Bad Day, Great Day. A fic for a friend.... part 2
About an hour before lunch time, Iruka ended up dismissing class for the rest of the day. The classroom had been a little harder to clean than he had first thought it might be and there was no point in the children hanging around while he cleaned. But he was hungry and angry, his mood deteriorating with every stubborn scorch mark that tested his patience. When he had eventually thrown the scrubbing brush across the room in frustration and watched it bounce off the adjacent wall, he decided it might be best to take some time out and grab something to eat. His stomach growled as if to agree and so he set off to buy some hot take away, craving nothing more than something quick to stave off the hunger until he got home at the end of the day.
As he walked down the road, a ball of orange energy burst out from a side street and knocked him clean into Ichiraku's noodle house. Naruto grinned up at him, his shining eyes filled with happiness and mischief.
“Iruka-Sensei! Ramen time!”
“Oh no, no! I will not be buying you ramen today, Naruto! Not after you showed Kaito how to make explosions! He nearly blew the classroom up this morning!”
“I didn't, Iruka-Sensei! I swear I didn't! I tried to teach him a fire jutsu but he couldn't get it right so I taught him a wind jutsu instead! It isn't my fault he combined them both and blew up the classroom!” Naruto had his hands clasped in front of his face, all pleading eyes and apologies. “I didn't teach him how to blow things up! I promise! I'm sooooooo hungry! Please Iruka-Sensei! I'll even come and help you clean the classroom! PLEASE!”
He stood and looked at the boy, with exasperation. Only Naruto could try to teach two separate jutsu's which, when combined, would create a destructive force such as he had witnessed this morning. It was just like Naruto to jump from one technique to another and confuse a young student in the process. Iruka shook his head and laughed. He never could stay mad at Naruto long and he was sure the lad was telling him the truth. He slapped a hand on top of Naruto's head and messed up his hair, much to the young ninja's annoyance.
“Fine. It is a good job Kaito doesn't have the chakra reserves you do or the whole school might have been destroyed. But in future, please leave the teaching to me, yes?”
The boy nodded emphatically then jumped up onto a stool and waited on his noodles. They both chatted and laughed and only when their noodles were served did they fall quiet, enjoying every mouthful. As usual, Naruto was finished long before Iruka and the teacher simply nodded that a second serving was fine as he continued to eat his own. Naruto almost sucked all of the noodles up in one go, and slurped happily as Iruka shook his head.
If he could, Iruka would spend the rest of the day here with Naruto. He always enjoyed the time he spent with the boy he saw as his younger brother. He had watched him grow up into the confident young ninja he was today and felt a deep pride of the boy. Even though he regretted the length of time it had taken himself to go to Naruto's aid when younger, Naruto never held it against him. In fact, it was Naruto that made Iruka forgive himself. The boy looked up to him, admired and loved him and so the blame Iruka placed on himself felt less as he watched the lad grow and mature. Naruto's laughter and constant chatter filled the ramen house and he smiled as the blonde haired boy happily acted out one of his most recent exploits for all present to see.
“Because the jutsu made the mud act as if it was alive, and it was the only way to the other side, we had to run as fast as we could. If we didn't, we would be sucked under and suffocated by the mud. So we all ran as fast as we could and I was the fastest and got to the other side before any of the others! Then I knocked out the caster and put the river back the way it was!”
“I don't think it happened quite that way, Naruto.” Said a voice from behind them.
They both turned round to see Kakashi standing in the doorway, his eyes smiling happily, both arms folded as he leaned against the wall.
“It did too Kakashi-sensei! I was the fastest and loudest of them all!”
“You certainly were the loudest, yes. Fastest? Not quite. Considering I had to catch you before you sank under the mud, I would say you should have been a little quicker.”
Naruto folded his arms huffily, pushed out his bottom lip and scowled at the jōnin. “I wasn't going to sink under the mud, I told you that at the time. I was only...”
