Thank you for reviewing! Agh, I swear I'll stop disappearing eventually. I blame the common app and colleges. Well... enjoy!
"It was horrible, Kotetsu! It was the most awkward dinner of my life!"
"Aww... come on, now... I'm sure it wasn't that- okay, maybe it was." Kotetsu shrugged under Iruka's withering glare, and the teacher groaned and shifted to bury his head in his arms again. "Oh, come on, just tell me what happened! And stop blushing! He's not even here anymore!"
Iruka hid his red face in his sleeve and closed his eyes tightly. "It was awful," he began, voice muffled. "It was just... awful."
...
"Iruka-sensei? Are you okay? Why's your face all red? ...Iruka-sensei?"
Iruka stammered uselessly for at least five seconds before he finally managed to sputter out something coherent. Something coherent and stupid, that was. "I-I'm just s-s-surpised, t-that's all. K-K-Kakashi i-isn't good with childr-r-ren." Oh! That's brilliant, Iruka. Insult the man you like! Wait, I what now?! "Oh! W-what I m-mean is... is... Naruto do you want to stay for dinner?!"
In the surprised silence, Iruka mentally banged his head on a desk. Oh. GREAT. GREAT JOB, IRUKA. Let's make this even worse! Let's invite Naruto for dinner! Yes, that'll make it less awkward!
The stunned silence only lasted for a few moments before Naruto jumped off the bed and nodded eagerly, face bright with happiness. Kakashi was watching him in surprise as well, and then Iruka remembered his first reaction to children being here and decided now was a good time for the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Oh, real smooth, Iruka. Don't even bother asking Kakashi if he's okay with it? You know, since he reacted so well to your class breaking in earlier? Good job, real good job, there. Mentally traumatizing the man you like; that's a sure way to get a date!
Wait, do I want a date with him?!
While Naruto scampered out of the room, Iruka stammered and sputtered for several seconds before he finally managed, "I'm r-really sorry, Kakashi. I didn't mean to... are you okay with this? If you're not I'll take him out somewhere else- I just asked without thinking-"
"It's okay, Iruka," Kakashi interrupted, smiling with his eye again. That cute eye smile that made him blush even worse. "If it's just Naruto and he doesn't climb all over me like he did my clone, I'll be fine. But are you okay? You look like you're about to blush to death."
Oh, yes, because that was going to make him stop blushing.
"And you haven't been able to stop staring at me."
Oh, yes, because that was going to make him stop blushing!
"Is everything all right?"
Iruka realize how close to Kakashi he was and took a huge step back, then arranged his features into what he hoped was a smile and stumbled towards his bathroom. "O-of course! Everything's fine! Everything's fine, Kakashi! I'm... just... going to freshen up! Yes, that's it! Freshen up!"
Iruka left one surprised jounin staring after him as he scrambled to safety, face redder than it had ever been in his entire life.
...
"And, what, you just hid in the bathroom for the entire time?"
Iruka moaned into the table. His face was still hidden in his arms and what little of it that Kotetsu could see was bright, bright red. "No," he whispered, voice barely audible and still muffled, "no, but I should have. Well, I hid in there for about five minutes before deciding I had to face the disaster, and so I went out there, and..."
...
Iruka didn't look at all more put together when he exited his bathroom, but at least his face was no longer on fire. His shaking hands were hidden in his pockets and he was trying not to think about the fact he'd just learned he wanted to date Kakashi. There were just so many things wrong with that he didn't even know where to begin, and it was just the best idea to not think about it.
All hope of not thinking about it died the moment he came to stand in the doorway to his kitchen.
Kakashi was just pulling something out of the microwave. He was headband-less, wearing just his uniform shirt, pants, and mask. And an apron. Kotetsu's bad-idea-of-a-birthday-present apron. The one that said Kiss the Cook.
Guh...
Iruka didn't know what was worse. The sight of Kakashi looking so domestic (since when had a man looking domestic turned him on?!) or what the apron said.
Kakashi set the bowl on the table before turning to face him and beamed. "Hey, Iruka. Turns out most of what I made before was salvageable, just needed to be heated up."
"Uh..."
Don't drool over him, Iruka, bad Iruka, say something that doesn't involve drool or kisses or how nice he looks in that-
"Guhwah..."
Say something coherent! And nothing that involves drool or kisses!
"T-that's good!"
Yes! Coherent and not embarrassing! Good job!
