I know it's been a while, everyone. Sorry for making you wait for so long. The truth is, as you already probably know, I stopped having interest for the Naruto series years ago and didn't feel like continuing a story whose characters were not inspiring me anymore. But I've never closed down that door in my mind, remembering that many people were expecting me to complete this admittedly way too lentghy story of mine, and that I had promised my readers (judging by the comments I keep on receiving, I still have some) I wouldn't drop Clueless Teachers.

So here I am, to finish this. I'm going to be honest with you, I want this project behind me before long so I can concentrate on something else. So I crunched a lot of the original plot to finish the story within three chapters. Here's the first one. I can't say this is what I had thought for this baby of mine, but the ending I have in mind will be as decent as can be, all things considered.

I have to say, I have been entertaining the thought of dropping altogether this project for about a year - I had all reasons to. But the reviews I kept receiving from you guys, even though I hadn't posted a new chapter in years, was what made it impossible for me to close off this door and, ultimately, it pushed me to make a proper ending to this fanfiction.

I'm writing this for you guys, and I hope you won't be too disappointed with the following chapters. I know they're not as polished as other chapters I've written before, but at least it's something. I hope these final chapters will give you the same sense of closure I know I will feel when this will all be over.

Needless to say, as I'm writing this for you and only for you, comments would be really appreciated.

And once again, English is not my lative language, so don't expect my grammar to be perfect. But you already know that, right?

...

Oh, by the way. I'm probably going to change my penname in the following months, so don't be surprised if a new chapter pops up with a new author name

;)

o0o0o

Chapter 21

The Gemna Effect – Part I

Umino Iruka rubbed the back of his stiff neck absently, letting out a sigh. It had been yet another demanding day at the ninja academy, and he was starting to feel the exhaustion of the past week settle in. As he had predicted, his absence had dire consequences on his students, and he was the one who now had to deal with it. Many prejudiced Konoha inhabitants held the comical misconception that teaching pre-genins was some kind of overpaid babysitter job that suited about any adult chuunin who had little desire to get their hands dirty on the field. The brown-haired chuunin snorted at that thought. Sometimes he wished those arrogant field jounins would take care of one of his classes for more than an hour, to see how they fared with 30 wannabe ninjas. By the look of it, they'd probably do a better job than the replacement the Godaime had hired to take over his classes in his absence anyway. He'd seen it countless times before : new substitute teachers thought they knew what the job was all about before they entered the classroom, but they were usually ready to resign by the end of the first week – either in tears or about to slice a couple of little throats. From what he had gathered, his substitute had given up trying to teach anything to the little devils before the end of the first week and the class had been more or less in a constant state of turbulence and open mutiny the whole time. It took Iruka a full week just to get the class back to an acceptable level of orderliness – and he didn't even want to think about all the catching up they would have to go through in the following weeks. To think he was going to have to go through the trouble to re-do all his lesson plans again...

As he unlocked his front door and walked into his apartment, the academy teacher's first thoughts went to a certain silver-haired jounin, until he remembered that Hatake Kakashi was no longer there. Frowning, the chuunin walked to the kitchen and dropped his bag on the table dejectedly. The Copy nin had been gone for a whole week now, and he was still expecting him to be there when he came back from work, waiting for him on that spot on the couch he had come to consider his, a book in his hand and a bored look on the visible part of his face. And unfailingly, when the realization that he was coming back to an empty apartment dawned upon him again, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. Why was that? He had always come back to an empty apartment and it had never, in all these years of teaching at the academy, bothered him one bit. So why was he feeling so down about it suddenly?

At first, the chuunin had thought it was because he was used to have someone around. He had thought he was simply lonely. Hadn't he expected it? He had known all along he would miss the man's presence in his humdrum daily life. But he had guessed he would get over it after a few days. He had not expected to feel more acutely that there was something amiss as days went by. Why couldn't he get used to the idea that Kakashi wouldn't be there to greet him? That Kakashi had left and wouldn't come back?

Iruka couldn't get it. To think he had come to appreciate the man, given their history, was a feat in itself, but to be missing him? It seemed like pushing things a lot. But as the days went by, the brown-haired man was starting to realize this nagging amiss feeling amounted to more than simple loneliness. More than the man's presence, he was missing Hatake Kakashi as a person, and that was something he simply couldn't understand.

