A/N: This chapter is one of the longer ones, in part because if I tried to break it into two chapters they would both be to short. Not all the chapters are going to be quite this long, but from here on out most of the chapters should be longer than they have been previously. Except the few I have planned with Might Guy. Having never written him before, I make no promises.

All The Broken Pieces

Part 1: Chapter 4

After checking with some of the other sensei's that Iruka wouldn't mind being observed- from which Kakashi learned that Anko sometimes made a game of stalking the young chuunin and that he had never done anything to her- Kakashi settled himself into a tree that had a good view of Iruka's classroom. He had his book and a glass of cold lemonade, preparing himself for a rather long day of lip reading, with as little help from his sharingun as possible.

He was greatly surprised, and really quite pleased, with his luck when Iruka and his class of bright-faced children came outside.

Kakashi watched over the top of his book as Iruka set up targets along some trees that would have the children facing away from the academy. The teacher then turned and grinned at his class. Kakashi thought the grin looked nervous, and he really didn't blame the other man. Those brats looked like they wanted to eat him alive in their excitement.

"Okay, class, today we're going to practice throwing shuriken…"

There was a cheer from the group, and Iruka held up his hand to silence it. It took a while, but he managed.

"Before we start, let me lay down a few rules."

A groan, which Iruka ignored, and Kakashi smiled.

"You will be throwing the shuriken one at a time for at least the first half hour. No, Kaida, I don't care if you can throw more than one already. Everyone will be only throwing one so I can watch your technique and adjust it as necessary. Yes, I might have to adjust yours so don't even ask."

Kakashi chuckled as a girl in the small group pouted, her complaints answered before they were even spoken. Iruka apparently took the time to get to know his students quite well.

"Secondly, if I catch anyone throwing a shuriken at something that is not a target, there will be swift punishment. Namely a talk with a Jounin about the importance of respecting your weapons and your teammates. I'm sure Asuma-sensei would be more than happy to speak with you…or maybe even Kakashi-sensei…"

There was a collective shudder of fear from the young students, while Kakashi gave the academy teacher a one-eyed glare. He didn't appreciate being used as a threat, although he had to wonder if Iruka didn't know he was watching and had used that to clue him in to the fact he knew.

"The third rule is that, for those of you advanced enough to use them or who are from clans who can, no jitsu is to be used. There will be times when your jitsus will be blocked, and I want you to learn these based on your own skill with no help from them."

Kakashi was sure the young Hyuuga he could see was trying to kill Iruka with her white eyes alone, but since she was unsuccessful it was all right.

"The final rule is to take turns. I only have four targets and there are about twenty of you. I want you to divide up in four lines of five each. The person at the front will throw one shuriken. After that hits the tree, you will go to the back of the line and wait your next turn. Everyone got that?"

The group of children nodded, some more enthusiastically then others. A few looked like they still didn't understand, but they would catch on eventually…Iruka hoped.

"Okay then, let's get started."

There was an instantaneous rise in noise as the children assembled themselves into the aforementioned lines. Kakashi wasn't sure why this took any talking at all, never mind all the pushing and shoving it seemed to require, but if Iruka was the slightest bit bothered by any of it he didn't say so.

As the shuriken flew through the air, Kakashi realized that it was from years of teaching classes just like this that Iruka had been able to detect his this morning. The sharp stars were going every direction, with only a few actually hitting the targets they were supposed to. Iruka even had to duck as a girl in the line closest to him let go of her ninja-star to late and it went flying at her teacher's head.

"G-Gomenasai, Iruka-sensei," the girl stammered, the blush on her face a really quite impressive shade of fuchsia.

Iruka waved off her apology with a gentle smile as he came to kneel beside her. "I've had closer calls then that Moegi. Next time, though, try to remember which direction the finger on the bottom of the shuriken is facing." He took his hand in hers, curving it in pantomime of how shuriken were to be held when thrown Frisbee style. He ran a finger of his other hand along the bottom part, just below her knuckle, of her index finger. "Whichever way that is pointing will be the way the shuriken flies. Next time, you'll try to let go when it's facing the target, won't you?"

"Hai, sensei," Moegi nodded. She seemed pleased with this new information, and didn't look at all chastised.

Icha Icha had been lowered by this point, his finger marking his place in the book. Kakashi was keeping his steady gaze on Iruka, curious to see if he was so gentle with all his students. Kakashi hoped not, as he knew most of the little devils would try and take advantage of it.