"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, swinging his legs back and forth and staring up at him curiously. "Are you okay? You're talking kind of funny."
"Yeah, he is," Kakashi agreed. The jounin placed his hands on the table and leaned forward, pushing his masked face right up into Iruka's. "Something bothering you, Sensei?"
There was not one bit about this situation that Iruka liked- not at all. He felt his cheeks heat up all over again and made the mistake of taking in a breath, because god did Kakashi smell nice, and the way his voice sounded when he called him Sensei... "Yes, you!" he gasped heatedly, pushing Kakashi back from him with far more force than necessary. "Learn what personal space is!"
Far from being chastised, Kakashi just lounged back in his chair, crossed his legs, and shared a conspiratorial look with Naruto. "Ooh. Something is bothering him. What do you say we figure out what it is and kill it, Naruto?"
Naruto nodded happily. "Yes! No on bothers Iruka-sensei without answering to us!"
Iruka willed himself to stop blushing as he sat down himself. "You two are not killing anything!" Especially because the thing that's bothering me is my own stupid self, developing feelings for one of my BEST FRIENDS and- god, I am such an idiot! "Kakashi, quit the macho act, and Naruto, don't learn anything from Kakashi. He is a terrible role model."
Kakashi pouted beneath his mask. "Aww. Now I'm hurt. Iruka, you're mean. Naruto, is he always like this?"
Naruto shook his head and started eating, grabbing food from all over the table. "Only when he's mad about something," he mumbled through a full mouth. "That's when his face gets red, too."
"Naruto!"
Kakashi's eye curved into a very definite arc and he began to eat himself. Iruka noticed that he was back in his usual style of eating so fast they couldn't see his face and inwardly cursed Naruto's presence. When they were alone, Kakashi would just pull his mask down and eat at a normal pace. And even before today, Iruka could admit that he was good-looking. But now... now-
No, it was probably a good thing Naruto was here. That way, he couldn't ogle Kakashi's face and make his feelings even more obvious.
He glanced up at Kakashi again, then snapped, "And take that apron off!"
...
Kotetsu laughed as Iruka shook his head, which was still buried in his arms. "Oh my god. I seriously can't imagine a worse way for your evening to have gone."
"It's your fault for buying me that stupid apron!"
"It was a joke!"
Iruka moaned bitterly. "This situation is not a joke. No part of it is a joke, Kotetsu! It- it- it- oh, god. I can't believe I did this. I'm so stupid!"
Kotetsu chuckled before reaching over to pat Iruka's shoulder, seeming genuinely concerned. "Come on, Ruka. It's really not as bad as you're making it out to be. Just because you're in love with-"
"Shut up! I'm in love with no one!" Iruka twisted to clamp a hand over his friend's mouth and looked just shy of punching him. "I just like him! There's a difference!"
Kotetsu wormed free and stretched. "Fine, fine. You like him. Whatever." He seemed far too overly happy about the situation and Iruka shot a glare in his direction before slumping over on the desk, seeming utterly defeated. Kotetsu frowned. "Seriously, what's with the long face? There's nothing wrong with liking someone!"
"But why, of all people, did it have to be him!"
"What's wrong with him?!"
Iruka shifted to glare at him again. "How about everything. How about the fact that there is no way in hell he is gay. How about the fact that is a jounin- a famous one, at that- so far out of my league it's not even funny. And then there's-"
"Hooooold up. Slow down and let me take apart your self-decrepitating argument, one point at at a time." Kotetsu began making a list on his fingers. "First- how do you know he's straight?"
Iruka rolled his eyes. "He walks around Konoha reading Icha Icha. You know what that is? That's porn, Kotetsu. And let me tell you, it's not gay porn. The first and only time I met the author, he was peeping at the hot springs."
Kotetsu bit his lip. "Well... hey, you never know, he could be bi."
"Yeah, right," he scoffed.
Kotetsu sighed loudly. "It's a legitimate outcome. Anyway, moving on- your rank difference. That's a load of bull; I'm not going to waste the time to tear it apart."
"But-"
"Next! Tell me your next reason why you can't see him!"
Iruka gave a defeated sigh. "Fine. Well... okay, here. You know how I told you guys I was helping Kakashi recover from an injury a few months ago?" Kotetsu nodded slowly, seeming confused, and the teacher looked away and scratched nervously at the base of his ponytail. "Well, that wasn't strictly accurate. ...The truth is..."
