Title: Wishes Are Free
Author: Cheza-chan
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Pairing: KakaIru, SasuNaru
Disclaimer: (blinks) ...Oh, yeah, that's right. I don't own this... I don't really have much to give if I get sued. (stands in front of her tall-to-the-ceiling bookcase with multiple manga and anime series) Hehehehe...
A/N: This is my first KakaIru fic... my first Naruto fic, actually! XO ...I was coerced into writing it, but ended up actually loving it! Alright, I don't believe in timelines... I'd shoot myself if I tried to work with the actual Naruto timeline, seriously. I also don't believe in Itachi or Orochimaru...why? Because I hate them some much... (wonders if Itachi is actually capable of dying) Anyway, because of that, there'll be little... if any... mention of them, and they won't actually be around. (grin)
Chapter One - What Do You Want?!
"Iruka-sensei!!"The dark-haired Chuunin winced and put on a weary smile for the boy as his classroom door was slammed open into the frame. The blonde and orange blur flew to the desk, draping across the wooden structure.
"Naruto!" Iruka yelled, his paperwork losing all organization he'd worked so hard on hours before. "What do you want?" he hissed through a forced smile. "I thought you were on a mission."
"D-Rank," the kyuubi-carrying child whined. "Besides, Kakashi-sensei never came."
"He's always late," Iruka sniffed, nonplussed. He stopped in his reorganization to stare incredulously at the boy. "Don't tell me you came all this way... Naruto."
Naruto frowned, eyes squinting shut. "You think Kakashi-sensei might be out there?" he mumbled.
§§§
The silver-haired Jounin smirked cheekily beneath his mask as he walked along with the stoic Uchiha child and the pink-haired girl.
"Mah," he sighed. "I guess Naruto decided to sleep in today."
As he was all for "teamwork" and everything, having Naruto on D-rank missions drove him up the wall. His smirk slowly escalated into a full-fledged grin as Sakura broke into a heated, rambling explanation.
§§§
"...They left me." Naruto's head landed on the Ichiraku counter with a loud thump, causing the man and young girl to worry about their best customer. "Itai," Naruto mumbled, the initial pain settling in moments later.
Iruka sighed and glanced over his shoulder, ducking his head slightly to see under the hanging clothes of the food stand. A small smile slipped onto the dolphin's face as he stared at everyday life in the peaceful Konoha. Recent threats had subsided and the village was resuming a normal pace; the lucky civilian villagers ambled from shop to shop, sometimes in groups or pairs, few by themselves, conversing with a relaxed air, knowing the village's shinobi would be there to protect them.
"Iruka-sensei! Pay attention!"
Some times Konoha was peaceful. Iruka turned back around, eyebrow developing a severely angry tick at the bowls stacked up; it was thrice the amount he'd consented to. "Naruto! Just because you're depressed doesn't mean you can eat your fill off of my wallet!"
"...Left." The boy was back to grumbling and he lifted his current bowl, slurping the remaining contents down. He exhaled with a grin and held out the bowl. "Pops–"
"No more!" Iruka yelled, slamming his palms down on the counter. Everyone froze at the faint clattering that grew into rattling, then finally, all but the bottoms bowls of the stacks fell with echoing crashes.
Kakashi looked up from the design he'd been sketching into the roof of Naruto's apartment with a blade as he heard the boy's loud yelling. He started to stand with the intention of giving the boy a reprimand at missing a mission when he noticed he was with a certain dark-haired schoolteacher. 'Iruka...'
There had always been something about the Chuunin that seemed out of place to Kakashi. Why hadn't the young man been promoted to Jounin? Surely he was smart enough, considering he was a school teacher? He has the skills to take on Sasuke, even though it was merely a mock battle and he surely hadn't given it his all.
Kakashi groaned inwardly for thinking too much on one simple man; now he wouldn't be satisfied until all questions he'd managed to accumulate were answered. He sat back on his haunches, listening in to what they were saying as they neared the building.
