Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Faint ❯ Part 4 - Humiliated ( Chapter 4 )

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FAINT 4

Iruka sat on his chair, looking at the empty classroom blankly. A few minutes ago, he was so eager to get to the bathroom and empty his filled up tank. But now? Iruka brought hands to his ears. He had never heard anyone curse so foully before and with so much hatred and anger. The curses he heard were burning his ears and the fact that he was blushing did not help at all. Whoever Shiranui Genma was cursing, Iruka prayed the person was all right.

Iruka remained seated on his chair not moving for a good half an hour. "How could he - he - s-say all those things?" Iruka said and briefly chuckled and made a mental note of the rather interesting phrases he heard the honey-haired man say.

He then resumed his work.

*

When Genma entered the office, he found it empty save for Raido who was looking out the window. Genma felt depressed and ashamed of himself. He ignored Raido's teasing looks. He sat dejectedly on his seat, pants dry after using some heat-induced jutsu, but he still smelled of ramen.

"What's with the long face?" Raido asked, lifting both eyebrows and s mug smile on his face.

"I just had half a bowl of ramen fall over my thighs and crotch area! In case you didn't know, that ramen broth was quite hot! And if I am never able to produce children, I'll blame it on you." Genma said hotly, glaring at his best friend.

"Yeah well that's not technically possible if you get on the naughty side with Iruka." Raido mumbled.

"What?" Genma asked, growling.

"Nothing." Raido said, waving a hand. Genma took a seat on a drier chair and leaned back, bringing a hand to the bridge of his nose and pinching it. Raido couldn't help but notice the troubled and resigned look on Genma's face. Several moments went by and Raido finally had enough. "Okay, Genma. I'm sorry. But really, you're freaking me out. Is something bothering you? Is it Iruka?"

"I don't think I'll be able to face him ever again." Genma said, looking like he just suffered a heartbreak. Is he?

"Why?" Raido asked, curious.

Genma sighed and told him what took place in the men's restroom and it took all of Raido's will power to stifle his laughter. But somehow, the look of sadness and defeat in Genma's honey-eyes made him forget about laughing and feel genuine concern for his friend. "And that's what happened."

"Well, for starters, you're an idiot for cursing like that and dropping your guard." Raido berated him and Genma seemed to sink lower in to the chair he was sitting in. "I think you should apologize."

"Just which part of `I don't think I'll be able to face him' did you not get?" Genma asked, face tinged red in shame.

"Who said you have to face him?" Raido said, shrugging. "Look, we have a Jounin gathering in a few minutes with Hokage-sama. Write him a letter of apology and well - look! No use hiding it, okay? I knew you liked him ever since you took that bell pepper from him and treated it as if it were made of glass." Genma flushed even more. "So ask him out on a date or something. Tell him how you feel or give a hint. Just do something or else your distraction might bring us danger in missions. And since we're mission-free nowadays, I suggest you get this over and done with. Besides, who knows? He might be the one." Genma threw his friend and comrade a dirty look. "You like him. So stop looking at me that way." Genma stared at him blankly for a while. "So are you going to write it?"

"Yeah, all right."

"Great!" Raido said and led his friend towards the Hokage's office where chairs had been set up for their use.

*

Genma stared at the blank paper on his lap and did not give any attention to what Tsunade was saying. He was so busy thinking of Iruka. In the past four days, he found himself thinking more and more of the chuunin. As he learned more about him, the desire to just sit beside him and talk to him, possibly take his hand give it a reassuring squeeze grew bigger and bigger. He wanted to get to know more about the chuunin teacher - his likes and dislikes, favorite food, favorite color, uke or seme - Genma dropped the needle he was chewing on as that particular thought crossed his mind. He calmly picked the needle up, wiped it and chewed on it again.

Then he started writing.

Moving his hand, he positioned it on top of the paper on the clipboard he was holding and began to write his feelings. He reminded himself not swear of put any sort of bad word that may traumatize the innocent looking chuunin. As he wrote, he poured out his heart and confusion and how the past four days had been occupied by thoughts of him and only him. When he was done, he scanned the neatly printed hiragana and kanji and the occasional katakana and was very satisfied when he saw not one curse word in the entire sheet. Just as he was about to sign it, he felt the clipboard being snatched out of his grasp and found a very beautiful and rather pissed off Hokage looking down at him.

"Just what are you so busy writing that you did not hear me call your name twice, Genma?" She asked and Genma could have sworn he saw Raido slap his forehead and heard the slap. Genma really, really wished he hid in the sink in the men's rest room. Several other invited jounins were now looking at him with interest - mainly Kakashi, Gai and Asuma. "What have we here?" Tsunade said looking at the paper on the clipboard. Genma was desperate and quickly made a grab for the clipboard only to have the Hokage's hand shoot up from nowhere, hitting him on the shoulder and causing him to fall on the ground.

"What is this?" Tsunade said, voice laced with a teasing note and excitement. "Oh my god! I never would have thought I'd see the day that something like this would - I knew something was up when you were all quiet and absorbed in to your clipboard. But I didn't think it was this!"

