Author's Note: So, April talked me into writing another story. Damn. XD However, I've decided to add a bit of a…personal touch to this one. Prepare for an autobiography of sorts, and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Dirge of a Fighter

Chapter One

Umino Iruka woke up to the incessant, scratchy beeping of his alarm clock; lazily reaching up to push the 'off' button with a sleepy groan. The dark-skinned college student shifted one last time amidst his incredibly soft, sleep-inviting, navy and grey comforter and blankets before begrudgingly throwing them off of his body.

Iruka gingerly rolled his tense neck around as he swung his legs over the side of his queen-sized bed - bare, scarred shoulders already slumping down as he made to sit; making his medium length, brown hair fall around his face as he considered his agenda for the day.

Thankfully, it was Saturday, which meant no classes and hardly any obligations for the Umino.

However, something Iruka knew he did have coming up at 3:00 p.m. was his Muay Thai lesson- the Saturday schedule there always reserved for advanced students to make up any of the lessons they had missed throughout the week. Iruka, unfortunately, had had to miss his Wednesday Muay Thai lesson due to staying late at school to work with a group for his Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining class.

He hated it when that happened.

Iruka groggily stood up from his bed and trudged slowly out of the messy, disaster-ridden room, dragging his feet against the pale-cream carpet and blinking his tired eyes as he made his way out of his bedroom, down the short hallway of his apartment, and to his quaint, little kitchen-completely content to just remain in his boxer shorts as he changed rooms.

"Hey, brat," Iruka said somewhat grumpily to his already awake, grey and white kitten that was really named Hamtaro that was currently laying cutely on top of his equally cluttered snack bar.

Iruka mechanically made a pot of coffee in his simple, white and honey-colored wood kitchen that went along well with the rest of his sparsely furnished and decorated white-walled apartment.

A soft, gunmetal grey-colored couch; a cheap, glass and black-iron coffee table; and a rather large television set decorated his living room- adjacent to his semi-enclosed kitchen. There were no bookshelves, as his college textbooks usually lay scattered or in small stacks around the couch and under the coffee table for easy reach.

Only a few frames graced his bare walls in the hallway; of his parents who were deceased; and one with them all in it when Iruka was still a baby.

None of friends, as most college students chose to flaunt with the most absurd looking frames on every hard surface an abode can provide, for the simple fact that Iruka did not have any close friends of which to speak.

To Iruka, however, it was a conscious decision not to get too attached to anyone; to not have that many friends. It kept his life simple and quiet; just like himself; to not bother with any others and just stick to himself.

When he was younger, however, he had had plenty of friends; always the one with a warming smile that people would flock to and trust. He was often the one sought out for knowledge and advice by his more naïve friends, and it was only a matter of time before their problems became his problems…always building up until Iruka finally had had enough and decided that his life would just be better off without any other people in it.

In his more recent years, Iruka had become acutely aware that the 'him' back then that exercised that kind of behavior was only triggering a defense mechanism- being kind and overly friendly to everyone as a way to guarantee not to have any enemies.

Foolish.

Now that he was a bit older, and a bit more experienced with life, people, situations, and circumstances, Iruka simply could not care less about that type of thing anymore; that way of wishful thinking and thoughtless living.

The rich, musky aroma of freshly brewed coffee soon filled his tiny apartment, and Iruka opened up a cabinet above his head and fished out an oversized mug that was green and white and read 'High Roller' on the front; pouring some of the pot's contents into it so he could quickly drink it black.

Upon seeing her master move around finally, Iruka's recently adopted stray kitten mewed and squeaked as she stood up from her spot and carefully maneuvered around all of the magazines and knick-knacks that were jumbled carelessly on top of the kitchen bar.

Iruka just watched the kitten try to be as skillful as she could to try to get his attention as he casually leaned against the opposite counter and sipped his steaming coffee.

With a dramatic roll of his eyes at Hamtaro's pathetic efforts, Iruka finally decided to have pity on his only pet and pushed off from the counter to approach the kitten who was about to jump into the sink.

"Idiot," Iruka muttered with a small smile as he gently stroked the kitten's back with his fingers; the gesture immediately receiving a light, appreciative purr and nuzzling into his tanned hand.

