Iruka reviewed "Kuwa's" file once he got home from his meeting with the Hokage, memorizing some parts and trying to read between the lines of others. Iruka recognized loneliness and fear of abandonment in a lot of Kakashi's attitude with the Hokage. It was only to be expected, with little Kakashi's past. He knew from Shizune that after his father's death, Kakashi had felt like everyone's eyes were on him, waiting for him to fail, expecting it. A lot of resentment toward the father seemed to have been transferred over to the son. Add to that coming back from a mission where he had been captured and the only person he knew was Tsunade. Iruka knew that Tsunade had a soft spot for the quirky jounin, but even her soft spots were a little rough around the edges. No wonder he was feeling alone and abandoned!

The next morning Iruka left his house with a spring in his step and a determination to make friends with Kakashi. He was sure the little boy would be hungry for attention and positive reinforcement. On his way he passed a surprising number of jounin milling around the street with no apparent destination. Genma was at the cafe, hiding behind a newspaper; Raidou was at the flower stand, sniffing the same flowers over and over; Kurenai at the fish market, deliberating with utmost intensity over which filet looked the freshest: and Anko at the fruit stand, molesting every peach they had.

Iruka had been given three lists along with his mission file. One, a list of people Kakashi was allowed to interact with. That had included his new classmates; Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato, since they were on the mission when the event took place; Ino, since she was a Yamanaka who Kakashi wouldn't know but could use the family's mind reading jutsu; and a few other people who were too young for Kakashi to have met when he was a child, but who had an ability that might come in handy given his current situation. The second list was people who Iruka could talk to about his mission, but that Kakashi shouldn't see. This list included Shizune, Morino Ibiki and Yamanaka Inoichi, as well as some medic-nins at the hospital, and a list of ANBU who would be stationed near the school and near his and Kakashi's apartments. The third list was a list of people that should not be near Kakashi for any reason whatsoever. It included close childhood friends and classmates of Kakashi's as well as anyone who might make trouble for this mission. Every one of the hovering jounin were on that third list. All that was missing was-

"Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka flinched as much at the booming, over-exuberant voice as he did at the sight of green spandex and orange legwarmers hurtling toward him in the early morning sun.

"Iruka-sensei! I have heard that you are to help my Eternal Rival in his time of need, to gently shepherd him through the trying times of his youth, leading him with kindness and hope through the dark times of his adolescence, helping him navigate-

"Gai!" Iruka interrupted. "Who told you that?"

"Don't fear, Iruka-sensei, your secret is safe with me! I shall not interfere with your duty to my Esteemed Rival, and I shall protect your mission and his youthful innocence with all of my considerable might!"

"Well, thank you, I'm glad I have your support. However, I do need to draw as little attention to the situation as possible, so-"

"Of course, Iruka-sensei, I will be the model of discretion!" Gai shouted confidently, drawing more stares than he usually did.

Iruka waved his hands in a shushing motion, already knowing that trying to dial back Gai's enthusiasm was a lost cause. "Uh, Gai-sensei, I really should be going now. I want to make sure everything is prepared for class."

"Ah, Iruka-sensei, it is very noble of you to want to have everything ready to make our mutual friend's first day go smoothly, but I'm afraid you are already late," Gai said, crossing his arms and ending on a slightly reproachful note.

Iruka glanced at his watch. "What do you mean? I've still got twenty minutes before class starts."

"Of course! But no one knows my Eternal Rival like I do," Gai declared, with a satisfied glance around at the lurking jounin. "Before he grew to be so hip and cool, Kakashi was the embodiment of punctuality! He even liked to get to new places early in order to be prepared for anything that might happen! He walked past this area about twenty minutes ago."

Iruka heard a few groans and an agitated rustle of newspaper from the lurking jounin, but couldn't be bothered with them right now. He bit back a curse and made a hasty goodbye to Gai as he started running toward the school, realizing that he had indeed been counting on Kakashi to still have his old habits. Or maybe they were his new habits. His future habits? The habits Iruka was familiar with.

