A/N: As I mentioned in the beginning, an OFC from my other story, "Dual Identities", will pop up here, and she makes her first appearance in this chapter. My hope is that I've been able to introduce her naturally as a secondary character, without the need for you to read that story (unless you want to). But if you're reading and asking yourself, "who the heck is Seika?" The answer is she's a figment of my imagination, and she exists in this world alongside these ladies to make my favorite shinobi fall in love. Kakashi just happens to get his own tale of romance and misadventure elsewhere, and I can't get out of a headspace where they exist together.

With that warning aside, I present to you: Konoha's resident secret keeper, Ichiraku Ayame.


Chapter 4: The Chef and the Academic

In which Ayame sees Iruka in a new light.


Ichiraku Ayame was young, but had a penchant for being prudent and discreet…more so than most other 23-year olds. After working at the restaurant with her father for most of her life, she learned how to read people well, both shinobi and civilians alike. Despite her sweet and demure persona, Ayame knew most of Konoha's gossip long before it spread. This was perhaps due to two factors. First, the restaurant was wildly popular, attracting everyone from traveling merchants to the village's top officials. Second, Ayame was a good listener, and her demeanor put people at ease. Restaurant patrons felt comfortable sharing their inner thoughts while seated at the bar consuming noodles and broth. Ayame was a trustworthy confidant, and she felt pride in being a good secret keeper.

In the span of just one week, however, she learned two massive secrets, and then she inadvertently gave them both away in exchange for a third.


On a Thursday evening, Iruka came into the restaurant, taking his normal seat at the end of the bar. He came every week at the same time, and he was probably their most regular customer since he didn't often take missions outside of the village.

"Evening, Iruka!" Teuchi greeted him. "Your usual?"

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm on it!" Ayame started to pull out the things she needed for a large miso and char siu ramen. Iruka and Naruto both had the same favorite order.

They made small talk about work and what was happening at the Academy. Classes had been slow to start after the war, as the children of the village all had a role to play in helping rebuild. Once there was a stable state of affairs, though, classes resumed, but Iruka found that the students were not the same as they were before. Ayame watched him come in week after week, more exhausted and disheartened that any adjustments to his teaching methods weren't bearing fruit. It would take time though. The children were traumatized, and Ayame reminded Iruka time and time again that it wasn't his teaching that was the problem, but rather war's effects. The civilian schools were facing the same problem as the ninja Academy. Psychological trauma was psychological trauma, regardless of one's abilities. While Sakura and Ino's efforts with an institute for mental health were helping, things wouldn't change overnight. Both Iruka and Ayame understood that. Loss was carried throughout a lifetime.

Tonight though, Iruka looked so downtrodden that Ayame wished she could distract him with something pleasant.

"Are you doing anything fun this weekend?" she asked.

Iruka let out a weighty sigh. "Oh, same old, same old. I'm planning lessons and grading assignments. We're supposed to start a unit on genjutsu next week, but the students keep bringing up the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and I'm not sure how I can get them back on track."

Same, Ayame thought. She placed the ramen in front of him and leaned over the countertop. "Have you tried letting them talk?"

Iruka picked up a pair of chopsticks. "What do you mean?"

"All of your students had a very powerful dream during the war, and maybe they haven't been able to talk about it with anyone yet. I had to talk mine out with my friends. And then somehow reality wasn't so much of a weight on my shoulders. Perhaps letting your students explore the good and bad of the genjutsu they've already experienced will help them understand what it is."

Iruka sipped a spoonful of broth. "That's not a bad idea. But they're so young." He shook his head sadly. "Some had dreams with family members, and when they woke up those people were dead. They shouldn't have to experience that."

"Neither should we."

Iruka swallowed and stared at his bowl, and Ayame felt bad for putting him in a mood. After a moment, he asked, "What did you dream about, Ayame-chan?"

"Oh, you could probably guess…I was a wildly popular chef. You?"

"It seems you've found your calling then," Iruka laughed. "My parents were alive." He paused. "And they were proud of me."

