Disclaimer

I do not own Naruto.

Summary

It all began with a harmless joke on an unsuspecting chunin. Nothing bad was supposed to happen, really, and Kakashi was supposed to go scot-free. Instead, he got saddled with the finished problem: One super-cute Iruka chibi.

Author's Notes

I know originally this chapter was supposed to have Kakashi and Iruka visiting the hokage but something happened when I was writing this. I suddenly had an affliction to winged animals, especially moths. I don't know how it happened, or why, except it must have something to do the nature show that I was watching on t.v

Anyway, I suggest to you all who actually read the little "previews" at the bottom. No longer trust them. My brain is slowly changing the story line that I had originally laid out for each day. Damn my inconsistence and me. Also, this chapter is a little longer than the coming rest because I have tests/exams coming up and I can only use these few days to study before I leave for a two-week vacation in Colorado. No computer there. Oh well.

Another thing that changed this story is the fact that I cannot use three of the fingertips on my right hand. I had to do a chalk picture and I accidentally rubbed in with my hand too many times, so now I have four blood blisters and gashes on both hands. It hurts to type. A lot.

With that said, may you enjoy the next chapter in my story. I know I did.

Plastic Ponies

The next morning Kakashi was in better spirits, having bathed the night before accompanied by a full night's of sleep. The ninja glanced down to make sure Iruka was still snug against his chest. He smiled when he located the softly snoring child, running a hand through the loose end of the ponytail. The fact that the hair was in its tie already proved that the child had already been up and was now pretending to be asleep.

'I can't get attached to him.' Kakashi thought, shifting his weight on the bed to pull the blanket up higher. 'He's going to be changing back in a few days.' He racked his brain for a number, actually massaging his head as if it could help. 'Ah, four days.' He stopped the circular motion, eyes widening. "And he's already challenged me to fight." The man muttered, his body slumping back down into the sheets.

The simple motion made Iruka grunt, burrowing deeper into the warmth in front of him. His pajamas, printed with his namesake, were barely seen over the plush blanket. He murmured and rolled onto his back, leg twitching from a dream and a smile curling on his lips. His eyes slowly opened, closing slightly when the morning light hit them, "Morning?" The child asked, uncertain of his surroundings at the moment.

"Yes, dolphin." Kakashi responded, using the childhood nickname of Iruka while he sat up and stretched. When he heard the satisfying pop of his spine, the ninja relaxed and turned to the child, "You have to wake up now." He said, surprised when the boy didn't listen, so he shoved the boy gently. Kakashi grinned when the chunin groaned and curled back into a ball, his legs tucked against his chest.

"Don't want to wake up." Iruka murmured into a pillow, rubbing his head to find a comfortable spot. "You go and I'll catch," He yawned, "up later." The small head flopped down on the mattress as the statement was finished, adding a strange finality to his tone.

Kakashi swung his legs over the side of the bed, flinching slightly when his feet hit the cold floor. "If you don't wake up I'm going to be late to meet my students."

"Like you care about being late." Iruka said, muffled from being under the blankets.

"I'll be very angry." Still no progress from the blanket covered mass. "I'm meeting them in the park." Kakashi tried as a last stand, hoping that this would do something that his other arguments didn't.

One eye opened, glancing over Iruka's shoulder, "Park?"

"Yeah, the park." The ninja answered, already halfway changed into his uniform. "But why do you care? You're too busy sleeping to get ready in time." Kakashi said, sliding on his vest and checking the pockets.

Iruka rolled over so he was facing Kakashi, who had sat back onto the bed and was searching for a scroll. "Wait for me." The child said before he hopped off the bed with ease and ran into the other room, where the clothing that was bought from the day before was located.

The copy ninja sighed as he popped the found scroll into its compartment, grabbing a Come Come Paradise book off the nightstand and shoving it in his back pocket. "Little kid thinks he's so smart. Now I got to wait for him to get dressed and," When he looked up Iruka was in the doorway, dressed and ready for the new day.

A simple white shirt covered his lithe frame, the symbol of Konohagakure printed in a dark red ink. Jean shorts covered his lower half while his new pair of sandals were gripped tightly in one of his hands. "Ready!" He yelled, jumping into the arms of Kakashi and laughing. "Are we going?" The child questioned, looking up after a moment.

Kakashi growled and walked into the kitchen, flicking on the light switch as he strolled in. "You want to eat?" He asked, setting the child on the counter to root through the refridgerator. "Hello?" The ninja raised his head from the fridge to find Iruka, instead of on the counter, now on the kitchen table leafing through a phone book. "What are you doing now?" Kakashi asked as he backed from the fridge, closing it with a quick kick, and placed his orange juice on the table to grab the child's book.

