Konoha, the village hidden in the Leafs; it is the home of two groups: everyday citizens, and top-notch ninja. The sun rose yet again. It was the start of a new day, of course, the feeling would occur for the next. Kameyo gazed at the blinding sunshine. Her eyes squinted, for they had not yet adjusted to the morning light. She opened her window, stuck her head out, and took a deep breath; the air smelled so clean, almost as if it had never been breathed before — dry, like in the winter, and fresh similar to the aroma of pine. Kameyo took another inhale before she crawled back inside and closed the window.
Her daily routine was always the same; wake up, smell the roses, clean the face, fix up breakfast, and spend about ten minutes at most getting dressed. Kameyo wore a smoky gray kimono that was decorated with multiple shades of white and gray cherry blossoms. She was very picky with her colors; she wore gray because the color matched her eyes. Though her dark brown hair looked captivating down, she slicked it back into a neat ponytail. It was incredible how a nineteen year old aged just a couple years based on her outward appearance.
When she had completed her morning to-do's, she exited her apartment and headed for Konoha's library. The village was so large Kameyo's apartment was placed far from the big city. She liked the quiet atmosphere, especially the privacy; not a whole lot of people lived on the neutral streets however. The library, on the other hand, was a different story. The building was parked just a few blocks away from the hospital which is just shy from the Hokage's place. Kameyo didn't mind the presence of other people, she just preferred to be by herself; blame it on her shy side.
The hour wasn't even 9AM and already the streets (in each direction) were swarming with citizens. Kameyo shyly smiled her way through the crowd and patted the heads of the young-lings that greeted her. Although she may dress like a widow, her heart was just as cherishing as a loving mother. This explained why the kids adored her so much; whether they were training ninja or typical students, Kameyo loved them like they were her own. However, she did have a favorite.
She unlocked the front doors and turned on the electricity in the library building. The first thing she did was say good morning to all of the books. Then, she rolled out a cart full of book returns and began sorting them out. Shelving books was Kameyo's favorite part about her job because occasionally some titles would catch her curious eye. The books nearly fell out of her hands when suddenly the front door slammed shut.
"It's too early for anyone to be coming in here," Kameyo whispered to herself.
She grew more cautious the moment she heard somebody snickering. Kameyo didn't mind the extra presence as long as they obeyed the library rules. But again Kameyo jumped out of fright. This time, she yelped out loud enough that she could hear her voice echo through the entire dome of a building.
"Ha ha! You should've seen the the look on your face," laughed a young boy.
"Naruto, shh, we're in a library. You talk in a hushed tone like you would in a hospital," Kameyo told him.
"You don't have to tell me twice; I know where we are," the scrawny blonde boy giggled. His loud voice only increased in volume.
Kameyo shook her head out of amusement. She had met Naruto not too long ago. One day she caught him sitting alone in the back of the library during closing time. He had on a bum face, so Kameyo approached the small boy and kept him company. She asked him why he was hanging around there, and he simply replied that the library was a place where he wouldn't have to listen to everyone scorning him. They ended up staying overnight with the books; there was no other choice. Kameyo had just started on reading Naruto a story, and he immediately fell asleep.
"Why aren't you in class?" Kameyo asked him."We're have a late start. Which reminds me, I have a surprise for you," Naruto eagerly told her.
"A surprise?"
"It's not ready yet. I'll come get you once it's done! Just stay here!" He ordered.'Like I have a choice,' Kameyo sarcastically thought as she watched the energetic spaz run out the front doors. Kameyo giggled quietly, but then quickly returned to her work. If Naruto was going to take up her time, then she had to work twice as hard so she wouldn't fall behind.
Closing time approached and still no sign of Naruto. Kameyo sighed and locked up; she wasn't too disappointed,after all, she see's Naruto everyday in the morning.
The night sky had completely taken over, dinner time. Kameyo couldn't resist the suspense, so she marched over to Ichiraku Ramen to, first, get something to eat, and second, learn what the surprise was all about. Once she entered the restaurant, she saw Naruto (of course) enjoying a bowl of ramen, but he wasn't alone. There was a strange man eating with him. Kameyo had never seen him before; he wore Konoha's ninja headband. Her face burned bright red with shyness. She wanted to avoid any awkward moments, so she turned around to leave.
