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Eye of the Beholder	By : PrplGrl Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1004 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Eye of the Beholder
- 1
A/N:….I think my muses have resorted to smoking crack. That’s the only explanation I have for the result of this story. Don’t worry, I am working on my others, it’s just when I get a new idea, it won’t leave me the fuck alone until I at least start it. So, here it is. Enjoy.

Eye of the
Beholder

Iruka smiled and waved as the last of his students left the classroom, before sighing heavily and plopping down into his chair. Was it just him, or were
the days teaching soon-to-be leaf ninja getting longer and more exhausting? A small smirk touched his lips at the thought. ‘I must be getting old.’

Lightly shaking his head, the chunin placed his attention to the paperwork scattered across his desk. He began to carefully sort through the
papers, finding the assignments he needed to grade that night and separating them from the less urgent ones. Iruka took his students’ works and placed them in a folder to take home; he rather
enjoyed grading them in the privacy of his quaint apartment where he couldn’t be bothered, drinking hot tea and relaxing on his overstuffed sofa.

A soft knock on the door made him turn and another smile spread his lips as Shikamaru Nara walked into the room. “Hey there, Shikamaru,” the older chunin greeted, the tiredness he felt being carefully left out of his voice.

Shikamaru strode over to the desk, leaning against the wood next to the Umino with a lazy smile on his face. “How’s it going, Iruka-sensei?” he asked politely, crossing his arms. “Have a
long day?”

Iruka’s grin diminished a bit as his gaze averted to the folder in his hands. “Why, do I look like I’ve had a long day?”

The younger chunin shrugged a little. “A little rough around the edges maybe.”

The Umino chuckled at that. “And what about you? I haven’t seen much of you lately to ask how you’re doing with your class.”

Shikamaru sighed heavily; face set on his contemporary uninterested scowl as he gazed at the floor. “What can I say? Kids are troublesome, but nothing I can’t handle.”

“Good to hear it,” Iruka replied, standing from his chair, folder tucked securely under his arm. It seemed to finally hit the teacher then; the Nara boy certainly had grown since his days as a student falling asleep during class. He was about the same height as Iruka and his boyish features had completely vanished from the younger man, making him look handsome even while glaring.

‘I wonder how much more handsome he would be smiling a real smile.’

The experienced teacher blinked then lightly shook his head. His cheeks began to feel just the tiniest bit too warm as his conscience yelled incisively at him for having such thoughts of a former student. Although, another part of his mind seemed to have an “ah ha!” moment and shouted over the rest, ‘He isn’t a student anymore! He’s a chunin like you!’ Iruka, for the life of him, couldn’t fathom what that might mean.

“You all right, Iruka-sensei?”

The Umino blinked once, eyes focusing on the curious-looking face of the younger chunin, one dark eyebrow raised high on his forehead. His cheeks burned a bit more as he nervously chuckled. “Y-yeah, Shikamaru, I’m fine. Sorry, guess I sort of zoned out there.”

The Nara seemed unfazed as he slightly nodded then gave the older man a serious gaze. “Would you like to come with me for a while, Iruka-sensei?” he asked, pushing his weight away from the desk and they walked out of the classroom together.

Iruka’s eyes looked at him in a bit of confusion. “Go with you to where?”

“Well,” the younger chunin started off slowly, placing his hands in his pockets, “there was someplace I wanted to show you, and besides you said yourself that you barely see me. Maybe we could catch up a bit, compare our classes.”

The Umino tore his eyes away from the other, dark eyes focusing down the hall with uncertainty. “I don’t know, Shikamaru,” he said after a few moments of silence. “It might not be
the best idea for us to be out together—”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Iruka sealed his lips shut; that did not sound at all like he wanted it to.

Shikamaru made a disagreeing sound. “What’s the problem with two Ninja Academy teachers spending some time together? It’ll be a good thing; perhaps you could give me some advice on my class, since you’ve been doing this for so long.”

Iruka inwardly sighed in relief; the younger man hadn’t taken it like he could have and what he said did make enough sense to the more experienced teacher. “All right, Shikamaru,” he finally replied. “Just not too long, I’ve got papers to grade.”

The Nara smirked a bit as they left the Academy’s main building. “Man, you sure are thorough. I do my grading when I get to class.”

Iruka looked at the other with wide eyes. “You mean you grade the students’ assignments directly before handing them back?”

Shikamaru nodded. “It’s less troublesome than lugging them home only to either forget to grade them or leave them behind the next day.”

A small smile graced the older chunin’s lips. “I guess so,” he said around a sigh. ‘Don’t know why I’m surprised,’ he thought. ‘Shikamaru did that same thing when turning assignments in. I guess he hasn’t changed much since then.’

They continued to walk in a comfortable silence down the ever-busy Konoha streets. It was several minutes before the younger of them suggested they get
something to eat. Iruka agreed, as his stomach lurched in a hungry fashion, but was completely shocked at where the Nara took him. The restaurant was one of the most expensive in town and the Umino voiced his concerns; it was certainly too fancy of a cuisine for his budget. Shikamaru, however, assured the older chunin that it was his treat and ushered the speechless man into the restaurant.

