Ranma crossover? I'm not even going to try to imagine how you came up with
that. XD
But still, Wow... I'm surprised most of you stayed after my brief bout of insanity in the intermission. Thank you everyone... *tears start gushing from her eyes again* It means so much! *squeaks* I won't cry... I won't cry!
*composes herself* Anyway, first off, it was not until 30 minutes after I had posted that intermission did I remember the Hyuuga family. Damn... I mean, during the Chuunin exams with Neji and then with Hiashi-sama against that group of attackers? Damn those were awesome moves.
Still, it would've been a moot point seeing as I doubt they would've taught poor Iruka-chan anything. If they undermine the branch family just because they were born second... just imagine someone who's not even IN the family. Ara Ara...
Second, last night I was thinking to myself the possibilities for how this fanfic can go, if I added that "plot" thing everyone seems so set to have here. I wondered if I added this confound thing, would the story change? Would it be Yaoi? Non-Yaoi? AU? Coincide with Cannon Timeline?
By 4:30 am, suffering from lack of sleep, I finally decided "Ah, screw it!" This fic has already diverged into a different story that I had planned (non-yaoi, coincide with cannon timeline), I'm just going to have fun and write whatever comes to mind as I have been doing already. Heheh... this may mean I'll have to change the summary soon. ^_~
However, I'll still try to abstain from falling into clichés. (However I'm beginning to think this story is just one big cliché... Oh well.)
Oh yeah... new warning: Increased use of gratuitous Japanese words and phrases ahead. Sorry, although brief, they are needed to help set the mood. Translations and definitions are given to some of the words... others, well it's best to look them up to get a better visual of them.
With that said, let's continue with the story.
Midnight confessions Chapter 5
~~~***~~~
"Naruto?"
The blond boy paused in trying to grab Kakashi's book so that the silver-haired man could pay attention to him. Turning to his previous teacher, Naruto gave the dark-haired man a confused and slightly frustrated expression, wondering what was so important as to interrupt his task.
"Naruto, I need you to go to the Hokage and give him a message for me. Tell him I won't be coming in today and to keep a substitute in hand for tomorrow in case I..."
"Iruka..." The jounin interrupted. "Is this about your cheek? I'm sure no one will notice. Maybe Sakura could lend you some make up and we could have a little make-over! We could make you as pretty as a princess and..."
Iruka interrupted the silver haired man with a fierce glare. "I think not, sensei..." He glared for a few more seconds at the chuckling jounin, and then spared a mock glare at the chuckling (and one minimally brooding) teens, almost trying to hold in his own smile. Shaking his head Iruka sighed, a grin now winning over the previous glare. "It isn't that. I got stings like these all the time when I was younger, it's nothing new. It'll be gone by the end of the day." Iruka took a moment to chuckle, imagining the look on the Hokage's face should the elder see another bruise on the chunin teacher's face after so many years of peaceful activity.
Turning back towards Naruto, Iruka gave the boy a sad smile. "Naruto, would you please inform the Hokage that, although it's a bit early, I'll be heading off to the old home to clean up again."
The remaining Team 7 members could only wonder in mild curiosity over the details of this vague conversation. Their curiosity was heightened even more so when they saw the change of the blond boy's demeanor. The boy's posture, and even his expression, had changed from arrogant and slightly mischievous (mostly from the thought of having a chance to tease the old man Hokage again) to a more subdued and slightly solemn expression. The boy gave Iruka a sad smile and nodded in affirmation.
"Old home, sensei?" Both Sasuke and Kakashi gave an inward sigh of relief as Sakura voiced out their curiosity. After all, it wouldn't have done well for both their images if they shattered their silent demeanor with bombarding the teacher with their own questions. Iruka, however, wasn't about to give in so easily. Raising his hands up he shook them slightly as if to ward off the subject.
"Oh it's nothing! Don't worry about it." Lightly grabbing Sakura and Kakashi by the shoulders, the teacher began to shoo the team out of his small apartment. "Anyway, I'm sure you all have some missions or some training you have to complete?" Pushing the team out the door, Iruka snuck back within the doorway and turned to them to give them a big smile. "Oh, and Naruto? Promise me you won't mention anything to them. Do a good job and I'll treat you to a bowl of ramen tonight. Have fun!"