"Welcome to Ichiraku, what can I do for you?" the male chef asked.
"Kameyo!" Naruto mumbled.
'Crap,' she thought. "I guess I'll have a bowl," she told him.
"Kameyo Takara, this is —""Iruka Umino," the strangerinterrupted.
"I had your surprise all set but I got chased around the village and Iruka-sensei made me take it down," Naruto apologized.
"You put graffiti all over every face of the past Hokage," Iruka explained.
"That was your surprise?" Kameyo asked. Naruto chuckled, it was meant as a message for the entire village. "I'm gonna be greater than all of them, me, Naruto Uzumaki, as Hokage!"
Kameyo blushed when he said that. Then she patted his head to show her support. She ignored all that was around her except Naruto. Iruka, on the other hand, switched his focus to the third party.
"Kameyo," Naruto then spoke.
"Are you going to stay for another bowl?"
"Oh I really should go. I've intruded already."
"Only if this place were private intruding would've took place. But if you have to go, let us walk you home," Iruka insisted.
"Not so fast. I want another bowl!" Naruto demanded.
After dinner, Naruto and Iruka escorted Kameyo to her apartment. Because of the hour they ended up making a drop off when the 12 year old passed out from exhaustion. So both Iruka and Kameyo tucked the boy in and then made way to Kameyo's.
"You don't have to feel obligated to walk me home," Kameyo shyly spoke.
"It's not a problem. You're a friend of Naruto's, besides it's not always a good idea for people to walk alone at night."
"Just people or certain folk?"
Iruka stumbled with his words. He didn't want to give off a bad impression, so he just laughed it off.
"So, Kameyo, how long have you been living in Konoha?"
"My whole life," she replied.
"Did you attend the academy?"
"No," she answered.
"I guess it makes sense. I would've remembered you if you were a ninja."
"There are a lot of ninja in this village it wouldn't have made a difference."
"So then, what do you do?" Iruka asked."I work."
"Not just employment, what do you do that makes you look so neat?"
Kameyo didn't answer him. Instead, she stopped walking and defensively looked at the ninja. Iruka rubbed the back of his head and nervously laughed. His body language became stiff and unsure.
"I guess my small talk isn't doing well. I didn't mean it like that. It's just . . . . you're so . . ."
"Boring," Kameyo answered.
"Shiny," Iruka blurted. "Ahem, I mean, I'm just trying to get to know you."
"Why?"
"A friend of Naruto is a friend of mine."
Kameyo's eyes widened. The moment she truly examined Iruka, it was as if heaven's light came down and glowed all around him. Her heart beat thrice as fast; although, ironically, she found it hard to breathe. She got lost in his dashing eyes almost as if they cast a spell on her. She sheepishly continued to walk with him until they finally reached her apartment. Konoha was a large village; too big for Kameyo to hope that she'd ever see Iruka again, so for her, it was back to her world of fantasy with work by Alexandre Dumas.
Two months slowly went by in the hidden Leaf village. Though no matter how busy Kameyo was, she still had enough time to think about Iruka. In everything she did: working, dilly-dallying, even reading, he was the distraction. She tried to change her thoughts by thinking about Naruto.
"Which reminds me, I haven't seen the little bugger for awhile now," she muttered to herself.
With another day coming to an end, Kameyo locked the library doors, but paused. Her body started to tremble the moment she felt his presence drawing near. Kameyo clutched onto her books, dropped her head, and prepared to plow through the streets.
"Got somewhere to be?" Iruka asked waiting out in the road. "I finally got to see where you work."
"Did you find me out of coincidence?" Kameyo asked.
"Something like that. I was just heading for Ichiraku; is there any chance you're going there too?"
"There's a high chance Naruto may be."
"Nope, not tonight," Iruka replied.
"Why not?"
"He's on a mission. Well his first outside mission. I don't know if he told you that he graduated from the academy."
"He did," Kameyo spoke.
"Well, a couple days ago was his orientation, getting put in a squad, and meeting their new sensei," Iruka explained.
"I thought you were his sensei."
"Come on, we'll talk over ramen, unless you prefer something else."
