Chapter Text
Iruka frowned slightly, his eyebrows knitting closer together in confusion. It was his first day with a new class and, as per his usual, he had each child introduce themselves as he checked them off his attendance roster. He preferred this approach to calling their names out methodically, as it got the students engaging with him, and let him learn a bit about each of them in the process. But this time he had almost completely tuned out the voice of the student in question, his eyes scanning his class roster over and over. “I’m sorry,” his voice cut through whatever the child was saying, and he cringed slightly at his own interruption. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but…could you repeat your name for me, please?”
The student had frozen as soon as Iruka spoke, and it was honestly almost comical. He had, while Iruka was distracted, managed to stand up from his seat, place one foot on top of his desk, and raise a finger triumphantly to the sky. Iruka was sorry he’d tuned out the rousing speech he was sure went along with such a stance.
“Rock Lee,” he finally answered, seeming to deflate a little under the circumstances. “Is there something wrong, Sensei?”
Iruka’s frown deepened slightly. He wasn’t missing something, then. He’d so hoped that he was. “I’m sorry, I—I don’t see that name on the roster,” he explained, glancing up at the student apologetically, before scanning his list again. “The name Lee is here, though, but the full name is—”
“Please!”
Iruka’s eyes shot back up to meet his student’s when he was cut off, noticing the boy’s change in stature at once. He had dropped both his arm and his gaze, and he slumped gently back into his chair.
“That is my name, on your list,” he said, his voice much softer than before. “But please, do not use it. I much prefer the name Rock,” he avoided Iruka’s eyes, as if he seemed to think that Iruka would reject his request.
Iruka’s eyes scanned the name on his list once more, his confusion only growing. For lack of better phrasing, the name on his list…didn’t fit the boy in front of him. But Iruka shook it off, resolving to speak about it to his student later, in private. He was clearly uncomfortable with mentioning it in front of the rest of the class. So Iruka smiled, marked the name present, and moved on to the next student in the row.
___
“Lee,” Iruka called, as softly as he could over the din of 20-something pre-genin packing up and running home. “Could I speak with you, please?”
The boy stilled, bowing his head slightly and slowly packing his things, waiting until the rest of the students had made their way into the hallway before approaching his teacher’s desk. “Iruka-sensei,” he began, softly. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Lee,” Iruka assured him, kneeling down in front of him and smiling. “I just wanted to speak with you to make sure everything is correct with you being registered for my class.” He pulled out the roster, indicating to the name he had almost read in class. “This is your name?”
The boy nodded, a glum expression covering his features. “It is, Iruka-sensei, but I—” he paused, looking down at his feet. “I do not like that name. It is pretty and girly and I am not those things,” he spoke forcefully, even though he avoided his teacher’s gaze. “I would be very grateful if you did not use it,”
Iruka sighed softly, beginning to understand. “You were registered for the academy under your legal name. All your documents will be listed like this,” he said, biting his lower lip in thought. “Would…would you like me to see if I can get them changed?” he offered.
Lee’s eyes snapped up to meet Iruka’s so quickly, he worried for a second about the kid giving himself whiplash.
“Iruka-sensei!” He cried, his large eyes glassing over with tears. “You can—that is something I could do?”
Iruka couldn’t help the small laugh that bubbled up from his throat. “I can’t make any promises, Lee,” he prefaced. “But it’s not unheard of. And I have my ways of getting things done,”
Everything Iruka had ever had to go through to become a teacher was worth it, he decided, for moments like this. He had barely finished his sentence before the tiny bundle of limbs that was Rock Lee was careening into his chest, sending a small oof past his lips as he put his hands out backwards to catch himself. He chuckled softly, steadying himself and wrapping an arm around Lee’s shoulders gently. The boy was babbling tearful thanks into Iruka’s chest, along with confessions about how nervous he was to go to school because he already wasn’t as strong as the other kids and everyone told him his name was stupid even though he had picked it himself.
“I-Iruka-sensei?” he finally asked with a sniff, lifting his head to look up into his eyes. “I…do I seem...like a girl?” he finally asked, his voice quiet enough to almost be a whisper.
And that was when Iruka knew that his name wouldn’t be the only part of Lee’s forms he would be fighting to change.