(Fic) Iruka 1/2 Chapter 7
Riiiight.
I've been getting requests, enough to shift me off my lazy bum, and I got out another chapter!
Actually, I'm very busy right now, doing my honours (which none of you care about, you just want fic, you greedy pigs) so the next chapter might take forever.
... yeah.
Previous chapters:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Iruka 1/2 Chapter 7
Iruka tugged his hitai-ate on, and tied it securely at the back of his head. Ibiki-sensei, or... Otou-san, was away on a mission, and Iruka was already sort of missing him. At least, he missed the fact that he could go bang on Ibiki's door, wait five minutes, and get offered milk and cookies.
Once he was inside the apartment, of course.
And, also, he was missing his privacy.
"Are you ready yet, imouto-chan?" Izumo stuck his head around the door, and ducked automatically when the expected kunai stuck into the doorframe, exactly level where his head had been.
"I've been ready for half an hour, ask Kotetsu if he is ready," Iruka growled. "And get out of my room!"
"Oh, I thought it's 'cause girls take longer than guys..." He was gone before seven more kunai and several shuriken found a new home in his head.
Iruka made a face at the mirror.
His self-styled brothers were now keeping Iruka 'company' in Ibiki's absence, coming over everyday that to make sure Iruka was 'alright'. Iruka suspected that it was more to use the bathroom and the ready supply of hot water.
Iruka itched to turn off the hot water tap just before Kotetsu and Izumo arrive - he didn't need hot water that badly.
He checked his uniform one more time - this demanded a toned down version of the chuunin and jounin uniforms - and left his room, absently pulling out the kunai from the doorframe, and picking up the shuriken from the floor.
The wood floor needed to be sanded again, he thought. It had taken more punishment this last week than it had in the last year - this is what happened when his 'brothers' came visiting.
"Oy, Kotetsu!" Iruka hollered, kicking at the bathroom door. "If you don't hurry, we'll be half an hour late, and you know what Yuuichi-san said about that!"
The water stopped running, and the door opened suddenly, Kotetsu's hair a dripping mess, towel slung around his hips. He glared at Iruka.
Iruka glared back.
"You've been talking about Yuuichi-san here, Yuuichi-san there. Is there something we should know?" Kotetsu grabbed another towel and roughly scrubbed his hair dry. He'd never hear the end of it if he dripped on the wood.
Anything to keep Iruka from using the fawn eyes.
His mind couldn't take too much of it.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Iruka rolled his eyes. "And wipe that up before you stain the wood. I already have to get it resanded as it is."
Kotetsu obeyed, shoving the mat around with his feet.
"I'm saying, ever since we started this so-called C-class mission helping the academy school-kids with their tracking, you've been talking non-stop about Yuuichi-san."
Iruka gave him a blank look that clearly said he'd better hurry up and clarify.
"He's not good enough for you," Kotetsu said in explanation.
Still the blank look.
Kotetsu tried again. "You like him, right?"
Iruka appeared to be staring at him in something akin to fascination. "I like my friends, and that includes you and Izumo, though some days I don't know why I do."
Sometimes, Kotetsu thought, Ruru-chan was just a little bit dim.
"Like as in like like."
Iruka held out his uniform to him in a very irritated manner. "And this has a point?"
"He isn't worth being your boyfriend," Kotetsu said bluntly.
Iruka stared at him.
His teammate had obviously gone nuts.
Crazy nuts, and not the good kind. If there ever was a good kind.
"Boyfriend?" Iruka said. "I would be screaming right now if I didn't think the sun has cooked your brain. Hurry up. You have five minutes."
Kotetsu eyed his imouto-chan, who was looking very impatient right now, and pulled on his shirt.
"Boyfriend," he said firmly. "That guy, he's barely made chuunin, and already he's throwing his weight around, laughing at the kids..."
"You're saying that the only people worthy of dating have to be above chuunin?" Iruka asked, very very quietly.
Kotetsu swallowed, and tugged at his pants.
"Imouto-chan? Pants? Please?"
Iruka crossed his arms, and set his jaw. "Nothing I haven't seen before. Explain, Kotetsu, before you find out how to live life without feet."
"No, not what I meant..." Kotetsu held the pants in front of him like it was a shield.
"Four minutes."
"Gah," Kotetsu said, frustrated, and yanked on his pants, under the towel. "We... we're just worried about you, alright? Some people, they're not good for you..."
