I would hope by now that you guys get the point that I DO NOT own Naruto nor have anything to do with it's creation. But just in case you still don't get it read the disclaimer in all the previous chapters!!

'Tis the Season' will not be changed at least not till I end this story.

I wrote this chapter while my family was watching the Harry Potter movie 'Chamber of Secrets' something like that.....well lets just say that I have different tastes in movies so I wrote this chapter instead!

Replies to all my reviews are at the end of this chapter! Oh and I will say it here that this fic will remain PG-13 so that means no lemon! But for all those who wanted no need to worry cause if you really need it you will be able to receive it via email!

Well I hope everyone is having a great day!

Enjoy!!
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Chapter 9: Iruka's New Mission

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The sun scattered little rays of light across the Hidden Leaf village through the partially cloudy sky. It had been a quiet month in the shinobi village like the quiet stillness before a storm approaches. With an ongoing battle against the Hidden Cloud many of the more elite shinobi were gone leaving behind the peaceful village for the hectic war ground.

Iruka stared at his reflection in the mirror. There were many ponytail holders around him as he tried once again to get his hair off his face by putting it up in a ponytail.

"I HATE THIS!" Iruka threw his little ties and rubber bands to the floor before he glared at the mirror. "How am supposed to keep my hair out of my face?"

Iruka ran his hands through his short hair. He was so used to having long hair that he didn't really know what else to do with it than put it up. Iruka played with his bangs as he remembered the chunin exam, his hair had grown out a bit but was still too short.

"Use gel." Iruka turned around to see another chunin smirking at him.

"Go away Mizuki, this is all your fault." Iruka sighed as he zipped up his vest and left the public restroom located in the Hokage's tower.

"I thought I was doing you a favor.....seriously Iruka you can be so ungrateful sometimes." Mizuki turned the corner before stopping and glancing back at his friend. "And besides you used to complain about how much you looked like a girl."

"Yeah but that had nothing to do with my hair! You have long hair too you stupid jerk!" Iruka spat out as he walked right by Mizuki.

"No hard feelings Iruka." Mizuki smirked as he turned the other way and left.

Iruka sighed as his hands went through his hair for the umpteenth time that morning. Kakashi had been gone for a month and Iruka hadn't received any word about how the battles were going. The war between the Leaf and the Cloud were meant to be on the quiet side so all the battles were more like squabbles between elite shinobi. Gai had come back a week ago and told Iruka that he hadn't seen Kakashi.

Iruka walked into a room with a long desk. This was where he had to submit mission reports and pick missions. Since he would normally get C rank mission being a journeyman ninja each of his missions seemed to last a week the least.

"Ah Iruka! Here to get a mission?" A girl ran up and hugged him with her black hair bouncing behind her.

"Hey Kurenai." Iruka mumbled as the girl squeezed him tighter.

" 'Hey Kurenai' is all you say! No respect! Just because you are the same rank as me doesn't mean you can talk to me like that!" Kurenai bopped Iruka on the head, "I hate this..."

Iruka looked up at her a little confused. Kurenai was never down about anything.

"You okay?" Iruka didn't hide the concern in his voice. Kurenai was like an older sister to him when his parents were here and even after they died.

"Yeah I'm fine. I better head off though, there aren't many missions recently but I'm sure it'll pick up after the dispute with the Cloud is over."

Iruka gave Kurenai a halfhearted wave before he approached the older man with the pipe. The Hokage smiled when he saw Iruka, that boy was growing up before his eyes. He liked to think that Iruka was one of his own children sometimes.

"Hokage-sama." Iruka did a bow for respect then smiled brightly as he went up to the front of the desk in front of the man.

"Iruka, you look good." The man smiled as he smoked his pipe. "There aren't any missions for today, not many people wanting to leave the safety of these walls."

"Yeah, oh well....maybe something will come up. So how have you been, it's been like what a few months since we last chatted?" Iruka sat down on the desk when he saw no one was around.

"You know if you ever want to talk to me about anything my door is always open." The Hokage laughed. "Now get off my desk."

