Chapter Text
The shift of seasons in Konoha always brought a few predictable changes along. Warmer weather meant business at Ichiraku would slow; the lines of hungry customers shortening as people started to prefer cold noodles over hot. The weather in the Land of Fire was almost always warmer than it was in other parts of the world, leaving you sitting around a steamy ramen shop with little to do. You had at first used the extra time to help get your father and sister to improve their system of prepping—mostly so you wouldn’t have to help much in the hot kitchen anymore—but they quickly had everything handled, and you soon found yourself uselessly taking up space as they worked.
At times like these, it was hard for you to ignore the pull in your heart to get out and try your hand at something new. Most days you enjoyed your work with your family, but overall, it was glaringly obvious that Ayame was more cut out for the restaurant business than you. It felt more like something to fill your time rather than a way to spend your life.
You were just wishing for some kind of distraction—maybe a certain adorable genin team accompanied by their handsome sensei—when a different ninja arrived.
“Hello, everyone!” Iruka called as he passed through the banners and entered Ichiraku.
“Hello Iruka!” you greeted him.
“Your usual?” Ayame prompted.
“Well, yes, but I’m also here for a bit of a favor.”
“We don’t have a lot of time for favors,” your father warned. You rolled your eyes; he may as well have only included himself and Ayame in that “we,” and the heat made it difficult to hide how you felt about that.
“Feel free to turn me down,” Iruka smiled good-naturedly. “I can use all the help I can get, so I plan to ask everyone.”
“What’s the favor?” you asked.
“Well, I’ve been put in charge of the Academy’s Spring Festival this year.”
“Iruka!” Ayame squealed. “That’s fantastic! I love the Spring Festival! What an honor!”
“Right,” the sensei blushed. The Spring Festival was a two-day celebration hosted by the Shinobi Academy to raise funds for upcoming classes of prospective genin. The festival was open to all, but it mostly catered to current and recent Academy students. It was a little different every year, depending on who was in charge and what types of activities they planned. Some things were generally the same year-to-year, such as popular food vendors, but the person in charge usually tried to outdo the work of years’ past by coming up with more exciting games and attractions.
“It’s a big responsibility, for sure,” Iruka continued, “and I want to create something really great for the kids. I’m just having a bit of trouble coming up with realistic things. Most of my ideas for new activities are too ambitious for the Academy staff and I to handle. So…” He used his index fingers to drum on the counter for emphasis, “I’m looking for volunteers!”
Ayame chuckled as she sat the bowl of ramen in front of the optimistic chūnin. “That sounds like fun,” she considered.
“Sounds like it would take up a lot of time,” your dad countered. “Just how ambitious are these ideas?”
Iruka had a strained smile as he looked up from his lunch. “Well, the big project for the Academy staff is turning a stretch of the building into a haunted house.”
“Wow, really?” you asked. You had been to most of the Academy’s Festivals in the past, and a haunted house was definitely a bigger attraction than any you’d seen before. “I bet the kids will go crazy for that!”
“I sure hope so,” Iruka agreed, “But with all the work that’s going into it, plus having the staff actually work inside it, I don’t really have enough people to help with the usual things. Preparing the stands and games, working the booths, giving out prizes…”
“Hence the favor,” Ayame smiled.
Iruka grinned in answer.
“What’s the schedule look like?” you asked.
“It will depend on how many people I can get to volunteer,” he admitted. “A few parents have volunteered, along with a few shinobi. But if a mission or something comes up during the prep week, I might lose their help. Right now, I can really use every available minute someone has. Which of course is asking a lot of people, so I’m making sure I’m still recruiting reinforcements.”
“I would love to help, Iruka,” Ayame said, “But I think my dad is right. I’m not sure I really have that much time to spare.”
“I understand, Ayame.”
“I can help,” you offered.
All three people looked at you at once. Ayame looked a bit jealous, your dad looked confused, and Iruka looked overjoyed. “Could you really?” the sensei asked.
“Yeah Y/N, could you really?” your dad raised an eyebrow.
“I’m going out of my mind most of the day here,” you addressed him. “I mean, look! Usually this is our lunch rush, and Iruka is the only person here. You really don’t need me around all day.”
“She does kind of get in the way,” Ayame laughed. You elbowed her in the side.
“Y/N, I don’t want to overwork you,” Iruka offered. “If you’re too busy, I really understand.”
“Nahh,” your dad sighed. “She’s right. Ayame and I have been working like clockwork thanks to Y/N getting this place more organized. You could probably use that mind of hers to whip your other volunteers into shape.”
It was nice to hear your father acknowledge your work, but his lack of fight in keeping you around was somewhat bittersweet. Guess they need me even less than I thought.
