Somewhere in a three-room apartment, on the top floor, a certain little blond was preparing himself for his first day at the academy.
One year had passed and it was now finally time for Naruto to enter the academy. While the boy was pretty excited to go there to see kids of his own age and make friends, he wasn't too fond about all the learning he would have to do. Inari nee-san had already taught him some basic stuff such as the history of Konoha but he didn't care much for that. What he was looking forward to was to learn how to fight and throw kunais. After having taken his bento and some prank material for his future teacher, Naruto walked out of his apartment with a confident grin.
'Academy here I come!' he thought mischievously as he closed the door of his apartment behind him.
Kakashi was walking, or more like running, from the training grounds where he had had early taijutsu training with Guy. He was heading back to his apartment to take a quick shower before going to the academy to watch Naruto's first day. He had been up all night too excited about the fact that tomorrow was Naruto's big day, like he was the one who was entering the academy for the first time. Since he couldn't sleep, he had gone dragging Guy out of bed for a training session as soon as the sun had begun to rise. Though dragging Guy wasn't the appropriate term since the man, who was always wearing a green jumpsuit, had already been up and had eagerly accepted Kakashi's proposition.
When he arrived at the academy the young man realized he was a little early regarding the planned hour of when the students are supposed to arrive. He settled himself comfortably on the branch of a tree that was standing in the academy's yard, hiding him well from anyone who would pass by and took out his Icha Icha to wait for the students to arrive. Moments later he heard the first new students along with their parents arrive. He recognized his superior Shikaku Nara with his son Shikamaru, as well as Hiashi Hyuga with his daughter and Fugaku Uchiha with his younger son. The latter two being part of clans being on the list of the clans whose views Kakashi disliked the most.
The Hyugas had this ridiculous notion that the members of the main house were better than the ones from the branch house. This archaic way of thinking was enslaving the branch house, binding them by force to serve obediently the main house until their death. This was a disgusting practice that Kakashi hoped would one day disappear. But for that it needed the head of clan to change things and it would not be easy as Hiashi Hyuga was one cold and proud man. The jonin looked at the little girl who was the future heiress of the Hyuga clan. She looked really shy and introvert. He had heard that the Hyuga kids, especially those of the head of clan, were trained from the tender age of 3 in a very hard and strict way. No mistakes or weaknesses were accepted. He felt really bad for her as he imagined she did not have an easy life.
Then his gaze came upon the leader of the Konoha military police force as well as the leader of the Uchiha clan. Though the Uchihas were, on the contrary of the latter clan, really united, they also had some ridiculous expectances of their offspring and Fugaku was a great example of that. His eldest son was a genius who was already a member of the ANBU, and because of this, high expectations were put on the younger one about becoming like his brother. And according to what Kakashi could see Fugaku only accorded attention to success, which meant that the kid had to stand out in his shinobi performances to get the recognition of his father. The silver haired man didn't know whom to feel sorry the most for as he looked at the kids on whom the burden of heavy expectations was already put on their shoulders.
As kids were arriving with their parents, the young man finally saw a patch of blond hair appear. He watched as Naruto arrived, an excited expression on his face. A warm feeling spread inside the jonin as he watched the little blond looking so excited. His eyes narrowed though, when he spotted some women looking with disgust about Naruto, making comments about how he was the "thing" that the hokage had allowed to integrate the academy.
'Stupid hags.' He thought as he glared at them, then after he had made sure that they wouldn't do anything to harm the boy the young man let out a sigh and leaned back against the tree. As he watched Naruto, the jonin remembered the talk he had had with the Sandaime about his reason to put Naruto at the Academy.
Flashback
"Why did you put Naruto at the academy hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked the old man in curiosity more than worry, as he sat on a chair in the hokage's office.
"Naruto needed to have something that would make him become less of an outcast of Konoha." The Sandaime said as he was looking outside the window, "Making him become a ninja was the best solution I thought for him. I believe that the Yondaime wanted Naruto to become someone important, a hero of some sort. By making Naruto follow a shinobi training he has the opportunity to make something of himself and be recognized by the people of Konoha."