"You discussed this with Ibiki-sensei, didn't you."
"A...a little," Kotetsu said warily. "Some people, they just... they show unhealthy interest and... Iruka, don't wave that kunai around... you do want us to get to the Academy on time right? Right? Ruru-chan, no!!"
They arrived at the Academy fifteen minutes late, with Kotetsu looking a little ragged around the edges.
"Hey, what happened?" Izumo whispered, when Iruka went up to give their apologies to the chuunin Nagumo Yuuichi. "Heard a lot of screaming, while waiting up front."
When the other two had finally emerged, Iruka had been dark of face - obviously in a very, very bad mood, and set off so quickly that Izumo had to jog to keep up. He only had time to ask Kotetsu now.
"Otouto-chan found out," Kotetsu hissed. "Wasn't pleased."
"Found out…?"
"The list," Kotetsu made shushing noises when it looked like Iruka was looking their way. Luckily, Iruka was only shifting stance. "Ibiki-sensei is so going to get it when he comes back."
Izumo had just enough time to make a face of horror before Nagumo Yuuichi jogged up to them, Iruka by his side.
"Hey," Yuuichi said, holding out a clipboard. "Looks like you guys just can't make it on time, eh?"
Kotetsu and Izumo glowered at him.
The seventeen year old chuunin was only a hand or so taller then Izumo, the tallest of the team, but he behaved as though they were still children.
"Perhaps, I should write a note to Ibiki-san, telling him about how you can't control your teammates properly, eh?" he tapped Iruka on the nose with his pencil. Iruka just blinked. It happened all the time.
Kotetsu and Izumo, however, glowered, and itched to smash the other boy's face in. How dare he slight their imouto-chan's abilities to lead a team!
"Yuuichi-san!" Iruka protested. "There were circumstances!"
Yuuichi laughed, a nice, manly laugh, one that a teenager had no business possessing, and ruffled Iruka's pony-tail. Iruka scowled at that, but Yuuichi obviously didn't notice the danger and just went back to his clipboard.
Kotetsu and Izumo exchanged glances. Definitely smitten. Iruka would have *maimed* anyone so forward as to desecrate the pony-tail. They had to do something!
Iruka didn't understand what was with the two of his teammates today.
They were rude to Yuuichi-san, fumbled the traps so that Yuuichi-san had to reset them in time for the pre-genin students. They were so hopelessly slow and butter-fingered that they only managed to get through four out of the twenty tasks that they had to finish today, and it was nearly mid-day!
Iruka was so going to talk to them after that.
While he was not going to use the fawn-eyes on them - he remembered how he'd overused it last year, which was how he'd gotten saddled with two brothers in the first place - he could *threaten* to cry at them.
Which he hated, but heck, nowadays, screaming rarely got anything done. He'd gotten skilled at using low and threatening, but when he wanted fast results, threat of water works made it work really fast.
Of course, if Ibiki-sensei were here, it'd might go either way - faster, because he was Ibiki's daughter, or slower, because Ibiki was jounin, and had quite a bit of resistance. He might have to use some of the lower powered fawn eyes to get Ibiki to confess exactly what he was thinking.
Well. He was going to find out what the heck the two boys thought they were doing. If they kept messing up, they'd never finish, and he'd never be able to get started on the report. Unlike some people, he relied quite a bit on his genin salary, thank you very much, and the Academy paid pretty well - they were always desperate for helpers.
After this one was over, Iruka figured that maybe he could put in with the Academy another similar mission for the team, if Ibiki-sensei wasn't back by then. Probably with Yuuichi-san again. He knew the team, and he wasn't sure that the other free chuunin would be able to cope with Kotetsu and Izumo. Those boys were a handful. Yuuichi-san, on the other hand, was patient, and kind, and very knowledgable. He did have some annoying mannerisms, but Iruka was used to his friends having odd eccentricities.
Like Hawk-san's tendency to wave at him every time he came by the Hokage's office, annoying Ibiki-sensei no end.
"Okay," Yuuichi-san said, looking amazingly cool and dry, even though Iruka felt sweaty and irritable from running around, trying to make his teammates work their lazy butts. "Pair work now. Setting the 'clues' and 'hidden scrolls'. Since Kotetsu and Izumo work so well together, they can be one pair, Iruka and I be the other pair, alright?" He handed Izumo a bag, half of the clues and their instructions.