And with that, the door slammed shut before them, leaving one grinning boy and three disgruntled individuals outside in its wake. Shaking his head, the eldest of the group smiled within his covered mask and turned back to the door.
"Oh he's good...."
The team had now hopped from the balcony of the apartments and was now casually standing within the baking, mid-day streets of Konoha. Naruto's grin spread widely on his face. It was almost as if Iruka-sensei had given him his very own, personal mission. He knew what Iruka had been talking about when the man mentioned about the old home, and he also knew how much it meant to the teacher. Naruto felt that he would do anything to make his former sensei proud of him and complete this task no matter what. Especially since ramen was on the line.
"Na-ru-to-kuuuuuuun?" A feminine voice, as sweet as mochi and warm as fresh ramen, sang melodiously behind the blond genin, interrupting the boy from his thoughts. Wearily, something within Naruto told him he should have been running for his life. With jerking motions, the whiskered boy turned towards his companions and paled at the scary expressions given back to him.
Kakashi's single eye was shadowed with a look of intimidation. His chin had been tilted up slightly, giving the impression that he was looking at a small, worthless pile of peanuty-turd, whose purpose was to give the owner a slight sense of amusement just before it got flushed down the toilet. Sasuke, that bastard, was trying hard to imitate the same look, but rather just settled on a cold, focused gaze that got froze Naruto on the spot. However, the scariest of them all was Sakura's expression. She was not looking at the boy with malice nor intimidation, but rather she was looking at him with the most innocent expression that she could muster.
Naruto's lips twitched in fear.
Any other day and Naruto would have melted to have those turquoise eyes gazing upon him with such intensity, however perhaps it was the Kyuubi's own sense of self-preservation that made the boy tremble with the utmost of fear.
At the moment, Sakura was giving the boy a look of hunger, a look that Naruto usually had when he had his first Ramen of the day. Huge, round, sparking, blue-green eyes turned menacing towards the blond genin. Within those soulful eyes lay a flash of intent stating that if the boy didn't do what this girl asked, there would be pain... oh yes, there would be pain.
"Ne, Naruto-kun? What is this old house Iruka-sensei was talking about?"
Gulping loudly the blond boy took a step back, trying to put some distance between him and his frightening teammates.
'The mission! Think of the mission!' Said a voice that ran inside Naruto's conscious.
Another voice then slowly came to focus with a tone that dripped like melted honey. 'But Sakura-chan's talking to me!'
Shaking his head away from the love-sick voice, Naruto tried to steel his determination. 'Iruka-sensei would be so pissed if I said anything. Think of the ramen! Warm miso ramen!'
"If you tell us, we'll give you two bowls of ramen."
Instantly Naruto glared at the jounin for his temptation. Oh that just was evil! That was just plain cruel! That just... wasn't fair! Using his newfound frustration as motivation, Naruto took a leap backwards and pointed accusingly at the trio before him.
"Nah-uh! No way! No way am I telling you guys, so you can just forget it!" With a loud huff, Naruto spun his heels and stormed off, stomping his way towards the offices where the Hokage was in.
Kakashi let down his intimidating look and sighed. "At least we now know he'll be reliable when it comes to completing missions." Inwardly he told himself that someone had to do something about Naruto's loud character. Unfortunately he knew he had to be that "someone". How troublesome.
"Now what, sensei?"
Kakashi glanced at Sakura's disappointed look and gave a slight grin. His grin grew a bit wider when he turned to gaze at Sasuke. Although the boy was still carrying his "moody outlook," there was a slight increase of frustration in those features. In fact, one could almost say he was pouting if it weren't for the murderous, yet slightly aloof look to those dark eyes. It was kind of... cute... to realize that Mr. Prince of Moodiness still had a curious child-like personality under all that angst.
