Hey folks! This break was just what I needed to get this story going. I've made a roughdraft of how I want this to go, but it's not concrete, so feel free to make any character requests or stuff like that :) enjoy!

maethebellydancer: Haha, here you go! *gives you a steaming bowl of chapter 20*

A heart for you: Kakashi should be more careful, and as for Iruka, my mouth is sealed XP

xoxShika-chanxox: Don't worry, I was laughing at their awkwardness too lol, and with Iruka, that's top secret hush hush info :)

(break)

"All right class," Kakashi began with a proud tone, "I just wanted to call one last meeting so that Mr.- I mean Hachiku, and I, can thank you properly."

Upon hearing his name, Hachiku stood up from his seat at the front of the class and walked towards the center, standing besides the silver haired man.

"Class," Hachiku addressed in an assertive voice, "I am proud to call you Weaponry Specialists. Your brave work in our infiltrations of enemy ships, and even the holding back of our foes at the surprise attack, was remarkable. Kakashi and I are both proud to be called your mentors."

"You all displayed a great talent in learning the various skills associated with combat, defense, and infiltration, in a short amount of time," Kakashi chimed in, "which is extremely amazing."

"Precisely," Hachiku began again. "Your medals will be awarded to you the night before our arrival home, so until then, I want you all to relax and enjoy the ride back," he finished with a smile, walking towards the door. "Good job- all of you," he praised one final time, before exiting.

"Kakashi sensei!" Yoko cried out, eyes brimming with tears, "this isn't fair! You're my favorite teacher ever!"

"Yeah, sir," a young boy with spiky, red hair agreed. "You're the coolest."

"And a total bad ass," another piped in.

"And a great opponent," Sai said, smirking slightly to himself, the whole class agreeing in unison.

"Come on you guys," Kakashi chuckled out, "enough with the mushy stuff."

"Hey, are you crying?" Yoko asked, pointing at a lone tear that escaped the pale man's eye. "You are!"

"What? I'm not crying," Kakashi defended hastily, shutting his eyes tightly before reopening them, "I'm just allergic to the material my mask is made out of?"

"Sure you are," a blonde woman teased. "It's ok to cry, you know. It won't make us think any less of you, only more."

Kakashi smiled softly and let another tear cascade down his face.

"You know I'll miss you all, right?" Kakashi questioned quietly.

"Especially me, right sir?" Yoko asked eagerly, eyes lit up in anticipation.

"Haha, well I'm not allowed to have favorites, remember?" Kakashi answered, discreetly winking at the young girl while shaking his head 'yes,' causing Yoko to squeal quietly in delight. He chuckled silently before returning to his speech. "Anyways, as Hachiku stated before, I am truly proud to call you my students. Congratulations once again. Class dismissed!" He announced with a cheerful smile as all the students rushed towards him to shake his hand and properly say farewell. Once the room was empty, he glanced around one final time, before grabbing his bag. "Hm, if someone told me I would soon wish that I could go back to the beginning of teaching these kids- well to the beginning of this war, I would never believe them in a million years. I'll miss those brats," he said, smiling to himself, a wave of nostalgia washing over him. He turned to exit the room, but soon ran into a familir figure. "Ow," he whined softly, rubbing his nose.

"I'm so sorry," apologized the other man, rubbing his nose too, but immediately stopped once he reaized who it was he collided with. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my eternal rival, Kakashi!"

"G-Gai?" Kakashi stuttered in disbelief. "Uh... wow, it's great to see you," he greeted, with a feigned smile.

"Ahahaha! My youthful friend, I never knew you were on this ship! How did you manage to avoid me all this time?" the loud man asked, bushy eyebrows burrowed in deep thought.

"Well, I-" Kakashi began, but was soon interrupted when he was pulled away from Gai by another figure.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need Mr. Pale over here. It's urgent," the man stated, walking out of the door and down the hall with Kakashi following behind him, leaving a baffled Gai behind. The two turned a corner and stopped when the annoying man was out of sight. "Good."

"How do you time these things so perfectly, De-de?" Kakashi asked, chuckling at the situation.

"Please, like I needed timing. First of all, I'm just a natural, and secondly, that man can talk loud. Like louder than... than, well you know what I mean," Denji replied, waving his arms around as a visual of the magnitude of Gai's voice. "Fuck man, I thought my ears would start bleeding! You could hear him a mile away!"

"Haha, that's Gai for you, loud as ever. Thanks again for saving me," Kakashi thanked, patting the other on the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, you still owe me, haha."

"Great to see you still haven't changed, you demanding little garden gnome," Kakashi teased.

"Hey! Just because my hair is green and I'm shorter than you, doesn't mean I'm a gnome, you ass wipe. Anyways, I was originally gonna drop by to tell you how excited I am to be back home in a month."

"Me too... well kind of," Kakashi sighed out, leaning back against the wall of the hallway, the other male joining him.

"Why no- oh yeah... that..." Denji whispered, lowering his head slightly.

"Hey, what did I tell you about doing that?" Kakashi warned, lightly punching the other on the shoulder. "I'll get there when I get there, ok? I just have to figure out what to say to him... what the best course of action is, so cheer up."

