[FIC] The Kunoichi's Heart 03
Because I'm having a very important exam next week, I decide to post this chapter faster than before.... still, this is UNBETAED
I'll post the betaed version later.... @_@
EDITED October 14th,2007 : This's finally betaed by my dear beta reader, filleyice. Thank u dear! :D
Title : The Kunoichi's Heart
Rating : PG-13 (this chapter), R later on.
Disclaimer : The characters are NOT MINE.
Chapter : 3/???
Words : 5,087 words (Boy...that's A LOT O_o)
Summary : What if Iruka was a female? Follow the Naruto story since the very beginning.....
Pairing : KakaIru (the others will ba canon-like hopefully)
WARNING : Unlike what some people think from these first chapters, this's NOT an always happy go lucky fic... It'll turn darker and angstier later.....
| Chapter 01 - The Failed Student |
| Chapter 02 - The Realization |
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Chapter 03 - The Promise & The Test : 5,087 words
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Today, instead of teaching in her class, Iruka was sitting on her kotatsu and enjoying the heat provided under her in her own house. The academy reports and student files were scattered before her. She was supposed to take two free days off to give her body a rest. But Iruka couldn’t do that because her sense of duty kicked in.
It was her duty to decide which group each student would get into and to choose their jounin teacher. It wasn’t an easy task considering that she had to measure every student’s ability and compare them with each other and prevent each student with a special bloodline (or a certain Uchiha with any of his fans) from attacking each other. Plus she had to choose their jounin teachers as well.
Hyuuga Hinata. She is a quiet yet sweet girl… I can’t put her into a team that the boys could dominate her too much like the loud mouthed Ayashi, or even Ino. Hmm… Shino would be a good choice for her. But if it’s just the two of them, it’ll be too passive… I need someone who is loud and active enough to cover for them…Oda? Hmm…too troublemaker himself. Naruto? Eer…he’s TOO loud……and I've noticed that Hinata stutters more before him… Although I think Naruto’s honest and open personality could be good to open her introverted self more and vice versa, Naruto can learn to be more sensitive with girls… Well… still… maybe…Kiba? Well…Yes, he would do… He gets along fine with Shino and I think he has a crush on Hinata.
Shikamaru is a genius kid, but he is too lazy to take a role as leader, at least not yet. The other two… Choji? He and Shikamaru are close friends and their fathers often work together as a team. Chouji then. For the girl part… maybe Sakura? Nah…she’s a bit…passive as well. And I’ve noticed she has a little self-esteem problem, must tell the jounin later. Tae? She’s too polite… Ino? Ah yes, perfect choice. She’s dominant enough for the two boys. Their fathers must be glad, two generations in the same team…
Sasuke… the best student this year. He’s all rounder in his skills, but he was too silent. I need someone who’s loud enough for him… Naruto? Ah yes, he’ll do. Too bad Naruto,in spite of what you’re saying about hating him, you two could complement each other well. The other should be the one who can calm both of them. Hmm… but Shikamaru’s taken already. Gato? Nah… he’s rather rude, he and Sasuke would kill each other in seconds… Hinata? But she’s taken in other teams already… Argh!!? This is more difficult than I thought it's be! There’s no one with that quality besides Shikamaru or Hinata! Who…who else? Maybe…other girls? Sasuke with girls (or his fangirls)… I bet all of them would fight -or bicker- with each other for their Sasuke-kun’s love… bad idea… As far as I know, only Hinata who didn’t pay much attention to him in class - a wonder indeed for a girl her age. Sakura? Hmm… she’s not THAT much a fangirl…unlike Ino…*shudders*… hmm…maybe putting her into the same team as Sasuke could increase her motivation as shinobi one day… and of course, her low self-esteem problem. Well…sorry Sasuke-kun. You get stuck with a fangirl this time. Maybe you would learn the attraction of the opposite gender then… Well…. I don’t want to sound rude, but maybe I could help him with the ‘restoration of Uchiha clan’ a bit this way… I hope I’m not wrong with this team.
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Hmm…all the student teams are already arranged. Too bad we can only choose three out of these ten teams to be Genin teams. Now comes the hard part… To choose the jounin teacher for them. I don’t want to think about how crazy the jounins can be sometime…but *sigh* okay… You could do this, Iruka.
Team Hinata-Shino-Kiba… Hm… Each of them comes from famous clans. Hyuuga. Aburame. And Inuzuka. They would make a great tracking or hunting team. Their ninjutsu and taijutsu couldn’t be compared against each other, but I think they’re good enough at it. Still, they could do better with their genjutsu skill, being a hunter team it is… They could counter attack any genjutsu if they have trained enough against it. A genjutsu specialist then… Who…? Ah, Takeda-san or Kurenai-san. Still, Takeda-san is too dominating. Kurenai-san would do … and I’m sure she could make Hinata more confident with her skill… She pays more attention to Hinata since long ago…
Team Shikamaru-Ino-Chouji … Those three have an advantage as close childhood friends. Ino is a dominant female, no use if I get the same type for the jounin. They would bicker with each other for hours. Besides, Ino loves being the center of attention, especially being the only female. Male jounin then. Genma? Nah…he would only flirt shamelessly with Ino. Hayate? Mm…too ‘contagious’… Raido? Hmm…could be. I need to think more on it later.
Team Sasuke-Naruto-Sakura… This’s a risky team I can tell. Somehow I could imagine them grow up to be like the Sannin *shudders* Bad Idea Iruka…don’t think that way…bad mental image… Still, they have a lot of potential… Sasuke as a skillful talented shinobi (not to mention an Uchiha), Naruto with his brash way and endless life strength, and Sakura with her high intelligence… I have to be careful in choosing their jounin teacher. Asuma? He seems too laid back to me… Sasuke needs a figure that impresses (or traumatizes) him enough to make him at least follow the teaching. Raido? The same… Ibiki? Eer… he could ‘impress’ the three of them enough… rather too scary though. We don’t need a more traumatized Sasuke on the way. Female Jounin then? Like Anko? Ugh… I think Sasuke would rather choosing to be gay than ended in a team full of females (as if his fanclub isn’t enough…). And then there was Sakura’s problem. She would accept any jounins as long as they’re really far too smart for his/her own good. Hayate? He IS a genius. But he’s far too ‘sick’ to impress Sasuke’s ego. Maybe Genma? Far too pervert though. Who else!? And the LAST problem is Naruto’s as well. Not many jounins want to associate with ‘the boy’. So…who? Asuma? Kurenai? AARGH!! This team is the worst one!!! I can’t think of any jounins for them!!
…I need a second opinion on this arrangement… maybe I can ask Sandaime this afternoon… He’s always the wise one…
Satisfied with her decision, Iruka cleared all the files from the kotatsu and snuggled deeper in it instead. She set her inner clock to wake her in a few hours.
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“Ah… Iruka-kun. It has been a while since I last saw you. Isn’t today your day off?” Sandaime’s smile always made her smile back. Sandaime was always giving her wise words and guiding her through her ‘darkest’ moments. For that, Iruka always respected his decision and thought of him as a ‘grandfather’ figure. Apparently he was enjoying his late afternoon tea in his office.
“Ah…I’m fine Sandaime-sama. May I talk with you for a while?” Iruka asked from behind the door.
“Please come in and sit with me then. Your presence is always welcome, Iruka-kun.”