"I see." The young man said as he looked pensively in front of him, reflecting on the hokage's word, then a thought crossed his mind, "So I guess you are the one who gave the idea of becoming the strongest ninja of the village to Naruto."
"Yes and no." The old man answered as he turned away from the window to face Kakashi, "The boy already had the idea of becoming someone important because he wants to be acknowledged by the villagers. Not many career paths lead to fame. It was only logical that he would choose this path. All I had to do was tell him how important shinobis' existence was to the village."
"Well I hope this was the right thing to do." Kakashi said holding back a sigh inside him, "I don't want to see him suffer because people don't want to accept him even he is a shinobi."
"Talking about seeing Naruto," the hokage began with a smile and teasing twinkle in his eyes, "I heard that Naruto met a rather nice jonin who caught his balloon before it flew off and gave him money to buy some treats. Would you happen to know who that might be?"
"No idea." Kakashi replied in a fake nonchalant voice as his eyes quickly averted the hokage's amused gaze.
"Well I think it's good that you have contact with the boy. Though I think I don't need really to tell you, but you need to be careful to not be too conspicuous about it." Sarutobi told him.
"I know Sandaime." The jonin said crossing and uncrossing his fingers absently in a nervous manner, "I hadn't really planned on seeing him at the time, but I might see him again... I want to..."
"Of course you do. It's totally natural." The Sandaime said as he put a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"But I'm afraid the council will interfere again." Kakashi said in an almost desperate voice as he looked up at the hokage.
"Yes they are quite nuisances concerning Naruto." The old man sighed sitting down behind his desk and intertwining his two hands together in thought, "Though I don't think they could do anything about it. They already obtained all the requests they had formulated concerning the boy, and I already told them that they would not interfere in Naruto's life anymore."
"Naruto needs an adult figure. Someone he can look up to and who would treat him nicely. This is another reason why I wanted him to enter the academy. A teacher is exactly what he needs to keep him in line and rooted to reality." The old hokage continued with a serious look before adding with a wishful face, "Hopefully this will also lessen the amount of pranks…"
"Pranks?" Kakashi asked curious.
"Naruto has become quite a prankster during last year." Sarutobi began, "His favorite prank is to spray paint on the hokage monument."
"Huh?" the grey haired man said hesitating between feeling dumbfounded and amused.
"Well since I assume you'll be once again watching over him from afar, I think you'll see his prankster side when he goes for his first day at the academy." The Sandaime said, an impish smile.
End flashback
The Sandaime been true to his word as Kakashi saw Naruto put the blackboard eraser in balance on top of the classroom door, which had automatically fallen on the homeroom teacher's head, efficiently covering him in the white powdery substance of the chalks. Kakashi felt slightly concerned about this kind of behavior from Naruto. The boy wasn't even bothered to be punished. He was grinning proudly. It was like it was some kind of reward. Like it was some kind of recognition of his existence. The silver haired man hoped that this behavior would change after some time at the academy. Only time would tell…
After that, the rest of the day had went on smoothly as Kakashi had watched Naruto's first day in class from a tree near the classroom where he had been able to see the blond through the window. He watched him learning about the different hand signs and chakra fluctuation as well as weapon training. The young man had not remembered that his first kunai training had been this messy and he was glad he was away from the danger range. Though he wondered if he was really that safe up in the trees with some of these kids, and decided that it should only be taught after at least a month in the academy when a shuriken planted itself next to him on the tree trunk. Naruto had been goofing around all day long, trying to get attention from the others. The teacher had yelled and scolded him while the students had laughed and snickered at his tomfooleries. The jonin's eyes had narrowed, as he didn't like the way the teacher had this disdainful look on his face when looking at Naruto. It was this kind of behavior that made the other kids avoid, belittle and make fun of him.