The young boy crossed his arms and pouted, looking up at Kakashi with narrowed eyes. "Not doing anything." He muttered, standing up on the table but only coming up to the other ninja's chest. "Are we going yet?" The child repeated his question, cocking his head to the side when no answer came. He poked Kakashi in the chest, giggling when nothing happened, "He must be asleep again." Instead of trying to see if he could wake up the other ninja, Kakashi was awake but humoring the child, Iruka slid down onto the tiled floor and wandered around on the ground.

Not knowing that the child had left to explore the floor, Kakashi continued to stand in place with his eyes closed. Only the screech of something being scraped across the floor made the ninja twitch in irritation. His one eye snapping open, he quickly realized that the child in his care was now gone. Listening closely, the screeching noise now closer, he located the boy underneath the table with a shuriken: scraping away the tile little by little.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kakashi yelled, almost toppling the table over in his rush to save his floor. Wincing at the huge gash in the white floor, he glared at the child who was smiling in his hands. "What do you have to say for yourself?" He questioned, wanting to guilt the boy but not knowing that children can be put through guilt trips, especially ones who used to teach those children.

Iruka placed a finger to his chin in thought, a frown showing that he was deep in reflection. "Well, I know how to make the best party ever with only a dash of nutmeg and a flamethrower." He grinned; clapping his hands at the horrified look on the other's face. "Or, if you aren't into throwing parties. I can show you how to make a soccer ball out of toothpicks, maybe?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as the grip surrounding his belly slackened.

The scarecrow tightened his hold at the last moment, freezing Iruka with his arms pressed against the sides of his head. "I think it's time that we go to the park." The last phrase from the child had convinced the ninja not to leave Iruka at his house alone. Ever.

"But I don't have to." The boy responded, his voice sounding strange from the squished position his upper body was in. He had changed his mind and decided that sleeping in the warm bed seemed more inviting then traveling to a park with his supervisor. "I could stay home and watch… The telephone all day and take messages for you." Iruka smiled, straining the sides of his mouth in his effort to sway the man.

A word never leaving his lips, Kakashi hauled the child up so he was in a normal arrangement and grabbed the pair of sandals off the table before walking to the doorway. Slipping on his own pair of sandals, he pushed open his door and locked it behind; he had dropped the child's pair of shoes onto the ground outside to perform this action.

"Now, Iruka, listen to me closely. Closely. Are you listening? Look at me. No, not at your shoes, look at me. Me. Okay, are you listening? Look at me. Iruka. Pay attention. Okay?" Kakashi growled when the child continued to ignore him, instead choosing to concentrate on putting on his shoes. Clenching his fist in frustration, the ninja turned and began to walk to his prior engagement; wishing he could just fight the other and get it over with.

'Then I wouldn't have to deal with any more of this.' He thought, turning a road that lead to the park. He stopped abruptly and cursed silently at leaving the child behind, also at his own foolishness, and turned to walk back to find Iruka still sitting on the ground in front of his house. "Are you coming or not?" He questioned, noticing how the chunin seemed to be focused on something on the ground.

"Maybe." The boy responded, voice sounding far away. "But first I have to help him."

Kakashi was about to ask who when the smaller ninja picked up a moth from the ground, being careful to not touch the wings, and set it down in the shade. "Are you better now?" Iruka asked the winged bug, picking up a leaf to shift the small creature onto.

"Can he come?" Iruka said while holding up the leaf towards the shinobi. "He's hurt and I want to bring him with up to the park so he can get better. If he stays here he's going to get stepped on." The child's eyes filled with tears when Kakashi didn't respond right away, thinking that all was lost for his new friend.

"If you bring him will you stop arguing and go to the park, no problem?" The man asked, tapping his foot in annoyance and impatience; they were his two best traits. The child in his care smiled and nodded before hugging Kakashi's leg and beginning to walk carefully down the road, balancing the small insect on its green perch.

Wondering if he could send children to zoos as part of the exhibit, Kakashi followed closely behind. His usual lazy stance in place, the scarecrow's eye drooped into place to watch the child walking cautiously next to him. Instead of starting a conversation, like any normal person; he was neither normal or considered a person by many; Kakashi chose to concentrate and what his students were most likely going to do today.