The morning was passed with Iruka watching a bit of television after finally slipping on a pair of blue, cotton, draw-string pants- already on his second cup of coffee while the kitten slept some more in his lap.

Iruka quite liked it when the television was on; not particularly because he just loved to watch programs, but it was another sound, another voice in his life and in his apartment.

Around noon, when Iruka began to get somewhat restless, he decided that he would read a little bit more of the assigned reading in his Business Communications textbook- the topic more than dry and absolutely horrible to go through, but it had to be done.

After turning down the volume on the television, Iruka only had to drop an arm down the side of his couch and sift through the collection of books that lie there until he was pretty sure that he had his Communications book in his hand.

He was right.

A pseudo-sad sigh escaped his lips as Iruka opened his hideous, salmon-colored, soft-back textbook to where he had left off and carefully placed it on his knee next to Hamtaro.

Reading paragraphs on how to properly hold and present yourself during a formal business presentation was about as interesting as watching paint dry in the dark, but Iruka forced his eyes to keep moving along the words as he drank in the information and converted most of it to memory.

Things about eye contact, proper handshakes, attire, and speech were slowly melting his brain, but Iruka managed to keep reading the small print and turn the pages full of information that he had basically learned back in high school.

When he was quite certain that he had read plenty to cleanly get away with taking a quick break, Iruka set his book facedown on the cushion next to him and stood up to go rummage through the kitchen once more for something small to eat.

After realizing that he did not feel like eating some big meal at the moment, Iruka only retrieved the half-way gone, rolled up, and clipped bag of chips that was sitting next to his microwave. The blue chip clip was carelessly tossed back onto the counter top, the bag was opened, and a chip was in Iruka's mouth as he walked back over to his couch and his book.

Iruka munched contently on his chips, sating his hunger and also part of his boredom, while he resumed reading more in the 7th chapter of his Business Communications book.

Iruka was aware that, sadly, his next test in that class was coming up soon; meaning that that he had better finish his reading assignment no matter how dreadful and redundant each page truly was.

Before he knew it, Iruka had finished his dreadful reading assignment- the kitten already having left his lap a while ago without him even knowing- and now it was already after 2:00p.m.

"Shit," Iruka cursed before tossing the book back down over the side of the couch and practically leaping to his feet to start getting ready for his Mauy Thai training; the bag of chips all but thrown onto his coffee table.

Iruka hurried back down the hall and into his master bathroom, where teeth were brushed, face was washed, and hair was combed and tied in its usual high ponytail.

Routinely and almost automatically, Iruka made quick work of whipping out a small, black draw-string backpack from his closet and shoving his black hands wrappings, a small towel, jump-rope, and water bottle into it.

Taking a moment to collect his scattered brain, Iruka then realized that he needed to dress appropriately for his lesson…and not show up in nighttime pants. Woefully enough, Iruka realized that his favorite black mesh shorts were still dirty; as he eyed them almost longingly in the hamper; and quickly got out and put on his back-up pair of swishy dark green shorts, and a form-fitting, black tank-top.

Things were assembled, and he looked decent, so it was time to put on his sandals that were currently by his front door and head to the facility.

Iruka stepped outside of his apartment, turned around, and locked his door; placing his keys into his backpack before slinging it over his shoulders.

Iruka hastily descended the old, tan-carpeted stairs that led down to the ground level; as he lived on the second floor and never truly liked to be seen out of his apartment anyway, and was immersed in the cool, crisp afternoon air before he could fully register the hurried change of scenery.

The sunlight hit Iruka square in the face; making him hold up a hand to act a visor to all the blinding, white light stinging his eyes; and he could then notice the few, small children playing outside another apartment building not too far off to his right.

Iruka grinned as he turned his head away from the laughing, smiling children that were apparently racing toy cars on the sidewalk, and headed left to begin walking out of his complex and to his gym.

As Iruka walked his familiar path past all the other, completely similar apartment buildings and onto the main road that led to town, he could still hear those children- a boy and girl- playing and being loud.

The sight and sound, as normally happy and cheerful as it was, sort of depressed Iruka in a way. If Iruka did not know better, he would have thought that his senses were failing him, as he rarely spoke as it was. It was only at the most random times; like when briefly observing two innocent children having fun; that Iruka truly wished that he did have someone to talk to- actually use his voice and laugh just like they were doing.

