The clanks of objects bumping into one another as a large foot-and-a-half tall box was set down in front of a wooden sliding door. There was a note taped to the front, saying 'Iruka' in small neat letters. The brunette plucked it neatly off the door and opened it up.
Iruka,
Good luck with setting up the classroom today. I'll meet you at seven outside your place.
-Kakashi
Iruka gave a small smile, and he slid open the door, grabbing his box once more, and made his way into the room. It was a large room with wooden floors and rows of platforms with long desks setting atop them in the back of the class. Towards the middle, there was a long strip of just the floor. It was about five feet wide and reached from the door all the way to the opposite wall. There was a slight rise in the floor where his own personal area started. There was a desk - although empty for now-, and a clean forest green chalk board that stretched over half the wall that stood behind his desk. There was two new boxes of chalk on the metal rim, just waiting to be opened.
Iruka set the box down on the desk, and he leaned against the corner. He rubbed his chin, looking at the chalk board. He started his work tomorrow, so he would have to quickly set things up and read some plans to sort everything out. It would be a hard time, but maybe once he got back from unpacking, he could take a bath and work on the planning before getting ready to go out to dinner with Kakashi.
As his mind crossed to that topic, he suddenly felt very flustered and nervous about it. He'd never gone on an official date before. Wait, this wasn't a date! He was sure of it! Kakashi just wanted to make him feel a little better about almost dying, right? Right?!
Iruka smacked himself on the face, groaning. "Get ahold of yourself Iruka!" He glared at the wall. He walked over, grabbing a box of chalk, and popped it open. He pulled a fresh piece out just like a hard core smoker would a cigarette from its pack. He pressed the white stick against the dead center of the board, and in large, spirally letters, he wrote 'IRUKA-SENSEI'.
"Ah! You must be Yaminiko-sensei's replacement! It's nice to meet you! I'm Riku Shizu. I teach the younger students."
The woman's voice caused Iruka to jump, and he turned around, surprise on his face, lips parted as if to say something. Though as he saw the petite looking woman with pinned back dark - yet slightly graying - black hair. She had slight crows feet by the corner of her hazel eyes, and laugh lines by her cherry red lips. Iruka approached her, offering out his hand.
"Umino Iruka. And yes, I am here to replace Yaminiko. It's sad to hear about what happened to him." He replied, and shook her hand tightly. He released the smaller hand, letting his fall back to his side. "I bet he was a good man."
"Oh he was. He was one of the best teachers we've had around here so far. Almost all of the children loved him." Shizu replied, and gave a sigh. She folded her hands in front of her. "Yaminiko-Sensei was a dear friend of mine, and it's still hard to get over the fact that he has passed so soon. Sicknesses these days really take their toll. You keep yourself healthy, Iruka-Sensei! I would hate to have to attend another funeral!" She said in a stern, motherly way.
Iruka gave a small chuckle, and bowed his head. "Of course, Shizu-Sensei. I wouldn't dream of catching fatally at my age!" He replied, and rubbed the scar across his nose embarrassedly.
"Ah, it's so nice to see such a young boy here to teach. I wish you the best of luck. If you need anything, don't hesitate to visit my room. It's only two doors away."
"Thank you."
"Goodbye, Iruka-Sensei. I shall see you at a later time and date."
"Goodbye!"
Iruka held his breath until the woman left the room before he gave a disoriented look. 'She's defiantly an odd one...' He thought, and sighed heavily, turning to face his desk area, and decided it was time to get to work.
The sound of a pencil against paper sounded in the quiet bathroom along with the soft 'slooosh-slosh' of the bathtub's water. Iruka was laying on his stomach in the warmth filled tub, a washcloth resting on his head. His now undone hair swirled down to his shoulders, the tips soaking to the color of a raven's feather as they brushed against the water's top.
The newly named teacher was holding a planner in his left hand, his right holding the pencil that was furiously erasing marks now. "No...I can't do that just yet. I wanna start off slow on that topic...They couldn't be able to turn out to be logical ninja if we proceed too fast...But..." Iruka frowned deeply, chewing on his lower lip. Something throbbed behind his left eye, signaling the birth of a migraine.
'Ugh. Great. Just what I needed...' He thought, setting the planner and pencil on the tub side. His index and middle finger massaged the throbbing skin, trying to keep the growing pain at bay. 'What time even is it?' The brunette glanced with his good eye over to the clock, and panic flooded over him. It was already six thirty!
He scrambled to quickly drain the bath water, and hop out. Though in his hurry, he slipped on the tile floor, skidding a few inches before catching himself against the counter. "Shit, shit, shit!" He chanted as he grabbed a towel, furiously drying himself off. Loosely wrapping the cloth around his bare lower half, he left the bathroom, and ran down the hall to his bedroom, throwing the door open.
