Disclaimer
I do not own Naruto.
Summary
Life is hard for a chunin like Iruka. Grading tests, not killing students and sending ninja out on missions to their deaths. It's even harder when he has to take care of a jounin turned three year old chibi.
Sequel to Plastic Ponies.
Author's Notes
...
O hi guys.
Have fun reading, yes?
GO.GO.GO.GO
A wince shuddered through Iruka's body as he finished the dishes, having finished them only a couple of minutes after Kakashi suddenly left. He sighed as he looked at his hand, the scab that was a day or two old had peeled away while washing the dishes and a sluggish trail of blood was dripping into the dirty water.
Reaching down with his uninjured hand, he pulled out the drain and grabbed a towel nearby to wrap around the palm. He sighed and stepped over the cat, which was sitting in the middle of the hallway and staring at the spot where Kakashi has teleported. Though it had happened a little over an hour ago, Pickles-chan still remained there and Iruka was worried about the usually active cat not moving for such a long period of time.
Giving her a gentle nudge with his foot as he passed, eliciting a small grunt from the cat, the chunin continued on his way to the bathroom the patch up his hand thinking of the rest of the chores he had planned out.
"Let's see…" He murmured softly as he pushed open his bathroom door with his shoulder, "I finished the dishes, they're drying on the rack…Making dinner is out of the question." His thoughts returned to Kakashi feeding his cat in the kitchen and he scowled as he thought of the fish that was now residing in the feline's stomach.
Running his hand under lukewarm water, he shifted his weight so he could pop open the cabinets underneath the sink with his foot. Without missing a beat, having patched up more serious things than a little cut from working at the academy, the palm was soon bandaged in a white cloth and Iruka was walking into his room and glaring at the bed and the pile of clothing near the end of the piece of furniture.
Gathering the bedding and the clothing into a large lump, Iruka took one of the sheets and tied it around everything to form a sort of rucksack. With a sigh after throwing on a pair of jeans and a sweater, he heaved the bundle over his shoulder, and throwing a last look at Pickles-chan, who was still staring at the spot Kakashi had disappeared from; Iruka vanished with a puff of smoke.
Standing outside the dry cleaning store, and thankful that nobody was there to land on, Iruka pushed open the door. Last time he had used that jutsu he had accidentally landed on a mother who was bringing her unmentionables in to get cleaned. Iruka hadn't been able to look her in the eye at the parent-teacher conference the next day without a blush covering his features.
"Ah, Iruka-sensei. I haven't seen you in a while. Has everything been well?"
A smile crept over the chunin's features as the old woman behind the counter started blushing at his appearance, quickly hiding the magazine she had been reading. "Hello, Miss Kim. I know I haven't been coming in as often. I hope your business hasn't been hurting in the short time I have been missing?"
"Oh, no, dear. Actually," The woman's wrinkled features crinkled as she smiled like a little girl as Iruka moved towards the counter, "It seems that many of my customers were coming to the store because you were here.
"Of course, they were worried when you disappeared from here a couple of weeks ago, but I reassured them that this was the only place you took your laundry and whatnots." She smiled again at Iruka's laughter as he lifted his bundle onto the counter worn with age. "Child, one day you're going to get hooked by one of those ladies."
Iruka blushed at the sudden change in subject, rubbing at his nose with one of his fingers, "I don't think they're looking for me like that, Miss Kim. I'm sure they're just trying to get me to do something for the mission room, or asking me about their children's homework."
"Tsk, tsk, more of that ninja talk? Ah! Most of the women looking for you in here are civilians like me. They also seem to think that you are just waiting for the 'right girl' who can change your 'roguish ninja nature' and transform you into a loving father of two-point-five children." Miss Kim said as she untied the laundry, taking stock and sorting it before she started to count.
"A man who takes care of his appearance and also does the laundry, who isn't too old to care about kids…Personally, I'm surprised you haven't been tied, gagged and proposed to already."
She gave a low chuckle at the stunned look on the younger male's face, "You didn't know? Working with children at that academy of yours makes you a prime candidate for marriage." She flicked open a shirt and folded it before placing it in the neater pile forming next to her. "I suggest you settle down soon."
"This isn't something I should be talking about with you." Iruka chuckled, leaning against the wall and looking out at the people passing the store, quickly ducking when he saw a 'right girl' walk up to the store and peer in only to see her run back to where her friends were waiting.
