OOOOOOO
The wood splintered, sending shards in all directions as his foot contacted solidly with the worn surface. Iruka pushed sweat-soaked hair out of his face as he dropped into a crouch and panted in an effort to catch his breath.
After a moment's rest, he laced his fingers together and pressed them upwards above his head, rising as he stretched his arms out and twisting in either direction until his back let out a satisfying pop. He let his arms fall to his side and folded at the waist to ease the ache his leg muscles.
"I thought I might find you here."
Iruka whirled. "Mizuki."
"You're here every Sunday morning, just like always." Mizuki was lounging against one of the trees. "You haven't changed, Iruka."
"Can I help you, Mizuki?" Iruka strode towards the large stump that held sway in the northern section of the clearing, retrieving his shirt from the gnarled roots. He'd stripped down to his sleeveless undershirt only minutes after beginning his workout – the dappled shade in the forest was much warmer than he'd expected given the recent weather – but Mizuki still made him nervous, and as stupid as it sounded, being fully clothed made him feel decidedly more secure.
"We never hang out anymore." Mizuki grinned at him as he pushed off the trunk and sauntered towards him. "Lunch's starting to get awful lonely. And I don't have any interesting conversation to distract me from how crappy my cooking is."
"I'm sorry, Mizuki. I've been busy." He winced as his fingers snarled in the mess his ponytail had become. The sharp sting to his scalp reminded him that he'd run out of shampoo the day before, and he was so immersed in a mental debate about which stores would be both open and on his route home that he didn't realize Mizuki was talking until the end.
"…rumor about you dating a jounin?"
"Dating?" Iruka swatted the idea out of the air between them. "I can't believe anybody is actually believing something as stupid as that."
Mizuki laughed brightly, "Seriously. As if any jounin would pick you." The words were said in jest. Mizuki even winked as he finished the sentence.
But as soon as he vanished into the surrounding forest, Iruka let himself slouch against the harsh bark, one hand curling into the loose fabric of his shirt over his stomach. He knew full well that he had been thinking the same thing. The idea of Hatake Kakashi pursuing him was absolutely absurd.
But that didn't make it hurt any less hearing the same idea in not so many words from Mizuki's mouth.
OOOOOOO
The food was especially slippery. He wasn't sure the item actually had a name, let alone what it was, only that picking it up with chopsticks was a monumental feat. Kakashi seemed to be managing without any problems, but Iruka suspected he was cheating. And informed him of that fact.
"I'm eating with my hands."
"Right, you're cheating. And I bet you're also using chakra."
"Did it ever occur to you that, maybe, I'm just this talented."
The unidentified food substance – which was actually quite tasty; he'd succeeded on one of them so far and decided it was well worth the struggle – slipped from between the chopsticks and dropped to his plate. Iruka glared at it, daring it to try something so ill-advised again.
"Are you really trying to intimidate your food?" He could hear the barely suppressed snicker in Kakashi's voice.
"Shut up." He muttered, nudging it around until he could get a better grip on it.
Kakashi shook his head. "This immaturity problem isn't getting any better, Iruka-sensei."
"Speaking of," Iruka's attention came completely off the food as Kakashi reminded him of their last conversation. "You still haven't explained to me what your solution is."
In the moment of inattention, the morsel affected a last-ditch attempt at escape, flew through the air and smacked Kakashi right between the eyes.
The moment froze as Kakashi's visible eye swiveled towards his nose to get a better view of the offending item and Iruka stared in disbelief, hoping that he wasn't about to meet a very messy and unpleasant end at the hands of a former ANBU.
However, the fear of death could only stave off the absolute hilarity of the situation for so long. The look of abject shock plastered across Kakashi's face finally pushed him over the edge, and Iruka let out a couple of barely suppressed snorts that quickly snowballed into full blown laughter.
Until the jounin hefted the bento in his hands, gazed at it from several different directions and, without changing his expression from vaguely curious, upended it over Iruka's head.
He gaped at the pleasantly smiling jounin for several seconds before his eyes narrowed dangerously and a daring smirk spread across his face. "Oh, it's on."
Later, Iruka would wonder what passer-bys must have thought was going on in his classroom as he and Kakashi dashed between the desks, shouting insults, challenges and a couple of undignified swears when they were caught off-guard, but at the time he was far too busy.