His unspoken question was answered when one of the boys, his brown hair sticking up because of his rather ridiculous goggles- Kakashi thought he looked quite a lot like Asuma- tried starting out by throwing the shuriken while facing backwards. It was sheer luck the runaway weapon didn't hit any of the boy's classmates.

"Did I hit it?" The boy asked, turning around.

Iruka quickly strode over and knocked him quite soundly on the head.

The boy yelped and looked up at him indignantly.

"You can't treat the future Hokage like that!" He shrieked, and Kakashi found himself once again strongly reminded of Naruto.

"As long as you are one of my students and not Hokage, Konohamaru, you will follow my instructions." Iruka's tone was obviously angry, and Kakashi understood why. The object had come dangerously close to the neck of a now hyperventilating young girl.

"You can't…"

"Yes I can!" The reply was yelled, and Konohamaru flinched. The rest of the class had stopped to look, curious to see who was getting yelled at. They almost looked eager, and Kakashi concluded this was a rather blood thirsty lot.

Iruka folded his arms over his chest, glaring down at the young boy in his most intimidating teacher manner. "Stunts like that would get you and your teammates killed. Yes, there may come a time when you'd be forced to throw a shuriken without looking…but until you're skilled enough to throw it accurately while looking there is not risk of that. Trying to do more than you're capable of will only put your teammates in more danger! Do you want to be responsible for their deaths, Konohamaru?"

The boy looked down as if thinking about that terrible prediction. He shook his head, and Iruka seemed to decide he'd been sufficiently scolded. He put a hand on the boy's head before walking back to his observation point, and the class resumed its activities.

In a few more minutes it was Konohamaru's turn once more. This time the young cadet threw his weapon so hard it actually bounced off the edge of the target and flopped onto the ground. Konohamaru growled in frustration as Iruka walked over, looking less angry this time. He put a hand on Konohamaru's shoulder before walking forward so he could address the class.

"Can anyone tell me what the point of a shuriken is?"

No one volunteered the information, which surprised Kakashi. It had been his experience that every class had at least one know-it-all. Iruka didn't seem at all surprised by this though. He bent down and picked up one of the fallen weapons.

"A shuriken is not intended to kill your enemy. They are intended simply to slow the enemy down, and make them less able to use their own weapons against you. They're not intended to be thrown so hard they will go deep. Keep that in mind, both now and on the battlefield. Shuriken are not your last line of defense, ever."

The group nodded their heads as Iruka walked back, returning the star in his hand to the pile by one of the lines. This sort of pattern continued for hours, with Iruka alternating his scolding, rarely more severe than was necessary, and his praise, which was always sincere. He only yelled when one of his students would put another in danger.

Which was how Kakashi got his idea in the first place. Iruka's obvious want to protect his students got the wheels turning in Kakashi's head, and he watched with interest as the class began to file back inside for the remainder of their lessons. The last student to head inside was Konohamaru. He seemed to want to continue practicing, as he picked up a shuriken.

Kakashi dropped down beside him and grinned, "yo."

The boy let the weapon fall from his hands, and would have screamed in fright if Kakashi hadn't been faster and put a hand over his mouth.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi," he explained to the boy with as much patience as possible. "Do you know who I am?"

Konohamaru nodded, his eyes wide in fright. Apparently, this wasn't the first time Iruka had used him as a threat of swift and painful punishment. That, or his reputation was worse than he thought.

"I'm trying to train Iruka-sensei to be a Jounin and I need your help."

All traces of fear vanished, and Konohamaru jerked his head so he could speak. "Finally, someone realizes my potential! What do you need me to do? Fight him? I could take down Iruka-sensei easy!"

Kakashi smiled again as he stood. "Meet me after school and I'll explain everything. But don't tell Iruka-sensei, okay? It's a surprise."

Konohamaru nodded eagerly, his extra practice obviously forgotten as he turned and dashed inside.

------------------------------------------------------

Iruka walked toward the bridge slowly, his hands in his pockets. His body still ached from his training that morning, and even though he was running a bit behind Iruka couldn't make himself go any faster. Shoulders slumped the academy teacher reached the spot where he was supposed to meet his own sensei.

Pinned with a kunai to the bridge was the most innocent looking piece of paper Iruka had ever seen, but he could sense an aura of evil around it. Deciding that this, indeed, meant it was from his ever-late mentor, Iruka undid it and began to read.