They ended up drinking tea together and enjoying the afternoon. Iruka had to admit it was a rather relaxing and slow day, leaving her usually tensed & overwork mind to relax for a moment. She even exchanged a few jokes with Sandaime.
“You look better. The small break seems good for you.” Sandaime smiled at the content and honest look on the female chuunin's face. He always considered her as one of his ‘daughters’, or maybe ‘granddaughters’ and it made him happy that the chuunin could put away her polite mask before him.
“Thank you, Sandaime-sama.” Iruka curved her eyes in content.
“ I’ve heard about your case with Mizuki… Do you want to talk about it?” Sandaime sipped his tea on his chair.
Sitting before the old hokage, Iruka grimaced a bit at the sudden question. During her recovering time, she hadn’t had a chance to ask about Mizuki’s fate. She assumed the ANBU already took care of him. “If I may know…how’s he now, Sandaime-sama?” She even couldn’t bring herself to say his name.
Sandaime nodded in understanding, “He is placed in the underground jail. He shouldn’t bother us for a long time, Iruka-kun. You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”
Stealing a rather forbidden scroll would cost a heavy punishment, but Iruka didn’t want to dwell on it anymore, much less the reason why Mizuki did it in the first place. She was still recuperating from her trauma. Nodding her head, Iruka began, “Sandaime-sama, actually I come here not to talk about it.”
Sandaime raised his eyebrows, “What it could be then?”
Taking the student files out of her rather small bag, Iruka gave them to Sandaime who accepted and began reading some of them. “Is this the genin team arrangement this year, Iruka-kun?”
Iruka nodded, “Yes. I’ve arranged most of the teams already, but there’re a few teams that I haven’t decided yet. Can you give me your opinion please?”
Sandaime nodded, reading the arrangements. “You put Shikamaru-Ino-Chouji as a team? Good choice…”
Ten minutes later, Sandaime already knew about the brief arrangement of all. He mostly agreed with Iruka’s decision, but he recommended changing for Shikamaru-Ino-Chouji’s Jounin teacher which -he decided- would be best for Asuma to teach, instead of Raidou. Iruka agreed.
It was Iruka’s turn to tell him her biggest problem.
“I’m afraid I don’t know the right jounin candidate for Sasuke-Naruto-Sakura’s team. They’re … a special case. Sasuke as an Uchiha, Naruto with his endless energy, and Sakura with her higher-than-most-people-intelligence. It’s a bit difficult to find a jounin who would want to teach the raw potentials in them, Sandaime-sama. Do you have any advices?” Iruka asked.
Sandaime nodded, “Hm…Sasuke is one of the last Uchiha, right? He would need quite a figure to teach him sharingan. I can tell he’s one of those who are born with that ability.”
Iruka sighed, “That’s one of the problems as well. Sasuke needs a figure that impresses him enough to make him -at least- follow the teaching. He holds his abilities high and is proud of them. And Sakura is sometimes too clever. She would accept anyone as long as he or she is really too smart for his or her own good. And last, Naruto is… the boy. Not many people, even some jounins, who would want to associate with him. I couldn’t think of anyone who would want to bear with all of those.”
Sandaime nodded again. His eyes focused on the papers before him for a few minutes, and finally, he glanced back at her. “Iruka-kun, I think I know who the perfect candidate for this team is.”
Iruka blinked, “You do? May I know who is he/she, Sandaime-sama?”
Sandaime smiled, “He’s never taught a gennin team before, but I’m sure he would do fine.”
“He? Who-?”
“Hatake Kakashi.”
“Nanii!??”
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Iruka sighed for the twentieth time that morning. Most of her wounds were already healed except for the concussion and of course the injury on her back. That was why she still had bandages around her head. But this time, she tied back her hair in a low ponytail on her neck. She didn’t know why, but it seemed more and more people stared at her hair each passing day when she had it down. She knew it was unusual for her to walk outside her house with hair down, but she didn’t realize it was that bad looking. So, she felt relieved bit when some of the stares boring into her skull vanished themselves after she decided to have it in a low ponytail.
She was sitting on the desk in front of the class while the others sat on the chairs before her. The others, the jounins, sat excitedly in their seats, talking and joking around with others as they waited for the meeting to start.
Which would not be for at least an half hour more. Thanks to a certain lazy -always-late silver haired jounin.
Iruka put her head down into her hand as she sat resignedly back on her chair. Really, if she didn’t know better, she's think she was teaching some of pre-genins in her own class - except these jounins were bigger, taller, and of course crazier.
Why me!??
A sudden cloud of smoke swirled beside her as the guy they had waited for at least one hour finally appeared before the class. Icha-icha book was opened as usual under his nose. “Yo. Sorry I’m late. I got lost in the way of life.”
Iruka just sighed again, resigned to her fate. Actually, from his usual two hours late, Kakashi definitely was early, but Iruka wouldn’t tell him that. “Please take a seat with the others, Kakashi-san.”
The single eye just curved into inverted U at her, “Glad to see you again, Iruka-sensei.” Then he walked lazily toward the sitting jounins and took his own seat, between Asuma and Genma. The others just grunted at his presence.
Ah…the joy being the infamous late jounin… Kakashi grinned behind the mask as he sat at the seat his friends provided for him.
Feeling a familiar heat in the pit of her stomach, Iruka coughed, signaling the meeting to begin. The room suddenly turned silent in seconds. Good. “Good morning, everyone. As you know, tomorrow is the day for the genin tests. Here I would announce who gets which team. Most of the teams consist of two boys and a girl who pass the academy exam this year. But as you’re all aware, out of all the teams I’ve arranged for you all, there’ll be only three teams that’ll be accepted as genins. Everyone follows so far?” She asked.
There were nods, grunts, smirks, and grins. She assumed those were a yes. The jounin test was really varied in many kinds, but there were only few jounins who would really want to pass their team. There were far too many children’s grave, far too many in Konoha already. No need to add the risks for more of those. In fact, Iruka would consider her students to be lucky to pass more than one team every year. (Like the last year, only Gai-sensei passed three students as his genins.)
“You’re free to do any tests you think as the best for them, but please keep them under the rules. I’m sure you all know what the rules are. I do not want to see or hear of anyone getting killed here, got it?” She put her best teacher ‘obey ME or you can go fuc**ng EATEN by missing nins for all I care ’ glare. Everyone nodded obediently at that. Iruka ignored the gulps or snorts that were heard.
At the other side of the room, Kakashi simply raised his eyebrows at the rare display of the female sensei’s resoluteness.
Hmm…no wonder her students obey ALL her words all the time….
“Good. Then I’ll announce the arrangement of teams now. Keep in mind, if you pass them, you’ll have the responsibility of three young lives in your hands for an unknown time in the future."
It went unsaid that it would be a few days, months, or years before one of them would be killed.
Everyone went really silent at that.
Iruka nodded, began reading the list. “There are ten teams this year and five teams more from last year. Team 1 - Watane Anji, Kotama Juro, Mataro Keima - Jounin : Yamashiro Aoba.- “
Aoba grunted and rose from his seat, taking the mission scroll from Iruka’s desk. The scroll already consisted of student’s data and their photos and of course a brief direction how to test them. He got out of the room after that.
“Team 3 -….”
“Team 5 - ….” Another jounin went outside the room.
