During the day and for the next week or so, Iruka didn't see Kakashi around. He'd been looking out for him, but he was nowhere.

"He's out on a mission now. He put a request in himself. Is this something to do with you, Iruka? You've been asking for him a lot recently. Did something happen?" Tsunade had asked when Iruka had gone to her office to inquire.

"It isn't anything like that. Well, kind of. It's difficult to make heads or tails of it." He smiled sheepishly, to which Tsunade simply sighed.

"Well, whatever it is, you'll benefit from figuring things out. I'll find a way to get him to you, since you seem like the only one acting like a grownup in all of this."

"Thanks."

With that, he left the office and mulled over it all by himself. It was strange; although Iruka never really noticed Kakashi in and around the village, he really seemed to notice that, now that he wanted him, he wasn't there. In realising this, it seemed as if his every waking moment he'd been on the lookout. He couldn't help himself, even if nothing would really come of it, good nor bad.

Did Kakashi have many close friends? He'd been one of the fourth's students, however his teacher had died. He'd been in a team of three, yet both his teammates had died horribly, and so had his parents long before. Iruka's parents had died, too. It was a horrible thing to have gone through, but Iruka knew it had been harder for Kakashi simply because he no longer had anyone close to him, and thus he kept everyone at an arm's length.

"It must've been very painful." Iruka thought to himself.

"What? Are you okay Iruka sensei?" Naruto asked. He'd passed Iruka in the street just now and had seen him mulling over something with a stiff face.

"Hm? Oh no, not me, I'm fine." Iruka said. "Oh, Naruto. Have you seen Kakashi lately? He's been in and out of missions and I'd like to speak with him. Has he said anything?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. "He said 'I'll be busy for a while, don't tell Iruka I'm doing this on purpose. Tell him Tsunade made it up.' He was acting pretty strange actually. I kinda' don't get what's up with him. I've barely even seen him with an open book."

Iruka's eyebrows knitted together and his expression hardened. He didn't get it at all. If Kakashi was really this distraught about the whole thing, then why could he live with an 'I'm sorry' and then slip away into the darkness, hoping never to be seen again? Surely, he was the kind of person that faced his problems head on? And what was the problem, anyway?

"I can't really say much more, sensei, but whatever it was has really shut him up. He used to talk about you all the time. Now he's gone totally stone-cold quiet. I never really got it in the first place, but it's weird seeing him down. Maybe you should talk to him? I think you usually cheer him up, anyways."

Suddenly Iruka's face was like a wooden doll; his expression seemed to have totally escaped him. What on earth? Kakashi talked about him? Why? Since when did he cheer Kakashi up? Huh?

Iruka wanted to ask as many questions as he could, but none of them came out, and Naruto left him in the street, dumbfounded.

Iruka felt like this week had been a lot to digest. He'd discovered his guardian angel, he'd been avoided, and he'd learned a thing or two about how Kakashi actually felt about him. He was starting to think maybe he'd bitten off more than he could chew, but this was how it was and now he had to figure it out, and then fix it. Not to mention, he'd realised that since having his mess picked up after him had been short term and too good to be true, now he had to stop being mess on the side, but that really felt impossible.

Suddenly Iruka remembered. He'd ran out of lunches and he'd ought to pick one up for work tomorrow. He was sure he'd forget in the morning, so, despite that it was already late, he thought he should pick one up before he got sleepy doing his work. If he didn't go now, he wouldn't go at all. So, he made his way up the street toward the only convenience store that was ever open at 3am. He bought three boxes, enough to last him and not too many so that the rice would go hard before he finished them, and began to head home, when he noticed a figure under the street light. There he was, Kakashi Hatake, looking as if he'd been through a bit of a sticky day, but all in one piece. He leaned against the cold metal with his arms crossed over one another, and he looked to be in deep thought. His hair needed brushing, and his scrapes needed attending to, and Iruka thought maybe he wanted to do all thatfor him.

"What are you doing here?" Iruka gently called out, no accusation in his voice but rather an affection. He was nervous, but without remorse, and he didn't need to think.

Kakashi smiled at him. "Oh, so you've found me." He said. Iruka's body didn't respond like he thought it would. He thought he'd flinch or shiver, but he didn't. He stayed very still.

"I wanted to ask you something." He said. "Can I?"

Kakashi pushed himself away from the lamppost and, hesitantly, he sighed. "You can."

The two sat together, on the bench, in the poorly lit street. Their faces were dim, but he could read Kakashi's expression, Iruka noticed, just like that night.

"I've been thinking a lot." Iruka broke the silence, but neither of them looked at each other. They stared up at the stars. "All of this has put me in a very strange position. I'd like to know where you stand and… why you did what you did."

Kakashi thought of a way to say it all without seeming too blunt and impulsive, but he wasn't used to being so uncertain.

"I'm sorry for what I did, and if it made you feel uneasy. I wanted to do something, but I couldn't think of a way. I'm not someone that's direct with this kind of thing."

"This kind of thing? What kind of thing is this?" Iruka thought to himself, but he didn't dare interrupt in fear of never hearing what was about to come.

"I have feelings for you, and I wanted you to know because I couldn't hold them all in. I'm sorry to tell you this now."

Iruka stayed silent. Although he knew Kakashi had finished and now it was his turn, his questions had dissipated, and he continued to search for an answer between the stars.

"I don't quite understand." He finally said. He noticed Kakashi turn to look at him properly, but he didn't look back.

"I'm saying I'm in love with you."

Iruka felt his hard stare for many moments, but he couldn't move. He knew what had been said, but it was if he couldn't hear it, as if the stars were too loud. He saw Kakashi turn back to look at the sky after what felt like an eternity, and he flinched. The pressure was immense, and it was almost frightening.

"Thankyou." Was the only thing Iruka could hope to say, before he, at his own pace, slipped off the bench and lurked away, off into the night.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Wowee, the first author's note of the series, already popping up in only the second chapter. I'm hoping you're liking the story so far. I don't know how I feel about it and I'm hoping it isn't as scattered as I feel thinking about it. I'm also hoping that those who read the original are satisfied so far too, and that maybe they think it's better. This chapter kind of ended abruptly, but I felt I could end it there. Let me know if it was too abrupt.

Can you envision it? I hope so. More chapters to come, hopefully in about a week's time. We shall see.

Thanks for reading and please leave me a review, even if it's just to say you've read it. I really like reading them.

~Beth