A/N: I needed a break from my other fic and I wanted to write something a little light-hearted, and this has been on my computer for a while.

You know the end of this fic, seriously, there are no surprises here. I just needed to get some KakaIru fluff out of my system. I also have no idea if this has been done before, so if it looks like I'm copying someone, I apologize, it was not intentional. I do love fics where Anko and Iruka are buddies, it's just so cute.

Summary: Iruka finds an injured dog.

Disclaimer: I can't even believe they still allow me on fanfic sites, much less own the franchise.

Iruka was on his way home from the Academy when he literally ran into the poor thing.

In his own defense, the dog was already in pretty awful shape before he tripped and fell over it so there wasn't much more damage he could have done, even if he did partially land on it.

The dog had pretty much walked out of an alley between buildings and collapsed right in Iruka's path, unintentionally sending the teacher to the ground with it. Iruka had released a little "oomph" we he caught himself on his hands, scraping them, bag falling off his shoulder but graciously not spilling its contents all over the street.

The dog hadn't made a sound.

The teacher rolled and sat up, thinking at first that he was looking at matted, red fur. When he realized all that red was actually blood, Iruka honestly thought the dog must be dead or very, very close to it.

But Iruka saw its side expand in an unsteady breath, he muttered a small, "Oh, no," and moved.

Never one who was able to just sit and watch any creature suffer, Iruka had immediately gathered the poor thing up, hoping he didn't aggravate any injuries too much, and ran him to Inuzuka Hana's veterinary clinic across the village.

The dog didn't even open his eyes when Hana had shouted for her assistant to get the OR ready, nor did he budge when Iruka was shoved unceremoniously down a short hall and nearly dropped him.

Hana ushered Iruka into said OR and instructed, "Put him there on the table and get out."

The Inuzuka's took the lives of animals as seriously as any human life and Iruka couldn't help but admire that, so he did as she said and scurried out of the way.

After Hana slammed the door to the operating room in his face, Iruka stood in the little waiting room unsurely for a few minutes before he sighed and sat down in one of the plastic chairs.

"At least it's Friday," Iruka mumbled to himself, settling in for a long wait. He didn't know how long it would take Hana to put the dog back together – if she could do it at all – but he was determined to stay till the end.

He sighed again and put his chin in his hand, leaning on his knee. He knew without looking that his vest was covered in the dog's blood but he also knew from experience that the Shinobi uniform was made specifically with bloodstains in mind. Easy washing was a must for a ninja.

Iruka dragged his bag over and made himself useful grading papers until Hana emerged again, trying to keep and stray drops of blood off his student's work. Or he would just tell them his red pen leaked.

A few hours later, when Iruka had decided his next test would involve having his students try to tell red ink from real blood, Hana walked out into the waiting room with a rather surprised look on her tired face. Iruka suddenly felt a bit guilty. It was pretty late when he brought the dog in and nearing the next morning now.

However, this didn't seem to bother Hana as she smiled at him, removing the latex gloves from her hands, "Iruka-sensei, you're still here?"

"Yes, of course," Iruka said, confused, "How is he? Or, her, I suppose." He didn't really get a chance to look.

Hana turned slightly and gestured for him to follow her and spoke as they walked down the hall, "A lot of people just drop 'em off and run. Not that I mind, we can find a place for almost any dog, but . . . Anyway, he will pull through. Quite the little scrapper you found, Sensei." She laughed and opened another door to a room much more welcoming than the sterile OR.

Here there were several kennels lining the walls and beds and toys scattered over the floor. Most of the kennel's occupants, dogs mostly, were asleep due to the late hour, but a few had the gumption to bark lazily in his direction.

On the opposite wall, lying on a fluffy blanket and being hovered over by Hana's younger assistant was what must have been Iruka's stray.

The dog was fast asleep from whatever anesthesia Hana had to use, but he was cleaner now and Iruka could finally see that the dog was gray on color, a spiky tuft of fur sticking up from the top of his head. It was of a medium build, very thin, and he could see several scars that had to have occurred years ago. Iruka's heart ached a bit at the scar running vertically through the animal's left eye.

Iruka walked up to the stray as Hana told her assistant to head home for the night, wondering what could have happened to the dog for it to get in this state. The stark white bandages around its chest were the worst, covering what Iruka knew to be a deep gash down the dog's ribs.

The rest of the bleeding was superficial mostly, but Hana had shaved away most of the hair on the dog's belly, revealing bruising. The dog's front right leg was also fractured, wrapped in plaster, Hana having healed the worst of the break.

"Poor thing," Iruka whispered, "Hope you got a few hits in on the other guy."

Hana chuckled behind him, "He's a tough one. Like I said he'll be okay, but I want to keep him here overnight at least," her smile faded a bit as she continued more seriously, "Those injuries don't look like they came from another animal, though. He's pretty malnourished to boot. Could be an abuse case. He doesn't look like he has an owner, but it could have just been some kid being mean. Wouldn't be the first time."

She said all this rather casually but Iruka could see from the look on her face that the thought sickened her even more than it did him.

"Well, whatever happened," Iruka said calmly, although his stomach rolled at the thought of someone in his village being responsible for this. And he almost physically balked at the idea of it being some kid messing around, "I'll be back tomorrow to get him."

Hana clapped her hands in front of her softly and smiled again, "I was hoping you'd say that," she reached under the table and pulled out a basket of dog supplies, food and squeaky toys included. She thrust it into Iruka's hands cheerfully and said, "I'll brief you in the morning."

Hana's idea of 'brief' ended up being an hour long lecture on not only the stray's medication and care, but the full spectrum of dog care in general, and Iruka wasn't sure if he should be insulted or grateful.

Nevertheless, he knew she did it because she was a good vet and wanted her patient to have the best care so Iruka smiled, nodded, and tried to take note of everything she said.

"Well, I think that's everything," Hana said finally, and Iruka stifled a sigh of relief, "You need any help getting him home?"

Iruka shook his head and hoisted the pet carrier more securely on his hip. When he had come back that morning, the dog was awake, and Hana had already placed him into the carrier. The poor thing looked absolutely dejected at being caged. The look in his one gray eye made Iruka want to hurry home and make the dog more comfortable in a more open space.

"Nah, the basket you gave me yesterday was heavier than him," Iruka meant it as a joke but he and Hana both grimaced in concern.

"He'll have some weight on him in no time with that food I gave you," Hana waved it off with a grin, "You thought of a name yet?"

