A LESSON LEARNED
This chapter was also released as its own separate one-shot, since it can be read without the context of this fic.
Author's Note: It's been brought to my attention that for the past two weeks Chapter 13 was uploaded in place of Chapter 3 which... broke things up a bit. I'm sorry for the confusion for anyone who caught up to the fic while that mistake was in place. Everything is now in order, though!
Shizune is desperately going over documentation in the Hokage's office. As usual there's several mountain of them stacked in front of her as she's temporarily using Tsunade's comfy chair, because her back started killing her on that sofa, and then the floor. She's all alone and she has way too much on her plate. Tsunade is out at a Kage Summit, along with Kakashi and Shikamaru, so she's stuck here dealing with administrative details.
It wouldn't be so bad IF AT LEAST ONE THING WAS GOING TO PLAN.
Documents have been mislabeled, forms not filled out properly, papers sent to the wrong addresses and in some cases, even to the wrong Hidden Village, so that's extra waiting time for them to be returned and hopefully sent to the correct Village this time. Somehow, everything became a mess all at once. And worst of all-
There's a knock on the door.
Shizune sighs. She was hoping for some alone time for a panic attack. "Come in." Her voice comes out as raspy. She then realizes she hasn't actually spoken a single word in a while or drank any water.
A man with a high ponytail and a scar running across his face pokes his head in. Iruka Umino, teacher at the Academy walks in holding a folder.
He takes a look at the chaos in the room- stacks of paper on the desk, books and scrolls on the ground, boxes tucked away in the corner. And Shizune rummaging through the Hokage's desk.
"Uhh, is this a good time, Shizune?"
"Yes, of course." Her voice still sounds like sandpaper. She finally seems to find what she was looking for, and takes out a bottle. "Aha!" She takes a swig but almost immediately spits out the contents. "Sake. I should've known..." She sighs and turns to Iruka, her voice now jolted back to normal. "How may I help you, Iruka?" She tries to force a smile but the sake burns.
"Oh, well, I was actually here to ask about the new medical training program for the Academy. "
Long ago when Tsunade was still a Jonin, she tried to put together exactly such a program that would ensure more medics are present and available to go on missions, as most of the current medics are typically hospital-bound and are only sent as back-up once the mission is complete. The current idea for such a training program is to engrain medical ninjutsu as a part of Academy studies and begin training from a much younger age to either be specialized medics or to simply know first-aid. Shinobi like Ino Yamanaka are a perfect example of what the end goal is- possessing their own talents and skills, but having at least a little bit of medical training to keep their team in one piece. It would take a good deal of work to get the program fully going and interest the students in a field of ninjutsu that actually requires much more concentration than anything currently taught, but they intend on making it successful.
Shizune buries her face in her hands. "I swear I was going to get to that soon."
"It's alright. I just thought I'd come on my own to check, since I know you're swamped with work. If it's ready, I'll just take it off your hands."
Shizune's face is still in her palms. "That's the thing, I don't have it and I don't know if we will."
"But… we need that for the new curriculum."
She flails her arms. "I know that! But some of our medics fell ill, including the ones who were supposed to train the students in medical ninjutsu and I don't have anyone else available because they're already in the middle of other work and I can't pull them out of it now." She grumbles. "I'm sorry. I've been trying to juggle things around, hoping to have an answer for you, but..."
Iruka purses his lips in contemplation. "Alright, so we have a setback."
"Everything is ruined." Shizune whines and looks at the sake bottle. "I think I see why she keeps it."
"No! No, it's not. About the ruined part, I… can't speak for the sake. We just… have to think outside the box for a bit. Okay, so the medics ironically fell ill. Is it serious? How long would it take them to recover?"
"They've been given two weeks, but even after recovery it wouldn't be safe to expose them to the kids. We'd need to push back the start of the new medical training program but that would leave a gap in your usual classes. I guess you could fill it with another class in the meantime, or leave them with an extended break."
Iruka chuckles. "An extended break? You haven't been around kids much, have you? We wouldn't be able to get them back in class. And filling even temporarily would require us to switch around a lot of things, too."
"Any bright ideas, sensei?"
Iruka sits down on the couch to mull it over. When he does, he hears an oink from under some scattered papers next to him. "Oh…" He takes a peak under them, only to see Tonton lying there.
Her resting place disturbed, she chooses Iruka's lap as the next best thing.
"Hello, Tonton." He chuckles and begins looking through the folder he's holding while the piglet rests on his lap. Said folder contains a few example schedules that the teachers prepared in waiting to find out where and how the medics would come in to teach, as well. "Hm, I just don't see it working with how we'd assumed until now. Unless..."