Iruka 'hmph'ed quietly at the idea of being so soft, as he recognized for the umpteenth time that it had taken him years to harden himself as he was.

Him not speaking, not having friends, not having a life was his sacrifice. Again, Iruka had made a conscious decision when he chose to live as he did because it was a way to show his strength, his resilience to anything and everything; even it only was to himself.

As unfortunate as it may seem, that was his way- his way of executing a type of modern Bushido where his self discipline would reign over all else.

In no time, Iruka was approaching the large, flesh-colored, brick building that simply read 'Kickboxing and Muay Thai' on the side in giant, black letters.

Home.

Iruka felt more at ease with himself here that at his own apartment more often than not.

With a renewed sense of vigor, Iruka threw open one of the glass, double doors, and entered into his haven to start his beloved training.

Shoes had to be taken off upon entering and before anyone stepped onto any mat in the large, well-lit area that housed a full-size boxing ring for matches in the far left, punching bags in the back, training and sparring mats on the right, and weights and exercise equipment upstairs.

With a quick glance to a clock on the wall above the door he came in at, Iruka saw that he had actually made it just in time, so he found a chair to set his bag down and get out his black hand wraps.

More and more of his fellow classmates came in, both men and woman and were all performing just about the same routine as Iruka; as strong, durable cloth was being carefully and accurately wrapped around wrists and fingers; excluding the pinky; by all participants to protect and steady their hands throughout the room.

Iruka finished his task, along with many others at the same time, and all proceeded to bow respectfully by pressing the tips of their praying hands to their lowered foreheads before stepping onto the mat and stretching out their arms and shoulders as they pleased.

Here, Iruka fit in, but still shined brilliantly at the same time. Here, Iruka was at total peace with himself and the world and everyone in it, as he focused and did Muay Thai.

It just soothed his somber soul.

After his class of about 20 all followed suit and were now standing on the mats, just as he was, to begin; the instructor was the last to show up; going straight to the head of the group to which everyone performed the same bow.

The instructor, Master Uchiha Itachi; dressed in his usual black Muay Thai shorts and tight black shirt that said 'scars are tattoos but with better stories" returned the bow to his students and said in his low, but booming baritone, "Listen up, everyone. For the first half an hour, I'm going to have everyone paired up to do the usual rounds of exercises. It has become clear to me that you are all improving both in skill and technique, so now I want to take today to focus on your conditioning a little more. After that, we'll do some sparring. So, buddy up, guys."

Crap.

This was the only part of Muay Thai that Iruka hated – pairing up with someone for exercises.

Snapping Iruka of his short moment of brooding, a velvety smooth voice suddenly purred, as if right into his ear, "Do you want to be my partner?"

Iruka immediately whipped his head towards the direction of the husky, silk voice; somewhat startled and somewhat surprised; and suddenly found himself gazing at someone he had not ever seen before- someone just so amazingly beautiful and striking.

All within a convenient, inconspicuous split second, Iruka's chocolate brown eyes scanned over the slightly shorter boy's spiky, jet black hair that framed around the flawless, porcelain skin of his angelic-looking face.

Iruka gulped before saying a seemingly carefree and monotonous, "Sure."

Arms, legs, shoulders, wrists, and ankles were stretched out and rotated on their own by everyone as a very basic warming up of the muscles and joints that they were going to use for their exercises- since it was an advanced class, the participants were not 'babied' and told exactly how to stretch as it was already rather accurately assumed that that should know how to do all that by now.

Iruka and his raven-haired 'buddy' then walked a few steps over to the left where there was a large enough space open on the soft blue mats; both immediately sinking down on their knees and laying flat to join the other people with the beginning push-up requirement.

Iruka already felt his mind quickly giving into the utter peace and tranquility that he now was able to obtain through working out and partaking in anything Muay Thai as he counted off his push-ups in his head.

"What's that on your arm?" his partner suddenly asked him, though his voice sounded rougher than usual since he was currently doing his own push-ups right next to Iruka.

Iruka knew exactly what he was talking about.

On the top of both of Iruka's forearms were almost perfectly-circular, pink burn scars; the right one much bigger than the one on his left, though the left burn was the one that his nosy partner could only probably see.