Iruka shrugged, "No, not yet. I guess I'm not great with names."

Hana led him toward the door with a paper bag in her hand, "You'll think of something when you get to know him better. Every dog has their own personality. These are his meds," she held out the bag and Iruka shifted the carrier carefully so he could grab it with one hand and tuck it into one of his vest pockets. "One is to stave off any infection, give it to him once a day till you run out. The other is for pain, just administer it if he acts like he's hurting. Don't hesitate to bring him back if you think something's wrong, okay, Sensei?"

"Of course," Iruka assured her, "And thank you again, Hana."

"Happy to do it," Hana replied and waved him out, "And I'm a fan of Scrapper, myself. If you're looking for name suggestions." She winked as he stepped out and Iruka laughed.

Iruka walked slowly, hoping not to jostle the injured dog in the crate. It was still a little early, so not too many people were out yet, making the way a bit faster for the teacher. The dog still squirmed in the crate, not liking his confined space at all. Little keening noises started coming from inside.

Iruka started talking to him as he walked, trying to calm him, "It's okay, buddy, just a little longer. I'll get you out of there and you can have a nice nap. My apartment's not too big, but it's gotta be better than this old crate, huh? You're not hurting are you? Hana said she gave you something before we left."

Iruka chatted some more, telling the little dog about his apartment and his neighbors, asking him not to bark because the old lady next door could be pretty cranky. Iruka rattled on about every useless thing he could think of and it seemed to help the canine's agitation. He talked so much he was almost surprised when he saw his building.

"Ah, here we are," Iruka said cheerfully, but had only put his foot on the first step when an all too familiar voice shouted his name.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto ran up to him, smiling broadly.

"Good morning, Naruto," Iruka smiled back, and teased, "Why are you up this early? Normally nothing short of a fire jutsu can get you up before noon."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, "I'm not that bad!"

"Yes, you are," another, more feminine voice said, and Iruka watched Sakura and Sasuke run up behind Naruto, both looking flushed and a bit out of breath.

Iruka greeted them and asked, "Training?"

"Yeah," Naruto grumbled, "Kakashi-sensei had to go off on some mission on his own and left us homework. And he's late getting back. Thought we were done with stupid homework when we graduated."

Iruka rolled his eyes, as did Sakura.

Sasuke just sighed, "We're ninja, dobe. We'll always have to train."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the Uchiha but otherwise ignored him in favor of Iruka, "What've you got, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka adjusted the dog crate on his hip so that the barred door was visible, along with what was inside, "Say, hello." There was some shifting inside as the dog turned to look out.

"Oh, what a cute doggy," Sakura cooed, stepping past Naruto to get a better look. The dog growled, but Iruka took it as annoyance instead of harmful intent.

"Why'd you get a dog?" Naruto asked nosily. Iruka tilted his head in the direction of his apartment and the kids followed as he walked the rest of the way.

"I sorta found him," Iruka said, digging out his keys, "He was pretty beat up so I agreed to take care of him."

He managed to open his door and the kids followed him inside, slipping their shoes off at the threshold. Naruto liked to hang out in Iruka's apartment often enough to the point he had taken over Iruka's guest room as his own, but this was something of a first for the other two members of team seven. Sakura looked around her old sensei's apartment with open interest, while Sasuke was only slightly more covert.

Naruto followed Iruka into the kitchen where the teacher set the crate on the floor, next the dog bed he'd put there the night before.

"Why was he beat up?" Naruto asked, settling on the floor as Iruka opened the door to the cage.

Iruka sighed, "I dunno, Naruto. Little guy looks like he's led a rough life, honestly."

Sakura and Sasuke made it to the kitchen as Iruka pulled the dog carefully from the crate. A whine escaped the gray as Iruka lifted his weight and put pressure on his stomach and the bruising. As quickly and carefully as possible, Iruka deposited the dog into the bed, where he curled in on himself protectively.

Sakura let out a little gasp at the poor animal's appearance and Naruto's brow furrowed. Sasuke's eyes widened fractionally but otherwise did not react.

"Hana's already seen him," Iruka assured them and pulled the medicine out of his pocket, "I want to try and get some food in him." He pointed to the table and asked Sakura to hand him the special food Hana had given him. She got it and put it in the dog bowl, sitting next to Naruto as they watched the gray sniff at the stuff.

"C'mon little guy," Iruka said when the dog just put his head back down and sighed.

"Maybe he's just not hungry," Sasuke suggested from across the room.

Iruka nodded, "Maybe," but he didn't like it.

Sakura reached out and stroked the dog's back comfortingly, "Does he have a name?"

"Hana suggested 'Scrapper'," Iruka said.

Naruto laughed when the dog scoffed through it's nose at that, "You may have a nin-dog, Iruka-sensei."

I hope not. No good nin-dog owner would leave their familiar in the condition he was in, Iruka thought.

Aloud he said, "I'm no good with names, I'm afraid."

"What about Miso?" Naruto said immediately.

"No!" Iruka, Sakura, and Sasuke said unanimously. The dog growled. Naruto pouted.

"I was thinking Gray," Sakura said reasonably, "For his color. Simple, you know?"

The dog's nose twitched in interest at that. Iruka reached out and scratched behind his ears.

"That's nice," Iruka said, but Sasuke interjected.

"Silver," he mumbled. When Iruka and his teammates looked up at him questioningly, the Uchiha pointed at the dog, "He's not really gray. When he's healthier he'll be silver. His coat's just dull right now because he's sick."

Iruka blinked and looked down to examine the little animal. Indeed, his coat was dulled from lack of nutrition, but a few hairs here and there stood out shiny and silver. Iruka smiled.

"I like that," Iruka said, "Silver." The dog looked up with his single eye and tilted his head like he was thinking. After a minute, he blinked slowly and put his head back down. Iruka figured that was as close to approval as he would get, "Looks like Silver it is."

"Sure go with stupid Sasuke's idea," Naruto grumbled petulantly.

Before Sakura could start in on the blonde, Iruka said, "Well, Naruto when you get your own dog you can name it whatever you want." Iruka got up to fill the other dog bowl with water.

Naruto laughed and Sakura mumbled, "I feel sorry for the creature that ends up with you."

"Hey!" Naruto griped, "No fair, I could take care of a dog. Iruka-sensei, if you ever need a pet sitter you'll call me, right?"

Iruka returned with the water bowl as the officially dubbed Silver's head shot up and he looked at Iruka pleadingly.