'Let's see. Naruto will be an idiot, like normal.' He thought, hand coming up to rest on his chin. 'Sasuke is probably angry about yesterday, so I'll stay out of his way, at least until he's to tired to fight back. And Sakura,' The jounin glanced over at Iruka, who was now whispering quietly to the bug, 'She'll hold him hostage unless I hand him, and the mission, over to her.' He groaned out loud as they neared the park.

"What's wrong with you?"

Turning his head to answer, Kakashi saw that Iruka was not talking to him but to his new companion. "Don't tell me you injured your wing? What?" The boy lowered his head to listen, "Oh." He nodded happily in understanding, "Your just tired. Well, you should have told me that in place of saying you were attacked. You really have to learn how to not lie. It'll help you in the long run of life."

Listening to the words of wisdom coming from the miniature chunin, Kakashi smiled as he walked into the green field where many ninja were laughing or playing with each other on their days off. Spotting his students underneath one of the large oaks, the teacher set off to receive his daily retribution from the genin.

He raised his hand in a greeting as he came within their eyesight. "Hey!" He called out when Sakura ignored him, looking in another direction. "You all ready to train hard today?" Naruto screamed his agreement while Sasuke simply nodded. Sakura was jolted out of her thoughts and also said yes. "Well, to bad!" Kakashi said, smile fixed in place and eye curved in happiness.

"What?" The blond said, almost falling over in his shock. "Why aren't we going to practice?" He whined, slumping against the tree since the strain of standing had become too much of a strain on his body. "If I don't practice," He slid towards the ground, "I'm going to get fat, Kakashi-sensei."

The instructor blinked at the words, "When did you become such a girl?" He asked, his confusion shown by his furrowed brow. "I think it's time you started to consider a new occupation. Maybe hairstylist? Or a manicurer?" The jounin grinned at his joking, watching Naruto face turn an amusing shade of red, "I think it could be the new you!"

Glaring, the fox stood up from his nest in the long grass, "At least I won't be a customer there, Kakashi-san." He said coolly, changing from his usual attitude. He then began laughing loudly in the noon sun.

"Naruto." He stopped abruptly to see Sakura looking at him with bored eyes, "You're laughing evilly again."

Naruto smiled sheepishly, "Sorry." He let out another laugh, this time more tame then the insane laughter that had happened only a few moments before. "That better?" He asked, not noting the looks of skepticism from his teammates and teacher.

Kakashi shook his head, "Training will be held off until my mission is over." At the mention of his assignment, an A-mission no less, Sakura's eyes widened to double their size.

"Is he here, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, looking around frantically for her past teacher. "I don't see him! Ohmygod! He might be hurt!" She shrieked, running off to find the teacher. Kakashi watched her rush off and vowed to himself to find Iruka before she did. Or else, he feared, the chunin might not be too happy with him any more.

Sasuke 'huffed', the first sound he'd made from the time when his teacher had arrived, and stalked off to where the village training grounds were. Naruto followed soon after, challenging the other loudly and swearing he was better than the Uchiha survivor in everything as he jogged up. 'I wish I had different students…' Kakashi thought, rolling his eye at their antics before setting off to find his charge.

He strode across the grass plains easily, avoiding the Frisbees that seemed to be attracted to him like a magnet. A few stray kunai went across his path, aimed at an unseen target located high in the trees; he should know, he had practiced many a time with those same targets before he became a jounin.

After checking the playground, sandbox and wide-open areas, Kakashi decided that it was now time to ask people. And who should come strolling down the walkway? None other than Konohagakure's green beast, jounin extraordinaire, sensei that sparkles while he talks: Maito Gai.

The other sensei walked his tortoise, not seeing Kakashi until he was almost on top of him. "Ah! Rival of mine!" He said in his exuberant way, throwing his arms wide and dropping the leash of his pet, which stared at him before wandering away. "Do you dare come and challenge me?" The man asked as he lowered into a stance, flicking his hair back with his hand.

"Um… No?"

"Such a modern answer! I cannot compete!" Gai said, recoiling as if he was hit by the words of his greatest opponent.

Kakashi blinked at the sudden change in attitude, wishing he could live in another village where the ninja were normal before he remembered why he chanced this meeting. "Gai." The ninja looked up at his name, still weeping from the savage defeat from his foe. "I need you to help me find a little boy." In a flash the other jounin was standing and had retrieved his pet from sniffing a fire hydrant.

"I shall defeat you!" The ninja said; striking a pose while, somehow, cherry blossoms floated down around him. "I will find the child first, and you shall have to admit to being beaten!" He turned and was about to run off, only to be halted by Kakashi in front of him.

