Author-ess: Sooooo, here's my first chapter of Wandering Eyes. I'm already getting ideas of interactions and plot and a whole bunch of stuff I wanna add at some point. Hope you guys enjoy the show and of course, comments and reviews are always appreciated. This one's a little short, but I wanted to get something up for all of ya readers. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto :)

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A deafening cry broke the darkness, dread almost tangible in the air. The silver haired jounin jerked his head back in the direction of the noise. It sounded so familiar, and Kakashi's stomach lurched at the recognition. Racing against the endless darkness, he searched breathlessly to find the origin of the noise. Nearly stumbling over a dark figure, Kakashi deftly stopped and dropped to his knees. The limp body before him was barely able to tilt it's head in his direction before it's eyes drifted closed. "N-no… Obito…" A surge of pain gripped the jounin's chest, choking his breath as the darkness engulfed him.

Surprisingly, the silver haired man barely twitched as his body stiffened. The blazing sunlight seeping through his bedroom curtains crept over his face, glistening off of his sweat soaked skin. He inhaled deeply, shifting his body a few inches and cracked an eye open. The clock on his night stand teased him, marking the time at 8:34. Kakashi wasn't sure what irritated him more, having woken up to the same reoccurring nightmare or having woken up before his customary 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

He inhaled a deep breath, closing his eyes and lifting a tired arm over his face, brushing sweat off of his forehead. If only it were possible to fall back asleep after such an abysmal wake up call. After a few minutes of staring at his plain white ceiling, the man sat up, collecting his thoughts. Shit, I was hoping not to be awake before noon… He sighed lightly as he swung lanky legs over the side of his bed and pushed off in one fluid motion. There seemed to be an irony to waking up early on a day he had intentionally planned nothing to do, but there wasn't much use to complaining.

Kakashi took a few lazy steps toward his bedroom door, shuffling various weapon bags and articles of clothing out of his way. Dragging his feet to the bathroom, the jounin took care of much needed necessity, and after a few minutes was on his way to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. A slight chill woke him as he realized halfway into the kitchen that the room was obviously colder than the rest of his apartment. He glanced to the windows and noted a small, dark figure sitting on the sill.

"Oi.." he grumbled, reaching a hand around to the back of his neck and stretching, noting the satisfying pop in his spine. The silver haired man shivered, goose bumps raising on his exposed torso and arms.

"Who told you to let all the cold air in here?" Kakashi growled.

Pakkun turned his head to the jounin with a grin. "You ought to be nicer in the morning. Your people skills are lacking."

The jounin grimaced, walking to the window and abruptly shutting it, watching his nindog tumble to the floor. Pakkun growled, shifting his crumpled body off of his head.

"Could have pushed you out. Nice, ne?" Kakashi muttered as he shuffled to the stove to put water on. Listening to the dog huff and complain about his less than savory morning behavior, the jounin turned on the stove and slowly walked over to his kitchen table, sitting and letting his head fall to the cool wood with a soft thud. "…what are you here for anyway?" Kakashi inquired mid yawn.

Pakkun waddled over, still sore over tumbling over himself as he hopped on to the table. "I need a favor of you." the dog curtly replied.

Kakashi lulled his head to the side, glancing up at the dog before closing his eyes and gesturing a 'shoo' in the dog's direction. Pakkun was quick to slap his hand away with a paw as he glowered at the sleepy jounin. The silver haired man recoiled his hand, folding both in his lap before tilting his head away from the dog dismissively. The small pug held back a growl and nudged the back of Kakashi's head, trying to regain his attention.

"This is serious Kakashi." the dog's patience waning some obviously from his tone. "There's been a disturbance in the forest on the outskirts of Konoha, well… more of a sighting." Pakkun continued.

With that, Kakashi leaned his heavy head up on one arm and looked down at the lump of fur sitting on his kitchen table. If he hadn't known any better, he'd almost place an air of worry in Pakkun's voice and features. Stifling a yawn, the jounin rubbed his eyes and gestured for the dog to continue.