"Unless?" Shizune sounds hopeful that the teacher has an idea.
"How about we teach it for the first week or two?"
Shizune's shoulders slump. "Iruka, I mean no offence; you're a good man and a good teacher, but you're not a medical ninja. This is a highly specialized practice."
"That's true, and I don't mean to sound like I'm underestimating medical ninja. However, it has theory and laws like anything else, correct? We could stall by teaching a bit about the history of medics, about the idea behind the ninjutsu, maybe even begin working on their finer chakra control. And once the medics are free, they can take over and actually show them what it is."
She taps her cheek with a single finger. "That… could potentially work?" She still sounds uncertain. "But how would you split the classes? Even you can't lead two classes at once. The kids who will enter medical training need to unlearn everything they've been taught until now and get into a new mindset about what their role will be on missions. They'll have a completely different skill set from the rest of the class."
Iruka absent-mindedly scritches Tonton behind the ear, going over the draft schedule once more. "Wait…" He taps on the papers. "You're right. Those kids will need to unlearn everything we've taught them, but the same goes for the rest, correct?"
Shizune raises a brow. "In what way?"
"You said it yourself, these kids need to learn that being a medic comes with new responsibilities, but on the flip side, the other kids also need to learn that having a medic on their team changes the dynamic they might expect or be used to."
"You're… right. We never took that into account during planning." She bites her lip.
"It might actually be a good thing that this happened because we can now shift out focus."
"Instead of teaching just one group how to be medics, we can teach all of them how having a medic on the team changes things." She finishes his thought.
"Exactly!" He leans forward, only stopping himself because of an irritated oink coming from a disturbed rest. "Things like teamwork, battle formations, even mock combat… At the very least, the other teachers and I are perfectly capable of showing them that for the first couple of weeks."
Shizune slumps back in her chair. "But that's still a lot of extra knowledge you'd all be required to learn that wasn't part of your job before. Think you could handle the extra pressure?"
He nods. "I never said it was going to be easy but I should be able to put something together. It probably won't be as extensive as what a real medic could put together but it'll get them started."
"You're a lifesaver, Iruka-sensei." She smiles. "This might actually be a better program than what we were originally planning."
"Of course. This is for the kids, after all. For the future of the Hidden Leaf." He stands up and begins making his way for the door. "I best go to the library and find some beginner books. Sooner I get started, the better. See you soon, Shizune."
Before he opens the door, Shizune calls out to him. "Ah, wait. That might not be necessary." She stands up and checks the bookshelf that stands in the office. "Hmm, where was it… Ah, here it is." She pulls out a book and walks over to hand it to Iruka. "A more beginnery book for medics. It has pretty much everything you'd need to know, and it's actually not written overly complex. It should be perfect."
"Thank you, Shizune, this should do well." He smiles and takes the book from her, looking it over.
"I'm also going to need her back." Shizune points down to his other arm which is still holding the piglet.
"Oh…" Iruka turns her in the cheeks. "I'm sorry, I got carried away."
Shizune sincerely laughs, probably for the first time in a while given all these troubles that cropped up. "It's quite alright." She takes the sleepy pig from his which snuggles into her own arms. "I'll check up on the Academy when I can."
"Don't put too much strain on yourself, alright?" Iruka opens the door and steps out. "Village still needs you. Have a good day." He lowers his head.
"You, too, sensei."
When he closes the door, Shizune stretches and prepares to head back to work albeit a bit reluctantly. First however, she takes the bottle of sake and dumps its contents out the window.
After two days of getting chaos back to order, Shizune was able to actually get some free time for herself, leaving the office a bit earlier than she usually does these days- early evening as opposed to late evening. However, that doesn't mean she's going to stop worrying or that she's going to use this time to actually rest. It's just not in her nature. No, she's headed for the Academy, Tonton snuggled in her arms, to check up on Iruka and his progress on the temporary curriculum, and maybe offer him some help if he needs it.
Thankfully, the Hokage Building and the Academy are joined buildings so it's not even that much trouble to go there, she's just been swamped by other things. The entire Academy is completely dark, save for one single room- the teachers' lounge which she suspects is where Iruka Umino is. She makes her way inside the eerily quiet and echoey corridors, passing the currently empty classrooms.
Reaching the lounge, she knocks to make her presence known and waits for several moments. No response. She knocks again only to be met by the same. "Iruka-sensei?" She decides to forgo formalities and simply enter.
"Oink?" Tonton inquisitively looks around.
