Only Polite
by Granate, 2005 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Umino Iruka lived alone in a small ground floor apartment with a green metal door. Kakashi checked the number one more time before knocking. He hadn't taken much notice of the academy teacher before the meeting today. They were too far apart in age to have gone to school together and Kakashi had become a Jounin so early anyway. Today, when Iruka had spoken out at the Chuunin Exam Nominations, Kakashi had not felt insulted by the young teacher challenging his decision. Traditionally, no one was supposed to speak except for the Jounin teachers, and Iruka's guts impressed him. No, he was not insulted in the least. Quite to the contrary, he was concerned his response might have offended the young teacher. When the door opened, Iruka's face showed immediate displeasure. "Iru-" Kakashi started in greeting. "I have nothing to say to you, Hatake-sensei," Iruka broke in. "Oh, now that's cold," Kakashi said with a little chuckle. Had he ever been called that before? "Call me Kakashi like everyone else." "Look, I said my piece at the nominations and the Hokage left the decision to you. End of story. I have nothing more to say." "Well, I'm not asking you to say anything," Kakashi replied easily, "just hear me out." Iruka's shoulders fell from his defensive posture. "What?" he snapped. "I didn't mean to demean or slight your input today, sensei," Kakashi said, "You care about your students and that's what makes you a good academy teacher." "Oh. Well. Ok, then," Iruka mumbled, leaning on the door a little. Hatake Kakashi had come to his house in person to… apologize? Jounin had no reason to explain themselves to Chuunin like Iruka, and Iruka was well aware of that. His mother would have slapped him silly if she had ever heard him speaking to a Jounin this way. Kakashi's one eye widened and he stood up out of his usual slouch. "Iruka-sensei, is that…" he said, peering over Iruka's shoulder into the apartment, "beef stew I smell?" Iruka clenched his jaw to keep it from falling open. In Konoha, it was custom to invite someone in for a meal if they came by while you were cooking or eating, just as it was custom that everyone in the village called each other by their first names. Iruka couldn't very well send Kakashi away now. "Ah, yes!" he tried to say cheerfully, "I was just making some! Won't you come in for some supper, Kakashi-sensei? I would be honored by your company." "How kind of you to offer, I would love to," Kakashi said and Iruka opened the door for him. "Please have a seat, sensei," Iruka bid him, "it'll be ready in a few minutes." "Thank you," Kakashi replied as he sat down at the small round table in the kitchen. The apartment was small and a little cluttered, but it felt homey. There were stacks of essays and other papers on a shelf near by, along with kunai, shuriken and other ninja tools. "Can I get you something to drink?" Iruka asked. "Whatever you're having," Kakashi said, finding Iruka's nervousness amusing. He knew he really shouldn't be taking advantage of the young teacher this way, but that stew really did smell good. The Copy Ninja was not much a cook himself. Iruka set a cup of sake in front of him. It was cheap, but Kakashi had had worse. "You know, sensei, now would be the perfect time to discuss how you plan to test team seven," Kakashi suggested, "since it is your responsibility." "That's a good idea, I haven't really had the chance to give it much thought yet," Iruka said from the stove. "Sasuke's test should be pretty straight forward." "Yes, you almost don't need to test him," Kakashi agreed. "Let's see. Naruto has three younger friends that I was thinking about using. Maybe put one in peril." "Good plan. Naruto only really gets serious when he's protecting someone," Kakashi said. Iruka turned and looked at him, lips pursed. He was thinking about the Land of the Waves, Kakashi was sure. Iruka had been told about it, of course, about the seal leaking and the Nine-tails Fox chakra coming out, but he'd never questioned Kakashi directly. Iruka turned back to the stew and Kakashi found himself a little disappointed. Where were the academy teacher's guts now? "For Sakura, she tends to lose her cool if Sasuke is injured or dead," Kakashi said, continuing their discussion. "Oh? I think I can use that, then," Iruka nodded as he stirred the pot. "I tricked her with an illusion of that kind during my initial test and she fell