Part 2: Iruka’s Revenge!

            It was a normal night at Ichiraku, like any other. Iruka sat with his doting former student, Naruto, who was slurping down noodles as if they were as vital as the air he breathed. When he finally stopped for a real breath, he noticed that his sensei was scowling and staring off into space absent-mindedly. The blonde cocked his head at Iruka curiously.

            “Iruka-sensei? What’s wrong?”

            Iruka snapped out of it and turned to Naruto apologetically.

            “I’m sorry, Naruto,” he said, shaking his head, “ I just can’t stop thinking about what happened last week. That Kakashi…”

            “Kakashi-sensei did something?” the blonde asked curiously with a mouth half full of noodles, “What?”

            “You don’t want to know,” Iruka laughed nervously.

            “Yes, I do!” Naruto whined, “Please, please, please, Iruka-sensei!!!”

            Iruka sighed.

            “Well…”

            And everything came out- how someone had tried to assassinate his hair-band, how he had taken a fake Naruto out to ramen, and everything that had happened at Ichiraku. When he got to the part about the fake Naruto kissing him, the blonde’s jaw dropped.

            “And by then, I realized who that Naruto really was,” Iruka growled.

            Naruto blinked.

            “Who?”

            Iruka almost fell out of his chair.

            “Who do you think? It was KAKASHI!”

            Naruto started choking on his noodles, and Iruka was forced to give him the Heimlich and watch the blonde spit up his ramen. Once Naruto had recovered, his face turned red with anger.

            “K-kakashi-sensei? No way!” he yelled, infuriated, “How could that lousy excuse for a sensei pretend to be me? He…he…ATE MY RAMEN! As if stealing my identity just to get close to you weren’t enough! Iruka-sensei, this means war.”

            Iruka stared at him, taken aback.

            “W-what?”

            “You have to find a way to get your revenge! I’ll help you too!” Naruto declared, “After all, this is personal.”

            Iruka laughed nervously. The genin seemed even more furious with Kakashi than he was… and that was saying a lot. The chunnin had been having chronic nightmares ever since the incident, most of which involved his hair-band falling out and Naruto kissing him. It was all that jounin’s fault! Naruto was right- revenge was in order.

            “You’re right, Naruto,” Iruka said with a nod, “but what would be the most appropriate way to get him back?”

            “Um, well…” the genin mumbled, the fire of his passion for revenge reverting to but a small flame, “You could steal his Icha Icha books and burn them! Or you could…wait till he’s asleep and chop off all his hair! Or you could…”

            “Try to see what he looks like under the mask?” Iruka thought aloud as the idea popped into his head.

            He remembered how the jounin had freaked out once Iruka’s teeth had hooked onto the mask’s edge when the chunnin had been trying to escape from the Copy-nin’s tackle of love. Whatever was under there was something that Kakashi was determined to keep hidden. If he had gotten to see Iruka without his hair-band, it only seemed fair that Iruka got to see him without his mask.

            “Get rid of the mask?” Naruto asked, “Nah, we tried that once…It didn’t work out too well.”

            “I’m sure we could figure out some way,” Iruka said with a grin, “We just have to be creative.”

            “W-what exactly were you thinking, Iruka-sensei?” Naruto asked, a little scared.

            “Well…” Iruka started.

…dum…dum…dum…XD

            Kakashi was having a rather uneventful day. Below him, his three favorite torture subjects were no-so-happily pulling weeds in a villager’s garden as he sat in a tree above them, reading Icha Icha Paradise. Even the chapter he was on was unexciting, which was rare. The jounin was lucky the mask was there to keep him from picking his nose.

            Below him, a certain blonde ninja was watching him carefully. I have to wait for just the right moment, he thought as he continued to pull up weed after weed. Kakashi caught Naruto’s eye, and the young ninja froze. Does he know?

            “Ah, good job, Naruto. Keep it up,” the jounin said calmly with a smile and went back to reading.

            Naruto let out a sigh of relief and pulled another weed. I’ll wait until later, then…

            After the D-rank mission was done, Kakashi took his team to the training grounds for extra practice. Naruto and Sasuke began sparring while Kakashi helped Sakura work on breaking free of various genjustu. As he was training his student, he couldn’t help but notice that Naruto seemed to be doing a lot better against Sasuke than he usual. He wasn’t even barking threats at him! Instead, there was a look of concentration of his face as he blocked each of Sasuke’s punches and kicks. There was still, however, the usual look of determination as he threw his own attacks at the Uchiha, never willing to back down.