“Sinking up to the knees and screaming for help, all because you dropped your hitai ate in the mud.” Kakashi laughed.
“Well?! Iruka-sensei gave me that protector and I will never lose it!”
Kakashi relented and pushed off from the wall. “Yes, and you never did. “ He said as he poked Naruto on the forehead, tapping the protector with is finger. “Did you?”
Naruto pushed out his chest and looked towards Iruka. “I told you I would take care of it!”
Iruka smiled even as something odd occurred to him. Every time Naruto told an over exaggerated tale of their missions, Kakashi was always there to burst his bubble. In fact, when Iruka thought on it, Kakashi had an uncanny ability to pop up at just the right time. Be it during one of Naruto's re-enactments or like earlier when there was an incident, Kakashi always seemed to appear from nowhere. If Iruka was a vain man, he might have thought it was because the jōnin liked his company, but Iruka wasn't, and the thought never even entered his mind.
And now that the three of them were sat together, the thought of returning to the classroom to tidy up the mess was less than appealing. When they eventually went outside, it was clear that a storm front was moving in and with it came a darkness and heaviness to the air that started an ache at the back of Iruka's head. He had not slept well the night before and now that a headache was niggling away at him, all he wanted to do was go home and lay down. The day had gone from bad to rotten in the space of one failed jutsu and it didn't seem to be getting any better, even if Kakashi was accompanying him and Naruto down the road as they walked. He felt quite happy ambling along with the two of them, it felt almost as if they had always been friends, even though he wasn't even now a friend with Kakashi. He was simply a famous nin that stayed in the same village, nothing more. And while the walk to the school was short, he would enjoy the company, no matter how brief it was, because it was the only good thing that had happened so far today.
Then, as they approached the school, it all came to an end when Sakura came hurrying towards them, her cheeks red as she huffed and ran.
“Good day Iruka-sensei! Naruto! Kakashi-sensei! Hokage-sama wants to see us, right away!”
“I'm sorry, we have to go!” Naruto apologized, but Iruka waved his hand. “I'll come by and help with the clean up later!”
“It's fine, I'll manage myself!” He said cheerily. “I'll catch up with you later.”
Rain began to fall fast and hard, soaking them all quite completely. As the young ones turned to leave, Kakashi looked at Iruka with a strange expression on his face. It seemed he was about to say something, but when Sakura shouted on him to hurry up, the white haired nin shrugged, then disappeared after the others, leaving Iruka in the rain.
Iruka dropped the false smile from his face and turned back to the school doors. It occurred to him that he always said that, that he would manage himself. Even on the days when he knew he couldn't manage, he still pushed away any help that any other might offer. Sometimes it left him feeling lonely, because his constant insistence that he needed no one made people believe he was happy to be alone or ready to do everything on his own. He wasn't, but he had no idea how to change that and so carried on as he always had; alone and lonely.
The Sandaime had perhaps been the only person to have ever seen through Iruka. The old man often called to see him or had him come share a meal or tea with him. The thought of the old man made him sad, he missed him and his musings sorely. Pushing all the thoughts from his head, he opened the doors and made his way to his classroom. He hoped to finish clearing it up quickly so that he might get home to relax at some point today and fend off the headache that was continuing to build. But the melancholy didn't leave him, and as he stepped through the classroom door he heaved a deep unhappy sigh as he rubbed at the scar across his nose.
It wasn't even two in the afternoon but the storm had darkened the skies so much so that there was very little light in the classroom. Muttering in annoyance, Iruka walked over to turn on the lights. In the semi darkness he didn't see the little pencil and as he stood on it, his foot flew forward. The floor was soaking with water, puddles caused by the dripping of rain water from his clothes. He cursed as he continued to slip and slide across the room and yelled as one badly placed foot caused him to skid. Then, in an almost comical dance of squeaking, slipping feet, he was thrown up into the air to land with a thud on his back.