right into it," Kakashi said, smirk hidden behind his mask. "You know," Iruka said as he filled two bowls with stew, "I never got to thank you for taking them on as students. The Hokage said you've failed all your students in the past, so thank you for taking Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura." He set the bowls down on the table and sat down across from Kakashi. "You don't have to thank me," Kakashi shrugged. "They are good students; they earned the right to be my pupils." Iruka might have had something to say to this, but he forgot it as Kakashi's fingers moved to his mask. Of course, he would have to remove it to eat. Iruka may not have invited Kakashi in by his own wish, and he may not be particularly comfortable with the situation as it was, but he was about to see what 99% of Konoha village only speculated about. There was a rumor that Hatake Kakashi was very handsome under his mask, but it was wrong. Handsome didn't do him justice, 'perfect' would have been a better choice. He had a strong jaw and perfect, bow-shaped lips. Even his teeth were perfect. There was a small scar on his chin, but it did not detract from his looks in the slightest. Of course, Iruka would never divulge any of this to his students. Wondering wouldn't kill them. "I have my own small test worked out for them," Kakashi said, getting Iruka's attention. "You do?" Iruka asked as he watched Kakashi blow on his stew. Kakashi nodded and then took a spoonful of beef stew. His one eye widened slightly. "Iruka-sensei, this is delicious," he said. "Ah, thank you," Iruka said, willing himself not to blush as he tried some stew. He didn't normally cook for others. "Oh, please tell me your plan to test them." "It's more of a test for Sakura, really," Kakashi said. "I'm going to tell them to register individually. That way, Sakura won't feel pressured by Sasuke and Naruto, and if she decides not to, obviously, the team is not ready." "That sounds like a good plan," Iruka said and it was silent as they ate their supper. This felt strange, he didn't usually eat with anyone. His strategy was to make enough food to last a few days and eat while grading papers or doing something else. Without a family, mealtimes had never held much importance to him. "So, sensei," Kakashi spoke up. "The Hokage tells me you selected this years teams yourself." "I did pick the teams," Iruka said. "Do you think I chose poorly?" "Not at all, just curious about your reasoning," Kakashi said casually. "Would you care for seconds?" Iruka asked, getting up. "If you're having more," the other man answered. Iruka took their empty bowls to the stove. "Let's see," he thought out loud, "the teams. Well, I knew who the strongest nine were. There were three girls, so that meant one for each team, obviously." He brought the full bowls back to the table and sat down again before continuing. "I'll tell you, Hinata was the difficult one. I knew I wanted to put Sasuke and Naruto together, and she would have gotten lost on a team with them. Shino is an eldest child, so I figured he might automatically assume a kind of big-brother role. The Inuzuka are very pack-centered, so I was sure Kiba would be attentive to making sure Hinata not fall behind. There was no problem with Shino and Kiba on the same team, so that was one cell. "Ino was pretty much out of the question when it came to being on a team with Sasuke, she's too aggressive, and I hoped that Sakura could make up for Naruto's… well, lack of book smarts," Iruka chuckled a little. "In the end, that left Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, which seemed to a little ragtag and thrown together to me, but the Hokage just laughed when I reported to him. I didn't know this, but all three of their fathers had been a team. He assured me that it would work." "Sounds like you worked it out just right, then," the Jounin nodded. "You know," he said, looking up with one sly eye, "I bet you were one of those kids who knew all the answers in academy." It was Iruka's turn to smirk. "Wrong, sensei." "Really? No? Then what were you like?" Kakashi asked, silver eyebrow raised all the way under his forehead protector. "You have clearance at Records, go look it up!" Iruka said, breaking into a smile. "You're not going to tell me?" Kakashi blinked. "No, I'm not going to tell you," Iruka teased. He knew he was having way too much fun with the high level ninja, but he couldn't help it. "Oh, I'm very intrigued now," Kakashi