            “Kakashi-sensei!”

            “Wha-? Oh, sorry, Sakura-chan,” he apologized, realizing he had been ignoring her, “Here comes the next one. Get ready.”

            Naruto knocked Sasuke off his feet and smiled triumphantly. The black-haired boy glared at him from the ground and used his fireball justu, aiming up. The blonde hadn’t seen that one coming. He let out a yell as he leapt back, clutching his burnt shoulder.

            “Sasuke, don’t overdo it!” Kakashi called from across the field.

            The Uchiha only huffed and leered at Naruto.

            “Giving up all ready? Come on,” he challenged, “Show me the best you can do. If you can do any better.”

            Naruto glared back at him.

            “You’re going to be sorry you asked for that.”

            Kakashi turned to the painful cry of a defeated Uchiha moments later. Sakura broke free of the current genjutsu and panicked as she heard it too.

            “Sasuke-kun!”

            She sped over to where Sasuke was pinned to the floor by several kunai with a few shuriken embedded on various parts of his body. Naruto looked down at him almost guiltily.

            “Maybe I went too far,” he mumbled.

            “AHHH! Naruto, how could you?” Sakura screamed and punched the blonde, sending him flying to the floor.

            “Ow,” Naruto whined, rubbing his cheek and looking hurt, “Sakura-chan, why…”

            “That is quite an impressive improvement,” Kakashi commented, glancing down at the defeated Sasuke.

            The Uchiha gave him a blood-curdling glare. The jounin sighed and began removing the ninja weapons from the Uchiha’s body and pulling them up from the ground where they had gone through his clothes. Sasuke now had several holes along the edges of his shorts and shirt.

            Sakura was more than happy to help bandage Sasuke’s wounds, and Naruto watched from a distance, looking a little guilty. Kakashi stared at the blonde curiously. The genin was rubbing the bridge of his nose with his finger absent-mindedly. The Copy-nin raised an eyebrow and smiled, exposed eye curving with amusement.

            “With skills like that, Naruto, you’ll be a chunnin in no time,” Kakashi told him as he came up behind the blonde.

            “Nah, just lucky I guess,” Naruto laughed nervously, hand shooting away from his face and rubbing the back of his neck instead.

            “No, really,” the jounin encouraged, closing the distance between them and putting his face right up to the genin’s before his voice dropped low, “You’re very talented.”

            Naruto’s face flushed bright red as his nose brushed Kakashi’s cloth-covered one. N-now’s my chance, he thought, though he could barely move. His hand moved shakily up from his side. Gotta make it fast! Closing his eyes for a split second, he thrust his hand up towards the edge of the jounin’s mask, but just before his fingertips could touch it, Kakashi’s own hand intercepted his, holding it tightly…and he wouldn’t let go. The jounin scooped the small ninja up into his arms and held him close. The genin was frozen in shock.

            “Hi there…Iruka-kun,” the Copy-nin said gleefully.

            “Naruto’s” jaw dropped. How did he know? he thought, panicking. He was about to dispel the jutsu and try to break free of Kakashi, when Sakura let out a surprised yell.

            “Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing to Naruto-kun?!”

            The jounin’s face turned red beneath his mask. Iruka, seeing that this situation was making the Copy-Nin feel awkward, chose to retain Naruto’s appearance for a bit longer. Kakashi didn’t release him, however. Instead, he cradled the disguised chunnin more tightly and began to turn away.

            “Ah…Naruto-kun’s not feeling too well right now. I’m going to take him home. Practice is over for the day.”

            Sasuke leered at him from the floor, looking suspicious.  Sakura continued to stare at her sensei holding who she thought was her teammate.

            “You’re right, sensei. He looks kind of red,” she said finally.

            Iruka blushed further and began to struggle.

            “No, I’m fine!” he shrieked, “Put me down!”

            Kakashi ignored him and proceeded to walk into the village. Chakra draining, Iruka was finally forced to return to his own form. There was a poof of smoke as the blonde genin in Kakashi’s arms turned into a rather sour-looking chunnin. A few people passing by turned to stare at the pair curiously, some doing a double take.

            “Kakashi, put me down this instant!” Iruka hissed.

            “Only on one condition,” Kakashi smirked, putting his face uncomfortably close to Iruka’s once again.

            Why does he like doing that so much? Iruka thought, distressed. His eyes fell on Kakashi’s cloth-covered lips. They were curved into a patient smile. It’s like he’s mocking me! The jounin seemed to be waiting for Iruka to respond. The chunnin knew better than to try to go for the mask again.