"You need to know what he looks like." The scarecrow said in his usual deadpan way, "He's three years old." He held up three fingers, Gai needed visual aids. "This tall." He used his hands to measure his knee height, "And he's tan." He added as an afterthought, there weren't that many three year old, knee high, tan children in the village, right?

Gai laughed in his full youthfulness, blinding the other man when his teeth were seen in the sunlight. "Fine. I wil find this short, tan, three year old before you. And then you will have to say I am supreme!" He then skipped off to find Iruka, making Kakashi fear for the child threefold at the fact that, now thanks to him, Gai was looking for him while Sakura was probably already on his trail.

'Might as well get to work. Save him from what I brought onto him.' Kakashi thought, swiveling his head to the left when a shriek of pure joy happened to come from that area. Using his practiced speed, he arrived a moment before Gai to find Iruka up in a tree a finger length out of Sakura's reach. 'This is great, just great.' Kakashi thought as the other jounin pushed him away to get nearer to the tree, 'I hate trees.'

Balancing on the outermost limb, Iruka whimpered when Sakura tried to come out and get him; thus making the branch sway dangerously from the added weight. He glanced down as footsteps alerted him to another presence. "Kakashi-san! Come help me, please!" He yelled, squeaking when Sakura cooed and moved closer, brushing against his nose this time. The child's eyes grew larger when he noticed Gai standing on the branch directly above him, reaching down to grab him.

Kakashi grumbled from the ground, thinking of a way he could get up without killing the trio currently in the tree, when a scream from Sakura made his head jerk up. A blur of white had been pushed from the tree. The culprit? A fluffy tailed squirrel that was currently chewing adorably on an acorn. It looked down at Kakashi adorably before it scurried back into its hole.

Shaking his head from the jolt of his new sitting position in the dirt, the scarecrow glared down at the child. As he was about to tell the child off for his lack of balance, and the fact that he knocked him over also, the jounin noticed that Iruka wasn't even paying attention at him. Instead, the boy was looking over the man's shoulder while his eye pupils dilated to the largest that they could be.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked; trying to turn his head but his headband and mask blocked every view when he twisted. Groaning, he stood with the child in his arms and saw that Lee was standing in back of them; a confused look on his face and holding the leash of his beloved sensei's pet.

Iruka, it seemed, was struggling to make himself smaller at the sight of the genin. "It's only Gai's student." Kakashi said, tapping the child on his head so he would look up and see Gai, who was now on the ground and dusting his vest off with a flick of his hand.

"Clones."

The gray haired man started at the terminology, "What did you say?" He asked, disbelieving the chunin in his arms and the way he was squirming to get away. "You know these guys. They just look alike." Iruka's face scrunched up and he rubbed his head into Kakashi's chest, struggling to hide his face from the green covered beings. "Hey. Gai." He gestured for the man to come over with a jerk of his head.

The scream from the child was so high pitched that Kakashi almost dropped him when his gloved hands moved on autopilot to his ears. Gai, it seemed, was unaffected by the sound and walked over, not even flinching. The teacher smiled when he arrived next to Kakashi, momentarily leaving the other sightless from the brilliant dazzle. "Yes, what is-" Gai saw the pony-tailed child and stopped, for once lost at words.

He suddenly began again, "I am vanquished!"

Iruka shrieked again when Gai stumbled forwards, gripping Kakashi's arms and dragging him down. "Get him away!" He yelled, climbing up onto his caretaker's head and whimpering when the jounin lost his balance and fell down to Gai's level. Kakashi sighed and kicked Gai in the head so Iruka would stop screaming and pulling on his hair.

Believing that he had tormented the child enough today, Kakashi stood up and away from the unconscious jounin splayed on the floor. Nodding to Lee as a farewell, the spandexed boy was sobbing uncontrollably next to his mentor, Kakashi walked away with Iruka still shaking and attached to his head. After he had traveled about a mile away from the other duo, the park was really big, the scarecrow stopped and dropped to the ground near a shadowed alcove where a small lake was occupied currently by a flock of cranes.

Struggling, Kakashi tried to pry the child off his head but to no avail. Kakashi could feel Iruka shiver when he grabbed him around his waist, pulling with all his might. Snatching his hand back, he blew gently on the bite mark the showed a perfect row of teeth and sighed since that meant the child was not going to get off his head. 'Oh well…' He thought, leaning against one of the trees and watching the cranes search for food in the water.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out Come Come Paradise, flipping the worn book to his current page. Reading from the sentence where he stopped, Kakashi smiled at an especially juicy part. A small breeze went through his hair that wasn't trapped under Iruka's body, making his eyelid droop from the comfort.