"–sensei! Demo sa, demo sa... you broke the bowls." Naruto raised his fisted hands defensively.
Iruka simply grunted, expression dark and murderous. He walked up the stairs with Naruto and stood to the side as the boy unlocked his apartment door. Naruto faced him, eyes shining brighter than normal in the evening light.
"See ya later, Iruka-sensei!" the blonde laughed, grinning sheepishly.
Iruka couldn't help smiling and ruffling the boy's brilliant locks before giving him a nudge inside. "Go on."
"Mou, Iruka-sensei...!"
"Oyasumi, Naruto."
"Un!"
The door closed and the teacher shook his head, turning away.
'If he'd taken on the position of Jounin, he might've been able to recruit Naruto into his team.' Kakashi was still thinking. The doting on one pupil more than the others would've been that Team's one weakness, he mused. Grunting softly at the increasing questions and half-formed conclusions, he stood, running soundlessly across the rooftops after the Chuunin.
Falling behind a few yards, he dropped down onto the sparsely populated street, blending in. 'Blend in.' It was another thing Iruka was good at; blending into the background. 'He's just one man, Kakashi!' "He's an enigma," the Copy Ninja corrected a voice barely above a whisper, sticking his hands in his pockets.
§§§
Iruka dragged his feet as he headed back home, wringing out his worn shoulder with a groan, "That Naruto... if it isn't one thing, it's another." He exhaled deep then honed in on the presence that had begun following him two blocks away. His fingers dipped into the pouch on his thigh, curling around two shuriken, and the teacher spun, flinging them. His eyes widened, hand clutching two more falling to his side, as he stared at the silver-haired Jounin spinning the weapons on his fingers.
"I'd hate to see how you treat people that offer to walk you home." Kakashi smiled and tossed the objects back, sticking his arms in his pockets.
"Gomen," Iruka mumbled, putting them back into their respective pouch. The day's events came back and he glared at the man. "Why'd you abandon Naruto?"
"He was late."
"You were late. Recently, anything concerning Team 7 causes problems for me!"
"Wari," Kakashi chuckled, visible eye curving upwards as he beamed.
Iruka looked away, a faint blush tinting his cheeks. "Don't be sorry, be on time," he stuttered out. The 25-year-old Chuunin turned until his back was to the other man and clenched his fists at his side. "I-You... Don't do me anymore favors!" Iruka yelled, running down the darkened street.
Kakashi tilted his head slightly then shrugged with a soft laugh and disappeared, leaving wisps of mist in his wake.
Naruto hung horizontally on the side of the usual bridge where they waited for their teacher, chakra concentrated in his feet to keep him upright. His arms were crossed and face contorted into a frown as he formulated what to tell his lazy and always late leader. "Maybe I should–" Cerulean blue eyes flew open at the weight on his back. Sasuke raised his head to ensure what he'd seen from his peripheral sight was true.
"KAKASHI-SENSEI!! What the hell are you doing?!"
"New training. Don't fall."
Naruto screeched, arms flailing. The silver-haired man raised two fingers in a sign of greeting to the others from his crouched perch on Naruto's back.
"Get off! Get off! I'll tell Iruka-sen–Ahh!!"
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut after the audible pop of the blonde's feet leaving the bridge, then cracked one open. "Sasuke-kun!" she squealed. (Inner Sakura: Hell, yeah! Sasuke-kun did it!)
Kakashi stood on the bridge's rail, Icha Icha Paradise open in hand while Sasuke flung his other teammate onto solid ground, flipping back over himself to land next to the blonde. Naruto snarled and sprang to his feet, pointing a shaky finger at the scarecrow. "I'm going to tell Iruka-sensei how you treat me!"
The Jounin's visible eye brightened with amusement at the mention of the dolphin's name and in remembrance of their encounter last night. 'Umino Iruka. I haven't even begun my investigation.'