The decor is a fairly simple one, with rows of work desks that are each assigned to an individual teacher, with slightly elevated wooden barriers surrounding them from three sides. The lights are on as she saw from outside, but there's no one here.
She steps inside and looks around for any signs of life. "Hello? I'm Shizune from the Hokage's-" When she passes one row of desks, she sees a figure slumped over their desk, sleeping.
An easily recognizable ponytail identifies the man as Iruka. She raises a brow and approaches the sleeping teacher. Coming a bit closer to him, she sees the book she'd given him opened in front of him and multiple papers' worth of notes about medical practices and strategies. He's clearly been thoroughly going over the book, apparently to the point of passing out at work.
"Iruka?" She gently nudges him. A part of her feels sorry for interrupting him but another part of her knows the importance of proper rest and proper rest this is not.
Iruka moans in his sleep and shifts a little but does not wake up.
"Iruka." She pushes him a bit harder but he does not stir.
Tonton sighs and pulls herself free from Shizune's arm, landing on the papers on Iruka's desk. She bites down on the teacher's ear and tugs hard at it.
With a cry of pain, he finally wakes up. Tonton looks proud of herself.
"Tonton?" He groggily questions her presence. "And… Shizune?" He turns to her and the sight almost makes her recoil back. Iruka's eyes are bloodshot and sunken in, nearly invisible from the dark circles around his eyes. He weakly tries to smile but it comes off as strained. "What brings you here?"
"I… originally came to see how progress is going on the curriculum, but now I'm more worried about you." She places a hand on his forehead and leans in to inspect his eyes. "You haven't been sleeping properly, have you?"
"No time. The new training starts tomorrow and I still haven't mapped out the entire program for the next two weeks." She leans back from her and turns to his desk, rummaging through the papers to put them in order and needing to tug some of them from under Tonton's hooves.
Shizune facepalms. "Iruka… When I agreed to let you do this, I thought the 'Don't work yourself sick, too' part didn't need to be said. What do you think will happen if you're unable to lead class tomorrow?"
"I still need to finish it. I have the first week mapped out but the others will need enough time to go over the materials and properly prepare, so the more I get done sooner, the better." His stomach grumbles. Rather, it might be more accurate to call it a roar.
"And food?" She asks even though she already knows the answer.
"I'll eat breakfast tomorrow." He waves his hand dimissively.
"Alright…" She grabs him by the arm and pulls him to his feet, being surprisingly lighter than she thought he'd be. Might be he's naturally light or might be him not taking proper care of himself. "If you think I'm going to just let you work yourself to the ground, you're sorely mistaken."
He stumbles a bit but straightens himself as best he can. "I'm fine, really."
"That's not for you to say." She begins walking to the door, pulling him with her. "Consider this your doctor's orders. Food and proper rest. At the very least, I can make sure the first one happens."
Iruka resigns to his fate and obediently drags his feet behind her, Tonton running around them to outside. Iruka does remember to switch off the lights and lock the door before following after to the outside.
-x-
Maybe because it's Iruka in question but when connecting him and food, her mind immediately went to Ichiraku Ramen and she realized somewhere along the way that's subconsciously where she's taking him. She also realizes that she's been holding him by the hand for some time, dragging him behind her so she quickly lets go, flustered.
"You know, you don't have to go this far…" Iruka whines.
"Of course I do!" She protests. "I'm the one who put you in this situation and I allowed for you to go overboard. And besides…" Her tummy growls, "I could use something to eat, too."
Iruka stares for a moment before he bursts out laughing. "Alright, I'll give in."
Reaching the new Ichiraku Ramen restaurant which is vastly different and much bigger from the simple stall it used to be, they enter the establishment and are met by the distinct smell of ramen and noodles right away, coming from the kitchen in the back but also from the occupied tables around them. There're some empty tables but Ichiraku is definitely enjoying a good deal of popularity, hence the expansion.
They take a seat at the bar counter which has the same tall stools it used to have before.
Ayame is there to greet them with a bright smile. "Shizune, Iruka-sensei, didn't expect to ever see you two here together. What can I get you?"
Shizune chuckles. "Circumstances led to it. I'll have a bowl of miso pork with fishcake toppings. And could I get a bowl of veggies for Tonton?"
"Ooooink..." Tonton tries hard to climb up on the stool with no success until Shizune picks her up and places her on top. "Oink!"
"Same for me, Ayame." Iruka places his order, as well. "The ramen, not the veggies."
Ayame chuckles. "Coming right up!" The young woman peeks through a window behind the counter and shouts out to whoever is back there, "Two miso pork with fishcakes! A bowl of veggies!" And continues her work at the counter.