Kotetsu grabbed the other bag. "Oh, I want to learn how to work with others, Yuuichi-san. That's one of the main purposes in training, right? Flexibility?"
Iruka looked at Kotetsu, aghast. If this morning he'd thought that Kotetsu was nuts, then right now he was certifiably insane. One didn't go against a superior's orders!
Unless one was planning pranks on others… then that didn't count, since people rarely gave orders like - Don't turn people's underwear pink, or don't try to blow the school up with techni-coloured sparkles and flower-scented powder.
Though come to think about it… the Academy had a list of rules now, banning all his pranks, and then some. Which gave him some lovely ideas…
Pity Ibiki-sensei had made him Team leader in his absence.
"And one of the points of training is being able to obey orders," Iruka said, low, and threatening. "Kotetsu."
Kotetsu glanced at him, and nearly dropped the bag.
Heh. A slight hint of fawn eyes, underscored with the slightest threat of tears.
He could feel Yuuichi-san stare at him, but that couldn't be helped. Sometimes, one had to be underhanded to maintain discipline.
Iruka plucked the bag from Kotetsu's suddenly nerveless fingers. "You and Izumo will go over there and start planting. Yuuichi-san and I will do ours elsewhere."
He pinned the two boys with a stern look, and the two boys wilted.
He turned to Yuuichi-san. "Let's get started."
“Maa, Iruka, I think you handle your team really well.” Yuuichi-san said, when the two other boys were gone to the other end of the forest, following the instruction sheet.
“Really?” Iruka asked. “Thanks, Yuuichi-san.”
“I was just teasing earlier this morning,” Yuuichi-san continued.
“I know,” Iruka answered. They worked in silence a while, moving from tree to tree, Iruka keeping up easily with Yuuichi-san.
“There’s no need to be so formal, Iruka. Just call me Yuuichi,” Yuuichi-san smiled at him. “I only just made chuunin, after all. I’m only three years older than you.”
“Alright, Yuuichi-sa… Yuuichi.” Iruka said. How nice it must be, to be chuunin, and not have your teammates hanging around you like you couldn’t do anything!
“I heard it was difficult to become chuunin,” Iruka said hesitantly, not quite wanting to break the companionable silence. He was deathly curious, however. “How was the exam like?”
"Oh, it wasn't easy," Yuuichi said, shrugging. "Had to take it twice. One of my teammates nearly died in the second round."
He glanced at Iruka's wide-eyes.
"Oh, don't worry. I managed to get him out of it in time - I was team leader, you know. Just like you." He smiled at Iruka.
Iruka thought about trying to get Kotetsu out of trouble. Or Izumo. At the rate they were going, Iruka was perfectly happy to let them get caught in a chakra blast.
He felt mildly awful and inconsiderate.
"Oh, look," Yuuichi said, thankfully distracting Iruka from his guiltily bloodthirsty thoughts. Iruka turned to peer in the direction Yuuichi was pointing.
It was just a field of pre-genin kids, just visible through the trees where Yuuichi and Iruka were hiding the clues.
"What about them?" Iruka asked.
"See the way they're throwing the kunai? Their teacher isn't teaching them right."
Iruka squinted - the chuunin teacher was positioning the children's hands on the kunai, correcting their stance. It looked right to him.
"You don't think so?" Yuuichi smiled at the doubt on Iruka's face. "Believe me, that's fine if you're just gonna attack posts. But if you're in a real fight, your stance gotta be different."
"Really?" Iruka regarded the teacher and the students' stance. They still looked fine to him.
"Here, I'll show you - " Yuuichi handed him a shuriken. "Stand like you're going to throw."
Iruka obediently did so. Yuuichi touched his hand to Iruka's arm, drawing it closer to the body. "See... you're using the formal way. If your opponent saw you hold that stance, he'd know at once you intended to chuck something at him."
"Oh, I see." How informative. Iruka hadn't thought about it that way. Yuuichi was definitely experienced.
Yuuichi moved behind him, adjusting his shoulders, and then his hands were on Iruka's hips.
Iruka twitched at that.
Yuuichi appeared not to notice.
"Now; the hips are very important," Yuuichi was saying his hands firm, pushing gently.
Iruka swallowed - Yuuichi was... He was only teaching him the right stance. That was all. After all, in taijutsu and all that, sometimes the teacher had to be pretty close, right? Physical closeness and all that...
