Bring the Hammer Down

5

As Naruto shuffled along the road to his apartment, he wondered to himself about what to do on a date. Sure, he had asked Sakura on tons of dates, but never once had he actually thought about what to do on one. He wasn't exactly a social butterfly, not that that was his fault entirely. He didn't have a clue what to do. The only thing he could think of was to talk to Iruka and hope his old sensei had some practical advice. Nodding to himself in silent agreement, he shouldered the hammer and took off to find Iruka.

Iruka sat in his house, dozing on the couch, with a book on his face. It was one of his rare days off and he wanted to spend it in total solitude. He had put up barriers around his house and had even gone so far as to set up traps to deter any would-be visitors. He had forgotten, though, that Naruto's superior luck and insurmountable stupidity and bullheadedness were enough to go right through anything he had. His eyes cracked open when he heard the first boom of an exploding note and groaned when he heard the cacophony of expletives and shouts of rage from his favorite student.

"Ok, that wasn't good. I just need to avoid any more...oh COME ON! What the fuck is...Aw man, I really liked this shirt...GODDAMMIT! I'M GOING TO KILL IRUKA-SENSEI WHEN I FIND HIM!"

Iruka sighed audibly and got up to let the golden haired boy in. He suppressed a snicker when he saw the sight of a smoldering Naruto (who had lost his shirt in the explosion) and the slightly singed hair that was already growing back in. Iruka took in the boy and finally noticed the hammer when Naruto set it down with a loud thump, pushing past the scarred man to wash his face of the soot. Iruka offered a snort at Naruto's actions, eliciting a growl from the jinchuuriki. Naruto had only meant to come to ask a few simple questions, not be put through the wringer because of Iruka's explosive notes. His good mood had soured and the only thing that kept him from a full-blown tantrum was the though that he had to pick up TenTen for dinner later. He didn't have any time to waste on trivial things. Finishing cleaning up, he turned back to his former sensei and coughed into his hand.

"I'm sorry for interrupting whatever you were doing Iruka-sensei, but I need a bit of advice and I couldn't think of anyone but you to come to."

Iruka grinned when he heard that. It wasn't often anymore that he could actually be of help to Naruto, so this was a rare treat indeed. It was almost worth the boy having crashed his off-day.

"Oh really? Well, I'll do my best to help any way I can. What did you need from me?"

"Advice on dating."

If Iruka could have possibly looked any more dumbfounded, he would have.

"You...you want advice on dating? Oh ho, finally got Sakura to break down huh?"

"No, it isn't Sakura."

"Hinata then? She always had a thing for you I believe."

"No it isn't Hinata. And she had a thing for me? Huh, I never knew, but no, not Hinata either."

"Ino?"

"Hell no. She's way too bossy."

"And Sakura wasn't? Well that's pretty much the gamut of your classmates I know Naruto. You never had much interaction with the other girls of the class."

"It's not one of my classmates."

"Oh? Then who is she? An underclassman?"

Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for twenty questions.

"It's TenTen Iruka-sensei. I have a date with TenTen."

"TenTen? The weapons obsessed girl? With buns in her hair?"