Finally, this chapter is out! I faced several issues with where I wanted it to go, since the next two chapters are likely to be the last. I'd like to apologize as well for how blasted long it took me to even get this written, much less posted. Real Life, in all her bitchy glory, intervened in the form of my microbiology class (done with and passed), an ill father, and a recovered father shortly followed by an ill aunt. Of course, when I put it like that, it almost sounds like I'm making it up, but no, that was my life these past few months. There are still things going on, but for the sake of sanity (mine and others'), I won't go into it here. Writing has always been my refuge when things go to shit, and though this chapter was difficult, it was still a joy to write, and made me feel better.

For those of you who appreciate a good science joke (and a small clue), in biology, an aggregator can be an improperly formed protein, or a group of them folded wrong. My life is full of them :P


Chapter Seven: The Aggregators

Iruka had an internal alarm clock. Over the years, it had turned out to be frighteningly accurate. At any particular time, he could say to himself that he wanted to wake up in any number of hours, and not only would he wake up, it would happen to within a minute's accuracy. He had had many years to hone the technique, the saving grace of any teacher, and had even received praise for it from others who, for one reason or another, simply couldn't awaken without a wailing alarm clock. Iruka hated alarm clocks with a passion. Jangling the nerves for a wake-up call on a daily basis wasn't good for the blood pressure of a civilian, let alone a highly-trained ninja.

So when he woke up after two and a half hours of sleep without any transition from sleeping to alertness, he wasn't at all surprised. He was disgruntled about not being able to just lie there for a while longer, but with the ease of long practice, he ignored the irritation and quietly sat up.

A faint tugging on the chakra web surrounding his home made him turn to the window with a small smile, the earlier annoyance forgotten. Sitting at the window, attempting to look like a common pigeon (a difficult feat for an oversized eagle), was Mitama, the Hokage's personal messenger bird. A small scroll was attached to her scaly ankle, and seeing him move, she pierced him with a look. Unlike most other eagles, Mitama's eyes were dark green, and it was quite striking to see that in a golden-colored bird.

With a sigh, he stood up, deliberately making noise while he did. He knew that, like him, his companions were trained to immediately wake up at any sign of stealth, so being quiet wouldn't do any good. Besides, it was his home, and he could be loud if he wanted. Or until the neighbors complained; whichever came first, really.

Iruka slid the window up and deactivated the chakra trap at just that point with the ease of long practice. Mitama, who, like all messenger birds, could see chakra, stepped inside the moment it was safe. Daintily, she held out the leg burdened with the scroll, so Iruka could take it. He unrolled it and read the contents silently, smiling a little when he came to the end part. Motioning the bird to wait, he walked to the table, grabbed his pen, and scribbled a quick reply. Ducking into the kitchen for a moment, he opened a pantry and found a small jar of soft meat chews. He brought scroll and jar over to Mitama, sitting regally on his sill, and fed her a strip of meat as he tied the scroll back onto her leg.

Having finished her snack, Mitama gave his hand a brief caress with her beak, turned, and jumped, the backwash from her takeoff pushing Iruka's loose hair away from his face. Iruka chuckled softly, and firmly put aside the thought that having a messenger hawk for a pet would be a good idea. He had had to do so more than once over the years.

Iruka turned, having sensed someone coming up behind him, to face Umino-san, a questioning but calm look on her face. In response, he nodded, and sighed. It was time for them to get ready.

-()()()-

Iruka hated to do it. He really, really didn't want to be the one to have to wake up Kakashi-san, who lay as still as the dead on his bedroll on the floor. Kakashi-san's flat chest was barely rising and falling with his breath, and in the typical manner of ninja on a mission, his hand was resting on the weapons pouch, next to his head. The display before Iruka's eyes was probably one of the main reasons the majority of hidden village civilians never attempted to take a ninja for a lover. It was all too easy to imagine the chaos that would ensue when the civilian lover tried to….surprise…the ninja awake.

Umino-san had "volunteered" (with too much enthusiasm to be real, in Iruka's eyes) to find something else for everyone to eat while he woke up their sleeping jounin. Well, maybe not "their" jounin, and yes, he was a jounin, but he had a name, and that was Kakashi-san…and if he was thinking like this, it was a definite sign he needed more sleep. Unfortunately, duty called, and a ninja went when summoned.

He wondered if he could find a summoned creature to do this instead. Then again, since none of Kakashi-san's summons were around right now, it was probable they had learned their lesson in that respect.

