Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Faint ❯ Part 6 - Tiring ( Chapter 6 )

This has been beta-read by b4k4_girl! Wai! I love this girl! She's sooooooooooo cool!!! Wah! ~tackle glomps~

Enjoy minna!

FAINT 6

Genma stared at the rather plain and dull bouquet of roses that were wrapped up in a brown paper bag with a silly excuse of a white ribbon tied around the base to apparently give it a grand look. Genma felt a frown tug his lips down as he stared at Kakashi who was holding it out to him. Kakashi had a proud smile under the fabric of his mask and was happily holding the flowers as if it were the most amazing thing on the planet. Genma thought otherwise.

"When I said bouquet of flowers, I meant an actual bouquet from a flower shop, not wild roses that you clipped off bushes with your kunai and wrapped in a supermarket paper bag and cake ribbon!" Genma hissed, trying to control his temper.

"I'm broke." Kakashi said and looked at the `bouquet' in his hands. "What's wrong with these? Asuma, they look nice right?"

Asuma wisely did not open his mouth, but looked at the grass instead.

"Oh, just take them!" Gai said, and shoved the flowers at Genma who had no choice but to indeed take them.

Genma stared at the flowers and held them away from him as if they carried Anthrax. "Okay, I have them now. Now what?"

"Go give them to him!" Asuma said, pointing at the academy entrance. "Go. Go. He'll get the idea."

Genma gathered all the strength he had and stiffly made his way to Iruka's classroom. He peered in slightly and found him bent over the folder on his desk, scribbling furiously. Genma suddenly felt like a coward and did not have the heart to face rejection or anything of its sort. He took a step back but a slight hiss from the end of the corridor where three heads poked just around the corner told him otherwise. Asuma waved a hand, a frantic `get going' expression on his face while Gai and Kakashi nodded. Genma shut his eyes for a few seconds, inhaled deeply and knocked.

"Come in." Iruka replied from within, and Genma hid the flowers behind his back. With a final sigh, he pushed the door open and entered, bouquet behind his back as he made his way to Iruka's table. Iruka looked up at him and blinked in confusion before stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. "Shiranui-san. What can I do for you?"

Genma was about to open his mouth to speak when he felt something crawl on the back of his hand. "Umm -"

Iruka tried to look at what Genma was hiding behind him but Genma shifted so as to hide the flowers. Whatever that thing was at the back of his hand, it was starting to make him a little jumpy. He was not comfortable with something crawling on top of his hand, something that he had no idea what on earth it was. Something that could - STING!

"FUCK!" Genma cursed loudly and bit his lip as his hand began to sting over and over again.

Iruka looked hurt. Genma let out a hissing curse and then poofed away until he was in the school quadrangle. He dropped the bouquet on the ground and stared at his hand to find a wasp - no two wasps - stuck on his hand with their needle-like organ stuck painfully in to the back of his hand. The problem with the sting was that it was acidic, which was why it was hurting like a bitch. Genma quickly squished the two wasps with his other open palm before darting to the nearby clinic to have his hand treated before any infections took hold. The nurse had lectured him about wasps being very dangerous little things and that it was a good thing that he came right away.

Genma sighed as the nurse bandaged his now swollen hand and gave him instructions for some cream she had told him to use. He bought the cream from the clinic's pharmacy. Just as he exited the clinic, he found three very curious jounins looking at him expectantly.

"Well? Why didn't you give it to him?" Asuma asked, more worried about the fact that Iruka did not get his flowers rather than Genma's own predicament.

"Damnit! Just where on earth did you find those flowers?" Genma demanded as he glared at Kakashi. "Did you even check if the damn poor excuse of a bouquet had insects in them say like, oh I don't know, wasps?!" The three took a step back unconsciously. "Look at this! They sting and hurt like a bitch, damnit!"

"Well, then. Forget the flowers." Gai said, and then patted Genma's shoulder. "You have my sympathy."

"I don't need your bloody sympathy. I need my privacy!" Genma said and brought a hand to his forehead. "This is the worst day of life! No, worst is an understatement!"

"Sing him a song then!" Asuma said.

-!-

"Don't move." Kakashi said, as he placed some healing balm on the fat and ugly bruise on Asuma's cheek.

"It really hurts." Asuma said, cigarette lying in between his thumb and index finger.

"He packs quite a punch." said Gai, who had a somewhat fearful look on his face. He was glad that he was not in Asuma's place. None of the three even saw the Jounin move until Asuma was a good five feet away on the ground and cradling a very, very painful jaw.

"Are you sure it isn't broken?" Asuma asked, wincing as Kakashi spread the cream on his face.

"No. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to talk at all." Kakashi said. "You think he went home?"

"Yeah." Gai said, staring at the now evening sky. "Iruka's still in his classroom. Maybe we should go talk to him."