"I'm surprised you'd pick to come here, though." Iruka looks around. "Didn't strike me as the ramen type."
Shizune sighs. "It's somehow the destination that came to mind. I somehow connect you to this place, you were always here with Naruto, right?"
Iruka chuckles. "Yeah, there's definitely a lot of memories here. It was… really the only place that would let him sit down and enjoy a meal so it kind of became special to me, too." He smiles as he runs his hand over the counter. It's actually the same one from before, just polished up a little and a tad more presentable. The establishment may have changed but Teuchi is the sentimental sort.
"I see." Shizune smiles. "That's awfully kind of you."
His cheeks turn red. "Oh, I'm not sure I'd go that far. I haven't done a whole lot."
"Of course you have. You went above and beyond for that boy and helped him realize who he is today. Although I suppose I can't call him a boy any more."
"Yeah, he's grown more than even I thought he would, and I'm sure he'll be even more of a man once he and Hinata come back from their mission."
Ayame places two bowls in front of them. "Here you go. Enjoy!"
They both grab a pair of chopsticks from a dispenser on the counter and separate them. "Thank you for the meal."
They keep up a mild chatter as they eat but they're both actually famished so they focus mostly on the food which they actually devour in a very short amount of time at almost the same time. It feels like being here amplified their already present hunger to the nth degree.
Ayame picks up the bowls to clean. "I hope it was to your liking."
"As always." Iruka chuckles. "Thank you."
"It certainly was." Shizune smiles to the young woman and exhales heavily, feeling much better now. She then turns to Iruka for the matter at hand. "So, how much material have you gotten down, sensei?"
He stretches his arms and groans. "I've gotten most of the basics down and we already discussed how the new team training will go. It's short notice but I think we managed well enough. We have enough material for a crash course in medical ninjutsu, so the medics-to-be can learn what they're supposed to do, and so the others can learn what their future teammates are about. Still have a good deal of material to go through, through."
"I must say I'm impressed. I intended to offer help since I'm a bit more free now but looks like it's not needed."
"Oh it's very much needed!" Iruka laughs. "If you've the time, I'd be grateful if you could look over what I've prepared. I'd feel much better to have a professional's opinion."
"I'd be more than happy to, although… we did leave your notes back at the Academy." She gives an apologetic smile.
Iruka raises a brow in confusion. "Oh, those? Those are the notes for next week. The ones for this week are back home."
"Oh." Shizune's cheeks turn a light shade of red. "Then… we could go there. To look at the notes." She turns forward to try and hide her blush. 'I don't think I've actually been to a man's place before…'
Of course, why she may have hidden her blush by turning forward, that doesn't hide it from Ayame whose eyes she does meet. The younger woman grins and gives a thumbs up, which prompts Shizune to stand up faster and more stiff than she ever intended.
"Shall we?" She places the money on the counter and heads out with Tonton in tow.
"Um, sure?" Iruka furrows a brow and pays for his ramen, following the Hokage's aide.
Ayame giggles. "Have fun on your date."
Iruka's cheeks redden at the comment, while Shizune's gets even redder.
They continue their walk in relative silence.
-x-
By this point it's already gotten dark outside while they had dinner so the setting sun paints a rather colourful landscape. The orange tint makes everything look and feel almost like a dream.
The two of them walk mostly in silence, which feels a little awkward at first but it oddly enough becomes comfortable in a matter of minutes. Just walking down the street, not burdening yourself with more than you can handle… It feels nice. Feels homely.
Reaching his home, Iruka invites Shizune to take a look at what he's managed to get done so far, what he did instead of actually taking proper care of himself.
"Pardon the intrusion." Shizune takes off her shoes while Tonton brushes her hooves off the welcome mat and they both enter.
When he leads her into the living room, she sees a stack of papers, handwritten notes, and a few books on medical ninjutsu and medical practices.
"This is… more than I gave you." She almost admires the sight of it.
Iruka shrugs. "I wanted to be thorough so I hunted down a few more books." He grabs one stack of papers in particular that has been stapled together and hands it to her. "This is how far I've gotten with the planning."
"May I?" Shizune motions to the sofa.
"Of course!" Iruka frees up some space and sits down.
Shizune sits with him while Tonton curls up under the table and begins flipping through the notes. "This looks very detailed and much easier to grasp than the book I gave you."
He chuckles. "Well, I might not be a medical ninja, but I am a teacher. Making information easily accessible is my job. Although it took me a while to understand it, myself, so I had to cram a lot."