Mindlessly, as he did not like explaining his scars to anyone, Iruka dully answered, "It's nothing."

Thankfully finished with his push-ups, Iruka shifted to rest on his knees again before sitting down, just before his partner did, who immediately looked right into his eyes-boring into Iruka's natural half-lidded chocolate gaze with his own, commanding onyx one.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be a dick or anything. Sometimes I just talk before I have a chance to think about it first," the raven-haired boy said a little sheepishly, before adding in a more cheerful tone, "My name's Sasuke, by the way."

"I'm Iruka; nice to meet you," Iruka said, glad for the change of conversation topic, "So, thirty sit-ups, yes?"

He already knew the drill perfectly, but decided to end his statement with a question just to ensure the light, good-natured understanding between the two of them.

"Yeah, I think so," Sasuke replied with a comical expression on his face; giving it away completely now to Iruka that the reason he had not ever seen him before here was because he was new.

The sit-ups were done in silence; the only sounds that could be heard were the soft huffs of air and barely audible counting from the other Muay Thai fighters performing their own exercises.

The next thing for all to do was to jump-rope, which meant for a lot of the class-takers to give a quick bow before rushing off to their backpacks and bags to retrieve them before bowing again to return to the mats so they did not fall behind.

Everything was very fast-paced, as, again, this was one of the more experienced classes and most of everyone was already very familiar with the flow of things and the expectations that went along with it.

Iruka and Sasuke had to take a few, giant steps away from each other so they had more room to work, and Iruka finally allowed himself a proper observation of his current partner for the day.

As Sasuke had his head lowered as he was trying to perfectly set the bottom of his black, plastic jump-rope on the ground to step over and begin jumping, Iruka could not help but notice how positively perfect the man looked.

His glossy black hair was just screaming at Iruka to run his hands through it, to feel exactly how soft it was- the unkempt spikes only added to making Sasuke look like some kind of dark, untouchable angel. Sasuke's luscious lips practically begged to be kissed, as they had just the slightest hint of pink to them that made them look absolutely delicious and supple. Iruka's eyes continued to betray his better wishes, though he was able to properly hold his jump-rope in his hands as he stared…all he needed to do was to starting jumping over it, but he was still too busy taking in Sasuke's enticing, slender form- every long, leanly-muscled limb was perfection in Iruka's opinion.

"Hey Iruka. Doing alright?" a voice suddenly chimed from somewhere behind the dark-skinned man, immediately breaking his concentration, or lack thereof, as he looked over his shoulder to see Itachi walking up to him and Sasuke.

"Sir," Iruka only responded; feeling slightly ashamed for forgetting his duties like that.

"Oh, you don't need to be so formal. Just call me Itachi," his Muay Thai instructor said with a gorgeous smile as he walked up next to Sasuke, who had stopped his short bout of jumping the seemingly impossible-to-jump rope.

"So, I see you've already met Sasuke, huh?" Itachi continued to his silent, dark-skinned companion as he gave Sasuke's hair a good ruffle- the younger boy's hand immediately shooting up to swat the bothersome hand away from his head.

"Yes," Iruka responded simply, but, upon now seeing the two men side by side…and their almost eerily similar appearance, Iruka added, "…wait, are you two related?"

Sasuke visibly blushed as Itachi chuckled and said, "Yep, he's my little brother."

Iruka nodded, totally seeing it now. Only a few differences were present, such as their height, and where Itachi's hair was long and tied back, Sasuke's hair was cut short and spiked- the effect truly showing their age difference now that Iruka could clearly make the comparison.

Itachi then turned to Sasuke and said seriously, "Sasuke, it's a good thing you are paired up with Iruka here. He's one of the best; you could learn a lot from him, so pay attention and do what he says."

Iruka could not stop the blush that spread across his horizontally-scarred face upon hearing such praise from his instructor; someone he genuinely looked up to and respected; but he also did not miss the almost wicked look that Sasuke shot over to him; a small smile upturning those lips as he did so.

"Oh, I…sure will," Sasuke said in a less than innocent manner before returning his equally serious gaze back to his brother.

"Good. Well, I'll leave you to it. Don't forget, we're going to be sparring in about 15 minutes, so be ready," Itachi warned before moving away from them to go help another couple that was having trouble.