"Absolutely, Naruto," Iruka said and the dog's single eye widened.

When Naruto let out a triumphant yell and turned to say, "See Sakura?" Iruka subtly shook his head at the little dog and he swore he heard Silver sigh in relief. There was a sound from Sasuke's direction that could have been a laugh.

"Until then," Iruka said, "You three can help me dog proof the house and then I'll make breakfast."

Naruto whooped and Sakura and Sasuke looked a little dumbfounded that Iruka-sensei had just offered to make breakfast for them out of the blue.

Dog proofing basically consisted of putting anything he didn't want Silver to get into on a higher shelf or hiding it behind a cabinet door. Minutes passed as the four of them found any questionable items in Iruka's apartment and reorganized them. Unsurprisingly, Iruka lost track of Naruto after a few minutes of this. As he figured it was too much like cleaning for the blonde Genin and he'd probably scampered back to the kitchen to raid the fridge.

Leaving Sakura and Sasuke in the laundry room putting away his detergents, Iruka went back to the kitchen to at least get started on breakfast while he lectured Naruto about good cleaning habits. When he opened the door, he saw that Naruto was in the kitchen, but not to raid his food stores.

Iruka smiled and stilled his movements so the Genin wouldn't hear him.

Naruto sat on the floor next to the dog in the bed again. This time, however, the boy reached into the dog bowl and brought a bit of the soft food to Silver's mouth on his fingers. Naruto murmured soft reassurances until Silver tentatively reached out and sniffed the lump of food. When the food was deemed safe enough, Silver licked it off of Naruto's fingers, single eye trained on the boy lest he make any sudden moves.

Naruto smiled like it was Christmas and repeated the gesture, again and again, until the dog bowl was nearly empty. Iruka would have paid big money for a camera right then.

Iruka heard Sasuke and Sakura finishing up and coming back so he soundlessly closed the kitchen door. He stepped back a few paces silently and made sure to make a loud enough noise outside so that Naruto would know he was coming and reopened the door a minute later. He heard scurrying in the kitchen and knew it was Naruto hurrying to cover his actions.

When he walked back in Naruto was standing in the open door of Iruka's fridge saying loudly, "I want omelets for breakfast Iruka-sensei. And pancakes!"

"Of course, Naruto," Iruka said evenly, noticing the hand with which Naruto held open the fridge door was still covered in flecks of dog food, before reaching down and giving Silver a little scratch, "Oh, good, it looks like he ate."

"Um, yeah," Naruto stuttered and leaned back out of the fridge to hand the carton of eggs to Iruka.

"Hm," Iruka took the eggs as Sakura and Sasuke walked back in, making sure to brush the hand still speckled with kibble, "Thank you, Naruto. Make sure to wash your hands before we eat."

Iruka ruffled Naruto's head as the boy blushed furiously.

A few days later, Iruka decided that Silver had been a Jounin in a former life.

The dog was about as bad about recovery as a Jounin was at any rate.

"Will you stop trying to jump on the furniture?" Iruka grouched as he caught Silver, once again, trying to climb onto the couch, bum leg leading the way, "I am not taking you back to Hana just because you think you're too good for a dog bed."

Silver sat on the floor with his ears back, single gray eye staring at Iruka with annoyance. The dog's coat was already proving Sasuke's prediction that it would take on more of a shine once the dog got some nutrition. Said nutrition also emboldened the mutt, and while Iruka was happy for the dog's recovery, by the end of the weekend the little dog was a lot more defiant than the teacher ever thought a canine could be. Iruka was starting to reconsider Hana's 'Scrapper' suggestion.

And a couple other, much less flattering names he could think of.

"Don't look at me like that," Iruka said as the dog continued to look unrepentant, "You're a dog. If you want to lay down, you go to your very own dog bed . . ."

Iruka's voice trailed off and he sighed, rubbing his face, "I'm arguing with an animal."

Silver just tilted his head at him.

"Okay, look," Iruka said finally, forgetting for the moment that Silver couldn't understand a word he was saying, "I have to get back to work, but I don't want to leave you here by yourself and everyone else is busy. So, you'll have to come with me."

Silver's floppy ears perked up, once again making Iruka wonder if the dog actually understood him. If that were the case, though, Iruka didn't see why the mutt kept trying to get on the furniture.

"Which means," Iruka reached into his pocket and pulled out the subject of this one-sided conversation, "You're gonna have to wear this."

Silver blinked his one good eye at the blue collar in Iruka's hand, complete with tags that identified his name and who to contact if he was lost. Hana had made it for him over the weekend and delivered it especially, reminding Iruka of the tag laws in Konoha (There used to be a leash law, too, but the Inuzuka's and their dogs nearly had a collective coronary over it, so it was retracted).

As soon as Iruka held it up, he knew he had a problem.

Silver's eye widened and the dog took a small step back, hobbling on his hurt leg.

Iruka forgot his annoyance, worried that he'd done something to upset Silver and hurried to reassure the dog, saying, "It's okay, Silver, it's just a collar. Here just let me – "

Iruka tried to take a step forward and place the collar around the dog's neck, but Silver shot off in a bout of speed Iruka would have never thought he possessed in the state he was in.

"Hey!" Iruka shouted as the dog limped down the hallway toward the bedroom, tail literally between his legs, "Come back! You'll hurt yourself worse."

Iruka hurried after the dog as it disappeared into the bedroom. The Chunin slid in after the dog and quickly closed the door to limit Silver's escape routes.

"Calm down, little guy," Iruka soothed, moving toward the dog slowly. Silver was hunched in on himself, cowering by the bed. It was too low for him to crawl under or Iruka figured he'd be underneath it. The dog growled as Iruka came closer, this time with real angry intent in his eye.

"What's with you?" Iruka asked in frustration, "It's just a collar. All the fashionable dogs are wearing them."

Silver huffed at him but eyed the collar in his hand warily, as if it was going to bite him.

Iruka sighed and was about to give up, tag laws be damned, because he was not getting bitten over a stupid collar . . .

A thought struck him suddenly. Or really more of a memory. One of a little pug wearing henohenomoheji and a Leaf hitai-ate on his head.

Idea forming, Iruka moved forward again, Silver renewing his growls. Instead of reaching for the dog, however, the teacher opened the drawer to his nightstand, where he kept an extra hitai-ate. Quickly he unclipped the dog tags from the collar and fastened them the forehead protector, tucking them behind the metal plate with the Leaf symbol.