"How could they not be?" The idea that Iruka didn't think he was serving the village well was odd to her. He had taught most of the heroes of the war and essentially raised a group of young ninja who valiantly protected their home. That was nothing to scoff at.

Before they could continue, they heard feet running outside, and Naruto popped his head into the restaurant.

"Ayame-chan! I need to talk to you about something important."

"Naruto-kun! Are you here for dinner, too?" Teuchi asked, ready to place another batch of noodles in boiling water.

Naruto seriously considered this offer for a moment, but decided against it. "Not tonight, old man Ichiraku. I have important things to do."

"More important than ramen?" Teuchi muttered to himself, putting the noodles away disappointedly. Ayame waited for Naruto to say whatever he came to say.

Naruto crossed his arms and nervously glanced at Iruka. His sensei was sipping broth and eyeing both of them with curiosity. Naruto put his hand up to his mouth in an effort to be discreet. "I need your advice, Ayame-chan," he whispered, "but it's kind of a secret."

Naruto's blue eyes held a deep resolve, and his naive sincerity got the best of her. "Alright," she said, motioning him to the back. She gave her father and Iruka a shrug and followed Naruto deep into the recesses of the stockroom. "What do you need advice about?" she asked when they were finally in private.

Naruto pulled a small box from his bag and opened it. Inside was a simple silver band, delicate, with a twisting pattern. It looked like two strands of shining metal had been intertwined into one. It wasn't extravagant, but it was well-crafted, and Naruto had obviously put thought into the ring. Her eyes flickered to Naruto's face as she came to realize what it was.

"You're proposing to Hinata."

He nodded, completely serious. "I want to make it special, but I'm not good with girl stuff."

Ayame was flattered that Naruto would ask her advice. He had plenty of other female friends he was closer with, but Ayame thought of Naruto as a little brother of sorts, and she was pleased to know he cared about her opinions.

"Naruto," she said softly. "This is beautiful. What are your ideas so far?"

He scratched the back of his head, grinning from ear to ear. "Here, actually."

Ayame thwacked him on the head with her spatula. "You can't propose to her here!" she said, aghast.

"Ow! Why not? This is where we had our first date!"

Well, that was rather sweet, but Ichiraku was not the nicest backdrop for a proposal.

Teuchi popped his head in the door. "Everything alright back here? I thought I heard something fall."

Naruto was still rubbing his head where Ayame had hit him. "Actually old man, maybe you'll have some ideas. How did you propose to your wife?"

Ayame's father let out a deep chuckle, walking over to them and thinking back on the memory. "Everything went wrong," he said. "I planned an extravagant dinner, a long walk in the park, and a proposal among irises, her favorite flower. But she had an allergic reaction to something at the restaurant and we never made it to the rest of the evening. We ended up going home after she got out of the hospital. I made her a bowl of ramen, presented her with a single iris, and got down on one knee. Her face was still swollen, but she said 'yes,' and I couldn't have been a happier man."

"She still said yes after all of that?" Naruto asked, earning himself another 'thwack' of Ayame's spatula. "Hey!"

Teuchi chuckled again. "The way you propose isn't what makes her say 'yes,' Naruto-kun."

"So I don't need to plan anything then," he said, frowning in thought. Ayame hit him again.

"Of course you do!" she cried. "You can't be careless with something as big as a proposal. What Otou-san is saying is that if you just show her you care, she won't say no." Ayame thought about her memories from the Infinite Tsukuyomi. In her dream, Kakashi had proposed in the most unique and beautiful way. "Think about the things that you love most about Hinata, and use those to guide how you're going to ask her."

"Hmmm, okay, okay." Naruto thought about that for a while, and then pocketed the ring box. "I have some things I need to do then."

Ayame nodded, and then thought of Iruka, sitting alone in the restaurant. "Hey Naruto-kun. Why don't you want Iruka to know?" The man was his mentor, after all. She'd have thought that Iruka would be one of the first people Naruto would tell.

"Eh," Naruto started, suddenly bashful again, "I don't want to make him feel bad…he's still single and all…" He saw the stern look on Ayame's face. "I know, I know…I need to tell him. I just don't know how yet, alright?"

