"You're Youthfullness Is Very Inspiring!" The boy said moments before he was pushed down again.
"You're such a freak!" The taller one with blond hair said, glowering down at his victim, who sat there still grinning. Mud slid of the silver plate of the hitai-ate tied around the now soaked genin.
"Brown is a much better look on you!" The other laughed.
When Iruka realized it was a shinobi they were pushing around, anger boiled in the pit of his stomach and he marched over without even thinking, kicking the blond in the back of his knees. Before the first boy hit the ground, Iruka had a hold on the wrist of the second boy and twisted it back in one smooth motion. He glared at the other boy as the kid stood and turned to face him.
"Don't," Iruka paused as he choked down his anger, "ever treat a shinobi that way again." He twisted the arm a little more. "Or else..." Then, he shoved the boy forward.
The blond pulled his friend up and turned a heated glare on Iruka before turning and dragging his friend off with him.
He walked over to the genin and held out his hand. "Why did you let them do that?" He asked as the other boy took his hand and stood up.
"As a shinobi of Konoha, it is my duty to protect them"
"That doesn't mean you should let them push you around." He watched as the boy furrowed his thick eyebrows thoughtfully.
"If a little kid who didn't know any better, hit you, would you hit him back even though he's smaller than you, just because you can?" The tone was surprisingly cheerful.
Iruka's jaw dropped. "But... that's not the same thing"
A huge grin spread across the other's face as he wiped the mud out of his hair. "It isn't"
"They're bigger than you"
"But they're civilians, and children at that"
"You're a kid, too." The point had little to stand on, and he knew it even as he said it.
"I'm a shinobi, and I can stand a lot more than some mud and the occassional scratch"
It was then Iruka noticed the small cut on the muddy hand. "You're bleeding"
"I'm..." The other started, but Iruka grabbed his wrist and pulled him along behind him.
"You're coming with me. I live right over there. If that gets infected, you won't be able to use your hand for awhile"
He released the other boy's wrist and started to unlock the door, realizing only then that he hadn't introduced himself. Blushing slightly, he turned smiled at the darker haired boy. "I'm Iruka, by the way." He scratched at the scar on his nose, his mother would be appalled by his horrible manners, and he felt a bit guilty for just dragging the other around without so much as a cursory hello.
"I'm Maito Gai," the other said, flashing that near blinding smile.
Feeling a bit better, Iruka held the door open for the other boy and then followed him in. "My mother is away on a mission, and my father has mission desk duty until midnight. But, don't worry, I know where the med kit is since I use it a lot"
"It's just a scratch. A Shinobi As Youthful And Dedicated..." Gai stopped in the middle of his speech and stared back at Iruka who raised an eyebrow.
"Do you always talk that way?" He asked curiously.
The boy ducked his head, blushing under the intent scrutiny of the other.
"It's okay. I was just curious. You can talk however you want," Iruka said, turning and leading the way to the kitchen where he pulled out a small medkit. "Wash your hands in the sink with this." He handed Gai a bar of anti-bacterial soap.
"I don't always..." The words were quiet, barely heard under the rushing water.
"Why do you then?" The curiousity was back. Iruka smiled and dried the wounded hand, not looking up from his task.
"Hero's should be brave and..." He stopped when Iruka looked up at him, understanding lighting his eyes.
"You're a shinobi, of course you're brave, but if it makes you feel better, then good. My mom always wear's a necklace under her shirt that my father gave her when they were genin. She says it makes her feel safe even when he's not there to watch her back." He rubbed ointment on the cut and put a bright green band-aid on it. "And my dad, he packs her bedroll instead of his own when she's not going with him"
Iruka brought the hand to his lips and kissed it. "There all better," he said smiling, then blushed as he realized what he'd done. "Sorry... my mom always does that when I get hurt.
"Thank you," the dark haired boy said, smiling before all but running out the door.
Gai watched as Iruka knelt beside the young blond boy who was crying and holding his knee.
"Shh... it's okay, Naruto-kun," the chunin said, pulling a couple of tissues from a pocket and handing one to the kyuubi boy. The other he used to dab at the bleeding knee until it stopped. "How about an orange bandaid"
The boy wiped his eyes and nodded, still whimpering slightly.
Iruka pulled the bandaid from the same pocket as the tissues, sticking it over the small cut before leaning down and planting a light kiss on it. "There all better"
The whimpers stopped, but the boy's eyes were still filled with tears. "Can we get ramen, Iruka-sensei?" He asked, sniffling.
"Only if you promise to be good and stop giving Tsuki-chan such a hard time at the orphanage. She really didn't need the blue hair dye added to her shampoo." A small chuckle escaped with the scolding, but Naruto nodded.
He watched as Naruto sprang to his feet, his knee forgotten at the promise of ramen. "I want pork ramen this time!" The blond grinned from ear to ear. "Two bowls"
"Alright, alright..." Iruka sighed, standing and following Naruto, only to all but run into Gai.
Gai smiled his blinding smile, trying to think of something to say, shocked to find himself at a loss for words for the first time in over a decade.
"Hello, Gai-san. How did your mission go?" Iruka asked, stopping despite the six year old tugging on his arm and trying to pull him towards the ramen stand.
"It Was A Success! We Fought To Protect The Youth And Future Of Konoha!" He gave his good guy pose and ignored the way his stomach tightened at the sight of the chunin.
"Your hand, you cut it," Iruka said, staring at the blood dripping from the cut.
"Hai. But it is nothing to a jounin like myself." Some of the enthusiasm had left his voice, but he managed to keep the smile up. It was the same hand, and his stomach turned to a small tight little bundle of nerves as he stared at the chunin. For a moment, he wished Iruka would do what he'd done for Naruto, what he'd done for Gai when he was still a genin.
Naruto chose that moment to tug particularly hard on Iruka's hand, nearly pulling the man off his feet. "Iruka-sensei... you promised..." The young blond whined.
Iruka blushed and rubbed the scar on his nose, sighing slightly. "I should go." He looked at Gai's hand for another moment before turning the big brown eyes on the jounin. "And, you should get that looked at. Take care of yourself, Gai-san"
Gai watched as the chunin let himself be pulled down the street by the over excited Naruto. He didn't move again until the other man was out of sight, and then he took to the roofs. A blush slowly spread across his face as the tight ball that was once his stomach slowly unwound.