Kakashi's Singleness

By: Violettachan

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and its related characters.

Mr. Nice Guy:

Kakashi knew that higher ranking shinobi who were cut out to be teachers were far and few in between. Hell, he wasn't really up for a "model teacher of the year" award anytime soon and neither were many of his Jounin colleagues. Between Asuma's cancerous smoking habit; Gai's um...well, Gai-ness; Kurenai's nose-bleed inducing use of her sexiness as a persuasion/torture technique; and of course his own love for Icha Icha Paradise, it would be no wonder if parents did NOT want their kids turning out like any of them. Kakashi shuddered to think of his own kid being mini versions of the jounins...though if unrelated to himself, another Kurenai was always welcome.

However, there was one instructor that Kakashi knew all the parents loved and adored. He was the kind of person that all mothers dreamed for their daughters to bring home. Polite, attentive, humble, patient... Even fathers would find it hard to deny such a man as being worthy of his little angel.

Though of course this also meant that most women found him as a "Mr. Nice Guy," which loosely translated to "too safe and boring for me, but I'm sure he'd be perfect for X." Poor Iruka. Kakashi could just imagine woman after woman saying, "I care for you too much to endanger our friendship for something that may not even work."

It must be hard to hear that, though Kakashi had never personally suffered from the "guy-friend" syndrome. He was undecided whether that was a good thing or a bad thing... Did it mean that he was just so irresistibly sexy? Or that he had never gotten to know women before he dated them? Well ego trip aside, it was probably the latter. It was no wonder that these relationships never quite lasted past the infatuation period. This fact probably pointed to something wrong with him, but Kakashi was happy to keep whatever it was repressed in his mind. Ah, blissful ignorance.

But even with his obvious lack of commitment, there were hordes of women after Kakashi and not even one noticeable woman after Iruka. Women must be idiots. Passion and adrenaline rushes only last so long. They bitch and moan about their cheating, no-good, commitment-phobic partners, while completely ignoring the nice guys. What was wrong with them?? Of course, the nice, safe, and incredibly boring guy was the one who made a perfect husband/father!

Not that Kakashi himself would go for "Ms. Goody Two-Shoes," Mr. Nice Guy's counterpart. But hey, he wasn't the one complaining about sex-only relationships. And besides, Iruka was a NINJA!! Of course his life wasn't going to be an absolute bore. Even the accidents that happened in the academy wreaked more havoc than what normal people would experience in all of their lives. And he was a prankster in his young age! Would a pure Mr. Nice Guy have been capable of such mischief?? Bah, Iruka was probably a little devil in his own right under that pleasant façade. Why else would he be so understanding of Naruto?

As far as Kakashi had seen, Iruka never really had a girlfriend. Sure, there were the occasional blind dates, but nothing seemed to come from them. The Anko Betting Pool had stopped even bothering with their outcomes, since it had become so predictable. Some people, mostly the ones who had lost the first couple of bets, whispered that Iruka was gay but no one knew of a "too close" guy friend. In fact, as kind and open as Iruka seemed, he seemed to have few close relationships. Hm, maybe Iruka had issues with intimacy too? Then again, almost all ninja did.

Even so, the damn man was lucky. At least only REAL people would want to get to know the Chuunin. Anyone befriending Iruka wouldn't be in it for his reputation, but for who he really was. Lucky bastard. Any woman smart enough to go for Iruka was worth looking into. Not that he would steal love from such a worthy man, but just in case Iruka wasn't interested... well, Kakashi would be willing to help heal her pain of rejection.

To Be Continued

Sorry for the late updates on this story. I've started another fic about Shikamaru (yes, another lazy genius) and it's so much easier to come up with ideas for that one... But fear not, Kakashi is still number one in my heart and this story will continue. Just cut me some slack on update frequency, ne?

nekogrrl77 Thanks for the tips! I really appreciate it when someone takes the time to actually point out specifics. As for Kakashi's age, I actually did know that he was in his late 20s (though not his exact age) but I was kind of assuming that most jounin-level shinobi don't live very long past their mid 50s to early 60s. Perhaps I was mistaken in that assumption though?

As for the reason for his late arrival...well, half of me just wants to know...yet, the other half doesn't. It's like the night before Christmas when all your presents are whispering your name. BUT I suppose I'll be a good little girl and not spoil it for myself... And I WILL drag my butt over to the nearest used book store and go through the series soon!! So until then, I'll just have to make do with what I already know ;

Thank You, Thank you, and thank you to all reviewers. Feel the good karma wash you over. Ah, your newly rejuvenated soul must be itching to leave another review for another dose of that heavenly feeling...

Cheers,

Violettachan