“Team 10 - Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji - Jounin : Sarutobi Asuma.” Asuma nodded and took the scrolls. He walked out of the room in his infamous lazy stroll. He would be a perfect match -or idol- for Shikamaru, Iruka mused.
“Team 4 - ….”
“Team 8 - Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba - Jounin : Yuuhi Kurenai.” There were several raised eyebrows at that. Three famous clans in a group? Sounds interesting… Kurenai walked to her desk, smiled at her and nodded, taking the scroll. Then she went outside as well.
There were several teams after that, until the only ones in the class were her and the infamous copy nin. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at her as the last jounin walked outside the door.
“I take it your unlikeness to my hair is cured then?” He said, walking in a lazy slouch to the front desk where Iruka sat, not waiting for Iruka’s announcement. His Icha-icha in his hand - thankfully wasn’t opened this time. He was rewarded with the blush on the chuunin’s face.
Iruka blushed a bit at the remembrance. True, it had been a few days since she last saw the jounin and today, seeing that silver hair barely had an effect on her stomach. Stiffly, she handed the scroll to him, not answering the question. She purposely announced Team 7’s as the last because she wanted to have a few words with the jounin regarding them. “Kakashi-san, I want to have a few words with you before you leave, if I may?”
Accepting the scroll, the jounin raised his eyebrow in question. “Oh? Are you asking me out, Iruka-sensei?”
Hmm… I didn’t know you have it in you, sensei. Not that I'm complaining though…
Iruka blinked at him, before the meaning hit her. Instantly, she blushed hard, “NO!! That’s not what I mean!!”
Kakashi just chuckled, sitting on the seat before her desk, “Maa…I’m joking, Iruka-sensei.” He was enjoying the rather adorable sight the chuunin made before him.
Iruka tried to return her face color to normal, coughing, “Your Team - Team 7 consists of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura, Kakashi-san.”
Kakashi shrugged at her, “What’s about them?”
One of *the* last Uchiha…? The sensei’s son? And a girl named after a flower? Sounds interesting…
Iruka sighed inside at the emotionless response she got from the jounin.
Well…at least he doesn’t protest having a rather imbalanced angsty boy, a kyuubi container, and a pink haired girl as his team. Wait a minute… does he know any students beside Naruto…? I don’t think so…
Iruka sighed, “Honestly, I didn’t plan to hand them to you because you haven’t had teams before - at least I don't think so. But Sandaime-sama thinks that you’re perfect for them and after a few considerations, I agree with him.”
Kakashi kept silent.
Let’s see what you wanted me to do, sensei….
Meeting their eyes, Iruka continued. “This team is… an unusual team. Sasuke as an Uchiha, holds high his skill. Believe me when I say you must impress him enough before he wants to be taught by you. The next, there’s Sakura who has a bit of a low self-esteem problem although she is really smart. She currently…has a crush on Sasuke, and sadly I must say it clouds her judgments sometimes. And the last…Uzumaki Naruto. I know you’ve met with him already. And as you and I are aware…he’s….” Iruka struggled inside, trying to continue despite of the big lump growing inside her throat, “…he’s the Kyuubi’s container. He’s a bit hyperactive but a good boy.”
Kakashi finally sighed, “And what do you mean with telling me all of this, Iruka-sensei?”
Iruka swallowed, glancing down at her clenched fist, “I don’t know how you test them, Kakashi-san. And I am not asking you to pass them or something like that. The only concern of mine is…these three are a risky team. They tend to be rather…opposite of each other although I hope they could cover each other’s weakness someday. Please don’t take them lightly. That’s all.”
There was a silence at that. Iruka closed her eyes tightly, waiting for any responses of what?
Kakashi kept silent, staring at the chuunin before him.
She’s worrying over her students too much… I can’t promise that I would pass them as Gennin….still…
Before him, Iruka kept lowered her head as her worry grew more and more at the jounin’s silence.
He would think I’m too worried sick over everything… I know it’s a bad idea to tell him all of that…but I couldn’t -
Suddenly she could feel a light pressure on her clenched fist. Opening her eyes warily, she saw a paler and larger gloved hand uncurled her smaller tanner fisted right hand slowly. The gesture oddly… felt intimate.
“You’re a really good teacher, Iruka-sensei.”
Iruka blinked at that, finally braving herself to glance up at the face of the nin before her. An intense of single gray eye stared back into her chocolate eyes.
There’s a hint of blue inside that pool of grey…
A second later, the pool of grey vanished and it curved like a downward crescent moon.
She could feel a strong grip on her uncurled hand, gently rubbing against her skin.
“Don’t worry about them. I’ll do my best, Iruka-sensei.”
And Iruka couldn’t help but smile back at him.
“Arigato….Kakashi-san.”
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After briefing with the jounins, Iruka went to the class where she informed all the students which team they would get and who their jounin teachers were. She ignored Naruto’s shouts, Sasuke’s glare, and Sakura’s protest when she announced their team. The other teams were nodding and smiling (and grunting and snorting and…), which made Iruka glad at least some of her students agreed with her decision.
She considered it went well actually.
And the next day, today in fact, she stood once again before the class, calmly explaining to her students what they might expect from their jounins.
“After I go from this class, there’ll be jounins here that will take each team to anywhere he/she would like you to go. Remember, you’ll be tested by him/her in many ways before he/she announce that you pass. You won’t be gennin yet. That’s all from me. And good luck.”
When she walked outside the room, Naruto followed her as well, taking a grip of her vest in his small clutch. He stopped Iruka from taking walking further along the hall. “Yes, Naruto?”
“Iruka-sensei!! I still don’t understand why you pair me with Sasuke and Sakura-chan! They’re both impossible!!” Naruto whispered not-too-lowly.
Iruka sighed. They had talked about it yesterday, but it seemed that Naruto still didn’t understand what she meant.
“Naruto-kun. As I told you yesterday, your score is the lowest one in the class. The only way to balance it is to pair you up with students with the highest score - which in fact - is Sasuke-kun and of course Sakura-chan.” She explained.
She refrained herself from telling Naruto the truth, because, hell, Iruka herself still doubted that this choice of the team for them was in fact slightly possible.
But well, this is the second reason as well. It is still the truth, so it doesn’t count as a lie. Sorry, Naruto.
Naruto pouted at her, which looks so cute with those adorable blue eyes of his. Iruka just chuckled and ruffled his blonde hair, giving in into the cuteness.
He will grow up into a very good looking boy one day…
“Just be patient, Naruto-kun. The most important thing you have to do now is to pass the test to be gennin soon. But yes, you need to make friends with your team. Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan are good children, Naruto, you will realize that later.”
Naruto kept pouting - at least until seeing his sensei’s smile he grinned instead. “You know what, Iruka-sensei?”
“What..?”
“After that incident with him, I thought a lot about it….and finally, I decided to do something.” The grin was still there, although the shining eyes dimmed a bit, lost in his remembrance.
Iruka carefully kneeled before him, brushing his blonde hair gently. It felt so soft despite its spiky appearance. “Hmm..?” she urged Naruto to continue.
“If the villagers do not want to acknowledge me because of the…thing inside me, I’ll make them do it on their own.”
“And how will you do that, Naruto-kun?”
