z 2 z

Sitting on the branch of the tree, Kakashi was thinking about life and all the variety of its roads when he saw the girl from Iruka's class crossing one of these roads. It was exactly the girl which put the letter into her teacher's desk. Without hesitation, Kakashi jumped down, landing right in front of the girl.

"Yo!" he said cheerfully and pretended he was smiling nicely. The picture must have been either shocking or scary enough, because the girl made big eyes and started to scream. Though Kakashi was shocked by this sudden behavior of the girl even more then the girl herself ever could be. He stunned, made two steps back, stumbled and fell down at his ass. Not that he was a weakling, he was a real assassin! But when a little kid from your own home village is shocked or scared and cries the lungs out by merely taking a glance at you, this can make anybody a bit frustrated.

"Oh, hallo Kakashi-san!" cried the girl a moment later as if nothing happened and lent him a hand.

Kakashi ignored her small hand and stood up.

"I thought you were frightened" he winced. The ass ached.

"It's not that. I only tried the new shriek-technique Iruka-sensei taught us yesterday!"

That girl grinned evilly, or was it only Kakashi's imagination?

"I see Iruka-sensei teaches you very useful things…" speculated Kakashi, picturing a rather cute scene including Iruka using the freshly performed technique.

Girl nodded wisely.

"You can't even imagine the things he knows and contrives!" she said proudly.

Kakashi giggled inwardly. If he can't imagine those things it must be something definitely tremendous. So Kakashi was already intrigued to the bitter end.

"I wonder if he can teach me something too" murmured he.

Girl looked at him doubtfully.

"Well, you tried to learn something today, didn't you?" asked she.

"Yes, it was rather entertaining… Though the only thing I learned is that you put the letters into Iruka's table!" pointed Kakashi. There was quite a long silence while the both stared at each other.

"I think I have to go" said the girl turning around.

"What? No… Wait! You have to…" Kakashi wanted to protest, but was firmly interrupted.

"One more word and I'll perform the technique we call 'help! he is a rapist!'" declared the girl squinting at Kakashi over her shoulder.

Kakashi frowned.

"Is it another fabulous technique of Iruka?" he asked sarcastically.

Girl nodded and ran away, leaving an impressed Kakashi behind.

z z z

The very next day, as Genma passed by the hugest tree of the village, he noticed Kakashi reading his favorite book while sitting there and leaning at the tree trunk.

"Yo!" Kakashi waved a greeting to the senbon sucking man. "How was the mission?" asked he.

Genma said nothing, coming strait to Kakashi, settling on the grass and resting his head on Kakashi's thigh.

"What's up, Genma?" asked Kakashi again, looking down at Genma's pouting face.

Genma moaned something unintelligible, biting his senbon fiercely.

Kakashi grinned inwardly and undertook the last possible step to make frustrated man talk.

"Does Raido feel well?" he asked innocently.

Genma's face changed completely. He pressed his lips firmly together and spit his senbon upwards.

"That Raido!" he hissed, very much annoyed.

Kakashi caught the senbon in the air before it landed back on Genma's face and started to twirl it in his fingers reflectively, waiting for Genma to begin his story.

"He said he won't talk to me ever again" whined Genma, rolling over to his stomach and hiding his face in rough material of Kakashi's pants.

"Why is that?" wondered Kakashi.

"Well…" temporized Genma.

Kakashi patted the other man's shoulder friendly way.

"C'mon, Genma, what have you done this time?"

"I've done exactly what he asked for!" muttered Genma. "I wrote him a poem" added he proudly, turning his face to squint at Kakashi.

"Can I hear this masterpiece?" Kakashi thought what their life could possibly look like if all shinobi inherited the fashion of writing the poems for each other.

"As far as you are a master…" started Genma, raising his head up and basing it on his both hands comfortably.

"It's not me who's writing the poems for Iruka!" growled Kakashi.

Genma nodded.