"Just tell him before he hears it from someone else."

"Yeah, yeah, I will. But hey, you'll keep this a secret for now, right?"

She smiled. "Of course, Naruto-kun."

This was secret number one.

"Thanks, Ayame-chan, old man!" He darted out of the restaurant.

"Naruto will be a married man soon," Teuchi stated.

"I definitely thought I'd get married before he did," Ayame told her father sullenly.

"Your time will come, Ayame. The right man will sweep you off your feet."

They walked back into the main kitchen. "Like you did with Okaa-san?" she giggled.

"Exactly," her father said, winking at her.

"What was that all about?" Iruka asked.

"Oh, typical Naruto stuff. He was asking for dating advice again," Ayame declared, smoothing over Iruka's question with a simple lie.

"From you? But in my recollection, you've never dated anyone, Ayame-chan."

She 'thwacked' him with her spatula as well. "How would you know?! And for your information, I give great dating advice."

"To who?"

She aimed her spatula again, but he was ready this time, and caught it, pulling it from her hands and smiling. Ayame just laughed at him. "I could give some to you, for starters."

Iruka's smile dissolved from his face, and he gave her a look that made her shut up. It was as if he was telling her this was a door she shouldn't try to open, and she wondered if she might have gone too far. Perhaps this was a sensitive topic for him. No wonder Naruto didn't want him to know about his proposal yet.

"Did you have a partner in your dream?" she asked quietly, gently trying to pick up their conversation from earlier.

Iruka sniffed and picked up his chopsticks. "Yes. A family of my own, too."

"Me as well," Ayame said. "It makes you feel more lonely, doesn't it? Even if they never existed."

"Sometimes I wonder if they will ever exist."

Oh Iruka… Ayame rested her head in her hands, watching him eat. He had his moments, but he was a good man. She didn't know how he hadn't been able to find someone yet. Any woman would be lucky to date him. He was hard working, he loved kids, he was thoughtful and kind, and he was cute, what with his dark skin and that childhood scar across his face. "They will," she said simply.

"Tell me, Ayame-chan, what does your ideal family look like?"

"You mean in my Infinite Tsukuyomi? Four kids, minimum. I only had two, in my dream, but we wanted more. Otou-san was a good grandfather, and Kaka–" she almost said his name, but caught herself, turning red, "Um…my husband was a good father. What about you?"

Iruka gave her a strange look then. "Were you about to say Kakashi?"

Ayame felt herself flush all over. She had completely given herself away. "I, umm…"

Iruka let out a sigh, sounding disappointed. "He is the ideal man, isn't he?"

She let out an embarrassed laugh and tried to pivot. "Now that you know mine, who was yours?"

It took Iruka a while to speak. "She was similar in my dream to who she is in real life," he said quietly. "But I wouldn't have a chance."

"Why not?"

Iruka prodded his ramen. "She's interested in someone else."

"Oh." It looked like neither of them would be dating their dream partners. "Do you want kids?"

"Three, minimum."

"So you want a big family, too?"

Iruka nodded. "I want my kids to have what I never did."

"You'd be a wonderful father, Iruka."

He gave her a forced smile. "You think?"

Two more customers walked in. "I think you'd surprise yourself," she told him before turning away to take more orders.

When Ayame and her father closed that evening, she couldn't stop mentally replaying her conversation with Iruka. He looked so disheartened when he found out her ideal man was Kakashi, and Ayame felt guilty. She'd known Iruka long enough to know that he felt inferior to the Hokage in most every way. Iruka highly respected Kakashi, and the two men were good friends, but Iruka thought Kakashi was a better ninja, a better sensei, and a better man in general. Ayame's accidental admission reinforced that.

"What are you thinking about, Ayame?" her father asked. "You're quiet."

"Did Iruka seem depressed to you?"

"More than usual?"

"Otou-san!" she chided. "He hasn't always been sad. Only since the war."

Teuchi pulled the metal grate across the front of the restaurant and locked it for the night. "I've always thought he could use a little more self-confidence. But you're worried about him," he observed.

"He seems lonely, and I feel like people often overlook him."