            “What is it?” Iruka started, though he was afraid to ask.

            “You have to go on a date with me!”

            Iruka’s jaw dropped. No! No! Absolutely not! His mind was screaming against it. Still, Iruka considered after a moment, it would give me an opportunity to try to see what’s under that mask of his…and he’s not going to let me go if I say “no.”

            “Fine,” Iruka sighed, defeated.

            Kakashi was ecstatic.

            “Great! Let’s go right now!”

            He rushed off, still carrying Iruka in his arms.

            “I can WALK!” the chunnin cried indignantly.

XDXDXDXDXD

            Not long after, Iruka found himself sitting across the table from a rather smug-looking jounin in a restaurant on the other side of the village. Iruka tried to smile, but failed horribly. He wanted Kakashi to let down his guard- just long enough to yank down his mask and get a good look at his face. The chunnin had a feeling that the Copy-nin was onto him, though, and he knew his mission would be far from easy.

            “What are you going to order, Iruka?” Kakashi asked cheerfully.

            “Uh…”

            Iruka glanced down at the menu. Nothing seemed to interest him much. He wasn’t even hungry, now that he thought about it. Stupid Kakashi had practically forced him to come here. He better be picking up the tab. Iruka scanned the menu and ordered the most expensive dish he could find.

            While they were waiting for their food, the chunnin sipped his tea patiently, eyes fixed on the jounin. There was a teacup sitting in front of him too, but so far, Kakashi had made no motion to pick it up. Iruka wanted to make sure that when he did remove his mask to take a sip, he wouldn’t miss it. Some revenge…I’m just watching him drink tea. Kakashi’s hand slowly closed around his cup. His other hand reached up to the hem of his mask, just as…

            “IRUKA-SENSEI!” someone hissed.

            Iruka looked up to see Naruto at the door of the restaurant. The chunnin made several hand gestures to him, but it was too late- Kakashi had already noticed him.

            “Oh…Naruto. I think he wants to talk to you…”

Iruka laughed nervously.

“I’m sorry, Kakashi-sensei. Would you please excuse me for a moment?”

The jounin nodded, and then, with a smile said, “Don’t try to run away, now…”

“N-no, of course not,” Iruka answered and rushed off.

He stepped outside where Naruto was, not looking too pleased.

            “Naruto, WHAT are you doing? I was so close!”

            The blonde gave him a hurt look. He had seen Kakashi and Iruka walk into the restaurant from the place he had been hiding out at while Iruka had taken up his identity.

            “But Iruka-sensei…what happened to the plan? You said you were going to pretend to be me so that-”

            “Failed,” Iruka sighed, “He saw right through it. Now I’m here on a ‘date,’ and if I can get back inside before our meal gets here, I still might get a chance to see him without his mask.”

            Unfortunately for Iruka, Naruto couldn’t help but find this hilarious.

            “Y-you’re on a date with Kakashi-sensei?” he gasped between bursts of laughter.

            Iruka’s face turned red.

            “I didn’t have much of a choice!” said he defensively, “He practically dragged me here the whole way!”

            More like carried, Iruka thought privately. Naruto finally stopped laughing, and gave the academy teacher a puzzled look.

            “So what are you going to do now? Just watch him eat?”

            “I guess,” Iruka sighed, “Some revenge.”

            “Maybe we can think of something else. Something to turn things around.”

            Iruka raised an eyebrow at him.

            “Like what?”

            The gennin grinned devilishly and started to whisper into the chunnin’s ear.

            Moments later, Iruka entered the restaurant once again. There was an empty cup sitting in front of the jounin, but at least the food hadn’t gotten there yet.

            “Is everything all right?” Kakashi asked as he poured himself another cup of tea, “What did Naruto want?”

            “Oh, it was nothing…” Iruka laughed, trying to avoid Kakashi’s questioning stare.

The jounin smiled.

            “Was it about that trick you tried to pull? Iruka-kun, you should have known better than to try to use my own trick against me,” he mused.

            The chunnin only scowled at him. He looked over his shoulder, wondering when their food was coming. The sooner I get out of here, the better…When he turned around, Kakashi’s teacup was empty again. He’s fast…I’ll have to watch him carefully…

            “Your tea’s going to get cold,” the Copy-nin told him.