"Oooh!" Kotetsu practically preened with excitement and leaned forward eagerly. "Wait, let me guess, let me guess- you saw him without the mask, didn't you? Is he really gorgeous under there? Did you get to sponge bath him? Ooh, ooh, what about-"
"No! Shut up, Kotetsu!" Iruka turned on his friend with a withering glare and balled his hands into fists, cheeks flushing red with anger instead of embarrassment, for once. "No, there were no sponge baths involved! Shut up, that's not what I'm talking about!" Iruka waited until his friend look sufficiently chastised before he continued, looking back down to the desk. "He wasn't staying with me because of, well, physical injuries. He had... um... mental... problems. I'm not going to go into more detail than that- we've all had bad missions, and he's ANBU; his are so much worse than ours. The point is, how exactly would that look, if I told him about my feelings now? I'm supposed to be taking care of him and then, whoops, out of nowhere, 'how are you feeling today Kakashi and, you know, you looked unbelievable in that apron and will you go out with me'? Absolutely not! I'm not going to do that, Kotetsu!"
The spiky haired chuunin let out another loud, long sigh. "Maa... okay, that one's legit. But only if Kakashi's still having 'mental problems'. If he's recovered, or even mostly recovered, though- then it's just another bad excuse. Anything else?"
Iruka shrugged. He leaned back in his chair and interlocked his finger behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. "Well... even if he is gay- or bi, Tetsu- there's no way I'm his type. We're complete opposites."
"Opposites attract, you know."
"You-!"
"Okay, okay, let's think about this logically!" Kotetsu waved his hands placatingly and shifted to face him with another eager smile. "How on earth do you know his type? Who do you know that he's dated?"
Iruka frowned. He opened his mouth to reply, then realized there was no one on the list. Kakashi was rumored to be the most eligible bachelor in the village- the way the rumors were, everybody knew somebody that had been with him. But now that Iruka thought about it, he hadn't seen Kakashi ever date anybody. Not even in those few months before his last mission.
"...You know, I actually can't think of anyone. Literally. I don't know anyone who has dated him."
Kotetsu gave a triumphant cheer. "And that means you don't know his type! Face it, Iruka- you two could be perfect for each other!"
"Shut up! You're wrong, Kotetsu! It's just a stupid little thing and I'll be over it quickly! There's no way this is anything serious!"
"If it wasn't serious, you wouldn't have told me!"
"Gah!"
Outside the mission's room, Tenzou melted out of the wall and walked away as silently as he had come.
Kakashi frowned at the door.
Whoever was knocking on it was really very inconsiderate. He'd been taking a nice nap on the couch, where he'd planned to spend the rest of his day until Iruka came back from the mission's desk. But they weren't leaving, and he couldn't sleep if they were pounding on the door like it had done something to personally offend them.
He couldn't fathom who it would be, anyway. If it was Iruka, he would have simply let himself in. If it was an ANBU, they would have long ago gotten sick of him not answering and just would've jutsu'd inside- if they'd even bothered to use the door in the first place. Iruka's friends wouldn't just show up in the middle of the day; they knew Iruka was at the mission's desk (Although perhaps Mizuki would, just to try and intimidate him or whatever nonsensical nonsense that man did...)
It didn't help that they weren't introducing themselves. Wasn't that the polite thing to do? Certainly politer than banging on the door and giving him a headache.
When the chorus of knocks reached unbearable level, Kakashi slumped down to clutch a pillow over his head and yelled out, "Go away!" And then, blissful silence. Wonderful, blissful silence.
Until they came back three seconds later.
Was it just his imagination, or were they even louder now?!
Groaning, Kakashi forced himself to stand, already fully determined to kill whoever was daring to interrupt his nap and, even worse, make him do things. He didn't want to do things. This was his vacation!
Okay, so, maybe he was on medical leave for possibly or possibly not losing his mind. But that was as close to a vacation as jounin got.
"This had better be good," he growled, more to himself than the unlucky bastard causing his ire, then flung the door open.
The fist was already coming down to knock again, and it stopped a hair's breath from his forehead. The movement was so fast a strand of his hair ruffled at the wind created, and Kakashi probably would've glared at it if he weren't too busy staring at who had interrupted his nap.
Gai.
But not just Gai.
One was a Hyuuga. He wore the Konoha headband and was the size of a genin, and the look on his face was the absolute opposite of Gai's- unenthusiastic, bored, and almost embarrassed. He looked like he wanted to clap a hand to his face at the Blue Beast of Konoha's antics- Kakashi could sympathize- and, if his flat, bored stare was any indication, he was not here willingly.
