A/N: And here I am again! Sorry it took me a while and I know this chapter probably ain't all that great. And I probably don't even know what I'm writing because of the lack of sleep. I apologise if it disappoints. But I did try my best, I swear!

The events here are necessary though. Things will get better, I promise.

To Sara: I'm sorry that I can't say they won't break up. But through this, their relationship will definitely get stronger.

Thank you to all you lovelies who read and reviewed! To the anonymous guests, quiltedcat, sairakanzaki and sara. And to everyone else, thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto and all its characters.

Chapter 10: Fresh Conflict

The argument that day was something that Kakashi and Iruka hadn't planned for, and neither of them, not even their friends, had expected it to spiral out of control.

Iruka and Izumo entered the Hokage's spacious office where numerous chunin and jounin stood, waiting for the meeting to commence.

"Almost everyone's gathered." Izumo whispered, as he moved through the crowd to reach Kotetsu who was waving wildly at them. "Even Kakashi-senpai's here."

Iruka glanced in the direction where Izumo was pointing discreetly and instantly spotted the gravity-defying silver hair that stood out in the crowd. Kakashi was standing at the front, among a group of jounin including Asuma and Kurenai. Iruka smiled, wondering if he would be able to catch Kakashi after the meeting, and asked him if he would like dinner. It had been days since they had last met.

"Good. Everyone is here." The Hokage looked pleased and he put down the pipe he had been puffing on. Iruka instantly gave his attention to his leader.

"Thank you for arriving so promptly. I don't want to take up your time more than necessary. So, I will just get on to the point." The elder paused before a smile formed on his face. "As you know, it is the time of the year again."

The group of shinobi nodded. Iruka smiled and he could see that Izumo and Kotetsu were grinning widely beside him. Almost everyone in the room had a sense of excitement welling up in them with the upcoming event.

Hiruzen seemed to sense his subordinates' excitements too, if the smile on his face was anything to go by. He rested his elbows on the desk and laced his fingers together, propping his chin on them.

"The Chunin selection exam is coming up and we will be expecting to see shinobi from other hidden villages to be arriving in Konoha anytime from now. In fact, some of them had already arrived, and I am sure you have seen that we have stepped up our security too." The elder shifted and picked up his pipe to take a puff. "And of course, we are expecting to see our own Konoha genin teams prove themselves in this exam too."

At the front of the group, Kakashi and Asuma were listening intently, and while their superior droned on about the nominations of the genin teams, they exchanged glances and gave each other a curt nod before turning their attention back to the front.

Hiruzen came to a halt and his eyes were fixed on the three jounin right at the front. Those three were standing there for a reason and the Hokage wondered what their decisions would be after having spoken to each of them individually. He was interested to know the kind of considerations his jounin had given to their respective students.

"So, as per standard procedures, we will first hear from those who are watching over the new genin." Hiruzen's eyes landed on his subordinates. "Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, are there any genin that you would like to enter into this Chunin selection exam?"

Soft murmurs were heard in the room. Iruka almost raised an eyebrow at the question. While he understood that jounin instructors taking charge of new genin teams were given the right to answer first, but still, those genin were far too fresh – barely even six months since they had graduated from the academy. Surely, no one was thinking that they were ready for the exams.

"I'm sure you know, that every genin who had successfully completed eight missions is allowed to enter the selection exams if nominated by their jounin sensei. Adnd anything more than that is the norm." Hiruzen continued. "So, if you would like to nominate them, please step forward."

The logical part of his mind told Iruka that his lover and two friends were likely to view it the same way as he did – it was too early for those nine rookies to take part in such a dangerous exam. But there was something nagging at the back of his mind, and he felt a sense of uneasiness rising up in him.

That uneasiness spread and he felt his heart missed a skip when he saw Kakashi stepping forward, two fingers raised and poised before his masked face in a respectful gesture. Surely the silver-haired jounin wasn't going to do what Iruka thought he was.

"The Kakashi led Team Seven; Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura. Under the name of Hatake Kakashi, I nominate them to take the Chunin selection exam."

Iruka gasped and his eyes widened in shock. Whatever was being said in the room after that flew past his jumbled mind, as he tried to comprehend why Kakashi would do that. He knew as well as Iruka did, that those kids were not ready. And while he didn't really focus on what was being said by the people after, he could still hear some names that confirmed his deepest fear.

Kurenai had nominated her team of Kiba, Shino and Hinata; as did Asuma, who nominated Shikamaru, Choji and Ino.