'If only it were that easy,' Kakashi thought to himself gloomily. 'I just can't approach Iruka and just say 'hey, I fucked my best friend, but that's ok because I was drunk.' It just doesn't work like that. Ugh... I'll think of something.'

"Yeah," Denji answered meekly, shaking his head furiously in an attempt to regain his positive disposition. "You know who I'll miss?" he queried, a smile plastered firmly on his face once again. "Those tech people. We did some crazy shit in there. Let me tell you, alcohol, coffee, and lava lamps don't mix well, hahah."

"Bi-polar, aren't we?" Kakashi snickered, receiving a slap from the other. "Ouch, you big bully. You know, I would have never suspected a couple of nerds to do crazy stuff like that. I can't even imagine that... well for you I can, but not those other glasses wearing, pocket protector loving weirdos."

"Yeah well I can't imagine you... doing something smart?"

"A little rusty there, are we?"

"Oh shut it, you Swedish dildo licker," Denji sniggered out, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall in relaxation. "Feels good to finally be able to relax."

"Yeah," Kakashi agreed, closing his eyes too. "Feels like a shit load of bricks were just listed off of my chest."

'Yeah,' Kakashi thought in slight grief, 'but the thought of going home to face Iruka just added a million more.'

"Iruka sensei, thanks for taking me out for ramen!" Naruto thanked, happily spinning around on his stool as he waited for his food to arrive.

"Haha, no problem. What is Sasuke doing though?" Iruka wondered, hoping that the angsty teenager wouldn't kill him for stealing his beloved blonde away.

"Sasuke? I told him that this would give him a good chance to spend time with Sango and get to know her better. Since Mr. Emo-puffs is practically family, he needs to start acting better towards other members."

"Wow, you have him whipped," Iruka commented, immediately covering his mouth when he realized he had stated that out loud. "Oh my gosh, I didn't meant to say that out loud. It's not anything bad but-"

"Iruka, calm down," Naruto giggled out. "Sasuke actually told me that the other day."

"Here are your bowls of ramen, gentlemen," the waiter announced, placing a steaming bowl in front of both Iruka and Naruto. "Enjoy you two!"

"Yum! This looks so amazing!" Naruto exclaimed, his blue eyes shimmering in glee.

"Haha, just remeber Naruto, your limit is five bowls," the tanned man warned playfully.

"Awe, only five?" the blonde whined, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Do I look like I'm made out of money?" Iruka asked jokingly.

"Meanie," the boy mutterd, sulking quietly, eyes lowered towards the ground.

"If you keep that up, you'll turn into Sasuke," Iruka bantered, earning a glare from ocean-blue eyes. "Ok, ok, let's just enjoy this food before it gets cold! Ittadakimasu! "

"I'm so glad Kakashi returns in a month," Iruka stated, laying himself on top of the silk sheets of his bed, stretching his limbs out fully to the side. "It's been so empty in the house without him." Sango soon hopped up next to him and curled herself into his side, letting out a loud yawn before settling back down. "Sango," the tanned man whined, "you know Kashi doesn't like that." The dog looked at him, head cocked to the side, before returning to her original position. "I guess I'll just wash the sheets the day before he returns, haha. You know, now that I think about it, the whole death thing Shino told me can't be true. Kakashi only has a month left, and they're out of enemy territory, so it's highly unlikely that they'll face a possible surprise attack. Maybe it's just some fortune telling fluke or something... but it's still disturbing. Ugh, think positive, Iruka," the man groaned out. "Well with Kakashi back, I'll finally feel complete again. I miss the dumb arguments over which flavor ramen is best, the immature pranks, the way he tucks my hair behind my ears... how his muscles move when he's exercising, the way he moans when I- woah! Mind out of the gutters, mind out of the gutters," Iruka chanted, shaking his head. "Oh, who am I kidding, I did miss the sex too. I should start thinking of a welcome back gift for him, but what? Guys like electronical stuff, right Sango?"

"Arf," the dog replied sleepily, rolling over onto her side.

"Excuse me, miss 'I just lay around all day, but still feel sleepy.' I, on the other hand, actually work," Iruka teased, laughing when the dog stood up, only to place herself half-way on top of the man, head resting on his chest. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too, girl. Back to the gift idea. Maybe electronics isn't the way to go. Didn't he mention something, though? What was it? Oh yeah, that's right! He always wanted a pug! That's what I'll get him as a gift!" Iruka exclaimed, smiling in delight. "And I even have the perfect name- Toto. No... that sounds awkward. How about Keki? No, I don't think cake is a good name. Wow, this is harder than I thought. Think, think, think- yes! Pakkun! That's the perfect name, but the dog'll have to be a boy. Oh well, we'll get there when we get there." Iruka glowed with glee as he went over his new plan for a present once again. "I just hope Kakashi will like his present. If he doesn't, I can always tie a bow around myself and he can unwrap me. Wow, now I'm starting to think like him, although that would make a good Christmas present. Hey Sango, you asleep girl?" The dog replied with a loud snore, causing the tanned man to chuckle quietly. "I'll take that as a yes. Good night pup. One month and your daddy will be home," Iruka yawned sleepily, curling up into the sheets. "One month..."

(break)

Yay! One month to go, and happy late Thanksgiving to you all, hehe *sweatdrop*