A/N : Wheew..... I think I update on time....this time. xD As usual, this's unbetaed. I'm too busy and lazy and tired to look up for a beta, sorry! –bows- _
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Chapter 14 – The Long-Waited Reunion : 2,413 words
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Releasing Kakashi's lips for the ninetieth time or so, it had finally dawned to Iruka that they had been practically making out for a straight half an hour and forgetting to thank the female Sannin yet.
The fact was so sudden that she let out horrified gasp, rising up immediately and forgetting her current position, which was under a certain silver haired jounin. The result was a loud sound of two hard objects colliding together and many curses and embarrassed apologies.
"Oww...!! Can you warn me before do that?!" Kakashi groaned, rubbing his now sore forehead. He was happily sucking on Iruka's neck when -out of blue- his female attacked his forehead with her jaw.
Whoa....this's the LEAST scenario I've ever had in my mind....
Iruka was mortified, blushing all the way to the roots of her hair as she rubbed the jounin's already dark purple forehead with wet cloth which she got in the bathroom in ten seconds flat. "I-I'm sorry, Kakashi! I shouldn't rise up so quickly like that! Is it still hurt? I'm sorry! I should ask nurses-"
"It's fine-fine-really. You should see your chin, it's turning blue, by the way." Kakashi touched the mentioned chin, noticing Iruka's wince when he did. "You should give some ointments here, or it'll swell badly, Iruka."
"It's fine. I'll do that later after I treat yours first." With that, Iruka closed her eyes and focused her fingers on the abused forehead. Seconds later, chakra poured gently into it as its owner sighed in contentment, pain was lessening by seconds.
Well...well.... it has some perks to get a medic-nin as your woman, huh?
"You did very good. Shouldn't you be a medic-nin or something?" Kakashi commented, massaging the now healed skin.
Iruka shrugging, massaging her own already healed jaw as she answered. "I can do some healing basics, but no more than that. Izumo has nearly all medic talents in the group – that's why sensei favored him of all."
The seconds the word 'sensei' came out, Iruka noticed the change atmosphere between them. She looked up to find Kakashi stared deeply at her own dark brown orbs.
"You should talk to her." He said simply.
Iruka raised her eyebrows at his words. "How do-"
"There is some tension when you two're in the room. Furthermore, you're obviously relieved when she's gone." Kakashi shrugged, deciding not to tell her how deeper his own curiosity at the topic.
I already decided to wait for her. And nothing I can do to help –It's something that she had to solve herself.
Iruka nodded hesistantly, "I know.... but-"
Kakashi eventually smiled, patting the chuunin's cheek fondly, making the said chuunin looked up in question. "Hey, it'll be alright, Iruka. That old woman always snaps at me all the time, but I'm still alive, see?" He gestured at himself, trying to lighten the kunoichi's mood.
Iruka chuckled at his words as tension slightly seeped out of her being. "Alright, alright. I'll talk to her. For now, behave yourself, okay?" She kissed Kakashi's hair before exiting the room.
"I always behave." The jounin simply blinked at her retreating form.
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She could do this.
She could do this.
The words were repeated repeatedly inside her mind like a mantra as Iruka walked slowly toward her goal, the library. The small room was provided for those (mainly medic-nins) that wanted to discuss things with others medic-nins or simply wanted to learn more about the medical books and jutsus littered in the place.
Opening the door slightly, the kunoichi could see her sensei's lone figure, reading piles of books at the corner of the room, fully concentrated on the texts in front of her.
She could do this.
"Sensei?" The hesistation filled her tone as Iruka tried to move closer and failed.
Tsunade barely gave her a glance before nodding. "Come in, Iruka."
The room was filled with awkward moment as the blond continuing her reading when the other standing over her, unsure what to do.
Iruka wasn't medic nin, but she knew enough the situation when the images of spines and central nervous system presented right before her eyes. And the opened files of Lee, one of Gai's students's profile confirmed it. For a few seconds, the chuunin's unsure posture changed as she recalled what happened to the taijutsu master gennin.
She was aware of one of the gennins, her ex-student who graduated two years ago, Lee, whose legs broken after a hard match with Gaara of the Sand in the last part of the exam, before Orochimaru revealed his true form and intent. It would be a miracle to see him walking again, some medic-nins said that these days.
Her train of thought was broken when a sigh was heard.
Quickly, she glanced up only to find her sensei's golden eyes straight down on hers.
Those golden eyes that she missed so much.
And all thoughts and guilt she felt for her ex-students vanished as Iruka felt something instantly broken inside her at those familiar eyes.
