For What It's Worth

If anything was a fact, it was that Iruka Umino did not have one boring day. They had been practicing throwing shuriken and kunai and as had been predicted, Iruka's med kit was almost used up when it came to bandages. No one had been seriously hurt – thank the gods – but in the end every single student had known not to touch the sharp sides. A long breath left him as the children headed off to lunch, leaving the teacher alone to gather up all the equipment and the targets, giving him ample time to think. However, the mission he had been on was draining him and just the thought of sleep threatened to make him fall comatose. He knew he needed coffee, but at the same time he knew he needed to get all the equipment to the storage closet. It took him three trips to get everything where it belonged and as he finally put the kunai away, he leaned heavily against the wall, a hand rising to pinch his nose. It was then that he finally noticed the pug next to him, almost giving him a heart attack.

"Not another mission, Pakkun?" He asked in a weary voice, eyeing the dog with some distrust for he was carrying a rather suspicious looking envelope. How the pug managed to look up at him in annoyance he'd never know, but he didn't dwell on it.

"No, the boss is inviting you to a party," he said with boredom in his voice, putting down the invitation in favour of scratching behind his ear, ignoring the clear surprise on Iruka's face. "Been running around giving those to everyone, so don't lose it. Had enough trouble dodging all those pups on the way." Not waiting for a reply, the dog left, leaving Iruka to gape slightly, only to draw in a deep breath. He was invited? His brow knitted together as he crouched to take the letter, staring at the rather plain 'Genma's. 11pm.' with his brow knitting, a suspicious creeping up his back, making him scrunch his nose in thought. This wasn't good. Or well, sure, it was alright. But the fact that he was invited simply because he'd been on a few ANBU missions as back-up (which was mostly useless and just ended with him getting more traumas) and thus the jounin considered him somewhat.. worthy? The teacher didn't like that thought.

A long sigh left his lips as he pocketed the invitation – not in the same pocket as the drawing – before gathering up his books and his teaching plan, starting to make his way to the mission room. It'd be one long day and if he was lucky, he just might catch a few hours of sleep in between the end of his mission room shift and the start of the party. Besides, if Kakashi was the one doing the invitations then he knew even if he came an hour late he'd be early enough. Sure, the drinking games would have started already but quite frankly, he was surprised if anything caught him off guard again. He'd come to realize the jounin acted almost like pre-genin, especially when they had alcohol in their blood.

With numerous thoughts running through his head the teacher made his way to Ichiraku's, quickly gulping down a bowl of ramen even if he knew he would regret it later. Thanking Teuchi and apologizing for not staying to chat, the chuunin was quick to make his way to the mission room, taking his place easily after those few mandatory greetings. It was a rather slow day – a depressing income for the village for that day – even if the amount of D-rank missions was astounding, which was also why a lot of genin teams went through the room. This, however, made Iruka feel a bit more on edge. Every jounin with a team seemed to look at him funny and it wasn't until one asked him whether he was coming to the part that warning bells set off. Was he going to be the butt of everyone's jokes in the gathering? The jounin, however, wisely began calming the teacher down when he saw a vein bulging in his forehead and it was clear that he was going to unleash his infamous temper if the man didn't shove it, or tell him what was going. The small group was quite swift in their exit.

The rest of his day was ruined. He was snapping at every single one – though not the customers – and if anyone even tried placating him they got a death-inducing glare. It was Genma who was brave enough to bring him a cup of coffee, which earned a smile from the chuunin and the rest of the day seemed uneventful, for there was always someone to refill his cup if it even threatened to empty. When the final mission was handed in, a long, pitiful sigh left Iruka as his forehead hit his desk. For a moment, he thought he'd fall asleep right there.

"Oi, Iruka!"

The teacher's head snapped up at the rather commanding, almost reprimanding tone and it took a while for his eyes to focus on the person in front of him, eyes narrowed as he was ready to said person as loud as he could and damn them to the pits of hell. However, before his temper could boil over, sense kicked in. He was staring at Kakashi Hatake and for a few moments he just blinked before a frown appeared onto the teacher's face. Sure, he was caught sleeping on the job but honestly! Having the Copy Ninja who was always late catch him? It almost made him laugh and cry at the same time, showing just how tired he was.

"What do you want, Kakashi?" He asked, his tone weary.

"Just making sure you're coming to the party tonight!" The grey-haired man said with a wide smile, only to turn around and leave with a wave of his hand and that thrice-damned Icha Icha in his hand.

Iruka was left there to practically boil, a growl leaving his lips and as he stormed out of the mission room and into the streets, everyone stepped out of his way. His door received a rather harsh treatment after he'd disengaged the three locks and he could have sworn he heard the hinges give a rather protesting creak but instead of listening, he kicked the door closed with as much force before walking to his bed, setting his alarm and landing on his front. He was asleep before his head even touched the pillow. Thankfully, he did not dream.

A few – two and a half to be exact – hours later, his alarm clock went off.

The growl that came from the bed would have scared even Kyuubi away as the teacher pushed himself up, only to throw the offending piece of machinery into a wall. Iruka's disheveled body got up with a string of muffled, dark curses, his hair askew as he shrugged off his flak jacket. Looking down at himself he simply frowned. He didn't exactly have anything else to wear and so, he simply decided to go like that, in the black basic outfit. Looking at himself from the only mirror in the apartment he let out a soft, almost suffering sigh. He looked ordinary but somehow, the man doubted it could be helped. And so he simply pulled on his flak jacket, left his apartment and walked with deep dread. The closer he got to Genma's apartment, the louder it got.

Pausing, Iruka let his eyes travel over the building before he let out a deep sigh, wondering just why he had actually decided to come. Glancing behind himself, he was actually shocked to see the wild ruffle of grey hair and the dark mask, not having heard the other walking up to him.

"Let's go in," the other said without pocketing his porn.

Iruka groaned, cursed, earned an amused glance from Kakashi before he knocked on the door and was greeted by a very tipsy, very handsy Genma with Raidou trying his best to keep his lover at bay. It was going to be a long night.

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A/N: I forgot to write into the first chapter! Reviews are a must, especially critical ones! Don't give me no flames, though.