Kakashi has been spying on Iruka ever since he was young. Will he finally have the courage to meet up with Iruka? Kakiru.

BY: Silver

That Boy

The moon was so beautiful that night. It was so up close, I felt like I could touch the unearthly redness. Then I saw him. He was in a clearing of grass that swayed softly around him. His brown hair was pulled up into a bush at the back of his head. He was about the same age as I was, around 12, maybe one or two years younger. However, I was already a full-fledged shinobi, promoted to ANBU team.

He was sitting down and his eyes were closed in concentration. I was curious. Was he doing a jutsu? He didn’t have a head protector of the hidden leaf, so I guessed he had not become a qualified shinobi yet. From where I was looking, which was in a high tree near the clearing, his chakra had flowed around him. It was a pure chakra, a wispy white haze that you could barely see. His hands went through a series of motions, I couldn’t see since I did not use my sharingan. Suddenly, his chakra strengthened tenfold. It was powerful, maybe almost as powerful as mine. Did the Hokage know about this? I had not time to think, his chakra streamed out in all directions, and as it reached the boulders that were situated there, they exploded.

I was long gone before his chakra reached my position. Yet I knew what had happened. The kid was had extraordinary strength. Maybe strength that matched mine. He had caught my attention; his face was already etched into my memory. His pretty face. . .

~*~*

I had a series of missions to complete in several shinobi villages. When I came back, it had already been half a year ever since that incident with the brown haired kid. He was on my mind constantly, his face plagued my dreams. I was tired out from my travels but I arrived at the clearing again at night, hoping to the child. He was not there tonight.

I wanted to see him again. I had to. But who was he? Where did he live? Why was he there? Why wasn’t he promoted like me? What was his name? . . . These questions annoyed me. They annoyed me because I didn’t have the answers to them. By this time I was unconsciously on my way to the Hokage’s. He was a nice understanding man. And very scary because he was powerful. I respected him however, because he did everything for the good of the village.

Quietly, I jumped up the rooftops onto the balcony of the Hokage’s. The door opened, sigh, how did he know these things? I entered and was surprised to see the Hokage in his nightclothes. What surprised me more, was that I had forgotten it was night. It was that boy’s entire fault. If he hadn’t been on my mind, I would’ve paid more attention. I would have gone to the Hokage another day, preferably during waking hours.

Anyways, too late now. The Hokage had invited me to sit. Wrinkle lines had showed themselves on his face. He was getting older, but I had a feeling he was still a strong as ever.

“What is the cause of this,” pause, “late night visit Kakashi?” He sat down across from me. I noticed a crystal ball that sat on a stand on his desk. I had never seen it before, was it some new trinket?

“I. . .” I suddenly noticed that I didn’t know where to start explaining. Wouldn’t the Hokage think I was foolish to ask him about a boy? But . . . no, this was important. That boy had enough potential to be promoted to anbu, why wasn’t he though?

“Sir, I saw a brown haired boy practicing his justsu about six months ago in a nearby forest clearing. He was strong. Almost as strong as me. I. . . don’t know his name but, he had-”

“Ah. . . you must be talking about one of the academy students.” He cut off my sentence. As his eyes continued to stare at me as he manoeuvred the crystal ball to in front of him. “Take a look, Kakashi.” An image appeared in the crystal. It was slightly fuzzy at first, but the picture sharpened. It was that boy!!! I jumped up and stared into the ball. I demanded to know who he was.

“Who is he?” my voice was harsh and urgent as the words came out. Again, I was surprised. I had never meant for my words to sound so. . . frustrated. The Hokage didn’t seem surprised, he answered my question.

“His name is Iruka Umino.”

Again I looked into the crystal ball. Iruka was sleeping in light blue pajamas. A sudden movement made his shirt ride up, exposing smooth pale skin. He was as beautiful as I remember.

“Iruka. . .” I whispered. The Hokage was watching my face. Even though my mask was covering it, I’m sure he saw the mixed emotions that my face expressed. I wanted to know more about him. What did he like? What was he like? Why was his chakra so pure. . .?

As if the Hokage read my mind, he told me.

“Iruka is a student at the academy. He is a lonely child. Just like you Kakashi.” I couldn’t take my eye away from the image of him. “What about his parents?”

“They are dead. They were killed by the nine – tails fox demon.” I felt understanding flood through me, my parents were gone too. I never knew them.

“How is he?. . . in school I mean.”

The Hokage’s voice seemed to have a tint of humor in it.

“Ah. . . he is the class clown. He is alone, like I said. He does not do very well in class. He is a hardworking child though.”

The crystal ball image of Iruka moved once more. “But how can that be? He is strong, I have witnessed it. His Chakra was so powerful and pure.”

“I know.”

This statement angered me. How can the Hokage sit there and not do anything about this child. He could always become a jounin. Then maybe I would quit ANBU and accompany him as jounin.

“That is unfair sir.” My voice gave away my anger. “He the same as me, he should be treated the same way.”

“Kakashi, do you remember when you joined ANBU?”

I slammed my hand down on the desk, “Of course I remember? I was offered a position on the team. It was an offer that I couldn’t deny!!” I was furious at how calm the Hokage stayed. I realized I was treading on dangerous grounds. He had the highest status in the Hidden Leaf village, and here I was, yelling at him.

