Another update!
Tsukuyo wrapped up another day in the academy without breaking a sweat. She gathered up her belongings from the desk as the last of the students made their way out of the class.
Her life had taken a steady pace ever since she became a teacher in the Academy. The children were becoming a big part of her life. She was loving her teaching job and being called a Sensei. She had finally started enjoying her life again.
She completed the post class works, put it in the staff room and was on her way to her apartment in record fifteen minutes. She wanted to shop for tonight's dinner which was on her to-do-list for a long time. As she was about to leave the building, someone called her from behind. It turned out to be Iruka.
"What is it, Iruka sensei? You called me?" Tsukuyo asked.
"Aah, yes actually." Iruka said. "Itsuki and I were preparing the documents for the examination but I was summoned by the Fifth just now. So… I was thinking if you could help him with the work till I come back for this meeting…"
"Oh." The thought about her plans made her falter. "Umm… no problem."
"It's okay if you got plans!" Iruka said almost instantly, seeing Tsukuyo hesitating for a bit.
"No, No! I'll cover for you!" Blood rushed to her face making her go all red. "You have an important meeting. You should go. I can help Itsuki here."
Tsukuyo was still red with embarrassment long after Iruka was gone.
The work Iruka had asked for was not that heavy. It took Itsuki and her, about an hour and a half to finish it. She left the building soon after, hoping that she could still continue on with her previous plans.
"Hey!" someone called nearby.
'Why does God not want me to leave the school compound today?!' She mentally yelled before turning towards the caller.
"Kagiri! It's me, Naruto!" Naruto chirped.
She didn't expected it would be him at all. Even though she got somewhat irritated that someone stopped her again, her annoyance melted all, once she saw the famous Naruto grin.
"Of course you are. Who doesn't know you?" She flashed a similar smile. Her eyes fell on Iruka who was walking a little behind him. The sight of him with Naruto made it clear that he was the one who told him about her pseudo name.
"I heard from Sakura chan that you were hospitalized…but you seems fine." Naruto asked in a confused voice as he approached her.
She laughed at his question before answering, "I was. And then I got discharged too, quite a while ago actually." She looked up and down as if examining him. "…but how would you know. You just returned from a mission, right? You look exhausted!"
He laughed sheepishly, "Do I look that much tired to you? Maybe I should try to up my game a little bit…"
"Maybe you just need a good nap. A long mission can tire you up even if it doesn't involve fights." Iruka lectured in a big brotherly way.
"You are right…." Naruto said, drooping both, his shoulders and facial expression in a comical way. "It's probably because I am becoming an ojisan."
"You are not even in twenties!" "Are you making fun of my age?" Both Tsukuyo and Iruka snapped at the same time.
Naruto soon left them and went on toward his apartment genuinely wondering why they both snapped at him.
"You took your time. Itsuki and I had long finished with the documents." She teased as they took the opposite road.
"Aaah… How about I treat you with a ramen bowl as an apology?" Iruka countered her with a smile that somehow looked more deliberate and less apologetic.
She shook her head disapprovingly but chuckled nonetheless. "You sure give a lot of ramen treats, don't you sensei?"
Iruka laughed off her obvious comment. "Okay, first of all, you need to stop calling me sensei. We are in a same job and position…" and spoke over Tsukuyo as she opened her mouth to counter, "Even though you are here for a limited time period."
"Fine. I'll try." Tsukuyo mumbled. "But it's difficult you know. I've been calling you sensei since my academy days. It would feel odd addressing you by your name."
"It'll be alright. Many of my former students do that." He said, smile never leaving his face all this time.
Tsukuyo paused for a second to look at the kind figure beside her, trying to remember the same face from ten years ago. He had not changed at all. He was the same kind teacher from her childhood. A smile crept on her lips as she said, "I am pretty sure you remember all of your students that you have taught till now, right sensei. I mean Iruka." Her brows furrowed at the unfamiliar sound of the name on her tongue.
Iruka laughed at her reaction before answering. "Actually no. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'm a human after all." He took a long breath as he took a pause, his eyes flickered, trying to focus somewhere at the horizon. "Studious ones, genius ones, lazy ones, loud ones, naughty ones, hardworking ones… pain in the ass ones" a small chuckle escaped his mouth, "…They are easy to catch teacher's attention." He then turned towards Tsukuyo, "I'm sure you had your students remembered by the adjectives subconsciously in your head too."
Tsukuyo laughed at how relatable it sounded.
