The Naruto concept is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. This specific story, and any original characters contained within, is my own property. Use with permission.
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Throughout their lives, whether they knew it or not, they had been there for each other. But nobody thought that they would start dating. She was too irresponsible, he was too formal. Anko-Iruka.
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Throughout
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Academy Graduation Aftermath, Eleven years ago.
He sat on the swing, rocking back and forth gently. Again and again, he ran his fingers over the spiral pattern engraved in the metal, memorizing every twist and turn. Scuffing his feet against the ground, he leaned back and began pumping his legs in time to the pendulum motion of the swing. Going higher and higher each time he rose, Iruka let go of the chains, letting his momentum carry him off the swing and throw him into the merciful hands of the air.
"Whee…" he whispered to himself, feeling his bangs whip about his face. Curling into a ball, he landed on the grass and rolled, dispersing his forward momentum with the ease that came from hours of practice and failure. He touched a hand to his forehead again, feeling the pattern once more.
Standing a little stiffly, Iruka walked back and seated himself on the swing again, this time rubbing his scar. He pushed off the ground again, pumping expertly. He let go of the chain again, this time twisting easily into the motions of a forward flip through the air.
A rustle in the bushes distracted him in the middle of the flip, and he crashed into the ground ungracefully. Flopping onto his back, he scowled at Anko, poking her head out of the bushes.
"That was great. Do you always bail out like that when you're flying through the air?" Anko chewed as she talked, some sort of candy in her mouth. Iruka sat up with a ready retort and a bag of sugary things thumped into his chest. He caught it, startled.
"I got a crapload of candy from my parents as a graduation present." Anko said casually, climbing out of the bushes. "And I figured that even I wouldn't be able to eat that much sugar, so I'm giving some to you. I mean, it's not like your folks are around to give you anything, right?" Anko sat down next to Iruka, who was busy inspecting the contents through the see-through plastic. Fiddling with the twist tie for a moment, Iruka opened the bag and popped one of the gummy frogs into his mouth. Chewing it slowly, he offered the open bag to Anko, but she waved it away. "I've got plenty of candy where that came from. If I didn't, do you think I'd be giving any to you?"
Iruka swallowed his candy and smiled. "Yeah, I guess not…." He said softly, digging through the bag idly. A cloud drifted in front of the sun, and the scenery darkened momentarily. As it grew brighter again, Anko stood up abruptly.
"Are you going to the dance tonight?"
Iruka blinked owlishly, absentmindedly chewing on lemon drop, the crunching noises echoing through the small clearing. "What dance?" he asked, swallowing the sugary particles swirling around in his mouth. Anko sighed, wordlessly stating her complete contempt for those who couldn't be bothered to keep up with the world around them.
"You dummy, didn't you hear? Kotetsu is having a dance at his house to celebrate graduating from the academy."
Iruka ripped some grass from the ground and tossed it up, watching the wind blow it away in spiraling patters. "I wasn't invited…" he muttered. Anko hit him in the head and he glared at her, rubbing his head angrily.
"Stupid, everybody who graduated was invited. What, you think Kotetsu would have had a dance so he could spite you?" Anko grabbed Iruka's hand, pulling him up with her. "Come on, let's go!" He stumbled behind her, feeling like he had lost track of the situation.
"What? Wait, where are we going? I thought you said the dance was tonight. It's still mid-afternoon, remember?"
Anko pulled on his hand some more, turning to smile at him. "I know it's tonight, dummy! But it's a formal dance, so you need to come over to my house and get some nice clothes from my parents. You wouldn't be let in the door wearing something scruffy like that."
"This is my favorite shirt!" Iruka protested weakly, still getting dragged behind Anko. She sighed again, not even bothering to look at him this time.
"I know that, you wear it all the time. It's all dirty and ragged now, you need something that looks nice for this dance."
Iruka silently agreed, but he wasn't about to give up this argument. "Ok, fine. But I have nice clothes at my apartment, I don't need to borrow charity from your parents to look nice."