“Well, this is fantastic!” Iruka cheered, looking almost just like his favorite ex-student. “Can I come back later today so we can go over some plans?”
“Uh sure,” you answered, “but don’t you want to do that back at the Academy with all the other volunteers?”
“Well, the Academy staff are already well underway with the haunted house, and not many other volunteers were available today, so I wasn’t planning on having everyone get together,” he explained. “Besides, with your head for organization, it might be best if you and I worked on this without too much input from everyone else. It might just get too complicated.”
“I’ll make sure we have your dinner ready when you get here,” Ayame chuckled.
“And you can do that because of the prep I have you do!” you nudged her.
“See, you’ll be a great addition to the team.” Iruka held out his hand with a smile. You shook on the deal, feeling happy to have a new purpose.
Iruka arrived back at Ichiraku around 7:00. Your father left you and your sister in charge for the night, taking a little time off while you were still around to pick up his uncharacteristic slack. The small dinner rush was clearing out, and you had just finished cleaning some dishes when he plopped down on a stool with a stack of paper.
“Alright, I hope you’re ready,” Iruka beamed. “We have a lot to cover.”
“Bet you’re happy you volunteered, Y/N,” Ayame smirked.
“Of course I am,” you hip-checked her. Her arms flailed as she caught herself on the lip of the sink before sticking her tongue out at you. You rolled your eyes as you walked around the counter to sit on Iruka’s right. “So, what are we working on?”
“I’m hitting a bit of a wall coming up with games for the kids,” he admitted. “We have to make sure we come up with some good ideas I can present to the volunteers at tomorrow’s meeting, so they can start on making whatever we need for the games.”
“Tomorrow?” you asked. “What time?”
“Ten a.m.”
“Wow Iruka,” you laughed. “You aren’t giving us much time.”
“Ah come on. Between the two of us, this will be easy.”
“Okay, what about a basket toss?”
Ayame set the bowl of ramen she prepared for Iruka in front of the chūnin. He gratefully took a bite of the ramen and swallowed before speaking. “That might be too easy.”
“A ring toss maybe? That’s more difficult.”
“Well…” he grimaced.
“Fine. How about like… a balloon pop?”
“Balloon pop?”
“Yeah, the kids toss kunai or shuriken at the balloons and win a prize if they pop them?”
“Y/N, these are ninjas playing these games. All the balloons will be gone after the first two kids.”
“I know I’ve seen a shuriken toss at the Spring Festival before!”
“Yeah, and we’ll probably still have one because it’s an annual favorite. But I want us to think outside the box.”
“Ugh! This is so difficult!” you groaned. “If I had known how hard it would be to come up with activities for these kids, I might not have been so quick to volunteer.”
“I’m sorry!” he chuckled, “But now you see why I need all the help I can get.”
“Okay, okay, oh! How about this!? Pie throwing!”
He laughed around another bite. “More throwing? Do you hear yourself?”
“You didn’t let me finish. Pie throwing… at senseis! The sensei can dodge to make it more difficult on the kids! Although maybe we have them wear leg-weights or something so it isn’t completely impossible.”
He swallowed another bite before speaking. “I actually love that! Oh, but they’ll all be busy running the haunted house.”
“You really should scale that down. Oh, but didn’t you say some jōnin volunteered?”
“I asked everyone, but not enough were available.”
“Hey Iruka-sensei!” Naruto’s voice carried into the little ramen stand. You and Iruka both turned to see Naruto running up to his favorite former sensei, with his current sensei in tow. You quickly looked down to avoid eye contact and make sure your clothes weren’t dirty or wrinkled.
“Hi Naruto,” Iruka greeted the genin as he arrived, standing close to the stools you and Iruka sat on.
“What are you doing here Iruka-sensei?” the boy questioned. “And Y/N, what are you doing sitting on this side of the counter with Iruka-sensei? Are you guys on a date or something?”
Heat flushed in your cheeks and you looked at Kakashi automatically. He stood as stoic as ever, hands in his pockets as he waited for his student.
Iruka grinned and rolled his eyes a little. “And what if we are on a date, Naruto?”
You felt your eyes open impossibly wider as you bounced your vision between Iruka and Kakashi. The latter only tilted his head to the side like a curious dog, although you thought you saw the space between his eyebrows shrink just a little. Naruto blinked up at you with his big, blue eyes as he waited eagerly for an explanation.
You laughed to break the silence. “Come on, do you really think I would go on a date to my family’s restaurant, where I work?”
“Why not? You already know the food is awesome!”
“Naruto,” Iruka laughed, “Y/N is helping me with planning some activities for the Academy’s Spring Festival this year.”
“Whoa cool! Can I see?”
“Wouldn’t you rather be surprised?” you asked him.
