Hi everyone! I've just been struck with writing this ISC story suddenly. This one has less funny bits in it, more like a slice of life - what the spouses of Ino-Shika-Cho gotta do sometimes. Iruka is included because I adore him. Set in the same universe as The Dolphin Project. Unbeta'd and unedited. Enjoy!
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Story 2: Hopefully He (Tax) Returns
Iruka and his students sat in the middle of the Academy's largest classroom, each student reading a scroll labelled with distinct crests. On this day, Iruka's students were not pre-genin nor were they here for jounin remedial classes. The words "Clan Life" were circled on the roll-in whiteboard with multiple bubbles extending from it like a supernova.
Or, like a web. A web in which Sai was stuck in, the Yamanaka crested scroll became a spider heavy in his hands.
"Is this really necessary?" Karui flung her hands in the air, "I've been looking at meal receipts for the last hour!"
Temari tutted, "I'm sure no one enjoys paperwork, but you don't see Sai and I complaining."
Iruka could tell that the Suna kunoichi was nearing the end of her wits too. They had been categorizing the year's expenses for an hour now. Before that, the day had been spent adding up all mission pay from all members of each respective clan. And the day before that, they had spent trying to make sense of the fiscal reviews of all the small businesses Ino-Shika-Cho had come up with over the years. They were well overdue for a break, if not for the looming timeline. Still, Iruka didn't want to overwork the two pregnant kunoichi.
"Chouji and the rest shouldn't have left this till last minute. It's too late to even hire an accountant from the city to sort this mess out." Karui gestured all around her, "Iruka-sensei, let's just take the fall. Even with your help, we wouldn't be able to get through all calculations needed for the Clan's tax return in time."
"Karui-san, the Hokage has already extended the deadline this year. We need to finish the taxes before tomorrow noon so that they can be sent to the daimyo's court for further processing." the pony-tailed man placated, "We're almost there, just one more section after this one and we can all go home!"
The woman huffed, her brown cheeks mottling, "I am about to pop. I do not want to spend the days leading up to my delivery nursing carpal tunnel from doing paperwork that should have been done months ago, should have been done by each family in the clan and collected much earlier. And I certainly don't want to do any of this while my husband and his team have decided to fucking take a mission instead of being here!"
The words Chouji may miss the birth go unsaid. Iruka paused at her outburst. The Kumo kunoichi had moved to Konoha just a year prior and a week later she was married and flung into the throes of Konoha clan life. A good teacher knows when to push, but also when to stop. They all needed a break and he was about to voice so if not for Temari.
"They would not have taken the mission if it were not necessary. Ino -" Temari points a finger at the sleeping baby slung across Sai's chest, "She wouldn't have left her newborn if she didn't have to."
From where she is sitting, the blond turns to face her body fully in Karui's direction, "And you bring shame to the Akimichi's, shame to your husband for not honouring their duties as Konoha's shinobi."
Iruka can see it all in Temari's fine lines around her eyes that have settled far too early for her age. He can see it all. The fierceness of Suna's famed windstorms dance in the emerald orbs, there is no glitter, no reflection of sand beneath the sun. Her eyes are a forest deity, angered by the clouds that dare form ill-timed storms in her presence.
For her part, Karui looks at the woman who is essentially her sister-in-law like she has become nothing more than a burnt char left from lightning striking wood, "You want to repeat that, Suna?"
Temari opens her mouth, no doubt to deliver another lashing when Iruka finally speaks.
"Karui-san, I understand it must be very difficult without Chouji and with the sheer amount of work we must cram, but please understand that the Hokage would not have sent Chouji, Ino, and Shikamaru out now if they were not the only team suited for their mission." He turns to the Suna woman. "And Temari-san, I am glad you understand the situation we are in, but that is no way to talk to your fellow shinobi."
Both women have the sense to look admonished and Iruka decides that they must break now or nothing will get done. He sends everyone off for the next two hours but only after they promise to come back in exactly two hours or there will be hell to pay. Quite literally if they are late with the tax return. A crash course in Konoha accounting is as much as Iruka could give before they began. Curse Shikamaru and his sincere requests for good ole Iruka-sensei to help Team Ten's spouses out with accounting. Iruka was a sucker for sincerity. He sighed, he wasn't even getting paid for this, but there was no one else Shikamaru could ask. He wasn't close to the other administrative ninja in the Hokage's tower and even if he was, most did not have the security clearance to look at Clan income. If only Chouza, being jounin commander, wasn't busy with the processing of all the jounin tax forms, they would be done by now.
