Iruka-sensei

"Well, a few years ago they would have graduated anyone that was mildly ready early... But Sandaime didn't like that, I guess." He wrinkles his nose at that, but he has mentioned that he would have gone nuts fr boredom in the academy in a previous conversation, so he doesn't repeat it.

The barman brings them a new bottle and an extra cup at that point. Kakashi thanks him and pours himself a cup. He grabs it and takes a look around. Once he's made sure no one is looking, he lowers his mask, downs the drink, flashes a grin to Iruka, and puts the mask back.

"They tried. At least with my class. I had all the clan heads, but I wouldn't let them take any of my students early." He propped his head in his hand, watching Kakashi take a drink with a dopey little smile on his face. He got to see Kakashi's face plenty now when it was just them, but in public? It made him feel giddy getting to see it.

But ultimately, none of this really mattered to him. Karasu still doubted he would be here for long; he had originally planned simply to vanish from Konoha and go into hiding as soon as he could. At least, that had been the plan before he heard about Sasuke. It was a new experience for the young Uchiha to be compared to someone other than his ancestor Madara, so it was only natural that this piqued his interest.

Finally, he remembered: Sarada, the girl with black hair and red glasses who usually hung out with a few other girls from the class. "… Uchiha…" he murmured, and his hands automatically clenched into fists. The mere thought of that name felt like a curse that constantly dogged him.

//So this Sasuke is an Uchiha, too…// Karasu thought, unsure of exactly what to do with this information. After all, he didn't know much about this Sasuke yet. But everything he had heard in the village about the Uchiha clan was anything but positive. The name clearly didn't have a good reputation, which was one reason why Karasu had decided to drop it, hoping to blend in better and distance himself from that clan.

However, this hadn't helped much; his resemblance to Madara was far too striking not to realize that he too hailed from that clan. Yet, at the same time, Sarada seemed to be very well-liked. No one gave her a second glance, solely because of the clan she belonged to, quite the opposite. People always seemed happy to see her. She was good. At least, that’s how it appeared.

"He's come a long way but yes. He's good." He could never see Sasuke as anything but, even after he defected. One part was Naruto's optimism and firm belief that he could get Sasuke back. Another part was the fact that Sasuke had been his student once and he didn't believe the horrible things that were being said about the boy at the time.

"Once upon a time he was taken advantage of by adults who were older and promised him more power. They saw what he wanted and they used that to string him along to do what they wanted." His smile was a little sadder now and he let out a soft sigh.

Karasu walked slowly toward Iruka and stopped in front of his desk, though he did not sit down. "The… Hokage…, Kakashi-sama…" Karasu repeated, as if committing vital mission details to memory; although he deemed it appropriate to address only Kakashi with the honorific suffix, a testament to the high regard in which he held the former Hokage.

"Well, he's often out of the village. He comes and goes as he pleases really." He explained, tipping his head in thought.

"Hn," is Sasuke's response. He doesn't really know what to do with affirmations from Iruka. He gets affirmations a lot in general, from people who don't matter.

You're the only remaining Uchiha. We expect great things from you!

He's heard it all before. For some reason, this is different, and makes him a little uncomfortable, like he has to sit with it instead of brush it off.

Then the pat comes. Sasuke's eyebrows knit together. He doesn't know what to make of this, either, and how it sort of makes him happy, leaves him wanting more affection and connection.

"Have a good day Sasuke." He knew he'd still see the teen and the rest of his class around the village. Iruka worked at the missions desk so he knew he'd see them there when they turned in reports or picked up missions. It was still sad though, to finally have to let them go. He wondered if any of the other teachers felt that way.

“  roger  that,  iruka-sensei!  ”  naruto  saluted  with  a  chuckle.  despite  being  older  he  was  still  a  child  and  possibly  would  always  be  one  to  iruka-sensei  in  some  sense.  he  adored  iruka-sensei,  not  just  as  a  friend  and  sensei  but  as  a  father  figure  in  his  life  so  he  would  always  listen  to  him.

naruto  went  back  to  cleaning,  speaking  out  loud  as  he  did  so.  “  ramen…  ramen..  ichiraku  ramen…  ”  with  a  grin  on  his  face.

He listened to Naruto's little chant as he finished the teens dishes, smiling fondly. Having ramen with Naruto had become one of his favorite past times and he was glad that they'd kept up the tradition even after Naruto graduated and joined team 7.

"I wonder what they would think of my father training me himself before even I started the academy." Horrified maybe? Kakashi vaguely knew his family, and he, himself, were not normal. Sakumo was on par with the Sannin, and Kakashi had not understood how big of a deal that had been, in comparison to other ninja, until much later.

Most started out excited, having a child who could use chakra and join the academy. As time went on and they learned about what exactly what becoming a ninja really was about, they started to worry and hover and honestly, Iruka could understand.

' Yeah but you also get burned more easier as well, and then it stings.' She said offering him a water, making room for him if he wants to sit.

He never considered that parents would be more annoying that the kids, but now that Iruka said it, it made a great amount of sense. He signalled the bartender for another bottle of sake, and turned to Iruka.

' I am! I just finished swimming, the water was cold.' Sakura said as she sat herself down onto the beach chair. ' Want something to drink sensei? '

“  iruka-sensei…  ”  naruto  sighed  just  slight  but  accepted  that  he  wanted  to  help  him  out  with  his  task.  “  alright,  sensei.  ”  he  gave  a  light  smile.  “  say,  after  this.  wanna  get  some  ramen?  ”

* ˖ ·ﾟ ❤️'d ╱ @irukasenseii 🖤

' Iruka sensei! you came to the beach! oh wait are you well enough to be out here in the sun? It's pretty brutal.'