"Dear Iruka-sensei," it began. "I'm afraid I'm going to be even later than usual today. A matter of most importance has come up. I will meet you at the field we went to yesterday as soon as I can. Feel free to warm up!"

It was signed with a rather disproportioned picture of Kakashi's head smiling at him with its one shown eye. Iruka sighed, crumbling the note up and sticking it in his pocket. 'Of course he doesn't know when he'd be back,' Iruka thought darkly. 'That would mean I could have gone home to take a nap.'

He began to shuffle his way toward the practice field, forcing himself to look on the positive. It was still a nice evening, and this way he could work on his strategy to make it less predictable for Kakashi.

He was still twenty feet from the clearing when he began to sense something was wrong. There was someone in the field already, which was strange as it was, but Iruka was picking up frightened noises. Suddenly, the brown-haired man was on high alert, his ever sense focused in on the situation. There was a ninja who, from the way he was dressed, didn't appear to be from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but Iruka could not see his forehead protector to be sure. On the ground in front of him sat Konohamaru, wide eyed and wavering.

One of Iruka's fists clenched as the other began to drift toward his holster. Friend or foe, this person was frightening his student, and Iruka did not like that.

"What are you doing out here all alone, cry baby?" The ninja asked gruffly as Iruka crept closer.

"I-I came to pay respects to my grandfather, the third Hokage" Konohamaru whimpered. It was that, more than the fact that the boy looked to be already roughed up, that convinced Iruka that Konohamaru was in serious danger. It appeared he'd already learned to fear this person in a way Iruka could never have managed.

"So," the man said, moving forward threateningly, "do you think your special just because you were related to a Hokage?"

"N-no," Konohamaru stuttered, backing up and flinching when he found that escape route blocked by the memorial stone.

"Of course you do," the stranger stepped closer still, and Iruka's brown eyes watched him keenly for the chance to attack. "You do, boy, but I'm going to prove to you otherwise."

The man reached his hand toward the small boy's neck, and Konohamaru shut his eyes in terror. When a kunai pierced his hand, however, the man let out a howl of pain. A sudden gust of wind moving the light in the trees made the man appear to flicker as he turned to face Iruka, who had stepped into the clearing fully now, with furious eyes.

"Leave him alone," Iruka yelled, not the slightest trace of fear in his mannerisms. "Unless you're such a coward you have to pick on children instead of real ninjas."

"Iruka-sensei!" Konohamaru's relief at seeing his teacher was evident, but short lived as the man picked him up by the scruff of the shirt and the boy let out a yell of fright.

"You want him so badly," the man sneered, "then come and get him."

With that, the enemy ninja leaped up into the trees with Iruka following quickly behind. Iruka had a vague sense of déjà vu as he chased the man, but brushed it aside as he focused on the problem at hand. The enemy ninja was obviously faster than he was. He had to find a way to slow him down.

"Iruka-sensei!" Konohamaru, now slung over the man's shoulder, stretched a desperate hand out to his teacher. "Help me!"

With a growl, Iruka reached into his shuriken holster, and pulled out three of the stars. Fanning them between his fingers, he then threw them at the man's feet. Two landed on the branch just below, but one lodged itself into the space between the man's sandal and his pant leg. He hissed in pain, stumbling slightly as he lost mobility of that leg. Konohamaru cried out in fright as he was nearly dropped.

While the man had to pause to readjust himself, Iruka scrambled up and over several branches. He dropped down on the branch ahead of the man, and kicked at his head.

The other ninja, however, appeared to be of a higher rank than Iruka and was considerably faster. He dodged easily, keeping his hold on the boy, and lashed out at Iruka with the brass knuckles on his hand. Iruka used his chakara control to lean back farther on the branch, avoiding the blow, before jumping up and grabbing a branch above his head. Using this as leverage, he swung back quickly and kicked the nin in the face.

The man stumbled, his hold on Konohamaru loosening, which encouraged Iruka to continue his attack. Ducking low as a kick was aimed for his head, Iruka attempted a switching Jutsu that would replace Konohamaru with a nearby branch and get the boy out of the way. Seeing what he was doing, however, the enemy nin preformed a rapid series of hand seals.

Iruka cried out and stumbled back, nearly falling, as blast of flame shot past his head.