"They haven't pinpointed the cause yet, but we've sighted a shinobi carrying the mark of Sunagakure heading toward the village. He entered the proximity of the outlying forest early this morning…" the pug finished.

Kakashi's brow furrowed as he gazed down at the nindog and gave a slight nod. At the risk of taking an unnecessary action, he mused to himself of what the best thing to do would be. Tilting his head to the side he gave an inward sigh, recalling the last time foreign travelers were spotted near Konoha and the vein that became visible in the Hokage's forehead after a shinobi's curious nature caused problems for diplomatic relations. He understood the immediate desire to keep threats to a minimum for their village, but the sheer volume of Tsunade's voice that day unnerved him, considering all of Konoha had probably heard the shrieking after the incident.

The jounin yawned sleepily and gazed in Pakkun's direction, looking past the dog as his thoughts wandered for a few minutes. The pug merely took a seat in front of him, the adamant look of seriousness never leaving his expression. Startled by the high pitched whistle behind him, the silver haired jounin shifted to look back at his boiling tea kettle. Steam poured out of the spout before Kakashi worked up the enthusiasm to stand and pull the kettle off, pouring himself and Pakkun both cups of the boiling water and tossing a few of his favorite tea bags into each. As he walked back to the table, setting both cups down, he replied to the dog's statement.

"And what would you have me do? What makes you so convinced that this suspicious traveler isn't just another ambassador from Suna?"

The pug huffed softly, sniffing at the lupine-jasmine mix and bowed his head some. "I can not guarantee that this traveler isn't another well natured visitor from Suna…" As well natured as they can be… "But it was curious to me that the shinobi broadly walked down the main road, not at all apprehensive toward attacks. He made no effort to hide his chakra…" Pakkun continued muttering about the strange way the shinobi carried himself as Kakashi tilted his head to the side some, letting the glow of the sun warm his cheeks and neck. In spite of all the time he kept himself hidden behind that black mask, he loved being able to sit comfortably like this in the safety of his own apartment and be worry free for fleeting moments.

The jounin's mouth turned down at a corner in a frown as he thought of his shinobi team, Team 7, of whom he didn't get a moment's peace with ever. He was lucky to avoid getting a migraine on any given day spent with them -with all of their bickering, shouting and physical altercations. He found himself surprised that he could keep up and even keep them all in line. As an afterthought he sighed softly noting they all retained somewhat redeeming features and qualities that made days go by smoother.

Pakkun had long since quieted about the traveler from Suna and began drinking the tea in front of himself, lapping quietly at the strong mixture. As the silence struck him, the silver haired pervert smiled, taking a sip of tea, as he decided inwardly that today would be a day for Icha Icha. Before the shinobi could think any further on the subject, Pakkun instinctively pushed again with his topic of worry.

"Oi, don't you ignore what I told you! I see that pervy glimmer in your eye. You don't even care that a heavily armed shinobi with immense chakra is strolling right up to the village right now!" the gruff dog accused.

In a conceding gesture, Kakashi raised a hand, feigning interest in the nindog's ramblings and took an audible, deep breath. He knew Pakkun wouldn't let the subject go until he put more thought and effort into it. And with that, the jounin downed his tea in one swig and stood, giving the pug a glare as he crept lazily to the bathroom to take a shower. If anything, the silver haired man was slightly pleased at his counterpart's diligence. The nindog was normally keenly observant when it came to matters like this.

The day was surprisingly bright for being so unusually early in the morning for Kakashi. Then again, any day when the sun was still in the East was an early day. He noted how vibrant the streets seemed and how lively people in Konoha were even though it was barely 9:15. Pulling his cherished Icha Icha Surprise out of his vest pocket (the latest of the series), the jounin walked leisurely toward the Hokage's tower. There wasn't any reason he couldn't at least enjoy his favorite novels on his way toward inquiring to Tsunade about the predicament.