"Hence the lack of sleep."
"Hence the lack of sleep, yes." He rubs the back of his neck. "I hope I haven't muddled it too much."
"No, not at all. I don't think I could have written it myself." She flips back to the first page and begins reading it more thoroughly. "Right." She mumbles to her. "And this part, and here." She keeps making mental notes of parts that could be improved or elaborated on, as she keeps reading without even realizing how much time has passed.
When she finally reaches the end, she gives a firm nod. "Right, this is-" She stops when she turns around only to find Iruka fast asleep on the couch. "Oh… I suppose I took longer than I thought." She nervously laughs.
She stands up and gently lies Iruka down so he's in a more comfortable position. She looks around the room for anything she can use to cover him with and spots a blanket conveniently draped over a chair along with some clothes. '... I wonder if that's actually his laundry? Should I go through it? It's rude, right?' She looks back to his sleeping figure and sighs. 'Better than nothing, I suppose. I'll apologize later.' She grabs the blanket and covers him with it, careful not to wake up although from her own experience that's not easy to do.
Deciding she's overstayed her welcome, she grabs Tonton and heads out the door. Giving one final glance to the diligent teacher, a smile crosses her face as the door locks behind her.
The following day, Tsunade returns from the Kage Summit which comes as a great relief to Shizune ready to share some of the workload with her and Shikamaru. She takes some documentation she'd set aside until the Hokage's return and places them on the desk in front of her. "So, this is the last of it. Just sign these and we should be good to go. I'll look over it tomorrow to file them away." She says with a more chipper voice than usual.
Tsunade looks up from the papers. "Tomorrow? You going somewhere, Shizune?"
"Ah, yes, I'm meeting Iruka at Ichiraku Ramen." She seems to be in a much more chipper mood than usual.
"Iruka?" Tsunade raises a brow.
"Yes, because of everything I told you about, he was kind enough to help out with the medical training program, so I'm offering what guidance I can until the medics can get back to work."
"Right. I see." Tsunade smirks. "Your dedication is admirable, Shizune."
"Oh, thank you! It's the least I could do to repay his hard work, after all." Shizune bows and excuses herself and heads out the office.
Tsunade shrugs. "Maybe I'm just looking too much into it." Now that the watchdog is out, she opens a drawer and digs for the secret bottle she has stored away, to help her through the workload. However, the moment she takes a single sip, she spits out its contents. "Water. I should've known..." She grumbles and uses it to water a plant instead.
-x-
Over the course of the next two weeks, Iruka and Shizune would regularly meet up after work at Ichiraku Ramen to talk shop over a bowl. Iruka would bring his notes and they'd discuss the program and training in great detail, adding potential new ideas either for the teachers to go over or for the medics once they resume work as originally intended.
Iruka goes over the coursework with her, how he'd summarized the book and made it to the point where the students would understand it more easily, and to an extent to the point where HE would understand it. He pretty much had to have a dictionary by his side while reading the book, even though it's a beginner book , it still has a lot of terminology.
Shizune continues to be impressed by the work he's done and how well he can present all of this information, and gives him some pointers on maybe how to incorporate some more material. Iruka is quick to catch on, but maybe that's because Shizune is good at explaining.
Iruka writes down some more things Shizune told him about. "Are you sure you don't want to become a teacher? I think you'd be really good at it."
Shizune chuckles. "That's funny, I was about to ask whether you might be interested in actually studying medical ninjutsu. You're grasping all of this really well."
"I guess it's more that we just work really well together."
They both smile shyly and focus on their ramen.
-x-
At some point, Shizune was also able to free her schedule enough where she'd be free during the day, which allows her to actually visit the Academy during class and personally observe the lessons.
She makes her way to the training grounds that Iruka requested access to for a more hands-on approach to teaching the new material. As she makes her way there, she can already hear the louds sounds of cheering and fighting. The lesson seems to be going well, at least.
Going past the trees, she enters the actual field where the training takes place. The class is sitting to the edge of the field while six kids, split into two three-man cells, are currently engaged in the exercise. Right away she can spot which ones are the play-medics as they're the ones at the back playing defensively.
Iruka is in the middle of it all, instructing the four kids who are in mock combat with each other. She decides to just observe how it all goes for now, not wanting to interrupt.
One of the girls, long light brown hair tied in a ponytail with a yellow ribbon, is struck by a special wooden blade they're using for this class, marked with seals that releases red pain on impact, causing her arm to be covered in it.
"Alright." Iruka calls out. "Now that you've been struck, Mibuna, you can't safely keep fighting. What do you do?"