Konohamaru seemed to have gained back some of his confidence from Iruka's successful attacks as he yelled out at the ninja, "not so close to me, you mean thing!"

He paid the boy no mind as he threw a handful of shuriken at the now off balance teacher. A couple hit Iruka in the shoulder and he fell with a cry that was echoed by Konohamaru. Iruka reached down and grabbed his last kunai, twisting so it embedded itself in the tree. He continued to fall several feet before it was deep enough in the wood to stop his decent. The enemy ninja had started running again, and Iruka dislodged his kunai as he jumped to a lower branch and followed in pursuit.

Even injured, the man was still faster than Iruka, but the chuunin was closer now and could follow where the other nin planned to jump next. He reached up into his pocket and pulled out one of the scrolls. He quickly preformed a few hand seals before throwing it as hard as he could. It landed and stuck a few branches a head of the ninja and began to smoke instantly. The moment the man's foot touched the branch, it exploded. Both ninja and Konohamaru began to fall with identical yells of surprise.

Iruka jumped down without a moment's hesitation. As he expected, in his shock at the suddenly flying wood the ninja had let go of Konohamaru. Iruka snagged the boy now, holding him close to his chest as they plummeted toward the ground below. Iruka curled his body around him, shielding the boy from harm, as they hit the ground and rolled several feet.

Iruka groaned as he got up, a bit disoriented from the fall, and looked around for the ninja to begin attacking him and his charge once again. Instead, he found no one but Kakashi sitting the branch above him with a grin on the portion of his face that Iruka could see.

"I must say," Kakashi said, grinning down at the two of them, "that you did exceptionally well on your first surprise test, sensei."

"My…" Iruka gaped up at the Jounin in surprise as Konohamaru laughed in delight.

"You sure where scared, Iruka-sensei!"

"You mean you," Iruka said, pointing at Konohamaru before pointing up Kakashi, "and him…"

"Yes, Konohamaru knew." Kakashi said, jumping down to land gracefully beside the obviously upset Iruka and the laughing boy who had helped. "Although, I must admit, his acting was a bit over the top."

"Hey!"

"You mean to tell me," Iruka said, getting to his feet angrily with both fists clenched by his side, "that you deliberately put one of my students in danger? Just to test my abilities?"

"He wasn't in any danger," Kakashi reasoned. "I wasn't going to let him get hurt and neither were you."

"You aren't infallible!" Iruka shot back, his brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "Suppose you'd misjudged something? Konohamaru could have gotten hurt! And all because of some game you wanted to play with me?"

"It wasn't a game," Kakashi responded, eye narrowing just slightly at Iruka's suggestion that the Jounin could have made a mistake. "I had something to prove to you."

"Oh really, what's that?"

"That you're stronger than you think you are."

Silence fell over the trio as Iruka continued to stare at Kakashi, his anger evaporating instantly into surprise.

Kakashi shrugged, deciding to continue since Iruka obviously had nothing to say to that. "When we train together, you know I'm stronger than you, and you hesitate because you wonder if what you're planning to do will be enough. You second-guess everything that comes into that head of yours. I wanted to prove to you that, when you have something to protect, your strength doesn't matter. That you will do it anyway. I had to use one of your students because, lets face it, you care about little else."

"But…"

"You were awesome, Iruka-sensei," Konohamaru spoke up for the first time, grinning up at him. "The boss always said you were really good, but I never believed him. But you are!"

Iruka found himself blushing at the small boy's praise, and Kakashi chuckled. The hesitation had not disappeared completely from Iruka's attacks during the battle, but enough so that Kakashi knew he'd be hurting the next time they trained. The kunai stuck into his palm and the shuriken he'd taken to the ankle would be sure of that.

"I…I'm sorry I questioned your judgment," Iruka said, adding belatedly, "again."

Kakashi waved it off with his uninjured hand, not yet willing to say he forgave the man but not angry enough to hold a grudge. "Training is over for today, Iruka-sensei. I think you got the point."

Iruka nodded, putting a guiding hand on Konohamaru's shoulder. "Come on, Konohamaru. Why don't I treat you out for ramen? 'The boss' and I used to do it all the time…"

Konohamaru let out a whoop of delight. "He's going to be so jealous when he hears I got to eat ramen with his Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka laughed, looking over his shoulder to wave to Kakashi, and invite him along, but the Jounin was already gone.