His heel came down on a slick patch of floor where the remnants of a fried egg had come to rest after Kakashi had caught him and smeared it across his face, and he flailed his arms as his feet when out from under him, managing to catch an elbow over one of the chairs and at least partially arrest his fall.
Once he was on the floor, he didn't even bother to trying to get up again. He had a massive stitch in his side from laughing, so he rested his head against his upper arm and wheezed.
"Maa, that was different." Iruka managed to raise his head at the sound of Kakashi's voice and was amazed to discover that the elite jounin was easily as covered in food as he was.
"You let me hit you, didn't you?"
Kakashi met his eyes directly. "Yes."
"….Right." Iruka dropped his head back onto his arm and swallowed a sigh. Kakashi really was just in a different class from him.
"It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if I had avoided it."
"It has been a long time since I had this much fun." Iruka admitted slowly.
"I'm glad."
Iruka's head snapped up, and he investigated Kakashi's face and posture, finally coming to the conclusion that either the jounin was telling the truth or he was exceptionally skilled at lying.
"I have to go." Kakashi interrupted his musings. "I have training with Naruto."
Iruka heaved himself to his feet before Kakashi had even finished speaking. "Hold it right there, Hatake-san! You are going to stay here and help me clean this mess up."
"Ehh? But you started it, Iruka-sensei!"
"Oh, now who's being immature?"
"You're just rubbing off on me."
"Well, if that's the case, it's your fault for spending so much time with me!" Iruka snapped back.
Kakashi stopped in the process of wiping something off the front desks. "If that's the case, then perhaps I should find other pursuits to occupy my time."
"Don't." The word was out of Iruka's mouth before his brain was even really conscious of forming it, and he blushed furiously as Kakashi's gaze pierced him. "That is, I…" The broom in his hands suddenly became the most fascinating object he'd ever seen, and he realized belatedly that he was strangling the handle and had to think carefully about forcing his hands to let go. "Like I said, it's been fun." He swallowed the embarrassment. "And, so what if you're acting like a juvenile? I like to think that I am fully qualified to handle a little immaturity."
"Then, with your leave, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi spread his arms and bowed. "I will be unafraid to behave like an adolescent."
"That is not what I meant!" Iruka tossed the broom into the corner, and when he turned back, Kakashi was crowded up against him, his lips almost touching the shell of Iruka's ear.
"Of course it's not. But it's just so wonderful to see you flustered." He pulled away slightly, sucked in a breath as if he'd suddenly remembered something, and leaned back in. "Oh, and I've been immature since long before I met you. I'm afraid you can't take credit for that. But I guess it does make us two of a kind."
He vanished as quickly as he had appeared before lunch – Iruka figured that ability, which was shared by any and all jounin and envied by every chuunin, was something that was taught during the promotion ceremony and was closely guarded by those who routinely used it. As soon as his brain caught up with the situation, he clapped his hand over his ear, which still tingled from the warmth of Kakashi's breath, and he felt heat creep across his cheekbones.
If he had seen Kakashi acting that way to anyone else, he would have been convinced that the jounin was flirting. But he knew himself. And he knew that he was not even remotely that lucky.
OOOOOOOO
"Alright, Naruto." Mizuki waived the orange-clad kid into the room. "For the final exam, you'll need to create a bunshin."
Iruka watched Naruto's face fall, and he cut over Mizuki, who had moved on to explaining the scoring system. "Any kind of bunshin will do, Naruto-kun."
The cerulean eyes brightened drastically, and Iruka could not help but smile back at the broad grin taking up the majority of Naruto's face. The kid dropped into a crouch and crossed his index fingers. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
A brief cloud of smoke filled the end of the room, and when it cleared, at least ten Narutos – Iruka didn't bother to count – were packed into the end of the classroom.
"Excellent!" Iruka couldn't remember if he'd ever given Naruto real praise. The conversation with the Hokage in his dream still haunted him, and he wanted to make up for lost time. Naruto was so much like him; he should have realized sooner. He'd had a chance to make a true difference in the boy's life, but had missed it.
Mizuki grabbed his wrist hard and pulled him over to hiss in his ear. "That. Was not the test."
