A/N: So, I suppose the vote is in. It looks like our twins are going to be showing up a lot more! does an authoress happy dance Here's the third chapter to the bit of spying we're doing on Iruka-sensei. And no, I don't own anything. Just the OCs .:sigh….pout:.

To my lovely reviewers: You guys are awesome…no, marvelous…no, brilliant…no, incredible... .:rambles about the greatness of reviewers:.

By the way, both my brother (Joe) and twin sister reviewed (morixharuhi4ever). So pay no heed to their insanities. (Love you both lots!)

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"No, no Ayame! You're holding the kunai too tightly… "

"Oi! Kenji! Put the third one down! You'll hurt yourself that way…"

"Good shot Rei! If you cut the motion of your wrist in half it will be closer to the bullseye though…"

"Konohamaru…the only reason you need to swing the kunai around your finger is to get it to your hand faster. And if you swing it that hard, it will fall out of your grip completely!"

Iruka watched as Shikamaru instructed Iruka's pre-genin class on the final flourishes of kunai use. Although, it seemed that the Nara boy was mainly keeping the little ones from injuring themselves. Throwing a kunai wasn't just about aim and strength, it was about the fluidity of the wrist and the timing of when it is let go. But at the moment, Iruka wasn't thinking about trajectory patterns or proper binding methods. He was merely taking in the semi-hilarity that was before him. Shikamaru was a good teacher, though a little short on patience. Yet, once his mind was focused, there was nothing anyone could do to prevent the whirlwind of activity in his head. Plus it was interesting to watch someone else do his job.

Pre-genins were not the easiest bunch to work with, despite the claims that they were easily dealt with. Iruka had come to understand that there was nothing more stubborn than a small child with a sharp object. With limited understanding of situations, yet incredible perception of the general surroundings, a pre-genin could quite possibly get whatever they wanted. There was always a risk of injury with such weaponry, and Iruka was well aware of it. He was fully knowledgeable in at least two areas of medic-nin practices. Not only removing splinters, or wrapping cuts, but setting bones and resuscitation. The only thing was…the pre-genins also knew that the last thing that anyone wanted was a child to get hurt. So, by playing with said off-limits object, a little one could confidently ask for dango or ramen in exchange for the weapon. He had gone through it enough times with Naruto, and now he was going through it with Konohamaru. It was slightly more than disconcerting to hear Naruto's words coming out of the Third's grandson's mouth.

In all, Iruka was not surprised that many Academy teachers eventually took on genin teams. And stayed as leaders of genin teams. The chuunin chuckled at the thought of him leaving the Academy. It seemed a little cowardly. However necessary, if it weren't for Iruka's classes, there would be no genin to train. So, Iruka resolved to remain here, in the well-worn, well-loved hall ways and classrooms of the Academy. And to fight the war outside Konoha, by training those who would fight it, within.

Iruka looked at the clock on the wall of the training room. There were five more minutes in the school day, and surprisingly, none of the children had noticed. But Iruka could tell that Shikamaru had been looking at the clock at least once every two minutes. It was finally time to give the boy a break.

"Alright kids! Time to put everything away." Iruka yelled above the din. "And if I find even one kunai missing…" The teacher left the rest of the sentence unsaid, allowing his eyes say the rest as he let his gaze fall on each student one by one. They all knew what would happen. And it wasn't pretty. The now subdued pre-genins quickly put their weapons away and filed into line to go back to the classroom. Iruka could hear Shikamaru's usual mutterings and sighs. The boy hadn't changed much from his own pre-genin days.

"Okay…" Shikamaru sighed. "Let's go back upstairs. In fact let's make this a pop quiz. Whoever can get up there the fastest and quietest without using a jutsu will get an exemption from the test tomorrow."

Each child immediately took their stances and prepared to run for it. Shikamaru cued them with a flick of his hand. Iruka knew that the signal wouldn't be large since the boy was known for doing as little as possible. But another thing registered in the sensei's mind. Shikamaru had changed since his pre-genin days. Quite a bit actually. His actions were no longer just for him. The boy, no…young man, took in everything in his surroundings as usual. But he did so not for himself, but those around him. Like the little ones that clamored for his attention. As the smoke cleared from Shikamaru's transportation jutsu, Iruka smiled at the new revelations about his former student. Quietly, in the back of his mind, he reminded himself to thank Asuma for putting a little life in the young man. It had continually irritated Iruka to watch Shikamaru-kun fail the same courses over and over again due to his lack of motivation.

Despite the gap in years, Shikamaru was now the same rank as Iruka. The smile on the tanned chuunin's face widened. Iruka realized that Shikamaru was now officially a potential target for his occasional pranks. A small chuckle could be heard in the training room even as the smoke from Iruka's own transportation jutsu dissipated.

The classroom was full of children quietly gathering their things and preparing to leave. Iruka arched an eyebrow at his assistant in question. Shikamaru shrugged as the bell rang and the little ones ran out the sliding door towards home.

"Shikamaru-san. What was that all about?" Iruka asked still slightly confused. It wasn't everyday that all of his students were silent for a long period of time.