“I will be the Hokage one day!! Then everyone will know and admit me as a strong shinobi!! I promised myself that!!” Naruto’s grin widened as those blue eyes shone brightly back into Iruka’s brown ones.
Iruka could feel warmth seeped inside her heart at hearing those words. She didn’t have the heart to tell Naruto that it was a nearly impossible dream to reach. But maybe…maybe Naruto would be an exception to that. Instantly, she embraced the small boy into her arms.
“I believe you will make it someday, Naruto-kun.”
And yes, she surprised herself that she really meant it.
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Long after that, Iruka busied herself with her works in mission room. Her job as teacher academy was on a long break after the graduation and it would be a few weeks before she could teach the students -and of course the new ones- again. So, she settled to work in the mission room herself.
It had been four hours before she finally had enough.
I’m too worried about Nar-Team 7’s test. I…need to ask a few questions to Sandaime-sama.
Her logic gave her the reasons why she shouldn't care so much (she was merely his teacher; the kyuubi was inside him, he was cursed kid, and any other facts that Iruka couldn’t bother to think more about), but she knew deep inside her, somehow, somehow, Naruto already had already made his way into her heart, placing his wide grin and his blue shining orbs and his laugh and his pranks and what else in a special place in Iruka’s heart. Iruka didn’t know how it could be, but she couldn’t lie to her own feeling.
I really care about him… more than a teacher should do. And …… I don’t regret it.
After a few minutes forcing herself to walk quickly to Sandaime’s office, finally she reached the door. She knocked on it hesitantly.
“Please come in.” came a gruff voice.
Iruka opened the door carefully; walking inside and doing what she'd really wanted to do that day.
“Sandaime-sama, I’m sorry I'm disturbing your work, but I have to ask you something important.”
Sandaime just raised his eyebrows, the smoke from his pipe billowing slightly. “And what could that be, Iruka-kun?”
“What kind of teacher is that Hatake Kakashi , Sandaime-sama?” She was really curious to know what method Kakashi would use to test Naruto and the others and how much a chance they would have to pass those tests.
Sandaime just raised his eyebrows higher, amusement clear in his next words. “Ah… do you mean what kind of man he is, Iruka-kun?”
Huh..?
It took her a good 10 seconds before she get the meaning. Horrified, blushing to the ends of her hair, Iruka stammered. “That’s NOT what I mean, Sandaime-sama!!”
What the hell!?? Don’t tell me he thinks that I like Kakashi-san THAT WAY!!??
Amusedly, Sandamie continued. “Well… I know it’s about time now for you to get married… 23 years old and all… And Kakashi is good enough for you, except maybe you have to do something with his tendency to be late over everything…”
Fearing she would faint anytime now, if she didn’t get the damn blush off soon, Iruka stammered, “Sa-Sandaime-sama! Don’t …joke around, please…??”
“And I must warn you of his tendency to read porn in public…well you know that already… He’s not entirely a pervert like Jiraiya but well…maybe it’s a good thing for you, female and all… they tend to be very very creative in bed - or so people say..“
Iruka wanted to die.
“But I can assure you that he’s a good guy. He considers teammates precious things. He will die before letting your students be hurt in front of his eyes without doing anything about it.”
Somehow, Sandaime’s explanation turned slightly safe as Iruka’s blush turned off slowly. Ignoring the earlier explanation, Iruka focused on the last sentences Sandaime said, “ His teammates, Sandaime-sama? Really?”
Sandaime chuckled and nodded. “I know you’re really worried sick about your students, Iruka-kun. But don’t worry. Kakashi can keep the three of them in line. He’s a genius.”
Nodding, Iruka felt a bit of relief washed over her. “Can I see… his past students’ data book then?”
Maybe I guesses wrong.... Maybe he had teams before... I might learn from his past students if that's the case….
Sandaime nodded, giving her a small black book from his robe, “I'd realized you’d ask for it soon or later. Just read it and you will understand.”
Carefully, she opened the book, only to be surprised at the content it showed, which was blank, “None at all?? What do you mean with this, Sandaime-sama!??”
Sandaime sighed, gently letting go of the pipe in his mouth, “He ‘s rather … strict with his standard of the test. He values work as teammates highly, which unfortunately, hadn’t happened in some Academy students years ago. That’s why he gave up the chance of being a jounin teacher five-six years ago.”
Iruka frowned at that, trying to remember. She herself had been a teacher since four years ago, but she had never known Hatake Kakashi as a jounin teacher before. Mostly she only knew him from the mission room as the best formidable jounins, the copy nin. There were of course rumors that he had been ANBU years before, but Iruka had never been interested enough to find out more.
Sandaime continued, “I don’t know how he'll decide for your three students this year. But rest assured that he’s the best candidate to handle this kind of team. As far as I understand from your story, he would be a great teacher for Sasuke to handle the Sharingan eyes if Sasuke ever gets one -he is named the Sharingan Kakashi after all, moreover, he’s a genius that is smart enough to handle Sasuke and Sakura’s intelligence. And for Naruto’s case, I’ve never known him as anything but a honorable shinobi. He wouldn’t treat Naruto differentially from the others. Besides-“
It looked like Sandaime wanted to continue more, but he only coughed and smiled wearily at her questioning eyes, “He’s a good guy, that Hatake kid. I only ask this of you, Iruka-kun…”
“And what’s that, Sandaime-sama?”
“Believe in Kakashi and your students. He has his own judgment and in case your students do not make it pass the test, please don’t hate him for that.”
Iruka swallowed, trying to absorb all of that into her mind. Finally she nodded, “I’ll try, Sandaime-sama.”
There was an odd glint in those pair of dark eyes after that. Before Iruka could contemplate what it meant, Sandaime beat her to it.
“Beside, he has a really attractive face, Iruka-kun. It’d be a shame if you let go that guy - ah but of course you know that already, don’t you? Or you haven’t seen his face yet? That mask is worn for that very reason you know.”
“SANDAIME-SAMA!! STOP JOKING AROUND!!”
And he laughed.
Well…Iruka… I’m not joking either…mostly…he…eh.
Tbc……..
A/N :
Okay…..I think this’s the LAST chapter full of adorable & cute things…..We will see more into Iruka’s mind bits and bits…. @____@ Hope u like it! :)
~blue-iceland (a.k.a Izky)
The Next Chapter - The Growing Fondness (Will be up MAX. on Saturday/Sunday, 6-7th October)
Teasers :
Kakashi raised his eyebrows at the sudden respect Sasuke had toward the chuunin.
He GROWLED at me the first time we talk and here he BOWS to Iruka?? The angsty boy has serious manner problems here….
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On the other hand, Kakashi was having a big time himself. He didn’t know why, but it felt…. calming to stand closer to the chuunin sensei. The sensei’s chakra was rather calm and welcoming, His usually sharp nose went down, barely touched the brown strands of hair fell after that cute ponytail, trying to recognize the sweet smell around the female.
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“Ruka?? You mean you AND that kid?? But he’s TOO young!!!” Kotetsu was horrified.
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The old real you is still somewhere there, Ruka.
When will you let her go…?
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She only could nod, helpless against the bittersweet of their last moment together. She remembered the forced smile, the awkward silence, the worried glances her friends threw between them.
“I can’t do this anymore…….” The words were the last things she heard from those lips.
“I’m going….”
She couldn’t say ‘I’m sorry’….
It was too late….