Iruka pushed it out of his mind. He was just overreacting - Yuuichi meant nothing at all. In fact...
"There, you see?" Yuuichi's voice was low, just next to his ear.
Iruka nearly jumped.
"Hey hey..." Yuuichi laughed. "You're as jumpy as a doe."
Iruka scowled at himself. He was overreacting - Yuuichi was just being friendly, trying to show him more advanced stuff, and he was freaking out for no reason.
"Cute," Yuuichi said, and was flipping through the instruction sheet again. "Hey, I think we're nearly done - just have to hide two more scrolls - do you think your teammates are done yet?"
"Ye... Yeah," Iruka said, automatically starting to tuck the shuriken into his holster.
"Hey - you trying to steal my shuriken?" Yuuichi teased smilingly.
"Oh, sorry," Iruka said, startled. He held out the shuriken to the older teen.
"You'd make a good ninja," Yuuichi commented, taking the shuriken from Iruka, their fingers brushing.
"Why do you say so?" Iruka asked, pulling back.
"Oh - perfectly ready to take things - that's what ninjas are all about you know. Being sneaky, thieves and assassins..." Yuuichi shrugged.
"Thanks... I think."
"No problem," Yuuichi waved off his words. "You know - there's a lot of that theory they teach that doesn't actually work in real life? Like that stance I'd shown you - that one is better if you're standing from behind something."
"Like what?" Iruka was curious. He wanted to know more, and theory had bored him anyway, until he'd figured out that some of the theory could be applied to attention-grabbing pranks.
"Oh. There is all those lessons they teach you about chakra wires, right? You don't have to be so careful with the exact amount of chakra," Yuuichi said, quickly scanning the instructions. "We have to be over there - you just put about the amount you need - always better to be just less than you expect, because the wire you use in missions and such are not necessarily new..."
Iruka followed, drinking in all the information.
Iruka and Yuuichi were still deep in discussion of ninjutsu theory and techniques by the time the whole team had finished.
When Kotetsu and Izumo came up, looking dark of face, Yuuichi exclaimed, breaking off the discussion,"Right then - we're halfway done. Break for lunch, alright?"
Yuuichi sat next to Iruka, while they were eating their packed lunches, continuing their discussions.
Iruka was dimly aware of his brothers' dark looks directed towards Yuuichi, but he was still annoyed with how they had been not pulling their weight this whole morning. So he ignored Izumo's attempts to draw his attention, and kept talking to Yuuichi.
Yuuichi was very knowledgable. He'd gone on several A-class missions already, despite his only just being promoted, and Iruka listened avidly for all the tactics, the missions.
Kotetsu really, really didn’t like this Yuuichi. Izumo could feel it, the feeling fairly vibrating off him. He himself didn’t like the other boy.
It was just an oily, faint feeling of unease, looking at how Yuuichi looked at Iruka, how the older boy watched their teammate. It was like he was planning something.
Besides, no one could have gone on that many A-class missions and not come back with a scar, right? Unless it was in an embarrassing place, and that would be just like Yuuichi not to bother to mention.
Iruka was listening to him, like he’d caught his attention with a jutsu, expression rapt, body still. It reminded him of one of those stories he’d read, with a demon, or an evil shinobi, ensnaring the attention and spirit of the innocent child, and later the child’s life.
Okay, so Yuuichi wasn’t that bad. He couldn’t possibly be a demon or something, ‘cause the Hokage’d find out, wouldn’t he, and then he’d take care of him. But yeah, an evil shinobi was possible, ‘cause he was looking at Iruka, and sort of touching him, little fake-casual touches of the hand, on Ruru-chan’s wrist, fingers, and once at the back of his elbow.
It made Izumo go still, and Kotetsu go hard, trying not to watch and unable to stop, like watching a jutsu go spectacularly wrong, or one of Iruka’s pranks go mushroom-cloud.
Then Yuuichi asked a question, and Iruka’d nodded yes, before Kotetsu could butt in.
“What?” Izumo could only say, in disbelief.
“What?” Iruka growled at them. “I said that you both can go home for dinner - I’m gonna have dinner with Yuuichi, ‘cause he’s gonna lend me one of his strategy books on the way back. Gods, you behave like he’d asked me out on a date.”
Ibiki-sensei, Izumo knew in despair, was going to kill them both. With his paring knives and blunt kunai.