Anko dropped his hand and whirled around, eyes flashing angrily. "I'm sure that you have nice clothes" she said, poking her finger into his chest, "But this is a formal dance and you need something that looks the part. And it's not charity from my parents, dummy. You're taking me to the dance, so we need to make sure that our outfits match, right?"
Iruka wasn't quite sure that was how it worked, but he'd decided against complaining, now. Anko obviously had her heart set on having him over at her house, and it would be easier to climb a greased pole with no tools than to try and change her mind. Tripping once, he began to run after Anko, following the girl to her house.
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Iruka gaped at the large house standing solidly in front of him. He was sure it wasn't a mansion; only rich people lived in mansions, and Anko didn't act like she was rich. But at the same time, it was so much larger than what he'd been living in for the past two years that he was momentarily struck by all the space Anko had.
Oblivious to his thoughts, Anko jumped the front steps and opened the door, calling loudly, "Mom! I'm home with my date!"
Iruka blushed involuntarily as Anko's mother swept into the room, a tall and graceful woman with long black hair tied back into a simple ponytail. She smiled at Iruka and he looked down at his feet, still blushing. Anko gave her mother a perfunctory hug as the woman spoke to Iruka kindly.
"So you're the man who Anko said was going to ask her to the dance, then?"
Iruka looked up, startled, his face settling into a uniform shade of rose pink. "Um…I'm not…"
Anko glared at him from behind her mother, and Iruka gulped nervously. This must be some form of torture, he decided. He must have committed some sort of treason against the village, and this was how the Hokage was punishing him. There was no way something like this could be happening in real life.
Anko's mother smiled expectantly at him, and he realized that she was still waiting for an answer. Breathing deeply to calm his heart, he forced the words out of his mouth, thick as molasses. "Yeah. That's me, all right."
Anko's mother smiled kindly at him, and his face got just a little redder. Anko burst out from behind her mother, grabbing Iruka's hand and dragging him away again. "I'm going to take him upstairs and give him his clothes, okay? Could you make us some snacks, please?"
Anko's mother nodded and began to walk towards where Iruka guessed the kitchen would be. "Certainly," she replied. "What would you two like?"
"Ants on a log!!" shouted Anko [1]. Iruka gave his quiet assent, and Anko's mother laughed. "You'll need to come into the kitchen to eat it, then." As Anko began to pull Iruka up the stairs again, her mother's voice rang through the house once more.
"Oh, Iruka?"
"Yeah?" he called back nervously, feeling his face prepare to redden. She was going to make some embarrassing comment, he knew it.
"Congratulations on graduating, dear. I'm proud of you."
Anko glared down the stairs, towards the source of her mother's voice. "Mom! Why didn't you say congratulations to me? I'm your daughter!"
"You know that I'm proud of you, Anko. Iruka doesn't have anybody to encourage him, so I'm letting him know that people care."
Anko looked at Iruka, crossing her eyes and whirling her forefinger in a corkscrew motion next to her ear. "Mom's a little weird," she whispered. "C'mon, let's go upstairs!"
As Iruka climbed the stairs, he felt a little warm inside. He'd heard lots of things since his parents died, mostly sympathy from people he barely know. Not even the Hokage had said anything except that he was sorry. No one had ever said that they were proud of him for something since the kyuubi attack.
He felt like he missed it.
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"So this is my dress, okay?" Anko picked up the dress lying on her bed and held it against her body, twirling with it to demonstrate what it looked like.
Iruka didn't know very much about dresses. Really, all he knew was that dresses were existential. But looking at Anko, he decided that she had made a good choice. It was a black dress, with a slit up the side to allow mobility of the legs. The sleeves flared open at the end, the fabric rippling like a pool of water on a windy day. Anko posed for him, smiling seductively like only a thirteen year old girl can.
"Do you like it?" She asked softly. Iruka swallowed nervously, suddenly dying for a piece of candy. He tried vainly to collect his thoughts.
"Sure." He squeaked out, obviously embarrassed with the situation. Anko laughed, letting the dress drop into a pile on the floor.
