Summary: Naruto is no longer a bumbling genin but a bumbling jounin whose hunger isn't only for ramen, now his eyes trails the steps of a chuunin, too bad the chuunin is already in a relationship.
Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.
The beautiful face of the Godaime of Konoha pinched horribly as she reviewed the reports concerning one big-mouthed jounin, but not just any big-mouth-- Konoha was full of them. This jounin had a demon housed inside his stupid shell.
'Poor judgement... distracted... unnecessary violence to enemies AND team-mates... uncontrolled chakra... emitting red chakra... change in physique.'
Tsunade shook her head as she placed down the report and looked piteously at the piles of complaints about the Uzumaki problem. A swift knock on her door made her ass sweat as she knew she was going to be chewed out by the two representatives from the council. 'They never did like me much.'
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura quickly entered the office of their Hokage, not even bothering to wait for a polite greeting. Tsunade nodded her head to the guards at her side and then to her assistant Shizune. The black haired woman patted the head of the pig in her arms, shifting her chakra; she exited the room with a poof!
"I suppose you're here becau-- " The leader of Konoha was interrupted, her lips pursed in annoyance as Homura stepped in.
The old man hiked up his glasses, they seemed thicker than before and his face looked terribly withered and tired. "Because Uzumaki Naruto is not the golden boy everyone thought he would be."
:p:
"Naruto, I want you to listen to me and listen carefully." Kakashi began. The blonde merely lolled his head to the side, a cocky grin stretching across his pink lips. The grey-haired ninja shook the fool and had to use a good amount of control not to bash the young man's head into the wall. "Naruto!" Hatake growled, though the blonde's eyes continued to roll.
"Yessss, Kakashi-sensei?" The young man laughed as his world spun; the glint in his former sensei's eyes got sharper, like a real pissed off dog just itching to bite.
"I have no problems with your current relationship with Iruka, nor do I wish to come between the familial relationship you two share but keep it at that. Iruka belongs to-- Naruto, listen!" Kakashi hissed and grabbed the jounin's chin.
"I am, Kakashi-sensei." The fox-faced man giggled as he licked his dry lips; he was thirsty, he wanted another beer.
"Iruka and I are already in a relationship. Do not come between us!" The man warned, his ears twitching to Naruto's tinkling laughter. Kakashi sighed and applied pressure to a spot of flesh between the neck and shoulder blades.
With a gurgle, the intoxicated jounin blanked out and slumped to the ground. With half a mind to let him collapse and have him spend the night on the cold ground, Kakashi shook his head and continued to carry the idiot to his apartment.
:p:
Naruto buried his head into his pillow, gasping in pain and quickly shot out of bed. 'I didn't... Kakashi he... He knows... Did he tell Iruka?' The jounin's mind raced as his stomach tightened from the realization of his blunder and the after-effects of too much drinking.
The blonde stumbled to his bathroom and emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He felt sick and stupid, very stupid, as the pain in his gullet ebbed into a numb ache. Naruto reached his arm outward and flushed the toilet, almost wishing he could flush away his problems just as easily. He rested his hammering head on the cool tile floor.
'What am I going to do... Iruka?' The man hiccupped as his heart raced and drummed fiercely in his chest. The blonde groaned and rubbed his forehead harder into the floor. 'Did Kakashi tell him…? Will Kakashi keep him from me? Will Iruka turn away from me?' Naruto breathed heavily as he brought his knees up to his chest.
:p:
While Uzumaki Naruto trembled in his bathroom, Umino Iruka snuggled deeper into his bed, the shine of the sun on his eyelids making him twitch and sigh. The scared nose man muffled something unintelligible and rubbed his face into his pillow. With a yawn he wrenched his head to the side to check his clock. 'That's funny, it didn't ring... did I wake up early?' the man pondered sleepily as he gawked at the time.
Iruka's torso shot out of bed, his legs entangled in his sheets. "I'm late!" the chuunin cried as he took another disbelieving glance at the time.
"As much as I enjoy seeing you flail around… naked… you're not late, Iruka," a calm voice laughed. Kakashi gracefully walked into his and his lover's bedroom, a cup of tea clenched in his hands. "I called in sick for you," the man muttered softly as he nudged Iruka back into bed and handed him the mug.
"You did?" the brown-skinned man took a sip and frowned. Kakashi didn't add enough sugar again. "Whatever for?" the academy teacher asked, as his lover flopped into bed and took off his shirt. Iruka frowned at the tense muscles quivering on his man's shoulder and back. "Is something wrong?" Iruka asked.
Hatake shook his head and smiled at his subordinate. "Nothing, I just wanted some alone time with you," the man explained as he snuggled up nice and close to his bed mate.