On Gai's other side was a girl, also genin-size and wearing the Konoha headband. Probably the only distinctive thing Kakashi could find on her person was her two large hair buns, perched on top of her head in a manner that couldn't possibly be very comfortable. Like her Hyuuga friend, she didn't appear very happy to be present, but she seemed more humiliated and embarrassed than annoyed.
But on Gai's other side...
Kakashi looked from the third genin, to Gai. Then the third genin again, and then Gai once more.
Good lord, it's multiplying.
If Kakashi didn't know any better, he would say that this was Gai's new genin team. But there was the problem of Little-Gai. He didn't know much about genin teams, but he didn't think the third slot was supposed to be filled by a tiny clone of the jounin-sensei.
"My eternal rival!"
Oh, that did wonders for his headache.
Kakashi stared blankly at Big-Gai, wondering if he should slam the door in his face in case there were more little-Gais out there. Big-Gai smiled his trademark sparkly smile and threw himself into one of his more enthusiastic Nice-guy poses, and Kakashi just continued to stare in disbelief.
"When my team was assigned the Most Important mission of cleansing the Most Gracious Iruka-sensei's apartment, I never would have imagined that we would find you here! I knew that you were staying with a Person who was Most Special to you during your period of convalescence, but I never knew that you were acquainted with Iruka-sensei!"
...
Oh, you can not be serious.
In the awkward silence that followed Gai's proclamation, Kakashi stepped back, not completely happy with the way the man was still just standing there staring at him. "Yes, well," he coughed, "Iruka-sensei didn't request a team to clean his apartment. You must be mistaken in the address. Che-"
"Nonsense, Kakashi! I- oh! I'm being rude! I haven't made introductions yet!" Gai barged inside, taking complete ownership of the room like he always did, and Kakashi gave a resigned sigh. It seemed his nap wasn't going to happen.
"Neji, Tenten, Lee, this is Kakashi! He is my dear eternal rival, and the score in our rivalry is tied 40-40!"
Little-Gai let out an amazed gasp, bouncing forward to stare up at him in adoration. "It is a greatest honor to meet a man with skills prodigious enough to be Gai-sensei's rival! I hope that I, too, will someday find another to battle eternally with, who is able to excel the farthest in the wonders of youth!"
Mother of god, there's TWO OF THEM.
Thankfully, Little-Gai was quieted- for the time being, Kakashi was sure- as Big-Gai actually picked up the Hyuuga and set him in front of the pack. The young teen closed his eyes in humiliation and looked like he was just this side of hitting his sensei. "This is Hyuuga Neji! He is a ninja with inborn genius, was first in his class at the Academy, and is a skilled prodigy with the Byakugan!"
"Hn."
Kakashi chuckled in wry amusement. Poor Neji. "Nice to meet you," he drawled, and the child just rolled his eyes and turned away, posture stiff and formal if dripping with discontent and unhappiness.
Gai took no notice at Neji's lack of enthusiasm, simply picking up the girl and placing her in front now. Her cheeks flushed pink and she closed her eyes just like Neji had, cringing at the embarrassment. "This is Tenten! Her dream is to grow up to be just like the great Sannin Tsunade!"
"Really?" Kakashi hmmed in interest, and the girl gave a tiny nod. "Your dream is to become a violent alcoholic wi-"
"Kakashi! Tenten does not know about Tsunade's less than honorable qualities! We must keep them secret from her so as not to crush her spirit!"
Kakashi would never, never understand why Gai thought shouting a secret in his face meant no one else around them could hear it.
With a sigh, Kakashi leaned his head back, wiped at the tiny droplets of spit on his mask and rubbed his poor, abused ears. Tenten, meanwhile, scampered back to join Neji, and Gai, not seeming to notice what had just occurred, reached down to pick up his third student- the one that looked very, very suspiciously like him. But this third student didn't need any prompting; he jumped to the front without hesitation and beamed up at him with a smile almost as sparkly as Gai's. "And I am Rock Lee!"
"He was last in his class at the Academy!" Gai proclaimed, with exactly the same manner that he had when announcing that Neji was first. "He is a ninja who can not use ninjutsu and is a genius of hard work!"
A ninja who can not use ninjutsu? Ah... oooookay, then...
Clearing his throat, Kakashi decided to ignore that little detail and focused on the glaringly obvious ones, because, really, that was what was disturbing him more. "That's all wonderful, Gai- but... why exactly does Lee look like you shrunk in the wash?"
