Note: This chapter was edited on January 11, 2006. Some previous content from before and after the chapter may have been removed or replaced.
Since When Was Boredom The First Step To Love?
Chapter two-And the winner is…
By Riyo-sama
Beta read by Silverone
Iruka's preparation's didn't take long. He did a quick exercise to make sure his muscles wouldn't be strained and meditated for a few minutes to calm his nerves. He grabbed some extra shuriken and kunai before leaving his house and locking the door.
When he arrived at the bridge he found his three former students already waiting. Naruto had excitement rolling off of him in almost tangible waves.
"Iruka-sensei! Kick lazy-sensei's ass!", yelled Naruto as he once again glomped Iruka, although this time Iruka somehow managed to avoid being knocked over.
"Naruto! Calm down! The match hasn't even started yet.", scolded Sakura. She was excited and worried at the same time. She didn't know who she should be cheering for, not to mention that she also didn't fully approve of the match in the first place. Iruka's big brother tendencies earned him quite a bit of fondness from his students, and Sakura had also thought him an excellent instructor. But she also respected Kakashi-sensei's fighting skills and loyalty to his friends, and he could be a down right nice person when he wanted to be. Thus Sakura was having trouble deciding were her loyalties should lay.
Sasuke was his usual quiet self and calmly greeted Iruka. The fact he was there showed that he was interested, and that was enough. His main reason for being interested was that he wanted to see what kinds of attacks the two sensei's would use. Sasuke didn't really care which sensei won, and the logical part of his mind was telling him that Kakashi would probably win because he had more experience and stamina.
If Kakashi had challenged anyone else, Naruto would have cheered on his jounin-sensei. Since Iruka was his opponent though, it was only natural for him to cheer on his favorite chunin instructor.
"Are you sure you want to watch?" Iruka wasn't too keen on fighting with an audience. He hadn't done so since he took the chunin exam.
Naruto released Iruka and grinned up at him, "Of course we want to watch! I want to see you beat Kakashi-sensei!"
"Besides, you need someone to act as a judge and make sure the match is fair.", added Sakura.
"You make a good point Haruno-san.", replied Iruka. "Well, I guess you could consider it observational training then." Having said this they all settled back to wait for the arrival of the masked jounin.
They waited for ninety minutes before they saw the familiar cloud of smoke that signaled the arrival of the chronically late sensei, who appeared on the archway of the bridge.
"Yo! Hope you didn't wait long.", he said in a cheerful voice. He noticed his students and gave them a quizzical look, "What are you three doing here?"
"We're going to judge the match!", shouted Naruto.
Kakashi blinked before nodding, "Hm, guess it's alright. Should be a good experience at least." Kakashi disappeared from the arch way and reappeared next to Iruka. "We can use the training area outside the village, it's not being used by anyone else." Iruka consented to Kakashi's choice of location and the group made it's way to the training grounds.
They chose an open space in the training area for the match, but before starting Sakura thought it would be a good idea to go over the rules for the match.
"It's been decided that this will be a tai-jutsu match. The only weapons allowed are kunai and shuriken. Chakra may be used to strength the body. This is all correct?", inquired Sakura. The sensei's both nodded. "And the winner will be determined by the one who is first to strike two hits against their opponent?" They both nodded an affirmative. "Well, shouldn't you decide what counts as an actual hit?"
"Haruno-san has a good point, Kakashi-sensei.", responded Iruka. Kakashi took a moment to think about it.
He finally responded, "A hit will consist of any punch or kick that successfully makes direct contact without being blocked or dodged. Only hits above the belt count. The same goes for kunai and shuriken. However, a strike with a weapon has to draw blood in order to count." Iruka agreed to this, and they would have stood off if Sakura hadn't thought of something else.
"Naruto said that the winner would be able to get anything they want from the loser. Shouldn't you decide what that will be before you fight?" Sakura's main thought when asking this was to try and prevent Kakashi from asking Iruka to do something inappropriate. Iruka became thoughtful. He had been too worried about whether he could beat Kakashi or not, to think about what he would ask for if he won. He glanced at Kakashi and noticed that he was reading Makeout Violence. That pervert thought Iruka as his eye twitched. Then he suddenly thought of what to ask for.
