Chapter 12: Of Teachers & Students

(Iruka contemplates on his accomplishments as a teacher & as a shinobi)

"5 P.M. Time to call it a day." Iruka thinks to himself, looking at the clock within his office at the shinobi academy.

Sliding back in his chair, he looks morosely at the stack of paperwork on top of his large desk. Although being the academy's headmaster had it's perks, it was during times like this where he wished he was back being a simple teacher.

At least all he needed to worry about was his student's performance. Things were much simpler back then.

Nowadays, he is the special jounin headmaster of the shinobi academy. A position assigned to him by the legendary Sanin, Tsunade in one of her last acts as Hokage in recognition of his accomplishments as a teacher.

While it was true that he was not as powerful as the other jounins (he knew this personally for a fact since he WAS responsible for teaching a lot of Konoha's more powerful jounins who were currently in active service today which included the members of the famed Hyuga & Uchiha clans as well as the Roukudaime Hokage himself), Iruka's own knowledge & skills as a shinobi had improved by leaps & bounds over the years & he was confident that he could hold his own in any major battle.

"Ah well, I can always finish the paperwork tomorow." Iruka says to himself. It was mostly just papers which required his signature for various small things in the academy & they could wait till later.

What he needed right now was a warm bowl of Shizune's homemade ramen.

Nodding goodbye to a few of the teachers he met while walking along the academy corridors, Iruka chuckles to himself as he remembered the funny coincidence which had led to him & Shizune getting together.

So funny that he suspected that he & Shizune had actually been set up by certain parties. And though he had his suspicions on who the guilty ones were, he wasn't really complaining.

He had been chasing after Naruto who, at that time, had been serving under him as a subsitute teacher because he was slacking off while Shizune was looking for Tsunade to drag her back to the office to do her duties. They literally ran into each other's arms in their search for Naruto & Tsunade & had decided to work together to make the task quicker.

Needless to say, they had stayed together ever since. One thing led to another & eventually they had gotten married.

As he was remeniscing about the beautiful wedding they had, Iruka notices, from a window, a flash of action & some noise from the playground. He quickly goes out to the playground to check the source of the disturbance & was surprised to find...

"Naru... I mean, Hokage-Sama! What are you doing here?" Iruka manages to correct himself before asking the somewhat harried looking young leader of Konoha though he had a hunch why he looked that way.

"Oh you know..." Naruto started to answer but not really looking at Iruka but was instead looking around his surroundings as if expecting some sort of surprise attack. "...I just came to see how you were doing. Oh & btw, drop the Hokage-Sama bit please? We go way to far back for that. It's just Naruto to you, ok?"

"Ok then Naruto-Kun..." Iruka said, folding his arms over his chest & givng the young Hokage a stern look which he reserved only for erring students. "Would you mind telling me why you're once again running away from your own ANBU guards?"

Naruto gives his old teacher a sheepish grin, confirming Iruka's hunch & answers. "I guess I can't really hide anything for you, can I?" Iruka shook his head, maintaining the stern look he had on his grizzled features. "C'mon! I was going stir-crazy inside that damned tower looking at all those papers. You of all people know that I'm more of an action guy, right Iruka-Sensei?"

Iruka sighs in resignation & drops the stern expression he was giving his ex-student. "Naruto never changes. Still as impatient as ever." He thought with amusement but never allowed his true feelings to show.

"But you're also Konoha's Roukudaime Hokage & as such, you have certain obligations to be done no matter how unpleasant they may be." Iruka told Naruto, feeling a twinge of nostalgia at their exchange. It's been a while since he lectured Naruto like this & it felt good that he could still do it. He was probably one of the very few people who could talk to him that way & get away with it unscathed.

"It's just like being a regular shinobi. You don't have to like the missions that were given to you. You just have to do it. It's your duty as a member of this village & you have to do your part." Iruka finished.

Naruto stares at his former teacher with an odd look on his face then starts laughing hard.

"Hahahaha! You never change Iruka-Sensei. I only wish you were with me during the meetings with the elder council. You could've told them a thing or two about responsibilities." Naruto said.

"I think I'll pass. Politics really ain't my thing you know." Iruka said with a snort but was secretly flattered that Naruto thought of him in such high regard.

"Heh, I knew you'd say that." Naruto said & looks up the afternoon sky. "I've kept all your advises to heart Iruka-Sensei. That's the only reason why I've been able to go on like this. But sometimes, this job just gets soooo tiresome that I seriously need to get away from it all once in a while."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Iruka said, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Sometimes, I also feel that way when my job gets too stressful. But like I said, this is just something that is needed to be done."

"But it doesn't mean i have to like it." Naruto said then adds with one of his trademark ear-to-ear grins. "But since we're already out here, what do you say we go to Ich..." Naruto stops what he was saying & starts looking around. His foxy grin replaced by a comical look of panic.

"Aw hell, they found me. Gotta go Iruka-Sensei. We'll go have our ramen some other time, ok?" And with that, Naruto disappeared in a flash. A few moments later, 3 ANBU led by Neiji (distingiusable by his bird mask) appears at the same spot Naruto was a few seconds earlier.

"Damn! He got away from us again! Why does he always do this to me?" Neiji grumbles then notices Iruka. "Oh, hello Iruka-Sensei. I don't suppose you know where Naruto went, do you?"

"Sure do. He went that way." Iruka said, pointing to the east. "You guys sure have it tough, looking after a guy like that." He comments with a smile.

"You don't know the half of it Sensei." Neiji muttered & looks towards the east. "In any case, we have to go now if we want to catch that idiotic Hokage of ours. Goodbye Iruka-Sensei." Neiji nods at his subordinates then disappears after Naruto.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Iruka thought with a chuckle as he tracked the rapidly departing shinobis. "No matter what happens, they're all still my students after all. And I'll always be their teacher."

Author's Note: I'm not too sure about the ending i made to this chapter but I hope you like it anyways. As usual, please R&R