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Well...what do u think? ^_^
| Chapter 04 - The Growing Fondness |
I'll post the betaed version later.... @_@
EDITED October 14th,2007 : This's finally betaed by my dear beta reader, filleyice. Thank u dear! :D
Title : The Kunoichi's Heart
Rating : PG-13 (this chapter), R later on.
Disclaimer : The characters are NOT MINE.
Chapter : 3/???
Words : 5,087 words (Boy...that's A LOT O_o)
Summary : What if Iruka was a female? Follow the Naruto story since the very beginning.....
Pairing : KakaIru (the others will ba canon-like hopefully)
WARNING : Unlike what some people think from these first chapters, this's NOT an always happy go lucky fic... It'll turn darker and angstier later.....
| Chapter 01 - The Failed Student |
| Chapter 02 - The Realization |
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Chapter 03 - The Promise & The Test : 5,087 words
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Today, instead of teaching in her class, Iruka was sitting on her kotatsu and enjoying the heat provided under her in her own house. The academy reports and student files were scattered before her. She was supposed to take two free days off to give her body a rest. But Iruka couldn’t do that because her sense of duty kicked in.
It was her duty to decide which group each student would get into and to choose their jounin teacher. It wasn’t an easy task considering that she had to measure every student’s ability and compare them with each other and prevent each student with a special bloodline (or a certain Uchiha with any of his fans) from attacking each other. Plus she had to choose their jounin teachers as well.
Hyuuga Hinata. She is a quiet yet sweet girl… I can’t put her into a team that the boys could dominate her too much like the loud mouthed Ayashi, or even Ino. Hmm… Shino would be a good choice for her. But if it’s just the two of them, it’ll be too passive… I need someone who is loud and active enough to cover for them…Oda? Hmm…too troublemaker himself. Naruto? Eer…he’s TOO loud……and I've noticed that Hinata stutters more before him… Although I think Naruto’s honest and open personality could be good to open her introverted self more and vice versa, Naruto can learn to be more sensitive with girls… Well… still… maybe…Kiba? Well…Yes, he would do… He gets along fine with Shino and I think he has a crush on Hinata.
Shikamaru is a genius kid, but he is too lazy to take a role as leader, at least not yet. The other two… Choji? He and Shikamaru are close friends and their fathers often work together as a team. Chouji then. For the girl part… maybe Sakura? Nah…she’s a bit…passive as well. And I’ve noticed she has a little self-esteem problem, must tell the jounin later. Tae? She’s too polite… Ino? Ah yes, perfect choice. She’s dominant enough for the two boys. Their fathers must be glad, two generations in the same team…
Sasuke… the best student this year. He’s all rounder in his skills, but he was too silent. I need someone who’s loud enough for him… Naruto? Ah yes, he’ll do. Too bad Naruto,in spite of what you’re saying about hating him, you two could complement each other well. The other should be the one who can calm both of them. Hmm… but Shikamaru’s taken already. Gato? Nah… he’s rather rude, he and Sasuke would kill each other in seconds… Hinata? But she’s taken in other teams already… Argh!!? This is more difficult than I thought it's be! There’s no one with that quality besides Shikamaru or Hinata! Who…who else? Maybe…other girls? Sasuke with girls (or his fangirls)… I bet all of them would fight -or bicker- with each other for their Sasuke-kun’s love… bad idea… As far as I know, only Hinata who didn’t pay much attention to him in class - a wonder indeed for a girl her age. Sakura? Hmm… she’s not THAT much a fangirl…unlike Ino…*shudders*… hmm…maybe putting her into the same team as Sasuke could increase her motivation as shinobi one day… and of course, her low self-esteem problem. Well…sorry Sasuke-kun. You get stuck with a fangirl this time. Maybe you would learn the attraction of the opposite gender then… Well…. I don’t want to sound rude, but maybe I could help him with the ‘restoration of Uchiha clan’ a bit this way… I hope I’m not wrong with this team.
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Hmm…all the student teams are already arranged. Too bad we can only choose three out of these ten teams to be Genin teams. Now comes the hard part… To choose the jounin teacher for them. I don’t want to think about how crazy the jounins can be sometime…but *sigh* okay… You could do this, Iruka.
Team Hinata-Shino-Kiba… Hm… Each of them comes from famous clans. Hyuuga. Aburame. And Inuzuka. They would make a great tracking or hunting team. Their ninjutsu and taijutsu couldn’t be compared against each other, but I think they’re good enough at it. Still, they could do better with their genjutsu skill, being a hunter team it is… They could counter attack any genjutsu if they have trained enough against it. A genjutsu specialist then… Who…? Ah, Takeda-san or Kurenai-san. Still, Takeda-san is too dominating. Kurenai-san would do … and I’m sure she could make Hinata more confident with her skill… She pays more attention to Hinata since long ago…
Team Shikamaru-Ino-Chouji … Those three have an advantage as close childhood friends. Ino is a dominant female, no use if I get the same type for the jounin. They would bicker with each other for hours. Besides, Ino loves being the center of attention, especially being the only female. Male jounin then. Genma? Nah…he would only flirt shamelessly with Ino. Hayate? Mm…too ‘contagious’… Raido? Hmm…could be. I need to think more on it later.
Team Sasuke-Naruto-Sakura… This’s a risky team I can tell. Somehow I could imagine them grow up to be like the Sannin *shudders* Bad Idea Iruka…don’t think that way…bad mental image… Still, they have a lot of potential… Sasuke as a skillful talented shinobi (not to mention an Uchiha), Naruto with his brash way and endless life strength, and Sakura with her high intelligence… I have to be careful in choosing their jounin teacher. Asuma? He seems too laid back to me… Sasuke needs a figure that impresses (or traumatizes) him enough to make him at least follow the teaching. Raido? The same… Ibiki? Eer… he could ‘impress’ the three of them enough… rather too scary though. We don’t need a more traumatized Sasuke on the way. Female Jounin then? Like Anko? Ugh… I think Sasuke would rather choosing to be gay than ended in a team full of females (as if his fanclub isn’t enough…). And then there was Sakura’s problem. She would accept any jounins as long as they’re really far too smart for his/her own good. Hayate? He IS a genius. But he’s far too ‘sick’ to impress Sasuke’s ego. Maybe Genma? Far too pervert though. Who else!? And the LAST problem is Naruto’s as well. Not many jounins want to associate with ‘the boy’. So…who? Asuma? Kurenai? AARGH!! This team is the worst one!!! I can’t think of any jounins for them!!
…I need a second opinion on this arrangement… maybe I can ask Sandaime this afternoon… He’s always the wise one…
Satisfied with her decision, Iruka cleared all the files from the kotatsu and snuggled deeper in it instead. She set her inner clock to wake her in a few hours.
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“Ah… Iruka-kun. It has been a while since I last saw you. Isn’t today your day off?” Sandaime’s smile always made her smile back. Sandaime was always giving her wise words and guiding her through her ‘darkest’ moments. For that, Iruka always respected his decision and thought of him as a ‘grandfather’ figure. Apparently he was enjoying his late afternoon tea in his office.
“Ah…I’m fine Sandaime-sama. May I talk with you for a while?” Iruka asked from behind the door.
“Please come in and sit with me then. Your presence is always welcome, Iruka-kun.”