"Forgive me, sensei...." She brokenly whispered as she kneeled before the older woman, face down as tears of guilt and shame slowly obscured her sight, falling now on her cheeks as its owner continued, unaware of anything but the figure before her.
It was awkward feeling, filled with tension as anger, shame, guilt, and madness filled her mind, fingers trembling at her clothes as Iruka fought to breath and tried her best to keep breathing and focus to say words that had fought to let out her mouth for years since Tsunade left her and Konoha.
"I know it has been a long time ago...but-"
The feeling was so similar as she had felt right after she realized her sensei's presence in Kakashi's room, right until the silver jounin pulled her to his lap, which coincidentally provided a distraction for Iruka not to scream or ran at the sight of her sensei standing before her.
"Iruka? I-"
Not letting Tsunade continue, Iruka didn't stop at all. The words quickly escaped her mouth, not wanting to be prisoned anymore by her polite self. "I'm sorry for my thoughtless act that day, I'm sorry for my stupid words, I know I was and am stupid worthless student that can't understand your pain. I know I deserve your hate and more.. I'm-"
Her words were stopped as green filled her watery sight and Iruka only could shout her endless apologies to the soft green robe stubbornly cling to her face as she felt a pair of familiar arms pulled her into the soft body of her sensei. It was terribly comforting yet painful in a way that Iruka herself couldn't understand.
"I'm sorry, sensei..... " I'm sorry sensei....I'm sorry.....I'm sorry.....
Right there and then, in the arms of her long lost sensei, Iruka just realized how broken herself was.
And she didn't want anything but those familiar arms.
I'm sorry.....
"Don't leave us again, please......"
I'm sorry....
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Ugh......I felt like hammers pounded into my heads many times....... Am I...ugh....having a hangover...?
Iruka groaned as the headache grew stronger and stronger, forcing her to active her resting mind as she very slowly tried to open her eyes.
The first thing she noticed was she was lying on a rather huge bed with thick yet soft green blanket covered her torso.
"Are you awake? Drink this. It should cure your headache."
That voice...!
Immediatelly freezing up, Iruka opened her eyes wide only to find a pair of familiar golden eyes stared down at hers.
Sensei...!!
"Sen-ei. Wh-at 'appen-d?" It surprised her that her voice sounded hoarse. Slowly, she tried to sit up, opening her mouth obediently as liquid filled her throat. She noticed how the painful burning of her throat slowly lessened until it was a dull ache.
Tsunade nodded, her golden eyes had never left Iruka's face, a fact that the chuunin sensei eventually noticed. "You cried and fainted half an hour ago."
Oh....right.. I remember.
"'m sor-iih, sen-ei."
Tsunade lifted her palm up, a sign that Iruka now for years as 'shut up and listen'.
Closing her eyes, Tsunade took her head down.
"It's hard for me to say this....,but I'm sorry too, Iruka."
"No. 't's me-"
"You already said your words, brat. And now your throat suffered from it. Now let me say my piece in peace, alright?" The eyes opened again and glared down at her. Iruka gulped down, too terrified to see that familiar emotion her sensei wore that day. It should not have been possible for her now pale skin to pale further, but Iruka managed it.
Tsunade instantly knew she had made a mistake as the chuunin flinched away at her. Sighing, she carefully touched the younger woman's brown hair softly, ignoring the shiver Iruka let out at the contact. "I'm not angry at you, Iruka. I haven't been for years now."
Iruka turned her head away from the touch, now wanting to see anger inside those eyes again. "'u li-e."
Tsunade sighed again, putting her palm on Iruka's cheek as she turned her student's face to hers. "Look at me in the face, and you will know that I don't, brat."
Iruka flinched before slowly traveled her gaze up into the eyes she dreaded to see. She trembled as her brown orbs met the golden ones.
There was no anger there. The eyes remained calm and .... gentle?
Oh my God..... a gentle sensei.... I must be dreaming..... She's anything but gentle.
Tsunade smiled as the brown eyes widened in wonder at her own. "See? I'm not lying, Iruka. I'm not angry at you right now."
"Wh-i?' Her voice was surprisingly child-like, filled with wonder and confusion.
Tsunade let the face go as she sat once again on the chair beside the huge bed.
"I won't lie and say that I've never been angry at what you said that day. However, I can say that I'm not angry at you anymore, Iruka."
"........"
"That day......I was very devastated to know that Orochimaru ran away. Even as sucked-up as he was, he was still my teammate."