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The watchful shinobi nudged his buddy in the side, getting his attention and motioning toward the road ahead of Konoha's gates. There in the distance loomed a light figure, slowly stalking toward the village at a relaxed pace. Gradually the figure came into visual range, a beige hooded robe covering most of the features on the person. The only thing to stand out on the hooded person was a large hourglass symbol embroidered onto the front of his cloak.

Both guards instinctively reached toward their Kunai pouches, breath creeping slowly in and out as the person quietly kept pace toward them. There was no dismissing the fact that Suna and Konoha were at positive diplomatic relations (which is why the guards hadn't halted the stranger at first sight) but a shinobi knew he could never to be too careful. The hooded figure continued walking, gazing ahead to the men, not an emotion readable from the expression on what the guards could now define as a man's face.

Just before the hooded man reached within 30 yards of the guards, the elder of the two shouted in the direction of the traveling shinobi. "Hey, what brings you to our village?" He put extra accent on 'our'.

The hooded man stopped in the road, gesturing his hands up in a passive action and slowly pulled his hood down from his head, revealing sun-kissed blonde hair that seemed to shine like gold. He continued to slowly walk forward, gazing at the men with his palms up and facing them in the least threatening manner he could muster as he responded. "I've traveled from Sunagakure for several days. I have business with the Hokage." His voice was soft but sound, the voice you would expect from a teacher or mentor.

"And what business is that?" the elder shinobi guard replied.

"Do you have paperwork?" the other chimed in.

The man from Suna continued his pace toward the guards as he slowly pulled a scroll out of his pocket, tossing it gingerly to the guards as he got within a reasonable distance. The elder guard eyed the seal on the outside of the scroll, observing the Kazekage's personal seal. He reached tendrils of chakra into the scroll, noting no jutsu and then slowly opened the document. The shinobi from Suna stepped in front of the guards, a passive expression on his face as he watched the man read the scroll over.

"Hmm.. Traveling alone, ne? A bit dangerous, don't you think?" the elder guard asked as he rolled the scroll back up and handed to the sand shinobi.

"I make due." the young man replied, a small, soft smile coming to his lips as he nodded.

The shinobi guard gazed at him for a moment, almost feeling a smile tug at his lips before he remembered the stern face he had to keep. For some reason that sand shinobi's smile was eerily contagious. "Un.." was the only thing the guard said before he motioned that the golden haired man was free to go.

Both guards watched the shinobi from Suna stride leisurely past them at the motion, continuing into the village, the elder noting the small tug of a smile still threatening to creep to his lips as he watched the man walk away. He had noticed the great amount of chakra that radiated off of the man as soon as he was within range, but instead of instinctually seeing the threat, he was surprised to see the genuine happiness to the smile the blonde man gave him. His tenseness was eased at that gesture. Something about the shinobi eased his tension right away. However it may not have only been the proud display of emotion in that small smile that had thrown him off. There was a charming beauty to the sand shinobi's face -a warmth that most shinobi didn't show.

As the sand village traveler walked through the energetic streets of Konohagakure he noticed the villagers quiet at his presence. The greater portion of the people around him glanced his way and then quickly hushed themselves, hiding their faces to the man. A few of the stronger townspeople gazed at him curiously, their eyes questioning his presence. The sun-kissed man sighed inwardly, making a note to himself that the people of Konoha were just as protective of their village as anywhere else, it wasn't their faults. He had even noticed the small group of shinobi following him, eyeing him from the shadows on his way here.

A small girl, preoccupied with her pet puppy pranced out into the street right in the path of the sand shinobi, giggling at the small canine's antics. A hushed gasp emanated from a few village women as the girl glanced around, pulled from her happy stupor as everyone went silent. She glanced up, worry striking her face as she wondered what had been happening before she stood silent and stunned. The golden haired shinobi slowed his pace, watching the little girl for a moment before he smiled warmly at the child. The puppy in her arms wriggled away without a moment's notice and wandered up to the shinobi without hesitation. It sniffed at the now still sand nin before bumping it's small nose into the man's leg in almost a testing poke. A small 'arf' came from the puppy as it wagged it's tail and turned to the little girl.

