When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 26 -

Kakashi Hatake sat in the main office at Konoha Middle School that Monday morning, reading one of his hentai novels – or at least attempting to. There was no one else in the office save a single, elderly secretary, who would occasionally glance up from her work and frown disapprovingly at the silver-haired man's choice of reading. Truth be told, though, Kakashi barely even noticed the woman, but only looked in her general direction every few minutes to peek at the clock on the wall.

How long does it take to do an interview, honestly?

Sure, it had only been a couple of minutes – ten to fifteen at the most – but the anticipation was killing Kakashi. He'd told Iruka this job was a sure thing, but he was not nearly as confident in his words as he would've liked. Sure, he had some connections at the middle school – Obito had taught there for a year before he died, so Kakashi always felt a sort of bond with the school. At the same time, though, Kakashi had never worked there himself, so his ties to the key authority figures were shaky at best.

Of course, there was also the problem of Iruka.

What was I thinking? I just met him... what, Saturday night? And somehow I'm supposed to get him a job? Sure, his kid is probably a student of mine, but what kind of qualification is that? 'Yes, he's perfect for the job! I met him at the bar, and his kid attends Konoha High. What's that? Can he teach? Well... he reads... I think...'

Shaking his head, Kakashi tried to distract himself by reading a few lines of the novel. It was one of his favorites, written under one of Officer Jiraiya's numerous pseudonyms, but he just couldn't get into it. His current circumstances were just too pressing to be ignored.

Why had he even agreed to help Iruka in the first place? Sure, Kakashi had sympathized with him. He knew how it felt to have your kid hate you – well, not his kid, but close enough. Sasuke could certainly be a handful at times...

That wasn't Kakashi's main motive, though, and he knew it. Maybe it was because of the conversation he had with Sasuke in the teacher's lounge – that talk about moving on and trying to love again – or maybe it was just a coincidence. Whatever the case, Kakashi had felt something for Iruka the moment he saw him. Something in the man's eyes as he sat down at the bar told Kakashi that he had seen a lot in his life – loss, hardship... things he could relate to. Of course, Iruka wasn't exactly ugly, either. That didn't hurt.

What am I thinking? I just met this guy! How desperate am I?

Glancing back up at the clock, Kakashi found it was half past seven. He was supposed to have been in class fifteen minutes ago – not that there was anything unusual about that. More importantly, Iruka had been in there talking to the principal for twenty minutes. What could possibly be taking him so long?

I don't care if it's desperation. I need to know!

Clapping his book shut, Kakashi shoved the dirty novel into his back pocket and rose from his chair, eyeing the door to Principal Koharu Utatane's office anxiously. Finally, he approached the elderly woman at the front desk, leanining on the counter in an attempt to look as casual as possible.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Do you know how much longer they're going to be in there?"

"I'm sorry, but Principal Utatane likes to examine her applicants thoroughly. She wouldn't want to let any shady characters in by our students," the woman said with a forced cough as she eyed Kakashi's novel in disgust.

"Well, I can certainly understand that. But isn't she desperate for someone to fill the position?"

"Of course she's anxious to find a new teacher as quickly as possible, but that doesn't mean she's going to just hire the first person to walk through the door," the secretary replied with a chuckle as she made a note on a pad of paper. "Why's it so important to you, anyway? Is that young man in there a friend of yours?"