I've been getting requests, enough to shift me off my lazy bum, and I got out another chapter!
Actually, I'm very busy right now, doing my honours (which none of you care about, you just want fic, you greedy pigs) so the next chapter might take forever.
... yeah.
Previous chapters:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Iruka 1/2 Chapter 7
Iruka tugged his hitai-ate on, and tied it securely at the back of his head. Ibiki-sensei, or... Otou-san, was away on a mission, and Iruka was already sort of missing him. At least, he missed the fact that he could go bang on Ibiki's door, wait five minutes, and get offered milk and cookies.
Once he was inside the apartment, of course.
And, also, he was missing his privacy.
"Are you ready yet, imouto-chan?" Izumo stuck his head around the door, and ducked automatically when the expected kunai stuck into the doorframe, exactly level where his head had been.
"I've been ready for half an hour, ask Kotetsu if he is ready," Iruka growled. "And get out of my room!"
"Oh, I thought it's 'cause girls take longer than guys..." He was gone before seven more kunai and several shuriken found a new home in his head.
Iruka made a face at the mirror.
His self-styled brothers were now keeping Iruka 'company' in Ibiki's absence, coming over everyday that to make sure Iruka was 'alright'. Iruka suspected that it was more to use the bathroom and the ready supply of hot water.
Iruka itched to turn off the hot water tap just before Kotetsu and Izumo arrive - he didn't need hot water that badly.
He checked his uniform one more time - this demanded a toned down version of the chuunin and jounin uniforms - and left his room, absently pulling out the kunai from the doorframe, and picking up the shuriken from the floor.
The wood floor needed to be sanded again, he thought. It had taken more punishment this last week than it had in the last year - this is what happened when his 'brothers' came visiting.
"Oy, Kotetsu!" Iruka hollered, kicking at the bathroom door. "If you don't hurry, we'll be half an hour late, and you know what Yuuichi-san said about that!"
The water stopped running, and the door opened suddenly, Kotetsu's hair a dripping mess, towel slung around his hips. He glared at Iruka.
Iruka glared back.
"You've been talking about Yuuichi-san here, Yuuichi-san there. Is there something we should know?" Kotetsu grabbed another towel and roughly scrubbed his hair dry. He'd never hear the end of it if he dripped on the wood.
Anything to keep Iruka from using the fawn eyes.
His mind couldn't take too much of it.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Iruka rolled his eyes. "And wipe that up before you stain the wood. I already have to get it resanded as it is."
Kotetsu obeyed, shoving the mat around with his feet.
"I'm saying, ever since we started this so-called C-class mission helping the academy school-kids with their tracking, you've been talking non-stop about Yuuichi-san."
Iruka gave him a blank look that clearly said he'd better hurry up and clarify.
"He's not good enough for you," Kotetsu said in explanation.
Still the blank look.
Kotetsu tried again. "You like him, right?"
Iruka appeared to be staring at him in something akin to fascination. "I like my friends, and that includes you and Izumo, though some days I don't know why I do."
Sometimes, Kotetsu thought, Ruru-chan was just a little bit dim.
"Like as in like like."
Iruka held out his uniform to him in a very irritated manner. "And this has a point?"
"He isn't worth being your boyfriend," Kotetsu said bluntly.
Iruka stared at him.
His teammate had obviously gone nuts.
Crazy nuts, and not the good kind. If there ever was a good kind.
"Boyfriend?" Iruka said. "I would be screaming right now if I didn't think the sun has cooked your brain. Hurry up. You have five minutes."
Kotetsu eyed his imouto-chan, who was looking very impatient right now, and pulled on his shirt.
"Boyfriend," he said firmly. "That guy, he's barely made chuunin, and already he's throwing his weight around, laughing at the kids..."
"You're saying that the only people worthy of dating have to be above chuunin?" Iruka asked, very very quietly.
Kotetsu swallowed, and tugged at his pants.
"Imouto-chan? Pants? Please?"
Iruka crossed his arms, and set his jaw. "Nothing I haven't seen before. Explain, Kotetsu, before you find out how to live life without feet."
"No, not what I meant..." Kotetsu held the pants in front of him like it was a shield.
"Four minutes."
"Gah," Kotetsu said, frustrated, and yanked on his pants, under the towel. "We... we're just worried about you, alright? Some people, they're not good for you..."