'Adults are the ones who need to show the example to kids on respecting others.' Kakashi thought a feeling annoyance and anger beginning to bloom inside him as he looked at the teacher. 'Maybe I should have a talk with him.'
At this thought the young man remembered with anger how he had caught one time some villagers surrounding Naruto in a street's corner who had been about to harm him. The jonin recalled with a smirk how he had made sure that those men as well as the entire village understood the fact that they were not to touch a single strand of Naruto's hair. It had happened yesterday, the day before Naruto's big day. People had been upset when they had learned that the hokage had pushed Naruto to join the academy and were more daring in approaching the boy than before because of this anger and hatred.
Flashback
The sun was setting on Konoha and the village was bustling with the nightly activities of people going back home or stopping at a bar for a drink or two and others eating out.
Naruto was walking back from the hospital where he had gone to see Iyashi nii-san and Inari nee-san. Whom the latter had whacked him upside the head, when he had dared to say that she was too old to have a boyfriend, calling him a disrespectful brat before sending him home saying that he shouldn't be out at this hour. The blond boy was now walking in a very poorly lit street, in a nonchalant manner, his hands in his pockets when five men appeared in front of him, their faces partially hidden by the buildings' shadows.
"Get out of here! You shouldn't be here!" one of them said nastily.
"I am just going back to my apartment." Naruto replied feeling uneasy with the men who had threatening faces and were beginning to surround him. "Moreover the street is to every body."
"You don't get it. You shouldn't be living in the village. We don't want you here." One of them told him, his voice full of disgust and hatred.
Wide eyed at the harsh hurtful words, Naruto began backing away from the men who were getting nearer from him like a trap slowly closing on its prey. Feeling fear prickle along his neck and down his spine, the little blond realized there was no way to escape those men as he saw them getting closer and closer.
"Mah such a loud group of people." A voice suddenly startled the group of men, as well as Naruto, making them turn toward the direction where the voice had come from, "It's a really coward thing to attack a child nonetheless with 5 adults."
The voice was the one of Kakashi who had been walking in the area. He had heard some women in the street talk about Naruto, complaining about the fact that a child with such a dangerous demon inside him shouldn't be living in their village. Normally he wouldn't have paid attention to them, as he already knew what were the things the villagers were always saying when talking about the boy. But this time, he listened carefully when one of the women said that she had seen him just a minute ago walking in the streets. Wanting to see the boy if only from afar, the young man had begun to walk at a faster pace in the direction Naruto seemed to have gone. That's when he had walked into the scene of these men who were bullying the boy.
"Mind your own business!" a man braver than the others told Kakashi as he tried to look intimidating, "That thing shouldn't even exist!"
It was the wrong answer to give, as in a matter of seconds the men surrounding the blond boy were knocked down to the ground. The jonin had taken Naruto away from them and was now kneeling in front of the boy.
"Are you alright?" he asked him his hands on the boy's shoulders while checking if he had been hurt.
"Yes I am mister. Thank you." The boy sniffed as relief flowed into him after having felt scared before the mysterious man in front of him had arrived.
Naruto couldn't see the face of his savior because of the lack of light but the voice seemed familiar to him. It was a deep comforting voice that made him feel safe and warm inside. Though he couldn't place where he had seen this man before, he couldn't help but feel like he had met him before.
"Good." the warm voice said sounding like the man was relieved, "Then go home. I'll take care of those men."
"But…" the boy tried to protest but was cut off by Kakashi.
"Go." Was the curt but stern order the jonin told the boy, as he didn't want the boy to see what would happen next.
Not because it was going to be violent or anything. But Kakashi didn't want Naruto to witness this particular talk between him and these men.
"Okay." The boy mumbled before running in the direction of his apartment.
The young man stood up and watched Naruto fade into the darkness as he got farther away from them. When he couldn't see the boy anymore he turned back to the men who were still on the ground who were now looking at him in fear. If before they had been intimidated by the jonin's presence, they were now completely frozen in terror.
"W-who are you?" one of them asked.
