To anyone seeing Umino Iruka at the academy, he appeared much the same as he always had. He was dependable, kind, strict but fair, and much-beloved by his students. He wore the same old chuunin uniform, the same ponytail, and the same easy smile. At this moment, however, he was not at the academy, but at one of the less accessible training grounds. At this moment, he looked tired, sad, and grimly determined. The sparring match he was in the middle of appeared more of a choreographed dance than a real fight, and it was obvious he and his black-and-orange clad partner had been through these exact moves many times.
Neither missed the presence of the man who jumped into a tree overlooking the training grounds, but the familiar chakra was ignored as non-threatening. When the set of motions came to their natural end, the pair came to the middle of the field together. Iruka reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair, even though the young man was now nearly as tall as himself and old enough that he would typically protest such a gesture. It was the look on Iruka's face that made him silently accept the affection offered and smile softly at his old sensei. Iruka smiled back, and said "Meet me at Ichiraku in a few minutes, okay?" The younger man nodded, and with all his old exuberance, bounded off, anticipating what was still his favorite treat: ramen with Iruka-sensei.
"What do you want, Shiranui-san?" asked Iruka suddenly, finally turning to face the man who had been watching the last few minutes of his workout.
"I'm bored," Genma replied, lazily sauntering his way onto the field.
"That has nothing to do with me, Shiranui," Iruka replied, politely but with an air of finality.
Genma sighed, gracefully lowering himself to lounge on the ground next to Iruka. "Ten years ago, you would have called me 'Gen-chan', however much I protested it."
Iruka flopped on the ground bonelessly, as if this simple observation had tired him in a way his workout with Naruto hadn't. "Ten years is a long time, Genma. In ten years, people die, people are born, wars are fought, children grow up, and sometimes, friends go their separate ways." He reached up and pulled off his hitae-ate, rubbing his temples. It wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation, but usually he didn't let it get any further than this. Today, however, his exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he caved a little. "I haven't forgotten, Genma, I just don't feel like thinking about the past right now."
The senbon Genma had been rolling around in his mouth was now doing lazy flips between his fingers, but he wasn't looking at it. His eyes were focused on Iruka, and he seemed to be thinking hard. Then a slow smile spread across his face. "That's easy, Iruka, think about the present. Come to a party, or drinks, or dinner. Play a game. Anything. Just do it soon, not sometime next year, and don't worry about the past or the future."
Iruka turned to look at his old friend, and slowly smiled back. "I'll try. At the present moment though, I have to get going. Naruto will be waiting for me, and it's rare enough I get to see him these days."
Genma nodded and stood, sticking the senbon back between his teeth and reaching out to offer a hand to help the Chuunin up. "Just don't forget what I said, or next time I'll give up on talking to you and just tie you up and drag you." His tone was light and friendly, but his eyes spoke of a level of seriousness that Shiranui Genma rarely reached.
Iruka said nothing further as he left, but Genma figured that was a good sign. The past few times they had spoken, the conversation had ended with a polite bow and a "Good day, Shiranui-san," that left him feeling as if he might freeze to death.
When Iruka arrived at Ichiraku, Naruto was sitting at the counter talking to the man who owned the stand, but both immediately turned and waved to Iruka. "Same old conversation, Iruka-sensei?" the blonde asked, after Iruka had ordered and the owner had set about making their ramen.
Iruka shrugged. "I think he's starting to get to me. I'm wondering if it might take more energy to resist than to actually be friends with the man."
Naruto looked at Iruka thoughtfully. "You know, I've always thought that guy was smarter than he looked. He might have a point."
Iruka laughed. "Smarter than he looks, huh?"
Naruto grinned and winked. "Well, you have to admit that he doesn't look particularly bright, especially since he's always chewing on that needle he's surely going to choke on one day, and insists on wearing his hitae-ate all backwards and stuff."
Iruka gave his young friend a stern look. "One of these days, not having any respect for anyone is going to come back to haunt you, Naruto-kun."
The response was a shrug. "I respect you, Iruka-sensei. That's enough, isn't it? Besides, just because I respect people doesn't mean I can't make fun of them, does it? I've heard you make fun of some people that I'm pretty sure you respect, and you're one of the nicest people I know."
Iruka thought about that one, but not for very long, because the ramen came soon after that. Trying to have conversation with Naruto when there was ramen to be eaten was rather pointless, and truth be told, he'd become pretty fond of the stuff over the years too.