He was numbed with various emotions racing through him, and apparently, he wasn't the only shocked one. Around him, he could hear soft mumblings and hushed discussions, while the other shinobi tried to speculate why the three jounin would nominate their barely six-months-old teams for the exams.

Hiruzen's voice briefly broke into Iruka's numbed state. "All of them? How rare."

Iruka's head snapped up, staring from the three jounin to his Hokage, and then to the people around them. He swallowed hard. If there was anything he could do to stop this, now was the only chance he was going to get.

His throat was dry when he took a stumbling step forward to speak with his superior. "Hold on a second!"

Hiruzen glanced at him, surprised. Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai had turned around too, and the kunoichi had an almost understanding look in her ruby eyes. Kakashi met his gaze for a moment, before turning away.

Iruka wondered, if this was the thing that Kakashi had been hinting at him during that night at his apartment one week ago, and he wondered why the jounin had not just said it outright. But the chunin instantly shoved it to the back of his mind. He had more important things that needed dealing with right now.

"What is it, Iruka?" Hiruzen asked, with a look in his dark eyes that told Iruka the Hokage probably already knew what he was thinking.

The teacher took a deep breath and took a steady step forward.

"I know it is not in my place to say this. But those nine that were nominated were my students in the academy." Iruka casted a quick glance at Kakashi who had turned his attention back to him, but the look in the single eye was so void of emotions that Iruka felt almost suffocated. He turned his gaze back to Hiruzen and continued. "No doubt, they are all very talented. But it's still too early for them to take the exam. I think they need more experience."

Hiruzen nodded, as he considered the teacher's words. It made sense. Even he had been surprised that all of them had been nominated. He had expected each of his jounin to pick the most talented one in their teams and pool them together to enter the exam as a new team.

Still, the final decision lies on the jounin sensei. But before the elder Sarutobi could say a word, a curt voice had cut in.

"I made chunin when I was six years younger than Naruto."

All eyes turned to Kakashi, but he ignored them, focusing his sight only on the tanned man before him and hoping against all odds that Iruka would understand. He had his reasons for sending them in; in fact, he always had his reasons for doing anything he did.

And he knew that he had sufficient trust in the abilities of his three genin and that they would be able to pull through the exams. Sending them in would certainly help all three of them to grow, mentally, physically and emotionally. They would emerge stronger, whether they passed the exams or not; and that would certainly advance them in their career as shinobi.

He wanted Iruka to understand that.

But from the look of disbelief in the chunin's eyes, things were possibly turning out more complicated than he wanted it to be. His mind worked to find a way to calm his lover down. There was no point in getting all heated up in front of an audience when they could resolve this in privacy.

Iruka though, was far too angry with the older man's nonchalant behaviour and his worries were overriding his consideration of the place they were in. His next words were gritted through his teeth with his voice steadily rising in volume.

"Naruto is different from you! Are you trying to crush those kids?!"

A deathly silence reigned in the room the moment those words were uttered. Kakashi's eye narrowed, an unfamiliar twist churning in his stomach at the implication of the sentence. Iruka glared at him, refusing to back down. Both of them were at contradicting ends and they had their own principles to abide.

Iruka was infuriated that Kakashi didn't seemed to have put much thought into it, before nominating his students. More than anyone else, he was worried about Naruto who was neither as skilled as Sasuke, nor as intelligent as Sakura. All he had was his hard work and though Iruka knew that would certainly bring the blonde boy ahead in life, but even that takes time.

Kakashi on the other hand felt his anger soaring rapidly. His pride as a jounin was at stake here and he wasn't about to step down and says that he will pull his team out. Especially not when he had been so confident that they were ready for the exams. Iruka didn't understand and he probably never will, since he had never gone on missions with those kids before. And the fact that Iruka was showing apparent doubt in his usually flawless judgment didn't sit well with him. Surely after so many years, Iruka should have known that Kakashi was seldom wrong in the things he assessed.

The stormy grey eye had taken on a cold, emotionless look that sent a shudder down the chunin's spine. Iruka vaguely wondered if this was how the Copy Nin's enemies felt when they were facing him off. Kakashi clenched his fists and his voice dipped icily.

"You know what? They are always complaining about the missions. Experiencing some pain may be good for them. Crushing them could even be fun." The voice that spoke those words was so detached, that it not only had Iruka flinching, but Kurenai and Asuma as well. But more than the tone, it was the words the stunned the chunin into a moment of silence.

The voice that came out was a little above a whisper. "What?"

