Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto is a creation of Masashi Kishamoto-sensei.
Note: This chapter was edited on May 26, 2006. I made only minor spelling and grammar corrections to this chapter.
Well damn, it's been a long time since I updated. Yes, that's right, I didn't drop off the face of the earth. I've just been busy with other things. Sorry for taking so long and I hope everyone's been doing well. This is the final chapter for this fic. I'll still be working on the other one, and I might start a new one. I'm also going to go through and edit all the previous chapters and update my profile.
Without further ado, the final chapter.
Since When Was Boredom The First Step To Love?
Chapter nine-The Final Step.
By Riyo-sama
"So you just showed up at the house and blurted out to both of them that they're in love with each other? What kind of plan was that?" said Naruto. The three genin were waiting for Kakashi, and decided to take advantage of his lateness to speak with Yukio.
"Well, most of the time when an interfering third party tries to use an elaborate set-up to put people together, it ends up causing lots of problems and misunderstandings. I thought it would be better to just tell them both the truth and let them sort it out for themselves. Although I'm afraid they might hate me now because I promised that I wouldn't tell them how they felt about each other, so maybe they think I'm not trustworthy now." Yukio stared at the ground looking crestfallen.
"Yukio-san, I'm sure they don't think that. They'll probably be thanking you." said Sakura with a reassuring pat on his arm.
"Thank you Haruno-san. Although, I think even if they are happy, Kakashi-sempai will still want to get some sort of revenge on me for breaking my word." said Yukio with instantly reviving spirits. Just then Kakashi popped in among the group next to Yukio.
"Ohayou!" he said to them all.
They all returned his greeting. Yukio made to leave with the excuse that he had things to do, but Kakashi grabbed the back of his coat and stopped him. "I checked in the mission room, you don't have any missions for today or tomorrow, so you have some time to spare. Hang around a bit." He said this without malice, but the implication that 'no' wasn't a good answer was there nonetheless.
"Okay." said Yukio, looking a bit nervous.
"I've got a mission with some other jounin, so you don't have training today, but I do have a task for the four of you." said Kakashi.
"Four? Wait, does that mean Yukio-san is helping too?" asked Sakura.
"Yes. He has nothing better to do, so he can help with this." Yukio didn't dare to object because there was a vindictive glint in Kakashi's eye.
"What are we supposed to do?" asked Sasuke, who had been watching the proceeding with boredom.
"You're going to help Iruka clean out his storage room. Apparently he hasn't cleaned it since he moved into that house five years ago, so it's quite dusty and disorganized." Kakashi scratched his head. "It's kind of surprising considering how neat he keeps the rest of the house. Anyways, that's what you're going to do for the rest of the day. I'll see you all later." He left them the same way he had come, in a poof of smoke.
"We forgot to ask him what happened!" said Naruto. They all gave a collective sigh.
"I really appreciate the help everyone." said Iruka while he opened the door to the storage room. There were rags, dust mops, and brooms sitting next to the door. Yukio had put his hair in a braid with help from Sakura so it wouldn't be in his way, and Sakura herself had a handkerchief tied over her hair to protect it from the dust. Naruto was scowling at the prospect of having to clean someone else's house. Sasuke was bored and just wanted to get it over with.
The room was dark. Iruka flipped on the lights, but only one came on, and it chose that moment to burn out. "Guess I'll have to go in back and open the curtains on the windows." said Iruka. He walked into the room and disappeared behind a stack of boxes. They could hear rustling and bumping sounds as he made his way towards the back. At one point they heard him curse shortly before the sound of several things falling reached them and a cloud of dust floated out into the hall way.
"Iruka-sensei, daijoubu ka?"asked Sakura.
"Yes, perfectly fine, don't worry." came the reply somewhere near the back. There was some more shuffling and rustling heard from the back until finally they heard the sound of curtains being pulled back. The room flooded with light, illuminating the three large shelves that stood in the room and the boxes and piles of various objects that surrounded them. Iruka came back to the front of the room, looking dusty but otherwise alright. "Why don't you three spread some blankets and sheets outside to set everything on while Yukio-san and I start gathering the items that aren't in boxes up?"
