Iruka awoke with a groan as his alarm clock blasted in his ear. It was time for him to be getting up. But I was having such a nice dream… Iruka felt the blood rush to his face as he remembered his dream. He remembered flashes of beautiful silver hair, deceptively soft between his fingers, and a pleasant smile that crinkled its owner's single uncovered eye.
Iruka quickly shook his head, and swung his legs over the side of his bed, getting ready to begin his morning routine. He headed to the bathroom first, showering and getting dressed. He decided his hair would dry before he reaches school, so he didn't bother, leaving it down as he continued through his morning rituals. He made his bed, as he always did, and then headed to the kitchen next, to get his breakfast started. He thought about making a real breakfast, but he decided some fruit and rice would be good enough. He didn't really feel like making a big fuss over it right about then. He put his rice in the steamer, and got to work cutting up some fruit, which he threw into a bowl, added some sugar, and mixed together. He had made his bento box last night, so at least he didn't have to deal with that.
As the rice steamed, and his fruit chilled in the refrigerator, he pulled on a sweater over his t-shirt. The forest green of it went well with his khaki pants, and he was quite satisfied with it when he glanced in the mirror.
He made sure to check his e-mail one last time before he gathered everything up and put it all in his messenger bag, and made his way to the kitchen to grab his breakfast and his lunch. He figured he would eat breakfast when he got to school, since he had a meeting in a half hour, and probably wouldn't have time to enjoy it if he tried to eat it at him.
With that, he was out the door, and in his jeep, on the way to school.
Iruka arrived at the school where he taught, Hidden Leaf High School, right in time for his meeting. He took his seat at the table with several other teachers, and waited for the rest of the teachers to come in and for the meeting to start.
Kakashi sighed and sat up, deciding it was about time to get up and at 'em. He'd been awake for a few hours, but lying in bed doing nothing seemed like such an appealing option that he hadn't really seen the need to argue with himself.
As he sat up, Kakashi glanced at the clock by his bed. Eight o'clock. Wasn't the meeting supposed to start at eight? He shrugged. He still had plenty of time.
Slowly, he untangled himself from his mess of sheets and stood up, stretching as he padded his way to the bathroom in no particular hurry. He stepped out of his sleep plants, slid the bandana from his head, and into the hot spray of the shower. It felt good against his sleep-stiffened muscles, tightened even more after his sparring match the night before with Gai. He'd won, as usual, but it hadn't been without its difficulties. The soreness felt good though. It made him feel like he'd accomplished something.
Under the heat of the spray, Kakashi stretched his tired limbs until they loosened up so that he could lift his arms enough to shampoo his hair.
Eventually, he decided it was time to get out. Not because he was pressed for time or anything, he was just getting bored. Not much to do in the shower, after all, once you've washed and all that.
He grabbed his towel as he stepped out and dried off, running a hand across his mirror to wipe some of the steam away. He couldn't help but grimace at what he saw. You'd think after twenty four years, I'd be able to look at myself in the mirror and not flinch… he thought detachedly as he ran a hand through his dripping silver locks. With a sigh, he slid on some clean briefs, jeans, and a white t-shirt, all the while brushing his teeth.
When he finished, he went back into his room and grabbed a black button up out of his closet and pulled that on, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows and sliding on some socks and some black combat boots.
As was habit, he grabbed a bandana from his closet and tied it around his head, slanting it sideways so that it covered his left eye. A black cord necklace with a dog head charm on it, and some black hemp around his wrist.
His dogs were waiting patiently. Pakkun, Shiba, Biscuit, Akino, Guruko, Uhei, Urushi, and Bull all sat in the kitchen by their respective food dishes, their tails wagging patiently. Kakashi grinned, and filled each of the dishes up, laughing as they all but attacked their dishes. Kakashi, not really feeling up to a big production of a breakfast, opted just to go for a glass of orange juice. He drank it a lot, if the massive stock in his refrigerator was any indication. He had three gallons of it, and he went through that many in a week.
He chugged the glass and tossed it in the sink. He'd get around to cleaning it later. With that he slung his leather laptop bag over his shoulder, checked to make sure his hair was sticking up like it always was, and left, glancing at the picture frame on his entertainment center as he went.
Outside in the driveway of his home, a complex just outside of town, sat his favorite mode of transportation. He pulled the cover off of the vehicle, taking a second to revel in the unmarred perfection of his black Ducati. Kakashi didn't really believe in getting attached to inanimate things – things in general, if he could avoid it – but this was almost like a very dear person to him. It was his baby.
He grabbed the helmet from the seat in front of the handlebars and pulled it on. He didn't feel like bringing a jacket that day, so with his messenger bag firmly in place, he pulled out of the parking lot.
Kakashi made it to the school right on time. Well, right on his time, at least, which is to say about an hour late for the time everyone else in the town went by. Damned if he cared. He timed it just right so that when he entered the building, he was walking straight behind a certain lovely chocolate-haired teacher who happened to just be departing from the meeting Kakashi had so strategically missed.