Yo. This be Dorku. Please enjoy.
This is born from me being addicted to the 20Truths community on Livejournal. I'm too lazy to put in a link, so...yeah... For an example of what 20 Truths essays look like, check out 'The 20 Truest Things About KakaIru' and 'The 20 Truest Things About Uchihas'. More will be uploaded shortly. All of this is based on what I as a fan see as truths and opinions.

Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

Why I Will Live Forever

One. The way Iruka smiles when he's with kids…like nothing bad has ever happened to him, like the world's never hurt him. I know it's not true, but, gods, looking at that face, you'd never know it.

Two. The way Iruka frowns when one of the kids does something stupid. It's not a 'mad-going-to-kill-you' frown, but a 'kinda-angry-and-very-scared' frown. He gives me this look a lot, but it usually crumples into watery brown eyes.

Three. The way Iruka looks when he's trying his hardest not to cry in front of me. He always tries not to let me see his tears, like he's too strong to cry. But I know he cries after I get home, injured on missions. He doesn't think I'm listening.

Four. The way Iruka cries. He cries with his whole body, with his soul. I've never cried that way—or, if I ever did, I don't remember it—and Iruka's sobs are a mystery to me. But it goes a long way to healing that place inside to know that someone can cry for me, even if it's not me.

Five. The way Iruka laughs. It sounds like animal laughter, and the first time I heard it, I didn't believe it was truly him laughing. I, like everyone else, thought what I heard everyday was his real laugh.

Six. The fact that I'm outclassed by a chuunin. I didn't realise it until the first time I heard his whiskery fox-laughter, but that little chuunin knows more about 'underneath the underneath' than even I do. And it smarts, a little.

Seven. The fact that loving Iruka means it doesn't hurt as much as it should. Heaven knows that if Genma or Raidou or Ibiki thought themselves outclassed by a mere chuunin, they'd pull the kunai across their own necks. But something about Iruka makes me ok with it. And I'm ok with that.

Eight. How cute it is that Iruka's more than slightly OCD. He collects Mangeki Neko, and they're all perfectly arranged. The only one not in his little collection on the dresser is the tiny one he insists I wear around my neck, pressed against my chest beneath my dog tags.

Nine. The way Iruka fools himself with the ease of long practise. We (myself, he, and Tsunade) all know that he'll never be more than chuunin because he's got more than one personality, but we never mention it. If anything happens, we just go along with it. Multiple personalities are a ninja safety catch.

The tenth and final reason I'll live forever is Iruka.

I don't want to be the internal anguish that leads to that next personality. I don't want to be the one thing out of place in his life. I don't want him to feel any pain. I never want him to stop being better than me. I don't want to not be there to comfort him when he cries. I don't want him to have to try to hide his tears in front of everyone. I don't want to be the reason his worried frowns become hurt frowns. I don't want to be the reason those kids don't get that smile.

But most of all, I don't want to leave him.

Thanks for reading. Please leave any constructive critiscisms or comments at the likkle purple button!