Sasuke!" Naruto rounded. "I'll figure it out on my own!"

"How?"

Naruto flushed, clenching his fists. "I'll think of something."

Sasuke jumped down, stalking past him to Iruka. "Can I talk to you in your office?"

"Absolutely," Iruka said quietly. He turned just in time to see the second long-legged Naruto fall over. His eye ticked. "Naruto, do something about these two."

"Oh, yeah..."

.-.

By the time Naruto went inside, he was more confused and uncomfortable than anything. He was starting to guess how they must have looked to Iruka. Guilt was creeping up, shame, and maybe they had been doing something really wrong, and not just a something that would set Iruka off. He honestly hadn't seen it that way at all. It had struck him as funny, actually. The first time he'd had one of his females strip to show the weird bulge on the side of the waist and the loose way the legs met the hips, Sasuke had almost fallen out of his tree. Sasuke had put up a good front for Iruka, but he hadn't been nearly as casual during the early attempts. He'd taken to the trees to make sure no one came near or peeked into the back yard, but also because he wasn't willing to go any closer to a female Naruto. Even when he was explaining the internal differences to fix that bulge, he hadn't done much actual looking.

It hadn't been nearly as awkward with Kakashi, who found the entire thing absurd. The original idea had been to make a clone who didn't look anything like him. Kakashi was convinced he could, so Naruto had been determined to try. It wasn't until he'd tried changing the size of the clones that he had some actual success. But then came the storks. And when he tried to make them smaller, only the legs shrunk and they looked like baboons or something. He'd made the first female on a whim, just hoping to shut Sasuke up. It sort of worked. Even Kakashi had been shocked to silence. Then came the laughter and grimaces. That first attempt had been his head on a distorted femalish thing. It hadn't just looked bizarre. When he dispelled it, he got feedback of odd pains all over the body.

He supposed that was when the experiment had turned wrong, though it honestly hadn't seemed that way at the time. Sasuke had gone to look through the primers and ordered everyone else to stay away - because the last thing Naruto had wanted was one of them seeing his head on a girl's body, especially a super deformed girl's body.

Now, he guessed he shouldn't have had the copies undress, let alone started making them without clothes. But...he'd been so proud of the fact that he could make them without clothes. That had to be the first step to figuring out how to change their clothes so they didn't automatically match whatever he was wearing. He hadn't meant for it to get into really wrong territory. Then again, if one of the girls had seen him, he would have felt ashamed as well as embarrassed. Maybe that was what made it so wrong. Demeaning to women? No, Iruka would never accuse him of that. He wasn't as quite chauvinistic as Kiba, but he was a long way from considering girls sex objects. Kyuubi, maybe, with his leg fetish, but not him. The simple fact was doing it by himself wouldn't help him know how much energy he used and he didn't want to show his own naked body in front of Sasuke, let alone Kakashi. Using the girl version had seemed the obvious solution at the time.

He sighed, trudging inside. Maybe he should have taken Kyuubi's advice and recruited Kiba for this. Iruka definitely wouldn't have been upset if he'd been trying to make animal copies instead of girls. But that would have been even harder because they didn't have any anatomy books for animals in the house. As much pain as that first girl clone had been in, he didn't want to imagine what a Kyuubi-fox clone would have ended up like. Besides, he still couldn't even change their hair color, let alone add fox fur and tails. He was thoroughly depressed, disappointed, and kinda sick to his stomach. To make matters worse, Sasuke was upstairs with Iruka telling him who knew what. He didn't want to involve him. This whole mess proved he'd learn a lot more about his talents if he did it when Iruka wasn't around.

There was a strange boy in his livingroom. Kyuubi, who'd been alternating from laughter to encouragement during the experiment, now came to attention. He immediately identified the boy as having come in with Iruka. Since he didn't match the pictures Hinata had shown him of her cousin, he had to be the fortune-telling cult's implant. The spy. Naruto scowled. Could a person be a spy if the people he was spying on knew he was there to spy on them? A busybody, then. A nosy, unwelcome busybody. He was sitting on the floor, talking to Sakura as if they'd known each other forever. And what the hell was up with his shirt? Slutty girls and prostitutes did the bare midriff thing, not guys. Okay, Naruto acknowledged, maybe he did have some gender biases.