The storm finally broke over the school and a clap of thunder was punctuated by a flash of lightning that lit up the entire classroom. Even though the duration of its bright, strong light was less than a few seconds, any keen eye would have spotted the unconscious man laying in a puddle of water on the classroom floor. As the thunder rumbled overhead, Iruka lay there oblivious, knocked out and aware of nothing at all.
As he walked down the road, a ball of orange energy burst out from a side street and knocked him clean into Ichiraku's noodle house. Naruto grinned up at him, his shining eyes filled with happiness and mischief.
“Iruka-Sensei! Ramen time!”
“Oh no, no! I will not be buying you ramen today, Naruto! Not after you showed Kaito how to make explosions! He nearly blew the classroom up this morning!”
“I didn't, Iruka-Sensei! I swear I didn't! I tried to teach him a fire jutsu but he couldn't get it right so I taught him a wind jutsu instead! It isn't my fault he combined them both and blew up the classroom!” Naruto had his hands clasped in front of his face, all pleading eyes and apologies. “I didn't teach him how to blow things up! I promise! I'm sooooooo hungry! Please Iruka-Sensei! I'll even come and help you clean the classroom! PLEASE!”
He stood and looked at the boy, with exasperation. Only Naruto could try to teach two separate jutsu's which, when combined, would create a destructive force such as he had witnessed this morning. It was just like Naruto to jump from one technique to another and confuse a young student in the process. Iruka shook his head and laughed. He never could stay mad at Naruto long and he was sure the lad was telling him the truth. He slapped a hand on top of Naruto's head and messed up his hair, much to the young ninja's annoyance.
“Fine. It is a good job Kaito doesn't have the chakra reserves you do or the whole school might have been destroyed. But in future, please leave the teaching to me, yes?”
The boy nodded emphatically then jumped up onto a stool and waited on his noodles. They both chatted and laughed and only when their noodles were served did they fall quiet, enjoying every mouthful. As usual, Naruto was finished long before Iruka and the teacher simply nodded that a second serving was fine as he continued to eat his own. Naruto almost sucked all of the noodles up in one go, and slurped happily as Iruka shook his head.
If he could, Iruka would spend the rest of the day here with Naruto. He always enjoyed the time he spent with the boy he saw as his younger brother. He had watched him grow up into the confident young ninja he was today and felt a deep pride of the boy. Even though he regretted the length of time it had taken himself to go to Naruto's aid when younger, Naruto never held it against him. In fact, it was Naruto that made Iruka forgive himself. The boy looked up to him, admired and loved him and so the blame Iruka placed on himself felt less as he watched the lad grow and mature. Naruto's laughter and constant chatter filled the ramen house and he smiled as the blonde haired boy happily acted out one of his most recent exploits for all present to see.
“Because the jutsu made the mud act as if it was alive, and it was the only way to the other side, we had to run as fast as we could. If we didn't, we would be sucked under and suffocated by the mud. So we all ran as fast as we could and I was the fastest and got to the other side before any of the others! Then I knocked out the caster and put the river back the way it was!”
“I don't think it happened quite that way, Naruto.” Said a voice from behind them.
They both turned round to see Kakashi standing in the doorway, his eyes smiling happily, both arms folded as he leaned against the wall.
“It did too Kakashi-sensei! I was the fastest and loudest of them all!”
“You certainly were the loudest, yes. Fastest? Not quite. Considering I had to catch you before you sank under the mud, I would say you should have been a little quicker.”
Naruto folded his arms huffily, pushed out his bottom lip and scowled at the jōnin. “I wasn't going to sink under the mud, I told you that at the time. I was only...”
“Sinking up to the knees and screaming for help, all because you dropped your hitai ate in the mud.” Kakashi laughed.
“Well?! Iruka-sensei gave me that protector and I will never lose it!”
Kakashi relented and pushed off from the wall. “Yes, and you never did. “ He said as he poked Naruto on the forehead, tapping the protector with is finger. “Did you?”