"So to match my dress, here are your clothes."
Iruka blinked as a black shirt flopped on his head. Pants hit his chest and he caught them automatically. Two muffled thumps signified the landing of shoes at his feet. He pulled the shirt off his face, feeling the material in his hands. It felt like felt or something. He examined it closely, looking for a tag.
"What material is this shirt made of?" he asked curiously. It was a black button down shirt, with a breast pocket. It felt like something a toymaker would use on a stuffed animal.
"It's one hundred percent polyester" came back Anko's muffled reply. Iruka glanced up and promptly looked back down at the shirt, feeling the now-familiar sensation of a blush staining his cheeks.
"Um…What are you doing?" he asked, cautiously averting his eyes. He turned around to find a full length mirror and promptly turned back again.
"What, are you peeking at me while I'm changing my bra?" Anko glanced over her shoulder, naked from the waist up. "Calm down, Iruka. It's just my back, I'm sure you've seen something like it before." She put on a black bra, expertly snapping the clips shut. "Now stop fooling around and change into your dress clothes. We need to see if they fit."
As Anko struggled into her black dress, Iruka removed his t-shirt and slid his arms into the sleeves of the formal shirt Anko had provided him with. Quickly he put on the dress pants as well, before Anko could turn around and catch him naked. She was fiddling with something on the front of her dress.
Pants zipped shut, Iruka set about the thankless task of buttoning up his shirt. He clumsily fumbled with each button, finally slipping each one through the hole only to discover that he had started off by one. Anko giggled at his mishap and quickly fixed it for him.
"Anko! Snacks are ready!"
Anko tried to grab Iruka's hand again, but he was wise to her tricks. "I'll follow you at my own pace" he informed her petulantly, snatching his hand away. He descended the stairs behind her, sitting carefully in a chair at the kitchen table.
"Are you being nice to your guest?" Anko's mother scolded her as she placed the plateful of celery sticks on the table. Anko nodded, grabbing two and offering the rest to Iruka. He took one, looking at it curiously.
"It's not poison," Anko informed him, a spot of peanut butter on her chin. She had already eaten one and was busy picking the celery strings out of her teeth.
"I know that," Iruka said hotly. "I just haven't eaten something like this for a while. I know it's not poison." To prove his point, he stuffed one in his mouth and chewed vigorously for several moments. He swallowed with difficulty.
"…what are you doing?" Anko asked him, biting into another celery stick.
"Nuffing," Iruka mumbled, keeping his lips shut. He sucked his cheeks in, and Anko giggled at him.
"The peanut butter is stuck to the roof of your mouth!" she shouted excitedly. "Hah! That's awesome!"
"No ith not!" Iruka insisted, sucking on his mouth furiously. Finally giving up, Iruka took a long sip from a glass of water.
"You kids had better hurry up if you want to be on time for the dance," Anko's mother reminded them. Anko nodded, chewing furiously. She swallowed and went over to her mother, putting the plate in the sink.
"Mom, will you do my hair now?" Anko's mother nodded and Anko sat back down in her chair, taking her hair out of the ponytail Iruka was used to seeing it in, and shaking it out over her shoulders. He stared at her unconsciously, and she looked at him. "What?" she asked. "Is there something wrong with it?"
He shook his head. "No," he replied. "I've just…I've never seen your hair down, is all. You look different."
Anko laughed. "It won't be down for long, don't worry. I hate it like this." Her mother began running a brush through it, and Anko winced. "Careful, Mom. My hair is obnoxious when it's down, but that doesn't mean that I want you to pull it all out!" Her mother nodded and continued brushing her hair. Finally satisfied with the lack of tangles, she expertly grabbed the hair and twisted it carefully, turning it back and up. The woman fastened it with a butterfly clip, then carefully adjusted the top and bottom, reclipping it several times. The end result was a very elegant look, spikes of hair poking out over the top of Anko's head with spikes on the bottom as well, hiding the clip. She got up and ran to the bathroom to admire her new look in the mirror, and Anko's mother looked at Iruka.
