Notes: Not exactly the longest chapter, but it'll have to make do for now. I didn't want to continue it any more before the next chapter... I guess you'll see why.
In other news, I have a story about Iruka and a cat that should turn up in the next couple of weeks. Please look forward to it!
Chapter Five: Bitter Biter
Iruka walked alongside Kakashi, feeling slightly resentful. He was stuck carrying the box after the other ninja complained that he couldn't carry it and read at the same time. Being the nice guy he was, Iruka had taken the box. But that didn't mean he liked it. The idea of handling something so dangerous was not appealing to him- and plus he was still irritable after having lost sleep the previous night. Regardless of what Kakashi would try to say, Iruka steeled himself to insist on separate rooms that coming night. It wasn't that he hated Kakakshi or anything... oh no... it was just that- well- he wasn't used to having a grown man breathing down his neck and squashing his legs as he tried to sleep. Kakashi slept like a dead weight- his body heavy and still for the entire night, while Iruka liked to toss and turn and spread out.
"I lied," Kakashi said suddenly, tucking his book away in a side pouch.
"About what?" Iruka snapped, a little more harshly than he had intended.
"I don't cuddle with the other Jounin."
I don't care, Iruka thought. Just don't cuddle with me!
"Sorry if I kept you awake last night. You don't seem rested."
Surprise, surprise.
"I can carry that box."
Iruka wordlessly handed it to him. At least he had stopped reading that perverted book.
"I get the feeling you don't like me that much."
Iruka exploded. "Oh! I don't like you? Hm! Lemme think why! MAYBE it's because you've been purposefully trying to annoy me this entire trip? Or possibly because you're one of the most perverted, irresponsible.... idiotic Jounin I've met in my life?!!!" He regretted that the minute he said it. Kakashi was anything but idiotic. Childish, maybe, but not idiotic. And certainly not irresponsible.
Kakashi's visible eye widened a little. "Oh? I'm sorry, then." But his tone was amused. "I'm just bored."
Incredulity showed on all of Iruka's features. "You were... bored."
"You're not exactly Mr. Entertaining. No offence."
"None taken," Iruka replied tightly, unsure of whether to laugh or shout. This man baffled him. And he had thought Naruto was unpredictable! Kakashi was a mindjob and that was all there was to it. "Would you like me to do a song and dance or something? Maybe I could tell you a story?"
Kakashi nodded at that. "Sure. Tell me a story."
"O-okay," Iruka said slowly. "About what?" He eyed the other man.
"Tell me about my students."
Iruka sighed. Either this was some kind of test to see who knew more about the children, or Kakashi thought the only think he knew about was kids. Neither was something he appreciated. "What about them?"
"Tell me about what you first thought when you met them."
"Well... Naruto I met before the other two. And I could tell he was going to be a handful. Hokage-sama had instructed me to keep an eye out for him, but the first thing he did was punch that very eye.
"I had caught him digging up the flowerbeds in the front of the academy- you know the ones that the wife of the First had planted? And so, as nicely as I could, I asked him to stop. And he punched me. It was all I could do to keep from punching him back.
"Eventually, I caught him- he's a wiggly little guy, you know- and made him sit in a chair in the teacher's lounge and tried to lecture him. Have you tried to lecture Naruto yet? No? Well, don't bother. He puts on this 'oh yes, sensei, I'm listening' face and doesn't hear a word of what you say.
"Anyway, he pretended to listen until I got really mad and started yelling at him about how having no parents doesn't mean he can be irresponsible, too, and that I was also and orphan... and then he got this funny look on his face. It was like- he suddenly caught up to what I was saying. And he respected me more or something just because I was like him in a way." Iruka shrugged. "That's... basically it. I took him out to eat after that. And found out he liked ramen."
"He has a stomach the size of a cow's."
"He's a growing boy."
"Tell me about the others."
"Well... Sakura was probably the cutest little girl that I'd ever seen when she first came into my class. She was crying that day because some of the other children had called her 'big forehead.' And I felt bad for her, so I let her draw pictures on the chalkboard with my special colored chalk during break.
"She really didn't say much when she was younger. She was a very quiet girl- much like Hinata is now. I used to be afraid that she'd never be able to stand up for herself. But one day, she met Ino.
"I don't know how they got to be rivals like they are now, but when they were younger, you couldn't pry them apart. Sakura followed Ino everywhere and imitated the other girl's attitude.... it was kind of cute. Ino came to me one day and told me that I didn't need to teach Sakura any more- that she would teach her. I tried not to laugh... it was so sweet." Iruka sighed wistfully. "I wish that they had been able to maintain that level of friendship longer. They really went well together."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Iruka wasn't sure whether his tone was perverted or not, so he hurriedly changed the subject. "Sasuke, of course, was a lot cuter when he was young. He used to smile, then... I remember when his mother brought him to class and smiled at me with that doughnut smile that mothers have. The one that makes you want to do exactly what they tell you.
"She made Sasuke promise to behave, and then he took my hand- all by himself- and came into the classroom with me. The entire way he told me about his brother Itachi and how great a ninja Itachi was and how he wanted to become a ninja just like Itachi.
"I remember thinking that if he became just like his brother, it would be slightly frightening. I didn't like Itachi very much- he scared me when I was younger. Despite the fact that he was even younger than me... It was something about his eyes. Not the Sharingan- just the closedness of them. I could never... talking to him was like talking to a brick wall."
"He was a creepy kid." Coming from Kakashi, that meant a lot. "I remember he used to sit and stare at his kunai for hours. I watched him once. I thought he was planning out battle strategies at that time. Guess I was wrong. Sort of."
"I still can't figure out why he went and did such a thing..." Iruka's jaw tightened without him knowing. "He had everything. A family... friends... a home... skill... what did he go and throw it all away for?"
"Either he was insane, or he was incredibly insane," Kakashi said unhelpfully.
Iruka rolled his eyes. "Thanks for your amazing psychoanalysis."
"Anytime for a Chuunin like you," Kakashi replied, winking.
"Whatever."
"Naruto bit me once. Has he ever bitten you?"
"Where did that come from?"
"The old bite pains me so..." Kakashi said dramatically, gripping his left arm and sighing heavily.
"He bit me once... okay, so it was twice. But the second time was an accident." Iruka eyed his companion. "Are you trying to ask me to carry the box for you?"
"Why yes, indeed I am." Kakashi's face was as unreadable as ever, but something in his tone set off warning bells in Iruka's mind. Something was wrong. And he was right.
As soon as Iruka's hands closed around the box, six shuriken flew out of the bushes to the left and embedded themselves into Kakashi's side.
To be continued...
End Notes: Aaannnd we go back to Gaara and company. Plot is starting to show up! Oh my gosh!