They ended up drinking tea together and enjoying the afternoon. Iruka had to admit it was a rather relaxing and slow day, leaving her usually tensed & overwork mind to relax for a moment. She even exchanged a few jokes with Sandaime.
“You look better. The small break seems good for you.” Sandaime smiled at the content and honest look on the female chuunin's face. He always considered her as one of his ‘daughters’, or maybe ‘granddaughters’ and it made him happy that the chuunin could put away her polite mask before him.
“Thank you, Sandaime-sama.” Iruka curved her eyes in content.
“ I’ve heard about your case with Mizuki… Do you want to talk about it?” Sandaime sipped his tea on his chair.
Sitting before the old hokage, Iruka grimaced a bit at the sudden question. During her recovering time, she hadn’t had a chance to ask about Mizuki’s fate. She assumed the ANBU already took care of him. “If I may know…how’s he now, Sandaime-sama?” She even couldn’t bring herself to say his name.
Sandaime nodded in understanding, “He is placed in the underground jail. He shouldn’t bother us for a long time, Iruka-kun. You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”
Stealing a rather forbidden scroll would cost a heavy punishment, but Iruka didn’t want to dwell on it anymore, much less the reason why Mizuki did it in the first place. She was still recuperating from her trauma. Nodding her head, Iruka began, “Sandaime-sama, actually I come here not to talk about it.”
Sandaime raised his eyebrows, “What it could be then?”
Taking the student files out of her rather small bag, Iruka gave them to Sandaime who accepted and began reading some of them. “Is this the genin team arrangement this year, Iruka-kun?”
Iruka nodded, “Yes. I’ve arranged most of the teams already, but there’re a few teams that I haven’t decided yet. Can you give me your opinion please?”
Sandaime nodded, reading the arrangements. “You put Shikamaru-Ino-Chouji as a team? Good choice…”
Ten minutes later, Sandaime already knew about the brief arrangement of all. He mostly agreed with Iruka’s decision, but he recommended changing for Shikamaru-Ino-Chouji’s Jounin teacher which -he decided- would be best for Asuma to teach, instead of Raidou. Iruka agreed.
It was Iruka’s turn to tell him her biggest problem.
“I’m afraid I don’t know the right jounin candidate for Sasuke-Naruto-Sakura’s team. They’re … a special case. Sasuke as an Uchiha, Naruto with his endless energy, and Sakura with her higher-than-most-people-intelligence. It’s a bit difficult to find a jounin who would want to teach the raw potentials in them, Sandaime-sama. Do you have any advices?” Iruka asked.
Sandaime nodded, “Hm…Sasuke is one of the last Uchiha, right? He would need quite a figure to teach him sharingan. I can tell he’s one of those who are born with that ability.”
Iruka sighed, “That’s one of the problems as well. Sasuke needs a figure that impresses him enough to make him -at least- follow the teaching. He holds his abilities high and is proud of them. And Sakura is sometimes too clever. She would accept anyone as long as he or she is really too smart for his or her own good. And last, Naruto is… the boy. Not many people, even some jounins, who would want to associate with him. I couldn’t think of anyone who would want to bear with all of those.”
Sandaime nodded again. His eyes focused on the papers before him for a few minutes, and finally, he glanced back at her. “Iruka-kun, I think I know who the perfect candidate for this team is.”
Iruka blinked, “You do? May I know who is he/she, Sandaime-sama?”
Sandaime smiled, “He’s never taught a gennin team before, but I’m sure he would do fine.”
“He? Who-?”
“Hatake Kakashi.”
“Nanii!??”
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Iruka sighed for the twentieth time that morning. Most of her wounds were already healed except for the concussion and of course the injury on her back. That was why she still had bandages around her head. But this time, she tied back her hair in a low ponytail on her neck. She didn’t know why, but it seemed more and more people stared at her hair each passing day when she had it down. She knew it was unusual for her to walk outside her house with hair down, but she didn’t realize it was that bad looking. So, she felt relieved bit when some of the stares boring into her skull vanished themselves after she decided to have it in a low ponytail.
She was sitting on the desk in front of the class while the others sat on the chairs before her. The others, the jounins, sat excitedly in their seats, talking and joking around with others as they waited for the meeting to start.
Which would not be for at least an half hour more. Thanks to a certain lazy -always-late silver haired jounin.
Iruka put her head down into her hand as she sat resignedly back on her chair. Really, if she didn’t know better, she's think she was teaching some of pre-genins in her own class - except these jounins were bigger, taller, and of course crazier.
Why me!??
A sudden cloud of smoke swirled beside her as the guy they had waited for at least one hour finally appeared before the class. Icha-icha book was opened as usual under his nose. “Yo. Sorry I’m late. I got lost in the way of life.”
Iruka just sighed again, resigned to her fate. Actually, from his usual two hours late, Kakashi definitely was early, but Iruka wouldn’t tell him that. “Please take a seat with the others, Kakashi-san.”
The single eye just curved into inverted U at her, “Glad to see you again, Iruka-sensei.” Then he walked lazily toward the sitting jounins and took his own seat, between Asuma and Genma. The others just grunted at his presence.
Ah…the joy being the infamous late jounin… Kakashi grinned behind the mask as he sat at the seat his friends provided for him.
Feeling a familiar heat in the pit of her stomach, Iruka coughed, signaling the meeting to begin. The room suddenly turned silent in seconds. Good. “Good morning, everyone. As you know, tomorrow is the day for the genin tests. Here I would announce who gets which team. Most of the teams consist of two boys and a girl who pass the academy exam this year. But as you’re all aware, out of all the teams I’ve arranged for you all, there’ll be only three teams that’ll be accepted as genins. Everyone follows so far?” She asked.
There were nods, grunts, smirks, and grins. She assumed those were a yes. The jounin test was really varied in many kinds, but there were only few jounins who would really want to pass their team. There were far too many children’s grave, far too many in Konoha already. No need to add the risks for more of those. In fact, Iruka would consider her students to be lucky to pass more than one team every year. (Like the last year, only Gai-sensei passed three students as his genins.)
“You’re free to do any tests you think as the best for them, but please keep them under the rules. I’m sure you all know what the rules are. I do not want to see or hear of anyone getting killed here, got it?” She put her best teacher ‘obey ME or you can go fuc**ng EATEN by missing nins for all I care ’ glare. Everyone nodded obediently at that. Iruka ignored the gulps or snorts that were heard.
At the other side of the room, Kakashi simply raised his eyebrows at the rare display of the female sensei’s resoluteness.
Hmm…no wonder her students obey ALL her words all the time….
“Good. Then I’ll announce the arrangement of teams now. Keep in mind, if you pass them, you’ll have the responsibility of three young lives in your hands for an unknown time in the future."
It went unsaid that it would be a few days, months, or years before one of them would be killed.
Everyone went really silent at that.
Iruka nodded, began reading the list. “There are ten teams this year and five teams more from last year. Team 1 - Watane Anji, Kotama Juro, Mataro Keima - Jounin : Yamashiro Aoba.- “
Aoba grunted and rose from his seat, taking the mission scroll from Iruka’s desk. The scroll already consisted of student’s data and their photos and of course a brief direction how to test them. He got out of the room after that.
“Team 3 -….”
“Team 5 - ….” Another jounin went outside the room.