Sakura looked up, leading the boy to glance over his shoulder. He promptly stood and offered his hand with a close-eyed smile that reminded Naruto of Kakashi. Except not, because aside from his interest in Iruka and that whole burying him thing, he didn't hate Kakashi anymore. He hated this guy already. He shook his hand, though, resisting the temptation to squeeze until that smile went away.

"Sai," the boy said. "I'm here on behalf of The Order. It's nice to meet you, Naruto. I've heard next to nothing about you. I was just explaining to Haruno why her talent is currently the most useless one here."

"Haruno?"

"My last name," Sakura muttered.

"Her talent isn't useless," Ino snapped, glaring at Sai.

"This isn't up for debate," Sai said, turning back to resume the discussion Naruto's entrance had interrupted. "Her talent requires extensive medical knowledge to utilize properly. Since she doesn't have a quick way to gain and retain that knowledge, her talent will remain useless for years. She's barely a D class." He shrugged. "I'm surprised someone like her is even in this house."

Ino shot to her feet. Naruto beat her to it. He grabbed the guy's shoulder and swung him around. "Sakura's here because she was invited here. You're only here because Iruka-sensei let you in the front door. Leave her alone or I'll throw your ass back out that door right now."

"I'm sorry," said Sai. "I didn't mean to offend anyone."

The statement was as rote and fake as Sasuke's 'fines' were. Sakura still looked upset. Naruto had a mind to take the guy out back and vent some frustration on him. "What's your talent?"

"I'm an A class. I have multiple mastered talents." He smiled regretfully and shrugged. "You're a C."

"I'm a what?" Naruto demanded. "Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

"You're a C class mutant. Multiple uncontrolled but potentially useful and dangerous talents. I wouldn't dream of picking a fight with a C, even if we were enemies. We aren't."

"Don't beat him up just yet," Kiba called to Naruto. "I want to know what this class shit is first. Those labcoats holding us mentioned some level stuff, too."

"I heard about that," said Sai. He turned. "Unfortunately, there were too many wild cards involved, including Umino, for us to monitor the situation. All military organizations follow the class system, so naturally they'd have ordered you accordingly. The rest of you are B class," he nodded to include Lee and Ino in that. "One fully mastered talent, potentially useful or dangerous. It's you B's that they tend to capture most often. I can't imagine what interest they could have had in a D," and he shook his head at Sakura. "Unless they hoped to take advantage of your unmastered talent and the damage it could cause. You have the potential to be an extremely proficient B class, but it will take years of study to master." He stopped, cocked his head to the side, and smiled. "Maybe that is why they wanted you. To kill you before you could grow up to become a serious threat."

Naruto couldn't tell if he was insulting her or complimenting her, or even threatening her. He decided it didn't matter. He was going to kick his ass. Him and his class bullshit. How the hell did he get a lower grade than Ino? Kakashi came into the room from behind him, and he gave an awkward look at him. Now that he knew they'd been doing something bad, he probably should feel uncomfortable around him. He couldn't quite pull it off. Given it all to do over again, he'd do just the same, except he'd have started with the girls immediately. He sighed at himself. He wasn't learning the lesson here at all.

"What am I?" Kakashi drawled.

Sai's smile vanished, though is tone was as casual as ever. "An A class, of course. You should have hit S a long time ago. Your refusal to master the first talent you copied has kept you at A. Is that intentional?"

Kakashi smiled and ignored the question. "And Sasuke?"

"The little Uchiha is also A class. If he lives to adulthood, he's guaranteed to be S."

"And how many futures show that happening?"

"One, prior to his moving here. Now two, though the presence of so many wild cards make those subject to huge shifts. Umino instructed me not to talk about our predictions, so I shouldn't say more."

Kakashi gave an understanding nod. "He agreed to this under protest, only because he was assured you would monitor without interfering. So what you were just doing with Sakura was..."

Sai blinked, all expression leaving his face. "I messed up."

"Yes, I think you did. Iruka assigned you a room, right? Maybe you should go to it and...reflect for a while."

"Excuse me," Sai said, with a nod to Naruto as he passed him.

Kakashi watched him head down the hall. Then he shook his head at Naruto. "I think he's new at this."

"I don't like him," Naruto blurted. "I seriously don't like him."

"Join the club," sniffed Ino.

"Who the hell is he?" asked Kiba. "What's he doing here?"

"He's here to spy for some fortune-telling cult," Naruto shrugged. "It's just for the week."

Kakashi sent another look down the hall. "Assuming he lasts that long."

.-.

TBC