"Would you like me to do something with your hair, as well?" He nodded quietly, and she patted the seat that Anko had so recently vacated. He sat down in front of her, pulling his hair of the ponytail that he kept it in, just like Anko had. "Now, what would you like me to do?"
Iruka thought for a moment. "Whatever you think would look good, Mitarashi-san."
She laughed, pulling the brush through his hair carefully. "Please, just call me Yukiko. Otherwise, I feel so old." Several brushstrokes later, she began gathering up his hair in her fist. "How long has it been since you last had it cut?" She asked him casually.
"I keep it trimmed at this length, actually. My mom always said that she liked it."
Yukiko nodded. "Long hair looks good on you." She gathered some more hair, brushing it as she did so. Pulling a new hair tie out of her pocket, she tied Iruka's hair into a topknot, gathered near the top of his skull. She fluffed it a big, giving it a roguish spiky look, and then stood up. "Finished!" she announced, sounding satisfied. Anko entered the kitchen, happy with her new look.
"Mom, I want my hair like this every day now." The girl looked from her mother to her date, surprised. "Oh. Your hair looks good, Iruka. Are you ready to go?" He nodded, feeling the new style wave slightly in the air before settling again. Anko's mother reached out and wiped the spot of peanut butter off with her fingers, then nodded.
The young couple went to the door, Yukiko ushering them outside. "Be responsible, Anko!" she shouted as her daughter walked down the street, Iruka's arm in hers. Anko walked stiffly, trying her hardest to pretend she didn't know that crazy woman standing in the doorway. "Have fun, you two!" echoed down the street, and Anko still ignored it. "I want you home by eleven! And Iruka can come over and spend the night, if he wants"
Finally, Anko had enough. "Mom! You're embarrassing me!"
Yukiko laughed brightly and took the hint, retreating backwards into the house and shutting the door. Anko rolled her eyes, obviously exasperated with adults in general. "Finally. I thought she'd never leave us alone." Iruka nodded, not sure how to respond. Anko checked her watch and gasped. "Oh man! The dance is going to start soon! Come on, let's run! We don't want to be late." She took Iruka's hand and they started running down the street, feeling the wind rush past them.
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They could hear the music playing as they came down the street towards the house. The front door was open and lights were flashing, giving hints to the party raging inside. Anko smiled broadly, and Iruka looked slightly uneasy. He hadn't been to a party like this, ever. He'd pretty much stuck to himself after the Kyuubi attack.
"Come on, it's already going on! Let's go in and have fun!"
Iruka nodded and walked through the door. Kotetsu met them soon after they entered, his trademark band aid over the bridge of his nose. "Hey, guys! Glad to see you could make it! Food is over there, the DJ takes requests. I think that's it. So have fun, okay?"
Iruka nodded, and Kotetsu wandered off to greet some more guests. Anko tugged at his arm; it was apparently her favorite thing to do now.
"Come on," she urged. "Let's go dance!" She pulled him over to the dance floor, where he stood uncomfortably.
"I don't dance," he informed her curtly. She looked at him, eyebrows raised.
"It isn't hard," she told him. "I doubt anybody here really knows how. If you want to, just think of it as convulsing to the music. As long as you're moving around roughly in time to the beat, you'll look fine. And if you don't think you're very good, then just don't get in the centre of a circle to show off, and you'll be fine." She resumed her own dance, a sort of shaking and wiggling while moving up and down. It looked good, Iruka had to admit.
"See?" she shouted over the music. "I made that up off the top of my head. It's easy." He nodded, and slowly began to shift in time with the bass line. He watched other people for ideas, and eventually began dancing in a manner which he decided wasn't embarrassing.
Tiring after a while, he wandered over to the food table and loaded up with cookies. Looking around for a place to sit, he couldn't see one that wasn't already being sat in. He finally located some stairs and followed them, hoping to find a more deserted place on the second floor. At random, he opened a door.
He shut it hastily. 'Oh god…' he thought to himself. He didn't know who those two kids were, and he didn't much care. They obviously wanted their privacy, and who was he to deny them?