"Well, I suppose until Naruto returns, we can start on today's training." Kakashi paused to take in the confused glances. He dropped his smile, which wouldn't have mattered anyway since his mask prevented many of his facial features to be hidden. With a smooth yet profound voice, Kakashi turned to his two students and gave them a meaningful look. "In certain missions, a ninja must know how to effectively gather the light while remaining in the shadows."
Kakashi didn't say anything further, but there was no need to. He felt a slight surge of pride fill within him when within moments of speaking those words, Sakura and Sasuke's confused expressions shifted into a more amused and slightly mischievous one. Kakashi could trust these two to find the meaning behind his words. Turning his back to his students, he gave a slight nod and within seconds a swirl of air was all that was left of the three.
~~
"Hisashiburi desu ne, kaoku..." 'It's been a while, house' Iruka repeated to himself.
Toeing his shoes off at the genkan entry, Iruka looked about into the slightly musty and abandoned former Umino home. The building had been one of the few homes, left in Konoha, that were designed in the traditional Japanese style. Complete with rice-paper fusuma doors and thick, yet slightly frayed, straw tatami mats, it was a modest size home, with two official bedrooms and a large living room that could be divided into a separate room with a well placed shoji screen. The kitchen was fairly small, but was large compared to that of his apartment's.
Placing a bag full of cleaning supplies next to his discarded shoes, Iruka reached into the contents and pulled out some thick, toed socks. Slipping them on, he exited the entryway and stepped into the main room, making a short beeline towards one of the closets in the kitchen. There he found the rest of his needed supplies: brooms, dust-pans, buckets, rakes and a used apron.
Having left his flack jacket back home, Iruka slipped the large, yellow apron over his worn-out, light blue sweatshirt and black sweatpants. Reaching into one of the pockets of the apron, he pulled out a faded, grey handkerchief and tied it over his head to prevent any dust from settling into his hair... and to keep his bangs from clinging onto his face.
The work needed around the home wasn't much, compared to last year's work. There had been no major floods or storms that would have required some major work and fixing. Beginning from the inside, Iruka washed the surfaces of the cabinets in the kitchen and in the bathroom, scrubbed the furo clean of any gathering mold then began to sweep the mats free of accumulated dust. The mats themselves, although frayed from age, were still in good condition, and Iruka figured they could last another year or so.
Toeing in some house slippers, Iruka then began to sweep the veranda surrounding the home. In contrast to the mats inside, the wood here looked weathered and worn to the point of splintering and cracking in some boards. Mostly it was perhaps due to the constant exposure to the sun.
Returning back to the genkan, Iruka traded in his house slippers to his working sandals and ventured around the house to reach the back yard. Pausing in the middle of the garden, Iruka gave a nod of satisfaction from what he saw. The yard was well kept and weeded to prevent massive overgrowth. An elderly neighbor had taken it as her task to come once a week to tend the plants, despite the lack of occupants in the home.
To Iruka, this woman was always known as "Baa-chan", which was somewhat of an embarrassment to him later on as he seemed to have forgotten her real name. Not that it mattered, she had later stated that she would have found it to be a great disservice should he call her by her real name rather than the nickname he had for years. He and "Baa-chan" had developed a strong friendship when he was a child, and it was this very same woman who cared for him the first few months after his loss.
The woman, Iruka had found out through one of her famous "exaggerated stories", was an old mentor to his mother. They had kept their relationship strong throughout the years and were almost as close as family for how strong their bond was. When asked why the old woman would continue to tend to the garden, she would always reply that she was simply repaying a favor. When asked to further explain, the woman would simply tilt her head and smile at the frustrated Iruka.
Taking a short break, Iruka carefully sat on the better areas of the veranda, outlying the house, and smiled. The yard was just as well cared for as always, which was a sign that the old woman was still doing well. He made a mental note to visit the woman later on should he get the chance. It had been a while since they swapped stories, and a good ear to talk to was always appreciated, especially one whom he was very fond of.