"Who I am is not important." Kakashi replied as he took a step toward them, his threatening aura making the men in front of him back away from him more and more.
"What is more important is that you have tried to harm this boy." He continued, his tone dangerously low.
"He is a demon!" a man retorted loudly as if it explained everything, "He shouldn't be allowed to walk freely in the village."
"Yeah! He should be locked up!" another one exclaimed.
"Enough!" the silver haired jonin bellowed a murderous intent washing over the now trembling men, "You are despicable. What right do you have to call this boy's existence an abnormality huh?"
Kakashi arrived right in front of them and crouched to look at them with narrowed eyes that promised a painful death if they didn't do as he wanted them to.
"Tell every body in the village that no one is allowed to harm Naruto. If anyone ever dares to harm him in any way, I will personally take care of this person." He told them in a low cold voice.
After that he walked away from them and disappeared into the night as he jumped onto the roofs thinking that he must have got his point across.
End of flashback
After Naruto's first day at the academy had ended, Kakashi went to a bar where Iyashi and Inari were waiting for him.
"Hey Kakashi! Over here!" Inari called in a loud manner as soon as the jonin arrived in the bar, motioning for him to come with her arms.
"How have you been?" Iyashi asked with his usual calm smile on his face as Kakashi sat at their table after having ordered a beer to a waitress that was passing by.
"Good." The lanky young man shrugged nonchalantly, "What about you?"
"I am well." The doctor said leaning back in his chair relaxed before asking with a smirk, "So how did Naruto's first day at the academy go?"
"It went well… if you don't count the numerous stunts he pulled." Kakashi replied a little embarrassed.
Apparently every body he knew suspected that he was watching over Naruto.
"So you have been watching Naruto the entire day while he was at the academy?" Inari asked rhetorically at this moment with a snicker.
Not saying anything Kakashi fiddled with his glass of beer.
"Aw little Kashi is blushing! It's so cute!" Inari cooed drunkenly while giggling.
"Excuse her. She had a little too much to drink before you arrived." Iyashi told the young man chuckling, a little amused, "Her boyfriend dumped her."
"Hey hey! I did not get dumped!" the drunken nurse argued in an outraged pout, "I broke up with the bastard!"
"Sure it is sis', sure it is." His twin said dismissively with a wave of his hand.
Kakashi looked amused at the twins' familiar friendly bickering, or more like Inari whining and complaining in her brother's ear while the latter remained calm and stoic. The young man was very grateful to have those two in his life. They were important to him. They had been there in good and hard times for the last nine years. He didn't know how he would have done without their support concerning Naruto.
"By the way," Inari said startling the jonin from his thoughts with a grin that promised nothing good, "There is a weird rumor about a man following Naruto like his own shadow, who is keeping an eye on him. Also the brat told me that some mysterious man saved him from a scary group of men yesterday."
"Oh really?" Kakashi said trying to faint surprise.
"Yeah. Apparently he had a lanky figure and his face seemed to be partly covered." Inari added her grin getting wider as she noticed the young man slightly squirming uneasily.
At this Kakashi didn't say anything, knowing it was useless to feign ignorance when the nurse obviously knew for sure it was him.
"Ah hah! I knew it!" she exclaimed in a triumphant manner pointing a finger at the jonin, "You've been stalking Naruto all this time. You are a stalker!"
Kakashi felt his cheeks darken in embarrassment at the nurse drunken last statement. As much as it was entertaining, when Iyashi saw Kakashi's mortification. He took pity of him and decided to intervene before his sister, who definitely had had too much to drink, would make the silver haired man die from embarrassment at being called a stalker in a public place.
"Alright I think it's time to get you home Inari before you make further a fool of yourself." The doctor said picking his sister up from her chair and began to try dragging her out of the bar.
"No! I don't want to! Let go of me!" the nurse whined like a two year old while trying to tug her arm free of her brother's grip.
After struggling to try to get her to follow him out of the bar and having lost all of his patience, Kakashi watched as Iyashi picked his sister up and threw her over his shoulder to carry her out of the place.