“No way!” he declared. “I have to make sure I know as much as possible so I can really focus my training! Shinobi have to be ready for anything, right Kakashi-sensei?”
“Well, yes…” Kakashi titled his head to the other side, “but when I say that, I mean you have to be informed so that your opponent can’t surprise you.”
You turned to the jōnin. “Did you volunteer to help with the festival too, Kakashi?”
“I hadn’t heard volunteers were needed this year,” he answered simply.
You craned your neck to look at Iruka, disbelief all over your face. “I thought you said you’d asked everyone!”
“Well… I…” Iruka stammered.
“What are you working on now?” Kakashi asked you.
“Wait, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto groaned. “We’re supposed to be training! Not standing around talking!” He looked between you and Iruka, a wide grin on his face. “Kakashi-sensei is gonna teach me a really cool new jutsu so I can crush Sasuke!”
“We’re at your favorite place in the world, Naruto,” Kakashi addressed his student without turning back to look at him. “Why don’t you just sit down and have a bowl of ramen?”
“Alright, but it’s your treat, Sensei,” Naruto laughed. “Aaaand I’m pretty hungry this time, so I’m thinking I might need two bowls.”
You gave Naruto a wry smile; he was really pressing his luck this time. Both Iruka and Kakashi were typically willing to buy their student a meal, but his attempts to take advantage of their generosity never went over well. However, Kakashi’s face was unchanged as he took the stool to your right. “Sure.”
“WHOA REALLY!? THANKS KAKASHI-SENSEI!” Naruto jumped onto the stool beside Kakashi, spinning in it before leaning over the counter to order from Ayame.
“You see why I call him knucklehead,” Kakashi sighed, causing you to chuckle. “So, where were we?”
“We’re trying to come up with games for the kids,” you explained. “But all my ideas are way too easy for genin and shinobi-in-training.”
“Would you mind if I took a look at your ideas so far?”
“Not at all! Please, that would be amazing!” You turned over to Iruka and held out your hand for the papers.
Iruka didn’t react; he just sat there, staring at the jōnin. “Kakashi,” he started, “…you want to help?”
“Well, I’m not sure how much help I’ll be,” he shrugged, “but I’d be happy to try.”
You gripped the papers in Iruka’s hands and pulled, but he didn’t budge. “Iruka,” you huffed, “is something wrong?”
He still didn’t move, only dropped his jaw to respond. “Kakashi never volunteers.”
You looked back at Kakashi, raising an eyebrow as if he might have some sort of insight into the chūnin’s actions. Kakashi just blinked at you before shifting his eye slightly to look past you and at Iruka, “Do you think I’m a spy, disguised with a transformation jutsu and sent here to steal your festival plans?”
Iruka shook his head and scoffed. “Of course not. It’s just—”
“Now wait a minute Iruka,” you interrupted. “That sounds like exactly what a spy would say to throw off your suspicion.”
Naruto stretched up to appear over Kakashi’s shoulder. “Plus he’s never agreed to buy me two bowls of ramen before! He’s usually a total cheapskate!”
Kakashi held his hand up to block Naruto’s face. “Don’t eavesdrop. It’s rude.”
“That settles it!” you cheered. “This must be an impostor, Naruto! How do we handle this?”
“Hmmm,” Naruto deliberated, using both of his hands in a hopeless attempt to try and push Kakashi’s larger hand out of his way. “I think we should just stick with this one. Then I can get as much free ramen as I want!”
“You don’t think we should interrogate this impostor?” you asked. “Find out what he did with the real Kakashi-sensei so we can help him?”
“Pftt,” Naruto dismissed the idea. “If I know him, he’s just hiding out at home and reading his pervy books.”
“Alright Naruto,” Kakashi blurted, putting his hand down and letting Naruto flail to catch his balance. “How about you eat your food before it gets cold. And stop eavesdropping.”
“Heh, whatever you say, Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto chuckled before sitting back down on his stool and shoveling the ramen into his mouth.
“For a knucklehead, he sure got you,” you laughed.
“Yes well, if it were up to him, he would trade me to the enemy for an extra helping of pork,” Kakashi sighed, rolling his eye before fixing the visible eye on you. “Thank you, for trying to recover me.”
You felt a bit of heat prick your cheeks. “Well, Konoha would be lost without the great Copy Ninja,” you smiled. “Recovering you would be of the utmost importance.”
He held your gaze for a minute, and the heat only intensified. You thought you could feel Iruka’s stare boring a hole through you, and maybe even through Kakashi. “So,” the jōnin filled the silence, “You two are trying to come up with games for the festival.”
“Yes,” you nodded, “but all I can think of are ones that will be way too easy for these kids. Like a basket toss, or a ring toss or something.”
“We already established that these ideas involved too much throwing,” Iruka added, finally breaking his silence.
