Warnings for whole series: a little language, a smattering of violence, implied past character death, alcohol, and angst.
diary.
pt. 2
by vernajast
kakashi x iruka
Kakashi slid into the desk chair, which was less dusty than everything else for having been pushed underneath. On the plain green computer screen, there were files for 'Tests' and 'Grades,' for 'Lesson Plans' and 'Notes'. The same name appeared on all of the files, as well as the scattered papers littering the surface of the desk: Umino Iruka. There wasn't much in the way of personal information, however, just the boring notes of an academy instructor.
Only one file drew his attention again and again until he finally clicked on it. It was labeled 'Log,' and it opened to reveal a list of dated videos. Kakashi's eye scanned over each, noting that they started roughly three years before, ending nearly a year ago, which would explain the dust if the last entry corresponded with the owner's death.
Kakashi.
I know.
Neither could deny the rush of expectation as Kakashi clicked on the first video and leaned back in the chair when it started playing. A smiling young man with tan skin and bright brown eyes appeared before the camera, seated in the very same chair.
"Um, hi, there. I've never done anything like this before, but I thought-well, Sandaime-sama suggested I try it. Apparently, he thinks I have issues with stress..." The man on-screen made a face that clearly showed his disagreement, and then he smiled cheerfully.
"Anyway, here we go. I'm Umino Iruka, a teacher at the ninja academy. I have a wonderful class of pre-genin. I like to read, and occasionally paint. I...don't really know what else to say here. It's not like anyone is going to watch it, after all, but-" Iruka shrugged and winked, "-I can always re-watch it myself to see how silly I was. Ah well, off to grade some more papers before training with Ko-chan." He bent forward, apparently turning off the camera, and the screen went black.
Five seconds later, the video started over. "Um, hi, there. I've never..."
Kakashi turned off the volume, watching the man's movements, trying to place him. There was a rather unique scar across the bridge of his nose, and he was sure he'd spoken to him before, but...
"Fuck." It was him. The jackass sensei who had tried to tell him how to teach his own genin team. The young man had stood up to both Kakashi and Sarutobi, trying to keep the kids out of the chuunin exams that time. If I'd listened, things might have gone better. It was an understatement, he thought, but Kakashi let it go and, for once, so did Obito.
What happened to him? The apartment hadn't been touched, obviously, since sometimes after the younger man left it. The layer of dust had been undisturbed, only Kakashi's footprints marred its pristine blanket. He assumed it must just be a case of no relatives coming for the stuff, no one bothering or no one finding the time. He wondered if the same would happen if he, himself, died, but the answer was obvious. Kakashi was a high profile asset to the village. He was important. No doubt the Hokage would arrange something. Umino was just a chuunin sensei who didn't warrant the involvement of the Hokage, apparently.
Except, there was something. It had been nearly a year ago, a small funeral. Someone had mentioned not wanting to upset any of his students with a larger affair, and Kakashi had dwelt on it for only a moment, the thought that Naruto would want to know. But Naruto had already gone off with Jiraiya, would be preoccupied with his training and searching for Sasuke. Kakashi hadn't spared the dead man another thought; death was their chosen way of life.
With another sigh, not sure why except he really was very bored before, Kakashi clicked the next video.
"Today, I got a new student. Uchiha Sasuke. He used to be tutored by the Uchiha, and then he was moved elsewhere and tutored by a scholar instead. But Sandaime-sama has decided the boy needs to socialize, and after meeting him, I think I have to agree. He's a dour young man, quiet, but very proper when he does speak. He answers all of my questions correctly, but offers nothing more than the bare answer, and I worry about him hiding so deeply inside himself."
Iruka shuffled some papers, looking at notes on the Uchiha boy.
"Sasuke's going to hate me for it, but I'm placing him next to Naruto tomorrow. They're complete opposites, but Naruto seems to get a reaction out of everyone, so why not Sasuke? And perhaps Sasuke's scholarship will rub off on Naruto along the way. Wish me luck. Hopefully they won't kill each other. The first day, anyway." Brown eyes softened a little and the chuunin smiled before turning off the camera.
As soon as the audio fell silent and the image faded, Kakashi clicked the 'Stop' button to keep it from repeating. You and me both, sensei.
There was a noise from somewhere behind him, and Kakashi disappeared before discerning the source, leaving the chair spinning gently in front of the desk and the humming computer in Umino Iruka's dusty bedroom.