Dropping the offending collar into the drawer and closing it, Iruka turned around so that Silver could see the hitai-ate, "Okay, what about this?"

The little dog stared for a moment, head tilted in thought. Then he slowly sat down and put his ears up, all sign of his earlier irritation gone. When Iruka walked toward him, and knelt in front of him, Silver sat still and allowed the Chunin to tie the hitai-ate around his neck securely.

"There," Iruka said sitting down in front of the dog. Silver was sniffing at the edge of the forehead protector, craning his neck like he was trying to see. After a minute he seemed to sit a little straighter with it on.

"Figures I'd manage to find the weirdest dog in Fire Country," Iruka mumbled under his breath. Silver gave a small bark and wagged his tail.

Iruka's face broke into a smile and he laughed, gathering the dog in his arms, unwilling to put Silver back in the carrier he obviously hated with a passion, "You can sleep through class under my desk and then we'll see if anyone has a problem with you being in the Mission Room."

As it turned out, Silver was much more subdued when faced with a horde of small children all wanting to pet him at once. Iruka had explained briefly to the class why they had a little visitor and they had all wanted to 'pet the puppy.' Iuka allowed it as long as they were careful because he knew if they didn't sate their curiosity now it would only lead to half-baked attempts later.

Afterward Silver had stayed hidden under Iruka's desk for the rest of the day. In his dog bed no less.

The Mission Room proved to be just as accommodating. Silver sat by Iruka's chair and lazily observing the Shinobi passing in and out, eventually giving up on growling at hose with the nerve to coo and pat him on the head.

Shizune walked by at one point and paused to blink at the little dog before looking at Iruka questioningly.

"Oh, I hope this is okay," Iruka said apologetically, "I was afraid to leave him alone." And he explained quickly about what happened.

Shizune smiled understandingly, pointing to Tonton on the floor, being sniffed interestedly by Silver, "Hey, I have no problem with pets in the workplace. Besides, if the Inuzukas get to bring their dogs everywhere I don't see why you shouldn't." She reached down and scratched Silver behind the ears, "And at least he's a lot smaller."

"Trust me, his attitude more than makes up for any size differential," Iruka grumbled.

Shizune smiled mischievously, "Iruka-sensei, I thought there was a good reason Lady Tsunade assigns you all the hard cases at the Academy."

Iruka sputtered as she moved away laughing.

Her mirth was short lived as the door to the Mission Room was flung open and slammed into the wall behind it with enough force to leave a hole in the wall from the doorknob.

"What the - ?" Shizune started but was cut off by the person standing in the doorway, none other than Maito Gai.

"I must speak with the Hokage!" Gai boomed, but it held none of his usual overzealous optimism, instead an undercurrent of urgency and fear.

In fact, as Iruka watched the Green Beast fly across the Mission Room toward Shizune he noticed the man looked far from his typically sparkling self. He looked like he'd been through quite the ordeal, clothes ripped, several lacerations and bruises showing through the holes in his clothes. Part of his normally immaculate hair was singed, and he was covered in a layer of dirt and soot, head to toe.

"Gai-san, are you all right?" Shizune asked in alarm as the man stopped in front of her. By now Gai had drawn the attention of the entire room, "Have you been to the hospital? You look terrible – "

"This is of Utmost Importance," Gai said, somehow capitalizing his words even in his obvious distress. He hurried past Shizune toward Lady Tsunade's office, heedless of the room full of people following his progress. Shizune followed behind him, taking two steps for each one of Gai's, Tonton oinking after them.

Iruka became even more confused when Gai raced by his desk and the Chunin saw that he was holding an extra uniform in his hands, equally ripped and covered in blood and filth.

It was a rare enough thing for the Green Beast to come back from a mission so frazzled (albeit, his injuries were nothing new) and it worried Iruka and everyone else that watched him disappear through the corridor that led to the Hokage's office.

The Mission Room went completely silent for a few moments when Gai left but quickly broke out into a hushed murmur.

Iruka only remembered one thing that was said. The desk ninja to his right whispered, "Wasn't Gai on a mission with Hatake?"

Iruka was not surprised to find Naruto at his door days later, an unusually worried frown marring his young face.

Word had finally gotten out that Gai had come back late from his mission with Kakashi, but without the Copy-nin in tow. The unofficial story was that they had completed their mission successfully and had been on their way home. At some point, though, they had been outnumbered by enemy nin and had split up in hopes of losing them and meeting up later.

Gai had made it to the meeting place and waited. When Kakashi didn't turn up, the Green Beast went looking for him. All he'd found was the Copy-nin's uniform. Word had it even Kakashi's Icha Icha had been left in the pocket of his flak jacket, which was probably the most disquieting detail of all.

Mainly because the entire Hokage Tower had heard Gai shout something along the lines of, "And now My Rival is lost in enemy territory . . . IN THE NUDE!" loud enough to shake the walls.

Under any other circumstances, Iruka would have laughed at the image it conjured up.

Now, however, Naruto stood outside his apartment door as Iruka walked up with Silver in his arms. The dog had become a staple at his side in less than a week and Iruka thought he was starting to understand why the Inuzuka clan kept such close quarters with their own ninkin. Even if the mutt did have some superiority complex, he was friendly company.

"Hey, Naruto," Iruka said gently as he unlocked his door and let the boy inside.

"Hey," Naruto shucked his shoes off at the door and waited until Iruka closed it to wrap his arms around the teacher's waist.

Iruka let him cling for a minute while he ran his fingers through messy blonde hair. Finally Naruto stepped back, allowing Iruka to put a squirming Silver down. The dog limped in to the kitchen where his food-bowl was and Iruka directed Naruto to the kitchen table.

"Hungry?" Iruka asked, not surprised when Naruto nodded. Even upset the kid was a bottomless pit, "I'll get something started. Put some food in Silver's bowl for me, will you?"

Naruto didn't answer but Iruka eventually heard the bag of food being opened and dry kibble being poured. The boy shuffled about behind him for a little bit until finally coming to rest somewhere in the kitchen.

Iruka was busily cooking when Naruto spoke up again, "He's never this late."

Iruka turned but Naruto was not where he left him at the kitchen table. In fact, Iruka didn't see him at all. Blinking, Iruka cast about for the Genin as Naruto said, "I mean he's always late. But not when it's important, you know?"

Finally, Iruka pinpointed where the boy's voice was coming from and ducked to look under the table. There Naruto sat with Silver in his lap, petting the dog gently as Silver leaned on his chest.