“Iruka had the same offer as you did Kakashi. The only difference is that, he refused to join the ANBU team, and to become a jounin.”

This gave me another surprise. This boy invoked so many emotions in me all at once. I was angry with him. Why was he so pigheaded?

“Why did he refuse?! Didn’t he know it was the only chance for him to escape useless lessons and concentrate on expanding his power?! Was he notified of that?”

The Hokage smiled at me. It was a sad sort of smile. It calmed my emotions. I began thinking rationally again.

“Do you remember when I asked you? I discouraged you from going because it would ruin your only chance for being a child, a teenager. Iruka was well aware of these facts, as were you. He wanted to live his earlier years. He wanted both childhood and power, but he decided that power could come later.”

I understood, but I couldn’t help but want to cry. Iruka was such a stupid idiot. Should he have chosen the alternative, and he would have been here with me. But no! He had to choose his childhood.

“I will give you one week’s of rest Kakashi. You must be tired from your journey, go home and rest.”

I nodded to the Hokage’s words. I just had one last question.

“Sir, Why did you tell me all this?”

“You will find out in time my child.” He smiled at me, the wrinkles even more prominent now.

This confused me. Anyways, I bowed to him and started towards the balcony door.

“He’s in class 2b Kakashi.” How did he know what I was thinking?!?!?

~*~*~

As the Hokage said, Iruka was in class 2b in the nearby shinobi academy. His head was on the desk, face towards the window. A small puddle of drool was gathering on the desk. Hn. Sleeping. I was watching him from the window. No one had noticed me, not even the sensei. It was interesting to see how many slumbering students there were.

Half an hour later, the bell rang. Iruka woke up, alarmed. The expression on his face made me laugh. I realized I hadn’t done that in a while; it felt good to laugh.

Iruka was already outside when I finished my pondering. He waved and yelled out his good byes to the other students. They just ignored him. This angered me slightly. I was prepared for this, as the Hokage told me he had no friends. But it still made me feel, mad. I followed Iruka home. He had tripped once or twice, both times which I laughed at his clumsiness and then wondered if he was okay.

Iruka’s house was a little shabby, but otherwise okay. I slipped in before he closed the door. He hadn’t noticed me. So much for having powerful chakra. If he trained a bit more, he would be more aware of his surroundings.

Iruka went upstairs, probably to change. I surveyed my surroundings. It wasn’t messy, it was just, cozy. That was something I had never experienced in my own home. It wasn’t. . . cozy like Iruka’s home. I felt like I could spend my life here.

As Iruka came back down, I hid in the shadows. He made a beeline to the kitchen. Soon the smell of instant ramen filled the air. My stomach growled and I realized I had skipped lunch and currently, dinner. It was all because Iruka. Why did he intrigue me that much?!

~*~

It has been a year ever since that day I learned Iruka’s name. I spend most of my free time watching him. My teammates are used to my attitude of finishing missions faster now. They seemed surprised at first though. My reason for spending less time on missions is, of course, to see Iruka. I have never once talked to him. But I’ve heard his voice. I’ve watched him in class. I watched him out of class. He seems to be getting stronger, and a little taller. But he’s a little dense though if you ask me.

This girl, Himiko Eino I believe, has been in love with him forever. Everyday, she shares her lunch, laughs at his attempts to be funny and partners with him to practice jutsus!!! I feel strangely mad at her. Its unfair that she gets to spend time with him and I don’t. He is the same as me!!! He should be my friend!!!

I’m now following him home. I slip into his house as I have always done. I have to be more careful now, even though he is behind his class, he is beginning to be able to detect more things. Soon, I will not be able to stay in his house to watch him. But what right have I ever had to stay there and watch him? I ‘m right because he is the same as me. I try and convince myself that my actions are reasonable. I feel so very stupid.

Well, he is the same as me, strength wise. However, he is naïve, innocent, and dense. Unlike me, he has not seen bloodshed. He is kind at heart. He is. . . perfect. . . he is beautiful. . .

~*~

It was night. For some reason I didn’t feel like leaving. I needed to be with him longer. I knew that I would not be able to stay in his house anymore. Just this one night I told myself. I made my way to his room. The image of Iruka reminded me of that night at Hokage’s, when he was showing me Iruka’s slumbering figure in the crystal ball.

The moonlight illuminated his feminine face. He was so beautiful. After, taking the glove off my right hand, reached down to feel his face. His skin was soft under my calloused hands. This was the first time I’ve touched him. The pounding of my heart was very obvious to me. I wonder if it would wake him up? I didn’t understand why he caused these feelings to erupt in me. He was just another strong person.

I made a mistake at that moment. I followed my instincts. I slipped my mask over my head, exposing my face and eye. Then I did the stupidest thing; I kissed him. A slight brush up against his lips. I guess it was obvious enough. He woke up. His eyes were staring into mine. I was so dazed, my brain didn’t tell me what to do.

Iruka pushed me off after a few seconds. I was still in surprise. His hand instinctively went up to his lips. He looked at me, and I knew at that instant that he memorized my face. Before he could open his mouth, I was up and out the window.