Harmony

Rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands, Iruka hoped to clear away the distorted world and replace it with one that was all in its' right proportions. But as he did so, he was shocked to realize something. His hands, they felt...different.More calloused. Like when he'd been a-

"Iruka-sensei?" A fretful voice called.

Letting his hands fall away, he blinked several times at the sight of a classroom full of children he hadn't seen in years. "Iruka-sensei, are you okay?" It was Sakura asking him the question, her wide forehead creased with well-intentioned worries.

"It...worked," he found himself murmuring to himself as he let his eyes move from face to face, beside Sakura was Ino and beside her was Chouji, Shikamaru, behind them came Kiba, Shino and Hinata; but where was-

"Where's Naruto and Sasuke?"

The children began to whisper amongst themselves and it was during this failed quest to be secretive that Chouji raised a plump hand.

"Yes Chouji?"

Round face set in a deep frown, the boy said, "You sent them into the hall for fighting, remember?"

"Ah..yes," Iruka laughed nervously. "Why don't you tell them they can come back in now if they'll behave?"

Chouji gave a shrug and got up to follow his directions.

Looking at all the young and eager faces, Iruka felt himself soften. He'd missed this. The kids; these brats in particular. This time had been one of his favorites...when these kids had been growing up, the world had been in all but harmony. It had been a nice time in Iruka's life too, he'd been quite happy teaching (even if it was difficult sometimes) and he'd young enough to enjoy being alive; yet old enough to appreciate what he had.

A moment later, one blur of yellow and orange came running into the classroom with two others following at a more sedate pace. Feeling a smile pull at his lips, he decided not to stop it from blooming when he asked, "Are you two going to behave?"

"I will if he will!" Naruto declared without delay.

Sasuke, face morphing into what could only be described as a pout, mumbled, "Hn."

Still wearing a grin, Iruka brought his hands together and told his class, "You know what? I'm tired of theory for today! Why don't we go practice our shuriken and kunai throwing in the training field outside?"

The room erupted with cheers. Smiling at his students as they hurried out of their seats and for the door, Iruka was grateful that he bumped into that odd stranger. This was - it was - this time had been perfect.

Spending the afternoon in the training fields had definitely been a good idea, Iruka would reflect later. The kids got to run around, practice their aim and it gave Iruka the chance to do something he hadn't done the first time - he focused on Naruto. He helped the little boy with his aim so when he challenged Sasuke a couple hours into practicing into a throwing contest he actually did a pretty good job.

They'd come out tied, anyway.

Naruto had been so buoyed by this development he had hugged Iruka at the end of the day of when classes were over. Waving goodbye to all his students, Iruka spent the next hour or so picking up stray kunai and shuriken before leaving to take a walk.

Strolling the quiet streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, he grinned at people who said hello and waved back at women and men alike who smiled at him. It'd been a long time since people recognized him by appearance alone. He hadn't stopped teaching in his time too long ago, but already people weren't say hello as much as they used to; it was as if his status had moved down in the village. Like being retired made you worthless.

It was a bitter sort of thought and Iruka wasn't interested in being so today - not at this moment. Instead of letting himself be bogged down with dark thoughts, he found a high roof and sat down on it to watch the blue sky slowly fade to sunset. When had he last done this? He wondered. When had Iruka just taken an afternoon and let it slip between his fingers in favor of watching the ever-changing world?

A long time, he knew.

And with that conclusion in mind, he swore to himself he'd do this again back home as the world began to disintegrate and reshaped itself with a nighttime version of his own. Standing up in the early evening of his time, Iruka smiled.

He wouldn't mind finding that stranger to ask him how he could take a person back to their favorite time in their lives.

How do you feel about Iruka's chapter? Did you enjoy it? Not enjoy it? Who do you think is up next?

To my reviewers, Karkatsbabe, Dulemina and Sonea Storm Shadow; thanks so much you guys!

Thanks for reading and remember to review! The eleventh reviewer gets a prize one-shot after all!

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