Before he knew it, the ninja was napping in the afternoon sun.

"Oh! Will you love me forever?" Kakashi watched the scene unfold, eating popcorn in a seat as the actors moved across the stage to each other. The woman was distressed; her lover was leaving her to go fight in the war or something like that. "Please say that you won't go. Stay here with me until it is over?" She sobbed pitifully and latched onto the man's arm.

Iruka smiled sadly, taking the female's hands off his arm and placing his own on her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I really am, Kioko. But you know my duty, I must go." He kissed her tenderly on the forehead and walked off stage, leaving the woman to sob alone in the audience's view.

"He left." She said, looking up to the sky as she dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief. "He'll never come back, surely to be lost. We shall never be married…" She trailed off at the fate of her lover.

Suddenly a voice came from the audience, louder than the actress's voice. "He's mine! You can't have him!"

Kakashi swiveled in his seat to see a student standing up, pointing a finger at a girl sitting next to her. "And if you think you can take him away from me," She pulled out some of her kunai to throw at the person sitting, "You are sadly mistaken!"

"Not if I take him first!" The other stood stood, another student from the school, "We were meant to be!" She threw a punch at the other, which was deflected by a hand.

Iruka walked back onto the stage, still in his costume, "Lady's no fighting on school ground. Opening day is in a week and our lead male is still sick." He stopped when two of the three looked at him, fierce jealousy shining in their eyes. "We can speak of this after the play rehearsal is over. Mira?" He gestured to the other woman, using her real name, after sighing, "Just say your lines and we'll be finished for the day."

The other student nodded, saying her last line quickly so she could change and be gone from the charged atmosphere. The chunin turned to see if the students had maybe left, saving him from a strict scolding on their part. Unfortunately they were still there. "Kiki, Umaru. Please come to the front and speak with me." Iruka said, his sensei glare in place when the two girls started to walk forward.

He looked up at Kakashi, eating his popcorn gleefully in the audience seats with the rest of the cast. "Children, you're excused. Kakashi-san," He bowed quickly, "Please leave." The pony tailed man then turned to follow his two amorous students into the back for their stern lecture.

The scarecrow yawned as he woke, thinking idly of the scolding those girls had gotten from Iruka that day. Checking his watch, it was almost six; he brushed a hand through his hair and halted it on the middle of his head. "I guess Iruka got off while I was dozing." He remarked, wondering if the child remembered his students that wanted him to be more than an instructor to them. "Iruka? Where are you?" He called into the darkness.

He rolled over in the grass, almost killing the boy who was asleep next to him. He smiled underneath his mask at the sight of the chunin sleeping, the child scrunching his nose when a stray piece of grass hit him in the face. "I guess it's time to go." He said, standing with the little Iruka in his arms.

Kakashi paused when he felt a presence nearby, turning to see if the person would come out of the dark and explain themselves. A soft coughing came from the shade and Kakashi knew who it was immediately, the ninja who had over looked the most recent chunin selection exam. "You can come out now, Hayate."

The other ninja walked forward, his eyes strangely alert although he was sick most of the time. He paused in front of the jounin, reaching into his pocket for a tissue. When he didn't answer, instead blowing his nose rather repetitively, Kakashi growled and shifted the still sleeping Iruka in his arms.

The child didn't move so he took this as a sign he could talk out loud without waking him, "What do you want?" He asked, tugging on his mask as he tried to hide his irritation at being called on by another ninja, lower on his scale of respect. Hayate didn't respond, choosing to rub furiously at his nose now while sniffling. "I think I'll leave now." Kakashi said, moving to walk away only to find the "sick" ninja blocking his way.

"Hokage-san wishes to see you." His cloudy pupils watched Kakashi under lowered eyelids, searching for a reaction but receiving non. "I suggest you go. It might be something important if Sandaime-san asked me to find you." He cocked his head, pushing up his headband when it slipped down onto his eyes, probably from a sloppily made knot, "Maybe a change in missions?"

Shocked into silence at the words, the scarecrow could only watch as the other turned, coughing politely into his hankie from the action, before walking away to leave him alone to decide. Only when the ninja had vanished from sight, and sense, did Kakashi begin to move from the spot.

The gray haired man craned his head to look down at Iruka, who was sucking on the elite ninja's gloved thumb, sighed and set off to the hokage's office to see what his new mission might be.

Previews:

Oh no! Does this mean Kakashi has to give up Iruka for another mission?

Wait… Does that mean that Kurenai succeeded and is now going to take care of the dolphin?

I personally have no idea! Sorry!