"You discussed this with Ibiki-sensei, didn't you."
"A...a little," Kotetsu said warily. "Some people, they just... they show unhealthy interest and... Iruka, don't wave that kunai around... you do want us to get to the Academy on time right? Right? Ruru-chan, no!!"
They arrived at the Academy fifteen minutes late, with Kotetsu looking a little ragged around the edges.
"Hey, what happened?" Izumo whispered, when Iruka went up to give their apologies to the chuunin Nagumo Yuuichi. "Heard a lot of screaming, while waiting up front."
When the other two had finally emerged, Iruka had been dark of face - obviously in a very, very bad mood, and set off so quickly that Izumo had to jog to keep up. He only had time to ask Kotetsu now.
"Otouto-chan found out," Kotetsu hissed. "Wasn't pleased."
"Found out…?"
"The list," Kotetsu made shushing noises when it looked like Iruka was looking their way. Luckily, Iruka was only shifting stance. "Ibiki-sensei is so going to get it when he comes back."
Izumo had just enough time to make a face of horror before Nagumo Yuuichi jogged up to them, Iruka by his side.
"Hey," Yuuichi said, holding out a clipboard. "Looks like you guys just can't make it on time, eh?"
Kotetsu and Izumo glowered at him.
The seventeen year old chuunin was only a hand or so taller then Izumo, the tallest of the team, but he behaved as though they were still children.
"Perhaps, I should write a note to Ibiki-san, telling him about how you can't control your teammates properly, eh?" he tapped Iruka on the nose with his pencil. Iruka just blinked. It happened all the time.
Kotetsu and Izumo, however, glowered, and itched to smash the other boy's face in. How dare he slight their imouto-chan's abilities to lead a team!
"Yuuichi-san!" Iruka protested. "There were circumstances!"
Yuuichi laughed, a nice, manly laugh, one that a teenager had no business possessing, and ruffled Iruka's pony-tail. Iruka scowled at that, but Yuuichi obviously didn't notice the danger and just went back to his clipboard.
Kotetsu and Izumo exchanged glances. Definitely smitten. Iruka would have *maimed* anyone so forward as to desecrate the pony-tail. They had to do something!
Iruka didn't understand what was with the two of his teammates today.
They were rude to Yuuichi-san, fumbled the traps so that Yuuichi-san had to reset them in time for the pre-genin students. They were so hopelessly slow and butter-fingered that they only managed to get through four out of the twenty tasks that they had to finish today, and it was nearly mid-day!
Iruka was so going to talk to them after that.
While he was not going to use the fawn-eyes on them - he remembered how he'd overused it last year, which was how he'd gotten saddled with two brothers in the first place - he could *threaten* to cry at them.
Which he hated, but heck, nowadays, screaming rarely got anything done. He'd gotten skilled at using low and threatening, but when he wanted fast results, threat of water works made it work really fast.
Of course, if Ibiki-sensei were here, it'd might go either way - faster, because he was Ibiki's daughter, or slower, because Ibiki was jounin, and had quite a bit of resistance. He might have to use some of the lower powered fawn eyes to get Ibiki to confess exactly what he was thinking.
Well. He was going to find out what the heck the two boys thought they were doing. If they kept messing up, they'd never finish, and he'd never be able to get started on the report. Unlike some people, he relied quite a bit on his genin salary, thank you very much, and the Academy paid pretty well - they were always desperate for helpers.
After this one was over, Iruka figured that maybe he could put in with the Academy another similar mission for the team, if Ibiki-sensei wasn't back by then. Probably with Yuuichi-san again. He knew the team, and he wasn't sure that the other free chuunin would be able to cope with Kotetsu and Izumo. Those boys were a handful. Yuuichi-san, on the other hand, was patient, and kind, and very knowledgable. He did have some annoying mannerisms, but Iruka was used to his friends having odd eccentricities.
Like Hawk-san's tendency to wave at him every time he came by the Hokage's office, annoying Ibiki-sensei no end.
"Okay," Yuuichi-san said, looking amazingly cool and dry, even though Iruka felt sweaty and irritable from running around, trying to make his teammates work their lazy butts. "Pair work now. Setting the 'clues' and 'hidden scrolls'. Since Kotetsu and Izumo work so well together, they can be one pair, Iruka and I be the other pair, alright?" He handed Izumo a bag, half of the clues and their instructions.