It had now been at least more than an hour since he had started cleaning, which wasn't bad since it wasn't much work. The hot mid-day sun had cooled off slightly, welcoming the slight afternoon breeze. He was about to lean back and take a nap when, from a tree off to the corner of the garden, he saw a flash of shaded pink from within the leaves. He had felt the presence of no one nearby, so it couldn't have been Sakura since she had yet to perfect the art of fully concealing her chakara. No, this person was very good at concealment, which meant that they were somewhat higher than an experienced chunin.
And he was having such a nice day.
With his body slightly tensed in preparation, Iruka stepped away from the porch and focused his attention to the tree he saw the brief flash of color. He gave the tree an expectant glare, not saying a word in case it was only a trick of the eye he saw. It was times like these in which he would curse his over-sensitive sense of awareness, as it tended to make him slightly more paranoid than his health and nerves would have wanted.
The wait only lasted a few moments before a deep, baritone sigh mixed with rustling of leaves within the slight breeze. A presence could now be felt, although it was still relatively small. Iruka's guard went up more at this, readying himself for an attack, his fingers itching to sink into his holster pack on his thigh and pull out a few shuriken just in case.
"You're too good at this game, Iruka-sensei. You're no fun anymore." A soft ruffle of the grass was all the sound that was heard as Kakashi leaped away from the tree and landed a few feet before the dark-haired teacher. Iruka's fingers twitched now, eager to seriously pull out a shuriken, but now for different reasons.
"How long have you been watching?" The younger man asked, his posture not relaxing in the slightest, and his expectant glare had grown slightly irritated. Kakashi, feeling the tension within the other man, rose his hands up in a surrendering gesture then placed his fingers on his masked chin as if in mock-thought.
"Let's see... officially... not more than an hour I suppose." Kakashi tried to put on a disarming expression, tilting his head to the side and letting his shown eye curve in merriment. However, Iruka took no notice at this since his eyes were clenched in frustration. An hour and he hadn't picked up on anything while he was being followed nor while he was cleaning? Despite it all, Iruka's respect for the jounin's level rose a few more notches up, yet it disappointed him in the idea that those awe- inspiring skills were used to satisfy such a childish curiosity. Then again, he should have known better. Ninjas, if anything, were natural-born gossipers, and it was almost in their blood to stick their noses in other's businesses. Taking a deep breath, the teacher let out a bit of pent up steam and looked about.
"I see... where are the others? I'm surprised I can't sense them around. Either they've improved dramatically, or I'm getting shoddy in my skills. I'm thinking more of the latter since I could not sense you for an hour."
"You weren't supposed to." Kakashi grinned briefly at the displeased chuunin before turning back to face the direction of Hokage mountain, hands in his pockets in a leisurely pose. "As for those three... hopefully they're still on their wild goose chase. Naruto saw 'me' following him, so I'm pretty sure he's trying to chase them off his tail. It should give us a few more minutes alone to talk."
Iruka just stared, with narrowed-eyed query, at the grinning jounin before him. The man was planning something, but Iruka had no clue as to what. Nothing logical could come to his mind as to why Kakashi had sent a clone of himself to deliberately delay the three. Not that he didn't somewhat appreciate it; Iruka had enjoyed the quiet and tranquility so far. Of course it would have been better if they didn't plan to spy on him on the first place.
"There is nothing really to talk about. What's done is done, and I don't hold any hard feelings towards you. If it makes you feel better, I apologize for what I said last night. I was exhausted and I wasn't thinking clearly, but that is still no excuse for my actions. Now, perhaps you should find your team and dismiss them for the day at least. As you can see, there really is nothing overly special about this house. It is just an old, abandoned house waiting for some new owners. It was one of my missions as a Genin to care for the home until it was sold... mostly this was done for added income. As you can see, no one lives here just yet, so my mission is still not complete."
"Well then... maybe I should buy it then."
~~~
Buahahaha! Cliffhanger!! Okay sorry, but no worries... next chapter comes out tomorrow, promise! I know this because I only have two more pages left before completion. I was having a block, but now, due to the stress of finals.... I had a splurge of writing!
I really should be studying now... but I can't... the Muse compels!!
