Chapter 3
A.N. Thank you all for reading the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Sensei!" A hyperactive blond boy ran towards his beloved sensei, not caring about who was in his way. People looked at him with despise for almost running them down like a bulldozer and not even realizing it.
A particular brunet turned around just to hit the ground with the little blonde on top of him.
"Naruto!" He was laughing.
"Iruka sensei! I haven't see you in a while!"
"Yeah, you know that thing called vacation, we don't get one. When the students are no more, there starts the missions." He explained as he was trying to get the boy off of him and trying to ignore the people's looks.
"Yeah, thank you for graduating me! Again! But now, we have a really weird sensei. He really gives me the creeps sometimes. And he never shows his face too! And the first day, he put us through some weird test, of course I did the best, but he told us not to eat, and when we didn't obey him he passed us!"
Iruka was listening to boy's fast speech, already gotten used to it. He smiled as he watched the kid's expressions, he really was an energetic boy.
"And then Sakura fed me her lunch and that's when he showed up and scared us all with some creepy lightning jutsu!"
"Hmm…I see, and you hungry Naruto? Want ramen? My treat."
He knew he wouldn't say no but he asked anyway.
"Yaaay! Iruka sensei is the best!" and they went to Ichiraku's and ate ramen, and after they were finished, Iruka sensei paid and they got on the street again.
"And he's always late and has crappy excuses. I mean, he could at least be convincing, right?"
"Who could be convincing Naruto?"
They both turned to look at the voice's source and Naruto went purple.
"I-I mean Sasuke could be convincing."
"About what?" Kakashi was just having fun now.
"I…He…" He mumbled something fast and quiet and turned to Iruka. "Right sensei?"
"Hn what?"
"Who's side on are you!" the kid cried and looked even more amusing.
Kakashi smiled at the gesture and turned to Iruka.
"Hello Iruka sensei, how are you doing?"
"You two know each other?" The boy's expression was just screaming 'I'm done' now.
"Yeah, kind of. We've met." Iruka answered. "He is your sensei?" he added with surprise.
The kid nodded. "You are lucky then."
Kakashi was pleased to hear those words from Iruka, although he knew he didn't mean his personality but his ninja abilities.
"Lucky!..."The blonde started rolling his eyes but was cut by the silver haired man.
"You have a problem with that?" he asked as giving the boy a scary glare.
"I-I…no not at all! I really am lucky!" He was terrified and the two older man tried to bite their laugh back.
"I think I should go, it's dinner time!" and he ran away.
"What? You just had dinner!" Brunet called after him. But he was too far away to hear anything from them anymore.
They both laughed. And they started to walk next to each other on the street.
"Kakashi sensei?"
"Hmm?"
"Are they doing okay? I mean, I know they have you and they are making progress. But I mean…"
"How do they adjust? I understand your concern Iruka sensei."
"Yeah, but it's not Sasuke or Sakura that I'm worried about."
"Naruto, right? But he's doing unexpectedly well. He's got great potential and I sincerely believe that if anyone were to pass yondaime, it would be him."
"Yeaah." They both smiled. Silence.
"So where do you live?"
"We're actually on our way to my house. You live around here too?" Brunet looked at Kakashi waiting for an answer.
"No, my house is that way." He pointed to the direction they came from.
Iruka looked confused. Kakashi answered his unasked question.
"But I don't plan on going there now. I'm bored and seeking company."
Uh oh. That came out wrong.
Iruka smiled.
"Want some tea? I bought something blue but I can't assure it's taste though. Just Izumo insisted a lot, and I thought I would give it a try."
Kakashi smiled at the offer.
"Yeah, sure. And in case it's poisoned or something, I'll have you go first."
Yeah. That wasn't what he wanted to say either.
"I don't think it is, but don't worry, I won't poison a guest." He was smiling but Kakashi could see a little resentment. A ninja never joked about poison unless he really thinks there will be poison. Ninja don't joke about killing. He was way too cold to say it like that.
I really don't have a sense of humor. I shouldn't try and make thing worse. He scolded himself.
He had to make it up. Think, say something, he thought.
"Not that you'd poison me." Uuugh, stop with the poison already!"
"No, I rather like you alive."
Thudump*. What the hell? He was just being friendly but why the hell could he hear his heartbeat!
Iruka just realized where his sentence's meaning could go apparently, he blushed a little but didn't say anything, probably thought if he talked more, he'd go down more.
Silence again.
"That's my house." He pointed at the building in front of them and walked towards the door.
Kakashi didn't move. Iruka took his keys out of his pocket but before he put them in the keyhole he turned around and looked at the stopped Kakashi.
"You coming?"
Kakashi slipped out of his thoughts and nodded.
When they got in, it wasn't exactly what he expected, but what did he expect anyway? Did he expect an obsessive compulsive's house? Too clean and too neat? Because he's a teacher?
"Make yourself comfortable, and I'll be back as soon as I put the tea on the stove."
And Iruka disappeared out of sight and Kakashi looked around curiously.
He probably didn't expect everything to be ordered by color and size or the books alphabetically but this was something he never thought of before. Wait, what? He hasn't thought of his house at all!
It was a nice warm place, exactly what you can imagine when you think of "home". The walls were a soft yellow, not too bright but not depressing. His living room had one two-person seat and two comfortable looking armchairs. One armchair was black, soft leather and looked like inviting for a warm embrace. The second was off-white and looking as comfy as the other one. And the two-person couch was also black with cushions the same tone of white as the armchair. It looked fluffy and very very soft.