            Iruka said nothing, but picked up his cup and slowly took a sip. Not long after, the waitress came with their food. Iruka glanced at his dish- some kind of meat in a thick, sticky sauce. The chunnin looked down at it questioningly, but a smile soon crept across his face. A quick flip of his chopsticks was all it took to land a good-sized stain on Kakashi’s mask.

            “Oh! I’m so sorry, Kakashi-sensei!” the chunnin cried, trying to do his best to make it look like an accident.

            “Not a problem,” the jounin laughed, already cleaning it off with a napkin as he wondered at Iruka’s strange behavior.

            The sauce didn’t come off completely, though, and seeing that Iruka continued to stare at the spot, the Copy-Nin did just as Iruka had hoped and put his fingers up to the edge of his mask. With one quick motion, he slipped it off to reveal…another mask. Should have known, the chunnin thought grudgingly. He pretended to be surprised nonetheless.

            “You had another mask beneath that?”

            “Hmm? Oh, yes. It’s always good to have a spare…In case something like this happens,” he said, eyeing the chunnin suspiciously.

            Iruka gulped and laughed nervously. How does he breathe through all that fabric? Kakashi broke apart his chopsticks. Iruka watched him carefully, eyes never moving away from his date’s mouth. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask.

            “Why do you always wear that mask, anyway?” Iruka asked.

            “Hmm? Is it too cliché?” the jounin laughed, suddenly leaning in towards Iruka.

The chunnin’s face turned redder and he backed away. Kakashi was getting uncomfortably close. The jounin didn’t seem to have any respect for his personal space. Kakashi slinked around the table and slipped into the seat next to Iruka’s.  The brown-haired man was close to panicking.

“I can show you what’s underneath if you want,” the Copy-nin said in a low lusty voice.

Iruka was frozen in shock. He didn’t see Naruto, who was not too far off, slowly creeping up behind the Copy-nin, ready to put their new plan into action and yank down Kakashi’s mask from behind while Iruka distracted him. The gennin stopped suddenly, though, seeing how close Kakashi and Iruka were, and panicked.

Kakashi was already reaching for the edge of his mask. He pulled it down and smirked as he watched Iruka’s eyes go wide at the sight of his breath-taking face. Kakashi put his arms around the chunnin and held him close, pulling him into a kiss. He was interrupted by Naruto’s scream behind him and a struggling Iruka fighting to get free. Naruto grabbed onto Kakashi’s collar and yanked him off his former sensei. The jounin was surprised at how strong the genin was…until he turned and saw that the one who had a hold of him was actually a certain chunnin.

“Y-you! Then WHO?” Kakashi yelped and whipped his head back towards the Iruka that he had just kissed.

The academy teacher disappeared in a poof of smoke to reveal a rather scared and psychologically affected Naruto. The gennin looked up at the chunnin angrily.

“You didn’t tell me he was going to do THAT!!!” he yelled accusingly.

“I’m so sorry, Naruto!” Iruka said guiltily and whacked Kakashi on the head, “Kakashi, how could you do such a thing?!” he yelled.

“I thought he was YOU!” the jounin said defensively, trying to hide his embarrassment but doing so very unsuccessfully.

He still had his mask down, and Iruka was bothered that he couldn’t stop staring at the jounin’s face. By now, they had attracted a very large crowd. Even people from outside the restaurant were coming in to take a look.

“You tricked me!” Kakashi said angrily.

“I was only getting you back for before!” Iruka yelled back.

Kakashi sighed. He wasn’t one to get angry too often; it was mostly humiliation that he was feeling at that moment. Maybe Iruka was right…maybe he had had it coming…

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely.

Iruka’s face softened a bit.

“I guess we’re even now.”

Kakashi smiled at him (a very beautiful smile, Iruka noted) and took his hand in his own.

“So then…how about another date sometime…please?”

Iruka blushed slightly. He was well aware of how many eyes were on him. Naruto felt them on him too, and he was mortified as the villagers started whispering amongst themselves. Face burning red with embarrassment, he pushed past the jounin and chunnin and ran from the restaurant. Iruka, feeling a horrible, guilty pang of maternal instinct, shoved Kakashi aside and ran after him.

“Naruto, wait!”

Kakashi, upset at being left behind and not having his question answered, leapt up and raced after them immediately.

“Iruka!”

And halfway across the village, they all ran- an emotionally scarred Naruto, a worried Iruka, a lovesick Kakashi, and a very angry restaurant manager demanding that someone pay the large bill that they had all left behind.

Owari.