Kotetsu grabbed the other bag. "Oh, I want to learn how to work with others, Yuuichi-san. That's one of the main purposes in training, right? Flexibility?"
Iruka looked at Kotetsu, aghast. If this morning he'd thought that Kotetsu was nuts, then right now he was certifiably insane. One didn't go against a superior's orders!
Unless one was planning pranks on others… then that didn't count, since people rarely gave orders like - Don't turn people's underwear pink, or don't try to blow the school up with techni-coloured sparkles and flower-scented powder.
Though come to think about it… the Academy had a list of rules now, banning all his pranks, and then some. Which gave him some lovely ideas…
Pity Ibiki-sensei had made him Team leader in his absence.
"And one of the points of training is being able to obey orders," Iruka said, low, and threatening. "Kotetsu."
Kotetsu glanced at him, and nearly dropped the bag.
Heh. A slight hint of fawn eyes, underscored with the slightest threat of tears.
He could feel Yuuichi-san stare at him, but that couldn't be helped. Sometimes, one had to be underhanded to maintain discipline.
Iruka plucked the bag from Kotetsu's suddenly nerveless fingers. "You and Izumo will go over there and start planting. Yuuichi-san and I will do ours elsewhere."
He pinned the two boys with a stern look, and the two boys wilted.
He turned to Yuuichi-san. "Let's get started."
“Maa, Iruka, I think you handle your team really well.” Yuuichi-san said, when the two other boys were gone to the other end of the forest, following the instruction sheet.
“Really?” Iruka asked. “Thanks, Yuuichi-san.”
“I was just teasing earlier this morning,” Yuuichi-san continued.
“I know,” Iruka answered. They worked in silence a while, moving from tree to tree, Iruka keeping up easily with Yuuichi-san.
“There’s no need to be so formal, Iruka. Just call me Yuuichi,” Yuuichi-san smiled at him. “I only just made chuunin, after all. I’m only three years older than you.”
“Alright, Yuuichi-sa… Yuuichi.” Iruka said. How nice it must be, to be chuunin, and not have your teammates hanging around you like you couldn’t do anything!
“I heard it was difficult to become chuunin,” Iruka said hesitantly, not quite wanting to break the companionable silence. He was deathly curious, however. “How was the exam like?”
"Oh, it wasn't easy," Yuuichi said, shrugging. "Had to take it twice. One of my teammates nearly died in the second round."
He glanced at Iruka's wide-eyes.
"Oh, don't worry. I managed to get him out of it in time - I was team leader, you know. Just like you." He smiled at Iruka.
Iruka thought about trying to get Kotetsu out of trouble. Or Izumo. At the rate they were going, Iruka was perfectly happy to let them get caught in a chakra blast.
He felt mildly awful and inconsiderate.
"Oh, look," Yuuichi said, thankfully distracting Iruka from his guiltily bloodthirsty thoughts. Iruka turned to peer in the direction Yuuichi was pointing.
It was just a field of pre-genin kids, just visible through the trees where Yuuichi and Iruka were hiding the clues.
"What about them?" Iruka asked.
"See the way they're throwing the kunai? Their teacher isn't teaching them right."
Iruka squinted - the chuunin teacher was positioning the children's hands on the kunai, correcting their stance. It looked right to him.
"You don't think so?" Yuuichi smiled at the doubt on Iruka's face. "Believe me, that's fine if you're just gonna attack posts. But if you're in a real fight, your stance gotta be different."
"Really?" Iruka regarded the teacher and the students' stance. They still looked fine to him.
"Here, I'll show you - " Yuuichi handed him a shuriken. "Stand like you're going to throw."
Iruka obediently did so. Yuuichi touched his hand to Iruka's arm, drawing it closer to the body. "See... you're using the formal way. If your opponent saw you hold that stance, he'd know at once you intended to chuck something at him."
"Oh, I see." How informative. Iruka hadn't thought about it that way. Yuuichi was definitely experienced.
Yuuichi moved behind him, adjusting his shoulders, and then his hands were on Iruka's hips.
Iruka twitched at that.
Yuuichi appeared not to notice.
"Now; the hips are very important," Yuuichi was saying his hands firm, pushing gently.
Iruka swallowed - Yuuichi was... He was only teaching him the right stance. That was all. After all, in taijutsu and all that, sometimes the teacher had to be pretty close, right? Physical closeness and all that...
