Chiyoko rubbed her temples as she walked back towards the heart of Konoha. She had imagined her goodbye to Kakashi would have gone a lot smoother than that. He had some sort of pent up animosity towards her that she couldn't quite wrap her head around. What exactly had she done to make him so angry? She'd only been back in the village for less than a day and he already had forced her to fight him.

Chiyoko exhaled loudly and rubbed her shoulder, it had been a long time since she'd fought another shinobi, especially one with Kakashi's power. Only bandits that were stupid enough to try to steal from her, but they were simply ants to squish.

Once reaching the main drag of the village, Chiyoko had her heart set on seeing Iruka, she needed to before she left again. Sweet, kind, Iruka. He was always something that kept her going, when all seemed endless and desolate, Iruka would still take her in and nurse her wounds. Iwao didn't exactly approve of their relationship, Iwao believed that close relationships give opportunity to the enemy. Even if they're demons.

When the two were children, they were inseperable. Iruka had lost his parents during the Kyuubi attack but Chiyoko was there to fill the void. Iwao never coddled Chiyoko, but instead treated her more like a pupil instead of a daughter. There was always a tatami mat for on the porch of her father's cottage if she needed it, but she spent most of her nights with Iruka.

As Chiyoko neared the Academy, her mind was filled with memories of all the nights she had spent with kind Iruka. Some nights, Chiyoko wouldn't show up until the wee hours of the morning, her whole body shaking from exhaustion, caked with sweat and dirt. No matter how tired he was, Iruka would always get up, draw her a bath, and heat her an instant ramen. Often Chiyoko remembered bringing along sake that she had acquired some way or another and the two would fall asleep laughing with pink cheeks and warm bellies.

By the time the kunoichi reached the Academy she thought her heart was going to burst. All she could think about was all the things that Iruka had done for her. After wandering some hallways that were all too familiar to her, she found Iruka's classroom and waited outside until the students were excused for recess. When Chiyoko entered the room she was greeted with the sight of Iruka furrowing his brow at a young mischievous looking blonde boy.

"Iruka-chan!" She smiled full fanged at the chunin while still standing in the doorway. Both teacher and pupil turned to look at her, Iruka's cheeks tinging pink when he met her gaze.

"Chiyoko-san, I didn't know you were still here, I expected you t-"

Before he could finish, his student cut him off,

"Who's this Iruka-sensei? Do you have a girlfriend?"

Chiyoko giggled and Iruka blushed a deep red, "Naruto! You shouldn't speak about something you know nothing about!" Iruka huffed and crossed his arms.

Chiyoko approached Naruto and crouched to be at his level. He really was the spitting image of Minata. She tilted her head and smiled broadly at the boy while ruffling his mess of hair.

"You've grown Naruto-chan!" The boy stared questioningly at her, and when his eyes caught sight of her white fangs he raised his hand to feel his own.

"Do I know you?" His words were muffled by the hand in his mouth.

"Oh I knew you when you were still a squirt, you've grown into a fine looking man Uzumaki!" Naruto blushed while Iruka playfully rolled his eyes. Chiyoko smiled at the two before adding,

"I'm Onigoroshi Chiyoko, though I'm afraid I won't be here much longer to get to know you."

"Oni-go-roshi?" Naruto fumbled with the word in his mouth, thinking of where he had heard it before.

"Demon-Slayer, Naruto-chan." Iruka added in. Naruto stared at the beautiful woman in front of him in disbelief. He placed his hand on his stomach and locked eyes with her yellow ones.

"You mean like..?" His words trailed off.

"Not every demon is strong like the Kyuubi, Naruto-chan." She placed her hand over his and smiled sweetly and the young blonde. "There are plenty of lesser demons to deal with. Only you can handle such ferocity." Naruto turned a deep shade of red and nodded to Chiyoko. Iruka smiled at the sight of his closest friend and his favorite, if not most difficult, pupil. Naruto excused himself to recess, leaving the two older shinobi alone in the room. Chiyoko sauntered to Iruka's desk and propped herself up on the corner, Demonsbane falling to one side of her shoulder to get out of the way.

"I'm leaving Iruka-chan." Iruka nodded and stuffed his hands in his flak vest pockets.

"I figured you would say that next." The two fell silent for a few moments, leaving Chiyoko to wonder how her life would have been if she had not received her Kekkai Genkai, like her brothers.

"I promise I'll write this time!" Iruka snorted and gave Chiyoko a look that screamed 'yeah-right'.

"Don't make promises you can't keep Chi-chan." The girl laughed and it was like a tinkle of bells rolling down Iruka's spine. He didn't want to see her leave again, but she had to. She always had to leave. Iruka wondered if things would have been different if she wasn't Iwao's daughter.

"I'm going to miss you, more than you would know." Iruka stated calmly. This time it was Chiyoko's turn to blush. A light pink shaded across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Iruka noticed before Chiyoko could shake it off and it turned his insides to mush. A moment to see his closest friend as a real woman, not just the deadly kunoichi she was. She looked up and locked eyes with the young sensei.

"I will too, Iruka." She approached the chunin until she was inches away from his face. She draped her arms around his neck, lightly pressing her slender body against his.

"You know, if I could choose who I married, I would choose you." After the last word escaped her mouth, she locked her lips with his. Iruka was shocked in the first moment, but immediately melted against her hot touch. The kiss was filled with an intense fire, but only lasted seconds before Chiyoko pulled away. She locked eyes with him one more time before turning to walk out the door. She waved two fingers over he shoulder, Demonsbane swaying as she walked.

"I'll be back sooner than you think!" And she was gone. Iruka stood there completely dumb-founded with his fingers on his lips, wishing he could grasp that feeling one more time. Only then did he notice his students standing in the doorway giggling, probably having had seen the entire exchange. The chunin blushed a deep red and tried to regain his composure.

"Hey! Everybody in their seats, pop quiz!"

As Chiyoko was leaving the Academy, she caught glimpse of a familiar black haired boy with a fan on his back. A smile spread across her face and she called out to him,

"Ita-" The words caught in her throat as the boy turned to her. That was not Itachi. It was his younger brother Sasuke, the one left to avenge his entire clan. She wanted to slap herself, she had not been here when it all happened though she had come back the year before. Itachi always had fascinated her, she loved to follow him around when they were both still children. He was so fierce and powerful and the two were always in a constant power struggle of who would come out on top.

Sasuke gave her a confused look, but continued walking past her into the classroom. She wanted so much to rewind the past, and do something to stop him. To come back to Konoha to see Itachi's serious face beside the rest of his clan.

How stupid she was to want something so far out of reach.