[01/08; closed]

[not_thedragon]

Who: Iruka and Sasuke
When: January 8th, after regular Academy hours
Where: Iruka's office
Notes: Sasuke is old enough to take responsibility for the littler Uchiha now. Sort of.



'Act normal', Obito had said, and Sasuke had initially been concerned as to what exactly constituted normal. Apparently, he shouldn't have worried; he'd evidently been so convincing that Mikoto felt perfectly comfortable drawing him aside to put a note from the Academy, of all places, into his hand. She'd been wearing that particular expression that meant that the request was clear even though the words out of her mouth were: "You remember Fumiko-chan, of course? Her parents are out of town, and this note is urgent, so ..."

He'd agreed before she'd even finished, well-versed in Mikoto's various methods of request that all amounted to no-protests-booked orders, usually without ever actually inserting an imperative.

So it was that he found himself in front of Iruka's office door for the first time since he'd graduated from the Academy himself. The entire place felt bizarrely small, all the lockers and weaponry lining the halls child-sized, and somehow -- far more distant than it had been even last year, last month.

"Iruka-sensei," he called, knocking. He was here at the appointed time, but perhaps he'd be lucky and Iruka would have grown forgetful after years of handling screaming children and wouldn't be in. "It's Uchiha Sasuke."

Comments

[senseiofthesea]

The reaction to the question had his eyebrows raising just a little. "Busy, but good. Are you sure everything is alright Sasuke-kun?"

[not_thedragon]

Apparently he'd been too courteous. Sasuke had always preferred to think of himself as one of the more polite in his group of friends, but given that his group of friends in the Academy had comprised Hinata and Naruto, he was probably misjudging himself.

Misjudging himself, he was growing to realize, was something he'd done with some regularity.

"Everything is fine," he reiterated, finding a smile that he hoped was more wry than forced. "I've been busy as well, is all."

[senseiofthesea]

He let out a soft sigh, examining him carefully. "If it's something you can't talk about, I understand Sasuke-kun, but you need to work on it if you want to get past me without me being able to tell."

He shook his head slightly, then gave him a comforting smile. "Is there anything you can tell me? I'd listen. And please, don't lie, I know what you look like when you're fine."

[not_thedragon]

The sigh made Sasuke's spine stiffen further, something that he could only assume made him look more suspicious. It was becoming rapidly obvious that his success so far in keeping his business secret lay largely in avoidance rather than any real deception.

Is there anything you can tell me, Iruka asked, but Iruka had always been some strange combination of being associated with Itachi -- all the shine of his brother left on the people he'd interacted with to some lesser extent, jealously -- and another authority figure to respect and impress more than confide in. Sasuke glanced at the door before forcing his gaze back to the man behind the desk, chiding himself for so obvious a tell.

"I've been busy," he repeated, with slightly more emphasis. "My mission load increased considerably over the past few months."

[senseiofthesea]

The smile he was giving him turned sad, and he nodded. It would be pointless to press him, after all, so he wouldn't. "That can be very stressful. It leaves people threadbare sometimes and they don't even realize how stressed out they are until it comes to a head. Be careful to talk to someone about it if you feel yourself coming apart, okay?"

[not_thedragon]

Stressful was a good way to put it, he thought dryly; more stressful than anticipated and an increasingly larger problem than initially assumed would have covered it, too. Between regular missions and keeping an eye on reports crossing the general intel desk for any mention of Adela's bloodline ability cropping up, he wasn't quite threadbare so much as --

So much as something he couldn't put his finger on, really. The workload was greater, but he'd expected that as a jounin.

"I'll keep it in mind," he said finally, and then with some effort to change the subject: "Fumiko's situation will be a good thing to focus on, maybe."

[senseiofthesea]

"Maybe." He examined his face carefully, then nodded, settling back. "It will be good for both of you to work with each other I think."

[not_thedragon]

One of Sasuke's eyebrows lifted, a little skeptical; the way Iruka said it implied something more involved than the temporary responsibility for the matter he was expecting. Not that it was unheard of for an older Uchiha to take on early training if a child showed particular talent (or inclination) for fire jutsu, but ...

"Yes," he agreed, in lieu of getting into more detail. "Is there anything else you want me to emphasize with her?"

[senseiofthesea]

"No, I'm pretty sure that's quite enough for an opening salvo on the poor girl. Please feel free to speak with me if you have any difficulties, and I'll contact you if anything else happens here at school." He smiled, satisfied that this was at least one thing being handled, and waited to see if Sasuke had any other questions for him.

[not_thedragon]

"Very well," Sasuke nodded, standing. "I'll do my best to make sure she doesn't cause further trouble."

That sounded reasonably like what a parent-teacher conference should close with, he figured, and added just in case: "Thank you for meeting with me, Iruka-sensei."

[senseiofthesea]

"Of course Sasuke-kun, anytime." He settled in his chair, then turned back to his papers, sure that Sasuke could find his way out.