Iruka heaved a soft sigh (it occurred to him that he'd been sighing a lot lately) and squatted down a few feet from Kakashi-san's head. "Kakashi-san," he said softly. "It's Iruka. Time to get up." He carefully watched Kakashi-san's face for any signs of awareness. The soft cloth Kakashi-san wore around his face stirred softly with each breath, now that Iruka was looking closely, but was one breath deeper than another? There wasn't any safe way to tell.

"Kakashi-san," Iruka said, more firmly. "It's time to wake up. Preferably without killing me. Would you mind?"

Kakashi-san shifted a little so that he was facing Iruka, but even while he was tensed and ready to spring away, Iruka noted with relief that there was no longer a hand on the weapons pouch. Feeling a little braver, he continued speaking. "I don't really think Hokage-sama would thank you for giving her more work, and even less if I were a victim of friendly fire, so to speak. So, while you wake up, please remember that I'm not trying to hurt you, you have all your weapons, the mask is still across your face, and I am not touching you in any way, shape or form."

A grumpy mumble that sounded suspiciously like "pity" reached Iruka's ears.

"So," Iruka continued, warming to his subject, "getting up now would be a good idea. The sooner Tsunade-sama gets done with us, the more you can sleep."

"Dun wanna," came a muttered reply. The non-scarred eye opened a slit to glare at him.

"Neither do I," Iruka replied with all honesty, pleased to see the eye widen with surprise. "I'm tired, and I'm barely seeing any chakra coming off of you, and I'd much rather have you sleeping, even if you are taking up my floor-"

"He awake yet?" Umino-san asked, walking out of the kitchen holding a big bowl. "I think we've got enough time for scrambled eggs."

"Did I hear food?" The sleepy, myopic jounin wondered, sounding only marginally more coherent than he had intially.

"You did," Iruka said mildly, giving Umino-san a look. "If you get up, you'll have enough time to eat before we go. That'd get your chakra up to near-civilian levels, at least."

The slitted eye opened further to give Iruka a glare that had less power than a baby's punch. To avoid giving further offense, Iruka stood up and pointedly turned his back on Kakashi-san, walking instead to the kitchen to help Umino-san make their meal.

Seeing that Umino-san had already cracked several eggs into a bowl, Iruka took the time to find some chopsticks to whip them into a homogenous, fluffy mass. He saw that Umino-san was masterfully handling a massive pan that had some hot oil in it. No conversation for this basic practice was necessary. Without looking, Iruka held out the bowl of whipped eggs, and Umino-san took it from his hand not more than a second later. The hiss as the eggs hit the pan sounded good, but the smell, to Iruka, who was short on sleep and had had a very physical few hours, went beyond description.

Umino-san pushed the eggs around in the pan, and they started taking on a more solid appearance. Iruka dug around in his pantry and found some bread, and a search in the fridge yielded some fruit jam that thankfully hadn't gone bad. He paused for a moment and focused his hearing on the living room. He didn't hear anything. Iruka shook his head. Sometimes, he hated it when he was right.

"Kakashi-san, if you don't get up in the next minute, we're going to eat everything without you," he said, feeling very much like someone's mother.

A solid thunk in the frame of the kitchen door and a vibrating kunai were the only answer he got. Iruka debated with himself a moment. Certainly, he would welcome the extra food, especially considering that he would doubtless need a grocery trip later today, but on the other hand, starving a guest (even if said guest had forced an invite) was a bad idea. But more importantly, Iruka wondered what he should do about the kunai in his door. As the eggs sizzled in the pan, he made his decision.

He grabbed the still-quivering kunai, looked quickly to confirm his aim, and threw it right in front of Kakashi-san's face.

Predictably, the flung weapon stuck a mere inch from (presumably) a nose did what gentle coaxing and near outright ordering had not, and now Kakashi-san was up, in a fighting stance, and looking as disgruntled as a masked man with one visible eye could look.

"Oh, good, you're up now," Iruka said, attempting to sound blase. "Food'll be ready in a few minutes. Go wash your hands."

For a moment, Iruka thought the newly alert jounin was going to attack him in retaliation for the return shot, so he held Kakashi-san's gaze and silently stared back, trying to impart the foolishness of the idea without a word. It must have worked, because Kakashi-san moved toward the bathroom after a brief visual battle and, almost as an afterthought, slammed the door.

Iruka looked toward the kunai now stuck in his floor and sighed. It was a good thing his landlord liked him, and had housed ninja before. The minor damage was something easily overlooked otherwise.

