A/N: Thank you to all the readers who read, reviewed and favorite/alerted this story! I really appreciate it! This is the last chapter. Hope you enjoy!^
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…
Chapter 2
"We'll stop here for the night." Kakashi said. "Obito, you take care of the kid, while Rin and I set the perimeter."
"Hey! You're not the boss of me!"
"Whatever, idiot." Kakashi waved and turned to Iruka. "Behave." He said with a stern eye. He didn't like kids from the start, even though he's a kid himself; he is much like an adult.
Iruka frowned. The way the silver-haired guy said it, was kind of annoying. He didn't like the way he said it like he won't behave as he do. His parents always told him that he's a nice and kind boy. Everyone else said so too…even the hokage! Iruka may be a kid but he knows what's this and that. If the silver ninja said to behave '…well…I'll behave…' he thought. 'I'll show you…'
Iruka's frown turned to an innocent smile, which made Kakashi stare a bit suspiciously to the other.
"I will!" the boy beamed. Kakashi ignored the other part of his mind. "Good"
As soon as Kakashi said it, Iruka smirked, his so called trademark smirk that no one else except his parents and the third hokage knew about. Kakashi was a bit taken aback from the action but stilled himself and not back down. He narrowed his black eyes to the boy when Iruka walked to where he was.
"What?"
Iruka's nose crinkled and before Kakashi could say something, he felt a pain jolting up from his foot. He grimaced a little for the sudden action the kid did. Apparently, Iruka stomped his foot to the other. The boy sure is strong for his age! Not like they're not a bunch of kids in the first place.
"You…" Kakashi's eyes turned to slits. "I could kill you…"
Iruka huffed and crossed his arms. "Well, I'm not scared of you! And you can't kill me because you'll be punished. My dad knows the hokage and mom said it's bad to threaten innocent people."
"You're not innocent."
"Well, I'm a young child barely your age that's innocent enough because I'm still a citizen of Konoha and you're a ninja!" Iruka retorts.
Obito tried to stifle his laughter, building up his stomach. Seeing Kakashi being intimidated, corrected or being lectured by a young kid is funny! The look the silver-haired has been comical! Iruka has the courage to talk back and stomp other's feet even if said feet belongs to nins, without being frightened.
"…great…" Kakashi muttered, "Just great…"
OoOoOoO
"So, you're parents are ninjas too?" Obito asked after finishing the tent they would be sleeping in.
"Yep!" Iruka beamed. "And when I grow up, I'll be just as strong as they are!" he paused. "What about you Obito-san?"
Obito grinned. "I will become hokage someday!" this boy's personality is something. He seems to keep on changing moods depending in the situation. Maybe that's why Kakashi seems to be affected, as well as him and Rin. If Kakashi lessen his whole 'I-can-do-this-alone-thing' in his attitude, they would be all friendly to each otherrr-wait! Scratch that…that would be gross! Obito thought.
"You should sleep for tonight." Kakashi's voice suddenly chimed in to their conversation. Obito gave a startled yelp.
"SHEESH! Hatake! STOP popping out of nowhere! I almost got a heart attack!"
"Well, as a ninja, who should be stealthy, unpredictable, and unnoticeable, I should be. You have to learn it, idiot. Now rest." He said as he jumped up the tree and take guard.
"Kakashi-kun said he'll take the night guard for tonight." Rin explained to Iruka when the boy gazes up confusedly. "Oh." Iruka nodded. They all bid goodnight and went to sleep.
OoOoOoO
"Give back my goggles!" Obito shouts as he runs around while flailing his arms in the air. His goggles were held up by a little ponytailed kid running around the camp they made. There's still two days before they get back.
"Catch me if you can!" Iruka exclaimed while running. Obito tried to catch up with the boy but was failing. The kid runs so fast!
"Obito! Stop running around!"
"BUT MY GOGGLES!"
Kakashi shook his head. They're so loud! He was about to get out of the scene and get as far away, as possible, when something heavy talked him. When he looked behind, a certain Uchiha was there.
"UCHIHA! Get off me!"
"Well, you should have not blocked my way, Hatake!"
"I was going to, but you tackled me!"
"Na-uh! I didn't! Iruka pushed me!
Kakashi pushed the Uchiha but for some reason, the other couldn't get away. "Get off!"