“Team 10 - Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji - Jounin : Sarutobi Asuma.” Asuma nodded and took the scrolls. He walked out of the room in his infamous lazy stroll. He would be a perfect match -or idol- for Shikamaru, Iruka mused.
“Team 4 - ….”
“Team 8 - Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba - Jounin : Yuuhi Kurenai.” There were several raised eyebrows at that. Three famous clans in a group? Sounds interesting… Kurenai walked to her desk, smiled at her and nodded, taking the scroll. Then she went outside as well.
There were several teams after that, until the only ones in the class were her and the infamous copy nin. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at her as the last jounin walked outside the door.
“I take it your unlikeness to my hair is cured then?” He said, walking in a lazy slouch to the front desk where Iruka sat, not waiting for Iruka’s announcement. His Icha-icha in his hand - thankfully wasn’t opened this time. He was rewarded with the blush on the chuunin’s face.
Iruka blushed a bit at the remembrance. True, it had been a few days since she last saw the jounin and today, seeing that silver hair barely had an effect on her stomach. Stiffly, she handed the scroll to him, not answering the question. She purposely announced Team 7’s as the last because she wanted to have a few words with the jounin regarding them. “Kakashi-san, I want to have a few words with you before you leave, if I may?”
Accepting the scroll, the jounin raised his eyebrow in question. “Oh? Are you asking me out, Iruka-sensei?”
Hmm… I didn’t know you have it in you, sensei. Not that I'm complaining though…
Iruka blinked at him, before the meaning hit her. Instantly, she blushed hard, “NO!! That’s not what I mean!!”
Kakashi just chuckled, sitting on the seat before her desk, “Maa…I’m joking, Iruka-sensei.” He was enjoying the rather adorable sight the chuunin made before him.
Iruka tried to return her face color to normal, coughing, “Your Team - Team 7 consists of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura, Kakashi-san.”
Kakashi shrugged at her, “What’s about them?”
One of *the* last Uchiha…? The sensei’s son? And a girl named after a flower? Sounds interesting…
Iruka sighed inside at the emotionless response she got from the jounin.
Well…at least he doesn’t protest having a rather imbalanced angsty boy, a kyuubi container, and a pink haired girl as his team. Wait a minute… does he know any students beside Naruto…? I don’t think so…
Iruka sighed, “Honestly, I didn’t plan to hand them to you because you haven’t had teams before - at least I don't think so. But Sandaime-sama thinks that you’re perfect for them and after a few considerations, I agree with him.”
Kakashi kept silent.
Let’s see what you wanted me to do, sensei….
Meeting their eyes, Iruka continued. “This team is… an unusual team. Sasuke as an Uchiha, holds high his skill. Believe me when I say you must impress him enough before he wants to be taught by you. The next, there’s Sakura who has a bit of a low self-esteem problem although she is really smart. She currently…has a crush on Sasuke, and sadly I must say it clouds her judgments sometimes. And the last…Uzumaki Naruto. I know you’ve met with him already. And as you and I are aware…he’s….” Iruka struggled inside, trying to continue despite of the big lump growing inside her throat, “…he’s the Kyuubi’s container. He’s a bit hyperactive but a good boy.”
Kakashi finally sighed, “And what do you mean with telling me all of this, Iruka-sensei?”
Iruka swallowed, glancing down at her clenched fist, “I don’t know how you test them, Kakashi-san. And I am not asking you to pass them or something like that. The only concern of mine is…these three are a risky team. They tend to be rather…opposite of each other although I hope they could cover each other’s weakness someday. Please don’t take them lightly. That’s all.”
There was a silence at that. Iruka closed her eyes tightly, waiting for any responses of what?
Kakashi kept silent, staring at the chuunin before him.
She’s worrying over her students too much… I can’t promise that I would pass them as Gennin….still…
Before him, Iruka kept lowered her head as her worry grew more and more at the jounin’s silence.
He would think I’m too worried sick over everything… I know it’s a bad idea to tell him all of that…but I couldn’t -
Suddenly she could feel a light pressure on her clenched fist. Opening her eyes warily, she saw a paler and larger gloved hand uncurled her smaller tanner fisted right hand slowly. The gesture oddly… felt intimate.
“You’re a really good teacher, Iruka-sensei.”
Iruka blinked at that, finally braving herself to glance up at the face of the nin before her. An intense of single gray eye stared back into her chocolate eyes.
There’s a hint of blue inside that pool of grey…
A second later, the pool of grey vanished and it curved like a downward crescent moon.
She could feel a strong grip on her uncurled hand, gently rubbing against her skin.
“Don’t worry about them. I’ll do my best, Iruka-sensei.”
And Iruka couldn’t help but smile back at him.
“Arigato….Kakashi-san.”
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After briefing with the jounins, Iruka went to the class where she informed all the students which team they would get and who their jounin teachers were. She ignored Naruto’s shouts, Sasuke’s glare, and Sakura’s protest when she announced their team. The other teams were nodding and smiling (and grunting and snorting and…), which made Iruka glad at least some of her students agreed with her decision.
She considered it went well actually.
And the next day, today in fact, she stood once again before the class, calmly explaining to her students what they might expect from their jounins.
“After I go from this class, there’ll be jounins here that will take each team to anywhere he/she would like you to go. Remember, you’ll be tested by him/her in many ways before he/she announce that you pass. You won’t be gennin yet. That’s all from me. And good luck.”
When she walked outside the room, Naruto followed her as well, taking a grip of her vest in his small clutch. He stopped Iruka from taking walking further along the hall. “Yes, Naruto?”
“Iruka-sensei!! I still don’t understand why you pair me with Sasuke and Sakura-chan! They’re both impossible!!” Naruto whispered not-too-lowly.
Iruka sighed. They had talked about it yesterday, but it seemed that Naruto still didn’t understand what she meant.
“Naruto-kun. As I told you yesterday, your score is the lowest one in the class. The only way to balance it is to pair you up with students with the highest score - which in fact - is Sasuke-kun and of course Sakura-chan.” She explained.
She refrained herself from telling Naruto the truth, because, hell, Iruka herself still doubted that this choice of the team for them was in fact slightly possible.
But well, this is the second reason as well. It is still the truth, so it doesn’t count as a lie. Sorry, Naruto.
Naruto pouted at her, which looks so cute with those adorable blue eyes of his. Iruka just chuckled and ruffled his blonde hair, giving in into the cuteness.
He will grow up into a very good looking boy one day…
“Just be patient, Naruto-kun. The most important thing you have to do now is to pass the test to be gennin soon. But yes, you need to make friends with your team. Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan are good children, Naruto, you will realize that later.”
Naruto kept pouting - at least until seeing his sensei’s smile he grinned instead. “You know what, Iruka-sensei?”
“What..?”
“After that incident with him, I thought a lot about it….and finally, I decided to do something.” The grin was still there, although the shining eyes dimmed a bit, lost in his remembrance.
Iruka carefully kneeled before him, brushing his blonde hair gently. It felt so soft despite its spiky appearance. “Hmm..?” she urged Naruto to continue.
“If the villagers do not want to acknowledge me because of the…thing inside me, I’ll make them do it on their own.”
“And how will you do that, Naruto-kun?”
“I will be the Hokage one day!! Then everyone will know and admit me as a strong shinobi!! I promised myself that!!” Naruto’s grin widened as those blue eyes shone brightly back into Iruka’s brown ones.