"Oh why didn't I plan ahead and already have clothes set out?!" The male groaned, scolding himself as he pulled on the handles to his dresser, sliding the drawer open. He pulled out a pair of briefs, tossing the towel to the bedroom floor. Sliding his feet into the holes, Iruka pulled the underwear up to snugly hug his lower body before pushing that drawer closed and opening the one that housed his pants.
Tanned hands shifted through pairs of pants until they graced upon a nice, slightly formal, pair of dark colored jean like material. The brunette grabbed them and slid them on, fingers - which were still wet - fumbling with the button for a moment.
"Hnn! Come on!" Iruka growled out in frustration, biting his tongue softly. "Ah-ha!" He gave a small cheer as the small round bit of metal slipped successfully through its indicated hole. Suddenly feeling very conscious about himself and that silly act, the young Umino glanced around to make sure no one was watching, a splash of pink tinting his face.
'Oh pull yourself together, Iruka! You're acting like those little girls do when they think that Sasuke boy is going to talk to them!' He shook his head in exasperation, and went to his closet to retrieve a shirt. He gave a risk to look at the clock, letting out a sigh of relief. Six thirty-five. He still had enough time to calm and really pick something out to wear with the twenty five or so minutes that were left.
His fingers brushed against the fabric of his shinobi under shirts, tees, and a few button ups. He looked everything over, then down to his jeans. 'Maybe not a button up...' He thought, and pushed aside some of the shirts hanging in front of him to get at what was further in the darkness of the closet. That's when he saw the checkered gray and black long sleeved shirt. It didn't look like it was made of heavy material, and a little on the casual side.
Iruka grinned and pulled it off the hook, sliding it up and over his head. He walked back to the bathroom, and looked at himself in the mirror. Not too fancy, but not too casual to the point where he would look like he just rolled out of bed. He adjusted the collar of the shirt, and reached for his hair brush.
The brush was sent through the soft locks of dark chocolate colored hair, pulling it back into a tight ponytail. It was one of the only styles that Iruka had decided looked good on him, and he's always had it; well, except for when he was asleep that is.
After a little bit more of adjusting his clothes, Iruka decided he was presentable enough, and left the bathroom in search of his shoes. He found them neatly set by the front door, and he grabbed them, bringing them over to the couch. He sat down, hiking his right leg up over his left's knee, and got to work sliding the shoes on over his foot, and zipped the back. He repeated the process with his left foot before looking back at the clock.
Six fifty-seven.
Well, it seemed like the best time to leave was now. A sigh left his lips as he stood, and made his way towards the door, flicking the lights off as he opened it to step out. To his surprise, Kakashi was already standing there waiting for him.
"Yo."
The silver haired Jōnin was dressed in casual wear - deep blue pants with a black button up - as well. Iruka had to admit that it looked really...well, good on him. Now embarrassed with his own thoughts, he rubbed his scar, and gave a shy greeting of: "Hey."
"Ready to go?" Kakashi asked, his hands in his own back pockets lazily as he discretely checked the younger out with his visible gray eye. The gaze made Iruka feel suddenly self conscious and a little uncomfortable, his fingers fumbling slightly with the hem of his shirt.
"Yeah." He responded, closing the door behind him, stepping down off the door step. He stood next to Kakashi, and gave a quirk of the head. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there." Kakashi replied, and motioned for Iruka to follow him as he started to walk. The brunette raised a brow, but followed the other male. He couldn't help but noticed how even though Kakashi's shirt was a bit looser than their ninja gear, he could still see the muscle under rippling with his movement. He almost reached a had out to lightly touch the other's back, but gripped his wrist to keep it from moving as he walked quickly to catch up.
"How'd the set up go?" Kakashi asked after a few moments of silence, his eye flicking over to Iruka, who was watching the ground as they walked, hands limply at his sides.
"It went pretty good, I guess. I met one of the other teachers. She was...interesting to say the least." The Chūnin said, a slight shudder creeping along his spine at the thought of the bold little woman.
Kakashi chuckled at that, and raked his mind for the names of the teachers who worked there. Though he really hadn't had much interest in the school since now. "Hm, I'm sure she's nice." He replied, his smile evident in his voice.
"If not a bit overbearing." Iruka chuckled, and rubbed the back of his own neck.
"I'm sure things'll go just fine. Besides, I've seen how you've acted around Naruto. You're a natural teacher."
Iruka blushed a bright pink, and he glanced off to the side. "You really t-think so?" He asked, his words stumbling a bit as he became flustered, and he smiled shyly.
"Yeah." Kakashi replied, and gave Iruka's shoulder a small pat. Though his hand lingered ever so slightly longer than it should have. An odd feeling swelled inside of Iruka as the Jōnin's hand touched him. It was almost like a spark had shot through the both of them, and he was sure that Kakashi had felt it too by the way he glanced at his hand momentarily.
Iruka had been too distracted before to realize where they were headed, but as he glanced around, he noticed that they were in the woods. 'Where is he taking me...?' He furrowed his brow, turning to look at Kakashi.