Iruka was dumbstruck when they were
seated in one of the darker sections of the building, candlelight being the
light of choice and were everywhere. It
almost felt… romantic.

A dark blush crossed his scarred
face as his heart skipped a beat, his mind wondering if the Nara was trying to…
take him out on a date. ‘style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>It’s not a date!’ the logical part of
Iruka’s brain shouted. ‘style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>It’s just dinner at a very, style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>very nice restaurant, that’s all!’

When the waiter came around, Iruka
found himself shocked again when Shikamaru immediately requested a bottle of
white wine. Again he protested, but the
younger man told him that, as teachers for children trying to learn to be
ninja, they deserve to indulge once in a while.
Only this time, he said it with a smile so… perfect for his handsome face, the Umino couldn’t reject the
offer. “Just this once,” was his caved response.

Iruka couldn’t believe how
delicious the food was and how the wine accompanied the meal deliciously.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Shikamaru merely smirked at him from across the
table, saying nonchalantly that he would come here often.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Somewhere between the food and the glass of
wine, which the Nara kept refilling, the Umino found himself starting to
relax. He began striking up conversation
about the Academy, telling his fellow teacher about the problems he was having
with students. Iruka found that Shikamaru
could actually hold a decent conversation, although many times he skipped the
various details, but the older chunin actually liked that feature about the
Nara. He got to the point without
wasting excess time beating around the bush.

After the dinner was eaten and the
bottle emptied, the two chunin walked out onto the streets once again.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The sun was just beginning to set against the
horizon and Iruka found himself with a fairly mild, yet extremely pleasant,
buzz from the alcohol. He strode beside
the Nara with a small smile on his face even as curiosity swam in his
mind. He really wanted to know where
they were going; what was this place Shikamaru wanted him to see?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The Umino, however, kept his mouth shut.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> If the younger chunin wanted him to know the
destination, he would have said so earlier.

Iruka followed the other teacher to
a path outside of the village, one that wound through a rich forest, which he
recognized at once. As he knew, they
soon came to an incline, rising to a small rest area just above the tree
tops. The older chunin sighed in
nostalgia when they reached the top, dark eyes immediately gazing at the Hokage
Monument sitting proudly against the cliff.
Shadows stretched across their faces as the sun slowly set, encasing
them in a mysterious darkness that the Umino found himself wanting to unlock.

A dark eyebrow rose behind his
headband. ‘…maybe I drank too much,’ he thought a little sullenly as he leaned
against the railing.

Shikamaru chuckled softly beside
him, Iruka turning to give him a curious gaze.

“I didn’t take you up here to look
at the monument,” the Nara stated softly, smiling gently at the older man as he
turned him around.

Iruka had a tough time removing his
eyes from that of the face of the other.
Harsh shadows crossed over tan skin, but they only managed to style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>soften his face, if that was possible,
making Shikamaru look even more handsome than before, especially with his lips
curled upward. However, when his orbs did
finally turn to where the Nara wanted them, the older chunin couldn’t help but
gasp.

The crimson-hued sun had set about
halfway behind the trees on the horizon, its blazing beauty shooting a deep-red
color into the sky around it. White streaky-shaped
clouds were tinged bright pink facing the glowing orb, accenting the gorgeously
deep purple bordering on the dark blue color of the night sky slowly emerging
in the sun’s wake. A few pin pricks of
starlight shone through the colors, adding to the brilliance of one of the most
beautiful sunsets Iruka had ever seen.

Wide-eyed, the older teacher slowly
walked to the other side of the risen path to place his hands on the
railing. “Wow,” he whispered after a few
short moments, the younger of them coming to stand beside him, “I’ve never seen
the sun set in such a… gorgeous way before.”

Shikamaru smirked and
shrugged. “This is one of the spots me
and my parents would come once and a while to watch the sunset.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> There’s no place better in the village.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The more he gazed at the spectacular sight,
the more his eyes caught. As the sun
continued to dip lower and lower, the Umino could spot more and more stars
emerging from the brightness of day to sparkle beautifully at night.

Still admiring the daily miracle,
Iruka was a bit surprised at himself for spotting a bit of movement below them
in the forest. His eyes glanced down
toward it, but figured it could have easily been a deer or some other wild
animal as the darkness consumed the branches and he hadn’t felt any chakra
signature. He lightly shrugged it off,
but noticed the younger chunin gazing down at the woods for several minutes.

“Is something wrong?” the Umino
asked, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Shikamaru’s dark eyes raised to him
immediately, a sheepish smile on his lips as he spoke.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Nah, nothing’s wrong, Iruka-sensei.”

He nodded.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Good.
Then, maybe you can answer a question for me,” Iruka stated, turning to
face the younger man and silently praying that the wine he drank had been
deluded enough by the food. class=GramE>“Why did you take me out to dinner at the most expensive restaurant
in the village and then out here to watch the sunset?”

The Nara shrugged, turning his body
toward the other chunin but keeping his eyes focused on the sky across the
forest. “I just felt like treating you class=GramE>is all.”