"I'll go talk to him." Kakashi said, wiping his finger with a tissue paper and patting Asuma's back. "Maybe this will get you extra nice treatment from Kurenai eh?" At that comment, a mischievous glint appeared in Asuma's eyes. "Right, you guys go on home. I'll go talk to Iruka." Gai bid them a flashy farewell and poofed away while Asuma sighed and began to walk out of the gates. Kakashi gingerly made his way to Iruka's classroom and found the chuunin stirring a cup of coffee, staring at the papers in front of him with a rather sad look. "Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka turned to look at him and a sour and dark look came to his face. "If you are here to yell profanities in front of me, then kindly leave the classroom. I have no time for your Jounin antics. I have a lot of work to do!"

Kakashi blinked. "Why would I yell profanities at you?"

"Oh I don't know. It seems like a trend with you Jounins." Iruka said sarcastically. He then sighed and rubbed his temple with his fingers. "Look, Kakashi-san, I'm really tired and I still have a lot of work to do. What is it you need?"

Kakashi took a long look at Iruka, and noticed his slumped tired shoulders, dark circles under his eyes, pale face and slightly flushed cheeks. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"Well, I was just here to check up on you." Kakashi said. "Iruka-sensei, please leave all these for now. You've been working over time. I don't think Gen - Naruto would be very happy if his sensei fell ill from overwork."

Iruka gave him a sad smile. "I'm fine Kakashi-san." He said, and picked up his pen. "It's not like there's anyone at home anyway." He mumbled and Kakashi wouldn't have heard him if he didn't have trained ears. "I'll be fine. I just have one more folder to do then I'll go home."

"Good." Kakashi said. "Well, I'll be off now. See you tomorrow, Iruka-sensei."

Kakashi left the classroom and thought of what Iruka said. Maybe he really did need someone in his life. Someone to take care of him. Kakashi sighed and hoped that Genma would move quickly. The poor guy was so lonely.

-!-

Iruka closed the last folder two hours later and stood up shakily and began to clear his table. He headed for the data-room and placed the folders in their proper places before making sure that he turned all the lights off. He then made his way home, dragging his feet and staring at the ground most of the time. Once he reached home, he took a quick shower, changed into his sleeping clothes and fell on his bed. He was out like a light the moment his head hit the pillows.

The next morning, Iruka couldn't get up from the bed. He felt as if all his bones had been crushed and his world spun wildly around him. He gave out a tired groan and shifted in the bed, forcing himself to stand up and get to work. He took two aspirins and ate an energy bar, showered and changed in to his regular uniform. He then rushed off to the academy at a rather slow pace due to his feverish state. He knew he should stay at home and rest, but he just didn't want -

You being sick would mean more substitutions.

Iruka shut his eyes and reopened them with determination. He'd do his job, no fever or cold or virus is going to keep him bedridden. Once he reached the classroom, he was shot several concerned looks by his students. He felt his throat go dry at a rapid pace and then for a moment, he feared that no sound would come out of his mouth. He was very surprised when his voice actually came out clearly, though his throat hurt. The day went on smoothly until the period after lunch came. He was in the middle of teaching when his vision blurred very badly. He took several steps back, trying to maintain control of his body's weakness and leaned against the table as he continue to explain to the children about chakra control.

"So, in order to have perfect control of chakra, one should -" Iruka stopped speaking as he swayed on his feet.

"Iruka-sensei!" One of the children said in an alarmed voice.

"Are you okay? Iruka-sensei!"

"Sensei!"

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Sensei!"

Iruka looked up to find the classroom in multiplied four times in swirling patterns. Black dots began to appear at the sides of his vision field and then he could see nothing else and feel nothing else as his body fell forward.

-!-

Several of the female soon-to-be-ninjas gave out an alarmed scream. One of the boys jumped from his seat and dashed out of the classroom. He found the staff room empty and quickly headed for the office in the next building. He found two jounins in the room.

"Help! Quick!" He said, panting and trying to catch his panicked breaths.

"What's wrong kid?" Raido asked, giving the child his full attention.

"It's sensei! Sensei!" The boy said, placing a hand on his chest to calm his breathing so as to speak properly.

"Which sensei?" Genma asked, narrowing his eyes at the kid. "You look familiar." He said, studying the boy closely. Then he remembered. This was one of the boys he made to run around the field when he took field-practice substitute, the one who laughed at him. "You!"

"It's sensei!" He said, and swallowed. "Iruka-sensei is sick! He fell on the ground! He's not moving!" The boy looked like he was about to cry.

"Oh no." Raido whispered and quickly made a dash for the door, but someone else beat him to it. Raido saw Genma move at his fastest, reaching the classroom and freezing by the doorway at Iruka's fallen figure on the ground. The kids were all huddled around him, trying to wake him up. Raido took control of the children. "All right, back to your places. Everything will be all right. Iruka-sensei is going to be fine!"

Genma knelt next to Iruka and checked his pulse. He found it a bit slow and gave out a low hissing curse. He lifted Iruka in his arms and disappeared in a poof of chakra smoke. Raido stayed with the children and took care of the class while Genma took care of Iruka.

-!-

As Genma leapt through the mass of roofs in Konoha, frantic thoughts crossed his mind. What happened to Iruka? He looked feverish and was now breathing erratically. He entered the hospital and found Shizune who was assisting some nurses.