"See you soon Kakashi. Take care!" Iyashi told the shinobi with a smile before leaving.
"Bye Kashi!" Inari slurred smiling too and waving goodbye at the bemused jonin.
Kakashi watched them leave the bar before shaking his head in amused perplexity at Inari always drinking too much and Iyashi being the one who had to drag her back home before she did anything shameful.
'It's good to see that some things never change.' He thought with a smile before putting money on the table for his drink and standing up to leave to go to his own apartment and have some rest.
The next day, early in the morning, Kakashi went to the hokage tower to get his next mission. When he arrived everybody was already there. Among the persons present the jonin recognized Kurenai Yuhi, Anko Mitarashi, as well as a member of the Hyuga clan called Tokuma that he remembered from having had missions with him before. Two more persons that Kakashi had never seen before were standing in the room.
"Glad to see you join us Kakashi." The Sandaime said, "We can now begin the meeting. But before I tell you about your mission, I'll present you your teammates."
"I believe you already know Kurenai, Anko and Tokuma here." He continued motioning with his hand at the trio.
"Hello Kakashi! Long time no see huh!" Anko said with one of her easygoing smiles.
"Nice to see you Anko." Kakashi replied with nod looking at her with slightly wary eyes.
Though she was a great kunoichi, he couldn't help but think that she was up to something every time he was seeing her. Moreover her behavior was unpredictable.
"Nice to see you again too Tokuma-san." He said to the Hyuga clansman who replied with a nod in acknowledgment.
"Hello Kurenai." He then said turning toward the other dark haired kunoichi before asking with a teasing glint in his eyes, "How is Asuma doing?"
"H-how should I know?" the woman retorted a pink hue tinting her cheeks as she spoke.
"As much as I like hearing about my son," Sarutobi intervened hiding an amused smile, "I think we should get back on the topic you are all here today for."
"Of course Sandaime I'm sorry." Kakashi said with a small apologetic bow.
"Good. Now let me introduce you to Hayate Gekko and Iruka Umino." The old hokage presented the two other shinobis standing there, "Since you are the commanding officer for this mission, you should know that Hayate is a tokubetsu jonin so you might want to take this in consideration when deciding on your mission tactic."
"Nice to meet you Kakashi-san." Hayate said with a nod, which Iruka imitated with a bow of his own.
"Same here." Kakashi replied as he looked at the man called Iruka who was the only chunin with Kurenai in the room, and who looked like he did not fit on a battlefield, or in any situation that needed any type of violence for that matter.
'Well looks can be deceiving.' He reasoned internally before returning his focus onto the hokage who was about to give them their instructions.
Later that day in the early evening…
The mission had been a disaster. This mission that had initially been a B rank had turned into an A rank in a matter of seconds as ninja forces from an enemy village had suddenly shown up. Kakashi was now on top of the hokage tower along with the Sandaime debriefing about the mission. The sun was setting in the horizon making the sky glow of a light red and orange light, making the jonin feel uncomfortable as it reminded him of the fact that some of his men had been injured because of his tactics' mistakes.
"Kakashi, how is it that you were there but still…?" the old hokage asked as he looked upon the village of Konoha, his hands behind his back.
Kakashi was standing very straight behind him, in a formal military way.
"I'm so sorry." The jonin apologized, "I missed with the formation. I should have kept him with me."
Kakashi was referring to Iruka, who had been the one to put the mission as well as is teammates in danger. The jonin knew he should have followed his instincts when he had felt that the brown haired young man was too soft and too sensitive for a shinobi. Suddenly, the silver haired shinobi felt someone behind him approaching. From the corner of his eyes he saw the figure of Iruka walking to them, recognizing his chakra signature.
"Oh, Iruka. How are your injuries?" the old hokage asked as he turned around to face the scarred man, his brows furrowed.
"It's nothing serious." Iruka replied looking sheepish, "Thank you for your concern."