Miss Kim stopped folding, placing her hands on the pile to lean forward in a conspiring manner, "That's what everyone says, dear. It never stops them, though." A small, more secretive smile appeared on her face as she went back to counting, "Of course, if you're already involved with someone I could tell them…?"
A snort went though the chunin as he reached behind to fish his wallet out of the back pocket, pulling out a couple of bills before snapping it closed with a clenching of his hand. "There is no one else. All I have is my job, my house, and Naruto to worry about. Besides, I don't want to worry myself with a woman who only wants to be with me because I can take care of her children and do the chores." He said despondently as he counted the paper notes, placing most of them on the counter.
"Now don't be that way, Iruka-kun. It's on the house today." Miss Kim said, placing a hand on the cash and sliding it back towards Iruka while ignoring his protests. "You only stated three things? Are you sure there is no one else? Perhaps just need to find the right type of company.
"How about that nice Hatake boy? He seems like someone you could depend on. He's also very handsome to boot." Miss Kim said as she blushed deeply at the thought of the jounin, tallying up the rest of the clothes and quickly turning around, leaving the chunin alone to muddle over the words the old woman just said to him.
Iruka spun around to stare out the window, grateful that there was not a soul outside to flinch at his darkened features. 'This is ridiculous. She couldn't have been insinuating what I think she was... That is, my thoughts shouldn't…' He scowled as his thoughts went blank as he tried to process the numerous trains of thought all centered on the silver haired man.
"It ridiculous, that's what it is." He muttered, suddenly feeling a lump form in his chest as he thought of Kakashi's smiling face from earlier in the day, his visible eye crinkling as Pickle-chan rubbed her head on his chin.
"Ahem."
A throat clearing jolted him out of his singular subject thoughts, and Iruka's wide, brown, eyes settled on the wrinkled figure still behind the desk.
"I'm sure you'll understand what you need someday, dear." Miss Kim said with her hands folded in front of her body. "Until then, though, I believe you'll just have to muddle through life the best you can." She walked out from behind the counter and handed Iruka a small slip of paper, patting him on the back with her frail hands as she led him towards the door.
"Everything will work out for the best. I'm sure of it." The woman smiled as Iruka walked out the door, the small bell above giving a tickling sound as it closed.
"If only you would open your eyes and see what is right in front of you." She sighed and plodded back to her counter to finish reading the magazine shoved underneath the cash register.
GO.GO.GO.GO
As Iruka stepped outside, he thought he heard Miss Kim say something behind his back, but instead of turning around and going back inside to investigate, he allowed himself to wander outside in the snow. The white substance crunched underneath him and it was only when he lost feeling in his feet that he realized that he forgot his shoes at home. Just as he was about to teleport, a snowball landed a couple of inches away from his body.
"S-s-sorry, Iruka-sensei!"
"Wha- Oh! Good afternoon, Mihashi-kun. What are you doing outside in this weather?" Iruka smiled at the flustered looking child, taking note of the boy's fidgety nature and how his eyes were fixed on the floor. "I hope you weren't aiming at me." He chuckled as he walked over to his student, his numbed feet no longer bothering him.
"Ah, n-n-no. I…I…I w-was just. Uh. I-i-it..." The hazel eyes were now looking everywhere but at his teacher and the snowball in the boy's hands was slowly turned to slush, being clutched in the warm hands so tightly.
"It's nothing, Iruka-sensei. I was just helping Mihashi-kun." A taller boy stepped out from behind a building, his black hair spiked wildly as his grey eyes stared steadily at the other boy, whose mouth was opening and closing like a fish. "He needs to work a little on his pitching."
Iruka smiled, giving a little nod and wave as he turned around, "All right, Abe-kun. Just make sure you both don't lose concentration on your studies. Baseball is a fun sport, but Mihashi-kun should also practice throwing his kunai instead of just his baseball."
The chunin chuckled when he looked over his shoulder, finding Mihashi hiding behind Abe before he transported back to his house.
"Pickles-chan?" He spoke softly, sighing a little bit as his frozen feet sunk into the plush, and warm, carpeting in his living room. "Does Pickles-chan want some dinner?" Iruka asked the dark house, cursing softly when he couldn't find the light switch for a few moments.