"Right, not yet!" he smirked and stopped Kakashi's objections with a light slap to the hip. "Now, listen! 'MY DEAR DEEPLY SCARRED PARTNER, FEEL FREE TO TAKE ME LIKE A CARTER'" recited Genma solemnly. "Good, isn't it?"

Suddenly Kakashi felt happy that shinobi don't write poetry; even if half of them do it like Genma, it would be mere consternation.

"Awesome!" declared he with a sarcastic grin.

Not at all noticing the irony in Kakashi's voice, Genma put his head back to the other man's lap.

"You see! And that ass Raido doesn't value my talents!" he sighed.

"I guess you forgot your usual 'nice' in your previous sentence" pointed Kakashi. "Before that dirty word 'ass'" he specified as an answer to Genma's surprised glare.

"That one is not dirty!" laughed Genma. "At least I like it as it is" he added, starting to pout again. "He's evil to me, Kakashi! Say, did you like my poem?"

"I told you it's awesome, I even…" started Kakashi, but was interrupted by a very expressive yell.

"Awesome?" shouted Iruka, towering above both of them. "What the hell do you think you are doing, lying like this in front of the academy yard?" he made a pointing wave with his hand as if wanting to include into the picture Kakashi's relaxed pose and Genma's head on his thighs, turned exactly to the other man's abdomen. Kakashi had to admit it was rather provocative. Not to mention all the children were staring at them interestedly out of Iruka's back.

Genma gasped and sat up, placing himself near Kakashi. Now it looked like Iruka was scolding two naughty children, only children were rather big and didn't quiet feel like behaving. Genma grinned at Iruka and entwined his hands around Kakashi's neck, nuzzling the other man's cheek.

"Is our Iruka jealous?" he murmured tenderly.

Kakashi squinted at Genma, a little bit surprised. When he moved his gaze to Iruka, he saw that the teacher was annoyed to the highest point, his hands obviously trembled.

"I guess our Iruka is going to eat us alive" muttered Kakashi carefully; and received another nuzzling from Genma.

Kakashi seriously started to think that it was already more then enough teasing.

"What are they doing, Iruka-sensei?" asked one of the children.

Iruka hesitated a while, staring at the two men madly. If that gaze could kill, they would be already dead.

"They are showing their affection to each other" said Iruka in a plane voice, "like all real friends do" he added angrily.

Deciding not to play with the fate, Kakashi stood up and caught Genma's arm to make the other man straightened too.

"Sorry to disturb your studies, kiddies!" shouted Genma to the children. "We were suffering together, only because my dear friend won't understand my poetry just the same as Kakashi's here…" he made an expressive wave, but caught an impressively significant look of Kakashi and shut up.

As Genma and Kakashi turned to wave bye to Iruka, they saw that the tempered teacher pressed his lips together in dissatisfaction. He stared at two friends for a moment longer and then reverted to the academy with a sharp wag of ponytail.

"That ponytail of his…" muttered Kakashi, starting to walk away.

"His ponytail? What's about it?" asked Genma, fishing a new senbon out of the pocket and putting it into his mouth.

"Want to pull it badly," declared Kakashi, "can't help myself".

Genma squinted at him, lightly sucking the little stick in his mouth and slowly pushing it from one corner of his lips to the opposite.

"Is it that bad?" hummed Genma after a while.

Kakashi smiled sheepishly.

"Yap!" he pointed with a slight nod of his head.

"I think I have a poem for you" declared Genma after a couple of silent minutes, sending Kakashi a naughty grin.

Kakashi winced, but then raised one of his brows and looked at Genma expectantly.

"Listen, it's awesome too!" said Genma and started the slow and kind of greasy declamation. "Khm! 'I'LL PULL IRUKA'S PONYTAIL TO MAKE ME SURE HE IS A MALE'".

"Freak!" grinned Kakashi, trying his best not to burst out laughing at this idiocy.

"Perv!" Genma smirked. He was definitely very much satisfied with his own inventiveness.