It was not like the man was amazingly funny or flamboyant – on the contrary, in spite of what people thought they knew about the eccentric jounin, he was actually a rather quiet and discreet person. Having him around was like having a stray cat napping on one's couch. Like a stray, Kakashi-sensei was nonchalant and didn't need nor want to be taken care of, but he liked to have someone around anyway. Though he gave him the distinct impression he wasn't aware of his presence most of the time, so lost in his book that he was, the jounin somehow always managed to appear out of nowhere when there was food and for some reason, he always showed up to offer non-verbal support when Iruka was depressed, just like a cat.

It puzzled the academy teacher. When had he come to consider Hatake Kakashi, of all people, a comforting presence in his life? God knew he had wished the man could have stayed anywhere else during most of his stay at Iruka's. And why was he feeling like he was some kind of stray Iruka was responsible of? It was true that the man had showed up rather unexpectedly in his life, wounded and fearful, so much like a couple of stray cats he had taken care of back when he had been a lonely teenager. Back then, he had lived in a very small apartment on the eastern edge of the town, and had often run into abandoned pets or strays that had gotten wounded in the forest right outside the village. More out of duty than anything else, Iruka had taken in half a dozen of these wounded strays over the years, no matter how much trouble he knew they were. Not without getting a couple of scratches along the way, he had managed to get the cats to trust him to some point and to nurse them back to health. But though they had been comfy on his couch, they had remained stray cats – it was not in their nature to lounge around like pets. They longed to be out there in the wildness, where they belonged. As he had known all along they would, eventually they left, and every time, no matter how many times he had gotten scratched or bitten, Iruka ended up missing them and hoping they would come back once in a while. And when they did not, he wondered if perhaps it was something he had done that drove the cats away, or worried over them, wondering if they could have gotten beaten up again by another bossy stray out there.

With a twinge, Iruka realized he felt about Kakashi's departure the same kind of feelings he had felt as a lonely kid when another stray cat left him to return to the wild. Somehow along the way, though he couldn't figure out why, he had gotten attached to the silver-haired man, and though he wasn't there anymore, his thoughts still flew to him. And he had to admit to himself that he even felt a bit concerned about the man's health – though he really had no reason to worry, as Shizune wouldn't have let him leave if he hadn't been ready to take care of himself again. But after spending so much time nursing the jounin back to health, he was concerned the man would overdo it and wound himself again just because he couldn't wait to go back on the field, which was something he felt the Copy nin was entirely capable of. Not that it was his call to look after him anymore. No, not anymore. He just hoped all his good work to get the man back to health wouldn't come to nothing, that was all.

Sighing dejectedly, the chuunin unpacked his bag and got ready for his shift at the mission desk. He couldn't say he was looking forward to an evening classing and handing over mission reports after the kind of week he had gone through, but at this time of the year they were always understaffed and he knew they needed all the extra hands they could afford.

Feeling much too tired for the kind of evening he knew was in store him, the brown-haired man peered inside his fridge, grabbed the leftover stir-fry from Tuesday and sniffed it tentatively. He could be turned into a chicken if the thing didn't turn into odd-tasting mushy goo after a week in the fridge and microwave re-heating, but it smelled about alright, or at least he thought so. With a mental shrug, he put the stir-fry in the microwave and went hunting for a gray kitten, wondering where the energetic furball was. Or rather, what was keeping him so busy he hadn't cared to come and see what Iruka was doing in the kitchen.

Iruka found the little gray ball curled up on the couch, exactly where the jounin used to sit to read, fast asleep. The cute sight brought a wan smile to the man's lips. It was incredible how such a hellish little creature could look so vulnerable and angelic when asleep. When the Copy nin had left, the little guy lost both his favourite cushion and his favourite playtime buddy, and Iruka had caught him more than once pacing around the couch, probably wondering where his favourite victim had gone to. Obviously, the kitten was missing Hatake Kakashi as much as he was. And that thought reminded him once more of the Copy nin and of how much his absence weighted on him. Perhaps….