The child looked down at her dog and nodded some, a smile slowly emerging on her face as she walked toward the stranger. She walked directly up to the shinobi, placing a hand on his robe and tugged down a few times. The young man gazed down at her, an appreciative smile on his lips as he took a knee toward the girl, squatting to near eye level with her.

"Goru says he has a good feeling about you." the little girl stated softly, a small smile coming to her lips as she reached an arm out to her nindog and the puppy jumped into her arms. Her chestnut hair fell in small curled locks around her face as she hugged her puppy gingerly.

The villagers watching the scene stood awe struck as the child continued to poke at the strange shinobi asking various questions. Feeling a bit of ease at the nindog's evaluation of the stranger, the people crowded around the area slowly began to pick up where they had left of in their daily routines, still eyeing the man and his interaction with the child.

"Why are you wearing these funny clothes?" the little girl asked, pulling slightly at the shinobi's robe.

"I suppose it's what everyone wears where I come from.." he answered with a grin.

The small child nodded, pulling the shinobi as she took a few steps, urging him to keep walking as they talked. Complying to the friendly girl, the sand nin walked a slow pace to keep in step with the child, happy to see at least one friendly face.

"Where are you supposed to be going?" the child fired off another question energetically.

The young man at her side thought for a second and responded, "I suppose I should be heading to the Hokage's tower. Do you know where that is?"

Nodding some, the girl stopped and pointed with her free arm to the top of the building that was seen over the peaks of rooftops. The sand nin gazed in that direction and nodded, taking a deep breath as he glanced down roads that would take him there. He looked down to the child still holding on to his robes, smiling thoughtfully as he crouched down again to her level and spoke, "I'll have to take my leave now, but thank you for showing me the way."

The small girl nodded to him once and released his robes, suddenly bolting off in her own direction, her puppy barking softly in the direction of the strange shinobi. "Goru says goodbye! I've gotta go find Kiba-sama! Bye-bye strange man!" the child yelled back to the golden haired man as she waved and then vanished.

The sand shinobi smiled, waving slightly as he watched her disappear out of view. She was an interesting sort… he thought inwardly as he gazed off in the direction of the Hokage's tower. Taking a deep breath, the young man began his travel across the crowded streets and side streets of Konoha, making sure to follow the sight of the tower looming over the village.

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A mesh bag of groceries fell to the ground, an upset tomato rolling to the side before lulling to it's bruised dent. Iruka let out an exasperated sigh. Something about the marred fruit had seemed to set a tone for the entire day. His morning had been nothing short of a series of unfortunate of events, one right after another. After having woken up, the brunette had realized that he had no tea in his cabinets. After making a mental note to do some make-up grocery shopping, he had hopped in the shower expecting a nice hot bath. Too late did he realize that the water temperature was just mildly warmer than a fresh mountain stream in October. And in his haste to get on clothing to ward off the violent shivering his body was reduced to, he had ripped a hole in his mesh undershirt.

Bending to pick up the upturned groceries, the chunin thanked the gods that days like this were pretty few and far between. He promised to himself that if something else were to happen this morning, he may very well just retire for the day and hide at home. As the groceries were finally collected, Iruka stood and brushed off his rumpled vest, looking over the abused material as he began walking again. Before he noticed, he had walked into another person without another thought, groceries spilling to the ground again. He gritted his teeth, fighting back a growled 'Kuso' before raising his head slightly.

"Sumima…" was all the brunette could utter before he froze in an awkward shock, slowly raising his eyes to the sand colored uniform in front of him. His eyes trailed slowly up the robe, taking in the Sunagakure crest on the chest of the robe until his eyes stopped on a tanned face. Bright blue eyes stared back at him, a slight look of worry creasing their corners. As a creeping blush overtook the sand shinobi's face, he bent down hastily, taking the mesh bag with deft fingers and replacing all of the groceries one by one. Frowning at the tomato (which looked like it'd been beat into submission), he stood silently, gazing down at the fruit which was now cratered and drooped wearily in his hand.

