The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn – Chapter 52: Finding You

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."

A/N: For some reason ('some reason'? I think we all know it's because of my addiction…) I have been reading a lot of Death Note fanfiction recently, and I'd like to inform the world (or just my readers…) that you do not wear a rosary. Rosaries are not necklaces. They are prayer beads. You don't wear prayer beads. You pray with them. Stop doing it. Also, nachos are the boss. Especially combined with extra hot salsa dip, which I have sexual dreams about. Haha, I joke – I don't dream at all because my sleeping pills knock me out cold or when I don't take them and end up getting about two hours of sleep I don't even remember falling asleep. I did fall asleep with my hand in the dip, once, so maybe sleep-eating isn't out. Anyway, after randomly talking about rosaries and salsa and my sleeping habits, we're onto the topic of Christmas! This is a relevant topic! First, I'd like to get this fic completed by Christmas, although I'm not sure whether that's going to be possible. I'd like to give you a definite number of chapters, but it's a little bit flexible right now so I won't. Secondly, after Christmas I have two very, very, VERY important exams, which I'm supposed to study for over Christmas, so I won't be writing for the first part of January until about the 14th. Thirdly, if I am drunk at all over Christmas, I'm afraid you won't get a chapter. I refuse to write when I'm drunk because you'll get a very sub-standard chapter and I'll feel like crap for giving you one. This means no updates on the 23rd (probably, it's my brother's birthday and I always get a little drunk and overemotional…god, he's getting so big :'3), the 25th (Christmas day, family knees-up, I'm guaranteed to be wasted on my sitting room floor by lunchtime) and possibly New Year's Eve (not as wasted as Christmas, but I'll be incoherent). So now you know when I'm not writing, I'll get back to actually writing. Song of the chapter is 'Ever Dream' by Nightwish, even if the English makes no sense no matter which way you look at it. Still, it's one of my hobbies to try to make sense of foreign songs, and I worship Nightwish.

This is thinking/dreaming.

"Anything in italics and quotes is written stuff…kukuku…"

This is regular story.

This is author's note.

This is title

Warnings: Nope, not here. No sex. No drugs. No rock and roll. Which coincidentally means no hot yet sweet vanilla lovin', either. By extension, it should mean no cigarettes or alcohol, but I'm not so fussed with either. And caffeine, but I can't live without caffeine even if I do drink enough to give myself caffeine jitters.

Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine, and the only way it's ever likely to become mine is if I married Kishimoto then killed him. And considering I'm sixteen, that's not likely. Also, het is ew in real life. I don't own Naruto, but there would be lots and lots of mansex if I did.

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Would you do it with me?

Heal the scars and change the stars

Would you do it for me?

Turn loose the heaven within

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"You're getting an extension on that draft until tomorrow, but no later. If you've already done it, hand it to me as you leave and you haven't got any homework tonight. If the draft isn't on my desk by the end of the day tomorrow you'll be in detention. Is that clear?" I announced over the growing racket of books and pencil tins being shoved into bags and the general chatter that always seemed to arise once the bell rang. Naturally, I was completely ignored, a total of two papers placed on my desk.

To be honest, I wasn't complaining. It meant I didn't have to try to mark them tonight.

I was rather dreading going home. I had considered disconnecting my landline phone last night, but decided against it. Although I had a mobile phone, I rarely used it and no one had its number. I wasn't sure how much money I had on it, either, certainly not enough for a long call. I wouldn't put it past whoever was feeding Mizuki his information to have my mobile phone number either.

It wasn't just that I was dreading a second call. I could force myself to focus on my work better if I was at my place of work, but my flat was full of distractions. The flat next door had even more distractions in it, including the object of my distraction.

As the last student meandered out of my classroom, notably not placing a completed essay draft on my desk, I paused before following them into the corridor. Break had rolled around painfully slowly, every reference in the class texts or in a discussion than leaned in any way towards secrets, phone calls or injuries sent my mind spiralling in the wrong direction. I caught myself every time, but I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep myself from slipping into my own thoughts.

The students all seemed to have converged on the corridor outside my classroom, forming into some writhing multi-headed beast that blocked my advance towards the science block. I kept my broken wrist pressed closely against my chest; I didn't want to test how painful teenager-shaped battering rams were against it.

In a way, I could better understand the obsession with Kakashi's face. I had seen the face and I had seen the eye, but I wanted to know the answer as to why it was the way it was, and why it was covered. Yes, I had been curious before, but not to the point of distraction. I had been content in the knowledge that I was the only one privileged to see it.

What I couldn't understand, however, was what Mizuki wanted to achieve by arousing my curiosity. Since he outright stated he wanted to cause me harm, I'd just do the opposite of what he said to do; I wouldn't ask Kakashi what happened to his eye, and I wouldn't ask what Akatsuki had to do with it.

I knew what Akatsuki was. Everyone knew what Akatsuki was, and everyone knew the rumours. It was a highly exclusive organisation that recruited members in their university years and put them on the paths of high-flying careers through any means, legal or otherwise. As a result, they had influence in every sector of the business world imaginable. The name of the chief of the organisation was unknown, but a number of famous people were known to be in some way connected to it, and the spokesmen were more than flash enough to compensate for their leader's absence.