Perhaps he could drop by Kakashi's apartment during the weekend? To see how the man was faring…?

Iruka shook his head. What was wrong with him? Hatake Kakashi was a grown man who could take care of himself, he didn't need a nosy chuunin to come around and poke into his life. Beside, taking care of him for a few weeks did not entitle him to call on him randomly just like that.

Discarding away that thought, Umino Iruka went back to the kitchen and the horrid leftovers awaiting him. As he chewed on a mouthful of mushy vedgies that tasted about as bad as he had figured they would, the chuunin tried to find some twisted comfort in the thought that he surely wouldn't be feeling lonely at the mission room. A bit of social interaction with adults would be a nice change after a week spent with clumsy children, lesson plans and papers to grade.

Even if said adults were desperate to marry him or have him marry one of their relative, he remembered with a groan. But, no. The brown-haired man decided not to let himself be drowned in dark thoughts tonight: something positive was ought to come out of this lousy day. He just knew it would. After all, they would give up on him at some point, wouldn't they? It was not like he could remain the village's most wanted single chuunin forever. People could only remain interested for so long with nothing to feed on, and it was especially true for ninjas, who weren't quite known for their large attention spawn to begin with. So perhaps it was time for him to drop the hendge and start being seen again in public places? Well, he could at least give it a try and see how things turned out. Perhaps he was worrying over nothing and there would be no more food fights and bickering over him where ever he went. How would he find out if he never tried?

o0o0o

Barely a few hours later, in the mission room, Umino Iruka realized he had been right, for once. Usually, that was supposed to be a good thing, unless you were a very pessimistic person, which was not the brown-haired man's case. But somehow been right this time hadn't brought him the relief he had expected it would.

The chuunin growled under his breath, annoyed at nobody and everybody in general. He should have chosen more carefully his words when he had made that wish earlier, he thought surly. When he had wished that people would stop fighting over him, he had meant he wanted people to stop making such a fuss over him. He had not meant he wanted people to avoid him like the plague! Since the beginning of his shift, about two dozen of people had come to hand in their mission report to him, though the mission room had been literally overcrowded during most of his shift. While everybody else's waiting lines were crowded, Iruka spent most of his evening waiting for work.

In all honesty, Umino Iruka did not mind being avoided that much. Considering how unpleasant the last few weeks had been, the thought of being avoided instead of sought for was a nice change, even if it stung a little. It was the curious looks and whispers around him that were irritating him.

Oh, let's rephrase that. Those curious, contemptuous and mocking looks and whispers. All over again, he felt like he was the center of the most popular village drama, instead that this time, it was plainly clear that he wasn't showing in such a splendid light anymore. Tapping his fingers against his desk moodily, the chuunin scanned with his eyes the few people left in the mission room at this late hour, wondering what he had done to deserve this kind of attention, caught gonorrhoea? Had Anko poured some gruesome story about him into the village gossip network to keep rivals at bay? Hell, by the look people were giving him, she could have told the village they were dating! Anyhow, the very least these shameless gossipers could do would be to look away when he caught them staring, for God's sake. They didn't even bother to try and hide their amused scornfulness. Even the people who had come to hand their mission report in to him – some of which he knew quite well and talked to on weekly basis - had looked curious and amused by the whole situation. This was starting to really piss him off.

And as if his evening hadn't been shitty enough, about a third of the people he'd had to deal with had been odd men – the kind that gave desk members the creeps. Not that they had been creepy per see - he could deal with creepy alright. No, it was their attitude that had been… perplexing. He thought they were trying to be engaging, but they acted like sham, clingy morons who just wouldn't stop talking and go away, which seemed to interest enormously the crowd of spectators making up the waiting lines in front of the other staff members. Iruka wouldn't be surprised they had been dared to come over and talk to him, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why would anybody want to do that. Something was off there too. And Iruka was already more than a little fed up of being the laughing stock of these morons. Merely two hours ago, he remembered thinking he would rather not know what this new collective behaviour toward him was all about. He had thought it was not like he could do a thing about it anyway, so why bother? But now he wished he had a clue what was going on, and if someone didn't tell him very soon he felt like he was going to have a fit of anger of monstrous proportions.