"I'm really worried about him, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said and even in the shadow of the table, Iruka could tell the boy's eyes were shining. He wrapped his arms around Silver a little tighter and mumbled, "I know you never liked him much. But he's a good teacher even if he is kinda weird and he's a pervert but . . . but . . ."

"I know, Naruto," Iruka said, making sure his cooking was safe before he bent down and crawled under the table along with the dog and the boy, "We all are. I'm sure wherever he is, Kakashi-sensei is doing his best to get back home, yeah?"

Iruka quickly put a lid on his guilt at the words. He knew Lady Tsunade had officially listed Kakashi as MIA, which was never a good sign for any mission gone wrong. Search parties had been sent out, but had come back even more empty handed than Gai. At least the Green Beast had found Kakashi's uniform.

But he wouldn't stamp out Naruto's hope until he had conclusive proof that the Copy-nin wasn't coming back.

"Yeah," Naruto murmured, hugging Silver to his chest. The dog reached up and licked the boy's face until Naruto finally chuckled and pulled away, saying more cheerfully, "Yeah, he's fine."

Iruka smiled and patted Naruto's knee, "C'mon. Food's ready."

They ate and talked about other things. Naruto grouched about helping with the dishes, but decided to stay the night at Iruka's. As the blonde got ready for bed, Iruka put the leftovers away (and tried not to wonder at the fact that there were leftovers and what that said about Naruto's emotional state).

Iruka also organized his things for the next day and made sure Silver had water before going through his own nightly routine.

By the time Iruka went to check on him, Naruto was asleep, curled up in bed. Iruka smiled again as he saw Silver curled into the boy's side, Naruto's arm wrapped around him.

"Just this once," Iruka whispered and saw the dog's ear twitch.

"Alright," Hana said as she slipped the plaster off Silver's leg and checked the progress, "I went ahead and healed the fracture the rest of the way, so there's no reason to leave the plaster on any longer. The leg will still be a little weak though."

Iruka nodded as she checked the rest of the dog's wounds, watching closely to make sure Silver didn't try another escape attempt. That day was the day Iruka learned that Silver hated the vet with a passion the teacher thought dogs were supposed to reserve for things like cats and little red penlights.

The dog had taken one look at the building and tried to jump out of Iruka's arms, scratching him in the process. And when that hadn't worked Silver started howling like he was being murdered. Hana had actually walked into the reception area when they walked in just to see what all the fuss was about and immediately started laughing when she saw it was Iruka with a flailing Silver in his arms.

"At least we know he's healthy enough to fight," Hana had said and waved him to one of the exam rooms, "Let's get him fixed up before he hurts himself again."

By the time she'd finished her examination, Silver had tried twice to leap from the table and had almost succeeded in getting out the little window at one point.

He sat in utter misery now, glaring at Iruka, who had finally wrapped a leash around Silver's neck and tied it to the chair by the table. Iruka just glared back.

"Everything else looks good," Hana announced finally, "I'd tell you make sure he takes it easy, but I'm not sure it'll do any good with this one." She ruffled the fluffy tuft of fur on top of his head affectionately and Silver made a grumbling noise low in his throat, "Aw, don't be like that." Silver growled.

"Watch it or I'll give you another bath," Iruka threatened. The growling immediately stopped and one gray eye turned to him, opened as wide as it would go.

Iruka had finally broken down the day before and given the little monster a bath because his apartment was steadily smelling more and more like dog. Silver was none too happy with being scrubbed with flea shampoo and refused to take it lying down.

By the end of it, Iruka was soaked and his bathroom was a disaster to say the least. He was still getting wet dog hair off the ceiling.

Hana chuckled and handed Silver off to Iruka, "He's still a little on the thin side though. He might just be that way, but keep feeding him the special food."

"Got it," Iruka said and walked back to the reception area, Hana following.

"Hey," the Vet said suddenly, "I was wondering if they'd heard anything else about Hatake from one of the other search teams. My mom was on the last one but they didn't find anything."

Hana sounded surprised and she had a right to be. Tsume was the best tracker in the village and for her to find no leads was discouraging. It didn't help that Tsunade had sent her out on a rather desperate last resort.

Iruka shook his head, Silver watching him with his one good eye, "The last party isn't due back for another few days. Gai went with them this time, too."

"Hm," Hana hummed and handed the desk worker Iruka's records, "Been weeks now, hasn't it. Scary."

Iruka nodded but didn't comment.

A week ago, Team Seven had been assigned to train with Asuma-sensei's team, since Shikamaru had already made Chunin. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had rightfully interpreted this as a bad sign. If the Genin were being pushed on someone else, that meant the chances of Kakashi coming back were slimmer than ever.

Poor Sakura had been near tears when they came out of Tsunade's office after having received the news, Asuma looking somewhat shell-shocked as he trailed after them with his own team in tow. Naruto hadn't cried at Iruka's apartment that night but just quietly held Silver until he fell asleep.

Iruka left Hana's clinic and went straight to the park. It was the weekend again and Silver had shown quite the liking for the park when Iruka brought him here the first time.

The dog seemed to like it even better now that he could walk without hobbling. While the dog sniffed curiously around the open area, Iruka dug in his bag.

Finding what he was looking for, Iruka smiled and let out a short little whistle. Silver's head shot up in attention, floppy ears raising as best they could.

Iruka held up the bright orange ball, "Wanna try fetch, boy?"

Silver's head cocked to the side as he stared at the object in Iruka's hand. Iruka squeezed the ball and it squeaked, making Silver's tail twitch.

"Go get it," Iruka said and threw the ball in a low toss over the grass.

Silver watched it sail from his hand and land in the grass a few yards from him, completely nonplussed as the orange ball rolled down a hill for a bit. The dog stared for a minute then looked back at Iruka as if in need of explanation.

"Okay, you're not a retriever," Iruka mumbled and walked after the toy. Silver followed interestedly at the teacher's heels. Iruka picked the ball up and let Silver sniff it this time.

The Chunin smiled mischievously and squeaked the ball right under Silver's nose. The dog jumped and barked at the thing as if it had offended him somehow.

"Try again?" Iruka asked and held the ball up like he was about to throw. Silver's eye locked onto the ball as his tail wagged a little faster.

