Chapter Eight: Harmony

At eight o' clock, Suzu approached the stairway at the base of the Hokages' monument, nervously smoothing the fabric of the traditional kimono she was wearing. She and the other Sound refugees didn't have much money, and they certainly hadn't had time to pack when fleeing their village, so Suzu had no idea where Eriko had found the kimono. She guessed the older woman had borrowed it from someone, though she wasn't certain who. It seemed to fit Suzu's petite frame fairly well, however, and the pale blue silk, offset by a white blossom pattern, accentuated the blue of her eyes.

Suzu's white blonde hair was pulled back into a smooth bun, adorned only by two simple bamboo hairsticks, and a few tendrils were left to fall loose, framing her face. She wore no other ornamentation and felt somewhat strange at being so dressed up. She had no idea what Iruka had planned, but she knew she couldn't wear the outfit she wore to fight and train in. She hoped the kimono would be okay.

Suzu stood at the base of the stairway and watched the street for Iruka's arrival. She didn't have to wait long, however, as a soft voice came suddenly from behind her.

"You look beautiful."

She turned to see Iruka making his way down the staircase, a few steps above her. He too was dressed more formally than his everyday clothes, though not quite so dressy as what Suzu was wearing. He wore a black kimono-style top, similar to what Juro wore but made of a finer fabric, and dark blue hakama pants made of the same fabric. His forehead protector was absent, as were his normal weapons, although he had a bag slung over one shoulder.

Suzu flushed and accepted the hand he held out to her, "Thank you. You're looking pretty amazing yourself."

Iruka himself blushed at that and Suzu had to laugh.

"So what's in the bag?" she asked, as he began leading her up the staircase.

"You'll see when we get there," he said mysteriously, releasing her hand to slip an arm around her waist. "Sorry, it's a bit of a walk. I hope you don't mind."

"No, I can use the exercise," she said, chuckling, "I feel like I've been slacking off this whole week while everyone else was training."

"You were ill," he said, shaking his head, "Don't be too hard on yourself."

"I'm always hard on myself," Suzu said, wryly, "It's in my nature."

"I know the feeling," Iruka murmured, but left it at that.

"I hope I'm not too overdressed," she said, after a pause.

"No you look incredible," he replied, giving her an almost shy smile. "It's a little intimidating," he said, honestly.

"Bah," Suzu laughed, "I'm only intimidating when I'm armed."

Iruka blinked at her bewildered for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Oh," he finally said, when he managed to catch his breath, "That reminded me of something I thought the first day I met you. I remember looking at those daggers you wear and thinking that they looked particularly nasty."

"They are," Suzu grinned, wickedly, "So you'd best not get on my bad side."

"Trust me," Iruka smiled, "That's the last thing I want to do."

By that time they'd finally reached the top of the monument, and, as Iruka pulled her up the final few steps, a lovely scene came into view. There was a blanket laid on the stone at the top of the monument, and two place settings surrounded by small boxes of food. Small white candles flickered among the plates and glasses and to one side sat a gleaming telescope, its lens pointed toward the night sky.

"Iruka," Suzu breathed, "Wow… I'm speechless."

"I wanted to do something different from the regular dinner and a movie thing," he said seriously, looking into her eyes. "I hope you like it."

"I love it," she said, delighted. "This is beyond anything I could have imagined."

"It gets better," he said, with a grin. "Wait until you see what we have to eat."

Upon examining the boxes, Suzu discovered they were filled with a large variety of delectable goodies. "Takeout from my favorite restaurant," Iruka explained.

There was also a bottle of plum wine and Chinese dumplings with bean paste for dessert. As they ate and gazed at the breathtaking view of Konoha at night, Iruka took the time to ask Suzu more about herself.

"I was curious about something," he began. "The other day, Juro referred to you as 'little sis' but he's not actually your brother, is he?"

"Oh no," Suzu laughed, "He's like a brother to me, but we aren't related. Juro and I grew up next door to each other and have spent almost our entire lives together. He and his sister, Kimiko, were my best friends."

Iruka nodded, "I had wondered. The two of you seemed awfully close."

"Jealous?" Suzu teased, feeding him a dumpling.

"Maybe slightly," Iruka said, with his mouth full of food. "I also noticed that you referred to Renjiro as your sensei at one point."

"You don't miss much, do you," Suzu shook her head.

"Working with thirty or more children on a daily basis for a number of years makes you remarkably observant," Iruka replied.