The chuunin growled under his breath, but waited patiently for the room to finally clear. After what seemed forever, the last mission report was handed in, and one of the staff member went to lock the door behind the last customer. As soon as the door was closed, Iruka lashed out.

"Okay now," he snapped crossly at rest of the mission staff, "Can someone be kind enough to tell me what the fuck is going on here?"

The four other nins looked suddenly rather uneasy, confirming that they had heard the rumours as well. Looking away, none of them seemed to want to break in the news to the already pissed-off Iruka, though.

"Kaanan-san?" He gnarled at the married woman next to him, who looked up, startled.

"Oh, well, some silly gossip, you know!" she tried to sound casual, shrugging. "Don't worry 'bout it. It's nothing important, really."

"Lemme judge of that," the brown-haired chuunin growled, glaring. "So what is it?"

The brunette woman made a face. "Fine, if you're gonna be like that, I might as well tell you, but don't get pissed at me. You remember when Genma said you had to be gay to turn down all the single pretty women in town?"

Iruka didn't like where this was going. "I do…"

"Well", Kaanan sighed, giving him an apologetic smile, "the word got around town, you see."

Iruka gaped at her as the information sunk in. There was an uneasy silence as they all stared at the brown-haired man tensely, fearing some sort of outburst.

"You mean," he said blankly, finally registering what was going on, "the whole village knows I'm gay?"

"So you are gay," the other kunoichi, a bland-looking blonde, mumbled in an astonished way, and Iruka felt color leave his face. The other staff members smiled hesitantly at him, looking like they couldn't figure out if they were sorry for him or amused at his expanse. Groaning, he banged his head against the desk, feeling his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. Real smart, Umino. Way to be inconspicuous about it. Above him, he heard someone snigger and Kaanan patted his shoulder soothingly.

"Don't worry Iruka-kun," she told him warmly, "We won't make fun of you… Well, not much anyway." More snickers.

"Don't despair, there's a good side to it. No more Anko and no more clingy girls to turn down anymore."

But the chuunin was barely listening to their words. He simply couldn't believe this was happening. He had found out he was homosexual only recently. He wasn't even that sure he felt okay with that knowledge yet and knew even less how he was supposed to deal with it in his daily life. And now, by some twisted cosmic joke, he just found out the whole village already KNEW about it! No wonder these guys had acted up so strangely. They had been hitting on him, he realized with horror. Hitting on him!

"No, now I have to deal with clingy gay guys instead," he groaned against the desk, and someone snickered discreetly again. Of course, trust them all to have noticed he was being hit on by morons all evening long. He must have been the only jerk in the whole mission room who hadn't understood these men had been blatantly flirting with him. Thinking back of some of the puzzled or annoyed replies he gave some of them, he felt his cheeks heat up as he discovered a whole new meaning to his words. No wonder people were so amused! What a clown he'd made of himself! Now people not only knew he was gay, but also thought he was a weirdo as well!

"Now, you've got to be fair with yourself," an older staff member said in his slow, deep voice. "Some of them weren't half bad."

"Well, that tan jounin from the 7th division was actually nice. He's not bad looking, too. A shame he's gay, really, but all the good ones are."

"Like Iruka-sensei," the blonde said sullenly. The academy teacher remembered she had been one of the single women of the mission room staff to show interest for him in the past weeks.

"Don't worry," the deep voice of Urani-san came again, "They're gonna get over it pretty soon. The village already has its share of gay nins. You just happen to interest a lot of people, with your reputation and all."

"Come on, cheer up, Iruka-sensei!" Kaanan said when the chuunin wouldn't look up, trying to sound encouraging. "At least, this means things will get back to normal. No more women chasing your cute little ass 'round town, how does that sound?"

"Don't speak too fast," Iruka heard the fourth staff member, the one who had been sniggering at him earlier, speak up. "What tells us these women won't come back for a gay best friend? From what I gather, women seem to want those as well."

"Rusu-kun," Kaanan said warningly in her stern-mother voice, "Iruka-kun needs cheering up here. You're not helping."

Finally looking up, Iruka tried to glare at the wall, but couldn't find the energy to anymore. "I am soooooo gonna kill Genma."