The girl uses her non-red hand to reach into a pouch and slam a smokescreen ball into the ground. It's not as powerful as the real thing as there's still visibility but it gets the idea across, especially for this.
Mibuna ducks back while her partner, a boy with an overly tall spiky hairstyle, keeps both foes occupied. Her third partner, a boy with spiky hair kept at bay with a purple cap, comes to her aid and uses a special tag to get the red paint off of her. Since there's no actual medical ninjutsu at play yet, this is meant to simulate it.
One of the enemy team manages to duck past and head toward the medic and Mibuna but one wrong step sets off an explosive tag at her feet. Well, not precisely 'explosive' as it sets off what's essentially a glitter gun.
"Aw, man!" The boy tries to shake off the glitter off his clothes.
Iruka claps, signaling for the combat to stop. "An important part is to always cover for your allies! Because she had to leave Tsukune alone, Mibuna set up a trap in her escape that gives him a bit of cover, but also ensures that their medic Sansho has some cover and is safe from enemies." He smiles to both teams. "Excellent work, all of you."
Tsukune puffs out his chest. "Of course!"
Sansho finishes cleaning the pain off his teammate, who flashes him a smile. "Thanks."
At this point, Shizune walks out onto the field, clapping. "I agree."
"Ah, Shizune!" Iruka gives an even brighter smile when he sees her approach. "I wasn't expecting you. Kids, this is Shizune, one of the Leaf's best medics, second only to Lady Tsunade."
The kids stare at her in awe.
"Well, I'd say Sakura is up there, as well." She scratches her slightly reddened-from-embarrassment cheek, being put in such a spotlight. "So, what do you all think of medics?"
"They're really cool!"
"My uncle's one and he's cool!"
"I'm gonna be like Lady Hokage!"
A series of yells follow Shizune's question, with many of them sharing their excitement over medics. Stories have definitely reached their ears of the powerful abilities that saved lives during the War, and of course Tsunade is heavily admired by the kids, especially the younger girls.
"Alright, alright, simmer down." Iruka gets them all to calm down. "No talking over each other, got it?" He gives them a stern to behave before giving Shizune an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."
"No need." She dismisses his worries. "I'm glad they're showing this much enthusiasm."
"So what brings you here, anyway?" He asks.
"I was actually thinking if I can help in some capacity since I have some free time." She places her arms behind her back. "If that's alright with you, of course."
"It is! I'm sure they'd be interested in seeing an actual medic at work."
"Very well." She surrounds her hand with a green glowing chakra and shows it to the students. "Now, would you all like a demonstration?"
"Yes!" The yall cry out in unison.
Shizune remains with them for the remainder of the day, giving them tips and even joining in their mock battles to give advice in real time, how best to work with a medic on their team and what the best course of action is in most situations.
The kids get into it with renewed energy and vigour, taking an even greater interest in it.
When class comes to an end, they all gather their things and make their way back to the Academy. Iruka and Shizune take the rear, making sure to keep all the kids within their line of sight.
"You've certainly sparked the flame under them, sensei." Shizune smiles.
"Oh, the flames were already sparked, I just helped them nourish it. I've done what I can for them so far, and starting tomorrow, the actual medics will take over." He gives a faint strained smile.
"Yes, you're right." She looks down to the ground with an equally saddened train of thought.
The medical ninja taking over means that their daily meets at Ichiraku Ramen would also come to an end, as their purpose was to discuss Iruka's training material over dinner. However now that that's no longer necessary… They both try to keep up a faint smile, both saddened that their meets would stop. They came to enjoy each other's company quite a bit, not just because they worked well together but because they also felt at ease and were able to wind off after a rough day at work.
Iruka stiffens his expression and inhales, gathering the courage to make the offer he wants to make. "So, I suppose we should meet over a bowl of ramen to make sure it's going as planned?" He asks without actually looking at her, trying to find something else to distract himself with.
She whips her head up. "Hm? Oh, of course! We can't rest just yet, can we?"
"This is for the children's future, after all." He nods sagely.
"It's important." She nods, as well.
In front of them, some of the girls have gathered together and are looking back their blushing sensei, giggling.
Once again, Shizune leaves a set of documents at Tsunade's desk and prepares to leave for the day.
"Another early day, Shizune?" Tsunade begins signing the papers in front of her.
"Yes. I'm meeting Iruka at Ichiraku today." She puts back scrolls and folders she'd taken off their shelves earlier, to clean up a bit before leaving.
"Still? Didn't the medics take over duties already?"
