Beep. Beep. Beep. Be—click. What I wouldn't give for five more minutes. Yesterday really took its toll on me. Sitting up, I throw my arms over my head and stretch. It's still dark outside, pllenty of time to get in a quick shower. Pulling myself out of bed, I barely remember to tiptoe as I make my way out of my room and down the hall to the bathroom. It's definitely going to take some time to get used to living with another person. Brain still muddled from sleep, I go through the motions of my morning routine. Teeth, shave, shower. Ahhh. The warm water soothes my still stiff body and helps further awaken my senses. Stepping out onto the bathmat, I quickly towel dry my hair. Shit! I completely forgot to grab my clothes!
Placing my ear against the bathroom door, I listen for any signs of Mei being awake. Silence. Gotta chance it. Wrapping my towel around my waist tightly, I slip out into the hall and book it to my room. Whew, that can't happen again. I pull out a fresh uniform and dress quickly. Where's my headband? Under the bed? Nope. Bookshelves? No. Where the hell—I catch a glimmer of silver in my sheets. Bingo. Guess I was so tired last night that I forgot to take it off before climbing into bed.
A quick glance to my alarm clock lets me know it's just a few minutes past 7:00am. Pulling my sandals on I make my way to the front door, stopping to drop my spare key on the counter and scribble a quick note to Mei. Alright, final check and then I'll be on my way. Weapons pouch, check. Headband, check. Flak jacket, nope. Lesson plan, che—wait! Where's my jacket!? Quickly scanning the room—7:15 blinks from the clock in the kitchen, gotta hurry—I find no trace of my jacket. Why did I only buy one? Double checking my room leaves me empty-handed. I know it isn't in the bathroom since I didn't bother to bring any clothes in there at all this morning. Crap, I really don't want to wake Mei up for this but maybe she'll have seen it. Glancing at the clock—7:25—no choice.
Her door is half open. Stepping just in the doorway I raise my fist to lightly knock on the door, "Sorry to wake you up, but you haven't seen my jacket have yo—" scanning the room stops me in my tracks. That's definitely my jacket and my shirt wrapped up in her arms. She's still sleeping, looking more peaceful than I would have thought her capable of. Her lips are slightly parted and her hair is a mess, most of it having fallen out of the hair tie. It's a stark contrast to the well-kempt shinobi I met yesterday. I feel a smile creeping up on my face. Guess I'll be going without my jacket today.
Author's Note: Just a short little teaser chapter. I dreamed up this scene from Iruka's point of view and just couldn't let it go unwritten! What did you think of the change in perspective?