I failed to see any connection between a high school physics teacher and a shady organisation.

I stepped forward into a channel in the flock of students that had cleared itself while I was thinking, trying to clear my head of all thoughts. I wasn't supposed to be thinking of that.

Somehow, I had managed to keep my mind on teaching my first two classes. Although my teaching wasn't up to perfect standard, since I had been reduced to writing things very slowly on the board with very wobbly handwriting with my left hand, and since Mizuki's call was still floating around in the back of my mind no matter how hard I pushed it away, but I managed. And I would keep on managing until I got home. I just had to focus on something else.

The contents of this morning's briefing definitely constituted 'something else'. I really had to pay more attention tomorrow, in case it came up again. It was the entire point of leaving the security of my classroom and battling my way down the corridor towards the science block, the density of kids thinning to none as the temperature dropped. Cold: the universal teenager deterrent.

The blinds were down, blocking the interiors of all the classrooms from view, and Kakashi's room was no exception. My hand came to rest on the door handle, looking through a small break in the blinds at the man inside.

The porn was out, but that wasn't much of a surprise. He was leaning back in his chair, facing away from me, a set of papers neatly in a pile on one end of the desk. A dark jacket was slung over the back of the chair. A small, silent chuckle rattled shoulders veiled only by a thin cotton shirt. Hair that defied gravity rose up on a head turned away from me, obscuring the mask I knew to be in place, which in turn obscured the fine, handsome features that in all honesty shouldn't be hidden.

I considered knocking, but I thought I'd just give myself another minute to look. There never seemed to be enough moments just dedicated to looking anymore.

"You can come in, Iruka," Kakashi called, turning to look at me, a smile evident in his voice. "If you've finished staring, that is,"

"I wasn't staring, I was just looking," I folded my arms and fought the blush rising to my cheeks; I was kind of staring, but I wasn't going to admit it. It wasn't my fault I liked to look.

"Whatever you say, Dolphin-sensei," He said. One thumb turned a page of his book, and I resisted the urge to tear it out of his hands and throw it across the room. For one, it was porn in school. Secondly, he wasn't paying attention to me if he was reading that. Thirdly, in revenge for the 'Dolphin-sensei' thing.

"We're at work; don't make me murder you," I growled. One foot moved forward, subconsciously moving to enact the plan. Maybe I could drop the book in a bottle of concentrated acid, or roast it over a Bunsen burner. We were in the science department, after all. A few pieces of paper would hardly be the most interesting things to set fire to, but it would do.

"Ah, but if you kill me then you'll never know what we were talking about at briefing," The chair swivelled to face me, and the book was pressed closed in his lap. A grey eye refocused on me, and I stepped further into the classroom.

"Please do enlighten me," I stopped a few feet from the desk, re-crossing my arms and smiling. "Scarecrow-sensei,"

"First you fall asleep on my lap, and now pet names? Who are you and what have you done with Iruka?" Kakashi asked in mock horror, although now I was closer I could see a series of tiny, almost unnoticeable lines by the corner of his eye crinkle in evidence of a smile. That made me smile; I had been close enough to that face to know what to look for, to know when he smiled. Yet another exclusive little thing for me to be shared between us.

"Fine, fine, just tell me the news," I said.

"Tsunade is worrying about the inter-school sports tournament between us and Sound Academy. Sound just revealed they've got new sponsors, so their funding has just increased. That means better facilities, therefore better grades, or in this case, better athletes," Kakashi explained, fingers trailing over the spine of 'Icha Icha Paradise', clearly aching to open it. My death glares in its direction where hopefully putting them off that, though.

"And how does this affect us?" I asked. I hadn't expected the sports tournament to come around so early this year; I really shouldn't have missed so many briefings. Although I didn't expect it to affect my department or the science department all that much, so it shouldn't be too big. It didn't hurt to check, though.

"Because of the sponsor, Sound is pushing for a bigger event with more competitions. Apparently, if they'd stayed silent things would have continued as normal, but now it's out the organisation agreed to increase funding as part of a publicity gimmick. This means we need more students on board and more staff by default, so it affects teachers outside of the PE department," One hand came up and waved casually, shrugging off all of Tsunade's worries with a casual gesture.

"So who are the sponsors?" I was expecting a sports company or a research facility or a government scheme, something mundane and ordinary. Something that could score them a little extra cash, but not enough to make a difference. Although that wouldn't explain why they were suddenly apparently more difficult to beat.

"Akatsuki,"

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A/N: My friend's reaction to this reveal? 'If you didn't see that coming, you're an idiot'. On the basis that I kind of spoiled it by pointing something rather relevant in a previous author's note. But yeah, evil organisations are evil. And basically the mafia, but poor naïve little Iruka would never believe to what extremes Akatsuki is evil. It's called 'unreliable narrator', basically. But yeah, things should be falling into place. Also, we'll get a reappearance of Sasuke and Naruto soon! They get a little bit relevant for obvious reasons! (Friend just mentioned that obvious reason is obvious, so I'm NOT going to put it here. Meh.) Reviews make my life worth living!