With a bit of boost to his confidence and overall sense of purpose, Iruka began jumping rope, expertly going at a difficult, fast pace as he exercised completely control over his reaction time and senses.

Sasuke was a little in shock as he gaped at how fluidly Iruka moved; the dark skinned man never seeming to tire despite how much energy was going into jumping that fast for that long- the only clues that Iruka was actually affected by it at all were the tiny beads of sweat that started to form on his brow as he worked- a few of them falling off his forehead every time he lowered his head to look at the ground.

Sasuke then ruefully noticed how he was the only one not jumping rope in the class and hurried to follow along with the routine with everyone else before time was called.

"You have to…anticipate when the rope is going to come down," Iruka told the struggling raven after a moment; after finally willing himself to find his voice and speak up, "don't just think about it, feel it…know when to jump and when to wait."

Classic Bushido training and logic, as it was, that Iruka decided to subtly inform Sasuke of; who answered back a quick and breathless "I'll try" before engaging in the draining activity once more.

As Iruka had learned; as any fighter would have to; there is a difference between a warrior's time for aggression and the time to be passive. Jumping rope as an exercise in Muay Thai was no different in these lessons and conducts of thought and honing one's body and mind.

Iruka jumped seemingly effortlessly throughout the entire span of the time allotted; Sasuke having to stop a few times to untangle his feet, though he had improved after hearing Iruka's advice of predicting movement and adjusting your reactions accordingly.

Sasuke was out of breath, completely thanking his lucky stars that he did not have to jump that bastard rope anymore. Iruka, on the other hand, stood perfectly straight at Sasuke's side; waiting patiently for his partner to calm down and regain his normal breathing before they sparred.

Catching onto the fact that Iruka was waiting for him, Sasuke said as he forced more air into his lungs and straightened his spine, "I'm good, I'm good. Alright, so we fight next?"

"Just spar," Iruka replied acutely before moving his weight slightly so he was standing directly in front of a sweating, nervous Sasuke.

Both men performed the traditional bow to each other before gracefully sliding into their fighting stances; Iruka clearly showing more comfort and strength in his own than Sasuke.

"Go easy on me- I'm still learning," Sasuke remarked playfully with a snide smile behind his wrapped fists.

A small smile graced Iruka's lips at the endearing comment as well before he said, "I want you to attack me first, Sasuke."

To himself, Iruka had already surmised that by him saying this, Sasuke would probably try for some jabs first. He looked too unsure about himself yet to be completely confident to throw any accurate kicks, so, he would more than likely just go for something a little more fundamental, such as a short, quick punch to Iruka's face.

Immediately after stating his challenge to Sasuke, Iruka was already preparing himself to block and sidestep to the left to dodge the blows and have an opportunity to inflict his own.

Amazingly enough, Iruka was dead on in his read of the younger Uchiha, as; after a moment; Sasuke took a fast step forward with his left foot while throwing his left hand; his right already looking like it was ready to follow through as well.

Iruka instinctively, knowingly raised his arms up a bit higher to protect his face and took Sasuke's purposefully soft jab to his nicely-muscled forearm, before swiftly ducking to the left a little- Sasuke's right hook already faltering from Iruka's movement.

With an opening available, Iruka threw his right elbow at Sasuke's face; keeping his fist tucked closely to his body and slightly upturned, so that the sharp 'axe' of his elbow would be what came into contact with Sasuke's cheekbone.

Had this been a real fight, Sasuke's jaw would have undoubtedly been broken from such a well-timed and accurate blow.

However, Iruka only let his elbow come within a few centimeters from Sasuke's beautiful, but almost frightened face before retracting his arm back to its 'ready' stance, and bringing up his right knee; aimed right for Sasuke's abdomen.

Sasuke would have been down for the count had any of this been real.

"Man…you move so fast, Iruka," Sasuke said with his eyebrows raised and a friendly grin, "It's like you already knew what I was going to do."

Upon hearing such naïve but charming words, Iruka sighed and dropped his stance to walk up to and stand next to Sasuke, as opposed to being in front of him; his fighting stance coming up once more when they were side by side.

Sasuke raised his hands once more and locked eyes with Iruka, searching his chocolate gaze that was still staring straight ahead as he spoke.