The three genin fetched the sheets and blankets from the cabinet and left the room. Iruka started pulling empty boxes towards the front. Yukio stood and watched for a moment and then cleared his throat. Iruka paused in what he was doing to look at Yukio in question. "You're not upset about yesterday, Iruka-san?" was his question. He looked away slightly embarrassed.
Iruka looked surprised. "No, I'm not mad at all. I'm very grateful to you in fact. I've been in such an agony over how to tell him, and I'm so relived now that he knows. You lifted a really big weight off of my shoulders."
"I'm glad." said Yukio with a relived smile. He took one of the empty boxes that Iruka had brought up front and started stacking some of the items scattered on the floor inside. "So, may I ask what happened after I left?"
Iruka turned so he wasn't facing Yukio to hide his blush. "Um, we kissed."
"Is that all?" asked Yukio.
"We talked some too. About when we first fell for each other, and about how we had been dealing with our feelings until then." said Iruka, who continued to look away.
"Sounds like a good start to me. I hope your relationship will be a happy one." said Yukio with a very warm smile that was completely sincere.
"Thank you." said Iruka, finally looking at him again and smiling in return, blush still in place.
"That went much faster than I thought it would." said Iruka. He surveyed the storage room which was now free of dust and clutter, the shelves neatly lined with boxes and the light from the windows illuminating it more freely. "Thank you all again. I hate to think of how long it would have taken me to clean it out on my own."
The other four thanked him for his gratitude. It was 6:00 o'clock P.M., but it wasn't late enough in the summer for the sky to be dim yet. "Would you all like to stay for dinner? It's the least I can do." offered Iruka.
Yukio and Naruto both readily agreed, having both developed a great liking for Iruka's cooking. Sasuke seemed to think about it a bit before silently nodding his head.
"I'm sorry Iruka-sensei, but I can't stay. My mother wanted me to be home tonight because we have a guest coming. Thanks for asking though." said Sakura.
"Alright. Thank you for all your help today Haruno-san." said Iruka.
After exchanging farewells, the four went off to clean themselves up and make dinner.
Kakashi came home bruised, tired, but cheerful. Coming home to a warm home cooked meal, friends, and the one you love can make anything more bearable.
When he entered the house he found Yukio sitting in one of the arms chairs and watching the TV. Enticing aromas were wafting in from the kitchen and the sound of happy chatter could be heard.
When Yukio noticed Kakashi he turned off the TV and nervously greeted him. "Konbanwa, Kakashi-sempai."
"Konbanwa, Yukio. Is the storage room clean?"
"Hai, there's not a speck of dust left. Was your mission a success?"
"Yeah, more or less. Where are the kids?"
"Haruno-san went home to eat with her family, Naruto-kun and Uchiha-san are helping Iruka-san make dinner." Silence fell. One, two, three minutes stretched on until Yukio spoke up, "Ano, sempai, about yesterday, if I have intruded a little too much I am sorry."
"On the contrary, I'm very grateful. You've done us both a favor by helping us to over come a great difficulty. I was in such an agony for so long, and now I'm just so relieved to have everything said and revealed. And I've decided that I'm going to return the favor." Kakashi started walking towards the hall.
Yukio turned around in the chair so he could kneel and look at Kakashi over the back as he asked in great alarm, "Wait! What do you mean return the favor?"
"I'm going to do for you what you've done for Iruka and me. Why not share the happiness?"
"But you don't, I mean I don't need, there's no one I'm interested in!" sputtered Yukio.
Kakashi brought his face level with Yukio's and said very flatly, "You mean to tell me that out of all the single people in Konoha, there's not a single one that you've had even a fleeting romantic thought about?"
Redness creeped into Yukio's cheeks, and he dropped his eyes to the floor before mumbling, "There…might be someone."