Iruka got off like a kid who was told he couldn't have any candy before he remembered something.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Yes Iruka is there something you need?" The Hokage chewed on his pipe before he continued to smoke on it.

"I was....have you heard anything about Kakashi's situation in the war?" Iruka hoped beyond anything that Kakashi was okay.

"I'm sorry Iruka but I'm not allowed to give out information like that. Even to you, what you hear is all I can tell you." Iruka nodded. "But I haven't heard anything."

Iruka looked up at the Hokage and smiled. Well if he hadn't heard anything then that meant Kakashi wasn't dead, since the whereabouts of any death was the first thing the Hokage learned.

"Thank you Hokage-sama!" Iruka smiled before he turned around and left.

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Iruka ran down the street trying to hold in all the stuff barely falling out of its paper bag. He ran up the steps to his house and slid on the floor till every thing spilled out as the bag ripped. Iruka sighed before he opened the door to his house and pushed everything in. He had to buy groceries for two weeks since the owner of the store was leaving Konoha for a while.

Iruka put up all the food before he heard a knock on his door.

"Hello?" Iruka opened the door to see an envelope on the ground. "Odd."

Iruka picked up the envelope before he looked around on the street to see a few children just getting out of school. He looked at it again before he went into his house and shut the door.

The envelope contained a short letter not addressed to anyone but had in big letters the words 'Look behind you.'

Iruka did just that to see a hand go over his mouth before he could yell anything. The intruder laughed slightly before removing his mask to reveal a silver haired jounin. Iruka's eyes got big as he tried to smile but the hand still covered his mouth.

"Before you say anything Iruka, I wanted to tell you I'm glad I met you." Kakashi smiled as he let go of Iruka face and watched Iruka stare at him kind of confused.

"What do you mean by that?" Iruka stared at Kakashi for a second before the jounin brushed their lips together.

"It means that I have had a crappy month and am glad to be able to come home to someone." Iruka blushed before he saw how dirty Kakashi's cloths were.

"Take a shower and I will make you something to eat okay!" Iruka smiled as he pushed Kakashi off him causing the jounin to frown but before Kakashi could say anything Iruka was already in the kitchen grabbing something to cook.

After Iruka had made some food for Kakashi he had to go leave for a rendezvous with a friend. He told Kakashi to meet him at the mission room later. Iruka was just about to leave when he went back into the kitchen to see Kakashi eating some more food.

"Kakashi! Don't eat all of our food, the grocery store is closed while the owner is gone for two weeks!" Iruka opened the cabinets to see half the food he had bought was gone.

"Sorry Iruka I haven't had real food in a long time." Kakashi put one of his hands behind his head as Iruka glared at him.

"You haven't even been here for a whole day and you ate enough food for a week! Kakashi you nee........" Before Iruka could say anything else Kakashi had pushed him against the cabinet and kissed him.

"I will take you out to eat then....." Kakashi whispered as the chunin blushed before he kissed Iruka again slipping his had under Iruka's shirt.

"Kaka-AHH-shi yo-U c-AHH-n't," Iruka pushed Kakashi off of him and pulled down his shirt trying to get the blood to leave his cheeks. "You can't just act irresponsible then kiss me to make me forgive you Kakashi."

Kakashi sighed as Iruka grabbed his stuff and headed out the door. "Remember meet me at the mission room near Hokage's tower in an hour."

"See you then....." Kakashi pouted as Iruka shut the door. "And I don't act irresponsible, I just don't think about things when it comes to food."

Kakashi turned around to the empty and smiled.

/ While the mouse is away the cat will play....or something like that. /

And with that thought Kakashi jumped from where he was and went into his room. He hadn't seen his boyfriend in a month and planned to make his stay for this short time before he was sent out again one that Iruka could have dreams about.

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"My name is Sagara Hitomi." A small teenage girl bowed in front of the Hokage as a smirk crept on her lips.

Hitomi had short black hair the curled against her cheeks. Her tan skin brought out her pale green eyes and the mischievous glint that was often found in them. She wore a black dress with a golden sash around the waist that contained strange symbols all over it. She wore tons of jewelry on her arms and on her ears; she even had a stone located on her forehead.

