Those Little Moments (Hatake Kakashi)

24

The next day, when I got to work, Iruka was already there. I felt myself hesitate at the door of the classroom. Would he be angry that I'd blown up at him? He was just trying to help, and if I were him, I know I'd be pretty pissed. When he caught sight of me, though, he didn't frown, he just smiled and waved me in.

"Hey Emiko! Are you feeling better today?" He asked, still smiling as if he knew every thought inside my head.

I nodded sheepishly. "Sorry about yesterday, and thank you, too. You were... right." I winced at the word, cringing at the admission.

Iruka laughed, patting my shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Emiko. I expected that reaction."

I sweatdropped, pursing my lips together annoyedly. "You know, that kinda pisses me off. Aren't you supposed to be younger than me too?"

"Age is just a number." Iruka replied, chortling as the students started streaming into the class.

Tori waved at me and gave me a thumbs up as she entered, grinning widely. I took it as my advice was correct, and a warm feeling filled my chest. 

As Iruka passed me to hand out a pop quiz, he murmured, "You did the right thing with her, you know? You make a pretty good teacher."

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly, taking half the papers. "Thanks, Iruka." 

As we waited for the students to finish their quizzes, I tossed a kunai and caught it boredly, keeping an eye out to make sure no student was teaching. As I noticed two students whispering to each other, I casually threw the kunai between their heads, landing on the backrest of their bench.

"Oi! No cheating, you two!"

The two boys froze, bodies stiff with fear, and turned their eyes back to their own papers. Iruka raised an eyebrow at me, mumbling, "Don't threaten the students, you can just call them out."

I chuckled awkwardly. "Right. My bad."

When the class ended, I stopped the two boys from leaving, placing a hand on both of their shoulders. I smiled as gently as I could, asking in what I hoped was a maternal voice, "Did I scare you guys earlier? Sorry it was a bit overkill."

One of the boys puffed out his chest, denying it vehemently. "No way! I wasn't scared at all! I can't say anything for Sho, though."

His friend sputtered angrily. "What?! I wasn't scared! Don't believe him, Emiko-sensei!"

I laughed, ruffling their hair. "Well, I'm glad I didn't scare you then. But, next time," my voice lowered and my expression became serious, "don't even think about cheating, got it?"

The two boys shut up pretty quickly, nodding. As I sent them off, Iruka waited leaning against the wall.

"You know, you'd make a pretty terrifying mom." I glared at him, and he threw his hands up, hastily adding, "In a good way, I mean. Like you'd be able to keep your kids in line."

I rolled my eyes, thinking, he acts like he's my pretentious older brother, even though he's younger than me. "I'm not sure terrifying is the word I'd like to be used in that context. I've never really thought about being a mom, though..." As I considered the thought, first it seemed strange and foreign to me. I'd been a child when I was kidnapped and had barely had a crush, and then the only thing I really learned was the unpleasant details of how to make one. Now, I didn't even know what romance really was, much less marriage, hence why Kure was forcing me to read her favourite romance novels. "I don't even know if I'd be able to get pregnant at this point, considering the amount of anti-fertility medication I had while imprisoned." Somehow, I said it without flinching in a matter-of-fact tone. I'd gotten better at separating myself from the memories when I had to talk about them, since they seemed so relevant to so many conversations. Iruka, on the other hand, didn't seem to know what I meant, meaning that he wasn't one of the jonin who had read my file, though I was surprised news of my fate hadn't gotten around.