"The test was to create a bunshin. He did that. And kage bunshin is even more useful than the normal one. It creates a true copy." Iruka whispered back. He could hear something truly dangerous curling around in the depths of Mizuki's voice.
"We can't pass…that…thing."
He had to focus all his attention to his facial muscles to keep his expression neutral, and to keep himself from snatching his hand away from Mizuki.
"You pass." He called it out loud enough for Naruto to hear but his eyes never left Mizuki's face.
Something dark flashed behind Mizuki's eyes, but he couldn't undo Iruka's actions, not easily, at least. Once a student's teacher declared them graduated, another teacher could overturn the decision only by presenting a case to the Hokage.
The ugly expression vanished as quickly as it came. So fast, in fact, that Iruka wasn't entirely sure he hadn't imagined it.
But that didn't stop a chill from creeping up his spine.
OOOOOO
The gravelly voice echoed against the large doors. "Enter."
Iruka shouldered the heavy door open. "Thank you for seeing me, Hokage-sama."
"How are the exams going?"
Iruka crossed the room and stood at ease on the far side of the Hoakge's desk. "Good. Everyone passed."
"Even Naruto?" The Sandaime rested a hand on the glass globe, and Iruka wondered just how much he already knew.
"Yes." Iruka smiled. "He created ten plus kage bunshin."
"Kage…?" The old man leaned forward and studied Iruka. "And where did he learn that jutsu?"
"Kakashi-sensei taught it too him."
"Interesting." The Hokage stroked his pointed beard. "But truly excellent. Perhaps I will put Naruto on Kakashi's genin team. Ah, you'll have to forgive an old man, Iruka, I tend to digress. I assume you had a reason for coming here."
"Yes." Iruka drew a deep breath. "I know that this is going to sound crazy, but…. I think someone's going to try to steal a forbidden scroll from your library tonight." He held up both hands. "Please don't ask me how I know or who it is; I don't want to cast any dispersion against anyone. I just…would regret it if I didn't say anything and…and…." He trailed off, staring at the floor and feeling remarkably stupid considering how determined he'd been in his office scare minutes before.
The Sandaime studied him, seeming to peer right into his soul. Finally, he inclined his head. "Thank you for the information, Iruka-sensei."
He knew a dismal when he heard it, so he bowed slightly and beat a hasty retreat. He probably thinks I've gone completely round the bend.
OOOOOO
"Iruka! Oi, Iruka!" Frantic pounding on his door raised him from a fitful sleep. He kicked the covers off and sprinted for the door.
Kotetsu was leaning against his doorframe. "Did you hear the news?"
Iruka scrubbed his hands across sleep-filled eyes. "What news?"
"Mizuki's been arrested!"
He paused in mid-rub and dropped his hand, coming fully awake. "What?!"
"He was caught breaking into the Hokage's house. He's being held at the prison now, and they say that he's ranting. Practically frothing at the mouth. Iruka?" Kotetsu moved to catch him as his knees folded and he slid down the wall to the floor. "Are you okay? I didn't think you guys were that close. Well, there must be some sorta logical explanation. Genjutsu. Post traumatic stress, ehmm…." Iruka could tell that he was mentally backpedaling.
"We're not like that, Kotetsu." He managed to tune his brain onto the conversation long enough to rescue the poor chuunin.
"Oh, thank god. I was afraid I'd just slammed my foot into my mouth." Kotetsu's eyebrows arched in thought. "And partway down my throat."
An ANBU stepped out of the shadows behind Kotetsu. "Umino-san. The Hokage wants to see you."
The journey from his apartment to the tower was a blur, and he found himself standing before the Hokage's desk with no memory of how he got there. A hand on his elbow broke his daze, and he twisted sharply to see Kakashi hovering at his side. "What are you doing here?"
"Kakashi informed me about the dream you had recently. I was wondering about what had possessed him to try training Naruto, and he filled me in on what you hadn't shared."
"No offense, Hokage-sama, but I was afraid you might think me loony if you knew why I was giving the warning."
"But it is my understanding that Naruto stole the scroll in your dream, not Mizuki."