She was 15 years old and an heiress to a great fortune in the Hidden Waterfall village. The Waterfall wasn't as big as the more predominant Leaf or Cloud but it was shinobi village and contained one of the richest families in the land.

"I am glad to see you had a safe trip to our village Sagara-san." The Hokage did a small bow to the heiress before he continued. "What may I ask brings you to our village?"

"Call me Hitomi please and I had to leave the safety of the Hidden Waterfall for a little while but its nothing to worry about because I took my money with me." Hitomi smiled as the Hokage frowned.

"Money doesn't matter if a life is in danger......"

"No need to worry Hokage-sama! Neither my life nor the lives of your villagers are in danger!" She quickly interrupted him. "Just family issues."

"Well only speak what you want me to know, now how long do you plan on staying with us?"

"As long as my vacation here can last, and with that I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me?" The jewel on her forehead seemed to change into a red color.

"Yes?" The Hokage watched her small timid smirk become a huge smile.

"Where are all the hot guys here? Do you know where the guys my age hang out? Do you know anyone I could have fun with? Please tell me there are tons of guys here! Do you have a singles bar? Do shinobi know how to have 'fun' or is everything a job? But most importantly I need to know where all the cuties hangout, especially the single ones!" Hitomi's personality seemed to switch from polite heiress to typical hyper teen girl.

The Hokage sighed as she continued to ramble on about how there weren't any cute guys in the Waterfall village and how she had seen some of the Leaf's shinobi. This was the last thing he needed to worry about with a war going on but her family was paying a great amount of money to the Leaf so she could stay there for a while.

"Who is that?" Hitomi whispered under her breath as two teenagers walked into the office.

The Hokage looked up from his desk to see a silver haired jounin and a young teen with a scar across his face.

"Hn? That's just Kakashi and Iruka; I guess they are here to see if they have any missions. Now about where you will be staying for the time being..." The Hokage watched Hitomi walk over to Iruka with a smile on her face.

"There isn't a lot food in the house so I thought we could go out...." Iruka stopped as the girl stood in front of him. "Hello?"

"HI! My name is Hitomi, what's your name good looking?" Hitomi grabbed his hand and shook as she smiled.

Iruka just stared at her while a blush crept on his cheeks.

/ Who is this girl? /

"I...I am Iruka." Iruka looked up at Kakashi who just seemed to be amused by the girl.

"Hitomi...I need you to come back here so we can plan your stay at Konoha." The Hokage sighed as he continued to smoke his pipe.

"Can I have a body guard?" Hitomi ran to the Hokage grabbing Iruka dragging him with her.

"Hn?" The Hokage looked up as he realized what she was about to say next.

"I can pay for it! I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem since you have so many shinobi here! Can I have a bodyguard! Can I have Iruka?"

Iruka gave the Hokage a panicked look before he looked at Kakashi for help. The girl finally let go of his hand and went through her bag she was carrying.

"Hitomi, Iruka isn't that kind of bodyguard. You aren't in any danger so all you really need is a tour guide." The Hokage massaged his temples when he heard Hitomi squeal in excitement as she placed money on the table.

"Fine then can I buy Iruka to be my tour guide while I'm here?" She looked over to where Iruka used to be to find him standing behind the taller silver haired shinobi.

"Who are you?" Hitomi glared at Kakashi as he glared his one eye at her.

"I am Hatake Kakashi, me and Iruka are together so if you don't mind.....don't touch." Kakashi put one of his arms in front of Iruka in a kind of defensive manner while Iruka blushed.

/ I can't believe Kakashi just said that! /

Iruka looked around the room to see it was fairly empty. He thought he was going to faint.

"You are together?" Hitomi raised an eyebrow before she smiled. "Oh I don't plan to take your friend away Mr. Shinobi Cyclops Dude!" Her voice was filled with a childish sarcasm as her eyes glinted another mischievous glare.

"Kakashi! You need to apologize for being rude to one of my guest." The Hokage stood up form his seat as Kakashi sighed.