The seats were all turned at each other in the small room, with a traditional table in the middle. There were three cushions around the table, for guests. And there was a wooden bookcase. It was between the two armchairs which were standing in the corners.
As he was still staring in the middle of the room, the brunet came back, seeing the man standing.
"Yeah, I know, it's not all too formal and serious, but it's comfortable and, yeah, not exactly the typical shinobi house but…"
"I think it's nice." Kakashi smiled at Iruka and he smiled back.
"So why don't you sit down?"
He complied. And Iruka left and came back with a tray.
He put the tray on the table and sat down across Kakashi, crossing his legs. And then Kakashi took his eyes off of the small room and looked at the man sitting in front of him. He had taken his vest off. And he looked very cute now with only the dark suit.
Wait, no! What the hell was he thinking! Cute? No way! You can't think of a comrade as "cute"!
His objection to his own thoughts were interrupted by Iruka.
"I offered you tea, but" Kakashi could feel his heartbeat now "I'm not sure if this can be classified as 'tea'. Yeah, it's boiled and all but…" His hopes shattered. What did he expect? Maybe reading too much Icha Icha now, he thought. But wait, what hopes? He had hopes? Nobody had informed him about any 'hopes'! What the hell was going on inside there!
"It's okay." He said with his usual tone.
"Okay then. But don't blame me it you don't like it."
They smiled at each other and he poured the liquid.
Kakashi observed curiously as the liquid filled the cup. It was dark blue and looked sticky. It wasn't tea, he was right, but Kakashi was now considering it again. Was Iruka sure it was drinkable?
Iruka laughed as he saw Kakashi staring at the tea in disbelief.
"You can still quit if you want." Iruka mocked.
"I have a shinobi pride. I won't quit."
Iruka laughed as Kakashi stayed serious.
"So, who goes first?" Iruka asked.
"Let's go together." Kakashi answered.
They looked at each other across the table as they took their cups in their hands, and symmetrically they glanced at the liquid, they looked back at each other and Iruka said:
"Cheers!"
And they both lifted the cups and poured a little through their lips.
Iruka stared at Kakashi as he was realizing his mistake. He put the cup on the table as he licked the mask. Yes, he forgot to take the mask off! Idiot! Kakashi stated.
Iruka began to laugh as he looked at Kakashi.
"You're way too comfortable with that mask!" Iruka said between his laughters.
"Yeah, I think of it as a part of me I guess." Kakashi started laughing too.
And yeah, my friends, that was the start of a friendship.
At least that sentence was what he would like to say at the end of telling other people about that night. But, hey, it wasn't over yet and he promised himself he would make this sincere man his friend.
After those years of trying not to feel, he realized that trying wasn't getting him anywhere. He still felt, he was a human being, he could suppress his emotions but then they'd grow and get to him, which he learned the hard way. So he decided to feel them and get rid of them as quickly as possible. It wasn't hard not to care about people who were trying to piss him off, but the problem was the other feelings. He had never envied anyone because he was very confident and satisfied with himself, and he didn't want anything, he only lived to serve Konoha. He had no ambitions, he didn't find anything worthy enough to be ambitious about. But the hard ones were towards people. Like Guy, his so called eternal rival. He was as close as he got to a best friend. And he could never forget his sensei, yondaime, and his first team. Obito and Rin. He couldn't protect them and he felt contrition.
After he accepted the fact that he was human and couldn't erase the feelings, he had spent a lot of time at the memorial, talking to Obito. He promised him that he would protect his comrades with his life. But that doesn't mean that he would get attached to someone enough that they could hurt him. But now, he wanted to be friends with this guy sitting in front of him. Why would he want such a thing? He hadn't wanted anything for years, but now, he wanted to have a friend. He wanted him to be his friend.
You know your life is cold. You want his warmth…
Warmth? That was exactly what he thought of him years ago, seeing that hug.
"…sei?"
Huh, what? He heard something.
"Kakashi sensei?
Crap! He was so lost in his thoughts, he spaced out.
"Are you alright? You seem distracted."
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for your concern Iruka sensei. But I just remembered something I must do. I'll be leaving now."
Leaving now? Where the hell did that come from?
But he had already said it and couldn't take it back. So he slowly got up and smiled with his upside-down U-smile. Iruka stood up with him.
Kakashi saw Iruka's face, a little down but smiling sincerely. He walked him out to the door.
"Alright then, see you around."
Kakashi didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay with the brunet. He wanted to get close to him. But instead he said:
"Yeah, right. Farewell."
What! Kakashi's inner self screamed. I just didn't say that! Where the hell did that come from? What was I thinking?
Kakashi saw the teachers face, even more down now but still keeping his smile.
He opened his mouth to correct himself, but the teacher had already closed the door.
He was standing alone in the dark now, in front of the brunet's door. He just did everything he wasn't supposed to. He didn't want to be that way, shutting the teacher out. He wanted his friendship.
But I don't know how. He thought.
But you didn't have to go act like he was annoying!
The man was the opposite of annoying. He was something else, different from others. That was what he decided in years, observing him. But now, he had lost his only chance with the brunet behind that door.
Shit! He just wanted to go on a mission and get killed.
He looked at the darkness of the street. It was a cloudy night, not many stars. The street looked like it had no end. Just dark, without light. Kakashi smiled brokenly at his phrase, he could have said the same thing about his life.
"He is like a childhood friend, ne?" he mumbled to himself. He had no childhood friends. He had no childhood to start with.
And he walked into the darkness.
A.N. *thudump normally represent heartbeat voice in mangas. Unusual in stories though, I guess. :D
Please review! (^_^)