Naruto pushed out his chest and looked towards Iruka. “I told you I would take care of it!”
Iruka smiled even as something odd occurred to him. Every time Naruto told an over exaggerated tale of their missions, Kakashi was always there to burst his bubble. In fact, when Iruka thought on it, Kakashi had an uncanny ability to pop up at just the right time. Be it during one of Naruto's re-enactments or like earlier when there was an incident, Kakashi always seemed to appear from nowhere. If Iruka was a vain man, he might have thought it was because the jōnin liked his company, but Iruka wasn't, and the thought never even entered his mind.
And now that the three of them were sat together, the thought of returning to the classroom to tidy up the mess was less than appealing. When they eventually went outside, it was clear that a storm front was moving in and with it came a darkness and heaviness to the air that started an ache at the back of Iruka's head. He had not slept well the night before and now that a headache was niggling away at him, all he wanted to do was go home and lay down. The day had gone from bad to rotten in the space of one failed jutsu and it didn't seem to be getting any better, even if Kakashi was accompanying him and Naruto down the road as they walked. He felt quite happy ambling along with the two of them, it felt almost as if they had always been friends, even though he wasn't even now a friend with Kakashi. He was simply a famous nin that stayed in the same village, nothing more. And while the walk to the school was short, he would enjoy the company, no matter how brief it was, because it was the only good thing that had happened so far today.
Then, as they approached the school, it all came to an end when Sakura came hurrying towards them, her cheeks red as she huffed and ran.
“Good day Iruka-sensei! Naruto! Kakashi-sensei! Hokage-sama wants to see us, right away!”
“I'm sorry, we have to go!” Naruto apologized, but Iruka waved his hand. “I'll come by and help with the clean up later!”
“It's fine, I'll manage myself!” He said cheerily. “I'll catch up with you later.”
Rain began to fall fast and hard, soaking them all quite completely. As the young ones turned to leave, Kakashi looked at Iruka with a strange expression on his face. It seemed he was about to say something, but when Sakura shouted on him to hurry up, the white haired nin shrugged, then disappeared after the others, leaving Iruka in the rain.
Iruka dropped the false smile from his face and turned back to the school doors. It occurred to him that he always said that, that he would manage himself. Even on the days when he knew he couldn't manage, he still pushed away any help that any other might offer. Sometimes it left him feeling lonely, because his constant insistence that he needed no one made people believe he was happy to be alone or ready to do everything on his own. He wasn't, but he had no idea how to change that and so carried on as he always had; alone and lonely.
The Sandaime had perhaps been the only person to have ever seen through Iruka. The old man often called to see him or had him come share a meal or tea with him. The thought of the old man made him sad, he missed him and his musings sorely. Pushing all the thoughts from his head, he opened the doors and made his way to his classroom. He hoped to finish clearing it up quickly so that he might get home to relax at some point today and fend off the headache that was continuing to build. But the melancholy didn't leave him, and as he stepped through the classroom door he heaved a deep unhappy sigh as he rubbed at the scar across his nose.
It wasn't even two in the afternoon but the storm had darkened the skies so much so that there was very little light in the classroom. Muttering in annoyance, Iruka walked over to turn on the lights. In the semi darkness he didn't see the little pencil and as he stood on it, his foot flew forward. The floor was soaking with water, puddles caused by the dripping of rain water from his clothes. He cursed as he continued to slip and slide across the room and yelled as one badly placed foot caused him to skid. Then, in an almost comical dance of squeaking, slipping feet, he was thrown up into the air to land with a thud on his back.
The storm finally broke over the school and a clap of thunder was punctuated by a flash of lightning that lit up the entire classroom. Even though the duration of its bright, strong light was less than a few seconds, any keen eye would have spotted the unconscious man laying in a puddle of water on the classroom floor. As the thunder rumbled overhead, Iruka lay there oblivious, knocked out and aware of nothing at all.