"I can't! I'm stuck!"
"What's going on-here?" Rin screeched. The two boys gave a confused glance at their team mate who was all red. Obito was stuck at Kakashi's behind. When they noticed their positions, the two desperately tried to get unstuck.
"How did this happen?"
"Don't ask me! You're the one who got yourself here!"
"I can't believe you two are…" Rin didn't finish her sentence and ran away.
"RIN! NO! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"
"Hahahaha!" Iruka laughed.
"How did you do this?"
"I glued you two together! Don't worry it will come off as soon as you get yourselves in water."
OoOoOoO
One day left…
"Where are my things?" Rin yelled out.
Obito and Iruka shook their heads. The girl turned to Kakashi next.
"It's not me." The silver-haired stated. The girl really wished his prince didn't do it. She looked to everyone's tent and cannot believe what she discovered. She knew her team mates wouldn't do it. But even so, she liked to irk them sometimes. Rin knew Iruka played these tricks but she may as well play with him.
"Kakashi-kun…I didn't know you liked these things…"
"WHAT?" Kakashi shouted. "WHO DID THIS?" Kakashi turned to Obito who quickly shook his head. Iruka smiles innocently.
'Suspicious…' Kakashi narrowed his eyes…
'Tomorrow, all of this will end…' he thought as he sighed. Being a temporary leader sure is troublesome.
OoOoOoO
"This is really tiresome! I'm really beat! Kid's are really not my job!" Obito half yelled half whispered in the middle of the night. Iruka was now asleep after the hard days gone by. Who knew this kid was a troublemaker?
"Whose fault is it from the first place?" Kakashi said in his bored tone. But everyone can see that he's really tired as they were.
"Why is it my fault? It's your fault! You annoyed him! Look what it got us!" Obito blamed.
"Guys, we should just get this on and get home, so that this will all, be over!" Rin tried to be considerate but they can also see the suppressed tiredness from her usual calm.
"This is really troublesome…"
"Say that to yourself..."
Rin sighed.
OoOoOoO
"FINALLY!" Obito exclaimed putting down Iruka as soon as they landed to the ground after a long jumping-the-branch-with-a-kid-on-your-back. Since the brunet, little pony-tailed boy hadn't enrolled or learnt how to jump on branches yet, they decided to carry the said little boy on their way home to speed up.
OoO
Deciding on who's the one who'll carry Iruka all the way home, was a bit difficult since no one seems to like that duty. That's why a match had been decided to carry out which was suggested by none other than Iruka himself. The match was by means, rock-paper-scissors! Unfortunately for Obito, his luck left him that time and lost to his two team mates.
OoO
Obito slumped on the ground after a long day carrying the kid on his back. They had run for that whole day after the incident with the match of r-p-s (rock-paper-scissors). They have come this far after those long 3 days and Obito could now see the village of Konoha.
"Am I that heavy?" Iruka asked, while trying to check his weight. Too bad it doesn't work and pouted. "I'm sorry then…"
Obito suddenly shot up from the ground with great vigor like he wasn't tired at all. "NONSENSE! I'm a strong and capable ninja! This is nothing!" he said out loud even though it's obvious that he was swaying a little bit out of tiredness.
"I COULD EAT RAMEN AGAIN!" he happily exclaimed with relief filling his haggard features, as well as his two team mates. This volunteered babysitting job was really troublesome and tiresome! Finally, Iruka would be home and they would be home and if lucky, they could get a day-off!
"We'll walk from here. And take Iruka home." Kakashi said, all of them agreeing quickly.
"Don't worry about it, Iruka-kun. He's just like that." Rin said happily."We're halfway back to the village; I could get use of the hot springs!" she smiled.
"Let's go. Minato-sensei must have been worried and waiting at the hokage tower by now."
OoOoOoO
As soon as they entered the mission's room, a flash of yellow caught their vision and they are scooped by their happy Jounin sensei. It was their first time taking on an escort mission without their sensei and Minato was so proud his genin team made it.
"How are my kids? I'm so proud of you guys. Did you use your teamwork?" Minato asks all the questions he could think of. He knew his team has a problem regarding their teamwork…if the two boys have anything to go by. I mean, they always do what they want and fight for their own opinions. And their other team mate tried to calm each but instead of stopping, well, let's just say it didn't even work.