Kakashi clapped him on the shoulder and stood up. "Don't worry too much about it. I'll be subtle and leave most of it to you." Kakashi went off down the hall humming and Yukio slumped over the chair with a groan.
Kakashi had a good idea as to who Yukio's affections were held towards, and he even had the feeling that the affections were reciprocated, but this he knew was not enough to make a final conclusion. A few weeks went by. He watched Yukio's interactions with everyone like a hawk, but still couldn't get a solid confirmation.
On the other hand, his relationship with Iruka was blossoming beautifully. They kissed occasionally and would sometimes hold hands. Kakashi started sleeping in Iruka's bed when they were both home, although they never did anything more than hold each other. They had discussed the physical side of the relationship and decided to wait until a special occasion to do anything.
Kakashi was sitting under a tree contemplating how to set up Yukio, while Yukio was sitting up in the branches reading a book. After a while Kakashi looked up at him. He seemed completely absorbed in his book. Kakashi walked up the tree until he reached a branch that would put his head at a level with the book. He looked at the title on the cover first.
'Wet desires'? Is he reading an erotic novel? Kakashi looked over Yukio's shoulder, and had his suspicions confirmed as he goggled at the picture in front of his eyes.
There was a picture of two men in a shower naked. One was bracing himself against the wall with both hands, a look of ecstasy on his face. The other man stood behind him with an arm wrapped around his chest, his face buried in the other mans shoulder and neck. His other hand was stroking the man's penis, while he thrust his own inside the man. After getting over his initial surprise, he commented "I never really pictured you as the type who would read erotica."
"Genma-san said the same thing." replied Yukio. As if saying the name had brought an unbidden image into his mind, he blushed and snapped the book shut. "Was there something I could help you with Kakashi-sempai?"
"Nothing in particular." said Kakashi. He looked down and stared for a few moments and without looking up asked, "May I borrow that book?"
"Sure." Yukio handed the book to Kakashi who immediately pocketed it.
"Okay, now please don't hold any hard feelings about this." said Kakashi who still hadn't looked up.
"About what?" asked Yukio, who was about to look down to see what Kakashi was staring at so intently.
"This." said Kakashi, who without any further warning shoved Yukio off the branch. Kakashi listened to Yukio yell on the way down, and smiled with satisfaction when the yell was replaced by a yelp of surprise from someone else.
Kakashi jumped down to a lower branch to get a better look at his handy work before disappearing with a pleased look on his face. Yukio was stretched out on top of someone. His hair had come untied and was spread out over the persons face. They had obviously tried to catch him because they had their arms wrapped around him. Yukio pushed himself up and moved aside so the other person could sit up. He pulled his headband up which had slipped down over his eyes. He became alarmed when he found Genma looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Do I want to know why Kakashi just pushed you out of a tree on top of me?"
"Um, I don't know why myself." He looked down at the ground nervously. "I didn't hurt you when I fell on you, did I?"
"No, and shouldn't I be the one asking if you're hurt, seeing as how you're the one that fell out of a tree?" He stood and dusted himself off and then offered Yukio a hand up. Yukio took it with a smile.
"I'm perfectly alright. You broke my fall after all."
Genma looked at his smiling face and then at his hair. "Come here, I'll fix your hair for you." He turned Yukio around and pulled his back. He started brushing out twigs and leaves while running his fingers through to remove tangles. Yukio's face was burning bright red. "There's going to be a night festival tomorrow."
Yukio turned his head to look back at him. Genma continued. "I was wondering if you would like to go with me?"
"Really? You want to go with me?"
"Yes." He tied up Yukio's hair with a bit of string. "Unless you'd rather not?"
He turned to Genma with his entire face beaming. "I'd love to go with you, and I've never been to a night festival before."
"I'm glad to hear that. And I know you don't have a yukata, so I thought we could stop by at this shop I know. I saw a pattern that would suit you very well."