Again, thank you for your reviews, they had been my motivation to break my block!!
But still, Wow... I'm surprised most of you stayed after my brief bout of insanity in the intermission. Thank you everyone... *tears start gushing from her eyes again* It means so much! *squeaks* I won't cry... I won't cry!
*composes herself* Anyway, first off, it was not until 30 minutes after I had posted that intermission did I remember the Hyuuga family. Damn... I mean, during the Chuunin exams with Neji and then with Hiashi-sama against that group of attackers? Damn those were awesome moves.
Still, it would've been a moot point seeing as I doubt they would've taught poor Iruka-chan anything. If they undermine the branch family just because they were born second... just imagine someone who's not even IN the family. Ara Ara...
Second, last night I was thinking to myself the possibilities for how this fanfic can go, if I added that "plot" thing everyone seems so set to have here. I wondered if I added this confound thing, would the story change? Would it be Yaoi? Non-Yaoi? AU? Coincide with Cannon Timeline?
By 4:30 am, suffering from lack of sleep, I finally decided "Ah, screw it!" This fic has already diverged into a different story that I had planned (non-yaoi, coincide with cannon timeline), I'm just going to have fun and write whatever comes to mind as I have been doing already. Heheh... this may mean I'll have to change the summary soon. ^_~
However, I'll still try to abstain from falling into clichés. (However I'm beginning to think this story is just one big cliché... Oh well.)
Oh yeah... new warning: Increased use of gratuitous Japanese words and phrases ahead. Sorry, although brief, they are needed to help set the mood. Translations and definitions are given to some of the words... others, well it's best to look them up to get a better visual of them.
With that said, let's continue with the story.
Midnight confessions Chapter 5
~~~***~~~
"Naruto?"
The blond boy paused in trying to grab Kakashi's book so that the silver-haired man could pay attention to him. Turning to his previous teacher, Naruto gave the dark-haired man a confused and slightly frustrated expression, wondering what was so important as to interrupt his task.
"Naruto, I need you to go to the Hokage and give him a message for me. Tell him I won't be coming in today and to keep a substitute in hand for tomorrow in case I..."
"Iruka..." The jounin interrupted. "Is this about your cheek? I'm sure no one will notice. Maybe Sakura could lend you some make up and we could have a little make-over! We could make you as pretty as a princess and..."
Iruka interrupted the silver haired man with a fierce glare. "I think not, sensei..." He glared for a few more seconds at the chuckling jounin, and then spared a mock glare at the chuckling (and one minimally brooding) teens, almost trying to hold in his own smile. Shaking his head Iruka sighed, a grin now winning over the previous glare. "It isn't that. I got stings like these all the time when I was younger, it's nothing new. It'll be gone by the end of the day." Iruka took a moment to chuckle, imagining the look on the Hokage's face should the elder see another bruise on the chunin teacher's face after so many years of peaceful activity.
Turning back towards Naruto, Iruka gave the boy a sad smile. "Naruto, would you please inform the Hokage that, although it's a bit early, I'll be heading off to the old home to clean up again."
The remaining Team 7 members could only wonder in mild curiosity over the details of this vague conversation. Their curiosity was heightened even more so when they saw the change of the blond boy's demeanor. The boy's posture, and even his expression, had changed from arrogant and slightly mischievous (mostly from the thought of having a chance to tease the old man Hokage again) to a more subdued and slightly solemn expression. The boy gave Iruka a sad smile and nodded in affirmation.
"Old home, sensei?" Both Sasuke and Kakashi gave an inward sigh of relief as Sakura voiced out their curiosity. After all, it wouldn't have done well for both their images if they shattered their silent demeanor with bombarding the teacher with their own questions. Iruka, however, wasn't about to give in so easily. Raising his hands up he shook them slightly as if to ward off the subject.
"Oh it's nothing! Don't worry about it." Lightly grabbing Sakura and Kakashi by the shoulders, the teacher began to shoo the team out of his small apartment. "Anyway, I'm sure you all have some missions or some training you have to complete?" Pushing the team out the door, Iruka snuck back within the doorway and turned to them to give them a big smile. "Oh, and Naruto? Promise me you won't mention anything to them. Do a good job and I'll treat you to a bowl of ramen tonight. Have fun!"