"Ramen is fine." Kameyo's face turned red again. She was starting to feel like a little girl. Her mind was frantically panicking about how her hair looked after working, and hoping her face wasn't too pasty from the sweat. The difficult and insane effects men can do to women, and they don't even try. When Iruka smiled at her, she almost lost it.
"Naruto is now ranked as a Genin; the lowest level in being a ninja. He's been teamed up with two other classmates, and a jonin who is also their mentor," Iruka explained.
The two sat at Ichiraku for hours and they were still on their first bowl.
"I never did care much about the ninja business, but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful. It's just . . . seeing all those young children entering in it and going on missions kills me. Some never even return," Kameyo confessed.
"Adult ninja fall under the same fate too."
"I know, and that breaks my heart too. That's why I dropped after my parents died."
The slurps from the noodles and hot broth ceased for a little bit. Iruka observed the librarian; her eyes started to well up, but Kameyo quickly wiped them away. Iruka recapped the tragic with his parents.
"We have something in common. We both lost our parents. No wonder you related with Naruto so well," he spoke. "Why did you withdraw? You could've made a great ninja."
"Eh," Kameyo blushed. "I didn't focus enough anyways. My nose was in all the books that had nothing to do with ninja abilities."
"I see," Iruka nodded as he stared at the stack of books she brought. "That was more of a selfish remark. I guess I was just imagining that I would have taught you in class, and we would've met sooner."
Kameyo's brows rose; there was no way he just spoke that sentence and meant it. She assumed he was just being polite. She never dated a guy, so the change was new to her. Even as a child she didn't have crushes. She was too lost in her world of imagination; she pretended she was a poor peasant who is falsely accused and suffers many years in prison, then befriends a group of pirates and sails to look for sacred treasure.
The two walked down the night streets of Konoha learning more and more about each other. Kameyo enjoyed listening to Iruka's background, except his childhood, that she was saddened by.
"So, Kameyo, there's something that's been bothering me all night," Iruka told her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I actually cheated. Before Naruto left I asked him where you worked."
Kameyo didn't know what to say. Thankfully, for her sake, Iruka continued. "Tonight, Ichiraku up to strolling, do you consider this . . . . a date?"
Kameyo was thrown back. She didn't know what to say; what could she say? She wanted to consider the night a date, but what of Iruka? It's possible he only thought of it as just a night. Her head had so many possibilities; perhaps Iruka thought it was a date and was unsure of her side, hence, the reassurance.
'But why would he bring up date if it isn't?' Kameyo thought. 'Did I do something that may have gotten him thinking it was a date? Oh what do I do? What do I say?'
Kameyo cleared her throat and opened her mouth, but Iruka jumped in again. "Okay, I'm just going to make this obvious."
So he grabbed her arms and pulled her in for a deep mind blowing kiss.
"You were glowing when I first saw you. That's why I said you were shiny. But now I can't thank Naruto enough for painting all over the Hokage Monument. I want to consider this our first date, but only if you agree," Iruka poured out.
Kameyo stood frozen before him, dumbfounded. The sensation she received from Iruka — she wanted to feel it again. She took her eyes away from him and looked down. Already Iruka regretted his confession; he let go of her arms and sighed. Finally, after a moment of silence, Kameyo took a step towards Iruka but he took a step back.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Would you just stand still?" she asked. Kameyo wrapped her arms around his neck and deeply buried her lips into his.
After a few months of dating, Iruka popped the question to Kameyo. Normally she never would have acted in haste, but in her heart she knew Iruka was the one for her, no second thoughts, it was true love. They had a small wedding nevertheless; the crowd was rather large thanks to Naruto's big mouth. It did save Kameyo on invitations however. Neither Iruka nor Kameyo could blame his excitement; after all, he was the best man. Kameyo though didn't have a maid of honor or someone to give her away.
"Alright Mrs. Umino, now I would take it easy with the shelving; you're little bump won't stop growing on account of work, it's rather selfish."
"I'm not too worried; I have my co-workers who'll force me to rest easy." Kameyo told the doctor.
"See that they do. So are you going to watch the Chunin preliminaries?"
"Well I did promise Iruka I would go for him. Besides, I'll be supporting Naruto, so I guess I am," She answered.
