It seemed that to all of the single, and the occasional married ladies of Konoha there was mainly one silver-haired man that was "the apple of their eye". Hatake Kakashi. He had rarely acknowledged all of this unwanted attention; he'd always be too busy reading his little orange book. However, Kakashi really woudln't care even if he was paying attention to his seemingly hundreds of fan-girls. It was an easy task for him to capture the heart of any girl, but he could never hold onto it forever. At one point or another he seemed to lose his drive and just let go. It always perplexed him as to why he could never find the right person for him.

Maybe...there's just no one out there for me. He'd think every now and then. No matter, though. A highly skilled ninja shouldn't have to worry about a love life. It would probably cause my mind to stray from other important matters anyways.

So Kakashi ignored all of the desperate attempts by many to lure him into a relationship. He decided that if and when he wanted a relationship, he'd be the one to initiate it, not the other way around.

When would the time come though?

His interest in women seemed to be disappearing more every time a new girl begged for a relationship with him. As a matter of fact, he began to look down, slightly, at women with all of their futile attempts just for one man. At this point, he determined that it would be for his best interest to stay out of any affairs with women until he got his mind set out. It's not like it was a challenge to him, he never had a complete interest in girls from the beginning, not nearly as much as Naruto who could usually be seen trying to gain Sakura's attention.

This should be a fairly easy task. He concluded. But...if I'm temporarily avoiding relationships with women...what about...a possible male companion?

He froze. The thought of a male companion in his life sent a shiver up his spine. It's not like a homosexual was looked down upon by the people of Konoha, it's just seemed so unlike him, though. Besides, what guy would be attracted to him? Or better yet, who would Kakashi be attracted to? Gai was too creepy for his tastes. Asuma...well he'd be better off with Kurenai, anyways. Pursuing a relationship with Naruto or Sasuke was out of the question, Kakashi didn't want to be viewed as a pedophile. Izumo...oh wait, he's already going out with Kotetsu.

Person after person, there was always one reason or another as to why he couldn't like them. He knew there was someone for him, he just couldn't quite think of who it could be. He decided to let it slide for now, it wasn't that big of an issue. So, Kakashi set out for the day, with an open mind for whatever life may throw at him. He made a few hand seals and left his apartment in a small puff of smoke.

Kakashi made a short visit to the hokage's office to figure out if whether or not he had a mission that day. To his luck, he wasn't assigned anything , so he just decided to savor his day off. On his way out of the building, after passing long, curved hallways he made his way to the mission room to brag to those who may be there. With a smirk hiding behind the mask that covered almost all of his face, Kakashi peered behind the doorway and saw only one person in the room--Umino Iruka.

Iruka was one of the academy teachers of Konoha. He rarely spoke with Kakashi, or even see him for that matter! Their lives were too different for them to see each other on a daily basis. Iruka never really noticed it due to the responsibility of teaching at the academy. Kakashi, however, noticed it as soon as he set his eyes on the tan man.

Umino Iruka. He's the one. He realized right then and there. Of course it seemed odd to make this assumption this early. More importantly, Kakashi barely even knew him. He figured he'd have to set out to get to know him better, but he already knew he was attracted to him.

He stood there, hands gripping the doorway, contemplating a reasonable plan to strike up a conversation between the two of them. He watched in silence as Iruka collected papers and stacked them in a neat little pile. Kakashi clenched his fists and proceeded to walk into the quiet room in a rather composed matter considering his sudden realization just a few seconds ago.

"Yo," He said, armed raised slightly as he continued to walked towards Iruka. The younger man jumped with the sudden break of silence. He turned around quickly and took in the sight of the approaching Jounin. Iruka offered a cheerful smile, as he always does.

"Good morning Kakashi-sensei," He said. "It's been a while since we've had a good enough opportunity to talk, hasn't it?"

Kakashi's visible eye formed a crescent signifying that he was giving a genuine smile. "How long would you say it's been?"

Iruka looked up in a moment of thought. "I haven't been able to keep track, these days at the academy have taken up almost all of my time. By the way, how is Naruto and Sakura?"

"Both are doing fine," He replied. "Sakura's increasing strength is becoming rather intimidating, and Naruto...well he's just being Naruto."

Iruka gave a sigh of relief. He looked Kakashi in the eye and said "I'm so proud of them. They're turning out to be respectable people, and confident shinobi, thanks to you. You're a wonderful teacher."

He sounds like a parent... Kakashi thought. He smiled as a thanks. "I suppose I should go now, I wouldn't want to keep you from your work. I guess I'll see you around then, Iruka-sensei,"

With that, Kakashi turned and waved good bye. Iruka said goodbye as well as waved and before he knew it, Kakashi was gone.

As Kakashi left, Iruka couldn't help but blush just a little bit. He had to admit, the older Jounin was a fairly handsome man, with what was showing. It wasn't hard for Iruka to like him, although he wish he hadn't because the thought of all the girls that try to date Kakashi lowered his hopes of ever dating him himself.

He probably likes one of his fan girls...There are so many of them, it must be easy to find the right one. He's so lucky to have so many that are so willing to be there anytime for him. Now that I think about it... Iruka rubbed his head softly. I don't see him every display affection towards the girls, at least publicly. Maybe he doesn't like them?

The thought made Iruka's heart start beating faster and faster. Despite being usually optimistic, it never even crossed his mind that Kakashi liked him as well. He never thought he was good enough for someone so respected like Kakashi. Iruka shook his head and continued to organize the papers. He heaved a heavy sigh and sat down, ready for the long say of filing mission reports.