"Okay, there's two things I want if I am the winner of this match." Kakashi looked over the top of his book and quirked an eyebrow. "First, you have to buy your team ramen everyday for a month after training."
Not much of a request, and its not even for himself either thought Kakashi. Maybe I won't have to worry too much if he somehow manages to win, although it is doubtful he will beat me. Kakashi nodded to show that he agreed with the first request. Hmm, with Naruto though, it might get a little expensive. Probably why he asked for it, so he can save some money.
"Secondly, I want you to stop reading those perverted books." Iruka smiled when he made this request.
Kakashi's jaw dropped in disbelief at what the chunin had just asked for. His mouth worked up and down for a bit as if he were trying to object, but he soon regained his composure and nodded his agreement. He couldn't let his guard down, especially if his reading privileges were at stake. The current story arc of Makeout Violence was getting really good and he wanted to finish it! He had to admit though, that he hadn't been expecting Iruka to be so bold.
"Kakashi-sensei, have you thought of what you want?" asked Sakura.
"Hmm.", was Kakashi's response. He brought a hand up to his chin and used the other one to support his elbow as if he were thinking very deeply. After a few minutes he dropped his hands to his sides and put them in his pockets as he gave them all a happy face and said, "I can't think of anything." They all face-faulted.
"Kakashi-sensei! Iruka said what he wanted, so you have to pick something too!", yelled Sakura. Inner Sakura was threatening to slow roast Kakashi over an open fire if he didn't hurry and make up his mind.
"Well, if you insist, then let's just say Iruka will owe me two really big favors." Kakashi congratulated himself at successfully avoiding making up his mind right then. He wanted to have plenty of time to decide what he should make Iruka do. Plus, it would be fun to tease Iruka and watch him worry. The look on Iruka's face as he agreed to Kakashi's request showed that he was already worried about it, and this made Kakashi grin. He was so looking forward to messing with Iruka's head afterwards.
"Well, I guess if everything's decided, then we should get this match started.", stated Sakura, who had taken it upon herself to act as referee. Kakashi and Iruka took up positions about three yards apart. Iruka crouched down into an aggressive attack stance, while Kakashi remained upright in a more relaxed stance. He even took out his book once again.
"I better read as much as I can now. You might get lucky and beat me.", Kakashi said in a placid tone.
Iruka tensed and tried to push his irritation down. His inner child and inner adult were fighting again. The adult voice was saying that Kakashi was just trying to get him to drop his guard, while the childish part of him said that the jounin wasn't taking him seriously.
His stance is good thought Kakashi as he flipped a page. It looks like he doesn't plan on holding back, judging by the look in his eyes. Guess I won't be able to read. With that thought in mind, Kakashi put his book away. He didn't change his stance however.
"Ganbatte! Iruka-sensei!", cried Naruto as he waved his arms up and down. Sasuke stayed silent and looked bored. He was wondering how much longer it would take for them to start. Sakura continued her role as referee down to the letter.
"This match is tai-jutsu with shuriken and kunai allowed. Chakra use is limited to strengthening of the body. The participants are Hatake Kakashi, jounin of Konoha village, versus Umnio Iruka, chunin of Konoha village. The winner will be declared as the first person to score two hits on their opponent." She paused. Everyone grew tense. This was it, it would start any second now.
"Begin!"
Iruka immediately threw four shurikens, two from each hand. He started running as soon as they were airborne. Kakashi easily dodged the shuriken and blocked the punch that Iruka had aimed at his stomach. Kakashi aimed a punch that would have landed on Iruka's shoulder if Iruka hadn't already dropped to the ground and tried to swipe Kakashi legs out from under him with a swift kick. Kakashi jumped to avoid the kick and brought his hands down on Iruka's shoulders. He flipped himself over Iruka's head and landed behind the chunin. Kakashi tried to score a kick to Iruka's head, but missed as Iruka laid himself flat and moved as soon as Kakashi's leg had passed over head to get out of kicking range. He turned to face the jounin and was meet by barrage of shuriken. Iruka managed to avoid all the shurikens except one which left a gash on one of his arms.