Soft clanking from behind him let Iruka know that Umino-san, without much effort, had found the plates, and had dished each of them an equal portion of the eggs. Iruka took the bread bag, the jam jar, and three knives to the kitchen table, setting them down and moving his papers to the small table near the reclining chair.

Iruka hadn't heard any water in the bathroom running over the noise in the kitchen, but since Kakashi showed up a few minutes later slightly damp and looking more alert, he figured he could be allowed to eat. Iruka mentally snorted. He privately doubted that "allowing" would have anything to do with it.

"Okay, let's eat," Iruka said at the same time Umino-san declared, "we've got about ten minutes." They broke off to glance at each other in perplexity.

"Oh gods, stop it, please," Kakashi-san said, looking pained. "I'm only barely awake enough to take this situation standing up."

"Since when have you ever taken anything in a standing position?" Iruka asked incredulously. "You slouch!"

"Slouching is standing, Iruka-san," Kakashi-san pointed out in what he probably thought was a reasonable voice.

"It doesn't count," Umino-san chimed in, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs. "Being half bent over isn't standing."

"It does since I'm on both feet," Kakashi-san retorted.

"But it looks more like reclining," Iruka said calmly.

Kakashi-san groaned and practically fell into his seat. "Why are we having this discussion about the way I stand?"

"Because it's not standing," Umino-san and Iruka said in unison. They glanced at each other again, and Iruka cautiously decided he had the verbal right-of-way. "It's slouching. If slouching was standing, it'd be called standing."

Kakashi-san threw up his hands. "Okay, what do I have to do to get you to stop talking like that? I'll do anything!"

Umino-san glanced at Iruka, probably to make sure Iruka himself wouldn't speak, before slying asking," anything? Really?"

"Yes, dammit," Kakash-san grumbled.

"I'll think on that," was her reply.

Umino-san picked up a fork, with Iruka and Kakashi-san following suit. Purposefully, Iruka looked at his plate the entire time, and out of the corner of his eye saw Umino-san doing the same. The next few minutes were completely devoid of conversation as the three exhausted ninja took in enough food to keep them on their feet for the duration of the debriefing. Hopefully. Iruka wasn't feeling too steady, though he was fit for duty if asked, and he was more than sure Umino-san was in the same condition. He worried more for Kakashi-san, who tended toward the jutsu-using end of the fighting spectrum. Taijutsu at its most strenuous was more conserving of the chakra than even the simplest genjutsu unless the person in question (Naruto came to mind immediately, and Iruka smiled slightly) had a veritable fountain of it. Kakashi-san, after a several-hours long battle, did not appear to be one of those select few, but would likely force himself to pretend as if he did.

Iruka finished his food first, and pushed his plate away with a sigh of satisfaction. He immediately felt more energetic, but he knew that would go away alarmingly fast. When he was short on sleep like this, he always ate like a pig. Today was one of the days where he really wished he could carry chakra reserves on his body, the way the Akimichi-clan did. Unfortunately, he was like the majority of ninja, spare to bony except for muscles. He had never thought he'd wish for extra weight on his body, but he'd proven himself wrong often enough to not be overly surprised about it.

"Done, and thank you," Kakashi-san said after a few moments, and Iruka gratefully looked up to see Umino-san finishing the last bites on her plate. Kakashi-san looked much the same as ever, considering the eye-patch and the face mask were always in place. Iruka hadn't even stolen a look while helping him bathe, tempted though he'd been. Iruka wasn't ashamed of the fact that he'd been shamelessly ogling the jounin's body under the guise of using the washcloth, but looking at the man's face without permission seemed somehow wrong. Iruka could have jokingly wondered aloud if the jounin actually had a face, but that seemed more like something that Naruto would do. At least he knew Kakashi-san had a mouth, if the amazing number of innuendos and the fact that he'd consumed food using it constituted proof.

There had better not be a jutsu to make thoughts audible, or Iruka was going to torture someone for it.

"Let's go, then," Iruka sighed, getting up. "With the attack, security around Tsunade-sama's going to be extremely tight-"

"How tight?" Kakashi-san asked brightly. Iruka couldn't help but think that the comment was far too typical.

"Tight enough," Umino-san grumbled. "We don't all want to be late like you are, even to things like Anbu meetings."