Raido groaned and dragged his hand down his face. Genma swallowed loudly and calmly and shakily got back to his chair, sat down and kept a straight face. He turned to look at Raido and gave him the most heated and fierce glare he could muster and vowed to kill him once the ex-meeting was over. He prayed for a bolt of lighting to strike the Hokage and Raido, but since luck was not his side that lovely day, no lightning came and he watched with horror as the scene before him began to unfold. Tsunade began to read aloud the letter he wrote - well, just a part of it.

"I've been thinking about you ever since I saw you face to face properly for the first time in that corridor. I don't know why my mind is plagued with thoughts of you, every second of every day since you accidentally tripped and got that pitcher of coffee dumped all over me." Tsunade read, a smirk on her beautiful face. Genma had to conjure up every ounce of will power and strength to not sink in to his chair and maintain a straight face, while all the other jounins in the room save for Raido, began to buzz with excitement. Some of the female jounins were already giggling and younger ones were squealing with delight at the rather `sweet' letter. "My world has turned upside down even in the most painful way. But what I'm really trying to say is that I like you. And I would like to go out with you sometime and start anew. I really do like you and it may be odd that I've only known you for four days, but damnit, I think I love you too."

Whatever control Genma had in the beginning disappeared in a second as the squeals and chatter definitely reached `deafening level'. Finally, Genma sank into his chair, hid his face behind his hands and blushed.

*

Genma was the first one out of the door once the meeting was over. "Genma! Genma wait!" Raido called out and quickly followed him. Genma headed for his apartment, locked every door and window there was and just entered the bathroom, locking that door too. He stripped off his clothes, turned the cold shower on and sat on the round tub while the water fell on his lean figure.

The banging on the door of the bathroom was no surprise to him. He just locked his apartment anyway, and it was no good for a village filled with ninjas. "What?" He said, voice deep and hurt. He was ashamed and felt like a coward.

"Come on out here! Let's talk this one out." Raido's voice echoed from beyond the door.

"Go stab yourself to death Raido. Leave me alone." Genma said, the humiliation he felt hurting him so much that he never wanted to leave his apartment again.

"The Hokage said that it was such a cute letter right after you run off!" Raido said.

"Fuck what the Hokage said!" Genma snapped. "Go away, Raido, please."

No reply came from the behind the door. Genma brought cold wet hands to his face and sighed loudly, feeling like an old man all of a sudden. He turned the hot tap on and took a quick shower before drying himself and heading for his bedroom to change into cleaner clothes. He briefly wondered how he was going to face the next day without resembling an apple the whole time.

*

Iruka walked in to his class the next day, with the same migraine he had the other day, feeling tired and really sleepy. He had spent the entire night making lesson plans for that day and was rather surprised when the students started giving him queer looks. He pointedly ignored it and carried on with the lesson like the children were not looking at him weirdly. But when they began to whisper with his back turned to them, he snapped. He had one hell of a headache and he had run out coffee and tea that morning. He was not in a very good mood.

"All right, that's it! What is going on?" He demanded, glaring at the children. The children fell quiet immediately. "Well? I'm waiting!" One hand bravely shot up. "Yes." He said, signaling for the boy to speak.

"Does Iruka-sensei have a boyfriend?" He asked and Iruka flushed redder than the red score book he had on his table.

"W-What?" Iruka stuttered. "Where did you get such an idea from?"

"My mommy says that Iruka-sensei will have a boyfriend soon!" One of the girls said.

"And my mommy too!" Another boy said.

"And mine!"

"Me too!"

"My mommy and daddy were talking about it last night during dinner!"

"My mommy mentioned it today during breakfast!"

"Mine too!"

Iruka felt his legs suddenly turn to jelly. He clapped his hand twice, caught the attention of all the kids and swallowed. "Lessons are over. Pack your bags and go home. No homework and all quizzes for this week are cancelled."

The children gave whoops of joy as they rushed out of the classroom two hours before dismissal time. Once everyone was gone, Iruka gathered his things in a daze and shakily made his way to the office where reports were waiting for him to give his attention to. However, upon entering the office, several jounins turned to look at him, and immediately giggles from the younger ones reached his ears while some of the male ones smirked and smiled at him. Iruka took a few folders with him from the box that was half filled and left the room in a hurry to get away from all the giggles and strange happy stares. He headed for the men's restroom and splashed water on his face. His headache was getting worst and worst and he woke up with a cold that morning. He wasn't exactly feeling very nice and the strange things happening throughout the day weren't helping him lighten his mood either.

He shakily dried his face with his handkerchief and headed for his classroom, where he began to file the reports. As an hour passed, Iruka felt nausea hit him with hard slap. His world swirled for several moments. Loosening his ponytail, he crossed his arms in front of him on the table and dropped his head gently on them, closing his eyes and waiting for the spinning images around him to stop.

He could feel his skin heat up and his lips tremble. He really, really wasn't feeling very good at all.

TBC