"What?" Gai frowned, and both ninja in question turned to peer curiously at each other, as if examining each other for any signs of similarity. "I don't see it!" the older one announced, even as Lee turned back with another thrilled smile.
"I don't see it, either, but thank you very much for comparing me to Gai-sensei! It is my dream to be just like him!"
Just what the world needs. TWO of him.
"I told you so," Neji interrupted, sending a scathing glare in his teammate's direction before pushing past them. "Now, can we get this over with so I can get some real training done?"
Kakashi raised an amused eyebrow. "Personable, are you?" he needled, and the Hyuuga just huffed and moved on past him.
When Neji didn't deign himself to reply, Tenten, seeming frightened of being left alone with Big-Gai and Little-Gai, hurried along after him immediately. Lee sprung into action just after, throwing himself forward and attacking the apartment with what were possibly the most unorthodox methods of cleaning ever.
Now, really- just how long had he been self-absorbed in his own problems for? He knew that impressionable young genin adored their jounin sensei- hell, he had practically idolized Minato- but this was taking it a bit far. And besides, he could've sworn that Gai had only held the position for a couple of weeks, a month at most- the way Lee was acting, they had been best friends for life.
It was downright weird.
Kakashi decided against questioning it- because, honestly, he'd seen weirder- and just smiled. He turned back to Gai instead, waiting for him to say something and prolonging the awkward silence, which might've perhaps been amusing if Gai were the type to be affected by awkward silences, until the other finally spoke up.
"Ah, so... While they work, do you want to catch up, Kakashi?"
Gai's typical enthusiasm had drained away, in favor for a more cautious, investigative approach- and that, he was not used to.
Kakashi blinked at the sudden extraordinarily uncharacteristic change in demeanor, then narrowed his eye.
He knew full well that Iruka hadn't asked anyone to clean his apartment. He also knew that Gai hadn't gotten the wrong address and the mission's room hadn't made a mistake. Nor would Gai just have come along for him to meet his genin team. If that were the case, then Gai would have said it out right.
Kakashi smiled softly underneath his mask. Perhaps, in his own ridiculously unsubtle way, Gai had come to check up on him- just like Tenzou.
"Sure," he murmured, deciding that his afternoon/all-day nap could wait. He could be nice and sociable and not sleep through Gai's visit, if Gai were thoughtful enough to come.
Although, given how much noise Little-Gai was making, Kakashi didn't think sleep was even an option anymore.
The two reached another short silence, this one less awkward and expectant than the ones before. Kakashi sat slouched on Iruka's couch, head resting on his hand, watching as Gai sat next to him, the other man's eyes on the ground.
"...So," Kakashi eventually murmured, clearing his throat. "You wanted to talk to me about something?" Because, really, that was amazingly obvious.
Gai nodded at length, gaze still downcast. He shifted to look at him out of the corner of his eye. "So... I heard you saw Tenzou."
Kakashi shrugged. "Well, Tenzou saw me. He came to see me; I didn't seek him out."
Gai nodded again. "He told you about me and Genma, right? ...What we did when you quit as our captain?"
"Aah."
"...You heard anything from Genma since the mission?"
Kakashi frowned. "Of course not. I got the impression he didn't want anything to do with me. Why would he have sought me out just to say that?"
"Well, we haven't heard anything from him, either! I just thought you might have."
"Well, I haven't." Kakashi rubbed his forehead in irritation, glaring idly at the floor. "Do we have to talk about him, anyway?" His last memories of Genma weren't particularly pleasing, watching as his teammate stood frozen between helping him and helping the enemy, and that whole entire mission was something Kakashi would rather never think of again. "I haven't seen you since that mission," he pointed out. "I'm sure you have lots to catch me up on. Your genin team, for example. A ninja who can't use ninjutsu? What's that about?"
His attempt to sidetrack Gai was only somewhat successful. The man spoke for a few uneventful seconds about Lee's surprisingly willingness to accept a no-ninjutsu, all-taijutsu nindo, but kept looking at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye like he was examining him for something, and finally, Kakashi turned around to face him head on.
"What is it, Gai?" he snapped. "If you're going to look at me like I have something on my face, then you might as well tell me about it."