And with that, the door slammed shut before them, leaving one grinning boy and three disgruntled individuals outside in its wake. Shaking his head, the eldest of the group smiled within his covered mask and turned back to the door.
"Oh he's good...."
The team had now hopped from the balcony of the apartments and was now casually standing within the baking, mid-day streets of Konoha. Naruto's grin spread widely on his face. It was almost as if Iruka-sensei had given him his very own, personal mission. He knew what Iruka had been talking about when the man mentioned about the old home, and he also knew how much it meant to the teacher. Naruto felt that he would do anything to make his former sensei proud of him and complete this task no matter what. Especially since ramen was on the line.
"Na-ru-to-kuuuuuuun?" A feminine voice, as sweet as mochi and warm as fresh ramen, sang melodiously behind the blond genin, interrupting the boy from his thoughts. Wearily, something within Naruto told him he should have been running for his life. With jerking motions, the whiskered boy turned towards his companions and paled at the scary expressions given back to him.
Kakashi's single eye was shadowed with a look of intimidation. His chin had been tilted up slightly, giving the impression that he was looking at a small, worthless pile of peanuty-turd, whose purpose was to give the owner a slight sense of amusement just before it got flushed down the toilet. Sasuke, that bastard, was trying hard to imitate the same look, but rather just settled on a cold, focused gaze that got froze Naruto on the spot. However, the scariest of them all was Sakura's expression. She was not looking at the boy with malice nor intimidation, but rather she was looking at him with the most innocent expression that she could muster.
Naruto's lips twitched in fear.
Any other day and Naruto would have melted to have those turquoise eyes gazing upon him with such intensity, however perhaps it was the Kyuubi's own sense of self-preservation that made the boy tremble with the utmost of fear.
At the moment, Sakura was giving the boy a look of hunger, a look that Naruto usually had when he had his first Ramen of the day. Huge, round, sparking, blue-green eyes turned menacing towards the blond genin. Within those soulful eyes lay a flash of intent stating that if the boy didn't do what this girl asked, there would be pain... oh yes, there would be pain.
"Ne, Naruto-kun? What is this old house Iruka-sensei was talking about?"
Gulping loudly the blond boy took a step back, trying to put some distance between him and his frightening teammates.
'The mission! Think of the mission!' Said a voice that ran inside Naruto's conscious.
Another voice then slowly came to focus with a tone that dripped like melted honey. 'But Sakura-chan's talking to me!'
Shaking his head away from the love-sick voice, Naruto tried to steel his determination. 'Iruka-sensei would be so pissed if I said anything. Think of the ramen! Warm miso ramen!'
"If you tell us, we'll give you two bowls of ramen."
Instantly Naruto glared at the jounin for his temptation. Oh that just was evil! That was just plain cruel! That just... wasn't fair! Using his newfound frustration as motivation, Naruto took a leap backwards and pointed accusingly at the trio before him.
"Nah-uh! No way! No way am I telling you guys, so you can just forget it!" With a loud huff, Naruto spun his heels and stormed off, stomping his way towards the offices where the Hokage was in.
Kakashi let down his intimidating look and sighed. "At least we now know he'll be reliable when it comes to completing missions." Inwardly he told himself that someone had to do something about Naruto's loud character. Unfortunately he knew he had to be that "someone". How troublesome.
"Now what, sensei?"
Kakashi glanced at Sakura's disappointed look and gave a slight grin. His grin grew a bit wider when he turned to gaze at Sasuke. Although the boy was still carrying his "moody outlook," there was a slight increase of frustration in those features. In fact, one could almost say he was pouting if it weren't for the murderous, yet slightly aloof look to those dark eyes. It was kind of... cute... to realize that Mr. Prince of Moodiness still had a curious child-like personality under all that angst.