A meow was his answer when he asked again, the cat trotting out of Iruka's bedroom and giving a little shake as she walked. Without a moment lost, she rubbed up against his jeans and shook again when some snow landed on her body. Stooping over, he picked her up and cuddled against her warm fur before stumbling on tingling feet into his kitchen.
Looking at the empty bowl on the floor, and remembering the feline that was supposed to eat it, he dropped the cat on the table and picked up the phone. Punching in a couple numbers, and leaning against the wall, he waited for someone to pick up on the other end.
"Hello, this is the Haruno resident. Who is this?"
Recognizing his student, Iruka let out a sigh, "Hi, Sakura. This is Iruka-sensei. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to bring my cat back?"
As if hearing her master, on the other end of the telephone, a sudden barrage of meows was heard and Sakura cursed a little. "Are you sure, Iruka-sensei? You told me to keep her until Kakashi-sensei was full grown again." She hissed something out of the teacher's hearing and the meowing stopped.
"Yes, yes, I know I said that, but it seems Kakashi has grown old enough that he doesn't seem that scared of cats. So I would like it if Tootsie-chan could come back?"
"Sure. I'll bring her own in a couple of hours. We were just about to sit down and eat and…"
"Oh no, Sakura. Go ahead and eat. I still have to find my kimono for the festival."
The girl giggled and Iruka could just imagine her tossing her pink hair playfully, "Yeah. My mother said she wanted to see if she could find her old one for me to wear, since that was when the last festival happened."
"That would be very nice, Sakura."
"But it's so old! Oh! I really have to go now, Iruka-sensei. I'll be over with Tootsie-chan after I'm done. Bye!"
Before Iruka could say likewise, the line had gone dead and a dull tone was his only answer.
Staring at the phone for a second in his hand, he hung it up and turned around to stare at Pickles-chan, who was still sitting on the table looking at him. "I'll give you a can of food and then I'll check to see if my kimono is in the guest room." He said to the cat, laughing when the feline meowed and flopped onto the floor in anticipation.
Grabbing a can of food, the chunin quickly dumped it into the empty bowl and ran a hand own the cat's soft back. Throwing the can in the garbage, and rubbing his hands on his jeans, the chunin wandered into the hallway and into the guest room.
Where he was slammed by memories of Kakashi.
The bed was a rumpled mess, shoved around to form a little nest-shaped area, and half the sheets were hanging off the mattress. On the floor was a strange collection of bedding and blankets, most likely pulled in by the summoned canines that had decided to stay near their master. Sitting on the table next to the bed was a couple of nick-knacks, and as Iruka sat down his hand reached over to pick up the biggest item.
The simple kunai was nothing special, the tape around the handle was grimy and a little loose, but the weight was perfectly balanced. A couple of shards of the metal had been notched out, breaking up the weapons shine with darker, dull patches of gunmetal gray that seemed to be tinted a crimson red. Holding the item in his hand, Iruka stared blankly at it for a moment before letting his hand go limp, allowing it to slide out and thump softly on the carpeting.
"Kakashi is older now." He murmured, flexing his fingers, "Kakashi knows about Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura now. He has to be at least twenty seven years old." His mind spat another thought out, almost as a warning, "But does he know he had to take care of me as a mission? Watch over me when I was a child for a week?"
For some reason, the thought of Kakashi not remembering actually being linked to Iruka made a lump form in the tan man's throat. Kakashi, the copy nin who saw 'underneath the underneath', who might even know what Iruka was thinking of right now but would let the chunin figure it out for himself. The man whom everyone knew but nobody really knew.
"The man I may love…" Iruka whispered, taking in a shaky breath as he slumped over, resting his elbows on his knees. The confession wrestled from the depths of himself exhausted the chunin to a new point, his body feeling like lead and all he wanted to do was go to sleep for hours.
Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the door, before it was pushed open and the pounding of feet echoed down the hallway. Iruka stood up and moved to the door and was shocked at the streak of blonde that stopped in front of him, Sasuke following close behind, a grimace fixed on his features. Naruto paused, breathless as he leaned against the Uchiha with his blue eyes clouded with worry.
"Iruka-sensei, we need your help! Something happened to Kakashi-sensei!"
GO.GO.GO.GO
Author's Notes
Try to review, please?
It made me write this a lot faster.
:3