"Good job with the mission earlier." Sarutobi told him with a soft voice though his eyes were serious and stern with concern, "You should take some time off to let your wounds heal properly."
Next to them, on the side, was standing Kakashi who watched them as Iruka and the hokage were talking, the young man looking uneasy under the scrutinizing gaze of the Sandaime.
"Sandaime, this time it was all my own responsibility." The brown haired man said then glanced at Kakashi, giving him a small apologetic smile, "The commanding officer is not to blame."
"I know that without even hearing it from you." The old hokage replied.
"H-hai." Iruka stuttered straightening up.
"Iruka, you've always been very kind." The Sandaime began sternly, "And I believe this time, that kindness was detrimental in a crucial moment against enemy ninjas. There may come a time when that personality may put the lives of your friends in danger."
"Yes, I thought I knew my personality well enough." The young man said in a small voice, closing his eyes briefly as if he was admonishing himself.
"Well there's nothing we can do about that now." Sarutobi told him, his brows still furrowed, "Also for your next mission…"
"Sandaime!" Iruka interrupted him surprising the old hokage as well as Kakashi who turned his head toward him looking curiously at the new determination that had just lit the chunin's eyes, "Actually, I would like to talk with you about that…"
"What is it? Tell me." The hokage told him.
"Sandaime, do you remember what you told me," the chunin began to ask, "that time after my parents died, in front of the Hero Stone Monument, regarding the Will of Fire?"
"Of course I remember." Sarutobi said.
"What you told me back then has helped me endure the endeavors of my training and my missions." Iruka said in a grateful tone of voice, his eyes lighting up with passion as he added, "I believe I want to teach the future generations of shinobi about the Will of Fire."
The Sandaime smiled at these words.
"What? Are you saying that you want to become an instructor at the Academy?" he asked in a content tone of voice, smiling.
"Yes, if I can." The young man said with a smile of his own.
Kakashi looked with interest at the chunin and the life that was sparkling in his eyes as he talked about becoming an Academy teacher.
'Interesting.' He thought, an idea slowly forming into his head about how this man, who looked to have had a childhood very similar to Naruto's, could help him and be the adult figure the boy needed.
"Okay, from tomorrow you will start assisting teaching staff at the Academy." The hokage told the brown haired chunin.
"Really Sandaime?" the scarred young man exclaimed not being able to contain his excitement, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm reminding Kakashi of the way a certain little blond acted when happy.
'Yes,' the lanky jonin thought at this instant, 'He is the perfect choice to be a father figure for Naruto.'
"I'll tell you tomorrow morning which class you will be assigned to." The old hokage told the Iruka, "For now get a good night's rest to be ready for tomorrow."
"Hai." Iruka said excitedly, saluting before leaving.
After the young chunin had left, Kakashi stepped up to the hokage.
"Sandaime," he began to say, "I have a request to make."
"I'm listening." He told him waiting patiently for the jonin to continue.
"I would like you to appoint Iruka Umino as Naruto's homeroom teacher." He said.
"Oh," the hokage said raising an eyebrow at hearing this, his voice holding a mix of surprise and wonder, "and what is the reason for this demand?"
"I just think that he is the best suited, considering his childhood background, to understand Naruto and help him grow in a good way." Kakashi explained looking at the old hokage straight in the eyes with determination, "Remember what you said to me some time ago. Naruto needs an adult figure in his life. This man is the perfect choice for this role."
"I see." Sarutobi said looking intently at the jonin before continuing, "Very well then. I will make sure that Iruka becomes Naruto's homeroom teacher but I need to warn you that it might be a difficult task to make him agree him to it and even more to make him regard Naruto not as the Kyubbi."
"Thank you hokage-sama." Kakashi said bowing, relieved, though a feeling of apprehension was also spreading though him as he too felt that this would not be an easy task.
At this moment the lanky jonin decided that he would keep an eye on Iruka.