"Well, yes, but Iruka has a closer relationship with the students and so he has insight into how they're handling it." Shizune explains.
Tsunade raises a brow. "Uh huh. Alright."
"Is… something the matter, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune stops and turns around as she's about to leave through the door.
"No, no, of course not." The older woman chuckles. "Your dedication just continues to impress me."
"I take my leave, my Lady." Shizune bows and excuses herself, although Tsunade's expression leaves her worried.
Tsunade chuckles as the door closes. "She's a smart girl, she'll piece it together." She takes out her bottle and takes a swig of sake, breathing in deeply. "That's the stuff."
"Oink?" Tonton tilts her head inquisitively at Tsunade.
Walking through the corridor to the outside, Shizune plays over Tsunade's words and expression in her head. The older woman has always had a terrible poker face, which is why she spent so many years in debt. 'But what would prompt her reaction in relation to myself and Iruka?' She goes deep into thought. 'I mean, I do like him… Like…' She stops in her tracks and grips the hem of her shirt. 'Like, huh? He's smart, good with kids, I suppose he's good looking, too." She shakes those thoughts out of her mind. 'Oh snap out of it, Shizune. As if that's even a possibility… He wouldn't feel that. Would he?'
-x-
For the next couple of weeks, Iruka and Shizune continue to meet up after work to the point where it becomes a part of their daily schedules. Diligently, they meet up every day either at work or directly at Ichiraku. The original excuse was to talk about the medical training but conversation quickly switches to simple chatter, be it about work in general or their own hobbies and interests.
With each passing day, they grow more and more comfortable around each others' company and to some it's become painfully aware that these meetups stopped being about work a very long time ago. However, Tsunade and Ayame let events play out as they must and individually decide not to butt in. Even though the two women of very different positions are hardly even aware of each other, they both root for Iruka and Shizune even if those two are either too shy or too stubborn to come to the realization the two women came to weeks ago.
One particular evening, Shizune is the first to arrive and she seems happier than ever for some reason.
"Something good happened, Shizune?" Ayame places her bowl on the counter.
"Nothing in particular. Just waiting on Iruka." She's smiling widely.
"Still about the training program at the Academy?" The younger woman smirks.
Shizune gets flustered. "Well, yes, of course! That goes without saying." She tries to hide herself behind the ramen.
Ayame giggles and goes to the back to prepare.
Shizune hadn't really thought about or realized how much she was looking forward to being here, or what an important part of her day it had become. She kept repeating Tsunade and even Ayame's words in her head over and over until it finally hit her. They were sarcastic. But that couldn't be, right? She's just being professional, right? It's for the program.
She mulls it over while absentmindedly eating her ramen. Usually what they'd do is if one of them arrives earlier, they'd start eating and if they finish before the other, they'd order something lighter, and then head off on their own separate ways.
Now, however, she's nearly done with her ramen and Iruka is nowhere in sight. Her brain goes into panic mode.
"Wait, is he thinking the same as Lady Tsunade and Ayame? Does he think I'm being too into this, too clingy? What if he doesn't want to keep meeting up like this and wants me to keep my distance." She buries her face in her hands. "I ruined it before I even realized I had anything to ruin."
She turns around at the sound of every footstep, keeps trying to peek outside to see if he's coming. He's not. And he won't. She sighs and pays for the ramen. She was stupid for get her hopes up for nothing. This isn't the first time it's happened, and she should've actually remembered why she stopped trying or caring.
As she pushes the banners to leave, she bumps into Iruka.
"Shizune!" His face is red, he's sweating, and he's breathing like he ran a hundred marathons. "I made it... I'm sorry." He tries to catch his breath. "Principal… held us up." There's a slight look of dejection in his eyes when he sees her bowl empty and her money on the counter. "Were you… leaving?"
"Ah." She looks back inside where her eyes meet a grinning Ayame, then back to Iruka. "No, no, I just… thought I'd wait for you outside is all. That bowl was basically my lunch since I skipped it, so now I can have dinner, too."
"Oh, that's good to hear."
They walk back inside and take their seats and while waiting for their order, Iruka is trying to catch his breath.
"Did you… run all the way here from the Academy?"
"Meeting ran much longer than we thought. I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer than you already have. Was worried you'd leave."
"Worried?"
"Well, yeah. I wouldn't want to miss out on our meet up for the world." He gives a very tired smile and Shizune's heart skips a bit.
She gives out a yelp when the clacking of bowls being placed on the counter resounds.
The two eat their meal and talk as usual, but Shizune keeps sneaking more glances than usual. Their eyes meet occasionally but she can't figure out if it's for the same reason or if she's just overthinking it and making an awkward situation.