"Shizune!" He called out and she looked at him, eyes widening at the sight in his arms.

"What happened?" Shizune asked, quickly leading him to a vacant room and ordering him to set Iruka down on the bed. She immediately began to take his blood pressure and temperature.

"He collapsed." Said as he watched Shizune do routine check ups. "Is he going to be okay?"

Shizune did not reply immediately and Genma was very tempted to break something at the moment and this was something that confused him. "He's overworked. His body needs a lot of rest. He has a fever and a low blood pressure." Shizune said, pulling out a syringe and taking out some clear colored solution from the cabinet. "This should help bring the fever down, but he will still have to take some medicines orally." She injected the long needle into Iruka's arm and Genma watched as Iruka's sweat drenched face winced at the pain. Genma felt like knocking the needle out of Shizune's hands. She was hurting him! She gave him another two shots before placing a small band aid on the place where she injected him. "Chakra healing won't do any good here. He needs to rest as in rest in bed. Although chakra healing would be fast, the fatigue would only return twice the force in a few days. So it's better if he heals the natural way." She disposed of the needles and checked Iruka's throat and eyes. "Hold on a minute." Two minutes later, she appeared with plastic containers in her hands. "Here. Have a family member keep a watch on him and have these medicines given to him three times a day. These two containers are to be taken twice a day. Tell them to not give him any greasy food or he might have digestion problems. Soups and lots of liquid is what's best. And a lot of bed rest. What's his name?"

"Umino Iruka." Genma answered and Shizune gave him the `knowing' look he had learned to recognize. Genma glared at her, but she gave him a sincere smile.

"I'll file a report about his illness and have someone else take his post. Best if he rests at home. It may sound a bit cheesy, but home is the best place for someone to heal and not the hospital." She said. "Well, get going!"

Genma took the medicines and carried Iruka ever-so-gently in his arms. "Thank you." He said to Shizune who just waved her hand and smiled at him. In a second he was gone.

Genma raced across rooftops and then suddenly came to a halt. Iruka lived alone and had no parents. And he had no clue where Iruka lived. "Shit." He grumbled and stared down at the rapidly breathing chuunin in his arms. "Oh, who the hell cares?" He hissed and took a left to head for the outskirts of town, right by the river. Genma entered his own apartment and set Iruka down on his bed. "Now what?" He mumbled and rubbed the back off his head. "Oh boy." He sighed and took off his flak jacket, bandana and turtleneck so that he was left with his pants and sleeveless cotton shirt. He then proceeded to peel away Iruka's clothing until he was in his underwear and grabbed a pair of pyjama bottoms and slipped it on the now delirious chuunin. Iruka mumbled incoherent things in his sleep.

Genma was torn between being annoyed and being worried. Annoyed because he was in a situation in which he'd rather not be. Worried because he did care for the overly nice chuunin and that he didn't mind nursing him back to health. He filled a bowl with cool water and took out a small towel from his drawer. He placed the cool towel on top of Iruka's forehead, and gently wiped the sweat coating his neck, chest and shoulders. Sweating was good because that meant the medicine Shizune injected him with earlier on was fighting the virus in his body. His face remained flushed and he tossed his head back and forth several times in the middle of the night. There were times when Genma would find the chuunin just wincing and groaning as if he were in extreme pain whenever the presence of the cool cloth on his forehead disappeared. There were times when his hands would tighten around the sheets under him and he'd grit his teeth as if he was being tortured slowly.

Genma could feel his patience running out as the third night approached. He hadn't left his apartment and so far, he was lucky that no one had come to drag him out of it. He was very reluctant about leaving Iruka and he was lucky that by the third night, Iruka slept peacefully for the first time. He had resorted to dissolving his medicines in to a drink and feeding it to Iruka by manhandling him. Genma lifted him off the bed and changed the covers and sheets, and then he changed Iruka's clothes down to his underwear and laid him on the crispy sheets. He took a shower and changed in to comfortable clothes, ate a sandwich and sat on the reclining chair that he had dragged from the living room into his bedroom and placed next to the bed. He watched Iruka lying peacefully on the bed, hair splayed across the pillow and the flush on his cheeks was long gone. Genma felt a smile tug on his lips as the chuunin slept on like a baby.

"Man, the things I do for you." Genma grumbled and yawned.

It took Genma a few minutes to fall asleep even though it was already seven in the morning.

TBC

This is something I should have said in the previous chapter, but it just slipped my mind. When I was typing out the chapters in advanced, I told myself to say that the previous chapter and this one was kinda' like a parody of a Slam Dunk fic that I so, so love called "The importance of being straightforward" by Nagyra. The letter scene, the flowers scene and the idea of Gai, Asuma and Kakashi helping him was - well, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I was laughing my guts out when coming up with this story. I couldn't resist.

So, basically, part of the success of this fic goes to Nagyra. She's such a cool writer. Though, it's not a close parody since I changed it a bit, but still a parody.

Anyway, till next time. Ja!