These words seemed to amuse his coworkers, who relaxed. "If I had a penny every time I heard this!" Kannan shook her head, snorting loudly. "I'd be so ridiculously rich!"

"Speaking of Genma," Urani-san said in his slow, baritone voice, "Anyone heard of him? He hasn't been around for a while."

Before anyone could say anything, the brown-haired kunoichi burst out laughing, and people stared. It was so unlike her that Iruka almost stopped to mope over himself.

"Genma! Oh, I figure we won't see him around for a while!"

"Why's that?"

The kunoichi eyed them mischievously and bit her lower lip. "Well… I told myself I wouldn't tell anyone, but seeing how things turned out for poor Iruka-kun because of Genma's bid mouth… I guess the man had it coming." She paused, choosing carefully her words. "I guess I… discovered why the senbon-sucker keeps coming back to the mission room. It was because of the Godaime actually, I would have never figured it out myself. But the Godaime, she's nobody's fool – she had known all along, I gather."

"Spit it out already, it's already half past midnight and my wife's gonna be pissed at me if I get home too late again."

"All right, all right!" She said, looking flushed. "That day, when the Godaime dropped by the mission room, Genma was hanging around again, so she ordered him into the small archive room at the back. Now, I wasn't eavesdropping of anything-" her light touch of pink spread across her cheeks "but when I went to the staff kitchenette to get another coffee mug, I so happened to overhear a bit of the discussion. Long story short," the kunoichi took a breath, "the reason why Genma haunts the mission room is because he wants to see his crush and is too much of a sissy to make a move."

This last piece of information left pretty much everyone speechless, even Iruka, and Kaanan couldn't fight a smug little smile at their reaction.

"You gotta be kidding me."

"Genma has a secret crush? Are we talking about the same Gemna here? The guy who flirts petty much anything that has boobs?"

"I guess it's a front to mislead people," she smiled slowly, "because when he left the building, I managed to get a glimpse of him, and he looked like a chastised schoolboy who's just being caught watching women getting undressed at the local bathhouse. He was even blushing." She said the last word as though she meant it to make an impression.

"Really? Wow… I never would have thought Genma could be shy to ask someone out like that..."

"Me neither. I mean, we're talking of Genma. The man has his reputation."

"I guess he has his reasons," Kaanan said airily and Iruka's eyes narrowed. He knew Kaanan too well – and had far too much experience dealing with lying children - not to figure out on the spot she was holding back something rather juicy.

"Kaanan," he said slowly, "You're hiding something."

As he had guessed she would, the brunette suddenly looked startled, huffing. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know who he's pinning after, right?" Iruka leaned forward, and so did the other staff members, their eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"Well, perhaps I do! But no matter how much a jerk he's been to you Iruka-kun, Genma doesn't deserve to have his secret revealed like this. I'm sure it would crush him, really."

"Like I'm not crushed myself," the academy teacher muttered mutinously, but he wasn't angry enough with the man to actually want to expose him for real. Sure, Genma was the cause of the latest shitty thing that happened in his life - and he was still going to murder him for it, of course – but that didn't mean he wanted to see the man get hurt or humiliated to get revenge. The thought of the infamous flirt Genma having a schoolboy crush on someone was, in a way, so amusing that it almost made up in a strange way for the man's bad choice of words of late. So he didn't press her.

But the others didn't have as much scruples.

"Ohhh, come on! Don't be so sappy 'bout it, we're talking about Genma! Gemna, woman, Genma!" the married nin moaned irritably and Urani-san snickered as he got up to leave, shaking his head.

"You can't just tease us like that and not tell us!" the blonde kunoichi whined.

"Sorry, but no can do."

"Please, Kaanan!"

"I said no."

"I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

"Nope." Smiling slightly, Iruka gathered his belongings, getting ready to leave as well.

"Come on, I'll trade my Spring break mission room assignment with you so you can go to that bathhouse with your husband!

"No."

"Welllllll." The blonde sighed at last. "At least we know he's got a thing for a mission room staff member! I wonder… could it be… me?!"

"It's not you," the brunette answered flatly.