His expectation- Gai to fluster a bit at being caught and diffuse the tension of the situation- wasn't exactly met. Instead, his self-proclaimed rival just chewed on his lower lip and glanced away. This was far beyond the usual bounds of Gai's strange behavior, and Kakashi didn't know whether to be annoyed or concerned- annoyance was winning out, as of now, because it seemed like he himself was somehow the cause of it.
"Gai," he muttered imploringly.
"It's just- ...Lion-sama implied that..."
Lion-sama...
Oh, for heaven's sakes.
No wonder Gai was looking at him like that.
"You know, Gai, I'm not crazy. Just a little banged up up here." He tapped the side of his head and grinned, but the usually overly excitable man didn't seem very reassured. Kakashi sighed again. "And you should know better than to listen to Lion indiscriminately. He wouldn't know the meaning of the word bias if it slapped him across the face. He's just-"
"We were worried!" Gai suddenly yelled, slamming a fist down onto the coffee table in exasperation. "All anyone would tell us was that you weren't well and were probably going to be forced out of ANBU, and we know that that never happens unless- unless-" He broke off abruptly, sucking in a sharp breath, and Kakashi's eye narrowed.
He knew perfectly well what Gai was referring to.
His team had been told of his break, he knew that from Tenzou- and Gai, likely assuming the very possible worst, had probably ended up equating Kakashi in his mind with those ANBU that ended up locked in the psych ward, tossing themselves about in straitjackets, rambling nonsense and fighting enemies that weren't there. Those who broke and stayed broken, who suffered more than just a little breakdown in the field but a debilitating loss with reality.
Wonderful. Just wonderful.
"Gai, I'm fine. The fact that I'm here now and making some sense should tell you that." Kakashi tried to smile, but it was forced. "Come on... didn't Tenzou tell you what to expect? I mean, unless he lied to you and told you I was a rambling lunatic now..."
Gai glared at him. "We didn't have any idea what to expect. ...I just knew that you never had any intentions of leaving ANBU, ever. And then, to hear from Lion-sama that you'd been forced out-"
"Oi, oi. I wasn't forced out. I quit. There's a difference, and I think Lion's just angry that I refused to come back. I quit ANBU, Gai- I left because I wanted to, not because I was forced to."
Gai's eyes widened slightly, and his expression shifted to become confused rather than exasperated. Kakashi frowned, watching, and when Gai didn't explain himself, he asked. "What?"
Gai shifted uneasily. "...You've been in ANBU for ten years. That's longer than anybody but Lion himself. And you always said you would stay there until you died- you never had any inclination to quit. Not even the last time you bro- ...well." He shrugged self-explanatorily, and Kakashi found himself without an answer.
Gai was right. Kakashi had never had any intentions of leaving ANBU in any manner except a body bag. It wasn't much of a life, and he had known that, and he hadn't particularly cared- perhaps he wasn't thrilled with his existence, but that was fine. He hadn't been happy in a long time, and he could go on without it. Besides, whether or not he was pleased with his life had no impact on his work, and that was really the only reason he had for living- his work.
Gai had been one of the few that had understood that he hadn't joined ANBU to kill himself, but that was what he fully intended to happen, in the end.
And now, he was perfectly fine with quitting. Hadn't even given the matter a second thought.
What had changed?
Iruka.
I've changed.
Kakashi found himself giving a contemplative smile, turning his gaze down to the floor again. "...I met someone while you were away with Genma. He started out as my fix, but..." he waved his hand dismissively. "It's definitely something more. I'm still with him, and it's been over a month since I quit."
"Oh." Gai looked surprised, pleasantly so, and Kakashi wondered if it was a bad thing that it was so surprising that he had found a friend before the other man continued. "Yeah, Tenzou told me about him. Iruka-sensei, right?"
"That's the one," he said, smiling. My Iruka-sensei.
"Ah! Yes! Lee has spoken of him often; he is the teacher who tried to help Lee with his ninjutsu, before it became apparent that he could not develop it- even though my cute students were not even in his class! He is a wonderful man!"
"Ah... yes..." Kakashi said slowly, wondering again at Gai's over the top enthusiasm. "Maa, Lion doesn't think the same. He thought Iruka was good for me- made me less effective as an ANBU, you know. Heh... Of course, his opinion had no affect on our relationship. After all, I wouldn't be me if I didn't flaunt authority."
"A particularly dangerous habit career-wise, don't you think, ne, Kakashi?"
Kakashi merely shrugged, his attention directed elsewhere as his mind began to wander. He'd known he'd changed, but this much...
It could only be a good thing, he decided- a very, very good thing.