"Oh, well you won't have any complaints from me. Actually, I'm relieved. I'm supposed to scout out some new teacher's assistants for the academy while avoiding Tsunade-sama-- She gets so rabid on Saturdays, always looking for extra cash so she can 'test her luck on the slots,'" Iruka sighed as he placed the tea on his night stand and trailed his fingers against the jounin's shoulders. The grey-haired man retaliated by running fleeting fingers on Umino's stomach, close to his navel. Iruka snorted a laugh and brought up a new topic. "How is Naruto? Is he okay from last night?"
The brunette wrinkled his nose when Kakashi ceased his petting to wrap his arms around his waist instead, tucking Iruka's head below his chin. The Sharingan wielder muttered something Iruka could not catch and watched his Adam's apple bob. "Naruto is fine. I kept an eye on him so he wouldn't die in his sleep and left when he was starting to wake up," Hatake explained, his tone bored.
The scarred-nosed man nodded his head in approval and grunted as his lover rolled him onto his back, nicking him in the side with his knee. "Forget about Naruto, for now." Kakashi purred as he crawled on top of his lover. 'Just forget him.' "How about we make the most of your day off?" Kakashi growled as he began nipping the brunette's neck.
"Oh?" Iruka teased, pleasantly distracted as he steered Kakashi's mouth to a spot on his neck he always favoured. "I suppose we could get down and dirty and do some..." The academy teacher swallowed a whimper as his lover squeezed his hip. "Early sprucing-- this apartment is turning into a real sty," the chuunin joked.
The Copy ninja breathed harshly through his nose and rewarded his chuckling man with a sour look. "Actually I had something else in mind," the jounin rumbled as he glided his fingers down Iruka's stomach.
"Well I suppose the cleaning could be pushed back till a later date." Iruka breathed as deft fingers went past his abdomen.
"I thought so." Kakashi muttered as his hands clutched their target. A cocky smile curled at his lips when he heard Iruka gasp and curl his toes.
:p:
'And here I thought I was too big for swings.' Naruto thought with a sad grin on his face as he plopped down on the old rickety swing set stationed in front of the Academy. After getting himself under control the man had simply wandered out onto the grounds of his village in a daze, not at all surprised that he soon found himself in front of the Academy, where he sat pitifully on the swing set where only one man would push him.
"Iruka," the blonde muttered as he began to lightly swing himself; it was awkward: his legs were just too long and the wooden seat was too small, but he continued to rock back and forth.
'Academy's closed today—o' course, it's a Saturday. What was I going to do if he was here...? Confess?' Uzumaki narrowed his eyes at the thought and felt his palms sweat. The jounin twirled around in the swing set, knitting the chains together and attracting the attention of a wandering kunoichi. 'Not like he'd even be with me... Not with Kakashi around, and I don't want to make Kakashi sad, but... '
With a growl Naruto raised his arms and shovelled his fingers into his hair, mussing it up. "Ahhh, it's not fair!" the jounin screeched, but stiffened when he felt a presence behind him. "Hin-Hinata!" the fox faced man croaked shrilly as he gawked at the young woman.
The pale-eyed woman flushed and debated running away, but willed away her blush and approached the blonde with a strained smile. "Na-Naruto-kun," she greeted with a quick wave. The male jounin waved back, his face red as he lowered his gaze to the ground. The Hyuuga heiress frowned and took in the slump in Uzumaki's shoulders and quickly mulled over his previous outburst. Hinata took a seat on the swing set next to her unrequited love. "Are-- are you alright, Naruto-kun?"
The kyubbi's shell blinked his blue eyes and wanted to nod, wanted to dismiss the worry in her voice but he was so tired of keeping everything bottled up, it was killing him... especially for a loudmouth like him who just wanted to shout his problems. "Yes... no. No I'm not." the man muttered wondering if he could trust the young woman. He hadn't even trusted Sakura with the information because Sakura was loud as well; Hinata, on the other hand, was one of the quietest people he knew. "Anou, saa, Hinata I have this friend," Naruto began wanting to salvage some of his wounded pride but didn't notice the raised brow on Hyuuga's face, "And this friend is in love with someone but..."
"But your friend is too scared to confess or do anything about it." the raven haired kunoichi finished softly as Naruto stared at her in disbelief. "And your friend's beloved already has someone precious to them." Hinata murmured as the blonde gulped and nodded dumbly. "I used to have a friend like that-- well actually deep down she hasn't really changed."
Uzumaki rocked his feet back and forth and bit his lip. 'Hinata has a friend like me... Perhaps she was able to help them,' the man thought, still utterly clueless to Hinata's infatuation with him. "Hinata, my friend's beloved does have someone precious to them, but my friend... He wants to..." The fox faced man lowered his head and sighed. "Is it right to go after the one you love if they are already in a relationship?" Naruto asked.