Kakashi-san took that moment to look sharply at Umino-san, though Iruka currently had no idea why. He turned and went to his door, and heard two sets of footsteps behind him. Today, he was feeling paranoid, so after they had all exited, instead of locking his door in the conventional manner, he flashed hand signs to lock the door and reinforce the walls. If someone wanted to break into his home today, they'd find unbreakable walls and a door that would hold them in place. Iruka idly wondered if some young fool in town was feeling lucky enough to try.

Iruka took a deep breath, ignored the twitching burn in his legs, and leapt to the nearest roof, feeling more than hearing his companions behind him. Even in this manner, it took only a few minutes to reach Hokage Tower. Two Anbu, as usual, stood at the entranceway, but unusually, Iruka felt the presence of several more at all the lookout locations. He quietly approved of that; should anyone try a sniper shot at the Hokage or anyone of a similar rank, that unfortunate person would find a quick ambush and a thorough beating.

The Anbu looked them over, and all three patiently submitted to a search. Umino-san in particular protested this step. "Dammit," she snarled. "Touch me there only if you'll be buying me a drink first!"

Iruka chuckled at that, reminded of his own thoughts (was it nearly two days ago?) when he was entering the Tower, then inhaled sharply as the Anbu patted down his groin. "That's not a lethal weapon, Anbu-san, unless you're on the third date," he growled, pushing the hand away. "And that's only if I like you."

"That's not what I've heard, Iruka-kun," Kakashi-san said dryly. Iruka felt a brief flash of irritation at the attractive jounin who didn't have to endure this humiliation yet. A faint gray haze took over Iruka's sight for a moment, before it cleared. "I've heard you're-"

"Good, you're here," another voice said without preamble, distracting Iruka from the sensation of a gloved hand prodding the back of one knee. He had to prevent himself from twitching for an entirely different reason. Looking up, he was shocked to see the Hokage herself standing there, arms crossed over her ample bosom and tapping a sandaled foot. Instead of her usual attire of short pants and an altered kimono top, she was clad in typical Anbu garb of a black tanktop, black pants, and standard-issue equipment pouches. She even wore a hitae-ate around her left bicep. Virtually the only feature that would identify her as the Hokage to any knowledgeable outsiders was the unusual size of her chest. Realizing the weapons search was over, Iruka took a moment to wonder if so much contact with Tsunade-sama was giving him a chest complex.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Umino-san cross her own arms over her chest, and had to smile to himself. If he was developing such a thing, he wasn't the only one.

Kakashi-san was making low tones of displeasure in his throat as his own personal searching commenced, and Iruka actually did smile this time, though not without reservations. "It can't be safe for you to be down here, Hokage-sama.."

"Safe enough, Iruka-kun," she replied without moving from her position. "You'll be expedited to my office after this point. Don't dawdle." And she vanished.

"That was a genjutsu," Umino-san said with some awe. "She wasn't even here."

Iruka started to reply, then stopped himself. The grin came back, with somewhat more feeling to it than before. "Let's not keep Hokage-sama waiting, then," he said.
"Don't leave me here," Kakashi-san implored. Iruka turned and chuckled before he could stop himself. In an effort to speed up the process, both Anbu were participating in the search. Right now, Kakashi-san's eye was wide with some panic as one Anbu briskly felt up and between his legs, and another patted him across the chest. The panic in the one eye turned into a glare, and Iruka raised his arms placatingly.

"Of course not," he said, not without a faint bit of amusement. "Umino-san and I will just wait here and watch."

The glare intensified, but Iruka chose to ignore it. If the jounin hadn't wanted an audience for this, then he should have let them leave. Granted, Iruka felt a bit of pity on the jounin for having to endure what he and Umino-san had, but the pity wasn't strong enough to override his amusement. Like Iruka had always told his students, laughing at someone wasn't a good idea since the next person to be laughed at was usually the person who laughed first.

He usually tried to be a good teacher and emulated what he told his students, but some things were too funny to ignore.

Finally, Kakashi-san was freed from the Anbu's tender caresses and the three continued their procession into Hokage Tower. Iruka kept twitching, though, feeling eyes on him from numerous Anbu hidden within the very woodwork of the building. The checkpoints had been replaced with chakra traps, and while they weren't stopped, detours clearly were not encouraged. Umino-san, almost as though she was experimenting with their current scrutiny, slowed her pace a floor or two before reaching their destination, and an Anbu appeared so fast Iruka almost walked straight into him. Or her. It was often difficult to tell with the mask and bindings some of them used, Iruka felt. Either way, the message had been clear, and Umino-san didn't try the same trick again.