"Oh well, figures…"

Iruka didn't hear the rest of the discussion, as he was already walking outside the mission room. In front of him, the streets were quiet and dark, and the cold and humid air of the night sent a shiver down his spine. The cold was not unwelcome though, because with all these emotions, he felt truly exhausted and the cold air at least helped him keep his head clear.

So the whole village now knew he was into men… The chuunin sighed dejectedly at the thought as he walked back home. Well, it was quite an unpleasant surprise, there was no point denying that. But for some reason, that thought didn't make him feel nearly as mortified as he had felt a few minutes ago. He guessed he had to thank to Kaanan-san for it – even if it only lasted a short moment, she had managed to take his mind off it with her gossip about Genma, and somehow that put things back into perspective.

He was not happy at all about the turn the events had taken and didn't even want to start thinking about all the complications and frustrations it would generate, but at least he didn't have to worry about crazy kunoichi chasing him around the city, women straining their ankles in front of his door or middle-aged women fighting over him in the middle of the street anymore. And that was such a huge relief that the inconveniences of his new situation could not completely cloud it. Besides, there had been a lot of wisdom in his coworker's words: now that he was "out of the closet", as they say, the smirks, curious glances and whispers could only last so long. People would speculate over his homosexuality for a while, look disdainful and tell each other why they had always known he was a queer, but when they realized he didn't care and remained as boring and single as ever, Iruka knew for sure their interest would disappear like snow on a sunny day and things would finally get better.

Things would get better, but they wouldn't get back to normal. He doubted things could even get back to normal – just the thought of the kind of problems this was bound to create when his students and their parents heard of the news was enough to make him groan. But he would deal with it. He was competent and his work was appreciated by the people who mattered, so he didn't really have to worry about something like that actually making him lose his job. And considering the interest the Godaime seemed to have mysteriously taken in his love life of late, he felt reasonably certain that she would not let his coworkers or superior to harass him about it. Iruka had never thought he would ever be glad for Tsunade-sama poking her nose into his sex life, but he guessed he was now, in a twisted kind of way.

The brown-haired man nearly stopped at his own chain of thoughts, frowning. He had sort of just made his coming out, thanks to Genma's loud mouth, and the first thing he was worried about was his job and how his coworkers, his students and their parents would take the news? The chuunin grimaced at how pathetic that sounded, even to his own ears. This kind of thought process proved once again, he realized not without a bit of sorrowfulness, that work was taking way to much space in his rather shallow and lonely life, and more acutely than ever before, the chuunin felt it was wrong.

What would normal gay guys worry over? The reaction of their friends and family, he supposed. But Umino Iruka was an orphan, and didn't have that many close friends he could say whose opinion matter a lot to him. He hung out with Naruto and Team seven of course, but they were only teenagers, and considering the last discussion he'd had with the blond teen, he doubted the ramen-lover would mind much learning he preferred men. He hung out sometimes with a few mission room staff members, if going out for a few drinks four – five times a year could be called hanging out. And there was Kakashi-sensei.

… Kakashi-sensei, really? Iruka mused, wondering about what the eccentric man meant to him. It was strange, really, because although he felt he barely knew the man, he also realized he knew him very well, probably better than people who had been close to him for years. At least, he knew for a fact that Hatake Kakashi didn't care which way he swung – he doubted he even realized it was something normal people looked down upon to start with. That thought made him smile, and what people thought suddenly didn't matter as much as before. For some reason, the knowledge that the silver-haired man accepted him like he was and wouldn't act differently toward him because of his homosexuality… made everything else seem less important. This was something no-one could take away from him, something that wouldn't change and that he knew he could hold tight to in the upcoming storm. He had no clue why the man's approval meant so much to him. Perhaps it was because the man was one of the few adults in Konoha he felt close to. Yeah, it was probably it.

The chuunin didn't feel like trying to understand what that sudden relief meant or why he cared so much. He was too tired to start thinking again of Hatake Kakashi, he decided. The man's mystery would have to wait until tomorrow. In the meanwhile, he made his way home with the comforting thought that even if everything else broke apart, he could count on the aloof jounin not to give a shit.