"Excuse me for being impolite." Kakashi did a small bow and moved his arm form in front of Iruka.

"You are excused my masked man!" Hitomi giggled before she looked back over at the Hokage. "Now can I hire Iruka for the guide job? I believe that is enough money for the first week at least!"

The Hokage looked down at the money the teenage girl had sat down in front of him and sure enough, he would have hired Iruka to be a tour guide for three months on this salary.

"We will let Iruka decide after all it isn't in his job description." The Hokage smiled at the weight he had just lifted off himself.

Iruka looked at the Hokage then at the girl who was blushing at him then at Kakashi who seemed to be annoyed by something then at the money. He knew he wouldn't have any major missions for a while....the girl seemed harmless.....Kakashi probably wouldn't mind that much......and he really need the money. Iruka sighed.

"I will be Hitomi-san's tour guide for her stay in Konoha." Iruka did a small bow as the Hokage smirked.

"Very well." The Hokage looked over at Hitomi. "Will you please pardon us for a second I need to talk to these two before we continue discussing your stay here."

Hitomi grinned wickedly as she bowed and then hugged Iruka before leaving the room. As soon as she was out of sight Kakashi glared at the Hokage then looked at Iruka.

"You didn't have to take the job Iruka." Kakashi didn't like having people around who would possibly take up Iruka's time. It was not too long ago when Seiko had finally left now it was this girl Hitomi.

"Sorry Kakashi! But since missions have been on the low side I was afraid we wouldn't make rent this month so the money would help!" Iruka grabbed Kakashi's hand.

"Excuse me for interrupting you two but Kakashi I have a mission for you." The Hokage got both their attention. "I didn't bring you out of the war for no reason, I need you expertise for this one."

Kakashi nodded as he squeezed Iruka's hand before letting go. The only field he was good at was killing, something he would rather spend time with Iruka than do but it was his job.

"Now Iruka, since you took Hitomi's job I will consider you her babysitter for now. She is older than you so be careful and if you find out anything you think I should know please tell me. I think there is something more about her staying here." The Hokage waited for Iruka to nod before he continued.

"Now will you please get her so we can work out the rest of her where about plans."

Iruka retrieved Hitomi who was more than glad to hang on his arm as they walked back to the Hokage. When they made it back to the desk the Hokage had already given Kakashi a short debriefing and a scroll about the mission he was going to be on.

"Iruka I will see you when you get home tonight okay." Kakashi turned and left the room before Iruka could say anything about dinner.

"Now about where you will be staying...." The Hokage looked at Hitomi. "This isn't really a tourist place as I am sure you can tell but we do have hotels, but if that is unfitting then you can stay in one of the rooms we reserve for diplomats."

"I don't know...." Hitomi looked at Iruka before blushing and looking back at the Hokage. "I wish I could have had a day to tour the Hidden Leaf before I had to choose one of these places. I mean it would help me decide which place is more convenient."

The Hokage sighed before an ANBU appeared beside him and whispered something to him. He nodded as the ANBU disappeared and he stood up.

"If you two don't mind I will be leaving for a short time. I will be back in a moment and expect to have an answer to where you plan to be staying Hitomi." With that the Hokage left in a puff of smoke leaving Iruka alone with Hitomi.

"Soooo! Iruka, where do you live?" She smiled as she pulled Iruka over to a seat and sat next to him.

"I live on this side of the village." Iruka pointed to a small spot on the map she was holding. "It's not too close to the business district and not too far from civilization."

"Really! Wow I bet your parents must be so happy to have such a good- looking ninja for a son. You look like the smart type too, I bet you are really talented." Hitomi scooted closer to Iruka as he scooted away from her.

"I'm sorry but my parents died before I graduated from the ninja academy."

"Why are you apologizing? I am sorry I should think about things before I say them." Hitomi did a small bow while Iruka blushed softly at her actions. It wasn't everyday an heiress apologized to him.

"No it's fine I'm not lonely I live with Kakashi and Hokage is always there for me. I have many precious people in my life." Iruka smiled as he thought about all of his friends and Kakashi.