The lovely kunoichi sucked in a small breath as she focused her gaze at her feet, a small smile tugging at her lips as the urge to confess welled up deep within her stomach. "I don't think it's a matter of right or wrong, but maybe..." Hinata trailed off 'maybe staying beside the one you love is good enough... Maybe giving up and watching from afar is good enough...' The Hyuuga heir had watched Naruto grow from a very lonely boy to a man beginning to stand as an icon of courage in their village, but his eyes were always glued to a pink haired kunoichi. But over the years they shifted to focus on someone else. 'It can't be Sakura he speaks of... So who?' The kunoichi ignored the familiar ache of jealousy that gripped her heart. "Na-Naruto-kun, I think your friend should... "
"You think my friend should just give up. Not ruin the relationship they already have with their special person." the blonde moped his blue eyes downcast.
The female ninja shook her head. "No, I think they should go after the one they love. Sometimes giving up... giving up is a very painful and lonely thing to do. If your friend is truly in love it might be best for them to-- Na-- Naruto-kun." Hyuuga stammered as the male jounin launched himself at her, the swing set trembled.
"Hinata!" Uzumaki chirped as he gave the woman a great bear hug, "Hn, hn, you're a good friend you know that!" the blonde burbled happily as he released the stunned kunoichi and hopped onto his feet with a spring in his step. "Next time your free I'll treat you to ramen!" the blonde ninja yelled waving his arms madly in the air and then he sped off, ignoring the dazed look in the woman's pale eyes and the pink blush on her sweating cheeks.
The Hyuuga heiress allowed a soft sigh to puff through her lips as she continued to stare in the direction Naruto had ran off in. She was so focused she completely ignored the small bug that landed on her arm and the approach of footsteps and a loud bark.
"Ah, there she is... Hinata!" a voice called as two men stepped into the playground followed by a large white dog. "Hinata." Kiba spoke softly as he tapped the woman on the shoulder.
The small bug on the kunoichi's arms fluttered its wing and buzzed away to slip inside the sleeves of her master's coat. "Naruto was just here." Shino explained calmly as one of his drones relayed the information.
Akamaru barked softly and went to lick the raven haired kunoichi's knuckles as she continued to ignore her team-mates, a twinkling daze in her pale eyes. "Oh boy, Hinata, not again." Kiba muttered as he went to shake the goofy smile off his team-mate's face.
:p:
"I'm sorry, Iruka sent in a sick notice today." a female jounin explained calmly, sitting in at a desk in the mission room. The Academy teacher had called in a sick day and she agreed to be his fill-in, she needed the extra money ever since she bought a very saucy looking kimono.
"Mouu," Naruto's face drooped the energy and excitement of confessing to Iruka was beginning to waver. 'If he's sick maybe I should check up on him... bring him some ramen, hn,... but Kakashi's probably there taking care of hi-- ' the blonde was interrupted from his mental banter as the kunoichi coughed again to get his attention.
"I was wondering if a young man such as yourself would be interested in a TA position at the Academy?" the mission desk ninja questioned, irritation settling upon her face after repeating herself.
Uzumaki stiffened as he frowned at the kunoichi, his whiskers crinkled. "I don't think that's a good idea I've been exposed to a lot of perverts in my life from closet to open... kids that young should not be introduced into the world of 'tits n as--'"
"NO!" the woman bellowed a pink flush on her face as she held up a piece of paper. "This is a sign-up sheet for a Teacher's Assistant position at the Academy."
"Teacher's Assistant?"
:p:
"Well out with it, just what did happen on that mission with Uzumaki Naruto?" Tsunade inquired a growl in her tone and frowned at her own behaviour but her meeting with council had been long and tedious. She had arranged for a first-hand account hearing about the mission instead acting on written reports which could be read out of context and have perspectives distorted.
Tonkawa Ai, a seasoned chuunin and one of the three mission team-mates that accompanied Uzumaki Naruto on a scroll retrieval mission in Grass Country, quivered before her leader as well as the two stern looking council representatives. Shizune clutched onto Ton-Ton tighter ignoring the pigs oink! and looked at her mentor with pleading eyes of patience... the former Sannin ignored her.
The leader of Konoha drummed her fingers against her desk and shifted her eyes toward Morino Ibiki. The ninja nodded as he crept up behind the chuunin and placed a re-assuring hand on her shoulder. Ai tensed her eyes wide as everyone noticed the vice grip Ibiki held her in and the sound of flesh grinding onto bone. "Your Hokage asked you a question Tonkawa-san."
The chuunin nodded her head; her mind clearing a she wetted her lip, the truth serum still sweet on her tongue.
"Well it began as a standard scroll retrieval mission, but Uzumaki... "
Author's Note: Once again a big thank you to Alka-Setzer for betaing this lovely chapter for me! And another thank you to all the reviews I received for chapter one of Interlude. I agree a possessive Kakashi is very attractive. Well I hope you enjoy chapter two and look out for chapter three in 2007. Oh, and a bit of a note, I don't plan to discontinue this story but the holidays are coming to an end and updating may be a bit more stretched due to school, work… etc. So hang on, this story may be a bit slow with updates but it will be completed. Thanks for reading.