"'m under-tan."
"Right. After I lost Dan and Nawaki, I didn't think I could handle another lost one. The thought of Orochimaru leaving just left me numb and weak....."
".................."
"And your words back then.......I snapped."
"sen-ei."
"I hated you that day, Iruka. I hated you very much..... "
"I deser'v it."
"It was as if you slapped me on the face and say that his lose was nothing. His, Dan's, and Nawaki's..... as if I should have forgotten about them...."
"................"
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The sight of her sensei, Tsunade, silent and unmoving, was clearly something that Iruka disliked. It was something to see her sensei calm and silent for a few minutes, but this is pushing it!!
"Cheer up, sensei!" She said, walking toward her sitting sensei, who merely looked up at her and looked away, lost in her thought.
"Eer…Ruka, I don't think this's the best time to say ANYthing…" Izumo whispered urgently beside her, eyes stared worriedly at their silent sensei who had stared at nothing for the past few days.
"But, Zumo! Sensei has been like that for DAYS! Moping around and-" A hand closed her mouth before she could go further into complaining.
"Ssst!!! Ruka! Be silent for ONCE, okay??? Can't you see sensei needs time to-" Before Kotetsu finished, Iruka already jumped before Tsunade. Her eyes stared back against those empty ones.
"Sensei! I know you're still sad over him, & I'm sorry for that, - although I still don't think of him like you do… But there's NOTHING we can do about it!"
"Ruka!!" She ignored the worried shouts her friends threw on her.
"Don't act like this! You're a COWARD if you give up now, sensei!!"
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"And your last word..... I was never a coward.... It was the last straw, Iruka."
"........................."
"In my mind..... I was Tsunade, the grandaughter of the First Hokage. I was one of the famous Sannin, a legend even among our comrades and enemies. I could handle hundreds even thousands ninjas with my chakra alone ...., and there you were, a little gennin saying I was a coward? That was the first time I ever had a killing urge to my own student."
"........................."
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"What did you SAY….??" Their sensei hissed slowly, the earlier empty eyes now filled with anger from Iruka's words.
"You KNOW I'm right!! Face it, sensei!"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"RUKA!!!!!"
"SENSEI!!! DON'T!!!"
Izumo and Kotetsu's cries rang clearly around them.
And Iruka only could widen her eyes at those angry eyes.
"How…DARE…you!!!???"
Iruka could feel something sliced her face and red colored her sight before she heard her own scream.
"AAAAAHHH!!!!"
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"I had never felt that thankful before to see Jiraiya snatch you up that very second. If there is one that can rival my speed, it will be him."
"Me to-."
Tsunade sighed, massaging her forehead as she stared down at Iruka's eyes. There was something soft inside those orbs, Iruka realized.
"I owe him for that."
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"Tsunade!! What the fuck you're doing woman!??" Jiraiya shouted as he jumped away, a screaming Iruka held tightly to his chest.
Tsunade simply stood, eyes glued to the bloodied kunai tightly grasped in her hand. "What....."
"Iruka!!" Izumo and Kotetsu immediatelly embraced their female teammate, relief filled their beings as their worst thought had never happened.
"Take care of her." Jiraiya let the female gennin go into her teammate's arms as he leaped in time to catch the shocked woman into his arms, who was seconds from sliding to the green field.
"I....I....Jiraiya....I killed...." Tsunade's ragged breath immediately was muffled as the bigger and broader Sannin picked her up and tried to calm her down, pulling her face toward his chest. "Shhh....hime....it's alright..... Iruka is alright....."
And Tsunade cried.
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"Sen-ei.... it wa'nt 'ur fault."
Tsunade shook her head slightly, "I know brat. It was our faults. I couldn't hold my temper back, and you couldn't close your big mouth. But still......"
A sad smile formed on her lips.
"What kind of teacher I was to endanger my own student's life?"
"I failed to protect Dan and Nawaki's life....."
"I failed to get Orochimaru back to our village...."
"And I failed to protect you from harm...."
"All of those feelings......raged inside me......,and I couldn't cope at all, Iruka. So, I left."
"You were right, Iruka.... I was a coward."
.
.
.
Tbc ............
A/N :
Shorter than usual chapter, but I think it's best to stop here (and this way, I could update faster =P ). And yes, Tsunade's taking her own guilt trip..... _ Originally I want to make Iruka & Tsunade 'first talk' more .... filled with tension & anger, but I can't for some reasons, sorry. _
Don't forget to review!! Hope u like it!!
- Izky