[Open] Finally an afternoon to himself!

[senseiofthesea]

Where: Konoha's Ichiraku
When: From about noon to a leisurely 3pm before he wandered off to read a book on a bench nearby.
Notes: For the first time in what felt like forever, he was free. Freeeeee.

He had started to think he'd never escape the vortex of paperwork that had become his life in the last few months. If it wasn't his class, it was the mission desk, if it wasn't the mission desk, it was running files from intel to the Hokage tower. If it wasn't that then by all that was sane, he was asleep and may mercy be on the soul of anyone who thought it a good idea to wake him for anything less than an emergency.

But now, now, he had a day free and clear of all paperwork. Not a bit of grading was to be had, he was on an official weekend for anything to do with the tower in any capacity, and that left him able to fully, truly, relish the sensation of eating well made noodles as he savored them.

It was a perfect, brilliantly sunny afternoon, and the only thing that could improve it was some good company stopping by to say hello.

Comments

[fangoverfang]

....Huh. That was a good point. Kiba had never actually taken those particular reigns into his own hands.

"I feel kinda shitty splittin' up from my team, though.." Kiba sighed, hands behind his head as he studied the cup of chopsticks in front of him, uncaring for how rude his potty-mouth made him seem. "I mean, Shino I couldn't care less about. That guy can take all the border patrol he wants, see if I care. But man, Sakura doesn't deserve to be stuck with him. I'm probably the only reason she hasn't gone off the deep end yet.." He nodded sagely, but entirely full of bullshit.

[senseiofthesea]

"Kiba, you do remember I taught all three of you don't you?" He pointed at him with his chopsticks. "If you ask for another mission kind from Hokage-sama I doubt that he'll split you three up, unless he wants to try you with someone else who would work equally well. You are all chunin now, after all."

[fangoverfang]

Kiba was loyal to the bone, so it wasn't really a surprise that he turned his nose up at the idea of being split up from his team - even if it meant more time with Shino.

"I guess," he grumbled childishly. "You can't put in good word, huh, Iruka-sensei? Last time I bothered any higher ups for a different kinda mission they put me on some political escort milkrun. Dumb, right? Me, an Inuzuka on an escort mission." He threw up his hands in his despair.

[senseiofthesea]

His lips were twitching, just shy of a smile as he tried to hold on to a serious demeanor so Kiba would know he meant it... but he was sure a trickle of humor would be greeted with open arms, even if laughter wouldn't. "I'll just have to make sure to put word down that you need to speak to the Hokage personally then. He's really a nice man you know, not prone to biting off heads."

He paused for dramatic emphasis. "I understand he personally evaluated Sakura-san for a promotion not too long ago, did she mention?"

[fangoverfang]

Kiba cushioned the side of his face on his hand, smooshing his face so his words came out in a kind of audible pout.

"Yeah, yeah she mentioned. She's mentioned a whole lot, though it was more like complaining." And then he whined, stomping down his jealousy at her promotion in favor of focusing on his own woes instead. "Come ooon, Iruka-sensei. What do I wanna go talk to the Hokage for? That's probably not the best idea, have you met me?" Not only was the journey one he was a little too lazy to trek, but it also meant a whole lot of polite airs and graces that he never quite managed to pull off properly. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally overstep his mark and face a month or two of D ranks, as he'd heard was the threat.

[senseiofthesea]

"I've met you. I've also met him. He's not actually that scary for an Uchiha you know. It's not like I'm sending you to talk to Fugaku-sama like I almost did when you played that prank on Sasuke while you were in the academy still."

[fangoverfang]

"Doesn't matter to me if he's scary or not," Kiba groaned, just short of an eye roll. Man, Iruka-sensei should have known that the Hokage being a scary guy would probably make Kiba more inclined to go up and face him - the fact that he wasn't didn't help much.

"I just got a problem talking with authority. I'll end up saying something to make everything worse off than it was before.

[senseiofthesea]

Iruka nodded his understanding, then gave him a small grin. "You never managed to get yourself into bigger messes with me, did you?"

[fangoverfang]

"Well.. Yeah, but I never cleaned up the messes I'd already made either.." Kiba gave him a look, reaching a hand down to scruff through the fuzz on the top of Akamaru's head. He and his ninken companion had caused a lot of trouble for Iruka in their academy days - when they were in class, at least..

[senseiofthesea]

"So you're telling me you never stopped being a troublemaker to keep me from getting more aggravated with you?" He leaned back on his stool a little, looking dubious.

[fangoverfang]

"Nah, just that the mess itself was pretty unavoidable in the first place. Getting away without any kind of backlash is pretty impossible," Kiba leveled with a shrug of his shoulder. There wasn't much emotion in his response, no care or upset, showing that his insistence was only a resignation to how he was certain he was, and a warning of the events that would inevitably transpire.

"Besides, what kinda job would the hokage even have for me?"

[senseiofthesea]

"I'm sure there's something that someone with your skill set can manage other than patrols. You're a talented boy Kiba, and you've only gotten better with time." He stated that matter of factly, since even if the boy had been a troublemaker, he'd also been talented enough in how he handled it.

[fangoverfang]

Kiba chuckled, his sharp fang slipping over his lip when he grinned.

"See, that's what I keep tryin' to tell people. I'm good at what I do!" Oh, praise never failed to go to his head, no matter how professional the compliment might have been. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei."

[senseiofthesea]

"You're one of my students Kiba, you don't need to thank me for reminding you of what I know." He grinned back though, shaking his head. "You're welcome all the same."