The older teacher sighed, a bit
frustrated. “Shikamaru, there has to be
a reason. One doesn’t usually spend that
much money on someone else on a mere whim.
Is there something you want to talk about?”

Shikamaru’s dark eyes suddenly
locked with Iruka’s. A small shiver rippled
down the older man’s spine at the determination lying just beneath his serious
gaze. “Now that you mention it,
Iruka-sensei,” he whispered in a tone the Umino had never heard him use before,
“there is something on my mind.”

Keeping their gazes locked
together, Shikamaru eliminated the space between them, moving forward to
softly, gently, place his lips onto the older chunin’s.

Iruka’s eyes fluttered closed even
as his mind screamed, ‘What the style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>FUCK?!’style='mso-spacerun:yes'> For some reason, the small buzz he did have
made the words seem insignificant and the lips upon his were soft and
warm. Without much hesitation, he began
kissing back.

How long had it been since he’d last been kissed?style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Iruka found he couldn’t really remember.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Maybe way back when he’d still been in the
Academy, or maybe just after becoming a genin.
In all reality, everything else was a complete blur around him as Shikamaru’s
lips continued to press firmly against his own.

It wasn’t but a few short moments
later when they parted. The Umino was a
bit surprised; he may not have been able to remember the last time he’d been
kissed, but he did remember that he’d never been kissed like that before.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Shikamaru wasn’t trying to shove his tongue
down the older chunin’s throat; he didn’t even lick at his lips.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It had been a simple, romance-novel,
something that never happened in the real world, first, tender kiss.

Shikamaru gazed at the older man
with a small smile; the look in his eyes was filled with nervousness; the dark
orbs dropping glances at the Umino’s hands several times.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> ‘Is he…
expecting me to… hit him?’ Well,
maybe that’s something anyone would figure happening, given the
circumstances. However, Iruka knew
something had just sparked between them, and hitting the younger chunin and
yelling and threatening would be an utter lie.
He could not do something so devastating to someone who just decided to
take a chance last minute; although he suspected Shikamaru already had this
planned for some time.

Iruka also smiled at the other.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “That would be very important for us to talk
about, Shikamaru,” he said at last, moving himself a bit closer, silently
letting the younger man know that something was there, even though the Umino
didn’t know what it was yet. “We should
set a time aside to… discuss it.” Just a
little bit uncertain, Iruka leaned forward to place a gentle kiss of his own
onto the shocked Nara’s lips.

Boom!

Both ninja turned at the sound,
seeing a billowing cloud of dust not too far off from the trail they took to
get at the landing. Iruka glanced at the
younger chunin to read in his eyes the exact same worry he was feeling.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Together they leapt down from the railing and
quickly hopped over to where the dust was settling.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Upon inspection, they didn’t find anybody in
the vicinity, but what they did find was a bit confusing.

A large, old pine tree had been
punched fiercely, the imprint of the fist still within the bark.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The force of the hit broke the tree free from
its trunk and sent it several meters away, where it lay amongst broken branches
and upturned earth.

“Man,” Shikamaru muttered, “I
wonder who did this?” Iruka, too,
wondered that, but it would be impossible to find out.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Most ninja in the village could lay waste to
a tree without much effort at all.

“I don’t sense enemy chakra,” the
older chunin said, dark eyes carefully drifting through the ever-growing
darkness around them.

The Nara shrugged.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “It was probably just someone letting off
some steam. Come on, Iruka, I’ll walk
you home.”

The Umino blushed brightly as the
younger man gently grabbed his hand and tugged him back onto the trail.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He just couldn’t find it in his heart to
reject such an intimate gesture, one that he envied watching other couples do,
so he wrapped his fingers around Shikamaru’s hand and walked at his side,
embarrassed smile on his face, and completely missing the presence of another
shinobi following them down the streets.

When they approached the older
chunin’s apartment, Shikamaru decided to leave him at the entrance.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Iruka looked into the dark eyes of the other,
not really sure what to do. Well, he
knew what was usually done, but wasn’t
sure if it would be appropriate for this particular situation.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The younger teacher, though, answered that
for him.

“See you tomorrow, Iruka,” Shikamaru
said, leaning forward to grab a quick kiss before smiling and leaving a
flabbergasted chunin in his wake.

Iruka went up to his apartment in a
daze. His lips tingled with a spine
shivering sensation as the memory of the kisses replayed themselves over and
over. He was too enthralled with these
new and sudden emotions to notice the figure standing on the rooftop across the
street as he entered his apartment, radiating rage and jealousy that would have
had Iruka worried any other time. class=GramE>But not tonight.

Tonight his mind was engulfed with
thoughts about a genius that may have swept him off his feet, like he had been
wishing for since he’d been a teenager.
Maybe he’d finally found his Prince Charming, and his hopes were high as
the figure outside seethed.

P.S.: If there are any Bleach fans out there, this is just a
little shout out to check out my story “If Life Gives You Lemons…” in the Yaoi
section of Bleach. Please check it out
if you haven’t! Thank you for reading
and review!
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Eye of the Beholder