He ignored Sakura's cry of "One hit for Kakashi-sensei!" and rushed Kakashi. Kakashi caught Iruka's leg as the chunin tried to hit him with a round house kick, but failed to block the upper-cut that Iruka immediately followed up with while Kakashi still had a hold of his leg. It caught Kakashi in the mouth and sent him flying a few yards, before he landed on his back with a gasp. Iruka remained in place and resumed his starting stance. This wasn't a fight to the death between enemies, and while it would have been a good opportunity for him to score his second hit, Iruka wasn't the type to kick someone when they were down. Besides, if Iruka scored his second hit now, then the fight would be over, and he was starting to enjoy it to tell the truth. The fact that Kakashi was higher ranking and so skilled was giving him a thrill. He felt invigorated.
Sakura finally got over her amazement at what had just happened and called out, "One hit for Iruka-sensei!" Naruto danced with triumph and Sasuke had a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Iruka was holding is own, and it looked like he might even have a chance to win.
Kakashi's fall had knocked the wind out of him, so it took him a moment before he was able to regain his feet. He expected to be attacked again immediately, so he was surprised when nothing happened while he was regaining his breath. He saw Iruka standing a few yards away and waiting when he finally sat up. He's as honorable as I've heard. He smiled slightly, but it turned into a wince. He brought a hand up to his face and felt a slight dampness in the fabric around his mouth. He looked at his hand and saw a stain of red on his fingers. Split lip. "Heh, you throw one hell of a punch."
Iruka couldn't help smirking, "An academy instructor's bite can be just as bad as their bark."
Kakashi slowly got up from his sitting position on the ground. "Guess I better get my second hit in, or I'll lose my reading privileges." He took a more aggressive stance then he had first used. His chakra use is perfect, like Sakura's. He's a straightforward attacker like Naruto but he executes his attacks with precision like Sasuke. Skills like that are perfect for a teacher. Kakashi was enjoying the fight. Iruka was skilled and didn't seem to let the fact that Kakashi was higher ranking stop him from giving the fight everything he had. Kakashi felt his respect for the chunin go up a notch.
Looks like Kakashi's going to take things a little more seriously now. I better keep my guard up., thought Iruka as he watched Kakashi. They waited a tense moment, and then Kakashi moved.
He moved so fast that Iruka barely had time to pull out two kunai to block the two that Kakashi tried to slash him with from behind. They remained with their kunai locked against each other until Kakahsi broke away only to lunge at Iruka again who once again blocked. Soon they were moving so fast that they were blurs. The three genin watched in awed silence, breath unconsciously held, waiting to see who would be the victor.
Iruka felt his body becoming fatigued from maintaining such a high speed. He didn't have enough chakra to strengthen his limbs anymore. Kakashi suddenly jumped back and threw his kunai, managing to catch Iruka off guard. Iruka was able to avoid the kunai, but not the kick that Kakashi had aimed at his side when he closed in after the kunai. Iruka went flying similar to the way Kakashi had earlier. The difference between the falls was that Iruka tried to land on his feet, but failed to do so and landed hard on his left leg.
"Winner, Kakashi-sensei!"
Sakura didn't know whether she should be happy that Kakashi had won or upset that Iruka had lost, so she settled for both by congratulating Kakashi and then turning to check on Iruka who was still sitting were he had landed. Naruto was pouting because Iruka had lost. Sasuke was silent and seemed slightly worried for Iruka.
Iruka reassured his former students that he was alright and tried standing up to remove their doubts. He made it half way up before falling back down with an intake of breath from the sharp pain that went shooting up his leg. Naruto got very worried looking and Iruka tried to get up again to erase the look but ended up falling down again, which only worried Naruto even more.
"Better stay put. You might have broken your leg when you landed. Let me look." Kakashi had crouched down in front of Iruka, and seemed to have a slightly concerned look in his eye. He waited for Iruka to nod before gently probing the leg to check for fractures. "Hmm, it doesn't seem to be broken, just sprained." Iruka decided to take Kakashi's word for it. Kakashi had been in ANBU, so he probably had some sort of minor medical training.