Iruka could feel warmth seeped inside her heart at hearing those words. She didn’t have the heart to tell Naruto that it was a nearly impossible dream to reach. But maybe…maybe Naruto would be an exception to that. Instantly, she embraced the small boy into her arms.
“I believe you will make it someday, Naruto-kun.”
And yes, she surprised herself that she really meant it.
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Long after that, Iruka busied herself with her works in mission room. Her job as teacher academy was on a long break after the graduation and it would be a few weeks before she could teach the students -and of course the new ones- again. So, she settled to work in the mission room herself.
It had been four hours before she finally had enough.
I’m too worried about Nar-Team 7’s test. I…need to ask a few questions to Sandaime-sama.
Her logic gave her the reasons why she shouldn't care so much (she was merely his teacher; the kyuubi was inside him, he was cursed kid, and any other facts that Iruka couldn’t bother to think more about), but she knew deep inside her, somehow, somehow, Naruto already had already made his way into her heart, placing his wide grin and his blue shining orbs and his laugh and his pranks and what else in a special place in Iruka’s heart. Iruka didn’t know how it could be, but she couldn’t lie to her own feeling.
I really care about him… more than a teacher should do. And …… I don’t regret it.
After a few minutes forcing herself to walk quickly to Sandaime’s office, finally she reached the door. She knocked on it hesitantly.
“Please come in.” came a gruff voice.
Iruka opened the door carefully; walking inside and doing what she'd really wanted to do that day.
“Sandaime-sama, I’m sorry I'm disturbing your work, but I have to ask you something important.”
Sandaime just raised his eyebrows, the smoke from his pipe billowing slightly. “And what could that be, Iruka-kun?”
“What kind of teacher is that Hatake Kakashi , Sandaime-sama?” She was really curious to know what method Kakashi would use to test Naruto and the others and how much a chance they would have to pass those tests.
Sandaime just raised his eyebrows higher, amusement clear in his next words. “Ah… do you mean what kind of man he is, Iruka-kun?”
Huh..?
It took her a good 10 seconds before she get the meaning. Horrified, blushing to the ends of her hair, Iruka stammered. “That’s NOT what I mean, Sandaime-sama!!”
What the hell!?? Don’t tell me he thinks that I like Kakashi-san THAT WAY!!??
Amusedly, Sandamie continued. “Well… I know it’s about time now for you to get married… 23 years old and all… And Kakashi is good enough for you, except maybe you have to do something with his tendency to be late over everything…”
Fearing she would faint anytime now, if she didn’t get the damn blush off soon, Iruka stammered, “Sa-Sandaime-sama! Don’t …joke around, please…??”
“And I must warn you of his tendency to read porn in public…well you know that already… He’s not entirely a pervert like Jiraiya but well…maybe it’s a good thing for you, female and all… they tend to be very very creative in bed - or so people say..“
Iruka wanted to die.
“But I can assure you that he’s a good guy. He considers teammates precious things. He will die before letting your students be hurt in front of his eyes without doing anything about it.”
Somehow, Sandaime’s explanation turned slightly safe as Iruka’s blush turned off slowly. Ignoring the earlier explanation, Iruka focused on the last sentences Sandaime said, “ His teammates, Sandaime-sama? Really?”
Sandaime chuckled and nodded. “I know you’re really worried sick about your students, Iruka-kun. But don’t worry. Kakashi can keep the three of them in line. He’s a genius.”
Nodding, Iruka felt a bit of relief washed over her. “Can I see… his past students’ data book then?”
Maybe I guesses wrong.... Maybe he had teams before... I might learn from his past students if that's the case….
Sandaime nodded, giving her a small black book from his robe, “I'd realized you’d ask for it soon or later. Just read it and you will understand.”
Carefully, she opened the book, only to be surprised at the content it showed, which was blank, “None at all?? What do you mean with this, Sandaime-sama!??”
Sandaime sighed, gently letting go of the pipe in his mouth, “He ‘s rather … strict with his standard of the test. He values work as teammates highly, which unfortunately, hadn’t happened in some Academy students years ago. That’s why he gave up the chance of being a jounin teacher five-six years ago.”
Iruka frowned at that, trying to remember. She herself had been a teacher since four years ago, but she had never known Hatake Kakashi as a jounin teacher before. Mostly she only knew him from the mission room as the best formidable jounins, the copy nin. There were of course rumors that he had been ANBU years before, but Iruka had never been interested enough to find out more.
Sandaime continued, “I don’t know how he'll decide for your three students this year. But rest assured that he’s the best candidate to handle this kind of team. As far as I understand from your story, he would be a great teacher for Sasuke to handle the Sharingan eyes if Sasuke ever gets one -he is named the Sharingan Kakashi after all, moreover, he’s a genius that is smart enough to handle Sasuke and Sakura’s intelligence. And for Naruto’s case, I’ve never known him as anything but a honorable shinobi. He wouldn’t treat Naruto differentially from the others. Besides-“
It looked like Sandaime wanted to continue more, but he only coughed and smiled wearily at her questioning eyes, “He’s a good guy, that Hatake kid. I only ask this of you, Iruka-kun…”
“And what’s that, Sandaime-sama?”
“Believe in Kakashi and your students. He has his own judgment and in case your students do not make it pass the test, please don’t hate him for that.”
Iruka swallowed, trying to absorb all of that into her mind. Finally she nodded, “I’ll try, Sandaime-sama.”
There was an odd glint in those pair of dark eyes after that. Before Iruka could contemplate what it meant, Sandaime beat her to it.
“Beside, he has a really attractive face, Iruka-kun. It’d be a shame if you let go that guy - ah but of course you know that already, don’t you? Or you haven’t seen his face yet? That mask is worn for that very reason you know.”
“SANDAIME-SAMA!! STOP JOKING AROUND!!”
And he laughed.
Well…Iruka… I’m not joking either…mostly…he…eh.
Tbc……..
A/N :
Okay…..I think this’s the LAST chapter full of adorable & cute things…..We will see more into Iruka’s mind bits and bits…. @____@ Hope u like it! :)
~blue-iceland (a.k.a Izky)
The Next Chapter - The Growing Fondness (Will be up MAX. on Saturday/Sunday, 6-7th October)
Teasers :
Kakashi raised his eyebrows at the sudden respect Sasuke had toward the chuunin.
He GROWLED at me the first time we talk and here he BOWS to Iruka?? The angsty boy has serious manner problems here….
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On the other hand, Kakashi was having a big time himself. He didn’t know why, but it felt…. calming to stand closer to the chuunin sensei. The sensei’s chakra was rather calm and welcoming, His usually sharp nose went down, barely touched the brown strands of hair fell after that cute ponytail, trying to recognize the sweet smell around the female.
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“Ruka?? You mean you AND that kid?? But he’s TOO young!!!” Kotetsu was horrified.
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The old real you is still somewhere there, Ruka.
When will you let her go…?
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She only could nod, helpless against the bittersweet of their last moment together. She remembered the forced smile, the awkward silence, the worried glances her friends threw between them.
“I can’t do this anymore…….” The words were the last things she heard from those lips.
“I’m going….”
She couldn’t say ‘I’m sorry’….
It was too late….
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Well...what do u think? ^_^
| Chapter 04 - The Growing Fondness |