Just a little something that came to me and I decided to run with it. A drabble and not much more on learning and life. Enjoy!

Umino Iruka considered himself a simple man. He did not desire complex things. What most would consider inconsequential made him happy; a break in the clouds on an overcast day, a strong wind tussling his hair making it dance, a smile from a stranger, a walk to nowhere. Yet the thing that he loved most and that made him happy was learning. Even as a child he new he would be a perpetual learning. This did not necessarily mean, however, it would be academically. True, he enjoyed that type of study as he grew older but as an adolescent this was not the case. He tested boundaries and broke through limits to see what lay beyond. Iruka took pleasure in the unknown because he bathed in the desire to discover its answers.

It was curiosity that drove him; but it was also curiosity that got him into trouble. He had the scars to prove it. He probably could not recall the number of times he had been so intrigued by an enemy's jutsu that he had almost killed himself replicating it to use it on the same fighter. The only things that had saved him in these instances were his instincts and his phenomenal capability of instantaneous learning. Near death experiences were a fantastic motivator. Not that anybody actually knew about his large repertoire of dangerous, rare, and powerful jutsu's. Why would anybody expect that from a simple Chuunin sensei?

In the classroom at the Academy he passed on his curiosity to his students. He taught them to question the workings of life and of the world around them. It was not an ordinary thing to teach ninja. They were designed as soldiers; to follow orders and not ask questions. Iruka believed that questions could save your life, make you stronger, and allow you to live. A ninja wasn't supposed to live; they died. He taught his children life beyond the ninja but never said he was. He taught of the value of life and death. The necessity, joys, and sorrows of both while disguising them as training.

The Jounin sensei's who received Iruka's students knew his Genin were different than those from other Academy sensei's but they were never able to completely determine what it was that was different about them. If they had looked deeper they would notice that Iruka's children had an innate ability of survival because they questioned their environment and adapted. They questioned orders but then understood the meaning better in order to follow them.

It was Iruka's hope that his lessons would follow his children to all the dark places they would fall into and the light that appeared after. He knew that once his children left his classroom they would encounter a different kind of learning and it was his ardent hope that the curiosity he had tried to foster would help them survive. Life was a lesson one of which he wanted them to not only pass but to succeed.

Few students that graduated Konohagakure's Ninja Academy from Iruka-sensei's class ever realized they had been taught much more than the standard ninja curriculum. Most people looked at the prodigies emerging from his class and their skills and did not bother to delve underneath. So, it was ironically enough, that it was one of the worst academically accomplished students that showed Iruka how much he impacted his students. If any student was an example of curiosity, endless questioning, and learning through life it was Uzumaki Naruto.

Several months after Naruto had graduated and became a Genin, Iruka found a small book of quotes on his classroom desk. It was old and worn but from use not neglect. A leaf stuck out of one page, flagging its importance. Opening to the marked page was a quote underlined in orange ink: "A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell, where his influence stops". A sheaf of paper was under the book. The messy handwriting and grinning character on the page identified its writer. Even outside of your class you keep teaching me Iruka-sensei. Thank you. The chestnut-haired Chuunin smiled gently; he missed the boy and would make more effort to spend time with Naruto.

Iruka never truly realized how deeply he had affected his students. He never gave himself enough credit. When he was asked how he graduated such extraordinary students year after year he simply smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and answered that he only taught the children it was up to them to learn.

For Iruka's students it was not until years after they had graduated that they themselves realized what Naruto had all those years before. They were all grateful for everything Iruka had taught them. Many of his students would later thank him. Always the response was the same. Iruka would say your welcome and tell them that all he did was teach; it was them that listened.

Umino Iruka did not believe himself complicated or special. He had always been the way he was and would always consider himself simple. To Konohagakure he was anything but simple. He was special. The leaves that he tended always unfurled to be the largest and most beautiful. Most were the last to fall off the branch even in the winter.

The End

P.S: The quote is from Henry B. Adams

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