Beta: The awesome WhyMustIWrite. Do yourself a favor and go read all her stuff. (Review them, please! Reviews make the world go round!)

Rating: K+ for slightly dark themes, a little angst, and some blood in chapter two.

Disclaimer: Time travel is a wonderful thing. If I owned Naruto, this disclaimer will disappear.

Still here? Aw, the Flux Capacitor must be broken . . . Oh well. On with the show!

Edit, 9/04/10: Just a bit of word flow, a sentence fixed/added here and there... Ok, you got me. Revising to fit an unnamed/half written story and That Night. Either way, here you go.

A Difference of Opinion

Chapter One: Argument

"You shouldn't have done it," a voice said softly. The copy nin looked up from his precious Icha Icha, steel grey meeting intense worried brown eyes.

"Come again?"

The scarred chūnin looked at the starry sky, leaning against a nearby tree as he did so. So many memories here- being tied to a post was no fun. "You shouldn't have taught Sasuke the Chidori."

"He can handle it," the copy nin said dismissively.

"Of course he can handle it- that's the problem." The copy nin quirked an eyebrow, silently demanding an explanation. Iruka was quick to give one. "He's been acting strangely, ever since the Chūnin Exams. He's acting the way . . . the way Orochimaru was before he left."

"And you were how old then?" Kakashi asked in a bored tone, turning the page.

Iruka's fists clenched. "I think I should have been able to learn my sensei's behavior patterns over a couple years! And that jutsu- it could kill someone!"

"Yes, I do believe that's the point of a Chidori," Kakashi deadpanned, returning to Icha Icha.

The book was removed from his hands and dashed it to the ground in a fit of rage. "Hatake Kakashi-"

"I know what I'm doing, Iruka. Sasuke's my best student. He knows that a shinobi's comrades are the most precious thing in the world- he won't turn on them." He tenderly picked up Icha Icha, noting with a frown the dented corner. Drat that chūnin; it was a hardcover first edition, too.

"Kakashi, please. Talk to h-"

"Even if he was at that point, he's too close to them to attack them, revenge or no revenge- despite having a perfect example to look up to." He pointedly looked at the schoolteacher, rubbing his thumb over the bent Icha Icha corner like a little child would tend to a sparrow's broken wing. "Not that I'd expect a chūnin to pick up on something like that."

Said teacher reeled back as if he had been struck, a familiar stab of pain spreading through his chest. Not all the scars he brought away from Orochimaru's defection were mental ones. Kakashi, returning to Icha Icha, was oblivious. Iruka wanted to slap the copy nin to his senses, but he knew that would be no way to make him listen. He sighed and walked away, thrusting his hands in his pockets.

The stars were out, shining with a gentle silver light. The chūnin, for once, did not stop to appreciate their beauty as he walked down the street.

"Iruka-sensei!" He was attacked by a familiar orange jumpsuit.

Iruka, due to much experience, managed to stay on his feet despite the sudden weight of a hyperactive genin. "Naruto! Don't scare me like that!"

"Hey, you're a ninja! You're supposed to see 'underneath the underneath'! And Kakashi-sensei says . . ." He looked at his sensei and trailed off. Over the years, he had become quite good at reading his mentor's emotions and this time was no different. "Are you alright, Iruka-sensei?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you look a bit upset."

The chūnin forced a smile, closing his eyes to hide the anxiety he knew wouldn't leave. Even a lazy, Icha Icha reading jōnin had good ideas once in a while. "Nah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired. Paperwork and all, not to mention a mission tomorrow. You up for some ramen?"

Naruto perked up. Though not completely convinced by his sensei's act, the magic word dispelled any doubts. "Of course! Come on, Iruka-sensei!"

Despite his cheerful facade, he had a sick feeling in his stomach that wouldn't go away. For a moment, right after the Chūnin Exams, when Sasuke had delivered his mission report describing Naruto's fight with Gaara, he had seen a hauntingly familiar look in Sasuke's eyes. A power-hungry, jealous look all too similar to his old sensei's. And the ache in his chest was not from that plastic kunai Konohamaru had nailed him with in class today. Iruka looked over his shoulder at the copy-nin reading Icha Icha.

For all our sakes, Kakashi, I hope you are right.