Learning to Live Again

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

AN: Okay, so this chapter has been marinating for awhile but I've been distracted with other fics, I truly blame Neji for all my issues writing recently, he's such an attention whore. But I really wanted to get something out for Labor Day/My Birthday, so I know it's a bit late, but that's because it's between the two. Anyway, as the title suggests this is kind of a filler chapter, but hey, what can I say? So… with that being said, on with the show.

Chapter 9: A Brief Interlude

The next week was trying for poor Harry. True to his word, Gaara had taken over his Japanese lessons. As much as he liked the redhead, as a teacher, he was worse than McGonagall and Snape put together. On a side note, he was now almost fluent in speaking Japanese and could read and write it enough to get by.

On Sunday, though, everything changed. A message had arrived, early in the morning, requesting Shikamaru's and, by extension, Gaara's presence at the Hokage's office. The lazy Chunin grumbled continuously about how troublesome everything was as he prepared to head out. Almost an hour later, the two other teens took their leave, leaving Harry and Iruka alone for the first time since the wizard's arrival.

"So, Harry," Iruka said once they were alone in the house, "I have to say, you've come a long way in this past week. I'm proud of you, and I'm sure Kakashi will be too, once he gets home."

"Has there been any word when he'll be back?" the bespectacled teen bit his lip slightly.

"Unfortunately, no," the scarred man sighed heavily. "But he did say two weeks, so we have at least one more week before we should start worrying."

"You worry about him a lot, don't you?"

"Uh, um," the older male bushed, "well, yes. In the line of work we do, what with him going out on active missions and me staying in the village to teach, I do tend to worry. I know what can happen out there. I know that every time I say goodbye, it could be the last time I see him. So I do worry. But I also know, I wouldn't want it any other way. I love Kakashi. And part of what I love about him is that he is a strong, powerful shinobi who would do anything to protect this village and those he cares about. So while it does affect me whenever he leaves, I would not change that about him for anything."

"You know, you're really strong, Iruka," Harry shook his head. "I don't think I could do that."

"Stay in Konoha long enough and you'll learn to accept it," the brunet smiled sadly. "It's the way of life here. Now, I'm not saying that shinobi don't come back from their missions, most of them do. But, as with anything, you have to prepare for any eventuality."

"You should like you've been through that before," he bowed his head, wondering if that advice or training would've helped save Cedric.

"I have," Iruka shook his head. "When I was twelve, there was an attack on the village, my parents went out to fight and they never came home. They were heroes, died protecting the village."

"How do you get over it?" Harry asked quietly.

The teacher frowned slightly, not so much at the question, but at the teen's tone. The raw pain in his voice was not what one associated with someone grieving parents they never got the chance to know. This was something else. This was something recent that the teen hadn't been able to process properly.

"Harry," the brunet went over and placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder, "what's going on? This isn't about your parents."

"It-it's nothing," the teen shook his head, he really didn't want to talk about Cedric.

"Obviously that's not true," the brunet sighed quietly. "Look, it may not change what happened, but talking about it would be good for you. Now, I understand if you don't want to talk to me about it. I am not your uncle, and we don't know each other that well, but please promise me you will talk to someone about it, whether it's Kakashi or one of your friends. Though, for the moment, I will answer your question, even if I do not know the context. You never truly get over the loss of someone close to you. The pain lessons over time, but it never goes away. All you can do is continue on. You just have to take each day as it comes and keep going forward."

"Thanks, Iruka," Harry gave him a weak smile. "I think I'm gonna go to my room now." He pushed to his feet, but paused before leaving the room, "And for the record, I do think of you as my uncle, just as much as Kakashi."

With that being said, he left the room and made his way back to his bedroom.

888

Kakashi sighed quietly as he made his way into the small village located on the northern border of the Land of Fire. This was the third such village he had been to in the past week in his search of the elusive Sanin. He had had no luck so far and was about to give up and head back to Konoha, where his boyfriend and nephew were waiting. He would search this village and then head home and have Tsunade send someone else out on this damn mission. With that thought he made his way to the nearest inn.

"Kakashi-sensei!" a loud voice greeted him as soon as he cleared the door. "Is it really you?"

"Well, well," his one visible eye landed on the speaker, "if it isn't Naruto? My, you've grown up, haven't you?"

Before him was not the little blond runt he had taken on as a new genin three years ago. He was now a teen, and looked to have matured quite a bit while he'd been gone.

"Yep, I sure have," Naruto grinned. "But what are you doing here anyway? Not that I'm not happy to see you, Kakashi-sensei. I just haven't seen anyone since we left."

"Now that you mention it," his one visible eye closed in his version of a smile, "I was actually sent here to find Master Jiraiya. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

"That pervy old sage?" the blond scoffed. "He's probably at the bath house, peeping at the ladies. That's why we came to this village anyway. We stopped training so he could do some 'research.'"

As he said this, the Genin turned and began leading the older male out of the inn. The pair made their way across the village to a large bath house that was obviously the main attraction there. They entered the large building and, after paying at the front desk, continued into the back where the hot springs were located.

The former teacher and student separated briefly in the changing room. They had already paid for it, so they may as well enjoy the springs while they were there. After a few minutes, they joined back up and entered the hot springs together. The blond was disappointed that the elder insisted on wearing a damn surgical mask that hid his face, but didn't comment.

When they finally emerged from the changing room, they immediately spotted the person they were looking for, pressed up against the bamboo wall dividing the men's section from the women's. Kakashi pointedly cleared his throat to announce their presence, causing the white haired man to leap backward and fall into the hot spring at the shock of being caught peeping.

"Hello, Master Jiraiya," the Jonin smirked behind his mask.