"Yes, but Naruto was put up to it after he failed to pass the exam. Even though he passed the test, there was something in Mizuki's reaction that made me nervous." Iruka folded his arms and hugged them to his chest. "I figured there wouldn't be any repercussions if nothing happened and you didn't know who I'd suspected. I never thought Mizuki would actually… Wait, you can't really think this dream is some sort of premonition?"
"Do you?" The Hokage laced his fingers together.
"No." Iruka answered without a second thought. "The future cannot be predicted. It's changed by every decision, every action, every word. You've already pointed out discrepancies from my dream and from what actually happened. Naruto-kun failed. He learned the jutsu from the scroll. Mizuki attempted to kill us. We've already changed the future as predicted by my dream!"
The Sandaime rose and paced towards the window, his hands clasped behind his back. "There are two schools of thought on foresight. One is that the future is fixed. The visions of people with precognition are bare glimpses that never tell you enough, and that, no matter what we do to change what we've seen, all of our actions only lead towards the pre-determined future. The second is that people's natures are fixed. Take Mizuki for example – he desired power, and therefore he desired the scroll. The means to get it changed because of your actions, but the underlying nature of the act did not."
"So, you think it's a premonition?" Kakashi spoke for the first time. Iruka understood his concern. He'd clearly not shared the entire story with the Hokage, but he'd certainly felt responsible for some of the outcomes – Sasuke came to mind – and he'd seemed worried about it.
"I believe that there is a possibility that we might be able to expect certain things to happen based on how people behave in Iruka's dream. We may not be able to change everything, but we can do damage control. Like tonight. You came out of this whole situation uninjured." He returned to his chair and gestured in Iruka's direction. "Sit down, Iruka. We'll need to know everything about your dream."
OOOOOO
When Iruka finally stumbled out of the Hokage's office, he felt extraordinarily drained. It had been almost three weeks since he'd had the dream, but he'd fought painstakingly to remember every minute detail he could, and he was still afraid he'd forgotten something important. The whole situation made his knees feel weak.
"Come here."
"Kakashi-sensei!" Iruka would have jumped at the voice if he'd had any energy left or if he could feel anything below mid-leg. "I thought you'd gone home." The jounin had stayed for the interrogation, chiming in on parts that Iruka had become fuzzy on with the information he could remember from Iruka's first rendition, but had disappeared when Iruka reached the end. He'd stayed for about thirty more minutes answering the Hokage's questions.
"You look exhausted, Iruka-sensei."
Iruka huffed half-heartedly. "As long as I make it home, I'll be happy."
"Then, as I said, come here." Kakashi extended a gloved hand in his direction, and Iruka crossed the corridor hesitantly, starting when the hand closed around his upper arm.
"What are you…?" His stomach lurched as the floor vanished from under him, and he dug his hands into the front of Kakashi's vest before he could stop himself.
His apartment came slowly into focus around them, and he released Kakashi as if the fabric had burned him. "Sorry."
"It takes a little getting used to." He could hear the amused smile in Kakashi's voice. "If it makes you feel any better, Gai used to throw up every time he transported. For about the first year of using it."
Iruka realized after a second that he was actually giggling, wondered just how hysterical he sounded, and blushed. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. For getting me home."
"Are you going to be alright?"
"I'm just a little shaken. All I can hope is that, from this point out in our timeline, my dream was just imagination. I mean, I personally know both Naruto and Mizuki." One shoulder rose and fell. "That could have just been my subconscious projecting. The rest might have just been an attempt by my brain to flesh out the story."
"We can only hope." Kakashi clapped a hand on Iruka's shoulder. "And even if it is a premonition, we're now warned. And, whichever school of thought you believe in, you shouldn't worry."
Perhaps he was more tired than he thought; he couldn't follow Kakashi's logic. "So…tha…what?"
"Maa, if we can't change anything, then worrying will only make the moments we do have worse. And if we can, then you've helped by forewarning us."
The words percolated through his brain, and he finally decided that he not only had to agree, but that the reassurances made him feel strangely better. "Thank you." The second word was lost in a vast yawn, and he pressed the back of his hand against his mouth in an effort to hide it. "I don't mean to be rude, but it'd be nice if you'd leave. If I stay out here much longer, I might just pass out on the floor." He glanced around. "With my luck, I'd probably bash my face on the corner of the table."