"He was my sensei when I was a Genin – Juro's too. I guess sometimes we still think of him that way." Suzu hesitated, "Renjiro's a good man, but he's had a very hard life. He was married once, before I knew him. His wife died in childbirth. The baby too. He was a very patient teacher, very supportive and encouraging, but he always seemed sad. He was good friends with Mochida Tai, as well. Tai's father trained the both of them, and Renjiro was something of an advisor to Tai. He was very upset when Tai invited Orochimaru into our village."

"You seem very fond of him," Iruka said, thoughtfully.

"He's like a father to me," Suzu sighed, thinking of how Renjiro might chafe at that description. Lately his attentions had taken on a far less fatherly bent. Suzu realized Iruka was looking at her curiously and quickly changed the subject, "I'm sorry, I've been doing all the talking. Why don't you tell me something about yourself?"

"Like what?" Iruka asked.

'Like why you're still a Chuunin,' Suzu thought deeply curious, but didn't say. "Hmm… well, how about how did you get that scar?" she said instead, lightly tracing the scar that crossed the bridge of his nose with one finger.

"Oh this," Iruka laughed, pointing at his scar, "Childhood accident. I was fooling around during training when I was a cadet at the academy, playing with a kunai I'd swiped from my father. I dared another student to throw it at me; completely sure I could dodge it in time. Well, I dodged it, but not completely. I'm lucky I didn't lose an eye… or worse."

Suzu shook her head, amused, "You never struck me as the type to steal things from your parents."

"I was a lot more rambunctious as a child," Iruka grinned, "I acted out a lot to get attention. Mostly because I was lonely, I think. My… my parents were killed in battle when I was twelve and I only became more boisterous afterward. I felt isolated and wanted people to notice me."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Suzu murmured, and Iruka remembered that her own parents had also been killed recently. "It's a tough life… that of a shinobi," she continued, thoughtfully, "Even for those who are only friends and family."

Iruka just nodded and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close, her back against his chest. Suzu rested the back of her head against his shoulder and they stayed like that for a while, each lost in their respective thoughts. Eventually Iruka broke the silence by changing the subject.

"Hey, would you like to see the stars?" he pointed to the telescope.

"Definitely," Suzu twisted around to smile at him and then rose to her feet when he released her. "Where did you get it anyway?"

"Borrowed it from the academy," Iruka said, taking her hand and leading her toward the telescope. "It took a bit of convincing, but I managed it."

Suzu just laughed and bowed her head to look through the eyepiece. "It doesn't seem to be in focus," she said, after a moment.

Iruka moved to adjust the dials on the telescope, looking through the eyepiece himself. "Now try," he said, stepping back and wrapping his arms around Suzu's waist.

Suzu looked through the telescope again and gasped, "Oh wow, it's beautiful. Which star is that?"

"It's Venus, actually," Iruka chuckled, and Suzu looked back at him and blushed.

Looking at her like this; face flushed and eyes shining, moonlight making her hair shimmer silver, Iruka found Suzu irrepressibly lovely. Gently, almost without thinking, he cupped her chin in one hand and tilted her face upward, lowering his lips to meet hers in a kiss. A small sigh escaped Suzu as she leaned into the kiss and the two of them melted into one another for several moments as it seemed like the world held it's breath.

Finally they parted, both a little dazed, and Suzu gave Iruka the most achingly sweet smile. "This has been an incredible night," she said, "I wish it didn't have to end, but I have to be up early for training tomorrow."

"That's okay," Iruka smiled back, "I didn't expect you to spend all night with me. Just give me a few minutes to clean up and I'll walk you home."

"I'll help you," Suzu replied, and between the two of them they packed up everything fairly quickly. The mystery of the bag Iruka had been carrying was also solved when, after taking the telescope apart, he slipped it and the remaining dishes, blanket and food boxes inside.

"Well I had to have some way to get everything up here," he said, and Suzu laughed.

The walk down from the top of the monument seemed to take no time at all, as did the walk back to Suzu's hotel. Just outside the hotel door, Iruka paused to kiss Suzu goodnight.

"I'd like to see you again," he murmured, arms wrapped around her, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"You will," she said, resting her head against his chest. "I'm kid-sitting next Friday, but I'm pretty sure I'm free Saturday. I'm afraid I can't do anything during the week. I have a lot of training to catch up on."

"That's understandable," Iruka said, "Saturday it is then."

"See you then," said Suzu, with a smile, pulling away. She gave Iruka one long last lingering glance, squeezed his hand, and turned to go inside.

Iruka watched her go then turned and began to make his own way home, feeling almost like his feet were skimming a few inches above the rough stone of the street.