Iruka threw and this time Silver chased, barking and skidding to a halt as the ball hit the ground. Iruka laughed as Silver pawed at it for a second before pressing his chest into the ground so he could inspect the ball better. Only his back end stayed in the air, tail wagging. Finally, he picked it up in his mouth and jogged back toward Iruka, seeming triumphant that he had figured out the game.

"Good boy," Iuka cheered and knelt to take the ball back so he could throw it again, "You got it – " He stopped as Silver's eye glinted impishly and the dog trotted right past Iruka with the ball still in his mouth, just out of arm's reach.

"Hey!" Iruka laughed and 'fetch' turned into 'keep-away' as Silver picked up speed and refused to let Iruka have the ball back.

They played like that for a while, Iruka chasing Silver and making half-hearted grabs at the ball, only for Silver to spin at the last second and dash away again. Iruka briefly wondered if it was detrimental not to teach Silver to give the ball back, but he was having too much fun to care.

Finally, Silver seemed to tire and trotted over to Iruka's bag sitting under a shade tree, Iruka following behind. The dog dropped the slobbery ball at his feet and sat, tongue lolling as he panted. Iruka sat as well, pulling his bag over and rubbing Silver's back, "Feels good to run, huh?"

Silver rolled onto his back so that Iruka could rub his stomach, feet flopping in the air.

Iruka laughed and obliged, secretly grabbing the ball and depositing it into the bag before Silver got a hold of it again. When the dog rolled back over, Iruka found the spot on the back of his neck that never failed to send Silver's hind leg into overdrive. For whatever reason this was a source of endless entertainment for Naruto, and Iruka could see why.

Half an hour later found them in a similar position but Iruka with papers in his lap and Silver lounging next to him, the picture of contentment.

Until a voice sang clear across the park, "Oh, Ruuuukaaaaa!"

Iruka didn't mean to laugh when poor Silver started. The dog jumped onto all fours in a blur, fur bristling, and teeth bared, a snarl ripping from his throat before Silver realized there was no real threat. Just Anko running toward them and waving.

On second thought, given that information, Iruka could see how someone might think they were being threatened.

Iruka saw that she still had her mission pack over her shoulders and was covered in a fine layer of road dust. She had just gotten back then, and that always meant one thing.

"Dango?" Iruka asked unnecessarily when she stopped in front of him and he stood up. She through her arms around him in an over-enthusiastic hug, nearly knocking him over.

"And beer," Anko replied brightly, "I'm buying."

Before she let go of him, in typical Anko fashion, she snuck her hand down and groped Iruka's ass. Iruka would deny the incredibly undignified noise that escaped him until his death but Anko laughed uproariously at the squeak. He must have startled Silver a bit, though, because the dog growled again.

Iruka glared at her and gathered his things, shoving them in his bag as he tried to distract her by asking, "How'd the mission go?"

"Oh, you know," Anko shrugged, "Asses were kicked. Names were taken. I'm still awesome. Who's mutt?" She pointed to Silver who was sniffing around her ankles and circling almost irritably.

"Mine," Iruka said, remembering that Anko's mission had been a long one, "Meet Silver. Silver, this is Anko."

"Aw, did Ruka miss me so much he needed a fwiend?" Anko baby-talked, reaching down to pet the dog. Silver, on the other hand, only glared with his one eye, huffed, and moved back to Iruka's side before Anko could touch him.

Iruka blinked down at the animal and shrugged, "He's just gotta get to know you," he told Anko and she rolled her eyes.

"Figures you'd find another weird stray to take in," Anko said as they started walking side-by-side back into town.

"Another?" Iruka asked distractedly. He kept looking down at Silver by his side, wondering why the dog was so closely watching Anko with his one good eye. He also noticed that Silver had decided to walk resolutely between them, despite being bumped by their feet several times.

Anko snorted like Iruka was missing something obvious, "You take in strays Umino. Me, Naruto, and don't even get me started on Satan."

Satan was Anko-code for Mizuki. Iruka never knew if she stopped using his real name to spite Mizuki or to spare Iruka's feelings, but if it was the latter he was sorry to say it only made remembering worse.

Iruka inwardly cringed, but let her finish, "And now the dog here," she paused as Silver seemed to take offense to that and growled, "Sorry, Silver. Happy?" She looked down at him and Silver huffed haughtily through his nose, "Anyway, strays. You take them in, you love them. It's your hobby. One that I am grateful for because you're willing to buy food."

Iruka didn't know what to say to that so he settled with, "I thought you were buying tonight?"

"I am. Don't change the subject," Anko smirked at him.

"I'm not that bad," Iruka mumbled as they reached Anko's favorite dango place and he opened the door for her. Before she could step in though, Silver nearly knocked her over running in first.

"Oi!" Anko hollered after the dog as Iruka gave an indignant, "Silver."

But Silver just stared back at them as if to say Aren't you coming?

"I don't know why he's acting like this," Iruka mumbled but followed Anko in.

They chose a booth and sat on opposite sides. Silver scrabbled onto the seat next to Iruka and tucked himself into the teacher's side determinedly.

Iruka ignored it as Anko said, "And you are that bad, by the way," apparently picking up where they left off the conversation about Iruka's 'hobby,' "And like I said, it's not a bad thing." She paused and they both seemed to think the same thing at the same time. Anko clarified, "Except for that one time."

They placed their orders and Iruka settled into his seat, Silver warm at his side. He listened to Anko as she told him about her mission, or the parts she could tell anyway. One of the problems of having a Jounin friend was there was only so much of their lives one had clearance to hear.

Iruka never worried about it much, though, because as long as Anko came home, safe and (relatively) sound, he could live without every single detail. If every now and then Anko cried on his shoulder over one of those unknown details, well, Iruka figured he was qualified enough for that.

They chatted easily for a few hours until outside it grew dark in earnest. After a few beers Iruka felt sleepy and Silver's head rested in his lap as the dog snoozed. Probably full from the little pieces of food Iruka kept sneaking him.

"He really is a cute dog," Anko said, drowsy as well, and leaned over the table to pet Silver now that he wasn't awake enough to snarl, "Maybe I should get a pet."

Iruka chuckled, "There are so many things wrong with that idea," he smiled teasingly when Anko pouted at him, "But he is nice to come home to. Someone to share space with, you know?"

Anko hummed in agreement.

Sometime later Iruka bid Anko goodnight and walked home, Silver loping calmly at his side. The dog seemed like his normal, lazy self now so Iruka brushed off his earlier behavior without much thought.