The Nara clansman noted the change in honorific and set the wheels in his mind to work as to why. "Well, Iruka-sensei, I think it was because they were surprised at who won."

"Who won exactly?" Ignoring the sensei part of Shikamaru's sentence.

"Yoshima Miranai. With the twins coming in second."

Iruka smirked at the answer. "Little Miranai, huh? I thought so." Shikamaru "hnn"ed at him. "Well, you see. Miranai comes from a family known for their speed. The Yoshima clan. A lot of ANBU in that particular family. You probably don't know about them. Seeing as how none of their clan members were in your age group. Miranai is the first Yoshima descendant in about fifteen years." Iruka sighed. " I guess Tachi decided to finally settle down. The man always was somewhat of a lone wolf though…" Iruka mused. He continued after seeing more questions in Shikamaru's eyes. "The women in the family have always been stronger though. So it's not surprising that she won. Despite how small she is."

Shikamaru shrugged and muttered a "whatever" under his breath, though Iruka could tell the young man was clearly surprised. "And the twins?" he asked nonchalantly.

Iruka thought about Rei and Ayame for a moment. Two identical faces with violet eyes framed by wavy auburn hair. Though Rei's hair was a bit shorter than Ayame's. And Ayame had a smile on her face more often than her brother. They were from a family of shinobi who managed relations between non-shinobi villagers and the ninja around them. They were pretty much damage control. It was their job to assure the villagers of their safety and to make them aware of impending danger.

" The Sendatsu twins know patterns. People patterns at least. They have been taught to predict the pathways that people will take to get to a certain point and get there before them to control the situation. To better understand said patterns, they study the flight patterns of birds at this age. Now that I think about it, we have always had a member of the Sendatsu clan help with the training of our messenger birds."

Shikamaru nodded. "Makes sense."

Iruka looked at the papers on his desk, mentally taking note of what he had left to do. There wasn't much. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the coupon for a two-for-one special at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand stuck in the pages of his grade book. It triggered something in his memory.

"Oh no! I forgot! I told the twins I would treat them to ramen for their help in cleaning the classroom yesterday!" Iruka smacked himself on the forehead. "They're probably waiting outside for me!" The sensei gathered up his things hurriedly and started to head out the door. "Shikamaru-san, would you be so kind as to clean the chalkboard for me?" His answer came in the form of a nod and a grunt. "Oh, and Shikamaru-san…you don't have to call me sensei anymore. You're a chuunin now. We're the same rank. Iruka-san will do just fine."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "You'll always be Iruka-sensei. And would you stop with the "-san", please. Shikamaru is good."

Iruka scratched his nose, unconsciously rubbing his scar. "If you say so, Shikamaru-sa-." He stopped himself and waved good bye. He thought he heard a "Ja'ne Iruka-sensei" as he exited the building. His usual soft smile graced his face once again. The twins were waiting for him on the swing that hung from the tree in the courtyard.

"So sorry to keep you waiting!" Iruka said as he walked up to them.

The two little ones smiled up at him, wordlessly forgiving him as they took his hands, one on either side and lead him out the gates. As they were walking, he noticed that Rei had put his hair up in a ponytail, much like Shikamaru's. He inwardly chuckled at it. Shikamaru was a good person for a pre-genin to want to emulate. The scarred chuunin thoroughly approved.

As they sat down and ordered, Iruka in the middle, Ayame looked up at him innocently. "Iruka-sensei?" her little voice reached his ears amidst the ceaseless chatter of her brother.

"Yes Ayame-chan?"

"Ano…would i-it…uhh… be p-possible for you to…to..." she took a gulp and a deep breath. "Would it be possible for you to wear your hair down sometimes, because Rei wants to wear his hair like you, but mama doesn't like it when he has it up. She says it reminds her of her brother. And he doesn't like mama that much and...and ...it would be really helpful if you wore it down sometimes." The entire speech came out at the speed of light, but Iruka's trained ears caught every word.

"Rei-kun wants to wear his hair like mine?"Iruka asked. Ayame nodded. "Why?"

The little shinobi in training stood up on her stool and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Because you're his hero, Iruka-sensei. He wants to be like you someday."

Iruka was speechless. He would have never imagined. But his moment of awe was broken by an outburst from Rei.

"Ayame! Stop saying naughty things to Iruka-sensei! You're making his face go all red!" Rei pointed at his sister. "I'm telling mama you have a crush on Iruka-sensei!"

The little girl blushed furiously, her eyes wide with shock. "Do not!"

And so began a typical fight between siblings. Though it baffled the teacher that it was about him. This alone made Iruka flush with color all the more. Life was interesting even without Naruto around…

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A/N: Alrighty darlings! We finally got to know a bit more about our lovely twins. Don't you think that a village with both ninja and non-ninja inhabitants would have to have some type of public relations? Especially now that the Uchiha police force is no longer around… BTW: Sendatsu is a Japanese word for guide. I thought it was appropriate. And we have introduced another little one that might pop up every so often. We'll have to see. So, shall you review for me and let me know what you think? Because that would rock my world. Hope you enjoyed and Thanks for Reading!