Author's Notes: The chapter three, now slowly getting back to what I like writing the most… XD Hope you all like it, and in any case, don't forget to review. ;)

Nothing smart to say now, except thanks to all who reviewed again.

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Third Chapter

Kisame woke up to see another ceiling he wasn't quite used to. At least he remembered coming to the room, but it had been dark and he hadn't wasted time to stare at the ceiling once he got to bed. The wound Naruto had given him still ached despite Tsunade's ministrations and his own rapid healing rate. This time the shark nin allowed himself to lie down a bit longer and moved his arms behind his head, contemplating the situation. The day before yesterday – an S-class missing-nin in the Akatsuki. Today – a respectable Leaf Jounin.

That made him smile crookedly. He would see how easy that really was today. Had Tsunade already notified the village of Kisame's situation, or would some dutiful ninja jump at him when he went out? He wondered a bit what would happen if someone decided to attack him. Would the ANBU guards following him step in or would he be able to handle it himself? …Probably not. Tsunade wouldn't like the newly accepted ex-criminal getting into a fight, no matter how Kisame would have preferred to kick the arse of whoever tried to take him on himself.

The newest Leaf ninja heard a bird singing outside. That amused him for some reason. It was all so…pretty. Sighing slightly he decided to get up and dropped his feet on the floor. He slowly got dressed in his brand new Leaf uniform. Frowning a bit, he rolled his shoulders. The navy blue shirt wasn't exactly his size…he knew he was bigger than they usually come, but the Leaf Village should have one uniform in his size, right? He wondered if this was some kind of a little punishment from Tsunade. In any case, he would go and order an outfit more to his liking from a tailor as soon as he got his first salary.

He wandered around the little apartment the Hokage had given him. The bedroom, a small living room combined with a kitchen corner, and a toilet with a shower. The place was also furnished in a sensible, dull fashion. Nothing extravagant, but he was okay with it. He wasn't much of an indoors person, and he suspected he'd spend most of his time on missions as soon as the lady Hokage got the papers, and the counsel, in order.

Finally, stomach growling, he opened the fridge to find – nothing. He smiled slightly and shut the door. Now he noticed a wallet near the sink. Inside he found enough ryous to buy himself groceries and hopefully the new outfit, too.

Breakfast out it was, then.

He pulled on the Jounin vest and the forehead protector, too, no reason to let them forget that he was part of the village now, and stepped outside. He locked the door with the key they had given him last night. As he turned, one of the ANBUs he had known to be watching, appeared in front of him.

"Perhaps you had better stay in your quarters until the village is better informed of your situation," said a voice with a practised lack of emotion from behind the animal mask.

Kisame gave the man, about a head shorter than him, a little fanged smile. He bet the guy was happy of the mask. "I'm sorry, but I have nothing to eat, and convalescing makes me hungry." There was a silence, and the ANBU didn't move.

"If you don't want me to go, maybe you will run the errand for me. I think I could find a pen to write a shopping list," Kisame offered, still grinning. He judged that it would be almost as fun to stay home, if he got the ANBU to go shopping for him.

The man seemed to find the idea as embarrassing as Kisame found it funny. He stepped aside and muttered: "Please do not cause trouble."

"I wouldn't dream of it," the shark nin answered with just enough sincerity, and nodded at the vanishing ANBU.

He strode out to find a place that would serve breakfast, noting that there were probably around three ANBUs following him. He felt oddly elated despite that, and the fact he wouldn't probably see a decent fight in a long time. He had had to develop a way to answer to scorn and distrust, and his way had been the smile, and hopefully inspiring a certain fearful respect. As long as he got their respect in some way, be it battle prowess or just looking scary, he was happy. He didn't want to fool himself by thinking that this would be great new start, but maybe getting rid of the Akatsuki had perked him up.

He had to stifle a laugh as he noticed that the weather was near perfect and the air smelled nice. No, he still wasn't going to believe his life would be great from now on. He still wore the Akatsuki's ring on his left ring finger, and they'd come for it…he was still going to die.

The day was nearing noon, and he soon got tired of trying to pick a restaurant and just walked into a ramen stand that was out in the open by a small village square. He sat on one of the stools, waiting for the owner's reaction with curiosity. It could be anything from trying to attack him, if the man was a former ninja, or the usual quiet caution he encountered when people didn't know him.

"Welcome!" said the man cheerily as he turned around. Actually seeing his customer made his eyebrows rise, but he rebounded with unusual success. "What can I get you?" he asked a bit more composedly, but he was definitely someone who didn't recognise him, and treated him more normal than most.

Kisame eyed the menu on the wall. "A pork ramen, please."

The man complied swiftly and started to prepare the dish. He moved around with his back at Kisame, and after a while, said a bit carefully: "I haven't seen you around before."

"I am new to the service," the shark nin grinned.