They got home and Iruka went through his normal nightly routine, putting Silver to bed in the kitchen as usual. The dog typically insisted on sleeping in Naruto's bed if the blonde slept over but was content enough to sleep on his own the rest of the time.

Iruka often caught him on the couch in the morning, but the teacher had learned that one had to pick their battles when it came to pets. Although, sometimes he really thought Silver just believed he was too good for a mere dog bed. Besides, Iruka kind of liked it when Silver climbed onto the couch and snuggled up to him while he graded papers.

Nevertheless, Iruka was more than a little startled when he heard scratching at his bedroom door after he laid down in bed.

He got up from his doze and when he opened the door the first thing he saw was one big, gray eye looking up at him pitifully in a silent plea to be let in.

Iruka sighed, "No, Silver, you know the rule." He picked the dog up and carried him back to the kitchen. He received a look of utter devastation for his troubles, "Don't look at me like that. Go to sleep." Silver keened at him but did not follow Iruka back to the bed room.

Iruka went back to his room and laid down again. He was deep asleep and happily dreaming of a classroom full of quiet, well-behaved children when he felt a dip in the mattress. Iruka instantly grabbed the kunai under his pillow and was sitting up, brandishing his weapon at –

"Silver?" Iruka questioned as he glared at the lump of fur on top of his comforter.

Silver, completely unrepentant, wagged his tail happily at Iruka, ears perked, and body curled comfortably at the foot of the bed.

Iruka sighed again, wondering if it was worth it to take him back to the kitchen.

After a moment's thought Iruka flopped back onto his pillows, "Fine," he mumbled sleepily, "J'st for tonight, though."

If Silver ended up in Iruka's bed every night after that, a warm presence tucked into the curve of his hip, the Chunin decided there were some battles he didn't mind losing.

The beginning of Iruka's week came with a class of pre-Genin who had obviously eaten nothing but sugar and coffee the entire weekend. And after that a Mission Room full of Jounin who had obviously eaten nothing but ration bars and coffee the entire weekend. In other words, everyone Iruka came into contact with was cranky, obnoxious, and just generally out to ruin his sanity.

The real coup de grace came two hours into his shift in the Mission Room. A Jounin Iruka didn't personally know came in, waited patiently in line, calmly handed in a decent enough report, and when Iruka asked him to, "Make this one correction here, Jounin-sama, and I'll let you go," the man completely flipped his lid.

This Jounin should have obviously made a stop at the hospital long before he came to the Mission Room but as it was the man had dragged Iruka up by his shirt collar and started shaking him like a rag-doll and screaming something unintelligible to the Chunin. He caught "Iwa" and "goats" before the man pulled Iruka over the desk and started strangling him.

Several people immediately began to step in and Iruka was reaching for his weapons pouch but Silver, still hanging out under Iruka's desk even though he was all healed, beat all of them to the punch. The dog was not very big, but he was fast as anything, and in a blur Silver was over the desk and had his jaws clamped around the Jounin's forearm hard enough to draw blood even through the sleeve of his uniform.

The man dropped Iruka, who landed unceremoniously on top of his desk, coughing and trying to breath normally. The man howled, flinging his arm violently but was unable to throw the dog off. Someone, Iruka thought it might have been Genma, tackled the Jounin to the ground and several others helped to hold him down until Ibiki and a medical team could arrive.

Iruka ran over just in time to see Kurenai gently extracting Silver from the pile, the dog still growling and snapping viciously at the man now mumbling incoherently on the floor.

"You all right, Iruka-sensei?" Kurenai asked kindly as he walked up and she held Silver out to him, "That's a good little friend you've got."

Iruka took Silver from her, checking him over quickly to make sure he hadn't reinjured himself, "I'm fine and thank you, he is," Iruka said, voice sounding a little gravely. He looked up at her when it turned out Silver was fine, although the little dog was glaring daggers at the Jounin as he was carried away, "I'd be more worried about that guy."

"Hm," Kurenai hummed in disapproval, "Ibiki will straighten it all out. He probably just got in over his head on his mission. Of course, a Jounin out to know when he needs to seek psychological attention before he snaps on someone. Very unprofessional to assault Mission Room staff."

Iruka laughed despite his sore throat. Silver stopped snarling and looked up at him.

Kurenai smiled, her mission accomplished, then looked up and blinked, "Wow, we got the Hokage's attention."

Iruka turned to see Lady Tsunade storming into the room, Shizune hurrying behind her. People dispersed in her wake as the blonde asked loudly, "Alright, what now? I was actually getting something done today."

Kurenai nudged him and Iruka started a bit, but moved forward to quickly explain. Tsunade turned to him and listened, rolling her eyes at the end of his little tale.

"You'd think we were running and insane asylum with the way these Jounin act," Tsunade grouched, rubbing her temples, "Never mind. Go on home Iruka-sensei, you get the rest of the day off."

Iruka bowed awkwardly, still holding Silver in his arms, the dog now sedate, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

She cocked an eyebrow as she always did at formalities but a smile tugged at her mouth as she reached out and pat Silver on the head, "Cute little body guard you have there, Sensei."

The dog growled as Tsunade walked off, but if she heard the blonde did not turn back. Iruka jostled him a bit in his arms with a quiet, "A little respect, mutt," but continued to carry Silver as he gathered his things and left, not even arguing that his shift didn't finish for another few hours.

Walking outside, Iruka put Silver down on the ground gently and rubbed his floppy ears affectionately, feeling a little bubble of pride well up in his chest now that the excitement was over.

"Good boy," he whispered.

Silver butted his head against Iruka's hand and wagged his tail happily.

Iruka woke hours before his alarm went off, but he wasn't sure why. He didn't feel threatened and when he opened his eyes to look around his room nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He reached out with his senses briefly but felt nothing unusual in his apartment.

Sighing, Iruka stretched, feeling a familiar weight resting at his side. He smiled sleepily and reached down to where Silver's head rested on his hip, running his fingers through the tuft of wiry fur at the top of his head. Silver sighed deeply and shifted also.

Then Iruka froze as something draped over his leg. Something heavy and muscled and definitely not belonging to a dog.

Slowly, Iruka looked down at his body and at the man's arm wrapped around his legs.

In a blink Iruka had his hidden kunai in his hand, the light switched on, and was in a defensive position on the other side of the room.

The man started as well, waking almost violently and coming up on all fours in Iruka's bed, hand reaching for a weapon's pouch that was not there because, as Iruka belatedly realized, the man was completely naked.