"I understand. Then I will be taking my leave." Kakashi started the seals to transport out. "Good night, Iruka-sensei."
He staggered to his bed and collapsed face first on top of the covers, too tired to even peel any of his clothes off. He'd regret the sharp markings on his face left from the hitae-ate in the morning, but at that point, he could care less.
OOOOO
The sun was well above the buildings by the time he wrested himself out of his bed. As he sprinted down the hall towards his classroom, he was alarmed to discover smoke oozing out from under the door. This particular class was head and shoulders above the others he'd taught when it came to destructive actions, and he was desperately glad that he was dumping them off on the jounin sensei. He skidded to a stop before his destination. Mizuki's classroom was depressingly empty. The random paraphernalia he kept strewn across his desk had disappeared overnight.
He didn't have time to contemplate the implications of Mizuki's disappearance; the smoke pouring from his classroom had gotten thicker in the few minutes he'd wasted at the other room. Iruka slammed the door open, relishing the moment when all the students jumped. One of the girls was crouched by the door releasing a smoke jutsu. She yelped and fled for the desks when Iruka glared at her, and he hid a smile as he turned towards his desk. He may not have been the most terrifying shinobi in the village, but he could still scare the pants off the pre-genin.
"Alright, who stuck a shuriken in my desk." The classroom behind him was eerily silent. He turned to find his students all staring blankly at him – in his many years of teaching, he'd learned to distinguish between fake innocence and genuine vacuity. They truly had no idea where the weapon had come from. "Never mind. I'm going to read off your genin team assignments, and then we'll break for lunch. Your jounin sensei will meet with you after lunch."
The teams were paired off and ushered out of the classroom. Iruka finally approached his desk and retrieved the tiny piece of folded paper impaled on one of the points of the shuriken.
"Dinner and a movie?" Iruka read the note, a hint of surprise evident in his voice.
OOOOOO
They'd been arguing since they'd left the movie theater as to whether or not a black strip across someone's eyes would sufficiently disguise their identity.
"I say it does." Iruka retorted hotly.
"You have no supporting evidence to prove your point."
"What about the 'bandit'?"
Kakashi stopped short. "The bandit? The person with the furniture in the Hokage's tower? That was brilliant, I'll give you that, but I thought you would have been too young to remember that."
About ten years ago, a young shinobi had broken into the Hokage's tower after hours and had laboriously affixed every single piece of furniture in the entire place to the ceiling. The Hokage had arrived, walked past the culprit, who was standing guard outside his office watching the chaos ensue as the chuunin and jounin workers attempted to get the rooms righted again, walked up the wall and calmly sat in his desk while it still hung from the ceiling. Business was conducted as usual in the office. The only acknowledgment he made to the odd situation was to tie the strings on his hat to keep it from falling off.
"I am only two years younger than you, Kakashi-sensei." Iruka stretched languidly and continued to stroll down the street. "And I seem to remember that he was never caught., despite the fact that several people saw him. And I heard that all he wore to disguise his identity was a mask over his eyes."
"Yeah, he did."
"Wait, you…you saw him, Kakashi-sensei?"
The jounin nodded. "It's always bothered me. I can remember him clearly, but have never been able to figure out who he is."
Iruka clasped his hands together behind his back and leaned in close to Kakashi. "You really have no idea, do you?" His lips quirked up for a second and then he spun away, feeling Kakashi's gaze on his back as he walked away.
"No." The jounin finally burst out. "Nooo. You?"
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Kakashi-sensei."
"That was you?" Kakashi repeated in disbelief. "…Really?"
"What?" The teasing attitude vanished from Iruka's voice, which dropped dangerously. "Can't believe it was me?"
"To be absolutely honest, I was sure it had to be a jounin."
"Ha, right." Iruka bristled angrily, snapping back at him. "You really think you jounin have a monopoly on….mmph"
Soft fabric pressed against his mouth as Kakashi cupped his chin and planted a determined kiss on his lips. Iruka froze, unable to wrap his brain around the new situation.
The jounin jerked away. "Sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
Iruka opened his mouth to protest, explain, something…anything, but his vision filled with a swirl of green leaves and when the mess had cleared, Kakashi was gone.
OOOOOOO
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