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The bell rang and kids started to file out of the classroom. Iruka took his time at his locker, putting his books into his bag, less excited for the end of the school day than his classmates. It wasn’t that Iruka didn’t want to go home. In fact, he very much so did want to go home. What Iruka didn’t want was to have to stay after school in the library, studying with none other than Hatake Kakashi.
“You have to stay after with Hatake again, don’t you,” Izumo said as he slung his bag over his shoulder waiting for Kotetsu to finish at his locker nearby. Iruka cringed as he watched Kotetsu throw things into his bag, loose papers and assignments getting crushed beneath textbooks. Izumo had long since stopped caring how unorganized his friend was but it was still something that made Iruka cringe. He wasn’t the best student but he learned early that in order for him to be able to stay on top of things he had to put a little extra time into organizing himself.
“Yeah. And he’s going to, once again, tell me how dumb I am.”
“Has he ever actually called you dumb?”
“He doesn’t have to. It’s written all over his face. I mean, it’s not my fault I can’t focus well. And that he’s some prodigal genius who’s never had to try”
“I think that’s a little unfair Ru.”
“On the bright side after this year, you won’t have to deal with him anymore.” Kotetsu shoved some papers down into his bag as he joined his friends and they all started walking.
Iruka smiled and nodded before stretching his arms up, “That’s right he graduates and I won’t have to deal with him ever again.”
“I pity whatever poor tutor gets stuck with you after Hatake.” Izumo shook his head.
“Hopefully after this year, I won’t even need a tutor,” Iruka said as he turned away from his friends to the library waving goodbye. “Pray for me.”
“Best of luck!” Kotetsu called out.
Iruka entered the library waving hello to the librarian whose name Iruka does not know. Iruka liked libraries. He’d never admit it but when he found himself able to, he actually quite enjoyed reading. It was just, well, hard. Iruka sat at the usual table in the back of the room and took his books out of his bag, starting on some of his homework while he waited for Kakashi. Who was usually at least five minutes late. He was only one question into his history homework when he saw the older teen approach. “You’re early.” He said as he finished writing his answer down and looked up. Kakashi took an extra moment to meet his gaze before nodding and sitting next to him.
“Do you have your exercise sheet from last week?”
“Hi Iruka. How have you been? Fine Kakashi. Thanks for asking. Yes, I have my worksheet from last week. Here you go.” Iruka sarcastically pulled the sheet out of a folder and showed it to Kakashi. He looked it over quickly nodding before taking Iruka’s pencil and circling three of the problems on it, “These are wrong. But the rest looks good.”
Iruka groaned and slouched in his chair, turning his attention back to the problems he had gotten wrong. Kakashi watched and commented when appropriate pointing Iruka toward the right answer. After Iruka finished those, they worked on some math problems. Iruka kept glancing at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. The other teen was just, staring at nothing. There was none of their usual squabbling. None of the usual teasing on Kakashi’s part. They hadn’t even been yelled at once by the librarian!
“Alright,” Iruka put his pencil down loud enough that a few heads turned toward them, “What’s wrong.”
“How do you know something’s wrong?” Kakashi watched the other groups until they turned away, his gaze focusing back on Iruka.
“You’ve only made me do three quadratic equations, and you haven't called me dumb all day."
"I never call you dumb."
"Never out loud."
“Hmm. I am sorry if I ever said anything that made you feel that way. You’re not dumb Iruka. Far from it.”
“You’re not answering my question.”
“You’re right. I’m not.” There it was. That little spark of irritation that always manifested itself in Iruka around Kakashi.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s none of your business,” Kakashi said with a glare that, on anyone else, probably would have made them drop the subject. Iruka clenched his jaw and bit his cheek. Something was wrong and it wasn’t sitting well with him. Kakashi was supposed to be his obnoxious upperclassman. Not this sulking teenage. Iruka knew he wouldn’t be able to drop it until he at least tried to help.
“Well, how can I help if you won’t tell me what’s wrong?”
“This isn’t something you can help with. Besides, why would you even want to”
“Because you’re my friend.”
“I’m your tutor.”
“Two things can be true. Besides you’re always telling me there’s always a solution.”
“A solution to the problems I give you. This isn’t a math problem Iruka.”
“Ugh! Fine whatever, suffer in silence!” Iruka crossed his arms but continued to glare at Kakashi.
Kakashi finally sighed and slouched down, picking up the pencil and playing with it by spinning it around his fingers. “March is just a hard month for me is all.”
“It’s a month. What makes it different than any other month.”
“A lot of bad things have happened to me in March.”
“Like what?”
Kakashi paused again looking at Iruka. Iruka had the feeling he was searching for something. He didn’t know what, but something. But he seemed to find it. His mother was always telling him he was easy to read as a book. She didn’t have his attention problems, clearly.
“My father died. I lost my friend. I lost my eye. Not all at once. But over the course of a few years. Now it’s… it’s sort of a black hole of a month.”
Iruka frowned, “I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is.”
“And you usually go through this alone? Does anyone else know about March?”
“I have a few friends who know what has happened but not about March.”
“Well, now you have a friend who knows about it if you ever feel like you need someone who knows. I can’t say I know what it’s like to have a black hole month but I can say that I know what it’s like to feel sad a lot. You should reach out to your other friends though. They’re probably worried too. If I picked up on your moodiness, I am sure they have as well.”
Kakashi snorted, “My moodiness?”
“Yes, all afternoon you’ve been Mr. Broody teenager over there. Suffering in silence. You probably just need a good distraction.”
“A distraction? And what do you suggest?”
Iruka thought about it for a moment, “Well. Do you play video games?”
“Yeah.”
Iruka dug around in his bag before taking out his Dad’s old handheld and pulling the worn cartridge out of it.
“It needs to be blown into three times, and moved to the left when you put it into the device or it won’t work. But once you get that trick down it’s great. It’s my favorite game. I can beat it in a little over an hour.” He held it out for Kakashi who took it and flipped it over, reading the label.
“This is a really old game. I don’t think I have this system.”
“My dad sort of collects them so we might have an extra one. It’s really fun. There’s this one glitch halfway through that can give you unlimited health. If you ever feel up for it you can come over and play video games at my house. You can come over today if you’d like. My mum likes you a lot cause you’re helping me pass my classes. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
The bell rings as Kakashi looks at the game in his hands, feeling less alone than he had all week.
“Thanks. I might just take you up on that.”
Kakashi muses on the past as he stares at the painted rock by Iruka’s apartment door. He shuffles the take-out bags as he bends down to pick up the hide-a-key and slides it open. Unlocking the door before returning it and entering.
“Iruka, are you here?”
“In the living room,” Iruka called back. Kakashi peeked into the room and saw the other man surrounded by papers. He was in his last year of college and had to take his instructor’s exam this week in order to be a teacher.
“You should really get a less obvious hide-a-key.”
“It’s a classic”
“It’s a pet rock. It even has goolie eyes.” Kakashi shakes the rock.
“Don’t make fun of Noah like that. He’s like a little god, if You insult him I will lock myself out every day for like a month.”
Kakashi laughed.
“I brought take out. I figured you could use a distraction and a break.”
“Oh yes please.”
Kakashi smiled as he brought the take-out food into the living room, "So what game should we play?"