"Kakashi.....Kakashi.....Kakashi.....Oh that's the boy with the mask and one eye from earlier." Hitomi looked at the clock then at Iruka. "I bet it is nice living with someone around your age. I'm always alone since my parents travel constantly."

Iruka had a sudden pain of guilt for some reason. It wasn't his fault she was alone but he had a feeling he should be able to do something. No one should have to be lonely in their lives; the world was too cold for that.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Have you decided Hitomi?" The Hokage appeared behind his desk before sitting down again.

"Yes I think I will stay in one of the..." Hitomi was suddenly interrupted when Iruka stood up.

"She can stay with me and Kakashi." Iruka smiled. That way he would get to spend time with Kakashi and Hitomi wouldn't be alone, two birds with one stone.

"Iruka are you sure?" Hitomi looked at him a little confused.

"Yeah there is plenty of room for one more person. I'm sure Kakashi won't mind.....is it okay Hokage-sama?" Iruka looked at the older man.

"Well if Hitomi wants to stay there then it is fine." The Hokage took his pipe out of his mouth.

"Yeah that would be fun!" Hitomi smiled as she grabbed her bag and stood up.

"The it is settled. As of now it is late and you two should be heading home, Iruka give her a quick tour tomorrow then return to my office okay." The Hokage waited for Iruka to nod before he grabbed his papers and headed out.

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Kakashi sunk into the sofa in the living room.

/ First Iruka becomes her tour guide then what's next? This is my last night here for a week and even after that if we are still warring against the Cloud then I might not be here for another two or three months before I get sent back to have a change of atmosphere. /

Kakashi sighed as he watched the clock. He was 17 now and had only arrived this morning from the war. Usually the teams would take breaks every couple of months so there wouldn't be any major psychological breakdowns during and after the war but Kakashi was called off early for this new mission.

/ Assassination. /

Kakashi heard the door open and smiled. Iruka was back meaning he could have a little fun with the 14-year-old boy.

"Kakashi I'm back and I need to tell you something!" Iruka called out before he saw Kakashi in the living room and walked up to him.

"What do you need to tell me?" Kakashi grinned until Iruka lifted up Kakashi's facemask and gave him the 'please-don't-hate-me' look.

"What did you do?"

"You see..."

"Hey Iruka it was getting cold out there so I just let myself in! Hope you don't mind....Oh hey there, Kakashi was it?" Hitomi smiled as Kakashi looked at her then glared at Iruka.

"I needed to tell you she is going to be staying here while she is in Konoha." Iruka smiled sheepishly. "I hope it's not a problem."

Kakashi looked back at Hitomi who was admiring pictures on one of the tables before she headed off to explore the house. Kakashi grabbed Iruka and pulled the chunin close so that he would barely have to whisper.

"Why is she here?"

"I didn't want her to be alone since she doesn't know anyone here." Iruka whispered back.

"We don't even know her!"

"But I don't see any harm in it Kakashi! I just don't like to see people get lonely when I can stop some of that." Iruka put his arms around Kakashi's neck hugging the jounin. "Please."

Kakashi sighed before he got off from his seat. He couldn't really argue with Iruka since it was technically the chunin's house, but that didn't mean he had to feel good about it either. He looked at Iruka before hugging the chunin again and walking to his room when it hit him.

"Where will she be sleeping?" Kakashi turned around to see Iruka bite his lower lip to show he was thinking about it.

"She can sleep in my room and I can sleep with you?" Iruka looked at Kakashi questionably and smiled when Kakashi nodded.

Iruka was about to say something else when they heard and crash on the ground. Kakashi and Iruka were in Iruka's room in no time to find Hitomi trying to pick up a mess of broken glass around a picture frame.

"Oh I am so sorry Iruka-kun! I am so clumsy!" Hitomi picked up all the glass as Iruka smiled and took the mess away from her.

He looked at the picture to see it was the one of the day he had met Kakashi. He had his hair down and was wearing his mom's favorite kimono since it was her birthday. That day had been a hectic day for such a young child but Iruka remembered it like yesterday.