Reaching the Hokage's office, they were met by a shimmering chakra shield and a fierce-looking Shizune and Tonton, clearly ready for trouble and intolerant of nonsense. The glowing energy made it impossible to look inside the office or to even see whether or not the previously ruined had been repaired or shut.

Iruka, at that moment, couldn't care less if Tonton decided he was a play-toy and wanted to chew on him. He just wanted to be debriefed, enter a planning session, and sleep for an entire day. Rather, he wanted to consume his refrigerator without salt first, then sleep for an entire day. The small amount of energy the impromptu breakfast had given him had worn off, and his patience was going with it.

Shizune, it seemed, had approved of what she had seen, so with a few gestures she deliberately made behind her back, the chakra shield dispersed, and they were met with the sight of repaired, open doors, and an empty office. With a glance at his two companions, Iruka walked in, Kakashi-san slightly ahead, and Umino-san slightly behind. Shizune followed them in. Once she had stepped inside the office, the doors swung shut. The office still appeared empty. Each one of the windows had been repaired with boards, making the lighting seem dimmer than usual. The large desk was, in contrast, the cleanest Iruka had ever seen it, except in the Sandaime's day. That seriously raised his suspicions, which hadn't lowered appreciably since the attack.

"Over here."

Turning, Iruka saw the Hokage seemingly materialize out of one of the boards covering the windows to his right. Umino-san didn't seem concerned, and Kakashi's mask was so concealing that it would have been difficult to tell if an eyebrow had been raised. He didn't see Shizune's reaction since she had remained behind to presumably guard the door.

Tsunade-sama walked toward the center of the room, stopped, and sank down into a crosslegged seat. With some confusion, everyone did the same, Iruka wincing a little as his tired body contorted. He noticed that his Hokage was wearing the Anbu outfit her kage-bunshin (genjustsu?) had on earlier, except that her hitae-ate was nowhere to be seen. Instead, silver bands surrounded her deceptively slim upper arms, and similar bands covered her wrists, all dulled so they would not glint when light struck them.

"I'll make this brief," Tsunade-sama said with a sigh. "The interrogation Ibiki-kun and his merry band did yielded fruit and proper information faster than any of us had a right to expect. That was the first and only wave of attacks we are likely to fear."

"Hokage-sama," Umino-san said diffidently," can we expect them to have told the truth? What if there are others hidden there with similar plans-"

"Getting there, Umino-chan," Tsunade-sama replied, making Iruka twitch. He remembered hating that particular nickname as a child, and even hearing it used on someone else wasn't pleasant. He didn't fail to note that Umino-san herself had made a small motion of distaste. That somehow made him feel better.

Tsunade-sama didn't seem to have noticed either his or his counterpart's reaction, and continued the meeting. "I sent several of my summons, as well as the Anbu in reserve, out in all directions to confirm the information as soon as I dismissed you. Thanks to Naruto's new jutsu, we were able to tell if they were lying, but better safe than sorry, as the old saying goes."

"Hokage-sama, did you wish to send me out as well?" Kakashi-san asked politely.

Iruka saw Tsunade-sama's mouth open, and he beat her to it. "What, so you can crash down half-dead of chakra exhaustion somewhere?" He heard Umino-san snort in surprised laughter, but he wasn't done yet. "That has to be-"

"A valid concern," interjected the Hokage with a frown. "Kakashi-kun, I don't need to send you out, though the offer is appreciated. That and I don't want to have to heal you after you use up every single reserve in that skinny body of yours." The Hokage paused, then added, "brat."

Iruka hid a small smile, but the Hokage hadn't finished talking. "That's all the debriefing I've got. Now tell me what you went through, starting with you, Iruka-kun." For good measure, the Hokage deliberately pointed at the male Iruka. Taking a deep breath, he detailed how he had been awoken, the mad dash to the school, and his discovery of the earth-trap jutsu. He left out the manner in which he and the Anbu had taken out the enemy, as he figured the Hokage herself wasn't interested and he didn't want Kakashi-san knowing too many of his tricks. Umino-san didn't factor into his decision in the slightest.

Finishing his part of the debriefing, he listened to Umino-san and Kakashi-san deliver their own reports calmly, often asking each other to pause while the other embellished on some point. It was clear to Iruka that the two of them had worked superlatively well together, though the disgruntlement evident in Kakashi-san's voice when he spoke of Umino-san's initial detours made it clear that one person in this room did not share Iruka's opinion. The thought of his female counterpart and Kakashi-san working together gave him a small twinge, though he had no real idea as to why.