“I stand by my idea for throwing pies at senseis,” you grumbled.
“Hmmmm,” Kakashi mused. “Well, one thing I’ve noticed with my genin is that competition is one of the best motivators. Take Naruto and Sasuke for example. One of the quickest ways to have them learn something new is to see who can get it first. They’re always looking for new ways to one-up each other. So maybe, instead of games with individual goals, create activities that will pit the students against each other and give them the chance to show off. In a friendly way, of course.”
Your eyes lit up as the suggestion flooded your mind. “Kakashi! That’s brilliant!” You finally snatched the papers from Iruka’s hands and started jotting ideas down. “No wonder everyone says you’re a genius!”
He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “It was really the students who gave me the idea.”
“Hmph,” Iruka hummed. “Imagine how much else you might know if you hadn’t failed all those previous teams.”
“What’s that?” Kakashi asked.
You were sure he had heard Iruka’s comment, and you were desperate to diffuse whatever tension had built over the last thirty seconds. “Hey,” you addressed Kakashi, “the volunteers are all planning on meeting at the Academy tomorrow morning around 10:00 to go over some things. It would be great to have you there, if you aren’t busy.”
He thought for a second before nodding. “I should be available.”
“Great!” you smiled. Whoa, down girl. “No pressure though, obviously, if something comes up. But I would love to have you there. You’ve already given me a ton of ideas.”
“But to be clear, I have no intention of becoming a target in a pie-throwing contest.”
You laughed. “Not a fan of pastries?”
“Sugary food is sickening,” he grimaced, placing some money on the counter as he stood up from the stool. “Well, I guess we’d better get out of your hair. Ready to get to training, Naruto?”
Naruto drained the last of the broth from each bowl before jumping up to follow. “You got it, Sensei!”
“Seriously Kakashi, I can’t thank you enough.”
“Happy I could help.” He started walking away, turning back to you after he’d taken a few steps. “I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Looking forward to it,” you blushed, watching as he walked away wondering if he even heard the comment.
“Bye Y/N! Bye Ayame! Bye Iruka-sensei!” Naruto shouted back to your group before running to catch up with Kakashi.
Ayame reached over the counter to grab Naruto’s dishes. She dropped them in the sink before walking back to stand by you and Iruka. Without warning, she smacked Iruka on the back of the head.
“Hey!” the chūnin grimaced. “What was that for?”
“Why were you being so harsh with Kakashi?” Ayame asked.
“What?! I… I wasn’t harsh,” Iruka defended himself.
“You totally were!” she insisted. “What’s your problem with him?”
“Yeah,” you agreed, “did you not want his help or something?”
“Look,” Iruka sighed. “I would love to have Kakashi’s help with the festival. But he isn’t exactly… helpful.”
“What?” Ayame laughed. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s just…” Iruka scrunched his mouth in frustration as he looked around wildly, as though what he wanted to say might be written somewhere above your head. “Yes, he’s an exemplary shinobi. But when it comes to things like this… he’s just gonna swoop in with big ideas and big promises, and then do nothing to actually help make those things happen. Like he thinks he’s done enough by making the suggestion. I guarantee; he’ll be hours late tomorrow. If he even bothers to show up at all.”
“Oh, he’ll show,” Ayame smirked. “He has such a big crush on Y/N he would show up anywhere she asked, just to be close to her.”
“Oh shut up, Ayame,” you hid behind your hands.
“A crush?” Iruka asked. “On Y/N?”
You felt a twinge of defensiveness at Iruka’s tone. “This is completely in her mind,” you quickly explained, ignoring how off put you were by his immediate dismissal of the idea.
“Look at the facts,” your sister declared with her hands on her hips. “He is coming to Ichiraku all the time now. He talks to you every time he’s here. He stopped here just now, and offered to help you with planning these games, and is now coming to an entire meeting for volunteers tomorrow?” She widened her eyes and tossed her hands up in exasperation. “What other explanation is there?”
“He comes here with his team,” you countered. “He only stopped here tonight because Naruto ran up to say hi to Iruka. And then I put him on the spot when I asked him if he had volunteered.”
“He had an out though,” Ayame continued. “Naruto was all set to leave, but Kakashi wanted to stay.”
“To swoop in and solve our problem for us,” Iruka huffed.
“Which we should be grateful for,” you argued.
“Ugh, trust me, Kakashi’s got it bad.” Ayame smirked. “If the two of them keep flirting like this, Y/N is going to know what’s under his mask, and the rest of his clothes in no time.”
“AYAME!” you shrieked.
“Can we change the subject please?” Iruka groaned.
“Only if you promise to be nice to him tomorrow,” Ayame declared. “Don’t you dare ruin Y/N’s chances.”
Right. My chances.