Returning to the pile in front of him, Iruka took a deep breath and attacked the calculator with gusto. He would see to the end of this. There is a noise, more like a whimper than a cry that pulls Iruka's attention away from the mess of numbers below him. Sai apparently did not get the memo and is filling another form while Inojin squirms in the baby carrier.
"Sai, why don't you take a breather too? Get some food in you and the baby. I can handle things for a bit." Iruka prods.
"Inojin has eaten and I can do without till later. I do not know why he is fussy. Is he bothering you?" Sai doesn't even wait for Iruka's response before he forms his free hand into a seal and boops his baby on the forehead. And it would be a cute gesture if they weren't shinobi and if Inojin hadn't suddenly fallen very silent and very still.
"Did… Did you just genjutsu your baby?!" Iruka wants to scream because he tried. He really really tried. How many books did he get Sai about baby-rearing? A lot, but clearly none of them explicitly wrote: Do not genjutsu your baby. Hell, do not whatever-jutsu your baby! It is painfully common sense, the rarest kind of sense in this village apparently.
"Yes, it is most effective when he cries." Sai looks up at the other man now, notices the way Iruka's eyebrows pinch together, his lips in a thin line. He looks like he's constipated or about to nut, but he doesn't say that. Instead he asks, "Is that… not alright? I made the genjustu educational, he's learning traditional songs from Fire Country."
Iruka still wants to scream, but Sai looks as lost as the first day he met him and Iruka feels his anger crumble. He walks over to the new father's desk and releases the genjutsu. Inojin's eyes open and close slowly, like he's coming out of a nice dream. He tries to say something but it comes out as a spit bubble instead. Iruka wipes the baby's mouth with his sleeve.
He runs a list of possible babysitters in town and comes up with an acceptable two. He would have chosen Sakura, but her duty is with the hospital tonight. Hinata and Shino were on a diplomatic mission. Ko and Zumo were on guard duty. He frowns, there's only two viable choices, both of which are simultaneously the most reliable and most destructive people he knows. Iruka tries to think which would be better, but it's a moot point.
"Bring Inojin to Naruto or Kakashi-sama. And then come back and we'll work on these forms together." Iruka pauses like he's forgotten something, "And make sure you never genjutsu Inojin again."
Sai finds Naruto with Kakashi-taichou in the Hokage's residence. Both of them are trying to see who Sarada will crawl to. They are both idiots, Sai knows this for sure because a three month old can't crawl yet. They should have read the baby-care books Iruka-sensei gave him. He plops Inojin beside Sarada and while Naruto looks ecstatic that there's a new baby to play with, Kakashi-taichou looks rather terrified at the blonde baby when the baby blows a spit bubble at him.
Their Hokage scoops up the world's tiniest Uchiha against his chest and murmurs something that sounds suspiciously like 'germy children' against her crown. Sai doesn't know if he should be offended. On one hand, Kakashi-taicho is not wrong. Children are germy. On the other hand, he feels like he should be offended. Then he remembers the paperwork. With a jaunty wave and a promise to come back later, he jutsu's back to the Academy.
Iruka believes deeply in karma before anything else in the world. He's done a lot of good and a lot of good has been given to him in this life. The break he gave the three half-of-the-spouses has bequeathed him with great karma because Karui and Temari come back with renewed gusto and somehow, they finish all the paperwork just as the day breaks.
It is a cheesy moment, but Iruka takes them to the roof of the Academy where he would sometimes watch the sunrise with Team Ten before they were Team Ten. When they were all still chubby cheeked children whose fathers made them start practising their clan jutsu before daylight.
Chouji loves watching the sun rise Karui comments, her hand on her swollen belly and her eyes far, far away. Temari agrees and laments that her own husband finds waking up early too troublesome. It wins her a chuckle from the other woman and Temari holds Karui's hand and gives it a squeeze. She doesn't tell her that he'll be back in time, but Karui understands.
Since the first time he's seen the sun rise, Sai has enjoyed it. The warm light basks him in a blanket of warmth, a sharp contrast from the shadows he so often resides in. It reminds him of the fruits of endurance, of out-living, of promises for a future that he couldn't even imagine back when he was in Root. The sun rise reminds him of Naruto, then Ino, and now, Inojin - his pale gold hair the center of the sun rise. It was the same impossibly bright colour.
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A/N: Everyone in the Yamanaka clan is busy which is why Sai has Inojin with in him in the first place haha. Idk why but the image of Sai using "educational" genjutsu cracks me up! Also Kakashi being precious with Sarada is always fun and CUTE. So, so cute.
The next story will be darker. It will focus on the mission Team Ten is on during this chapter and will be angsty.