"You have to try to get a read on your enemy. Always search for any clues that might help you out in the fight. If they favor a side or a particular technique…anything like that," Iruka explained as he performed his same combination of moves a bit slower for Sasuke to imitate, "Then you will know what to do; how to respond."

After a few more times of showing Sasuke how to dodge, throw an elbow, and then a knee, the raven haired young man finally was able to perform the combination just as well as Iruka himself.

Iruka smirked at Sasuke's progress and moved to stand in front of him once more so they could spar again.

"Alright, I think I got it," Sasuke said as he hopped up and down enthusiastically to keep his heart rate up and muscles ready before regaining his stance once more to an already calm and waiting Iruka.

"Good. Now I'm going to attack you first," Iruka said, deciding to be a little more assertive with Sasuke since he seemed to pick up his technique and teaching so well, "…and remember to anticipate when to jump and when to wait…know your enemy…"

"But I want to know my enemy a lot better…" Sasuke cut off Iruka's sentence coyly, enigmatically as he cast him that same, almost daring gaze and malicious-looking smirk at his chocolate-haired partner.

"Huh?" Iruka asked; totally caught off guard from such a weird statement from his Muay Thai companion, who was immediately using the small window of opportunity to strike at Iruka while his guard was down.

Sasuke dove right in front of Iruka with another jab that was only to act as a rouse while he closed the distance in between them more, and then threw his recently perfected right elbow, followed up by a typically rib-cracking right knee into Iruka's stomach.

The blows had been light, as it was only sparring after all, but Iruka still felt…wounded. He had totally let all his training and wisdom of how to handle himself in a fight go completely out the window…all from one, single sentence from his raven-haired partner.

Iruka sighed and rubbed his fist over his stomach where Sasuke had gotten him, not that it was hurting; it just felt…odd.

Never one to deny someone else's accomplishments, however; as warriors have long since adhered to a certain respect amongst them all no matter what; Iruka almost ruefully said, "You did good work, Sasuke. That was perfect execution and timing."

At that, Sasuke smiled a big, toothy grin- the sight already making Iruka feel worlds better that he had 'lost'.

"Thanks, Iruka. I really appreciate everything you taught me today," Sasuke confessed whole-heartedly; another pink blush coloring his cheeks as he scratched his left shoulder with his right hand nervously.

"You're welcome," Iruka said dully; not used to those particular words coming out of his mouth, so he only said them quietly before turning his back to Sasuke to search through the panting, exhausted crowd for Itachi.

Iruka spotted Itachi giving some long-haired, pale-eyed teenager a hearty pat on the back as he laughed and walked away from him and his partner to, once again, come to the front of everyone and make another announcement.

"All of you are doing exceptionally well. On everyone's itinerary should be light exercising and shadowboxing at home, and then we meet here again Monday, guys. Before calling it a day, let's take a few minutes for some cool-down exercises," Itachi shouted to his class before delving into the crowd once again to help when needed; occasionally stating generally to the class things about breathing and posture.

Iruka wiped a line of sweat that was threatening to run down his cheek with the back of his wrapped hand before risking a quick glance over to Sasuke at his left.

Iruka was a little bit shocked to find Sasuke blatantly staring at him as if he had visible words on him to read, but thought nothing of it as he took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and bent his spread knees to get into a classic 'horse' stance to begin his cooling down stretches.

Iruka sagely let all his weight rest comfortably in his thick, muscled thighs as he raised his arms over his head and concentrated on his breathing; the stance and act themselves already providing Iruka with a sort of Zen-like state for his mind and body.

Tension and exhaustion left his muscles as he skillfully stretched his arms over his head, reaching to opposite sides, while the tops of his thighs took the brunt of his settled weight; his experience and strength truly showing by how long he was able to remain in such a strenuous stance.

As Iruka gracefully, as if he could have also been a dancer, slid out of his 'horse' stance and put his feet together to bend down and touch the floor; stretching his sore legs and back, Sasuke's eyes never left him for one second.

Little did Iruka know, as he was too fully engulfed in his meditation, that even while Sasuke performed some rather half-assed, cool-down exercises next to him; those big, black eyes were hungrily taking in all the hard planes and lines of muscle that contoured Iruka's beautiful, bronze body.