"Well, I suppose until Naruto returns, we can start on today's training." Kakashi paused to take in the confused glances. He dropped his smile, which wouldn't have mattered anyway since his mask prevented many of his facial features to be hidden. With a smooth yet profound voice, Kakashi turned to his two students and gave them a meaningful look. "In certain missions, a ninja must know how to effectively gather the light while remaining in the shadows."
Kakashi didn't say anything further, but there was no need to. He felt a slight surge of pride fill within him when within moments of speaking those words, Sakura and Sasuke's confused expressions shifted into a more amused and slightly mischievous one. Kakashi could trust these two to find the meaning behind his words. Turning his back to his students, he gave a slight nod and within seconds a swirl of air was all that was left of the three.
~~
"Hisashiburi desu ne, kaoku..." 'It's been a while, house' Iruka repeated to himself.
Toeing his shoes off at the genkan entry, Iruka looked about into the slightly musty and abandoned former Umino home. The building had been one of the few homes, left in Konoha, that were designed in the traditional Japanese style. Complete with rice-paper fusuma doors and thick, yet slightly frayed, straw tatami mats, it was a modest size home, with two official bedrooms and a large living room that could be divided into a separate room with a well placed shoji screen. The kitchen was fairly small, but was large compared to that of his apartment's.
Placing a bag full of cleaning supplies next to his discarded shoes, Iruka reached into the contents and pulled out some thick, toed socks. Slipping them on, he exited the entryway and stepped into the main room, making a short beeline towards one of the closets in the kitchen. There he found the rest of his needed supplies: brooms, dust-pans, buckets, rakes and a used apron.
Having left his flack jacket back home, Iruka slipped the large, yellow apron over his worn-out, light blue sweatshirt and black sweatpants. Reaching into one of the pockets of the apron, he pulled out a faded, grey handkerchief and tied it over his head to prevent any dust from settling into his hair... and to keep his bangs from clinging onto his face.
The work needed around the home wasn't much, compared to last year's work. There had been no major floods or storms that would have required some major work and fixing. Beginning from the inside, Iruka washed the surfaces of the cabinets in the kitchen and in the bathroom, scrubbed the furo clean of any gathering mold then began to sweep the mats free of accumulated dust. The mats themselves, although frayed from age, were still in good condition, and Iruka figured they could last another year or so.
Toeing in some house slippers, Iruka then began to sweep the veranda surrounding the home. In contrast to the mats inside, the wood here looked weathered and worn to the point of splintering and cracking in some boards. Mostly it was perhaps due to the constant exposure to the sun.
Returning back to the genkan, Iruka traded in his house slippers to his working sandals and ventured around the house to reach the back yard. Pausing in the middle of the garden, Iruka gave a nod of satisfaction from what he saw. The yard was well kept and weeded to prevent massive overgrowth. An elderly neighbor had taken it as her task to come once a week to tend the plants, despite the lack of occupants in the home.
To Iruka, this woman was always known as "Baa-chan", which was somewhat of an embarrassment to him later on as he seemed to have forgotten her real name. Not that it mattered, she had later stated that she would have found it to be a great disservice should he call her by her real name rather than the nickname he had for years. He and "Baa-chan" had developed a strong friendship when he was a child, and it was this very same woman who cared for him the first few months after his loss.
The woman, Iruka had found out through one of her famous "exaggerated stories", was an old mentor to his mother. They had kept their relationship strong throughout the years and were almost as close as family for how strong their bond was. When asked why the old woman would continue to tend to the garden, she would always reply that she was simply repaying a favor. When asked to further explain, the woman would simply tilt her head and smile at the frustrated Iruka.
Taking a short break, Iruka carefully sat on the better areas of the veranda, outlying the house, and smiled. The yard was just as well cared for as always, which was a sign that the old woman was still doing well. He made a mental note to visit the woman later on should he get the chance. It had been a while since they swapped stories, and a good ear to talk to was always appreciated, especially one whom he was very fond of.
