For RyanMD…

And I'm soooo sorry it's taken so long to get down to. This is just the first part...


Iruka sighed, casting his pen down against the paper. Wearily he pushed himself from the desk and lent back in his chair, swinging it onto its back legs. His mind lectured him, reprimanding the hypocritical action, but he was too fed up to care. On the desk in front of him lay three separate piles of paper - the good, the bad and the downright hideous of the latest essay he'd set the class - to investigate the effectiveness of any three ninja weapons. The smart had kept to the relatively basic ones, such as shiruken, kunai and senbon, whereas the more adventurous had gone in search of obscure weapons (which probably seemed cooler to them). The lack of statistics available showed in their attempts.

He sighed, burying his face in his palms. It was such an easy task, yet some managed to make it as difficult for themselves as a B-ranked mission. He chuckled into his hands. They always managed to make things so complicated...

Setting the chair back onto all four of its legs, Iruka stood up, stretching. The last pile of incomprehensible scrawl could wait. He had a much more important need; coffee. Slowly, he uncurled from behind the desk and made his way out of the empty classroom and towards the staff room. It was a holiday for the students at the Academy, leaving the usually-bustling corridors eerily placid. It was early afternoon, and as Iruka opened the door, he saw the staff room bathed in soft sunlight. No one else was there. Smoothing his hand over his hair, Iruka flicked the switch on the kettle and waited for it to boil, his gaze absently fixed on the corner of one of the chairs. The other teachers were probably in the same situation as him - stuck grading papers or organising lessons while the sun was shining so temptingly outside...

Rubbing his temples, Iruka made his coffee, and slowly walked back to his classroom, setting the mug on his desk. He paused, deciding whether or not to sit down. He didn't feel like endeavouring with paperwork. Instead, he lent the back of his thighs against the desk, facing the empty classroom. God, he was bored.

Coffee cup in hand, he walked slowly between the desks, sipping the scalding liquid. He wasn't quite sure he liked the classroom being so empty; so silent. No matter how exasperated he sometimes felt while dealing with the children, it was so much a part of him now. Briefly, he wondered what it would be like if he gave up teaching and returned to doing missions full-time. There seemed to be only one word - empty...

Taking an empty seat in the middle of his classroom, Iruka sat, sipping his coffee as he gazed absently out the window. He could see mostly trees from here, obscuring the view of Konoha. It was a nice day. Maybe he could take the papers outside to finish marking them...

Glancing into his half-empty mug, something orange caught his eye. It was a book, lying haphazardly on the floor, half hidden by the desk. Iruka frowned. He didn't recognise it as one the Academy used for any of its classes. Reaching down to pick it up, Iruka blushed, horrified. It was an issue of Itcha Itcha Paradise. His hand wavered, uncertain if he wanted to touch the lewd book. He bloody well hoped it wasn't one of his student's. It couldn't be. Could it? The bookshop were expert at ensuring such books never fell into children's hands. But how the hell else could it have gotten there? God knows it wasn't his!

A subtle cough caused him to jump, bashing his head as he hastily tried to upright himself. He fell off the chair, and sat rubbing his head, looking up at the intruder. Kakashi. Well, that might explain the book...

Kakashi chuckled down at Iruka, causing the latter to scowl. Up-righting himself, Iruka picked the book up and thrust it into his pocket. Kakashi's visible eyebrow raised.

"What's that, Iruka-sensei?"

"Nothing," Iruka hastily dismissed. Kakashi giggled at the chuunin, whose body was still recovering from the shock of Kakashi's appearance. Iruka took his now cooled coffee in both hands and walked to the front of the classroom - his domain.

"What was it you wanted, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked, regaining his polite compose as he sat down in his chair. The tall white-haired man shrugged, running his hand through his hair.

"Oh, I was just passing by..." he mumbled. Raising an eyebrow, Iruka lent back in his seat. He didn't feel quite like facing the essays just yet. And besides, Kakashi's strong, intriguing presence was a welcome distraction. His eyes drifted over the tall, lean figure standing before him. He was wearing his usual Jounin outfit, and the mask - as always - concealed most of his face. One hand was thrust deep into his pocket, the other still buried in the mess of silver hair. The calm blue eye looked back at him, crinkled in an evident smile. Both fell silent, entertaining their own thoughts.

"Ah, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka jumped slightly, snapping out of his daze. A blush formed on his cheeks as he realised his eyes had been absent-mindedly fixed on the jounin's crotch. Kakashi was looking at the ceiling, however. Iruka hoped he hadn't noticed.

"It's a nice day..."

"Uh... yeah?" Iruka replied, a little confused as to the comment on the weather.

"Hmm... Would you like to come outside?"

"I have these papers to grade..."

"Oh."

There followed another moment of less-comfortable silence.

"Actually, I was thinking about finishing these off outside," Iruka offered. "After all, it is a nice day. You can keep me company if you like?"

Kakashi grinned beneath his mask. "Let me help," he offered, picking up the bundle of essays Iruka had indicated towards. Iruka smiled his thanks, and finding himself with nothing to carry but his marking tools, he shoved his hands into his pockets and followed the silver-haired jounin out of the room.

Today was a very nice day, he mused.

Sorry it's so short =(