Teuchi watched his daughter carefully. "Then don't," he said simply.


Ayame was in the restaurant alone on Monday afternoon, violently scrubbing the grill. This was the slowest time of the week, and her father usually took this opportunity to do the shopping while Ayame watched over the restaurant.

She heard patrons walk in and turned to greet two guests. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen!"

A good-looking pair said hello. Ayame knew the woman. She was Yuna's age and regularly came to Ichiraku when she wasn't out of town. Her name was Seika, a blue-eyed girl with a mysterious scar on her face. She was typically quiet and withdrawn, so Ayame didn't know much about her, apart from the fact that she was kind. More than once…actually, sixteen times, by Ayame's count…she had purchased Naruto's meal when he'd run out of money. She was also known to do supply runs and make deliveries of medicine and other goods around the village. Yuna was fond of her because she collected scraps of steel and broken weapons on her various trips and brought them to the weapons shop, and Hana had met her years ago in the Land of Waves during her apprenticeship, because the woman had a close relationship with the bridge builder's family. Apart from that, Seika was a mystery to them all.

The man with her was unfamiliar to Ayame, save a vague feeling that she'd seen him before. He had shaggy hair, purple eyeshadow, and was wearing a green trench coat with a mauve-colored scarf.

"What can I get for you both?" Typically, she was good at memorizing the orders of regulars, but Seika ordered something different every single time.

"I'll take your spicy miso ramen," she said.

"Ah, you ordered that last time! Could this one be a new favorite?"

Seika flashed a brilliant smile. "Perhaps."

"And what would you like?"

The man didn't even look at the menu before asking for the shoyu, the Ichiraku classic, although he asked for her to hold the bamboo shoots. Something about this particular order was also familiar, and it made Ayame wonder if he'd been in before. But she certainly would have remembered his face. He was very handsome.

Ayame pulled out the chili paste and started chopping scallions while the noodles boiled. The couple in front of her was discussing supply chains, of all things, and how difficult it was to acquire high quality steel for construction around the village. Most of the village's steel supply came from the north, from the Land of Iron, and Seika was telling this man about how the villages in that area had been impacted by the war. She was projecting that steel would become an important commodity as the world moved forward.

None of this interested Ayame, but this other man was listening in earnest. Ayame kept stealing glances at him while she ladled out broth, cooked noodles, and cut toppings. Something about him was so familiar, and yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it. He had a lovely shape to his nose, and his cheeks angled downward into the most perfect masculine chin. His lips were full and tender. Definitely kissable lips. His face was nearly perfectly symmetrical, apart from a small beauty mark on the right side of his chin.

And then it hit her. Holy shit. The knife slipped, and Ayame sliced the tip of her finger open.

The two were on their feet as Ayame yelped. She quickly reached for a towel to staunch the bleeding.

"Ayame-san, are you okay?!" Seika asked.

Ayame was incredibly embarrassed. She never slipped. But then again, she'd also never seen Hatake Kakashi in disguise. She stared at him. What the heck was he doing?

"My apologies," she said shakily, looking down at the knife. She'd have to sanitize the kitchen and remake both meals, and her father wasn't due back for another thirty minutes.

"Let me see," Seika said calmly, leaning over the bar. Ayame held out her hand and carefully unwrapped the towel, wincing. They both peered at the damage, and Ayame whimpered, going lightheaded. She'd managed to cut a few millimeters off her fingertip, slicing almost all the way through. The skin was hanging off, only partly connected to the rest of her finger. The towel was already a mess of blood.

"Sukea, can you steady her?"

He jumped nimbly over the counter and held on to Ayame, wrapping his arm around her. Seika carefully lifted Ayame's hand, and she felt a warm and steady flow of chakra ease the stinging. Ayame turned her head into Kakashi's shoulder, unable to watch the tip of her finger get reattached.

"There," Seika said after a minute or two, letting go of Ayame's hand. "It's still tender and needs to continue healing, but you won't have a scar, and the nerve endings are all reattached."

Nerve-endings?! Ayame almost retched. Usually she had a sturdy stomach for blood, but apparently not her own.