The second thing Iruka noticed was that he recognized this person, although normally he was wearing a lot more layers, especially around the facial region.

"Kakashi?" Iruka nearly squeaked, his throat constricted in shock.

"A-ah, um," was all that came out of Hatake Kakashi's mouth as he blinked several times in obvious confusion. The Sharingan opened momentarily, only to slam shut when Kakashi realized he didn't have anything covering it. Almost sluggishly, Kakashi reached up and felt his own mask-less face, looked down at his current lack of clothing, and finally up at an equally stunned Iruka.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Iruka asked, dumbfounded, "Why are you in my bed? Why are you –," Suddenly, Iruka blushed furiously and turned around, putting his back to Kakashi, "Why are you naked?"

Iruka only heard a few inarticulate strangled noises behind him. For the life of him, the Chunin couldn't imagine why after a month of being MIA Kakashi would suddenly show up in as random a place as Iruka's bed. And for that matter where was . . .

Wait . . .

No . . . just, no . . .

Iruka's mind rebelled for a few seconds as he tried to find any other explanation for his current situation. When none came, Iruka rubbed a hand over his face and turned back to his impromptu guest, this time keeping his eyes trained on Kakashi's face. The scar running through his eye. The shock of silver hair.

And finally, the Leaf hitai-ate still tied loosely around the Jounin's neck.

"I am an idiot," Iruka said, mostly to himself.

"Perhaps, you have your faculties about you enough to explain it to me, Sensei?" was Kakashi's first real sentence, albeit higher than his normal pitch, and probably not as scathing as the Copy-nin meant. He was quickly grabbing at Iruka's sheets and throwing them over his waist to protect his modesty. Something that registered distantly with Iruka as something he never would have associated with porn-reading-in-public Hatake Kakashi.

Iruka shook himself and stuttered, "I-I'll explain on the way to Hokage Tower, I need to get you to Lady Tsunade. Just-just wait here, I'll get you some clothes, I just, okay, wait here."

Iruka stood in Lady Tsunade's office next to Kakashi, now fully dressed in some of Iruka's spare sweats, awaiting the Hokage's reaction.

Iruka had frantically rushed an oddly quiet Kakashi to the Tower, the both of them practically falling through the Hokage's office door, much to the surprise of Tsunade, Shizune, and the three noblemen having a meeting. Fortunately, one look at her previously MIA ninja had Tsunade ushering said lords out the door with a polite, "Get out, this is way more interesting, trust me."

Tsunade had quickly gone into healer-mode, inspecting Kakashi for any lingering injury. Finding none she went into angry/worried/really-tired-of-your-crap Hokage-mode and started asking exactly what had happened.

Kakashi just stood there as Iruka spilled about finding Silver around the same time as Kakashi went missing and subsequently finding out that the dog was none other than the Hatake. It all seemed so incredibly ridiculous, standing there in the Hokage's office in the wee hours of the morning, Kakashi silently watching Iruka give possibly the weirdest mission report he'd ever had to give.

Tsunade and Shizune both stood there when he was finished, not saying a word for a few minutes, just as quiet as Kakashi had been ever since Iruka found him in his bed.

Finally, Tsunade cleared her throat and made a snapping sound with her fingers that Shizune clearly understood as, Get the effing sake, right effing now.

"So, just to be clear," Tsunade said slowly, Shizune rushing to do her bidding, "You found and took in an injured dog out of the goodness of your heart, and woke up with a handsome man in your bed?"

Iruka felt his face heat and rubbed at his scar as Shizune reprimanded, "Lady Tsunade, please."

"Did you kiss him first? Please, tell me you kissed him – "

"Lady Hokage!" Shizune warned murderously.

"Sorry, I'll stop," Tsunade said, not sounding apologetic at all, "Seriously, though, Kakashi what do you remember?" Shizune came back with the sake and Tsunade barely waited for her to pour some in cup before slinging it back.

For the first time since Iruka's apartment Kakashi spoke, voice uncertain, "I recall my mission with Gai, up to a point, anyway. I was trying to lose the enemy nin when . . . when I believe I was hit with a jutsu of some kind." Kakashi thought for a moment and said slowly, trying to remember, "Yes. I was engaged fighting two of them when a third hit me from behind. Everything . . . gets a little unclear after that."

It was the most unsure and unsteady Iruka had ever seen Kakashi and he wouldn't deny that it was freaking him out a little.

Kakashi stood in a rigid, uncomfortable version of his usual careless slouch. Iruka's clothes looked awkward on the Copy-nin, the shirt stretching across his shoulders and the pants ending too far above his ankles as he was both taller and broader than Iruka. The lower half of his face was covered with a handkerchief Iruka had found at the bottom of a drawer somewhere, making Kakashi look like he was about to rob a stage-coach.

The hitai-ate covering the Sharingan was the only thing that looked normal on Kakashi, but Iruka couldn't look at it without remembering that it was his and if he were to look under the metal plate there would be two dog tags with the name "Silver" etched into them along with Iruka's contact information.

"I'll have someone from the hospital investigate that later," Tunade was saying, taking another sip of her sake, "And you are going, brat, I want to make sure there are no lingering side-effects. Iruka-sensei, I want you to give an official statement."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Iruka said quietly.

"And Iruka?" Tsuande said, drawing his eyes back up to her. Iruka saw her mouth twitching, "Don't leave anything out. Seriously, I want everything. Everything."

"Er, yes, Hokage-sama," Iruka replied.

"Good, I look forward to it," Tsunade said and reclined back with her sake cup, "Shizune, escort the brat to the hospital, make sure he gets there. Hurry up and get out, I've earned some drinking time today."

The three of them left, ignoring the very un-Hokage-esque giggles coming from Tsunade's closed door.

When the three of them stepped out, Iruka turned to Kakashi, "Kakashi-san, I – "

"Thank you for everything, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi murmured quickly, "I'm sorry for putting you out all this time."

Iruka was about to reply that he hadn't thought of it like that, but Kakashi just turned and walked ahead of Shizune in the direction of the hospital, the Hokage's assistant jogging to keep up.

Iruka watched him go, mouth hanging open slightly, wondering if he had just witnessed Hatake Kakashi fleeing.

A/N: There is a second part to this, because I thought this was getting a little long for a one-shot. I'll probably post part 2 no matter what cause I'm stubborn like that and I enjoyed writing this, but I wanted to see how the beginning went over first.

So, please, review and tell me how predictable I am.