Two days later, Kakashi was crouching on his usual spot, on the branch of the academy's tree, looking at the window of Naruto's class. All the students had arrived and Naruto was already doing mischiefs as the jonin watched him put the blackboard eraser on top of the classroom's door. Three minutes later the classroom door opened, revealing Iruka in front of whom the eraser fell, missing his head. When the chunin finally realized it was Naruto's doing he took a step toward the boy.
'Bad idea.' The silver haired man thought as he watched the brown haired man enter the room before he slipped and fell on the floor.
In addition of the eraser, Naruto had spread some oil in front of the door so that if the first prank didn't work this one would. Iruka didn't not react well, as it was obvious he would. But the curious thing was that he completely ignored the boy and told him to go take his seat. He didn't react either when Naruto fell asleep during class, nor when the boy changed the time on the clock to make it look like it was break time. When other children made fun of him, telling him that he was nothing but an annoyance and a germ for just being alive, the only thing he said was "don't bother with this kid". Sighing heavily Kakashi watched in disappointment the normally known gentle and kind chunin acting distant and disdainful toward Naruto. After a few days, when he saw that the situation was getting nowhere near better, Kakashi decided that he needed to do something about it. He would go talk to Iruka. Due to the way he was treated, Naruto had decided not to go to the Academy anymore and the jonin wanted to remedy to this situation.
One day, the chance to do so presented itself, as he was sitting on a tree branch, his back leaning against the tree trunk reading his Icha Icha book when Iruka, who was walking back from the hokage's tower looking upset, went to sit on the bench next to his spot.
'This is my chance' the lanky jonin thought.
The chunin beneath his tree let out a weary sigh.
"Hey! That's my special seat." Kakashi called the scarred young man, making the latter raise his head to look at him, before adding coolly, "If everyone were to take a deep breathe this close to me, I'd be interested, and then I won't be able to read my book, now will I?"
"I'm sorry." Iruka apologized standing up to leave, "I'll move right away."
But before he could go anywhere the silver haired jonin jumped and landed right in front of him, efficiently blocking his way.
"No wait. I was about to leave." He told him looking at him with his bored look on his face, closing his book and putting it away in his pocket, "See you around."
As he pretended to leave, Kakashi felt Iruka sitting back on the bench. Stopping, he turned to the chunin to look at him as the young man was leaning, his elbows on his laps with his forehead resting on his hands, hiding his face in his palms.
"What's wrong." the jonin asked him, "You don't look too good."
At this Iruka straightened up a bit, putting his hands on his knees looking at the ground.
"I'll listen to what you have to say, if you don't mind." Kakashi proposed.
"The thing is, I became that Naruto's…" the chunin began before correcting himself, "Uzumaki Naruto's homeroom teacher."
At that Kakashi only let a sound of acknowledgement to Iruka's words, inciting him to go on.
"Earlier, I wanted to ask the Third if he could relieve me as his teacher," the brown haired man continued putting once again his elbows on his laps, resting his chin on his intertwined fingers, "but he wouldn't see me… I have no idea how I'm supposed to get closer to Naruto… I'm not qualified to teach Naruto!"
After saying all this, the chunin took his head between his hands looking lost.
"I see…" Kakashi said looking at the sky, "So that's why they're dead…"
Iruka looked at him in utter confusion, his eyes shining in slight shock at the words the jonin had chosen.
"Your eyes. When you had talked about becoming an Academy teacher with the hokage, your eyes had had been full of life." The silver haired man explained to the stunned younger man then told him trying to keep his voice not accusatory, "The eyes that sparkled back then are now dead. If you don't open your own heart, others will not open up to you. Did you forget that obvious truth already?"
"No, you're trying to forget it, aren't you?" Kakashi asked rhetorically trying to stay calm and composed.
"The Kyubbi sealed within Naruto is responsible for the death of my parents. Of course, I know that Naruto is not to blame for what happened. " Iruka said exhaling wearily, with his eyes closed, "But every time I see him, I'm reminded of the Kyuubi that is sealed within him. How can Naruto open up to someone like me?"
"You're the only one capable of opening up Naruto's heart." The older man told him leaning up on his elbows.