"Thank you," Ayame said, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry about getting blood all over you."

Seika smiled reassuringly. "It's not the first time. Do you mind if I clean up in your washroom?"

Ayame pointed out the direction while Kakashi returned over the counter to his seat. She just stared at him.

"Kakashi-sama!" she said in a hoarse whisper. "What are you doing?!"

The man's eyes grew wide and he stuttered. "I-I d-don't know what you're t-talking about!"

Ayame couldn't take her eyes off him. It was definitely Kakashi. She had seen his face a handful of times, but he ate so quickly that she could only get rare glimpses when he stopped in for a meal, which wasn't often. Even her father had commented on Kakashi's good looks, and the only compliments Teuchi ever gave out regarding physical beauty were for his daughter.

She picked up a pair of chopsticks and leaned forward. He froze, a bead of sweat forming on his temple. She extended the chopsticks until they touched his forehead, and then she moved them up towards his hairline. The wooden sticks caught the edge of something, and as she pinched his hairline with the tips of her chopsticks, a shock of silver hair poofed out. Ayame recoiled with a gasp and covered her mouth. It was him.

"Ayame-chan!" he whispered frantically, trying to readjust his wig. "Please, let me explain!"

"Is this a mission? Are you spying on her?" she asked, keeping her tone quiet.

"No, no," he said. "I–"

"Is she a threat to the village?"

"No, Ayame. It's–"

"Does she have information vital to the Hokage's office?"

"No!" he said, a little too loudly.

She'd never seen Kakashi in such a tizzy before, and then it dawned on her. "You like her!" She watched his face color a shade of pink she never thought she'd see. He was as cute as in her Infinite Tsukuyomi, and she felt a twinge of sadness that his attention was being given to another woman.

A moment passed, and Seika entered the restaurant again, sitting down next to Kakashi and asking, once again, if Ayame felt okay. Ayame just nodded and began to sanitize the kitchen. "I'll have your meals in just a moment."

Kakashi recovered quickly himself and asked Seika a question about medical ninjutsu, while Ayame mulled delightfully over this new piece of news. Rumors about the Hokage's love life had been circulating recently…apparently he was in a long distance relationship with a woman he met in the Land of Waves. Perhaps that was all a ruse, but now Ayame knew the truth.

When it came time to pay, Kakashi covered both meals. Seika stepped outside as he was tidying up the bill. It was the first time Ayame had seen him take responsibility for paying…usually he pawned the bill off on Yamato, or somehow got his students to cover it. He must really like her.

"Why are you in disguise?" Ayame asked. "Is it a secret romance now that you're Hokage?" She had to admit, watching Kakashi blush was a definite treat.

"No…" he said bashfully.

"Does she know who you are?"

"N-no…"

"Are you going to tell her?" This question was met with silence, and Ayame was dumbstruck.

"She hates me," he finally admitted.

"Oh." This was something Ayame had forgotten, but now that she thought about it, Seika was not shy of her disdain for Kakashi.

"Yes."

Why? She wanted to ask, but she held her tongue, realizing the reasons didn't matter. Even the village hottie, the Hokage Hatake Kakashi, was having relationship troubles. "Just show her who you really are, Kakashi-sama." Turning a little pink herself, she added quietly, "It's hard not to like you."

He gave her a smile that melted her heart. "Can I trust you to keep this a secret?"

Ayame grinned. "For you? Of course."

This was secret number two.


Thursday rolled around again, and Ayame and her father had a busy night in the restaurant. One key face, however, was missing.

"Iruka didn't come in tonight," she mentioned when they were closing. "Do you think something happened?"

"Perhaps he's working late."

"He wouldn't be avoiding us, would he?"

"Now Ayame, why would Iruka avoid Ichiraku Ramen? It's his favorite restaurant."

She tapped her foot impatiently. It was unlike Iruka to just not show up. "I should take him something."

"Oh? Are we doing delivery now?"

"Otou-san! Don't be stingy! It's Iruka. He's our best customer, apart from Naruto. I'll take care of everything and clean it all up. Just go home, and I'll meet you there in a bit."