"I was just joking, Iruka-sensei."

Asuma, who had been watching from the side, narrowed his eyes. This wasn't good. In fact, it was a disaster in the making. Kurenai gasped softly at the coldly-voiced honorific and nudged the bearded jounin, giving him a look that told him to step forward and stop this.

But Asuma shook his head. He knew Kakashi too well. For the jounin to lock away his emotions instantly and face off the chunin as he would a threat, this could only mean that Kakashi's patience was only held on by a thin thread, and anyone who didn't want to get caught up in the fray should just stay back. He hoped that this thread would not snap. At least not while they were all in the room.

And he needed to stay on Kakashi's good side, if he wanted any hope of resolving this later.

Somewhere in the back of the room, Genma and Raidou exchanged nervous glances, wondering if they should step in to diffuse the tension. But judging from the situation, it seemed that nothing they say will make things better and they could only pray that things would not blow out of proportion.

Everyone was on their toes, wondering who would be the first one to make the move.

Kakashi spoke first. And the moment he did, Asuma wanted to knock himself out against the nearest wall.

"I can understand your feelings and you must be upset about this, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi watched the flitting emotions passing through his lover's face – the hurt plaintively obvious in the brown eyes. He heard Kurenai somewhere in the background, asking him to stop, but he paid no heed. His current logical state of mind was blocking out everything and coupled with the annoyance that was rapidly rising up in him, his brain worked faster than anything else.

The words spilled out of his throat before he could even think about the impact they held.

"Stay out of this. You must understand that they are no longer your students. Right now, they are my subordinates."

Kurenai gasped. Asuma looked away, unable to look at the suddenly paling chunin. Iruka's eyes widened and he stared at the jounin in shock.

That statement stung.

The regret slammed him right in the face the instant Kakashi realised the implied meaning behind the words and he looked away, unwilling to see the hurt on his lover's face. In the midst of the crowd of jounin and chunin, Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged stunned looks, unable to comprehend how this whole thing had turned out the way it did.

Genma nudged Raidou with an almost resigned look. "Good grief. Now Kakashi has really done it. Get ready to check on Iruka later."

Raidou bit his lips and gave a curt nod, eyeing his two friends from where he was standing. This isn't good. This isn't going to end well. And that was probably the only thing he could think about at that point in time. He caught the eyes of Hayate, and it was obvious the kenjutsu specialist seemed to have the same thoughts.

Hiruzen sighed and closed his eyes briefly, trying to find a way to end this amiably when someone else cut into the discussion, drawing the attention previously on the silver-haired jounin and the academy sensei, to himself.

"Hokage-sama, pardon my interruption. But I do agree with Iruka-sensei. It is too early for those rookies to enter the exam. Even I have made my team wait for a year, in order for them to fully prepare themselves."

Everyone turned to look at Gai this time. He casted a glance between Kakashi and Iruka, before turning his attention back to his superior.

Hiruzen picked up his pipe, a solution slowly forming in his head. "Both sides have their own reasoning and it's hard for me to come to a decision now." The elder sighed and contemplated for a moment before he turned to look at Iruka. "I can see your point, Iruka. And since that's the case, then let's make it this way. We will let those rookies take a trial test."

Iruka finally tore his pained gaze away from Kakashi. He took a moment to brace himself, before turning to look at the Hokage, forcing himself to adopt the professionalism he had always prided himself in. He took a deep breath. "A trial test?"

"Yes. You will set a test for them to examine them on their skills and their abilities to handle situations which require quick-thinking and clear judgments. If they pass the test, then they will be allowed to enter the Chunin selection exams. If they don't, then as you have said, they are probably not ready for it yet." Hiruzen shifted his gaze to Kakashi. "And you will report the test results of these nine genin to Kakashi. And depending on the results, he will either reconsider or go ahead with his decision."

Iruka tensed and swallowed thickly, past the lump in his throat before he nodded reluctantly. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good. I will leave it to you then, Iruka." The Hokage stood from his seat and walked towards the side room. "All of you are dismissed."

Iruka turned and forced himself to walk steadily out of the room, not even giving a second glance to the Copy Nin or to the other two jounin. He heard someone calling out to him; Kurenai perhaps. And then another voice, this time possibly Izumo or Genma, but he didn't care. He paid no heed and focused only on stemming the pain in his heart and trying to ignore the way it was suffocating him.