"Who is that?" Iruka looked up to see Hitomi pointing to the picture he was holding.

"These are my parents." Iruka smiled softly. "And that's me."

"Doesn't he look like a little girl?" Kakashi added trying to add a joke in before the topic got all depressing. Hitomi glared at him before she apologized to Iruka once more.

"Hitomi you will be staying in this room." Iruka said as he grabbed some cloths. "I hope you don't mind but it's the cleanest one in the house."

She laughed and nodded. Iruka blushed a bit when he thought about a girl sleeping on his bed but quickly shook it off and left the room telling her goodnight. It was the first time he had ever had a girl over besides Kurenai, Suzume didn't really like Kakashi, and all the other girls weren't really good enough of friends.

Kakashi waited for Iruka to hop on the bed before he turned off the lights and pulled the chunin close to him. He wanted to keep Iruka with him as long as he could.

Iruka slid his fingers along Kakashi's arms receiving light shivers from the older teen before he traced Kakashi's face. Iruka let his thumb touch Kakashi's lips before he pulled himself up to kiss the jounin and the relaxed on the pillow.

Kakashi rolled over so that he was over Iruka and kissed the chunin softly before pressing his body against the younger teens. Kakashi let his hand gently caress Iruka's sides before he slipped under the dark haired boy's shirt and kissed him again.

Iruka squirmed a bit at the cold hands touching his warm skin as he grasped Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi slowly moved his kisses off of Iruka's lips to his ear where he played with it. Iruka's eyes widened as he felt Kakashi's tongue on his ear and tried not to whimper as Kakashi nibbled at the earlobe.

After getting all the reactions he wanted from the ear Kakashi moved to Iruka's neck where he left a bruise he knew would be there for a while. He hope it would be there for the whole week he was gone so that he could put another one there when he got back.

Kakashi was about to take off Iruka's shirt when Iruka pulled his shirt down and smiled at the jounin. Kakashi pouted as Iruka tried not to laugh so he kissed the jounin this time wetting the bottom lip asking for entrance as Kakashi allowed willingly.

Kakashi kissed him harder than he had in a while but slowly moved off the chunin and settled for having Iruka in his arms for the night. If there was one thing Kakashi was regretting in gaining as he got older it was his libido and attraction to younger boys.

Iruka wrapped his legs around Kakashi's and curled into his chest. Kakashi wrapped his arms around the chunin and kissed his forehead before he waited for Iruka's breath to even out. After Iruka had fallen asleep he closed his eyes for rest, he had a short mission ahead of him and need all the energy he could get...if not for the mission then for the anxiety of knowing Iruka was home alone with Hitomi.

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My twin RukaIayLomperGay has come to say some things! Her nickname I call her is K-chan in case you guys were wondering!

K-chan: *gawks* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! IRUKA-KUN! She is evil!!!!! Stay away!!!!

P-sama: Don't worry I just gave her the role I was going to give Seiko but I added some stuff and took stuff away.

K-chan: But that doesn't make any sense since you never told us what role you were going to give Seiko!

P-sama: Okay then what is your problem?

K-chan: I don't want that Hitomi touching my Iruka-kun!

P-sama: Well it's not up to you now is it?

K-chan: Why you.........

P-sama: Oh yeah just so everyone knows my sister might not be updating her stories anytime soon since she is drawing a manga for the tokyopop contest.

K-chan: Wish me luck!

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SquirrelOfShadows: I hope I didn't make you wait too long! The rest should start coming out since I am getting back to the hang of things!!

Muchacha: Thank you for the hug!! *hugs back* lol! Well how Iruka decides to become a teacher is more evident in like chapter 11 I think it will be.....WOW I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY PLANNED THAT FAR AHEAD!! My last story was only 8 chapters so this is getting really exciting for me!!

And to all those who answered my questions thank you once again! I could never find the chipmunk movie and my twin hasn't been harassing anyone so all seems to be well in the world I guess. Iruka will not have a secret identity I figured that was too cliché and something that I didn't want this story to have. The rest will become obvious in the near future so keep reading!

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Please Review!!