After they part ways, Shizune passes an onsen. She passes it every single day on her way home but she's barely actually used. Maybe it's time to actually pamper herself and relax. Nodding to herself, she walks in.
The next day, Iruka is the first one to arrive at Ichiraku Ramen, but before he can sit down, Ayame stops him.
She has a somewhat apologetic look. "Actually, I don't think Shizune will be coming today."
"She won't? How come?"
A part of Ayame wanted to smile. She can see the look on his face. He's not just asking a question, he's worried about the answer and maybe a little afraid.
"She actually came in this morning, thinking it was already evening. I think she had a fever or something and went home." There is a hint of worry in the young woman's voice, a concern she'd express to any of her regulars. Not just because they give her business, but because she gets close to everyone and genuinely cares for their well being.
"If she's sick, then I should go get her some-" He stops mid-sentence. "I don't actually know where she lives."
Ayame grins. "I know."
-x-
There's a knock on Shizune's door. She groans and very weakly gets off her couch. To her surprise, Iruka is standing outside, once again breathing heavily although not as much as yesterday.
"Iruka, why are you here?" Her voice lightly booms from her stuffed nose.
He holds up a bag of boxed ramen. "I heard you were sick."
She props herself against the opened door, smiling. "You really didn't have to."
"I told you, didn't I? I wouldn't miss our dinners for the world."
She makes way for him to enter. "I will just say, as a medic, I should advise against visiting a sick person."
He excuses himself and enters, making his way for the living room. "And as a teacher, I cannot leave behind someone in trouble."
He places the boxed ramen on the table where Shizune has clearly been bunkered down. Heavy blankets, tissue paper, light snacks. The TV is on, playing a soap opera of some kind, because many people forget the Naruto universe has functioning televisions.
"How did you even get sick? And how often do you medical ninja actually get sick? It seems to be a recurring thing."
Shizune groans. "I went to an onsen yesterday, and I think I stayed in for too long. Woke up today feeling feverish."
"I'd think one of your knowledge wouldn't have made that mistake." He chuckles.
"I knooow. But it was so relaxing." She sighs and sits down on the ground next to him and snuggles with her blanket, desperately trying to hide her smile. "Thank you."
"I got really worried at first, you know. When Ayame said you wouldn't be coming."
"About what?" She hugs her knees through the blanket.
"That you'd had second thoughts and didn't want to meet anymore. That maybe I'd come off as too annoying and chased you away."
She giggles. "Funny, I had the same thought yesterday. That's actually why I started leaving Ichiraku, 'cause I thought you didn't want to do it anymore and I was alone in my feeling." The fever gets her talking. She realizes she might have already babbled too much and turns her head in embarrassment.
"You… feelings?"
"It's nothing, I'm just being overly emotional. This fever is really getting to me, you know?" She turns around and tries to play it off as a joke.
Iruka leans over to kiss her.
Her breath stops and her eyes bulge out from surprise, but she calms herself and places a hand on his cheek, returning the kiss.
When they break off, she starts breathing again, her heart racing. And so is his.
"I… sorry. I actually had a whole thing prepared, I wanted to ask first to see how you feel about everything. I was actually going to do it today, but then found out you were sick and I wasn't sure if it's a good time-"
Shizune cuts him off by leaning to him and kissing him again. "It's absolutely a good time." She smiles warmly.
Iruka's smile grows wider and wider. He takes her hand in his and pulls her closer into a hug. He feels like he should say something, especially when it happened as suddenly as it did. However, the only thing he can is laugh from joy, holding Shizune as closely as he can.
She doesn't mind at all being in his embrace. In fact, she hasn't felt this comfortable in a long time.
"When you get better, let's go out on a date. A date date."
She looks up to him. "That'd be nice."
The two lean in for another kiss. "You know," She gives him a light peck on the lips. "as a doctor," Another peck. "I really have to advise against this."
"Then I guess I'm in my rebellious stage."
The two laugh and hold each other close.
The next day, Iruka is at Shizune's place again. He's wrapped in an extra blanket, box of tissues by his side, and he's sniffing and sneezing like there's no tomorrow.
Shizune hands him his boxed ramen. "I told you."
"You also kept me from leaving" He chuckles as she turns away embarrassed. He reaches under her blanket and holds her hand. "Guess that date will have to wait."
She looks to him with a smile. "I'd say this counts."
FIN
(Get it? Because "fin" is French of "end" and "iruka" means "dolphin" and they have fins. Okay, I'll stop.)