Her father frowned. "Just don't make this a habit."

"It won't be!" She pulled the pots back out, intending to add some extra char siu. She plated the dish in a takeaway bowl and wrapped it all up in a bag with napkins, chopsticks, and a spoon. Then she closed up and started walking towards the Academy.

When she got there, a light was still on inside, and Ayame saw Iruka through the window. He was still sitting at his desk, reading papers. She walked around to the front doors and tried them. They were unlocked, so she entered and found her way to his classroom.

He was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't hear her approach. She thought this was funny. She knew the instincts of trained shinobi were keen, which spoke to the amount of focus that Iruka was pouring into whatever he was doing.

"Iruka-sensei?" she asked quietly, knocking gently on the door.

He looked up, surprised to see another person in the building so late. "Ayame-chan…I didn't hear you. What are you doing here?"

"You didn't come in tonight, and I thought you might be working late, so I brought you dinner." She walked to his desk and set the bag down. His desk was littered with papers that all looked to be student essays. "What are you up to?"

Iruka looked from Ayame to the papers he was holding. "I took your advice, actually," he said, taking a moment to rub his tired eyes. "I had them write about their dreams, and what they felt when they woke up."

"May I?" she asked, reaching for a small stack of papers. He nodded.

She moved across the room and started reading, leaning up against one of the student desks. One student had written about traveling with his father. He wrote of their adventure to the Land of Waterfalls, of hiking, exploring, and eating delicious meals together. It was a simple and sweet desire. Ayame noticed the name of the student, and her heart broke. This particular boy was an orphan. His father had died during one of the many attacks on the village. At this point, she couldn't even remember which one. She flipped to the next page. This girl had dreamed about having a family full of siblings, and then she talked about how she and her sister were the only two left when they woke up. Ayame flipped again. The third page she held was a boy who dreamed he didn't have ninja abilities. He simply wanted a normal childhood.

Ayame let her hand fall. "Are all of them like this?" she asked.

Iruka nodded solemnly. "I know now why I can't teach them," he said. "They're all silently suffering."

"They don't have to suffer alone, though."

Iruka sighed. "I think I need to change teaching tactics again. This assignment has shown me that, at least."

"Can I help?" Ayame asked, not knowing how she could, but genuinely desiring that Iruka not have to bear this burden by himself.

"I don't know, Ayame-chan. It's been a year, and these memories are still hanging over all our heads. I just don't know how to move on."

"Well, some people are moving on," she breathed, her mind churning through the past week. There were at least two examples of people chasing happiness. "Naruto's getting married, and Kakashi is dating Seika."

"Neither of them experienced the Tsukuyomi though," Iruka said. Then there was a pregnant pause. "Wait…what?"

Ayame blinked, realizing what she just said. She slapped her hands over her mouth and her eyes went wide. She just shared the two secrets she promised to keep safe, in one fell swoop. "I wasn't supposed to share that!" she cried.

"Naruto's getting married?" he asked, a deep frown forming on his face. "When did he decide that? He didn't tell me…"

"Oh, Iruka! I was supposed to keep that a secret. He's planning on talking to you. He said as much last week when he was asking me for proposal advice." Ayame was so beside herself that tears started forming at the corners of her eyes.

"He is?" Iruka's face relaxed in relief.

"You have to act surprised when he tells you!"

Iruka came and sat on the table next to her. He was still processing the information she shared. "Naruto's getting married…" he repeated, looking both happy and sad at the same time. "Wait, I thought Seika was with that photographer, Sukea? They came by last week to drop off a box of training weapons for the school."

Ayame groaned, dropping her head backwards. "Sukea is Kakashi. That's supposed to be a secret, too."

Iruka blinked at her. This put Kakashi in a whole new light for him. "Sukea…wait…that's what Kakashi's face looks like?!"

It was Ayame's turn to be surprised. Iruka and Kakashi were friends. "You mean you've never seen his face before?"

"No…have you?"

Ayame nodded. "Whenever he eats at the restaurant."