"Then he'll tell the old lady," Naruto continued, "And you'll somehow become a missing-nin! Then the ANBU will track you down-" Sakura's fist came down on the hysterical boy's head. Naruto blinked several times as a baseball-sized bump grew up through his brilliant blonde hair. "Sakura-chan..."
"Kakashi-sensei," the pink-haired girl huffed. "Can we get going, please?"
"Hai." The man put away his book.
Sticking his hands in his pockets, Sasuke followed his teacher and Sakura, stopping when he realized the third of their team was still sitting in the middle of the bridge. "Oi," he sighed. "Let's go." Naruto's eyes flashed and he glared at the brunet. The Uchiha's eyebrow rose faintly in question. "Nani?" he drawled.
The other orphaned child ignored him and got to his feet. He brushed by Sasuke then to ran to catch up with the others. "Sakura-chan!"
Sasuke shook his head and strolled along; he was in no hurry to catch up as he needed time alone with his thoughts. As of late, everything the blonde-haired kyuubi did seem to catch his eye, but he rarely felt annoyed with the actions.
§§§
Kakashi opened his visible eye as all movement and sounds ceased and stared down from his lounging position to see Sakura standing before the two boys, a proud smile on her face along with smudges of dirt. Sasuke and Naruto were attached to the large trees in a horizontal fashion, bricks stacked on their backs.
The silver-haired man smiled and jumped down, landing soundlessly beside the girl. Naruto raised his head and grinned, laughing softly. Sasuke smiled inwardly at the sound. Both boys carried ten bricks–their limit–stacked in any way they felt would work out best for them.
"Good, work," the scarecrow commended. "That's it for today."
"Honto–" Naruto broke off into a scream as he broke his chakra concetration and fell from the tree.
Sakura winced then knelt with a sigh, removing the bricks from the blonde's back.
"Itee-tee-tee..." Naruto rubbed the back of his head then laughed. "Sakura-chan, do you want to do something when we get back to the village?"
"Only if Sasuke-kun comes," Sakura sighed dreamily, assisting the Uchiha with the removal of his bricks.
"Why does he have to come?" Naruto whined, crossing his arms.
"Because..." (Inner Sakura: He has to, damn it! I refuse to spend my afternoon with Naruto!) The girl giggled, raising her hands to her blushing cheeks. Sasuke scoffed, dusting off his dark clothes.
"I don't want to," he stated emptily. Truth was, he did. He wanted to go with Naruto, to watch out for him in case anything happened, because it was he who had shown him there was a better way of living than constantly seeking revenge. Sasuke would always want to kill his brother, but the goal was further away in his mind.
"Demo, Sasuke-kun," Sakura persisted. "You have to!"
"He said no!" Naruto grabbed her arm and Kakashi wisely stepped out of the way as a blur of orange flew by, breaking through one of the few boulders surrounding the clearing they trained in. Sasuke stared at the mound of rubble and smoke, feeling a sliver of worry and concern enter his being., then feeling a hard stare. His eyes narrowed and he glared at his teacher's all-knowing, curved-in-amusement eye.
Naruto sat up slowly, wiping the back of his hand across his bleeding cheek, and stared across the field. The crush he'd maintained on the pink-haired girl for so many years was slowly diminishing with every blow he received from her, being replaced with the notion that she really didn't care for him in the way he did her. 'Sakura-chan...'
He feigned a grin and sprang up, running over in time to hear Sasuke voice his consent in coming. Naruto forced his hand to remain at his side as his heart gave a tiny flutter, narrowing his eyes to cover his sudden excitement. 'I don't care what Sasuke does!' The blonde boy clenched a fist.
"Never mind, Sakura-chan. Since we get off early, I'll pay Iruka-sensei a visit. Maybe I'll even see Konohamaru." He waved over his shoulder as he ran off, allowing his fake pretence to disappear once he'd put distance between himself and his team. The kyuubi-carrying child put on a burst of chakra-induced speed to hurry himself back to the village.