"You don't look like you just graduated from the academy," the owner smiled and placed the steaming bowl in front of him.

"I'm originally from another village," Kisame replied amiably and cracked himself a pair of chopsticks. The man didn't say anything more, and Kisame focused on his meal.

Upon leaving, he left a nice tip, for he could appreciate courtesy when he actually came across it. He couldn't really afford this kind of behaviour for very long with this one payment, though, but he still had enough for the new outfit. So now he started looking for a tailor. As it was early afternoon, most people were at work and the streets of Leaf Village quite vacant. That suited him just fine, as it probably did the ANBUs. No-one for him to cause trouble with.

Kisame knew enough of the Leaf's town plan not to get lost, but finding a tailor was even more difficult than a restaurant that he'd like. Finally he spotted a place, and stepped in with a little tingling of the bells on the door. This merchant wasn't as agreeable as the owner of the ramen stand, but Kisame managed to order his outfit. Tsunade seemed to have been overly gloomy, though, for the normal villagers didn't seem to know anything about him. The ninja might be a different case, but if he could conduct his usual business this easily, some grumpy shinobi were a small annoyance. And he wouldn't even mind a fight or two, if he could get away with it.

Getting out of the tailor's, he again felt the ANBU eyes on his back. For a moment, he missed his Samehada that was probably somewhere being studied. That thought made him smile. They must be having an interesting time with moving the weapon, as it would tear the hands of anyone but him. But if they felt safer not giving the weapon to him just yet, he could live with it.

Instead of going to shop for things to fill his fridge with right away, he pondered about visiting the hot springs Leaf was famous for. He had a liking to baths of all kinds, and that was something he had sort of wanted to try the last time he was in Leaf, too. He felt like washing himself after the fight and the hospital, so he decided to get the groceries and then head to the spa. He had nothing more sensible to do right now, anyways.

In the weekday afternoon most would still be working, and he wouldn't be disturbed. He would have liked to take the opportunity to have a quiet look at the bathing men, a chance he usually shamelessly exploited when having the chance to visit a spa, but he figured he could go now to keep Tsunade happy. And the thought of the ANBUs peeping at the bath amused him enough.

--

Umino Iruka was currently rather depressed, and his class seemed to have noticed this. The children stayed quiet and at least feigned interest in the subject. Iruka had to smile at this, and let the class out a bit earlier than usual. Naruto's confinement made him feel sad, and though he appreciated the Hokage for standing up for the boy, it didn't seem to be enough anymore. He knew most of what had happened, including the death of one of his old pupils, as he also worked as a secretary in the Hokage tower every now and then. And Tsunade had been very understanding with Iruka, because he was one of Naruto's closest friends.

As his habit was, he decided to use the two-lesson gap of free time he had in his curriculum to go to the hot springs. He could use the soothing effect of the warm water. He liked it a lot there, but he just couldn't bring himself to go when there would be people. Then he couldn't avoid looking at the other men, and he felt dirty, like he was insulting them if he looked at them like that and they didn't even know.

He was shocked to see another Leaf uniform like his in the men's locker room, and stopped at the door. No-one had ever been here at this time before! And why now, of all the times? He had wanted to try and relax in peace… He couldn't turn back, though, for he feared that the receptionist might get suspicious, and he had paid for it…and he would feel so stupid.

Swallowing hard, he pulled off his clothes and folded them neatly on the bench. He draped himself in a towel and reached a hand up to his pony-tail…but then decided to keep his hair up. He'd go in, so as not to feel like an idiot, but he still didn't want to spend the time washing his hair would take.

He gathered his courage and stepped outside, to where the spring was. He hoped the blush on his cheeks would be mistaken to be caused by the warmth. He padded along to the edge of the pool, not looking at the other man in the water. Thank God the spring was so big! He put the towel away and slinked in as far away from the other as he could without looking suspicious. Only now he allowed himself to glance at the other man.

--

Kisame heard someone coming and turned his head in surprise. He wouldn't have thought someone would come, but he didn't really care that much in the end. Grinning slightly, he only hoped that the guy would be good looking.

He wasn't disappointed, as a young, lean male walked in and came closer. Kisame thought his pony-tail was rather girly, situated that high. And he stared at his toes like a shy little maid. The shark nin made no effort to hide his scrutiny, but the brown-haired one didn't even notice as he avoided looking at him so determinedly. Kisame's smile didn't fade.

As the young man slid into the bath, Kisame checked his grin somewhat, but didn't remove his eyes from the trained figure. He was a ninja judging by his fitness, and the scar on his nose spoke for that, too. Kisame decided he rather liked the scar. By now, he wasn't really expecting the man's reaction when he finally lifted his gaze enough to see him.

The man sprang up with a splash, his eyes wide. "You're…Hoshigaki Kisame!" he gasped and his hand moved as if trying to grab a kunai where his pouch wasn't anymore.