For two weeks, Kakashi avoided that apartment, that building, that side of town. He didn't think about it, just like he didn't think about his scattered team, either, except the fleeting reassurance that they were all at least alive, if separated. Obito was disturbingly quiet.
After three missions back-to-back, his fourth request was blocked by a curt note from Tsunade: "Take a break, Hatake."
If it weren't for her tight, peckish handwriting, he might have mistaken it for a note from his sensei. Take a break, Kakashi. No doubt, the Hokage was well aware of this.
Staring at the note as if uncomprehending, he finally crumpled it up and let it dissolve into ash in the palm of his hand. How?
So it was that he turned in his last report, and then found himself standing empty-handed against the wall of the mission room, lingering when he would normally escape the awe and ridicule of his fellow shinobi as quickly as possible. Eyes that he liked to think missed nothing, even without the Sharingan, scanned the area trying to decide what it was that felt so wrong. He didn't spend much time in the mission room since he no longer had a group of clamoring genin following him around like puppies, and it wasn't as if he didn't expect anything to change ever, but...
Baka. You only notice now that he's gone.
...this isn't like...
It's exactly 'like,' so go ahead.
Kakashi's brow twitched beneath his hitai-ate. With a small forced sigh, he slid his hands into his pockets, invoked as much apathy as he could muster, and crossed back to the desk.
"Hatake-san? Did you have something else to turn in?"
"No, no. I have...a question."
The desk nin looked up at him, a mirror of his own one-eyed gaze respectfully focused on Kakashi's chest, and said nothing.
Kakashi propped his hip against the desk, sliding papers aside to sit haphazardly along the edge. "Umino Iruka."
The chuunin opened his mouth to speak, closed it.
Sighing, as if on cue, Kakashi asked the young man's name, quietly. "Izumo-san, isn't it?"
"Yes." Izumo fidgeted with the corner of one of the papers and licked his lips.
"What happened to Umino-sensei?" He didn't intend the coldness that crept into his voice or the way he seemed to loom over the younger man. He liked to think he was still capable of interacting with his peers when he chose to.
Looking down and straightening a few papers, the chuunin seemed ready to ignore him, but then he turned a cool gaze on the Copy-nin. "You have all of the authorizations. Check his file...if you really want to know. Hatake-san." The desk nin stood and walked away, the stack of papers grasped between white knuckled fingers.
It was a dismissal, and Kakashi found himself impressed despite Izumo's attitude.
He doesn't like me.
Are you surprised?
A little.
Hn. Idiot. He doesn't want to remember. It hurts. You couldn't tell?
Ah.
He frowned behind his mask at the other shinobi in the mission room, each trying to pretend they hadn't heard the entire exchange.
Affecting yet more apathy, and a bit of disdain to keep from being approached, he slouched down to the archives where, as Izumo had predicted, he found he had all of the necessary authorizations to read the younger shinobi's file. "Umino Iruka, ID 011450. Twenty-five years old." He was surprised by the number of missions, though the count was relatively inproportionate for his rank and age. There were mostly D-ranks, with less than one hundred B-ranks and a smattering of As.
Parents died that night. Lives alone. Lived alone. Someone cleaned out his fridge and pantry, left everything else. Perhaps Sakura. Went missing on a mission, presumed killed in action- Oh, he remembered something else, now: the sharp feel of a new name beneath his fingertips as he traced out old comrades on the memorial stone. Hadn't he cut his finger on the corner of the first symbol?
Kakashi closed the file and stuck it under his arm. No one would mind if he borrowed it for a bit to supplement his other reading materials, and if they did, he didn't care. Flicking his fingers through the handsigns, he appeared in a puff of smoke and fragrant green leaves in his own living room at the center of the large seal he knew was painted beneath his carpet. Immediately stepping out the front door, he smirked behind the dark fabric of his mask and started walking toward Iruka's fascinating apartment. The frivolous use of chakra to transport him home had also brought him halfway in a single jump.
He was entertaining the thought of following his Hokage's orders and taking a break by watching a few more of the sensei's videos to satisfy Obito's sniping commentary and his own curiosity.
That file doesn't belong to you, bastard. So now you're stealing, too?
I'm a shinobi.
You're just making up excuses.
TBC