'We use team work alright~'
All three of them thought. Minato tilted his head and gave a confused look. Their faces looked a little, uh…tired and relief at the same time.
"O-kay…what happened to all of you?"
They sighed. Minato looked at Kakashi since he was the one he appointed to be temporary leader when he's out. The silver-haired boy sighed yet again and pulled someone out in front of Minato.
The yellow-haiered Jounin's eyes widen. "I-Iruka-kun?"
"You knew him?" Obito asked.
Iruka looked up when he heard his name called. "Dandelion?"
'Dandelion?' Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the nickname. Minato scratched his head sheepishly and turned to the boy. "Where were you? We've been looking all over for you. Your parent's were so worried." He looked to his team and asked in a silent gesture. Rin answered him, "We found him on our way back. Apparently, he's been kidnapped and the fake ninjas have brought him all the way to the border. If we haven't seen them, he would have been sold to."
"We saved him." Kakashi added.
"HEY! I was the one who saved him. If I haven't done that, we wouldn't have known!"
"Yeah yeah…Mr. awesome…"
"Good! You accepted that I'm more awesome than you are and you're not."
Minato sighed. This was a routine. He ignored the two and turned back to Iruka. "We'll tell your parents that we found you now so you could get home. Alright?"
Iruka nodded.
*COUGH*
They all turned to the cough they heard. Oops…looks like they forgot that they are in the mission room. A certain hokage had coughed to call their attention. There was a bit of an awkward atmosphere in the room as team Minato gets their own together.
"Sorry, hokage-sama…"
"It's alright…I see that your team finished their mission…and got an added bonus to it." He paused. "Now, if you could give me the report and take Iruka-kun home, you're dismissed." The old man smiled.
"RAMEN TIME!"
"Hot springs!"
"Home…"
Minato shook his head. "Alright, tomorrow, you'll get a day-off."
"ALRRRIIIGHT!" Obito shouted.
"Can I get Ramen before we get home?" Iruka beamed calling their attention.
"Why, of course Iruka-kun!"
OoOoOoO
The team walked to the mission room. They had been summoned for another mission but this time, it's a D-rank. Their sensei was out again, much to Obito's luck, they get to have Kakashi Hatake as their temporary leader again…Obito sighed as they climed up the stairs to the office.
"Why are you sighing?" Rin asked.
"Nothing~…" he said, and then a thought entered his mind. He called his team mates' attention. "Hey, have you seen Iruka?"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "No…why?"
"Well, since…you know, that day. We haven't seen him. He lives here in the village right? Surely, we should have bumped into him."
Come to think of it, it has been a whole week since the Bsitters' job. (As Obito called their group after the incident with the kid…). They haven't seen the little troublemaker since then.
"You're right…I kind of missed him…" Rin said.
"Yeah…" Obito added, "…even though he's a troublemaker, I kind of missed him."
"I don't miss him." Kakashi said.
"Liar…I can see it in your eyes. You miss him too."
"No…I don't"
"Yes, you are."
"No"
"Yes"
"No"
"Ye-"
"STOP IT GUYS! REALLY? EVERY TIME!" Rin shouted and sighed as her team mates glared at each other…again…there's really no stopping them when they started. This situation repeats all the time.
She opened the door to the mission's room. The two boys stopped their glaring contest as they composed themselves in front of the hokage. The third looked at them and nodded as he pulled out a scroll.
"This is your mission for the week. Read it and get prepared."
Kakashi received the scroll and opened it. There was silence after that.
"What? What is it?" Obito asked.
Kakashi just passed the scroll to the two and their expressions get comical. "Is that all?"
The third smiled knowingly and said, "No, not at all…the kid you'll be taking care of will come right in." he gestures towards the door which, on cue, opens and revealed their mission.
Iruka's mother was holding the boy's hand and smiled. "I heard that you three were the ones who took good care of him while he's away from home. My husband and I would be going on a mission and Iruka-kun's all alone in the house. Please take good care of him while we are gone. Thank you very much."
Iruka's smile got big. He grins to the team. "HI! Please take care of me!"
Team Minato was stunned to the ground.
"I take it back…I take back what I said…just please! Spare us!"
OoOoOoO
END
A/N: I think I failed…but I hope you enjoyed it. I just can't seem to get my mind all together…,
Thank you for reading!^^