He spied an open window. He walked over, intending to sit on the sill, when he discovered that it opened out onto a slightly sloped roof, the kind that was perfect for sitting on. He climbed out carefully, making sure not to drop any of his cookies.
He sat down, inhaling the fresh night air. His mouth crunched down on a cookie, the doughy flavor mixing nicely with the chips interspersed with it. Iruka chewed for a while, then swallowed.
He ate a second cookie, reflecting on the night thus far. Anko had asked him to the dance. Why? He couldn't imagine. He hadn't talked with her very much before. Well…They were friends, yeah. But it was only a casual sort of friendship. He'd say 'hi' to her in the streets if they passed, but that was really about as far as most of their conversations go.
Still, she seemed like a nice person. Her mother certainly was, for all that Anko was utterly embarrassed by her. But, Iruka thought, that was pretty typical for kids his age. He'd been embarrassed to be seen with his mother, as well. That was before…He stopped that train of thought before it even got started. He didn't want to start crying in the middle of the dance, right?
"Yen for your thoughts?" A soft voice interrupted his thinking, and Anko sat down next to him, the wind ruffling her hair. "I noticed you were missing, so I went to find you. Checked a room, then I decided that maybe you'd have come out on the roof." She took a cookie from his pile and took a small bite, letting the dough melt in her mouth.
Iruka smiled at her in spite of himself. "Lemme guess. You looked in the first door on the right?" Anko nodded, her lips curving upwards in a grin. She took another bite and chewed it this time. Iruka ate a cookie as well, the two teenagers simply enjoying each other's company.
"Why'd you go outside?" Anko asked him, carefully not looking at his face. He sighed and leaned back, feeling for a cookie. They were all gone, he discovered crestfallenly.
"I was tired. And hot, I guess. Lots of people, small space. And they're all moving around, being active. It got kinda stuffy, so I went outside."
Anko nodded. "Are you having fun?" she asked him, still not meeting his eyes.
Iruka thought for a moment, making a cushion of his hands and looking at the stars. "Yeah, I guess I am." He said finally. "I didn't think I would, but I guess I'm enjoying myself."
Anko lay down next to him, mimicking his position. "You guess?"
He nodded. "I haven't had fun for a long time. I think I forgot what it was like."
The two lay together in companionable silence, enjoying each other's company and listening to the music downstairs. Suddenly, the beat changed and Anko sat up.
"It's a slow song!" she exclaimed. "Come on, let's go! We need to dance together for the slow songs." She pulled him up and ushered him through the window. They went downstairs, Anko knocking on the first door on the right and giggling like a naughty schoolgirl.
The couple merged themselves into the group of academy graduates, staying close to each other. Iruka stood there uneasily, so Anko took charge.
"Here," she told him. She put his hands on her hips, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now, we dance."
"I don't know how," he said softly. She smiled, and buried her face in his shoulder. He blushed again.
"Don't worry. I'll lead. You just worry about not stepping on my feet, okay?"
Slowly, she led the two of them in a slowly rotating circle, deftly avoiding the other couples. Iruka unconsciously shifted his hands, running them slowly up and down her back. He stopped as soon as he realized what he was doing, but Anko pressed herself against him. "It's okay," she informed him softly. "It felt nice. Don't be embarrassed, okay?"
He nodded, and resumed rubbing her spine. She hugged him softly, continuing to lead the dance.
When the song ended, they separated and she pulled him over to the food table to load up on more cookies. Rather than going back up on to the roof, they simply sat on the front porch, eating cookies and holding hands. They went back in for each slow song, Anko leading every time.
Finally, the last song finished, and Anko began to move away. Iruka refused to move his hands, hugging her to him. She hugged him back tightly as the graduated class streamed around them, moving towards the door. Kotetsu came towards them, a girl on his arm. He was grinning.
"Okay, you two. Party's over, you gotta go home. Sorry I'm kicking you out like this, but I've got some important business to attend to, and I'd like some privacy." He smiled broadly, and the girl next to him giggled.