"Alright." said Yukio. Genma took him by the hand and started pulling him in the direction of the village but then stopped. "I almost forgot to do something." Leaned down and planted a kiss on Yukio's lips. Yukio went stock still and turned red from his forehead down to his neck. After the light but warm kiss Genma straightened back up and smiled at him. "Just so you know, it's a date."
Yukio could do nothing but nod and allow Genma to pull him the rest of the way to the village.
"Kakashi, are you almost ready?" called Iruka as he finished pulling on tabi socks and grabbed a pair of sandals. He wore a simple yukata of light blue with a single silver dolphin near the hem and a plain black obi around his waist. He had his hair tied down lower so that it wouldn't stick up like it usually did.
"I'm ready now." said Kakashi. He came into the living room from the hall, tying his headband in place. He was wearing a black turtle neck and blue jeans, and of course the mask was in place.
"You look good. I hardly ever see you out of uniform so this is a real treat." said Iruka with a look of appreciation.
"Same to you, you look quite nice in a yukata."
"Thank you, shall we go?"
"Yes, lets." said Kakashi. They left the house. Iruka took Kakashi's arm and they walked to the festival. Everything was lit with the glow of paper lanterns. The stalls were surrounded by throngs of people in yukata playing games, buying foods and confections, and children playing and laughing.
They walked around mostly just talking and holding hands, greeting people they knew and occasionally stopping at a stall to buy a snack. They met Genma and Yukio as they were leaving a stall selling candy. Yukio was holding a very large bag and grinning like a child. Genma was holding his hand with the look of a man who was completely content with everything in his life.
"Yukio-san, you must have a really big sweet tooth to buy that much." said Iruka.
"It's not all for me. Anko-chan asked me to get some sweets for her since she has night patrol and can't come. And when everyone else on night patrol found out that I was bringing something back for her, they all put in requests too."
"That was nice of you. Isn't that the yukata that was in the shop next to the florist? It looks great on you." said Iruka.
"Thank you. Genma picked it out for me." The yukata was solid blue at the bottom and faded to white near the top. The obi was colored to match the kimono, and he had left his hair untied so that it hung about his shoulder and back. Genma had gone the casual route like Kakashi but had chosen to wear a button down shirt instead of a turtle neck.
Right about then Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke came by. Sakura was dragging Naruto behind her and stopped to greet the four men. She pulled Naruto forward into the circle. "Doesn't Naruto look nice?"
Naruto looked embarrassed. "It's not that big a deal." He was dressed in a deep red-orange yukata with a red obi. His hair was in a somewhat tamer state than usual and he was immaculately clean.
"It is so a big deal! Sasuke was kind enough to buy the yukata for you and I went to the trouble of picking it out and helping you look nice. I'm going to to show you off to my hearts content." said Sakura huffily.
Naruto was slowly turning red from the attention. He tried to move the scrutiny from himself to Sakura by calling attention to her own attire. "Sakura, you look real pretty in that yukata." Sakura giggled and twirled once. Her yukata was red with pink cherry blossoms and a pink obi. Her hair was held up with a carved wooden comb.
"Are you all staying for the fire works later?" asked Iruka.
"Yes." said Sakura. Naruto perked up at the mention of fire works.
"Of course we're staying for fireworks. That's the part I've been looking forward to the most. I've never seen a fireworks display."
"It's not that exciting." said Sasuke. He was wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt, and had been silent through out the whole exchange. He looked like he was fighting between being amused and being annoyed.
"You only say that because you've seen them before and wouldn't know what fun is if it fell on your head." said Naruto.
Heading off a potential argument, Sakura grabbed Naruto by the arm and pointed to a stall on the other side of the street. "I want to go over there and get a water yo-yo." She pulled Naruto along with her. Sasuke followed with a scowl on his face. The four men all gave a collective 'hmmm' after the kids left.
"Can anyone clarify to me what exactly is going on between those three." asked Genma.