Kakashi seemed to be thinking about something. I'm too tired to perform a healing jutsu, and he won't be able to make it back to the village on his own. I don't think Sasuke, Naruto, or Sakura can support his weight, so that only leaves one choice. He moved to Iruka's left side and pulled one of the chunin's arm's over his shoulder's and held onto it. He wrapped his free arm around the chunin's waist and lifted him up into a standing position. Iruka gritted his teeth so as not to groan at the pain in his leg. Iruka's shorter height forced Kakashi to stoop a bit so that the shorter man wouldn't have to stand on tip-toe.
Kakashi ignored Iruka's protests as he turned to speak to his three worried students. "I'll take him home and see to his injuries so there's no need to worry."
"Kakashi-sensei, you don't need to trouble yourse-", Kakashi interrupted Iruka, "Yes I do. You're a shinobi of Konoha village, which makes you my comrade. I always look after my comrades, especially if I'm the reason the comrade is injured in the first place." He then added with his happy face, "Besides, you gave me a fun fight." Iruka blinked, and then smiled with a nod.
"It was fun for me too."
With that they headed back to the village. After entering the gate, Naruto suddenly stopped in his tracks as if something had just occurred to him. He spun around and pointed a finger at a puzzled Kakashi and Iruka, "You better not make Iruka-sensei do anything perverted!"
Kakashi suddenly remembered that Iruka owed him two favors, and at the thought of making Iruka do something perverted, his mind shut down. A very hentai image entered his mind, and when it did, he mentally slapped himself. I barely know him! And he's a GUY! I don't swing that way!…….Do I? Kakashi had to ask himself that question because he had never had time to think about it. He was six when he became a shinobi, there wasn't really time for him decide what his preference was. He wasn't able to further pursue this line of thought due to the fact that he suddenly felt a very icy chill going done his spine. The source of the chill being the cold stares of his three students. The combined strength of that stare could have frozen a lake solid right down to the bottom. Kakashi collected his thoughts and finally responded, actually managing to sound indigent, "What kind of person do you think I am!"
"One who always shows up late and lies about why he showed up late," started Sakura.
"Who reads perverted books all the time and has a technique called a Thousand Years of Pain," continued Naruto.
"And makes a nuisance of himself to others when he's bored, and let's not forget your annoying face mask.", finished Sasuke.
Kakashi just sweat dropped. They know me too well. He sighed and then said, "I promise not to do anything perverted to him."
After further reassurances, his students finally went their separate ways and headed towards their respective homes. Kakashi glanced at Iruka who had been silent during the whole exchange. Iruka was giving him a narrow eyed look.
"You weren't seriously considering making me do anything like that, were you?" asked Iruka suspiciously. He wouldn't put anything past someone as notoriously perverted as Kakashi.
"Mmm, maybe." To tell the truth he hadn't thought about it until Naruto mentioned it, but he wasn't going to say that. He wanted to tease Iruka. "I could have thought of a lot of fun things to do, but since I promised not to, we won't get to try any of them." Iruka turned red and stared at the ground. He wished he didn't need Kakashi's help to get home because right at that moment he was starting to feel uncomfortable and embarrassed at how close they were standing.
Kakashi grinned and said, "Guess we better get you home, or I'll have to explain to Hokage why you can't work tomorrow, and the looks those three were giving me were kind of creepy." The word 'work' made Iruka remember the papers he still had to grade that were at the academy. He mentioned them to Kakashi who thought about it for a moment.
"Why don't I get you home first, and then I'll go pick up those papers and bring them home for you?" Iruka's fatigue was starting to catch up with him. He felt to tired too object so he graciously agreed to Kakashi's suggestion.
Having settled that, they finally started towards Iruka's home.
Thanks for your review Evil Kasumi, I like Midnight Confessions.
Thanks to Lady Guena for reviewing and that little Iruka tidbit. I didn't know he had completed 11 A-class missions. Makes me feel better about letting Iruka send Kakashi flying.
Thanks again to everyone else who reviewed.
I apologize to everyone who wanted to see Iruka win, but I had to have Kakashi win in order for some of my future ideas to work.
Jaa ne!