The sand shinobi glanced back up at the brunette, who's eyes had never left the blonde's face. Pursing his lips some, he gingerly slipped the mesh handles back into the chunin's grasp and held the bruised tomato up. "Sumimasen." the golden haired shinobi bowed his head slightly to the chunin.

Iruka's stunned silence only furthered the awkward situation as he looked down at the tomato and back up the to sand shinobi (who's face was slowly turning to the color of the fruit). "Un…" was the only response he had to the apology.

As he gingerly placed the spoiled tomato into Iruka's free hand, the blonde nin stood to assess the brunette's reaction. Iruka's eyes glanced down at the timid action, feeling the weight of the tomato in his palm, soft indentations littering the surface of the fruit. Only then did he realize that the fruit was all but ruined as he sighed softly. "Doumo…" Iruka nearly whispered, his head tilting with a frown at the marred red fruit. The sand shinobi frowned with the reaction, feeling badly that he'd just ruined what looked like a morning of grocery shopping for the distraught young teacher.

The blonde shinobi pressed a hand to his pocket, fishing out a few rolled up bills and gingerly placed them in Iruka's hand under the tomato. Iruka's eyes shot up to the stranger's face, eyeing the money and then the sand shinobi's expression. Why did he… Iruka thought to himself as his lips parted to speak.

"That should buy you a few more tomatoes.." the blonde stated timidly as he bowed his head again to the teacher. His golden hair shifted, framing his impossibly blue eyes as the smallest hints of a grin graced his lips. "I really am sorry. This isn't the way I should make first impressions…" his voice trailed off.

Iruka gazed thoughtfully at the blonde, his stunned face softening at the gesture. He admired the golden haired man for a moment, the light breeze picking up tendrils of gold and tossing them into the air. Blue eyes gazed back at him, thoughtful but aged with time. A small blue tattoo on his lower cheek shifted as the barest of smiles came to the sand nin's face. His hair was pinned back messily, longer portions falling against his back, underneath the sand colored robes. Iruka felt the pulse of chakra flow off of the stranger, it didn't feel dangerous, however. There was something about this person that didn't seem menacing like all of the other sand shinobi that he'd come into contact with before. This young man gave Iruka a calmed feeling. There was wisdom in his eyes, gestures and words. And the obvious charity and helpfulness didn't hurt either.

The brunette shinobi nodded at the blonde, placing the tomato and extra money in his mesh bag and then reached a hand around to the back of his neck. The awkwardness of the situation had all but dissolved but Iruka still found himself nervously rubbing the back of his neck, a smile at his lips, unable to tear his gaze away from the sand shinobi's honeyed features.

"Well… I have to be going. The Hokage is waiting for me." the blonde haired man smiled at Iruka, taking a few steps to the side and pivoting his feet to shuffle around the brunette chunin.

Iruka just followed his pivoting, turning fully around as he watched the sand nin for a few moments more. Something about that shinobi kept Iruka planted in his position, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks flush some with the sand shinobi's last smile and wave. He seemed nice. The chunin thought as he watched the blonde turn and walk in the direction of the Hokage tower. Very polite. Iruka added as an afterthought. He gazed down at his mesh bag, fishing out the bills that the sand nin had handed him and his eyes widened. This was enough money to pay for groceries ten times over. A look of shock and horror took over his face as he realized just how charitable the stranger had been. And he had just accepted it without another thought.

"I could fill my kitchen with tomatoes…" Iruka whispered to himself, blushing at the bills.

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Author-ess: Well! End first chapter! YOSH! *fist pump* Now, since I'm new to this whole scene, please read it over and throw some criticism my way. Anything helpful is much obliged. And more than anything else, hope you enjoyed my grand opening!

As an aside, if you'd like to see an OC drawing of this character look up Character: Hinea on deviantart[dot]com