For What It's Worth

There was a horrible echo to the silence surrounding the small, sleepy village. No sounds, not even the breath of the wind caused a stir in the surroundings, leaving the moon to cast its eerie glow on the rooftops. A lonely bird chirped in the trees and it seemed to set off a series of quick events. Three figures seemed to emerge from the woods, speeding towards the village at an unhuman pace, faces hidden two by white masks, one hidden in the shadows of a hood. Disappearing into the mansion in the middle, it became quiet yet again but the silence had changed into one of suspense, the calm before the storm. However, the storm did not break.

The three figures exited as quietly as they had, taking to the cover of the trees, leaving no trace of their existence. As the sun began to overtake the moon, the village slowly started bustling and the market began opening, only for this all to be halted by a sudden panicked bustling in the large building. Soon, the words was on everyone's lips. The rich family had been murdered, every last one of them. The shock was palpable but at the same time, there was the undercurrent of absolute thrill. Their suppressor had been gotten rid of and slowly, the village began waking to a new, brighter day. It was only nine in the morning when everybody knew and for once, the sound of the market was honestly happy and elated, with no strain or something hidden. It was the sound of a village, free of bounds, happy to exist.

A lone figure was crouched on a tree branch, watching the scene unfold. His hood was down, revealing tan skin only interrupted by a horizontal scar over his nose and soft, dark brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, warm mocha colored eyes intent on taking in the different nuances in the sounds. There was no expression on his face, apart from a slight softening in those beautiful eyes and the minuscule quirk at his lips. It seemed whenever a village was freed, one stayed. This however was only when Iruka was assigned to the team. A mere school teacher with a wide knowledge of traps, needed on the most sensitive missions. After all, who better to take care of a bunch of traps other than an Academy teacher, after all?

But how did the teacher take these missions? It was only so long he could keep convincing himself that it was for the good of the community, just long enough for him to reach his home and recall the sound of the last breaths of the victims, to see those pools of blood and to smell the tears. Iruka had never wanted to advance in the ranks but desperate times called for desperate measures and so he, also, was dispatched onto some of the more advanced missions just like this one, where he'd been on one with ANBU. One day, he'd be able to tell himself that things would be alright even after what he'd done, when he wouldn't have to stop and wait to see the reaction. He knew that today would not be that day and so he covered his face again, rose to his feet and silently sped back to his own village knowing he would make it just before his lesson was about to start.

As the familiar sight greeted his eyes, a smile curled the teacher's lips even if it wasn't quite as bright as it was. Making his way to his own small apartment, he toed off his shoes, snapped on the coffee maker, pulled off his outfit and immediately hit the shower. Washing off the lingering traces of the large mansion, he was slowly starting to feel human again and as he stepped out of the shower, he let out a soft sigh. Staring into the mirror, he knew his students would point out the dark circles under his eyes but at least he could say he'd stayed up, thinking of a pop quiz for them.

Making his way out of his bathroom, he drew in the gorgeous scent of freshly brewed coffee but before he allowed himself his treat he dressed, pulling on the standard outfit. Checking the pockets of his flak jacket, he made sure he had everything from his kunai to the first-aid kit and smirked at the feel of one of the drawings one of his students had given him. It was one of the first he'd gotten and it had brought him luck, which was why he carried it with him always, reminding himself of why he did this. Drawing up his hair, tying it and then tying on the forehead protector made him realise his purpose fully and he smiled. Not caring that he had not had any sleep, he made his way to his kitchen again to pour himself a cup of coffee. With the cup in hand he put on his sandals, grabbed a stack of books and papers and began making his way to the Academy.

It was just an ordinary day and the coffee served to wake him up nicely. Nodding and smiling to the people passing by, it was clear that the gentle-mannered chuunin was a well liked and known teacher. He was even caught for a moment chatting to a parent and quite quickly, the young mother's worries had been settled and she carried on with her grocery shopping, where as Iruka simply continued making his way to the Academy. The teacher's lounge was bustling with other's eating lunch and he stopped by only to refill his coffee cup before continuing into his class. A somewhat wistful look was cast out of the window – it was a beautiful day – before he simply took out the teaching plan for that day.

As the students started rolling in, he brightened up and welcomed every one, starting the day like he did every single day. It would have risen too many questions if the chuunin had been gone for even a day.

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Author's Note
Why, yes. Something from me, yet again! I might get back to working on that Alice in Wonderland, but this little brainchild of mine simply wanted to come out! I am in need of a beta, thank you very much, so if you're up for it, tell me. This story was previously posted on FF.net which means that I just slapped these three chapters here straight away. After that the pace is most likely going to be one chapter in a week. Hopefully.