Come To My Paradise: A KakashixIruka Story: Part Four – The Closer We Come, The Further We Get++
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and Iruka all just stared at the picture who Iruka claims is his ex-girlfriend, Helena Miyazaki. Kakashi felt a little bit sad...and hurt. "What am I thinking? Helena...Helena is just Iruka's ex-girlfriend. Why do I feel this way? I feel sad, hurt...and envious. But why?" Kakashi thought, as he glanced at Iruka. "So, Iruka-sensei, why would there be a picture of her in an old place like this?" said Naruto. "Well, I don't know...but it must have been brought in here not long ago, even though no one lives here...But take a look at the other pictures. They're ripped, and they have dust covered on them. And this picture of Helena...only has a little bit of dust on it, and it's in better condition." Iruka stated. But Kakashi couldn't stand looking at the picture. "Alright, this has nothing do with our mission. We should move on and look around somewhere else." He said. Iruka looked at Kakashi. "But Kakashi-sensei--" "Look, this is getting us nowhere! Our mission was to come here and find Kaoru Natsuma, right? Not to keep staring at this disgusting picture of your ex-girlfriend!!" Kakashi couldn't believe he just said that. Everyone just stared at him, but Iruka gave him the most angriest look of all. Kakashi wanted to apologize...but he couldn't say anything. He just walked outside and sat down near the river.
Inside, Iruka and the others were still shocked. Normally, Kakashi is calm and happy, but just then, he couldn't even say sorry. Iruka wasn't sure what to do. "Um...Iruka-sensei...do you think that Kakashi-sensei went a little overboard?" Sakura asked, trying to cheer Iruka up. "Well no, because he's right...we are on a mission...we shouldn't be wasting time, even if this is a picture of Helena. And who knows what those ninja who kidnapped Kaoru are going to do to her." Iruka replied, looking at the ground. "You know, maybe I should go and talk to Kakashi...without him, we can't complete the mission, right?" So while Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura waited inside, Iruka went outside to find Kakashi.
It was getting late. Iruka could already see that the sun was going down. He noticed Kakashi looking up at the sky near the river. Iruka walked up to Kakashi, but Kakashi didn't say anything. He acted as if Iruka wasn't even next to him. Iruka sat down next to Kakashi. He wasn't sure what to say, but he knew that he had to talk to him, otherwise they wouldn't be able to complete the mission, and they could get killed by ninja. "Kakashi...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. You were right...we should be concentrating on the mission, not things about my past life. And I'm sorry." Iruka said, wondering what Kakashi was going to say to him, or just ignore him. Kakashi looked at the ground. "Well I just want to know one thing...who is Helena Miyazaki?" he asked. "Well, Helena is...a very nice and beautiful woman. I met her in Neodymium when I was sixteen. One day, my team and I were on a mission and we decided to go to a restaurant for dinner. I met Helena there, and we had a little chat about life, and we just ended up together after that. But then she asked me to stay with her in Neodymium. I thought about it, but I had to say no. I couldn't stay there...I had to stay in Konoha. Because I wanted to continue teaching my students...and that was the last time I saw her. When I said goodbye to her. I'm not sure what happened to her since then..." Iruka explained. Kakashi understood now. "So...have you thought about her lately? I mean...do you still love her?" "Well I do think about her sometimes...but I don't think I love her, still. She wants to stay in Neodymium, but I want to stay in Konoha, so we would never see each other. And those two places are very far away from each other." Said Iruka. Kakashi sighed. He was sort of happy now that Iruka had explained everything to him. "Ok, I do forgive you. But now I realize it was my fault...I was the one who started this argument by going off about the picture." Kakashi said. "No, no it's okay. It wasn't your fault." Iruka replied with a smile. He got up and helped Kakashi up, too. Kakashi was feeling a lot better, and he was happy that him and Iruka were a bit closer. But Kakashi didn't feel right. He felt so stupid and pathetic, getting worked up about a girl who Iruka doesn't even see anymore. Kakashi knew that he was changing...he knew that he'd suddenly wanted someone in his life...someone to love.
Kakashi and Iruka walked back to the cottage and saw Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. They didn't say anything, but from the smile on Iruka's face, they knew that Kakashi and Iruka had finally sorted things out. "Hey, everyone...it's getting kinda late, so...why don't we stay the night at the Neodymium Hotel? They have really nice food there and everything." Iruka suggested with a smile. Everyone agreed and walked together to the hotel.
When they got there, the group got a room together. It was a white room with tables, chairs, a TV and everything else. Kakashi laid down on his bed, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV. "Err…what's this?" Iruka asked, looking at the TV and seeing two people kissing. Kakashi laughed. "I couldn't resist..." It was already 8:30 at night. The full moon was out, and shining brightly over the water. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were so tired from fighting ninja before; they just got on their beds and fell asleep. Kakashi decided to turn the TV and the lights off and let the Genin get their rest.
Meanwhile, Iruka was sitting on a white chair outside, just looking up at the moon. He sighed. "Helena...I know I will find you again one day...just please, wait for me." Iruka thought in his thoughts of Helena. He still did care about this Helena. He tried to take his mind off her, but after he saw that picture, he couldn't. Suddenly, Iruka heard someone from behind him. "Don't scare me like that, Kakashi." Iruka joked. Kakashi sat down on the chair next to Iruka. "So...what are you doing out here?" Kakashi asked. "Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are all asleep. I didn't want to wake them, you know..." Iruka replied. Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Yeah, me too. But that Naruto could probably sleep through a stampede..." Iruka laughed a little, and looked at Kakashi. Kakashi looked at him, too. They were looking deep into each other's eyes. "Uhm...Iruka..." said Kakashi. "Yeah?" "Well, uhh...I was wondering...we're still friends, right?" Iruka blushed. "Yes, of course we are, Kakashi, why wouldn't we be friends?" Kakashi looked at the ground and Iruka wondered if he was okay. "Well...about that argument today...you gave me a real angry look that made me feel...like a loser." Kakashi explained. "What? Kakashi, I told you that it's okay, now. It was my fault...I'm sorry that I gave you an angry look...but it's nothing to worry about. We'll always be friends. Because you know...I'm glad I met someone like you. If I hadn't, well...I'd be missing out on a lot of good things." Iruka replied, smiling at Kakashi. Kakashi smiled, too. He couldn't believe Iruka actually said that. "Well, umm...I have something to confess, Iruka..." Kakashi said, blushing. Iruka wondered what Kakashi was going to say next...
++Part Four End++