Chapter Three: Meeting My Teacher

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

The moment he walked in, I felt my stomach quake. I mentally slapped myself for such childlike behavior, but I knew it was unavoidable. Iruka walked in and smiled at me, and all the while I looked everywhere but at him directly. Boy did those piles of paperwork on Tsunade's desk look interesting!

I had always been like this. I may have seemed like a pompous, know-it-all, but my greatest weakness would always be teachers. Whenever I talked to one, my eyes would always divert from their face. Not only that, but I would stutter uncontrollably, and mumble. My always-loud self seemed to leave me whenever I was in the presence of a teacher.

And it didn't help that I would be living with him! I dreaded spending most of my time with someone who made me feel intimidated. But worst of all, was that he wasn't even my teacher! Even so, I couldn't help but feel the nerves deep in my stomach. I decided to look at Tsunade, which was a good idea, because she started speaking.

"Iruka Umino, I'd like to introduce you to Erin. I'm going to ask you to allow her to stay with you during her time in Konoha." Iruka looked confused, but nodded. He was such a nice person; I couldn't help but feel relieved that he was willing to take me in. Tsunade then went on to tell him almost exactly what I told her. At first he looked surprised, but I suppose that since Tsunade told him, it was more believable than some fifteen year old saying that they were from a different world. She included my alibi and he nodded again, it might have seemed somewhat suspicious, but it was also believable.

"And Erin, you'll be taking his last name, so from now on you are to be Erin Umino." The name sounded strange, but I accepted it. If anyone asked, I could say that my parents had thought of the name. "That will be all, so I suggest that you head home and get acquainted with your new surroundings." Tsunade sent us out of her office, and I felt the nervous feeling in my stomach rise up again.

I was alone with Iruka, and it was like spending time with a teacher that I hardly knew. I had no idea what to say, and it was obvious that he wasn't sure about what to say to me.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Erin. I guess I should take you to my place." I gave a small nod, not quite confident enough to speak to him.

Iruka's place was actually an apartment. I walked into it and smiled. It was very homey, and I felt comfortable the moment I stepped foot in the place. I looked around, wanting to see everything.

The apartment was sparing. It wasn't filled, but for everything that it lacked, it made up for in personality. The apartment was quaint. With hardwood floors, and cream walls, it was soothing.

"You can have the guest bedroom. It's this way." Iruka said, walking towards a door. He opened it, and flicked a light switch. "I haven't cleaned it lately, so it might be a little dusty. But other than that, it should be good enough to use." I walked into the room, and smiled. The guest bedroom had a similar feel as the rest of the apartment. It was simple, but had the necessary furnishings. A bed, nightstand, and a desk with a chair were all in the room. There was also a window that let some light into the room. The thin layer of dust that covered everything wasn't too terrible, but I loathed the idea of dusting the room. I turned to Iruka and nodded my head.

"Thanks for doing this." I said, running a hand through my hair. "I'll do my best to not trouble you." As I spoke, the volume of my voice decreased, and my nerves got the better of me.

"It's fine." Iruka said with a smile. "Make yourself at home. I'll order some take out, is there anything you want?" He asked. I shook my head, and replied in a still softer voice.

"Um, no anything is fine." Iruka nodded, and walked out of the guest bedroom. I let out a small sigh of relief. Eventually I would have to get over my nerves, but for the moment, I was just glad to be alone for a moment. I went and sat down on the bed, letting out a small sneeze when the thin layer of dust came up.

For the first time since I had arrived in this world, reality seemed to hit. I was stuck. I had no real family of friends in the crazy world, and I was probably going to be killed by some ninja. If my world was a harsh place, then this world was deadly. I held back a sob and pulled my knees to my chest. A single tear escaped from my eye, and I quickly wiped it away with the sleeve of my hoodie. I took a deep breath to calm myself, but it didn't help much. I sat like that longer than I expected, and as the time passed, I felt myself become more tired. I didn't know when exactly it happened, but I slipped into a deep sleep, not troubled by my fate.

Waking up had never been something I enjoyed. I liked sleep too much to just let it go. So when I woke a few hours later, or so I supposed form the dust covered clock that sat on the bedside table, I groaned at the thought of leaving the peaceful rest of my slumber. I rolled over, and pushed a blanket off of myself. I paused when I realized what I had done.

When I had fallen asleep, I hadn't used a blanket. And from the looks of the blanket, it hadn't come from the guest room. It was clean of any dust and I didn't recognize it from before. I sat up, looking around the room. I looked around, and saw a plate sitting on the desk. I stretched, and got up from the bed, though I would have rather stayed in it. I walked over to the desk.

On top of the desk was a plate covered with another plate. A note sat on top of it. I opened the note, and struggled to read the messy scrawl.

Erin,

The take out came while you were asleep. I didn't want to wake you, so I fixed you a plate and left it for you. I hope you don't mind the blanket.

I folded the note back up with a smile, and placed it on the table. I removed the top plate to reveal some rice, chicken, and a few vegetables. Some steam rose up when the plate was removed, showing that it was still somewhat warm. I took the fork that was sitting beside the plate and poked one of the pieces of chicken. I put it in my mouth and began to chew as I sat down. I glanced over at the clock again, and realized that it was half past eleven at night. I let out a sigh. I was missing my beloved sleep. I ate some more of the food and when I was filled, went back over to the bed. I pulled the blanked over my head as I lay down, and closed my eyes, hoping that sleep would be able to make everything a little better.

I woke again to hear someone speaking. I raised my head off my pillow slightly to see Iruka poking his head in from the doorway. He gave me a small smile when I looked at him.

"I have to go to the academy to teach. There's food in the fridge, make yourself at home." I managed to nod and Iruka disappeared from the doorway. I rolled onto my back, and stared at the ceiling.

"Wonderful." I muttered. "All alone in an almost total stranger's apartment, in a world that I probably can't last long in. Joy." I let myself flop back onto my bed and closed my eyes, trying to wish away the inevitable truth.

At last, and update from me. I'm 'abandoning' a few stories. They'll get their endings, don't worry. I'm just shifting my focus. A good friend managed ot get me to come back and write some more. I'll be working on TMS and another story that I have yet to publish. I recently won NaNoWriMo (Look it up) so I know I can write more. Chapters will be longer, and (hopefully) faster. I appreciate everyone who read this before, and would love it if you would continue to read.

Many people write these stories like they're going on vacation. This is my view.

Thanks so much for reading! Please review with questions, comments, concerns, or anything else!