A/N – Not an ongoing story. Just a one-shot.

Which answer choice is one of our shinobi rules? A shinobi must always put the mission first at all costs, or a shinobi must put his comrades first at all costs. This test is easy, she thought as she finished the rest of the questions quickly. It was almost time to take the graduation exam and be assigned on teams to become genin. Just another week yet.

She placed her pencil down and stood up, gathering her test as she did. She walked up to Iruka-sensei's desk quietly and noticed her best friend Sakura Haruno standing up as well. They handed him their tests and he smiled at them. Oh kami that smile, she thought. She had a crush on Iruka-sensei but only Sakura knew about it.

"Well done Arata, and Haruno you may quietly work on any work you haven't finished, you may read quietly, or the two of you may go outside." He said as he started grading the tests.

Sakura and Etsuki walked outside and sat on the swing. The sun glinted against their skin.

"How are things going with Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"How are things going with Sasuke-kun?" Etsuki replied.

Sakura sighed. "I don't know, you talk to him more than I do."

"Likewise. You don't find it weird that I have a crush on our sensei?"

"Well, I don't find it weird no... it might be weird if you dated him though."

"Yeah I know..." She said sadly.

"Don't worry Etsuki, you're a beautiful girl who will grow up one day. If you still feel the same then, then you can talk to him about it." Sakura said, trying to cheer her up.

She smiled. "Thanks Sakura. Maybe someday Sasuke will feel the same way. And if he doesn't, then I can either beat some sense into him or you can find someone who will love and treat you the way you deserve."

"Thank you Etsuki-chan." Sakura said as she hugged Etsuki. Neither of them realized that Iruka had heard everything that day.

~~Time skip - 10 years later~~

"Hey Iruka-sensei come join us!" Naruto called.

Iruka? Etsuki thought nervously. Sakura placed a hand on hers comfortingly. Sure Etsuki talked to him now and then, missions and stuff but still... she never got over that little crush she had on him. In fact, over the years it just grew into something bigger than just a schoolgirl crush...

"Sure Naruto! And I told you, you don't have to call me sensei anymore. You graduated from my class years ago." Iruka replied as he came over and took a seat between Naruto and Etsuki.

She could feel butterflies in her stomach as he sat down beside her. Sakura nudged her and Etsuki shook her head. Sakura nudged her again and then Iruka spoke.

"Etsuki? Wow, you've really grown up into a beautiful young lady." He said to her with a smile.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei..." I muttered.

"Aw come on, you guys don't have to call me sensei anymore you know." He whined.

"Force of habit." Etsuki grinned. "Kakashi-sensei is still Kakashi-sensei too."

"Hey Iruka-sensei!" Ino greeted as she took a seat beside Sakura.

"Ino you too?" Iruka whined again.

Ino leaned over to Sakura. "What's he talking about?" She whispered.

"He keeps telling us he's not our sensei anymore so we can drop the suffix and just call him Iruka." Sakura whispered back.

"Ahh." She said, understanding now. "Hey Etsuki so have you-"

She cut her off quickly by shaking her head. She didn't know how Ino found out, but she did somehow. She always does.

"What are you waiting for?" Ino hissed. "Talk to him!"

She shook her head again and looked at the table.

"Etsuki if I have to talk to him for y-" Ino warned but luckily Etsuki was saved by the arrival of the ramen. Apparently, that didn't stop Ino though.

"Hey Iruka-sen... I mean Iruka! So do you have a girlfriend yet?" Ino asked.

"Well...no." Iruka replied.

"Why not?" Ino asked. "There's plenty of girls who like you, you know. In fact I know-" Etsuki interrupted her by standing up.

"I'm not really hungry." She muttered before running out, and walking down the street.

"Hey wait, where's Etsuki-chan going?" I heard Naruto ask as she left.

"Hey wait up Etsuki!" Iruka called.

She paused for a moment. "I'm sorry Iruka, I'm not feeling too well."

"She's got something to say to you Iruka-sensei, sh-" Sakura quickly clapped a hand over Ino's mouth.

"Ino!" Sakura hissed.

Iruka looked confused when Etsuki glanced over, and she turned and quickly started walking home again. She felt him run after her. He caught up to her and walked quietly with her for a few minutes.

"You don't have to walk me home. You could go back with the group, you know."

"I know, but what kind of man would I be if I let you walk alone."

They walked in silence until they reached her house. She hesitated with her hand on the doorknob.

"Thank you." She said to him quietly with her head down.

"Of course." He replied cheerfully.

"Iruka?"

"Yeah?"

"Do y- do you want to come in and have some tea?" She asked hesitantly.

"Sure, tea sounds great." He said.

She opened the door and walked in, waiting for him to come in and the shut the door. She headed to the kitchen and got the tea out of the cabinet.

"Make yourself comfortable." She said quietly, glancing at him.

"May I use the bathroom?"

"Upstairs, Second door on the left."

He walked out of the room and headed upstairs and Etsuki sighed. Get a grip, her thoughts muttered before slowly making their way to Iruka with a sigh.

If only I could tell you that I'm in love with you. That I've always had a crush on you, but over the years that went away. Over time, my feelings grew stronger. I wish I could tell you how I feel...

"I feel the same." A quiet voice whispered from behind her.

Oh jeez, She jumped and whirled around coming face to face with Iruka. I said that out loud!?, She panicked.

"I'm in love with you too." He continued.

"Do you remember that one day when you were in the academy, and I gave you guys a test. You and Sakura turned it in early and I let you girls go outside? The two of you went over to the swing and talked about your crushes."

"You heard that?" She mumbled.

He nodded. "Every word of it... since then I've always felt this way about you... and I couldn't explain it or make it go away. So I just ignored it, pretended it wasn't there. But then, before I knew it, you grew up into a beautiful young lady. And a jonin now, wow! And I knew then, I couldn't keep hiding my feelings anymore. But I didn't know if you still felt that way about me."

He cupped my cheek. "Your eyes are so beautiful." He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.

His lips pressed against hers gently and his other arm encircled her waist, holding her to him. Their lips moved together passionately as her arms wrapped loosely around his neck, a hand threading through his hair.

His hand slid from her cheek to the back of her head, tangling in her hair as the kiss deepened. She gasped slightly as he pulled her closely against him and gently bit her lip. That gave him an opportunity, and he thrust his tongue in her mouth, battling with hers for dominance.

He won and began exploring her mouth with his wet muscle. He walked forwards forcing Etsuki backwards until she felt the counter behind her. Using his shoulders for support, and with his arm around her waist helping her, she jumped up on the counter.

Her hand tightened in his hair as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Years could have passed, but she wouldn't have noticed with his mouth moving against hers. He pulled away a few seconds, minutes, maybe even hours later.

They stared at each other as they tried to catch their breath. His thumb started rubbing small circles on the small of her back and he pressed his lips against hers softly again. He pulled away after a few seconds.

"Arata Etsuki, will you do me the honor of being mine?" He asked.

"Yes." She smiled.

He smiled back. "I'm taking you out on a date tonight." He breathed.

A/N - It's probably not the best, but I hope it was alright. I don't own any characters except for Arata Etsuki.