"Where are we going?"
Kakashi pointed to about a few yard ahead where a lantern had been placed on the middle of a blanket with basket of food was placed next to it. "There."
"A picnic?" He asked, and had to suppress a giggle that threatened to leave his lips. Well, this was quite the surprise! A pleasant one at that, too. He grinned as he walked towards the set up, taking a seat down across from Kakashi.
"So, what do we have on the menu for tonight?" The brunette asked, resting his chin on the palm of his hand -which was propped up by his elbow on his knee- and looked at the older male.
"Well, take a look." The silver haired man replied, and opened up the basket to reveal what was inside. There were bowls for rice and a main dish, two clay cups for drinking, and chopsticks. Under those, there were two plastic containers of rice and a main course that from the point he was at, Iruka could tell consisted of chicken and dumpling soup.
"That looks really good, Kakashi." The brunette grinned, and he helped take out the utensils that they would need to eat, setting them down in their proper positions.
The air was filled with their laughter and chattering as their little lamp light dinner trekked into the late hours of the night. They had finished off the actual eating portions, and now were laying on their backs, looking up towards the star prickled blackness above them. Two small cups of sake were resting besides them on the grass as they chatted about people they knew, things they've seen, and the biggest change so far; Iruka's new placement in the village.
In his slightly tipsy state, Iruka admitted to his fears of not being taken seriously by the children, or just not liked by them in total. He was younger than most of the other teachers, and he was pretty sure they thought he was there just to get out of dangerous situations. It was true, Iruka didn't like fighting for the reason of he wasn't too good at it, but he was quick with his mind. If he could just pass on his knowledge of the shinobi world to the oncoming generations, he would feel useful even though he may feel weak.
Kakashi shifted to lay on his side, propping his head up on his palm so he could get a better look at Iruka. "You'll be a great teacher. Not every kid is going to like you, but they're kids. They'll be grateful for the things you're going to show them how to do."
Iruka gave a twitch of a smile at that, and he gave a heavy sigh; as if something big had been portioned and the smaller chunks had been stripped away. Kakashi's words had made him feel a little better about starting his job.
"What time is it?" It had been a long silence before either of them had spoken. But Iruka needed to know because he had to get up early for work.
"About eleven twenty." Kakashi replied after a moment of shuffling to check the watch that had been hidden under his sleeve. "Do you want to head back?"
Iruka was already sitting up, and stretching for a moment. "Please?" He responded, and started to adjust his now slightly rumpled shirt. They already had cleaned up their settings so they could lay down, so that wouldn't be a problem. All that was left to do was fold the blanket up, which Kakashi did once they were both up on their feet.
Kakashi held the basket with its blanket balanced on top in his right hand, and pressed his left against the square of Iruka's back to nudge him in the right direction. The tipsy Chūnin gave a slight blush, chuckling out a "Sorry~"
'No grown man should be this adorable when drunk.' Kakashi mused to himself, and he walked alongside the other back the way they had come. It was a warm night, and not much was said on the way to the small childhood home of the war orphan - who had grown so far into a strong individual -.
Iruka stopped in front of his front door, and turned to look at Kakashi, as he smiled. "Thanks, 'Kashi." The other's name was a little slurred, but the Jōnin really didn't mind. "I had a lot of fun!"
Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck a bit, and smiled from under his mask. "I did too. Thanks for coming along!" Though he was caught off guard as Iruka gave him a hug, letting out a sleepy sigh. The silver haired male patted his back a bit, and closed his eye until it was broken.
"I'll see you sometime later?" The words came out as a question as Iruka opened the front door, ready to step inside.
"Of course. See ya, Iruka. Sleep well." Kakashi replied, holding up a hand in a farewell, watching as the tanned male grinned and slipped inside the house with a farewell in return.
Iruka sighed as he slumped against the wall, his grin still on his lips. He felt all warm and fuzzy on the inside, and he almost gave a squeal like a small child who had just been given their favorite toy. In his intoxicated state, he considered what had occurred to have been kind of like a date. His first date. Though, if sober Iruka heard this, he would be firing off excuses in a flustered way and storming around in rejection for any feelings of the romantic sort towards Kakashi what so ever.
So for now, he was glad sober Iruka wasn't around so tipsy Iruka could enjoy the memories of tonight before he went to sleep.
Squooshy's note: I decided to leave my own comments down here at the bottom instead at the top now. ouo But I've actually had some bad writer's bloc lately, but a certain song broke me out of it for some reason. If you guys haven't heard or seen the music video ( I suggest greatly that you do) for Same Love by Macklemore, you really need to. That song is just like...wow. It makes me so happy just because its there. This chapter took about four days for me to write because of the lack of inspiration, but since I hooked up some pandora stations, I've been getting some good inspirations going!
But, on the 17th through the 20th, I'm not going to be able to update (not much of a shocker haha) due to a mini family vacation. Just thought I'd let you guys know. vuv