Anko nodded and smiled, disengaging from Iruka and leading him out the door. They waved goodbye to Kotetsu as he shut the front door, then the two turned around and began heading towards Anko's home.
"What time is it?" Iruka asked her softly. Anko checked her watch. "10:45. We've got fifteen minutes until I need to be home." Her breath misted in the air, and she shivered. Iruka put his arm around her automatically, and she leaned against him. "It's only a five minute walk to my home. We can take our time."
He nodded, keeping her close. The walk home was made in silence, the only noise being the chirping of the cicadas and the bubbling of the stream as they passed over the bridge.
Finally, they stood in front of Anko's house. Iruka took his arm off her shoulder, and she turned to face him. "Do you want to spend the night here?" she asked him softly, wrapping her arms around his waist. He nodded, savoring her warmth. She let go of him and smiled, jumping up and down quietly. He grinned and caught her up in his arm, hugging her tightly. She grinned right back at him, showing her teeth. On an impulse, she quickly kissed him, breaking the contact before he even realized it was there.
He stood there in shock while she squirmed out of his arms, running towards the door. "Come on," she told him, standing on the porch. "Let's go make some popcorn. We can watch a movie or something!"
He shook his head, running a finger over his lips. "Yeah…sure. A movie sounds great." He told her, climbing the stairs and entering the house. Anko's mother looked up from the newspaper she was reading at the table.
"Oh, you two are home? Okay. I'm going up to bed, then. Keep the noise to a dull roar, please."
Anko nodded and dashed off to the kitchen, opening the pantry door and rummaging through it for some microwave popcorn. Iruka stood dumbly inside the foyer, and Anko's mother walked over to him.
She hugged him briskly, kissing the top of his head. "I'm glad you had fun," she whispered. "Anko's a good girl, but she tends to be a little wild. You're exactly the sort of person she needs to keep her from doing something too stupid."
Some beeps and a whirr indicated that Anko was busy making the popcorn. "Hey, Iruka! What movie do you want to watch?" she shouted from the living room. Yukiko let go of him and smiled, ascending the stairs without another word. Slowly, Iruka walked towards the living room and Anko.
"I dunno," he answered. "Whatever you want to watch, I'm fine with."
He sat down on the floor and Anko placed a big bowl of popcorn in front of him. "Here," she said. "We'll watch 'The Princess Bride'."
The movie started up, and Iruka stopped thinking about what had happened. Instead, he simply enjoyed Anko's company and the movie.
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Next time: Iruka was supposed to keep Anko from making stupid decisions, right? But he can't be expected to watch her all the time, right? Right. And besides, maybe her quitting her genin team and working with Orochimaru will turn about to be a good thing.
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Author's note: [1]: Celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins. I had those when I was Iruka's age, and it's awesome. You should try it sometime. Even if you don't like raisins, it's good.
I know about as much as Iruka when it comes to dresses. That's why my description was vague. Imagine for yourself what Anko looks like in a nice dress. And keep both hands on the keyboard.
I have a shirt like what Anko gave to Iruka in the beginning. 100% polyester. I love it. I wear it to school on a regular basis.
Don't talk to me about their hairstyles. I'm past the point of caring.
If you aren't aware, Kotetsu is one of the exam proctors. He's the dude with the bandage that goes over the bridge of his nose. He's awesome.
So. This came to me while I was on a plane, flying to England. I've got it mostly figured out, so I know how it's going to end and everything. If you don't like it, blame Lackey H for putting the idea in my head with his character reviews.
And don't worry, this isn't going to take the place of "Last Step". It's simply another idea that occurred to me which I want to work on. I'll do my best to stagger the updates and balance the work, so I won't end up neglecting one story while focusing too much on another. Essentially, this will keep me writing whenever I've got the time, instead of not doing anything when I have writer's block.
I like this chapter. Adolescent Iruka is so cute. And adolescent Anko is cute, as well…so assertive.
Like? Dislike? I'm interested in your opinion. As always, feel free to contact me on AIM if you want to chat.