Beads of sweat swiveled paths down Iruka's broad shoulders and arms, tracing the grooves and lines present there from years of training and fighting. Iruka's tight, black tank top was hugging his wide back and narrow waist even tighter since it was a little damp with sweat now- everything practically inviting Sasuke to reach out and touch those hard-earned muscles and that gorgeous skin; to feel it against his own.

Suddenly, Sasuke noticed a low, quiet voice was speaking to him- his mind was immediately trying to catch up.

"Well, Sasuke, it was great working with you today. I guess I'll see you later," Iruka said flatly, unemotionally before turning away from the daydreaming raven and quickly bowing once more so he could step off the mats for the last time.

"Yeah…you too…" Sasuke sort of mumbled at Iruka's retreating form; Iruka's black hand wrappings already stringing down from his hands as he unwound them along the way to his backpack and chair.

Sasuke gulped as he watched Iruka's perfect ass switch from side to side inside those short, dark green shorts which provided the most gracious view of his long and heavily muscled legs.

Even his legs were beautiful in the way they conveyed the reserved power that they possessed.

Sasuke was intrigued. That much was just absolutely clear to the younger of the two Uchiha brothers.

Iruka simply fascinated him.

As the class-takers were all busy getting their gear together to leave, Sasuke walked over to Itachi to receive instructions for what he should do around the facility to help clean up.

Iruka was the last to leave, almost as if he just did not want to leave at all judging from how he took his time.

Sasuke, unfortunately, had already promised his big brother a while ago that he would stay after the class to help him put the place back together- by means of straightening mats, picking up trash, mopping the hardwood floors, and other such work.

As Itachi was currently hefting another large, heavy blue mat on top of the others, he said to his brother from across the room, "So Sasuke…what do you think of my Muay Thai class?"

Sasuke, meanwhile, was straightening the disorganized, plastic chairs back along the walls and collecting any garbage that was left under them.

"It was fun; I really had a good time…now I see what you have been going on about," Sasuke replied with a laugh.

Itachi laughed, too, at his brother's seemingly inherited dry wit and replied, "I'm glad to hear it. So, do you think you'll come to more classes, then?"

Sasuke stopped his work and stood upright, moving his upper body around to stretch out his cramping back muscles, "I don't really know. Maybe."

"Alright, alright. Just let me know," Itachi said in his usual 'big brother' voice as he continued straightening out the mats that were now stacked up almost as tall as he was.

"So…so what's the story with Iruka?" Sasuke suddenly asked out of nowhere- Itachi's eyebrow immediately rising in utter confusion at his brother's strange outburst of a question.

Nonetheless, Itachi decided to answer his brother's inquiry.

"Iruka? Iruka…well…"Itachi began as he finally stopped his work so he could think of anything he knew about the guy to tell his brother, "…he's just a nice, quiet guy. He's been taking Muay Thai for a couple of years, and he's always been really good as far as I can remember. I've even asked him out for drinks a couple of times because I had a question to ask him."

Sasuke's jaw wanted to hit the floor upon hearing Itachi's casual, but devastating answer. Itachi had asked him out!? Did this mean that Itachi, his own brother, liked him? Sasuke had to find out; there was no other way around it.

Softly, shyly, Sasuke made himself say aloud to his older brother, "Well, that explains how he was so knowledgeable today, I guess. But...Itachi...what was it that you wanted to ask him about?"

Sasuke could already feel his chest swell uncomfortably as the butterflies currently wreaking havoc in his stomach were getting out of control- absolute fear and angst just already gripping him at his core.

"If he would help me teach Muay Thai here. But, he always had some excuse of how busy he was, so I never got a chance to make him the job offer," Itachi answered, still oblivious to his brother's feelings about his dark-skinned pupil.

Sweet, cleansing relief suddenly rippled through Sasuke and annihilated all the painfully tight anxiety that he was bottling up inside upon hearing Itachi's cool and honest reply; making him literally sigh out a huge breath and come back to reality.

Suddenly, a thought struck Sasuke. He needed to see him, talk to him; figure out the silent, alluring mystery that was Umino Iruka…and it had to be now.

"You know… I think I'm going to go talk to him, so I'll see you later, ok?" Sasuke said cheerfully with a wave before hurrying out of the gym; leaving no room at all for Itachi to protest and remind his younger brother of his promise to help him.