mused as he rubbed the scar on his chin. Iruka chuckled a little. How strange that one of Konoha's most mysterious Jounin could find something intriguing about a simple Chuunin like him. It kept him smiling as he finished his stew. "So, do I get a report after you're done testing my team tomorrow?" Kakashi asked. "Sure, I can do that," Iruka agreed. They arranged a time and place to meet and Kakashi stood. "Shall I help you clean up?" he asked. "Oh no, that's not necessary," Iruka said. "Are you sure?" Kakashi asked, picking up his bowl. "Yes, very," Iruka replied, taking the bowl from him. "I really wouldn't mind," Kakashi added. Iruka stepped between him and the sink. "Please, Kakashi-sensei, I can't let you do that," he said firmly, trying to fight the blush that spread along the scar over the bridge of his nose. "It would be inhospitable." "Oh, I see," Kakashi yielded, trying not to sound amused. There was something so sincere and straightforward about the teacher. Surely he was a decent ninja, one didn't just become a Chuunin in Konoha by breathing, but he seemed so guileless. "I'll be on my way, then," Kakashi said as he went to the door. "Thank you for having me for dinner, sensei." "Thank you for your visit," Iruka said, following him to the door, seemingly unaware that he still carried a bowl.
Iruka was a creature of habit, it was not hard for Kakashi to predict when he would be sitting down for a meal. It was team seven's first night in the Forest of Death, and he figured the teacher could use some company to help take his mind off of things. Not to mention he could smell whatever Iruka was cooking from out here and it smelled terrific. He knocked on the door and it opened a moment later. "Umino Iruka, class clown," Kakashi said, leaning on the doorframe. "Ah, so you went to Records after all, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka said, unable to hide a smile. Kakashi had known about Iruka losing his parents in the fight against the Nine-tails, and after learning this, it made sense to him why he would take a special interest in Naruto. The academy teacher was an interesting person, indeed. "I'm sure you've heard that team seven passed the first exam," he said. "Yes, I don't know whether to be happy or upset about that," Iruka shook his head. Just then he caught Kakashi looking past him towards the kitchen. Again? Really, a Jounin should know better than to use the same trick twice. "Hm, I heard Naruto made a ruckus about Ibiki's tenth question," Kakashi said. "I was just about to sit down for dinner, why don't you join me, Kakashi-sensei? You can tell me about it," Iruka offered. "I would be delighted," Kakashi said with poorly acted surprise.
"Oh, Kakashi-sensei, excuse me, I didn't even see you there," Iruka said as he took a step back. "Well, I am a ninja," Kakashi said. Iruka laughed despite the lame joke. "I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd stop by," Kakashi tried to explain. Dinnertime. Of course, Iruka smirked to himself. He'd been feeding Kakashi a lot lately - not that he minded. He found he liked the Jounin's company. He'd started expecting him. "Actually, I'm on my way out. I'm taking Naruto out for ramen tonight," he said. "Oh well, that's perfect. I'll come with you," Kakashi said, sounding pleased. "Sorry, but you're not invited, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka said with a mildly teasing smile. "What? Why? I'm his sensei too!" "Because then he wouldn't feel free to complain about you," Iruka chuckled. "Complain about me?" Kakashi said, his one visible eye going comically wide. "Yes, don't worry about it," Iruka chuckled again. "I'm sure he complained about me too when I was his teacher." "Ah, well, too bad, then," Kakashi said, at a loss. "Yes, too bad. Please stop by again soon, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka said and then gave him a cryptic little smile before turned to leave. Kakashi watched him walk away. That had been an invitation. He had been officially invited back for dinner. He smiled under his mask and shoved his hands in his vest pockets. Maybe he'd just wait right here. Or maybe he would go get something to eat and stop back in a bit. Then he could take advantage of the Konoha tradition that if you found someone waiting for you at your house when you returned home, you should invite them in for tea. It was only polite, after all. + |
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