Tsunade-sama nodded often, listening intently, and Iruka knew she was taking mental notes almost verbatim. It had been part of her training as a medi-nin to memorize what she observed, and the talent was being put to good use in her dual roles as lead medi-nin and Hokage of Konoha. Iruka, letting his mind drift, remembered Sakura-chan telling him about her training, and how hard it was to even start traning herself into having the eidetic memory the Hokage herself was demonstrating at that very moment.

"Are we done here?" The question, asked bluntly by Kakashi-san, brought Iruka back to himself with a small start. No one was looking at him, but he still felt an uncomfortable blush warming his cheeks for displaying his inattention.

"I don't see why not, brat," Tsunade-sama said calmly, not appearing offended by the tone. "We're all damn tired and it looks like the attack is an open-and-shut case." She paused, and a small, wicked grin came to her face. "Much like Jiraiya's novels."

"Hokage-sama, please don't insult my favorite author," Kakashi-san protested.

Umino-san, Iruka noticed, grinned at that. "Might be interesting to see Jiraiya-sama become offended at her and try getting her to take it back," she offered. "I'm sure it'd be an excellent display of technique to show the students."

In response, Umino-san was cuffed by the Hokage who, mindful of her strength, did it as lightly as a mother would rest a hand on a newborn. Umino-san still winced. "Girl-brat, don't take that tone with me," Tsunade-sama said wryly. "I wouldn't even bet on it, since I'm sure to win. Also, keep up that kind of sassy talk and I won't tell you what I've figured out about this peculiar appearance of yours."

Iruka perked up at that. "Really? We can both get back to our regular lives?" Pause. "Or whatever?"

"Yes, yes," Tsunade-sama replied dismissively, waving a hand around artlessly. "Having said that, it's going to require more than me to set this right, so after you all go home and recuperate for a day, young Sakura and I will see about setting you two to rights."

Umino-san turned to look at Iruka, and he looked back at her weirdly familiar features, feeling happy about a return to normal finally in sight even as he was disturbed.

"Pity," Kakashi-san said with a sigh. "I'd almost gotten used to her."

"That makes one of you," Shizune-san, almost forgotten, said dryly. "Umino-san, I like you very much, which I expected, but seeing you here alongside Iruka-sensei is still nothing short of disturbing."

"You won't tell us how you figured out how she came to be here?" Kakashi-san asked, a hint of a pleading whine in his voice. "I'm not sure I could wait an entire day."

"You'll have to," Tsunade-sama said implacably. "It's going to take half that time for me to rest myself up, and the rest to research and see to the patients in the hospital. For now, take your small vacation with gratitude for once in your life, you silver-haired brat." Despite the harsh words, there was genuine affection in her voice, and Iruka found himself again having to conceal a smile.

The deceptively youthful Hokage levered herself to her feet, and Iruka and his group hastened to do the same. Iruka sighed deeply as sudden stiffness in his legs made itself known, and he shifted around to try and relieve some of the ache. A chakra-laden hand gestured, and the doors ponderously swung open to allow their exit.

"Return to me tomorrow in the early afternoon," instructed their leader. "No nonsense, no delaying, no stupid excuses." The last part was obviously meant for Kakashi-san, who gave a wry salute in response. The three of them filed out, and Shizune, who followed them out, shut the doors once again, sealing the Hokage inside.

"Tomorrow, then," Shizume said with a small smile for each of them.

"Yes," Umino-san answered for them, looking at Shizune calmly. She turned and walked away, leaving Iruka and Kakashi-san to follow.

A few moments passed where the only sound Iruka heard was their own footsteps. Even in the midst of his exhaustion, he had to smile at the irony of ninja like them being too tired to walk silently. He bet the civilians thought they were superhuman and never got tired. The thought probably should have made him sad; inexplicably, it amused Iruka instead.

"So," Kakashi-san said conversationally.

Umino-san groaned at the same time Iruka did. "Oh, you might as well just come back over," Iruka said with resignation.
"Might as well see this through to the end," Umino-san said, finishing Iruka's thought.

"I am going to be so happy when I don't have to hear you two do that anymore," Kakashi-san replied.

"Not as happy as us," Iruka sighed, and concentrated on going home.


I am fairly certain that I will be able to wrap this story up in two chapters. Anyone have any guesses about what's really going on? There are a few clues in this chapter that may or may not give it all away, but I hope to have a few tricks still up my sleeve. Thank you for your patience with me, and as always, please feel free to leave a review!