He slowed to a walk as he neared the schoolyard, seeing a few of the early arrivals clustered in small groups, talking among themselves. He scanned the edges of the yard and surrounding areas for Kakashi, but didn't see him. Not wanting to lose any more time, Iruka made his way inside to start preparing for class. He added "Yamada Kuwa" to his class roster and debated where to put Kakashi's seat. In the back might make him feel left out, in the front might make him feel singled out, and at the far ends of the rows might make him feel like an outsider. Iruka shuffled his seating chart to put little Kuwa in the center row next to the aisle, right in the center of the class. As Iruka was patting himself on the back for his excellent seating arrangement, Kakashi strolled into the room, heading straight for the end seat in the last row, by the window. Before Iruka could say anything, the bell rang and his class started filing in, everyone growing quiet as they noticed the new student. The student who normally sat in the seat Kakashi had claimed stalked up to him, only to be met by a baleful glare that practically invited the pre-genin to start a fight.

"That's my seat. You'll have to ask Iruka-sensei where you can sit." The boy said, leaning in and pointing at Kakashi.

"Iruka-sensei wants me to sit here. You're the one who has to ask him where to sit," Kakashi replied, calmly crossing his arms and deliberately looking away as though the matter were settled.

Iruka thought fast. Did he call Kakashi out on the lie and humiliate him in front of the class? It would only isolate him more and establish friction between the two boys. But letting Kakashi have his way now could set a bad precedent. Kakashi was really putting him on the spot with his little stunt. Was it just to get a rise out of Iruka?

"Iruka-sensei, did you say this kid could have my seat?" the displaced child called out, still pointing angrily at Kakashi. At that moment, Kakashi met Iruka's eyes and sent him a meaningful, practically pleading look. Iruka made his decision.

"Yes, I did. I've made some changes to the seating arrangement. You spend too much time causing trouble and goofing off in the back row, and you've climbed out the window too many times. Your new seat will be here, where I can see you better. And Mei, I know that's your seat, but you spend too much time gossiping with your neighbor and passing notes across the aisle when you think I'm not looking, so you'll be moving to the empty seat over there."

The two children groaned at the new seating arrangement, but took their new spots. Actually, now that Iruka thought about it, those two should have been moved a while ago. This might work out for the best after all. Still, he was going to talk to Kakashi about this after class.

"Now, class, once you've taken your seats, I'd like to introduce you to your new classmate, Yamada Kuwa."

All heads turned to stare at Kakashi, openly curious. A student starting in the middle of the school year, especially one they'd never seen before, was a rarity. A few of the friendlier students smiled and waved at their new classmate. Kakashi met their stares with a cool gaze and a slight bow of his head. So much for Tsunade's suggestion to smile and act pleasant.

Iruka sighed and continued with his introduction. The background story for Kuwa was that he was a village orphan who had been seeking private instruction on his own. The Hokage had thought he had talent and arranged for private tutors to bring him up to speed, but since all village shinobi had to graduate formally from the Acadamy, Kuwa was now here to finish his education and meet his comrades. Iruka gave the students the bare bones of Kuwa's history, telling them he had learned from private instructors until now and leaving Kakashi to fill in the rest for them later.

After that, Iruka had a fairly uneventful morning. The class was unusually well behaved, with no one wanting to take the chance of a lunch detention when that would be the only time they'd get to talk to the new kid, and Kakashi sitting quietly in the back and even taking the occasional note during lectures. At lunchtime Kakashi filed out with the rest of the class, bento in hand. The girl who sat next to him during class was talking to him and pointing out some of her friends as they entered the schoolyard for recess. Soon Kakashi had a crowd around him as the other students introduced themselves and tried to get to know him. Iruka smiled to himself. So far it was going a lot more smoothly than he'd anticipated.