"Kakashi!" the older man sputtered as he emerged from the pool. "It's been awhile. What brings you here?"

"Almost three years," the silver haired man shook his head as he settled into the pool. "And actually, you bring me here. Lady Tsunade sent me to bring you back to the village."

"Did she say why?" a frown marred the Sanin's features. "I mean, Naruto's training is pretty much complete and I was planning on heading back in the next week or so, but why would she call me back early?"

"All she told me was that it was urgent," Kakashi sighed. "She didn't even send any written instructions. Said it was too risky, in case it somehow fell into enemy hands."

"I see," the frown deepened. "For her to say that, it can only mean one of two things."

"That was my thought," the younger man shrugged noncommittally.

"Wait," Naruto scowled at the pair, completely oblivious. "What's going on?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, squirt," Jiraiya ruffled the blond spikes. "All you need to know is that we're going home."

"Back to Konoha?" blue eyes widened in shocked anticipation.

"Yes," his current teacher grinned. "Back to Konoha."

The excited shout the teen gave at the affirmation got the three of them thrown out of the bath house. When that happened, the older two decided it would be in their best interest to just put the whole town behind them and start on their return journey to Konohagakure, much to Naruto's delight.

They decided to make camp just before nightfall in a small grove of trees just off the main road. They had just finished setting up, and were settling in for a bite to eat when a hawk landed next to Kakashi. The bird was wearing a harness with a long cylindrical tube on its back. The Jonin recognized it as a messenger hawk, but it took a moment for him to register where it had come from, as the symbol on its harness wasn't from any of the major villages.

Once he realized where it had come from, he extended his arm, knowing if he wasn't the intended recipient the hawk would not come to him. The sharp gold eyes regarded him for a moment before raising its wings and landing lightly on the offered perch. He could feel the eyes of his companions on him as he slowly reached out with his other hand and stroked the bird's head before surreptitiously opening the tube and retrieving the contents. When the scroll was secured in his hand, the bird gave him one last look before taking off into the gathering dusk.

Still feeling the others' gazes, he unrolled the scroll, his own curiosity piqued.

Kakashi Hatake

He was surprised, yet not, that the letter was written in English. He knew any message to or from the gateway to the outside world was always written in another language, in case it was intercepted by someone who didn't know about it.

As the closest Konoha Jonin, your presence is requested for an urgent matter. Please arrive at your earliest opportunity.

It was unsigned, but he hadn't expected it to be. He took a deep breath, before raising his gaze to his traveling companions.

"Well," the Copy Ninja shook his head and tossed the note into the fire, "I have to make a detour. You two head back to the village and see Lady Tsunade. I will catch up if I can."

With that being said, he pushed to his feet and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

888

Harry sat in the back of Iruka's classroom, as he had for the past three days since the end of the weekend, bored out of his mind. He had been forced to go by the Chunin, as he didn't feel comfortable leaving the teen at home alone, especially since Shikamaru and, by extension, Gaara were still out every day doing whatever it was Lady Tsunade had the lazy shinobi doing. He only ever saw Shikamaru in the evenings when he'd come back to the house to sleep, though Gaara was never with him, which was kinda weird since the pair seemed kind of inseparable since he'd gotten there. Now that he actually had time to think about it, he missed having them around.

His boredom wasn't from the fact that he wasn't interested in what Iruka was teaching, he was. It all boiled down to the fact that his uncle's boyfriend wasn't letting him actually learn anything. No, Iruka had told him to sit in the back. He could listen and take notes but he wouldn't be doing any formal training until Kakashi returned. Which was so not fair.

He was just about to get up and walk around, just for something to do, when a knock sounded on the classroom door. All eyes flew to the closed portal as Iruka called for whoever it was to enter. The door slid open to reveal one Neji Hyuga. The pale gaze drifted over the room, landing briefly on Harry, and his lips twitched in a ghost of a smirk, before moving to the front of the room.

"My apologies for the interruption, Iruka-sensei," he inclined his head in the Chunin's direction. "Lady Tsunade sent me to give you these," he motioned to the files tucked under his arm. "They are the Genin being nominated for the upcoming Chunin exam. She would like your input as soon as possible."

"And why couldn't Shikamaru have brought them to me later?" the teacher frowned slightly.

"Shikamaru was supposed to bring them to you three days ago," the young Jonin shrugged. "So it was tasked to me." He made his way forward and placed the files on the large desk. "And as I said, Lady Tsunade wants your input as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Neji," Iruka nodded. "I will look them over as soon as I can."

"Very well," Neji gave a curt nod before his gaze surreptitiously drifted to the back of the room. "In the meantime, why don't I take Harry with me? I only have a few more errands to run before I am done for the day. He may accompany me, and then I can take him to my apartment, where you can collect him when you are done for the day. It would mean you would not have to keep an eye on him, as well as the rest of your class, and he would cease to be bored."

"I suppose, if he wants to," brown eyes traveled to the teen in question.

The wizard was out of his seat before he had finished speaking. He gathered up his notes and hastily, but carefully, shoved them into his school bag and tossed it over his shoulder.

"I'll see you later, Iruka," he called over his shoulder as he made a beeline for the door.

"Don't take it too personally, Iruka-sensei," the younger shinobi patted him cajolingly on the back. "He probably just didn't grasp the lesson, and has nothing to do with your teaching methods. Though, I should probably go catch up with him before he actually escapes."

Neji gave the Chunin an encouraging smile, then turned a stern glare on the lightly snickering students, before making his way out of the classroom after the retreating raven.

Ammie: Okay, so I decided to cut this chapter in two, since, as I mentioned earlier, Neji is an attention whore and wanted a lot more to happen between him and Harry. So this is where I decided to cut it. Anyway, please let me know what you think.