He stumbled out of the room, down the stairs and walked out of the administration building. He tried to bring his mind away from the conversation earlier and instead concentrated on the kind of trial tests he should be giving the rookie nine, as per the direct orders of the Hokage.

And then after that, he would have to report the results to Kakashi.

He clenched his fists, willing his fury and hurt down. He vaguely heard someone calling his name, before a tight grip closed around his wrist, bringing his steps to a halt.

He spun around.

Izumo was gripping his wrist tightly, with a grim look on his face. Behind him, Kotetsu and Raidou were walking at a fast pace to catch up, and they were both followed by a worried looking Kurenai.

"Iruka." Izumo's lips pressed into a tight line, his observant eyes watching the tanned chunin's face that was currently void of any emotions. A dangerous sign. Izumo felt his own anxiety welling up.

"Iruka, I'm sorry. I know we should have told you earlier." Kurenai said when she finally reached him. "There just wasn't enough time."

"It's fine. You don't have to tell me." The usual smile was missing from the teacher's face. "Like Kakashi-sensei said, they are your responsibilities now. I shouldn't interfere. And you are way above my rank, so there is no obligation for you to report to me on your decisions." The chunin looked away. "In fact, I should apologise for my insubordination."

"Iruka…" Kurenai was at a loss of words for once. She looked away, guilty and Raidou shook his head in exasperation.

"Iruka, don't say things in spite. Kakashi didn't mean what he said, I'm sure. It was just a moment of impulse, and you two should sit down and talk over it."

"There is nothing to say." Iruka swallowed dryly, past the lump in his throat. "I think he made himself clear enough, that I am beneath him in rank. And who knows, he probably thinks that I am way beneath him in all other matters too."

"I'm sure Kakashi-senpai doesn't think that." Kotetsu frowned at his friend's state, frustrated at the fact that there was nothing he could do to calm the other chunin down. "You know that better than me."

Iruka's anger fled and he felt the energy draining from him. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I thought I knew a lot of things." The voice that spoke was only a little more than a whisper, filled with doubts and weariness. "But it was only today, that I realised how little I know about him. I didn't know that he had thoughts about our rank difference, or the fact that he was hiding so many things from me. I didn't think that he never thought me important enough to discuss things with me when he knew that it would affect me."

A weary sigh escaped the trembling lips and the unaffected façade that the teacher had been putting up began to crumble.

"I don't know what else I do not know. Is he truly happy being with me, or has the initial infatuation passed and he is now with me only out of a mere responsibility? Is he beginning to find dissatisfaction in our relationship and that is why he said those things he did, wanting me to be the first to back down, so that he could be freed from this?"

"I know those are just angry words you are saying. Kakashi isn't that flippant and you know that." Raidou stated firmly.

"Like I said, I thought I knew, but I don't really!" Iruka turned to look at the scarred jounin and his words held a slight tremor. "I thought he would be open with me since we are in a relationship. But now I know that he hides from me like he does with everyone else. Perhaps even more than from some of you." He clenched his fists. "It hurts to say that I don't really know him even when we have known each other for so long."

"Iruka." Izumo's grip tightened, as he tried to offer comfort to his distraught friend.

The pony-tailed teacher pried his wrist from the other chunin's fingers and spoke in a hushed whisper, before he turned to walk away. "I'm sorry, but I need some time alone."

Silence reigned along the corridor outside the Hokage's office, after the last of the shinobi from the meeting had left. Kakashi leaned against the wall, staring out of the small window and never uttering a single word about the happenings from earlier.

Genma rubbed his temples, trying to will the headache down. Asuma shook his head and took a puff from his freshly-lighted cigarette. Hayate stood quietly at the side, waiting for someone to speak first.

The honey-haired shinobi finally let out a sigh. "Really, you two… First, both of you had enough fights on a daily basis that could last you well for a lifetime. Then, you decided that fighting wasn't going to solve anything, and you decided to give in to each other and get along. And just when it seemed like everything is fine, you two just threw in something like this."

Kakashi's eye narrowed, his gaze piercing through the senbon specialist. "What do you mean?"

Genma did not back down, despite the menacing aura the other man was radiating. He shook his head in exasperation. "We know that you two had fights more often than we would like to think. And definitely on a more frequent basis than the ones that we already knew about."

Asuma raised an eyebrow. Hayate turned towards them, his eyes darting between the two men, suddenly interested in the topic that was being spoken. Kakashi's single gaze hardened into an emotion that Genma could only place as immensely displeased.

"He told you." It wasn't a question.

