I Like You (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Chapter Fifteen

Iruka Umino let out a long, drawn-out sigh as he made his way to the Hokage Stone, unsurprised to see Naruto also standing on top of it. A jacket was tied around the blonde's waist, his goggles sitting atop his forehead and a small bottle of paint in one hand with a paintbrush in the other. Iruka was glad that he'd been on a walk around the village so he could catch it before Naruto defaced the statues again, though the boy hadn't seemed to notice him yet despite the fact that the brunette was literally right behind him.

Shaking his head, the Chunin crossed his arms and cleared his throat.

"What are you up to, Naruto?"

"Gah, Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto jumped, turning around to face him. Iruka only knelt down, taking the paint and brush from Naruto's hands and putting them in the large pockets of his pants so the blonde couldn't take them back.

"Pranking again?" Iruka asked, staring down at the blonde accusingly until he noticed that Naruto looked... Different. His cheeks were a little more sunken in, he appeared a bit paler than normal, and his arms were just barely skinner than they had been before. "Wait a minute... You're looking a little thin. When's the last time you've eaten?" At that, Naruto averted his gaze. "You spent all your money on paint, huh? C'mon."

Surprisingly quiet, Naruto listened to him, and with that, they were walking side by side and away from the Hokage Mountain. When they got onto the busy streets of Konoha and began to walk through them, Iruka couldn't help but notice the stares he was getting- probably for walking with Naruto- but he was used to it by now. After all, even other teachers at the academy had criticized him for willingly teaching the Jinchuriki, but Iruka couldn't agree with them. He had his issues with the fox, sure, but Naruto wasn't the fox itself. He was just Naruto, who happened to have the fox sealed inside of him.

"Are you mad at me?" Naruto asked, looking off to the side and shoving his hands in his pockets, a frown on his face.

"As much as I hate to admit it, no, I'm not mad," Iruka admitted, knowing that acting angry and chewing Naruto out wasn't getting his point across. He had a horrible habit of allowing his emotions to cloud his judgment, but hopefully, letting his compassion shine through would make Naruto realize how much he cared, and maybe the blonde would open up to him a little more. "Just worried."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. How about some ramen? And then I'll take you grocery shopping." Naruto nodded, seeming enthused. Now that his mood was a bit better, Iruka decided to bring up the main problem. "You know, you've really gotta stop acting out, Naruto. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask... Painting the Hokage Mountain isn't the way to get attention."

"Hey, Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, offended as he crossed his arms. "Who said I was doing it for attention!? It's just funny!"

"I was just saying," He threw his hands up passively, letting the matter go even though he was aware of the fact that Naruto had just lied through his teeth. "There's no need to get so defensive."

"Hmph."

They continued to walk for a little bit, almost at Ichiraku when Iruka heard the familiar voice that had his heart skipping a beat. "Iruka-Sensei, who's this?" When he looked up, he could see Kakashi standing in front of them. Of course, Kakashi knew who Naruto was- the brunette would never mention it, but he had noticed how Kakashi would anonymously drop groceries at Naruto's door or trail the boy when he was walking home from school to make sure he got there safe. More times than Iruka would like to admit, Naruto had been attacked by the crazy villager who had something against him because of the fox. Knowing that Kakashi was almost always around in his weird, secretive way when Iruka couldn't be was somewhat comforting to him.

Oddly enough, upon seeing Kakashi, Naruto grabbed one of Iruka's arms, practically clinging to it. A negative emotion that he couldn't quite identify was rolling off of the blonde in waves, but Iruka still tried to introduce them nonetheless.

"Naruto, this is Kakashi, and Kakashi, this is Naruto."

Naruto didn't respond, and for a moment, the three just stood there. Iruka thought back to the last time they'd seen each other- when Kakashi had brought him lunch, when they'd sat together and talked about Naruto. He wondered if he could start following the advice Kakashi had given him about spending more time with the blonde and helping him train over the summer.

"I see he isn't very fond of me."

"Yeah, wonder why..." Iruka trailed off, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Well, I'll see you later."

"See ya," Kakashi smiled under his mask and waved before walking off. Iruka didn't dare turn back to watch Kakashi's back due to the feeling of Naruto's piercing gaze on him. Sighing, he looked down at the Jinchuriki, who was still clinging to his arm.

"Naruto, what was that about?" Iruka questioned, gently patting his student's head. "You're usually pretty sociable."

Naruto let out a huff and let go of Iruka, eyebrows furrowed together in what must've been annoyance as he crossed his arms and sent Iruka a critical and questioning look. "Do you have a crush on that guy?"

Iruka thought back to Kakashi, knowing that the answer was yes. After coming to terms with his feelings, he'd been wallowing in them, but he wasn't quite sure of how to actually solve the problem. He couldn't confess, could he? How come Kakashi had avoided him for almost a month? He'd never even gotten an answer to that when he'd asked about it. Why had the silver-haired man been acting so affectionate yet so distant? Iruka was confused, and he wasn't really sure where he stood. He loved Kakashi, sure-

'Oh, God, I love Kakashi and I don't even know what do do about it.'

"What? Haha, no, we're just friends," Iruka ̶l̶i̶e̶d̶ explained, the both of them continuing to walk. Naruto looked totally unconvinced. "Where'd you even get that idea?"

"You're blushing!" The blonde argued, accusingly pointing a finger at Iruka.

"And you're seeing things," He laughed, nervously pulling on the collar of his vest as he felt the blush spread to his neck. Naruto was seeing correctly- he just didn't want one of the loudest children he'd ever met knowing about his crush, and Naruto was a child, so he definitely wasn't old enough to be stuck with the knowledge of Iruka's love life. "Anyways..." Trailing off, he realized just how desperate he was to change the subject. "Let's just get to Ichiraku."