"Right. He would have to remove his mask for that." Iruka stroked his chin, deep in thought over this whole revelation. "Does Seika know who he is?" he asked.

"...No…" she admitted.

Iruka was even more blown away by this. "Wow. He's more of a coward than I thought he was."

"I know," she agreed. "He's not as smooth with the ladies as I would have expected, either." Her face became pleading. "But you can't tell anyone, Iruka! If Seika finds out before he has the chance to reveal himself, he might lose her forever!"

Iruka gave her a measured look. "Why would you want him to succeed? Isn't he the object of your desires?"

She blushed. "Doesn't mean I don't want him to be happy," she muttered.

"Huh." That apparently struck him as rather noble of her. "Well…I think I've learned a few things tonight. Most importantly, that you're much worse at keeping secrets than I thought you were."

"Iruka!" she exclaimed, once again mortified by her own faux pas. Her response made him grin. She realized he was teasing her, but she couldn't take any chances with this information. "Please! You won't tell anyone…about Naruto and Kakashi…will you?"

He zipped his lips closed. "Your secrets are safe with me."

"You swear?"

"I swear."

"Because if I find out that you spill anything—"

"Ayame," he said, cutting her off and bumping his shoulder gently against hers. A very serious look had come across his face, and he looked at her intently. "Your secrets are always safe with me."

Ayame blinked. Something about the way he said the word always made her insides melt just a little bit. An unexpected flutter of butterflies circled throughout her stomach. Iruka moved back towards his desk and started untying the bag with his dinner, and all she could do was watch him.

"Thanks also, for the ramen," he told her.

Ayame was still distracted by the way that she felt, so she just said, "You know what they say. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

His words were as soft as his smile. "If that's the case, then you had my heart a long time ago."

"What?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing," he said, laughing it off. "I'm just muttering nonsense to myself."

But she had heard him.

When she left the Academy, she stopped briefly to watch Iruka through the window. He tapped his chopsticks against the edge of the bowl, deep in thought. She saw his shoulders drop visibly with a big sigh, and he began to eat.

She took that moment to leave, glad he had something good for dinner. On her way home, she admonished herself again for being so open with the secrets she was tasked with keeping. Not even Yuna or Hana knew about Naruto and Kakashi, and here she was, giving the information to Iruka. But…in retrospect…she was rather glad that she had a confidant. She held many secrets alone, but it felt kind of fun to share things with Iruka that no one else in Konoha knew.

His initial absence at Ichiraku that evening had worried her, but she was glad she decided to bring him food. It was worth losing her reputation as a secret sharer to see him brighten up with their banter and enjoy his smile when he teased her. At the very least, she felt happy knowing he was taken care of and well fed.

She paused in the middle of the street, and a third secret dawned on her like the inevitable rising of the sun. Oh, boy

She whirled around, staring back in the direction of the Academy. How many years of her life had Iruka just been a fixture at the restaurant? A constant, dependable customer to whom she had never really given a second thought, whom she took for granted? But she'd watched him through the years, watched him encouraging students, paying for bowls of kindness, and following his own dreams of building a better Konoha, starting with its youngest generation.

Ayame realized now just how much she cared about Iruka's presence in her life, and how much she wished for his happiness, as well. He sacrificed so much for others, and he did it without expecting anything in return.

Butterflies burst to life in her stomach again as she pictured Iruka's smile. Iruka was also tall, dark, and handsome. Had she really never noticed how attractive he was before?

He even has a cute little scar on his face… she thought ruefully. Yuna and Hana are going to have a field day with this one.

But then again…her friends didn't need to know quite yet.

Three secrets about relationships Ayame had to keep. The first two were for Kakashi and Naruto, but she gave them both away to Iruka in exchange for a third, and the third was for herself.

She repeated the secret in her mind, trying it on for size.

…I have a crush on Iruka…

I have a crush…on Iruka?

I have a crush on Iruka!

And finally…

You know what? Umino Ayame has a nice ring to it. Maybe even better than Hatake Ayame.

And then she giggled, shaking her head at her own childishness, but she couldn't help it. She had a new crush, and her secret made her heart flutter and feel as light as a bird.