Iruka slouched back into the chair as the students enjoyed their recess outside and him his peace inside.
"IRUKA-SENSEI!!"
The man's groan escalated into a yell and Naruto came just in time to witness Iruka's dramatic fall while still in his chair. The teacher winced, rubbing his lower back, the head.
"Iruka-sensei... You're clumsy..."
"Urusai! That's not true!"
Naruto yelped, ducking as an eraser flew over his head with amazing speed. He blinked a few times as the sound of it connecting with another solid object seemed closer than he knew the wall was. The boy turned just as his former teacher began stammering out an apology to none other than his current teacher.
Kakashi coughed softly, a cloud of dust rising from his white-stained mask.
"Go–gomen, Kakashi-sensei...!" Iruka shot to his feet, face crimson-colored and eyes looking everywhere but at the other man. "I was aiming for Naruto, and he, well..." He trailed off. The blonde grinned smugly, chortling.
"Iya, iya."
The Chuunin bit his lip, forcing back his laughter at the sight of eraser dust escaping into the air with the other man's words.
"Maybe now you'll take it off to clean it. Ah! Iruka-sensei!" As like Naruto to ruin moments, he grabbed the dark-haired man's arm as he remembered his earlier threat. "He stood on my back!" Iruka's expression turned into one of mild shock and questioning.
Kakashi shrugged, dusting his mask and face with his hand. "I was testing his strength" was his reply.
"By standing on his back?" the dolphin sputtered.
"It was more... crouching." The scarecrow smiled under his mask as the other man's eyes widened.
"Tell the Hokage. She'll fire him. Ne? Ne, ne!" Iruka slapped a hand over the boy's mouth, earning a glare that he was aware of but never saw.
"It was training. Honestly," Kakashi added in his defense.
"Honestly? Honesty," Iruka scoffed. "From you?"
"I'm hurt at that, Iruka-sensei."
"Don't be. I thought the only feelings you had consisted of anger towards others. Excuse us." Naruto blew a raspberry at the Jounin before he door slid shut, separating them. Kakashi's visible eye formed a much higher curve than the night before as he grinned inwardly, a small smile on his face, though it didn't matter because no one would see neither of the actions.
On the other side of the door, Naruto moved from seat to seat, staring at the students' work and remembering when he was sitting in the same classroom. He found Konohamaru's paper and grinned evilly.
"Naruto! Stop messing around."
"Demo. Iruka-sensei... Ne, can we go to Ichiraku?"
Iruka clenched a fist atop his desk as the vein in his forehead throbbed. To the teacher, hating the boy was virtually impossible, but he would always get annoyed with him because Naruto's persona just begged for attention.
The bell ran just as the blonde picked up a pencil and he groaned, dropping it back onto the desk. Iruka took a deep breath to compose himself before heading out to round up his children. He opened the door, checking up and down the halls for the Jounin, then hurried on. Naruto ran down to the front desk, pulling up a chair and dropping into it backwards, arms crossed atop its back. He could hear his former teacher's voice ring out as he called the Ninja Academy students to order and couldn't help but smile.
Iruka had endlessly shouted at him before he was a Genin, and still did so up until this point, and with every raised voice, a deep fondness surged forth that was Naruto's alone.
A few minutes later, the students began filing in.
"Naruto-niichan!"
Konoha's #1 Loudmouth and Surprising Ninja grinned, raising an outstretched arm. "Yo! Konohamaru. Failing?"
"No way! Itai..."
The boy rubbed the back of his head where Iruka had hit him, glaring at the man from the side. "Don't talk to him," the dark-haired teacher ordered. "Pretend he doesn't exist. Naruto," he sighed, addressing the blonde. "I saw Shikamaru and Chouji outside. Maybe they'll treat you to ramen at Ichiraku."