"That is..." he began to say as he got up and turned toward him, "That is your ordeal."
"Ordeal?" the chunin asked his brows slightly furrowed.
"Yeah, given to you by the Sandaime." He replied looking at him, knowing that this would make the young man react, "So try your best a little longer. If you do, something's bound to happen. What if you tried to live up to the Sandaime's expectations?"
"See you around." Kakashi told him with a small wave plastering on his face one of his forced fake smiles, before leaving the chunin to his own thoughts.
'The rest is up to him.' The jonin thought as he was walking away from Iruka.
And it had indeed worked as a few days later. While Naruto had gone up the hokage's mountain in the forest when enemy ninjas were still around, getting himself in danger, Iruka had ran after him and saved him. The silver haired man had been pleasantly surprised and happy to see that his talk with the younger male had worked so well. Kakashi felt happiness swelling up inside of him at the idea that Naruto had now someone who cared about him. Someone who would guide him and be the father figure he never had.
It had now been a year since Iruka had began to get closer to Naruto, who was now in the middle of his second year at the Academy. Though people were still slightly heinous toward him, the boy looked happier than before. Kakashi had seen him having ramen with the chunin two to three times a week. He was happy for the boy but he couldn't help but feel sad that the little blond didn't need him anymore. Right now the jonin was lying on the grass by the riverbank, reading one of his Icha Icha books. At this moment Pakkun appeared near him.
"What are you doing?" Pakkun asked his master sitting next to him.
"Reading." The silver haired simply replied, turning the page of his book.
"No. I mean why are you not with Naruto? Why are you not looking over him?" the ninken asked sternly.
"He has someone by his side now." The lanky shinobi said, adding with a sigh, "This teacher, Iruka Umino, is now here for him."
"So what? It's not because the pup has now another person who cares about him that you don't have any part in his life anymore!" the ninken replied with a growl.
"He doesn't remember me." Kakashi mumbled turning his back to the ninken before adding in a sad tone, "I've been away from him for too long. All I've ever done for the past 10 years is watching over him from afar, without him ever seeing me."
"Oh get over yourself! You look like a big baby!" Pakkun exclaimed annoyed, "You seem to have forgotten that there no longer is a ban over you about approaching Naruto. The Sandaime has made sure of that."
"But I don't know how to approach him." The jonin replied in an almost whiny voice, "I can't just come to him and act all friendly. Coming from a 25 year old, it's a little creepy."
"Use your head once in a while. In a year and a half, Naruto will graduate from the Academy and become a genin." The ninken told him, rolling his eyes in exasperation, "You can sign up to become the leader of a genin team. Like that you could become the leader of Naruto's genin team. You'd be able to see Naruto on a daily basis. Seriously Kakashi for a prodigy, you can be really slow sometimes."
"Hmm that's an idea." Kakashi said thoughtfully ignoring the pug's snarky comment, "Like that I could start anew with him, get to know each other and bond."
"Well what are you waiting for?" Pakkun asked him fidgeting impatiently, "Let's go to the hokage tower to sign up for it."
"You look a bit impatient. I didn't know you were so excited to see Naruto again?" the jonin asked with a smirk.
"Of course I am!" the ninken huffed indignantly, "If you recall, myself and the pack have had to look after him a few times. I like the pup. He is family."
"I know." The lanky silver haired said with a soft smile before standing up on his feet, "Well let's go."
With that said, followed by Pakkun, Kakashi began to run and hop on the roofs toward the hokage tower with excitement at the prospect that he would see Naruto again.
TBC
Hyuu! Pakkun acting all angry and bossy on Kakashi! :D
Sorry for the delay on this one but things kept coming in the of the story was inspired by one of the fill in episodes of the anime that I found really interesting. Thank you everyone for the support this story is getting and for all the alerts, favorites and reviews I am getting. They really make my day. It makes me feel warm inside when I read them.
Anyway I hope you liked this chapter.
See ya next chapter! ;)