Even so, Umino Iruka decided he needed to go out more. See people, have some fun with people of his age, for a change. Even if that meant going into a bar. He couldn't say he was fond of the idea, but anything except work would be good to chase away that feeling of loneliness that had crept along the edges of his life for too long. The chuunin swore he was going to be more outgoing.

…Soon. He couldn't right now, not with all the lesson planning he still needed to for the following weeks. And besides, it was perhaps not the best of ideas to start going out just as the word of his homosexuality had gotten out – people would be whispering on his way and staring at him oddly, and in such an ambiance it would be hard to have any fun, and possibly impossible to get to know better and befriend people. Not to mention, he remembered with a slight blush, all the attention he was sure to get from the gay guys around town. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, the academy teacher started to walk faster. He really didn't feel ready for face any flirty gay guy for the moment – this was all too knew for him to even consider any of them. Even if they were hot – especially if they were hot, in fact. Just the thought of being flirted by a sexy man in the low-light ambiance of a bar was enough to make the chuunin's heart race, but not in the good sense of it. If such a guy was to come up to him, there was no saying he wouldn't panic, act like a moron and/or probably make a run for the door. No, flirting was not something he felt ready to deal with, and dating even less.

But if today was any example, his reputation as a dependable, nice guy was ought to get him more attention than he wanted from the male homosexual population of the village. He guessed he'd dealt with it today – though admittedly not wittedly – so he could deal with it again. It was no bid deal. Right? Right. And beside what his coworkers had said earlier, none of these men, that he could remember of, had been very attractive. Being flirted by these kinds of guys was going to be embarrassing and bothersome, annoying, even, but it would not upset him like the attention of someone like Hatake Kakashi would –

The chuunin froze on the spot.

Wait.

Hatake Kakashi?

Why had he thought of the Copy nin just then? Of all the suave, good looking men he could possibly feel strong attraction for in Konoha, why had the name of Kakashi-sensei been the first to pop up in his mind? Admittedly, the man was very good-looking under that mask with his fair, smooth skin, his straight nose and somewhat full lips, and he sure had a fine body too, slender-looking but surprisingly sharp and muscled, but- but-!

Umino Iruka gaped at the empty road in front of him, deep in shock. He could not believe… He could not believe he was having this kind of thoughts for the silver-haired man! They'd spent weeks together, he had had to bath and undress the man more than once, and he could say that no remotely sexual thought had ever crossed his mind in these kind of situation, so why now? Of course, he had noticed back then the man was attractive – he was not blind! But back when Kakashi had still been unable to move, he slowly remembered, he had still been feeling unconcerned about his own (nonexistent) sexuality. It had been Genma's stupid comment and the Godaime's ridiculous "mission" that had made him reconsider things… Mainly, to start thinking of love and sex – with a man - as something that *could* come up unexpectedly in his life, rather than something he had given up on for a long time without even realizing it. But even knowing that, considering how he had gotten acquainted with some, hum, more intimate parts of the man's anatomy, Iruka felt dirty to be thinking of the man's body in such a light now. He didn't want to see the man as some kind of piece of meat – their relationship was already fucked-up enough as things were without his burgeoning libido messing it up some more.

God, could it be the reason why he cared so much for the jounin's opinion and was missing him so much was because he… had some sort of crush for him…?

As soon as the idea came to his mind, Iruka dismissed it with slight annoyance. No, it couldn't be something of the sort. The very thought of him having any kind of feeling for the twisted, eccentric man was laughable. Him, fond of "Sharigan" Hatake Kakashi? That the mere thought of it came to him mind was either the sign that he needed to have his mental health checked, or that he was so terribly exhausted he wasn't thinking clear anymore.

He really, really needed to rest.

o0o0o

TBC

AN: I would like to thank all the very nice readers who have, over the past years, sent me positive reviews of this story and encouraged me to continue it. Your kind words have left me more than once puzzled at what was making this old story of mine so popular, but were always welcome and very much appreciated. I would like to give a special thanks to Heart's Promise, Iruka Lover, jka1, Scarecrow's Dolphin, Wheelwright, v son sayian, between many others, and of course to xxCloudEnvyxx, whose very lengthy review had me blown away. Thank you for encouraging me! You can say that your resilience has had results ;)