20 Ch 18. Return after 3 years.

Izana lay relaxing in the hotspring, ignoring the peeping man behind him. It had been three interesting years in which he had finally turned eleven years old, filled with embarrassment and an empty wallet.

Izana could feel the headache still, as he remembered all the times Jiraiya nicked his wallet and went to the bar, found some women to talk with and just spend the complete content of his decently filled wallet. He could even vividly remember Jiraiya was almost beaten to death by some blonde chick who found out he was peeping. Luckily she didn't take it out on Izana, as he was clearly an innocent bystander. Jiraiya had it coming for him for a long time. It was just unfortunate it was someone Jiraiya clearly knew, as it would have been spectacular if it were all the women in the hotspring that would be slapping him.

Izana had only been just in time to avoid the woman's fierce gaze as she spent almost the whole evening beating Jiraiya up. Though the pig she had with her was kinda cute. At the break of dawn, Jiraiya's face looked even worse than an old pig. He was barely recognizable.

Aside from the memories Izana wished he could forget, he still learned a lot from Jiraiya. Mostly about collecting information and infiltrating enemy villages. During that time he'd also heard about Orochimaru-sannin deserting Konoha, but Izana already saw that one coming. His practices weren't very ethical. Human experimentation went a bit too far for the village to swallow, even if some didn't seem to really care about it. As long as the poor victims weren't from the village.

From what he'd seen of Orochimaru's research, most were very extreme, so it wasn't a surprise that Orochimaru left as soon as he was discovered. Heck, knowing the Third, he probably let Orochimaru escape. Sarutobi had a soft spot for his students.

"Say Ryuujin, I really look forward going back to the village. I really miss my family."

Izana said a bit chocked up from the longing. Yearning for his home had become a habit after such a long time out of the village. Guessing what the Uchiha clan was doing had become a habit and constant worry as well.

[It has been a long time after all. It would be weird if you didn't feel such longing. Only a couple more days and we'll be back in Konoha. Make sure you visit Naruto too.] Ryuujin said as he reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, how could I forget Naruto? I wonder how far he has come with his technique development?" Izana said as he felt a shiver run down his back. He still remembered Naruto seemed to have a plan for the village. A not so welcome but harmless one.

[You're the one that helped him. If he gets caught, make sure you apologise along with him. You're to blame as well.] Ryuujin said as he was amused by Izana's reaction. He could already tell that brat had been a bother to the village.

"How far do you think Naruto has come with Kurama? I wonder if they've talked before." Izana said.

[I don't think they have. There is no one in the village that would tell him he is a jinchuriki. I even dare to say he doesn't know why the village hates him.] Ryuujin said, a bit dissapointed how the village treated him and Kurama. This would only get worse, leaving Naruto mentally scared.

"Well, that means we just have to help him get along with Kurama. I just hope we don't have a tail following us like three years ago." Izana said as an uncomfortable chuckle escaped his mouth, that ended in a sigh.

He really doesn't want to be shadowed anymore. It was so suffocating.

[We can at least do something about it now. You're strong enough to make them disappear if they annoy you enough. Let's see if we can make it traceless.] Ryuujin joked, though he was actually completely serious.

"It would be strange if I hadn't become stronger. Especially after that hellish training from you." Izana shivered as he remembered it.

*Flashback*

[Izana, you're finally strong enought to learn my own affinities. Your chakra supply is big enough and you have enough control to learn it.] Ryuujin said amused and proud at the same time at how far Izana had come.

Izana lay sprawled out on the ground after Jiraiya made Izana chase him to get his money back. Unfortunately the old man had been too adept at hidding and Izana had quickly lost sight of him. He was fated to have a penniless wallet once more.

"So what affinities do you have?" Izana said a bit curious.

[hum hum hum, I'm glad you asked. My affinities are Space, Lightining and Yang. Lightning will be easier for you as some Uchiha have the lighting release, so you can ask them how they practice. Space however, you need to sense it before you can use it. And Yang, well, that is in my case the ability to control life force. Imagine giving life to inanimate objects, when someone is dying, you can keep them alive depending on how much Yang chakra you use on them.] Ryuujin said a bit of arrogance in his voice. Not really odd, as it was a significant boost in ability. With this, he could keep himself and his allies alive.

"Eh, then how am I supposed to train in that?" Izana said as he was baffled by Ryuujin explanation. That wasn't really an explanation at all.

[Hehehe, don't worry, you won't die.] Ryuujin chuckled, as Izana could feel something omnious creep up on him.

"Eeeh, Ryuujin, I don't think I want to learn..." Izana said as the feeling became stonger.

[Don't worry, dont worry. I'll make sure you'll be alive. I'll be very carefull to not let you die. After all, I don't want to die so soon, hehehe~]

Ryuujin began to laugh which was slowly turning into a maniacal outburst, but Izana could only feel tears stream down his face as he could feel hell opening up in front of him.

*Flashback ends*

"Really, try to stand in my shoes and imagine how I felt when you gave me those exercises. I know we share a body, but come on. You have to care about my feelings too." Izana yelled, making Jiraiya look back at him with a raised eyebrow. A reprimand was on the edge of being voiced, only when the giggle of a women in the next bath took Jiraiya's attention away.

Izana sank deeper in the water as he blew bubbles in annoyance, deciding to keep his voice down or not speak at all.

[hahaha, well you survived didn't you? That's all that matters, you became stronger too!] Ryuujin laughed, not giving a damn about Izana's brittle annoyance. All it took was the prominent sign of his increased strenght to shut him up.

Izana chose to ignore Ryuujin as he was still annoyed, even if the old lizard might be right.

*

*

*

A couple of days had passed and Izana finally saw the village gates. The village looked the same as when he'd left. There were still shinobi leaving and coming back from missions. Civilians were still coming and going, cart loaded or emptied.

Aside from that were the two usual guards that were sleeping on duty. The same worry about always popping up, thinking about the oddity of how they were still on guard duty. They were clearly slacking off. Izana looked at Jiraiya and he too seemed glad to be back.

"Kid, go say hi to your family, I'll go report to the Third." Jiraiya said before he left in a hurry.

Izana didn't need to be told twice.

He ran at high speed to the Uchiha residence, glad to see his family again. Izana walked through the gate and felt happy to see everyone was doing well.

Though they seemed really happy to see Izana again, the other Uchiha walked along to do what they were doing. They had other things to attend to aside from welcoming Izana home. Something much more important.

Izana could feel the tension in the air. It had been heavy before he left and now it had become suffocating. The current atmosphere made it difficult to breathe, the very culmination of the dark mood suffusing into the surroundings. He quickly went home and saw his aunt doing the laundry.

The feeling subsided as Izana ran forward and hugged his aunt. He had missed her so much in the time he was away. Even more so than the rest. Mikoto seemed a bit startled by the sudden show of affection, but she immediately lit up with joy when she saw it was Izana.

"Welcome home, Izana. Did you have a great time?" Mikoto said with a smile on her face, carressing the face of her not so young boy. He had grown so much in the time he had been away, it almost made her regret she had let him go out on his own. The passed time was something she loved to see with her own eyes.

Izana felt his eyes water a bit, but nodded and happily smiled back, as if he was still that eight year old boy from the past.

"Un, it was very fun." Izana said as he hugged Mikoto tighter, happy he was back in her arms once more.