Iruka pushed it out of his mind. He was just overreacting - Yuuichi meant nothing at all. In fact...
"There, you see?" Yuuichi's voice was low, just next to his ear.
Iruka nearly jumped.
"Hey hey..." Yuuichi laughed. "You're as jumpy as a doe."
Iruka scowled at himself. He was overreacting - Yuuichi was just being friendly, trying to show him more advanced stuff, and he was freaking out for no reason.
"Cute," Yuuichi said, and was flipping through the instruction sheet again. "Hey, I think we're nearly done - just have to hide two more scrolls - do you think your teammates are done yet?"
"Ye... Yeah," Iruka said, automatically starting to tuck the shuriken into his holster.
"Hey - you trying to steal my shuriken?" Yuuichi teased smilingly.
"Oh, sorry," Iruka said, startled. He held out the shuriken to the older teen.
"You'd make a good ninja," Yuuichi commented, taking the shuriken from Iruka, their fingers brushing.
"Why do you say so?" Iruka asked, pulling back.
"Oh - perfectly ready to take things - that's what ninjas are all about you know. Being sneaky, thieves and assassins..." Yuuichi shrugged.
"Thanks... I think."
"No problem," Yuuichi waved off his words. "You know - there's a lot of that theory they teach that doesn't actually work in real life? Like that stance I'd shown you - that one is better if you're standing from behind something."
"Like what?" Iruka was curious. He wanted to know more, and theory had bored him anyway, until he'd figured out that some of the theory could be applied to attention-grabbing pranks.
"Oh. There is all those lessons they teach you about chakra wires, right? You don't have to be so careful with the exact amount of chakra," Yuuichi said, quickly scanning the instructions. "We have to be over there - you just put about the amount you need - always better to be just less than you expect, because the wire you use in missions and such are not necessarily new..."
Iruka followed, drinking in all the information.
Iruka and Yuuichi were still deep in discussion of ninjutsu theory and techniques by the time the whole team had finished.
When Kotetsu and Izumo came up, looking dark of face, Yuuichi exclaimed, breaking off the discussion,"Right then - we're halfway done. Break for lunch, alright?"
Yuuichi sat next to Iruka, while they were eating their packed lunches, continuing their discussions.
Iruka was dimly aware of his brothers' dark looks directed towards Yuuichi, but he was still annoyed with how they had been not pulling their weight this whole morning. So he ignored Izumo's attempts to draw his attention, and kept talking to Yuuichi.
Yuuichi was very knowledgable. He'd gone on several A-class missions already, despite his only just being promoted, and Iruka listened avidly for all the tactics, the missions.
Kotetsu really, really didn’t like this Yuuichi. Izumo could feel it, the feeling fairly vibrating off him. He himself didn’t like the other boy.
It was just an oily, faint feeling of unease, looking at how Yuuichi looked at Iruka, how the older boy watched their teammate. It was like he was planning something.
Besides, no one could have gone on that many A-class missions and not come back with a scar, right? Unless it was in an embarrassing place, and that would be just like Yuuichi not to bother to mention.
Iruka was listening to him, like he’d caught his attention with a jutsu, expression rapt, body still. It reminded him of one of those stories he’d read, with a demon, or an evil shinobi, ensnaring the attention and spirit of the innocent child, and later the child’s life.
Okay, so Yuuichi wasn’t that bad. He couldn’t possibly be a demon or something, ‘cause the Hokage’d find out, wouldn’t he, and then he’d take care of him. But yeah, an evil shinobi was possible, ‘cause he was looking at Iruka, and sort of touching him, little fake-casual touches of the hand, on Ruru-chan’s wrist, fingers, and once at the back of his elbow.
It made Izumo go still, and Kotetsu go hard, trying not to watch and unable to stop, like watching a jutsu go spectacularly wrong, or one of Iruka’s pranks go mushroom-cloud.
Then Yuuichi asked a question, and Iruka’d nodded yes, before Kotetsu could butt in.
“What?” Izumo could only say, in disbelief.
“What?” Iruka growled at them. “I said that you both can go home for dinner - I’m gonna have dinner with Yuuichi, ‘cause he’s gonna lend me one of his strategy books on the way back. Gods, you behave like he’d asked me out on a date.”
Ibiki-sensei, Izumo knew in despair, was going to kill them both. With his paring knives and blunt kunai.