"It's quite simple actually. It used to be that Sakura would ignore Naruto while trying to get Sasuke's attention. Naruto would try to get Sakura's attention, and after failing to do so pick a fight with Sasuke. Sasuke would ignore both of them while waiting for Naruto to pick a fight with him or make a jab at Naruto to incite him." explained Kakashi.
"That sounds about right." said Iruka. "But what's happened to change things?"
"Sakura is starting to pay more attention to Naruto. I don't know if she realized that she was wasting her time on Sasuke or if she just finally started to warm up to him, but she's been talking with him and not chasing after Sasuke like she used to. In turn, because Naruto all the sudden has her attention he doesn't feel as inclined to fight with Sasuke anymore and Sakura is making more of an effort to calm him down when Sasuke throws an insult at him. This leaves Sasuke without all the attention he usually gets, and he doesn't seem to know what to do about. He's annoyed about being ignored, and he's also annoyed at himself for having to admit that he needs the attention. I think there might even be a bit of jealousy mixed in there."
"Yeah, but which one is he jealous of?" asked Yukio. They all looked over at the kids. Naruto and Sakura were both trying to hook a yo-yo while Sasuke watched with a scowl. Sakura had two already and Naruto was getting frustrated while his hook kept breaking. They saw Sakura offer Naruto one of hers and he took it with a happy smile. Sasuke's scowl deepened.
"That's hard to say. But either way I don't think we should interfere yet. At their age it can sometimes do more harm then good to interfere with the relationships they're trying to forge." said Kakashi.
After the fireworks Iruka and Kakashi went home with their arms around each other's waists. They were both in high spirits and feeling a little giddy. As soon as they were in the house and had the door shut, Kakashi scooped up Iruka and started spinning in a circle. Iruka started laughing and said, "Kakashi, stop, you're going to make me dizzy!"
Kakashi stopped spinning and walked over to the couch were he flopped down in the middle with Iruka in his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist. "I am a very happy man right now and do you know why?"
"Why?" asked Iruka who had wrapped his arms around Kakashi neck.
"Because I'm with the one I love and he loves me back." said Kakashi. Iruka gave him a kiss for that. After the kiss Iruka put his mouth next to his ear and whispered something.
Kakashi's eyes widened in amazement, "Are you sure? Do you really want to?"
Iruka smiled at him and placed a hand on his cheek, "We agreed to wait for a special occasion, and I would say that tonight was pretty special."
Kakashi took the hand on his face and kissed it. Then he kissed Iruka long and deep. He lifted Iruka up once more and carried him to the bedroom, threw Ame out, and thanked whoever was listening that Iruka had a day off tomorrow and that his students wouldn't expect him to be on time anyways.
Fin.
Right then, that was the end of the fic. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I hope this last chapter wasn't too sappy for you. I don't know how long it will take me to get the next chapter of Perfect Articulation up. I might do a one shot too. I also have to change the way I respond to reviews. According to my sister they don't allow for script formatting or something like that, and that's what my responses resemble. So I'll just be listing them instead.
Thanks go to the following people for reviewing (hopefully you remember that you reviewed): Isoldel1, PirateBun, malefic us-lupus, snow887, xtwilightzx, ShiKoi(), Tokugawa Blitzer, Renn, Sai(), jemu, Gil-Estel of Mirkwood, Sabku-no-Gaara-sand-nin, Hiroe, Hokai Amplifier, Jen-be blade-fan, Kichi Hisaki, drifting wanderer, Cassiel Darkmoon, Mirai-Kung, Shino-Shikamaru, jo(), Dragon Theif, Karail-chan, Tinwe Amarth, Lunael, Curiou Dream Weaver, SarahFina, Wannaseemymoon.
Special thanks go to SarahFina for the wonderful fanart that she drew, thanks so much. And in answer to a question from Kichi Hisaki, no, I'm not an English teacher. I'm a college student. The university provides us with an e-mail address, and it's the only one I've ever had, so that's why my address has .edu at the end.
Finally, thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story to the end. Jaa ne!