"…Can you really believe that the Naruto you just met was once one of the most troublesome student I ever had?" Iruka continued on as they approached the Ichiraku Ramen shop. "…He, Shikamaru and Kiba were the impossible trio. Those three almost made me doubt my teaching skills." He laughed as he reminisced back.
Tsukuyo ears perked up the second Iruka mentioned his name.
"Shikamaru… was a troublesome child?" She started slowly. She didn't wanted Iruka to sense her excitement for wanting to know more about Shikamaru's past. "But he is genius. He is one of the rare people who are naturally talented. How could he possibly…"
"Shikamaru's case was different… interesting actually. He never paid attention in classes, barely completed his written exams enough to get passing marks and always… and when I say always, it means in every subject, every day. Every day he slept in class. It was a mystery how he became a genin." They continued talking as they entered the ramen shop. "It was when he became a genin we finally got to see his talent."
"The chunin exams." Tsukuyo added to his last sentence.
"I'm surprised you remembered, huh…" He commented as he ordered their meals. A slightest of blush decorated Tsukuyo's face on his comment. She indeed remembered the matches of chunin exams. Specially Shikamaru's. Both of his matches were tricky and unpredictable. It was much, much later when she figured out that Shikamaru was the same child she had once got mesmerized by. "…Yes. His matches were quite impressive. We rarely get to see that kind of talent fresh out of Academy."
"Here's your Order."
Two big steaming bowls of ramen were placed in front of them which they started eating without further ado.
"Aneue… where are we going?!"
"Shh… trust me, won't you?"
"Ugh… Aneue!" A small girl whined as another girl, about two years older than her, walked in front of her, pulling the other by her hand. They both were dressed up in a pretty pink kimono, walking as fast as they could, without leaving the elegant form that the traditional attire allowed. The only thing out of place in the whole scenario was the blindfold over the eyes of the small girl.
"Are. We. There. Yet?"
"Don't you have something called patience in you? I have waited far longer than you to give you this surprise. So if you'll nicely wait till we get to our destination, it would be great." The older sister snapped.
The small girl pouted as she was continued being pulled by her sister. She did not had any clue where they were going but her senses were working in full force. She felt the cool breeze on her face as they walked past a pond, listened to the slight rustling of leaves coming from the other side and the crunching of the gravels beneath her feet. It took her less than a minute to infer that they had already left their family's compound. After a few minutes of walking, she felt their pace was slowing down. Taking this as a good sign, she was about to repeat her favourite question of the day but stopped when she heard a new voice.
"You shouldn't play 'Blindfold' here in this uneven ground or you could get hurt."
'A kid's voice? Are we near the playground?' The blindfolded girl mused.
She could almost feel the snarky comment that was about to come out of her sister's mouth. "Hah, I don't think even novices can get hurt in this terrain." She knew her sister did not like being disturbed when she was on her way to do something exciting. And if she did not interrupt their conversation, the kid could end up in tears- that's how much mean she could be…sometimes.
"But my mother says…"
"Don't worry. We know what we are doing." The small girl interrupted before her sister could get a chance to retort back to the kid.
"It's okay, Chouji. They both are Academy students. They won't get hurt so easily." Another voice joined the conversation.
The first kid took a moment before answering as if speculating the information he was provided with. "But how can you be so sure?"
She heard a pair of steps coming a bit closer to them. "Their stance, their soft steps, and the older one's confidence." He said with an ease. "Come on, let's go. Let them do their… whatever they are doing." And she heard them walking away.
It intrigued the small girl that how easily he noticed the traits. He can't be any ordinary kid. Her hand automatically went up to the blindfolds as she slid the fabric to get a peak of the boy.
She was right. He was a small kid, five or six years old, with a little ponytail on his head. She didn't knew the kid but recognized the clan crest on his clothes. The Nara clan.
Tsukuyo's eyes flew open. She was in her room, lying on her bed, in the middle of the night.
'What was that?' She asked the question in her head. 'A Dream? No. A Memory? …Yes.'
It was one of the memory that she had quite forgotten with the time. But now, of all the time, it came back to her. She tried hard to replay the memory that she had just seen.
'It was the Clan Function…we sneaked out….my sister's Surprise…the– the kids? There were kids?' She was racking her brain hard to not forget what she saw just now. It was just the voices to her. She replayed the happy, elated feeling of excitement she was experiencing moments ago.
And then it came, for mere few seconds-
It was…it was him! Her heart skipped a beat when she realized who he was.
Sorry for the late update. I was busy with my best friend's wedding!