Kisame appreciated the view, and didn't move. He didn't get the feeling this little guy would be a threat to him, especially without weapons of any kind. "Yes, that's me," he replied levelly.

"You…! You…killed my pupil! And…Naruto…!" the man stuttered and retreated back to the ground. His fighting stance wasn't that bad.

Kisame's smile faded, but he still didn't move. "…Yes. I suppose. I do not know how much you know of the situation, but…" He was cut off by the other man.

"I have read the reports!" he said in a strangled note.

"Then you know I was accepted into the ranks of Leaf ninja."

The man didn't reply and stood there, looking torn. That is when one of the ANBUs decided to appear.

The young man flinched and moved to cover himself, which almost caused Kisame to break a smile again. The ANBU looked at the two of them and spoke to Iruka.

"Umino-san, please calm down. It is as he says, and we are to keep fights like this from happening." He didn't sound that happy, though.

The man didn't answer, but his lips twitched as if he had wanted to say something. He proved to be a very reasonable person, though, as he breathed in and out a couple of times. "…I…see."

The ANBU nodded and apparently addressed the air. "Please refrain from fighting. …Thank you." He used the technique they seemed so fond on, and disappeared again.

The brown-haired man was left there standing awkwardly, still covering himself with his hands.

Kisame looked at him in silence.

He started blushing rather badly, but didn't move for the door. Then, with a very determined look, he removed his hands and walked back into the bath, sitting with a little splash. His face wasn't getting any paler.

"…I figured those ANBUs were into peeping," Kisame said mildly after a while of heavy silence. The young ninja's brows jumped up and into a frown again. He still glared at the water as if his life depended on it.

It was getting a bit pressuring, even to Kisame, and he just couldn't let a teasing chance like this pass him. He tried again.

"Umino-san, is it?" He was rewarded with a cold glance only. "…I'm sorry for Naruto." He was sort of surprised that there was yet another person here that cared for the Jinchuuriki.

Now the man raised his eyes and stared at him. "Why would you say that?" he said, and Kisame didn't feel comfortable with that cold look any more.

Slightly annoyed, he said: "Look, if you read the reports, you should know that I saved his life. And that I left the Akatsuki. That should have some reason behind it, yes?"

Now the young man looked slightly surprised. He averted his eyes for a moment, and then looked back in an evaluating way. Kisame looked back, and noticed when his gaze slipped lower and the blush returned as he shut his eyes. That little smile he couldn't suppress.

"…I'm Umino Iruka." the man said composedly after a while.

"Nice to meet you, then. You seem like a very sensible man." Kisame smiled. That name amused him enough alone. This had been fun, but he assessed that he had spent enough time soaking in the springs. With a concealed mischievous grin he got up and to his satisfaction, Iruka speedily looked away again. Hmm.

"See you again, Umino-san," Kisame said politely as he draped the white towel on his waist and returned to the locker rooms. The man didn't answer, but Kisame was happy enough that he seemed to have gotten over the impulse of attacking him.

As he walked home, his mind turned to Naruto again. Iruka had interrupted his dwelling on the blonde's fate, but this revelation that he was Naruto's former teacher –had to be if he had taught the Uchiha brat, too- had brought it all back to him.

His odd good mood couldn't last through that, and by the time he was back at the little apartment, he was hoping for a mission that would let him kill some people to vent his depression. He wondered absent-mindedly if the Leaf ninja were advised against such thoughts, namely, enjoying killing, but he concluded that at least some of them ended up liking it anyway.

He sent the rest of his day hoping for a call from Tsunade, as that might let him think of something else. And by six o'clock, a summons came. He managed to forget Naruto, whom he pictured sitting in a forbidding cell all alone and empty-eyed like he was the last time he saw him, but when he was lying in his bed again, he returned. The thought that he'd put him in the trouble he was nibbled at his consciousness. And…other things.

Naruto had grown as he was around 15, now, but he still seemed so small. And cute. And he was still wearing orange, maybe a sign of naiveté? Kisame clenched his eyes shut. It wasn't such a good idea to keep thinking about him. The kid probably hated him now…he had killed his best friend, even if it was to save him. Would he even see that?

In the silence of his apartment, as he tried to rid himself of the thoughts of Naruto, the image of the long-haired young man he had met today unexpectedly swam up. Umino…Iruka.

Maybe the name could be an omen.

Kisame revealed his teeth in the dark. Yes. That boy could at least use some help to get out of the closet.

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Author's Notes: I like Iruka. Oh yes, I do. He's so cute...and I love it when a character is so sensible. X) And if there happens to be someone who doesn't know yet, Iruka means "dolphin"….just like Kisame is "demon shark". Hehehe…it's so perfect, isn't it? X3

Now, next chapter will bring back Naruto… I'm awaiting it with dread. o.o It might last a bit long because I have things to do and I need to work out the storyline for real now.