That's right. I'm back. Sort of, anyway.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I do own the plot.
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. It just happened that way, but the new one should be out soon.

xXx

Iruka's eyes twitched open as the first rays of light fell over his swollen lids. As he rolled over to squint at the alarm clock on the nightstand, he realized that he had slept for a full two hours--a new record.

Since the night three weeks ago when Kakashi had deemed himself too horrible of a person to be with Iruka, the chuunin had barely been sleeping. The hours he spent not sleeping he spent crying. It had been all he could do to keep himself together in the presence of his classes, and one very small child had even asked why his test paper looked as if water had been dripped all over it. After that question, Iruka had to excuse himself to the bathroom to cry some more.

Iruka grudgingly shifted himself out of bed. It was Friday, the last day of classes for the week, which meant he had the whole weekend to be alone. All he wanted these days was to be alone. He was sick of the looks his fellow shinobi cast him when they thought he wasn't looking; those looks of pity that made him want to die on the spot. Sighing, he wandered into the bathroom to shower, where his tears would mix with the water as he was forced to recall the sweet memories he and Kakashi had created in that shower.

Damn you, Kakashi, he thought angrily, practically slapping the tears off his dark face. It's so sickening that you can do this to me when I haven't laid eyes on you for three fucking weeks...

He was just about to climb into the steamy shower stall when he saw a small brown slug creeping along the showerhead.

"Shit," he said out loud, gazing in disgust at the slimy trail Tsunade's summons was leaving on his showerhead. It was a summons, and the last thing he felt like doing this morning was going to see the Hokage.

"C'mere, you nasty little bugger," he mumbled, holding out his finger. The slug inched over his fingernail, and Iruka shuddered at the cold feeling of slime on his skin. "I'm assuming your mistress got someone to cover my classes?"

What passed for the slug's head made a bobbing motion, and with a puff of smoke, it disappeared.

Iruka nearly punched the glass shower stall. Puffs of smoke were synonymous with Kakashi leaving, and he felt the tears burning behind his eyes again.

When does it end?he thought bitterly, as he grabbed the nearest hair tie on the counter. He jerked it back into a tight horsetail, relishing the sharp pain in his scalp. At least that kind of pain was physical. He threw on his uniform from last night and made the seals to teleport--when the Hokage sent a summons, one didn't hesitate, not even to bathe.

He appeared outside her office door and bowed to the two guards. "I received a summons from Godaime. Will she see me?"

The guard took in Iruka's swollen eyes with the dark purple streaks beneath, his wrinkled uniform and tangled, slightly greasy ponytail. At length, he responded, "She will," and opened the door. Iruka walked in, counting that as the first the unwelcome looks of pity he would receive that day.

Tsunade's arms were crossed across her ample bosom as she paced the floor of her office. The smell of sake was thick in the air and her desk was crushed to splinters. Thought Iruka was irritated at being summoned so early in the morning, he decided that today would definitely not be a good day to complain the the Hokage. She looked to be in rare form.

"You sent for me, Godaime?" he mumbled, in the monotone voice that had become the norm for him since Kakashi left.

"Yes, Iruka, yes," she sighed. "Have you seen Hatake lately?"

Ye gods, it even hurts to hear the name."No, Godaime. Not since three weeks ago."

"SHIT!""

Tsunade made the mistake of punching the wall, and the entire thing nearly disentigrated. Iruka winced and shrunk back as a chunk of plaster flew by his temple.

"Shit again," she whispered, clutching her nose between her thumb and forefinger. The hackles rose on Iruka's neck. Something was wrong.

"What's going on, Godaime? Has Kaka...Hatake not been reporting for duty?"

"Oh, he reported for a stupid B class mission two weeks ago. It was nothing but scroll retrieval, and the scroll wasn't even all that important...or so I thought. I gave him the B class and told him I'd see him later." she said, still pacing.

"Has he..." Iruka swallowed hard. "Has he not returned?"

"Oh, he returned. You weren't at the missions desk when he came back, but Raidou was in there...said Hatake was covered in blood. Threw the report at the chuunin at the desk and teleported and hasn't been seen since. That was about...four days ago."

"What did the missions report say?! Surely that would explain something?" Iruka exclaimed.

"You know Hatake. Amidst his bloody fingerprints all it said was, 'Mission fucking accomplished.' Iruka, I know you two had a fight--"

Iruka winced, and was about to say something when Tsunade held up her hand.

"Nevertheless, I need to you to find him for me. He's in Konoha somewhere, but we haven't been able to find him. Sometimes I think that motherfucker is a better ninja than I am...my summons can't find him, the jounin can't find him, there's no trace of his chakra anywhere, but there have been no reports of him outside of Konoha. We've asked. So unless he's gone missing-nin on us and joined forces with Orochimaru--"

"He would never!" Iruka said, horrified that Tsunade would even consider it.

"Let me finish. We all know he wouldn't. So that leaves the suspicion that he is some-fucking-where in Konoha, even though no one can find him. So, Umino, the duty falls to you." she finally stopped pacing and turned to look him in the eye. "You have to find him, Iruka. He's Konoha's best shinobi. From what Raidou said, he was...he was about to break. Did you ever see Hatake break?"

Iruka shook his head. He didn't know that shinobi like Kakashi ever broke.

"I haven't either. It's been years since he last did it and I wasn't around then...but my point is, your mission is to find him. Your classes will be covered for you until you do."

"I'll do my best, Godaime...but he...he won't want to see me." said Iruka. He dug his teeth into the meat of his lower lip. He would not cry in front of his Hokage.

"Are you kidding, Iruka?" Tsunade actually laughed. "Right before he left, he told me the first thing he was going to do when he got home was find you and--"

Iruka teleported before Tsunade could finish her sentence.

xXx

A/N: Does that make any of you feel better? Of course, it isn't complete. Remember, reviews encourage hasty updates!