"No." Genma sighed, having the feeling that what Izumo and Kotetsu feared when they had brought up the topic with him and Raidou a couple of weeks back, was about to come true. "He didn't."

Kakashi didn't look convinced. His gaze was still hard and his posture rigid. Genma shrugged noncommittally. "He told Izumo and Kotetsu. They were worried and came to Raidou and myself to see if we could work out something to help you guys."

The Copy Nin's eye narrowed further, but he didn't say a single word. Asuma though, realised the dangerous ground they were treading on and knew that the knowledge of Iruka telling their friends things that Kakashi had considered as something private, was going to strain their relationship further if they didn't resolve this right.

He stepped forward and placed a hand on the silver-haired man's shoulder, staring into the cold grey eye. He tried to keep himself from flinching and instead, retained the calmness in his mind to try and reasoned with his friend.

Kakashi may be younger than them, but he was certainly more intimidating.

"That's beside the point, Kakashi. Whatever is in the past, leave it there. You need to focus on what happened today and resolve it."

The silver-haired nin did not waver, and neither did his gaze falter. He seemed to consider for a minute, then began to speak.

"And what do you want me to resolve? It's not like it was my fault."

"You should not have talked down to him." Asuma's eyes were piercingly solemn. "You didn't consider his feelings. You were wrong in that."

"And did he consider mine?" Kakashi asked in a quiet, cutting voice. "It won't be the first time that he voiced his doubts in decisions that should solely be in my right to make."

"I know he was in the wrong to have spoken the way he did earlier." Genma cut in softly. "But you were in the wrong too. You both had your own faults. And that is why, you need to sit down with him and talk through it."

"And why is it that I have to be the one to take the first step? Things wouldn't have turned out the way it did if he had taken a moment to think and bring this conversation behind closed doors." The silver-haired jounin shoved his hands into his pockets, his coldgaze meeting the worried ones before him. "He's no longer a child. I had been giving in for long enough and I do get tired too."

For the first time, Kakashi was unrelenting and Genma was getting frustrated. Asuma though, could understand how things could have come to this.

Even if the two of them had seemed so irrevocably close – from the time they were friends till the time they got together as lovers – they still had that sense of distance between them, which could only be felt when situations such as this arose. And it could have been caused by only one thing.

A lack of communication on the things that mattered.

"Are you saying you want to give up? Break up with him?" The bearded jounin asked quietly, ignoring the sharp intake of breaths he heard from both Genma and Hayate.

Kakashi closed his eye. "If it isn't going to bring us anywhere other than hurting each other, then we might as well put a stop to it."

"But," Hayate casted an anxious gaze between the three older men, "surely it's not worth it to give up a relationship you worked so hard for over something as trivial as this."

"Hayate's right." Genma's eyes narrowed. "You've known each other for more than ten years, and I'm sure the love for each other had been there for a long while too. Is it really worth giving all these up for something like this? It's not like you two didn't have fights before. Just work it out!"

Asuma put up a hand to signal for the two tokujo to stop what they were saying. His gaze turned solemn, watching the man before him carefully. He couldn't decipher Kakashi's train of thoughts and with the grey eye closed, neither could he read the emotions the man was currently feeling. If there were any at all.

"I don't know if what you are saying are angry words, or if that's really how you feel." Asuma said grimly. "But don't be hasty, Kakashi. Take some time, calm down and think about it. I know you are upset, but such things should not be said lightly."

The Copy Nin didn't say a word. He turned around and began to walk down the corridor, heading for the exit. Genma made to move forward, but Asuma held up an arm to stall him.

"Don't go after him. He's closed himself off and nothing you say will get through to him now. Leave him be for a while."

"But –"

"We will only make things worse if we try to force him to accept what we are saying. I can understand why he would be so angry. Iruka did question his sense of responsibility and his capabilities in making sound decisions after all." Asuma sighed, turning to face Genma and Hayate. "Let him calm down first."

There was a moment of tensed silence, which was broken a moment later when someone landed beside them, eyes fixed on the departing figure.

"How did it go?"

Genma shrugged. "Not exactly great. How was Iruka, Gai?"

The green-clad jounin turned to regard the group. "I followed them for a while, but I didn't make my presence known. There were enough people talking to him anyway." The jounin spoke in a quiet voice. "He was upset, and said he needed time to be alone. I couldn't really hear much from where I was, but I'm sure Raidou will be able to give better details."

Genma nodded in resignation and Asuma sighed deeply. Hayate frowned.

"I really hope this won't end too badly."