"Shikamaru," Naruto hissed, fire burning in his eyes. "He should treat me. He cheered for his sorry ass and he forfeited, but was the only Chuunin!" Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose and gratefully closed the door as Naruto sped out.
§§§
"Shikamaru! You bastard!"
Konoha's #1 Lazy Ninja sighed loudly and stopped, peering over his shoulder at the dust cloud closing in on him. Chouji mumbled a "hurry up" through his chip-munching. "Hmm?" Shikamaru's gaze shifted to Sasuke and Sakura emerging from the shop to his right, the pink-haired girl attached to the Uchiha boy's arm, distracting him.
Shikamaru gave a half smirk and turned back around, hunching his shoulders to his ears. The impact was as loud as he'd anticipated, Sakura's screams helping. Chouji snorted in amusement, crumpling the empty chip bag, causing Shikamaru to look back at the disaster area.
The streets filled quickly, everyone wanting to see the commotion. With the dust cleared, three figures became visible; Sakura had been tossed to her knees from the impact, whereas Sasuke and Naruto slid several feet away from her, the brunet on the bottom.
Naruto whimpered at the pain he experienced in trying to sit up, but continued pushing with his arms until he was straddling his dark-haired teammate in an upright position.
'Sharingan!' Sasuke's eyes flew open, the dark orbs now red with proof of his advanced family bloodline. The dirt began circling them as his chakra flowed from his rising anger. "Naruto..." he growled out.
"Eh?" Wide blue eyes blinked down at him as if just seeing him for the first time. "Ah! Sasuke!" Naruto raised his head to stare around incredulously. "What happened?"
"Ahou!" Sasuke's fist connected solidly with a point his Sharingan had shown him, sending the whiskered boy rolling. Naruto skidded to a halt before a group of whispering onlookers, ignoring them as he shakily came to his feet.
The crowd had grown larger than Shikamaru had anticipated and the soft growl from Naruto made the hushed voices increase. 'How troublesome.' He yawned.
§§§
Kakashi snapped his book shut, springing from the tree he lay in. 'This is...!'
"...Naruto!" Iruka gasped, jumping up from his chair. He disappeared from his empty classroom, glad he'd decided to dismiss the children early; for their teacher to run off in the middle of a lesson would look bad.
§§§
"Maybe things really are getting out of hand, Shikamaru mumbled, staring with a mildly interested expression at the two red-eyed Genin.
Sasuke's eyes widened in anger and he performed the hand seals needed as an enraged Naruto charged at him, snarling. The Uchiha child raised his fingers to his mouth. "Katon Goukakyuu n–" He gasped, stopped short in his jutsu, and his eyes slid shut, but not before noticing Kakashi across from him, picking up an unconscious Naruto.
Iruka held Sasuke carefully, having administered the sharp blow to the back of his neck to knock him out. A few more Chuunin and Jounin that had also arrived broke up the crowd, sending them back to their business.
"That's him, isn't it?" The tone was scornful; they all were.
Iruka glanced to the side as a few women passed behind him, whispering.
"Kyuubi lives in that child."
"I can't believe he actually made Genin."
"I think it'll be nothing but trouble. It was luck he didn't pass the Chuunin exam."
The teacher gritted his teeth in anger. 'Even now... They still talk about it. Naruto is Naruto!'
"Iruka-sensei," Kakashi called out, disrupting his thoughts. "You take Sasuke home. I'll deal with Naruto."
Iruka scoffed and lifted the boy onto his shoulder. 'It's always Team 7.' He raised two fingers in front of his face and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi checked to see Kurenai looking after Sakura then left also.
"How troublesome..." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head before continuing along with Chouji.
A/N: (bows low) Gomen neeeeee...! Okay... need to work on that "always apologizing" thing. Demo... (hops around excitedly) Like I said... this is my first KakaIru fic... and I just hope I portrayed them correctly. Also, it may take a while for things to progress, so, if you like, please be patient, I promise to update weekly!