It had now been at least more than an hour since he had started cleaning, which wasn't bad since it wasn't much work. The hot mid-day sun had cooled off slightly, welcoming the slight afternoon breeze. He was about to lean back and take a nap when, from a tree off to the corner of the garden, he saw a flash of shaded pink from within the leaves. He had felt the presence of no one nearby, so it couldn't have been Sakura since she had yet to perfect the art of fully concealing her chakara. No, this person was very good at concealment, which meant that they were somewhat higher than an experienced chunin.
And he was having such a nice day.
With his body slightly tensed in preparation, Iruka stepped away from the porch and focused his attention to the tree he saw the brief flash of color. He gave the tree an expectant glare, not saying a word in case it was only a trick of the eye he saw. It was times like these in which he would curse his over-sensitive sense of awareness, as it tended to make him slightly more paranoid than his health and nerves would have wanted.
The wait only lasted a few moments before a deep, baritone sigh mixed with rustling of leaves within the slight breeze. A presence could now be felt, although it was still relatively small. Iruka's guard went up more at this, readying himself for an attack, his fingers itching to sink into his holster pack on his thigh and pull out a few shuriken just in case.
"You're too good at this game, Iruka-sensei. You're no fun anymore." A soft ruffle of the grass was all the sound that was heard as Kakashi leaped away from the tree and landed a few feet before the dark-haired teacher. Iruka's fingers twitched now, eager to seriously pull out a shuriken, but now for different reasons.
"How long have you been watching?" The younger man asked, his posture not relaxing in the slightest, and his expectant glare had grown slightly irritated. Kakashi, feeling the tension within the other man, rose his hands up in a surrendering gesture then placed his fingers on his masked chin as if in mock-thought.
"Let's see... officially... not more than an hour I suppose." Kakashi tried to put on a disarming expression, tilting his head to the side and letting his shown eye curve in merriment. However, Iruka took no notice at this since his eyes were clenched in frustration. An hour and he hadn't picked up on anything while he was being followed nor while he was cleaning? Despite it all, Iruka's respect for the jounin's level rose a few more notches up, yet it disappointed him in the idea that those awe- inspiring skills were used to satisfy such a childish curiosity. Then again, he should have known better. Ninjas, if anything, were natural-born gossipers, and it was almost in their blood to stick their noses in other's businesses. Taking a deep breath, the teacher let out a bit of pent up steam and looked about.
"I see... where are the others? I'm surprised I can't sense them around. Either they've improved dramatically, or I'm getting shoddy in my skills. I'm thinking more of the latter since I could not sense you for an hour."
"You weren't supposed to." Kakashi grinned briefly at the displeased chuunin before turning back to face the direction of Hokage mountain, hands in his pockets in a leisurely pose. "As for those three... hopefully they're still on their wild goose chase. Naruto saw 'me' following him, so I'm pretty sure he's trying to chase them off his tail. It should give us a few more minutes alone to talk."
Iruka just stared, with narrowed-eyed query, at the grinning jounin before him. The man was planning something, but Iruka had no clue as to what. Nothing logical could come to his mind as to why Kakashi had sent a clone of himself to deliberately delay the three. Not that he didn't somewhat appreciate it; Iruka had enjoyed the quiet and tranquility so far. Of course it would have been better if they didn't plan to spy on him on the first place.
"There is nothing really to talk about. What's done is done, and I don't hold any hard feelings towards you. If it makes you feel better, I apologize for what I said last night. I was exhausted and I wasn't thinking clearly, but that is still no excuse for my actions. Now, perhaps you should find your team and dismiss them for the day at least. As you can see, there really is nothing overly special about this house. It is just an old, abandoned house waiting for some new owners. It was one of my missions as a Genin to care for the home until it was sold... mostly this was done for added income. As you can see, no one lives here just yet, so my mission is still not complete."
"Well then... maybe I should buy it then."
~~~
Buahahaha! Cliffhanger!! Okay sorry, but no worries... next chapter comes out tomorrow, promise! I know this because I only have two more pages left before completion. I was having a block, but now, due to the stress of finals.... I had a splurge of writing!
I really should be studying now... but I can't... the Muse compels!!
Again, thank you for your reviews, they had been my motivation to break my block!!