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(I decided to start putting up, like warnings I guess. Because I don't write these in age order…)
(This is how Kakashi and Iruka ended up getting together in the Resonance Universe. Happens about halfway through the time-skip. Kakashi has just turned 29 and isn't too happy about it... Two, maybe three parts.)
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Chapter 8; Meetings— Part 1
It was a punch.
Iruka had been at the ramen stand scarfing down his lunch in a manner that would have made Naruto proud. Grumbling bitterly to himself because he'd had to take drastic measures that morning with one of his students.
Obotsu Ioshi, a pre-gennin, had pinned his classmate, a younger girl classmate, to the ground during lunch break and started hitting her about the head and face, calling her terrible names.
Now Iruka, who didn't tolerate such things, had dashed over, grabbed Ioshi up by the collar of his shirt and promptly expelled him.
Iruka had only ever expelled one student before. His first year teaching without an older teacher as a guide there had been a girl named Mio who had made a primitive exploding tag while Iruka had been lecturing and set it off. Five of her classmates had been badly injured, and the girl herself had had her left hand completely blown off.
Iruka thought the pain of loosing a hand was bad enough, but Sandaime had been adamant.
Iruka cried for a month over it.
This time, however. Iruka held no compunctions against using his right as an Academy instructor to expel a student, especially one who would pin a girl four years younger than him to the ground and beat her up because she'd been looking at him.
Iruka was halfway through his third bowl, and three-fourths of the way through his lunch break when a hand fell heavily onto his shoulder and he was wrenched backward out of his seat.
A large fist sailed cleanly past his face, and he could smell sweat, dirt and that tang of iron that clung to the fingers of someone who spent most of their time handling kunai, feel the heat of the large man's fist as it seemed to travel past in slow motion.
And then time sped up again, Iruka was in the air, then on the ground, skidding and tumbling backward into a crouch, weapon drawn, eyes wide and alert. And that large fist crunched through the bar, shattering his bowl, noodles and broth and little chunks of pork splattering everywhere along with sharp splinters of wood and stray chopsticks.
Ayame shrieked and ducked back into the kitchen. The rest of the ramen stand patrons scattered…
—And Iruka took in the frightening sight of the man he recognized as Obotsu Kumo, Ioshi's tank-like father.
All Obotsu men were all built like gorillas. Tall and broad, their arms slightly longer than they should have been, necks thick, legs bowed and just a tad too short. They were known for their brute strength, not for their intelligence, which Iruka believed was diminished because they were so thuggish.
And then Iruka saw the smaller, seemingly dwarfed form who'd jerked him out of the path of Kumo's bolder of a fist.
Kakashi had a ramen bowl in one hand, chopsticks held in with his thumb, kunai in the other, held dangerously close to Kumo's temple. "Impressive force, I'll give you that. And your chakra control is pretty good, but you breathe like an ox… Heard you coming half a block away."
Iruka hadn't even realized the jounin had been in the stall. Let alone sitting so terribly close to him.
Kumo roared, jerked his fist out of the hole he'd made in the counter, and took a swing at Kakashi.
He ducked, his hair wafting with the wind created by the giant of a man's fist.
A kick—
Kakashi rolled deftly backward, twisting his arm and keeping his still full bowl upright without spilling a drop, coming up into a crouch beside Iruka. He sighed disappointedly and passed the bowl to the chuunin. "Hold that."
Iruka spluttered and watched as Kakashi started forward again, dodging and evading the brute's seemingly clumsy punches and kicks as if he weren't even solid.
Kumo's face was becoming redder and redder by the second, and with a growl, he clapped his meaty palms together and swung—
Ten ANBU poofed out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. There was a breathless grunt, a crash of wood and shattering porcelain and Iruka blinked rapidly, trying to see through the cloud of smoke and fluttering leaves.
Four ANBU slid out of the fog, securing the perimeter, speaking in eerily distorted voices through the little mechanical changers in their masks
Kumo snorted and bellowed like a tethered bull and another ANBU materialized out of the thick fog, gently, but firmly pushing Kakashi, who looked pale, and rather disgusted.
"Maaaaa, Hound-san, you're no fun!"
"I'm sorry, Hatake-san, but this just became ANBU business."
Kakahsi tilted his head appraising the young man with his lower lip poking out his mask; "If I hadn't been retired, I'd still have that mask you know."
The young man chuckled, his voice sounding strange and monotone through it. "Then I thank you for so gracefully passing it on to me, Hatake-san. I have quite a legacy to live up to… But that still doesn't change anything."
"Spoil-sport." Kakahsi slumped away, right hand tight on his left elbow. Then he quickly turned and said in a loud voice; "Give him a jab in the kidney for me, Yuushino!"
From somewhere in the cloud of jutsu controlled fog a disguised voice chuckled and called out; "Will do!"
And with a loud pop, the smoke, the ANBU and Kumo disappeared, leaving the bar… Clean, repaired and spotless.
Ayame crept silently from the kitchen, pale and trembling, pushing loose tendrils of hair off her face in a half panicked sort of way. Her father patted her shoulder. "See, I told you they would handle it."
She nodded, released a sigh and gave herself a little shake, setting back to work.
Iruka blinked stupidly and glanced around, noticing Kakashi was walking slowly down the street away from him, still gripping his elbow.
"Eh, K-Kakashi-sensei…"
He flinched, and slowly turned, cocking his eyebrow.
Iruka motioned shakily to the bowl he was still holding.
"Ah… I—I've suddenly lost my appetite."
Iruka blinked again and watched him take a few more steps farther away, then jumped forward, sat the bowl on the counter, bowed respectfully; "Please forgive me… I'll—I'll be right back."
And he took off at a sprint down the street, circling to walk backward facing Kakashi.
"A-are you alright? What happened? T-thank you for pulling me away, he would have punched my head clean from my shoulders!" Then with a snarl Iruka pounded his fist into his own palm. "Violent tempers must run in their genetics! Just today Ioshi pinned Kiku to the ground and was punching her! Someone should have a talk with the—"
"You and Naruto both have a tendency to ramble when you're excited… Did you know that?"
Iruka fell silent, but didn't stop walking, using a small bit of his chakra to make sure he wasn't going to run into anything. "Ah…" Suddenly self conscious he scratched at his nose, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "Ano… T-thank you for not allowing me to be pulverized, Kakashi-sensei."
"Don't mention it." He tried to push past the chuunin, the muscles in his jaw standing out beneath the dark fabric of his mask, but Iruka kept after him. Turning the right way around and following at a quickened pace.
Realizing the chuunin wasn't going to let it go at that, Kakashi spoke again, hoping to appease him. "Naruto would never forgive me if I sat idly by and allowed you to become a greasy spot between the fingers of an enraged Obotsu."
"Ah, yes… He has taken a liking to me I suppose… He really is a good kid when you get to know him." Iruka chuckled brightly, scratching his neck. "There must be some way I can repay you. Did you have a tab, I could pay it for you if you did."
"No… Naruto gave me a voucher this morning for my birthday." He sighed, seeming to deflate, as if slightly annoyed by it all.
"Your birthday is today?"
"Unfortunately."
And Iruka clapped him on the back. "Happy Birthday then!"
Kakashi hissed, stepping quickly away from him, curling inward.
"Are you alright?"
"Fine-fine… Yes… Thank you." He flipped two fingers where they were still curled around his elbow. "You're going to be late, Iruka-sensei."
A jolt went through him. Arms drawing up, legs bending, and with a cry he leapt upward onto the nearest roof and started running full tilt toward the academy.
"SHIT!"
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Yuushino is just a random ANBU. And Tenzou was with them, he repaired the bar.
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