The afternoon went much the same as the morning, with just a few of the rowdier students acting up to draw attention to themselves or to try to impress the new kid. When the three o'clock bell rang, all of the students bolted for the door, except for Kakashi, who lingered behind. When the last student left the room, Kakashi approached Iruka's desk. Perfect, Iruka thought, this will give me a chance to talk to him about that stunt he pulled this morning with the seating arrangements.

"Well, Kuwa, how was your first day of class?"

"I didn't think I'd be placed in the remedial class," Kakashi stated.

"Re- what are you talking about, 'remedial class?'"

"Tsunade-sensei said you were a gifted teacher, and since I was put in your class I thought that meant you would be working with the gifted students. I don't see how a class for the slowest learners will help assess my skills."

Iruka felt his face flush red as he fought back his temper, always feeling protective of his students. He had to remind himself that this was Kakashi in front of him, who had gone through the Academy at a time when emphasis was placed on early graduation. It had been common for children to graduate as early as six or seven, whereas now children entered the Academy between seven and eight and graduated usually between 10 and 13.

"It's not a remedial class, Kakashi. It's...an educational experiment. We're trying different ways of teaching to see which works best."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, then said "This one doesn't seem to be working. All of the students are way behind where they should be."

"They're exactly where I want them to be." Iruka answered testily.

"Could you explain the new system to me?"

"No."

Kakashi's eyes went from thoughtful to distant and disengaged, leaving Iruka regretting his defensive response to his question and sighing deeply. "It's not important right now. It's a system that's been very successful in other times and places and I think it will pay off here if we give it a chance." Iruka didn't mention that the successful time and place was Konoha, twenty years in Kakashi's future. "What's more important is how you're doing. How are you feeling today?"

"I feel fine. No physical side effects of the seal."

"That's good." Iruka hedged. He had been angling for more of an emotional response, but it seems young Kakashi was as closed of about his feelings as the older version. "How are you getting along with the other students?"

"Fine. I gave them the previously planned cover story. Most of them were sympathetic."

"Most of them?" Iruka prodded, but all he got in reply from Kakashi was a shrug.

"Speaking of previous planning, I'd appreciate if you didn't put me on the spot like you did this morning. You aren't the only student in this class and I can't be expected to side with you all the time. It will compromise our mission if I'm seen playing favorites."

Kakashi looked taken aback. "I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei, I thought you would have understood. I can't be watching my back for enemy shinobi if I'm distracted by spitballs from the students behind me. It seemed like a good way to get me optimally situated in the class without drawing attention to you placing me there."

"Was someone throwing spitballs at you?" Iruka asked, surprised.

"Not yet."

"Not yet?"

"But they will. In a day or two." Kakashi answered.

Iruka sighed again, rubbing his eyes. Kakashi was probably right There would be spitballs. Iruka kind of wanted to throw some at Kakashi right now. But he should have realized that Kakashi, a field shinobi fresh off a mission and in a new environment, would want a prime vantage point in his new surroundings. Maybe he was thinking of Kakashi too much as a student instead of the chuunin that he was. "It's OK, just next time try to talk to me ahead of time. We need to communicate better if we are to work together like this."

"Hai, sensei, I will try harder to keep you informed of my plans."

His plans? Just who did this kid think he was? Iruka was team leader here! "You do that," Iruka said tightly. He would have final say over anything Kakashi proposed, anyway. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"

Kakashi shifted his weight slightly, casting his eyes off to the side briefly before answering "No, Iruka-sensei. I think that covers everything."

Iruka nodded, knowing when a kid was lying to him. "How is your apartment?"

"It's not my apartment, but it's OK. They brought over some of my stuff and some new clothes for class."

"Well, that's good! Is there anything else you need? Something they've forgotten?"

"No, everything is there. It's fine."

"Well, if you need anything or have any questions, you let me know. They gave you my address, right?"

Kakashi nodded and said "I'll be fine, sensei. I'm not one of your students. I can take care of myself." And with that he turned and left the room.