"The battle between that Uchiha kid and the kid from the Sand is why I'm going. You're Naruto is up against that Neji Hyuga, last year’s number one rookie."
"So if Naruto defeats him, will that mean he gets the title Konoha's ultimate rookie?" Kameyo questioned. "He may be a knucklehead but he surprises me all the time."
Iruka ran down the halls of the hospital. He didn't even bother stopping to ask exactly which room Kameyo was in. The building was already in chaos, everyone was busy with their own patient, so nobody could really help him. Iruka just ran up and down every level and yelled out for his wife hoping she would respond to his cry. Finally, he was stopped by a nurse who asked for him to lower his voice.
"I'm sorry," Iruka breathed. "But my wife is here. I know it. She's pregnant and got caught in the village attack. Some ninja brought her here. They said she was covered in ashes and debris and took a bad hit."
"Calm down Iruka. She's fine. She's right in there. You're welcome to go in, but she inhaled a lot of construction dust. Maybe too much," the nurse told him.
Iruka gulped at her sentence. He began to question whether Kameyo was truly alright or not. He took a deep breath and slowly entered her room; he inched his head through and almost died at the sight. Seeing the love of his life lying in a hospital bed was torturous to him; he only wanted to see her in the hospital was for giving birth, nothing more. Iruka rested his left hand on her stomach and his right on her forehead. Kameyo lay still in her bed breathing through oxygen tubes; Iruka fought back his tears, but once Kameyo jerked her head, his face was drenched with water relief.
"Kameyo," Iruka whispered.
"Iruka," she answered. "You're alright."
Iruka laughed. He leaned over to kiss her; relief took over his entire body.
"We're operating now," Kameyo told him.
"What are you talking about?"
"The baby isn't breathing right; something happened during the attack. I told them no matter what save my child!"
"Are you alright?" Iruka worriedly asked.
Before she could answer, Iruka scurried to the room door, opened it, and screamed for assistance. Kameyo closed her eyes just to rest for a bit. She smiled to herself as she listened to Iruka lose himself. He paced back and forth alongside her bed; sweat ran down his face.
"Kameyo, why are you giggling at a time like this?"
She opened her eyes and admiringly gazed upon him. She stretched her hand towards him. Iruka took it and knelt beside her. She cupped his chin and caressed his cheek.
"My dear sweet husband." she started. "I love you so much."
"I love you too."
"You can call for the doctor now."
Still in the hospital Kameyo lay in bed rest. She peered at the blessing sleeping in her arms. A beautiful baby girl: well, to Kameyo she was beautiful, the most amazing baby she ever laid her eyes on. In the right light, the baby's eyes were a mix of blue and purple, blurple. She had thing blonde hair, so bright, but Kameyo knew the true color.
"I don't get it," Naruto spoke. "You both have dark hair, so why does she have blonde?"
"Because we wished really hard that our child would look like you," Iruka joked.
But Naruto thought he was speaking the truth, so the boy embarrassingly grinned and rubbed the back of his head. His cheeks turned a little pink, for he thought it was flattering too.
"But I don't have a flat nose or weird chin," he blurted out.
"Naruto," Sakura, who was with him, scorned. All of squad 7 was in the room.
"She had a birth defect, but that's normal. With or without it, she has the beauty of a swan."
As Naruto pointed out, the baby's nose was almost completely flat. Also, the right side of her lower jaw was underdeveloped, and a portion of her right cheek had almost no puff in it. But still, Iruka and Kameyo loved her the same.
"What did you name her?" Kakashi asked.
"Iruka wanted Ayelen, which means smile," Kameyo told the jonin. "But because she was born in early autumn, we settled for Akiko."
“Hey, maybe someday she’ll be my apprentice,” Naruto excitedly spoke.
“We’re still debating on whether or not to put her in the academy Naruto,” Iruka immediately looked at the love of his life.
“I think that once she meets Naruto we’ll let her decide.”
Her daily routine was always the same; wake up, smell the roses, clean the face, fix up breakfast, and spend about ten minutes at most getting dressed. Kameyo wore a smoky gray kimono that was decorated with multiple shades of white and gray cherry blossoms. She was very picky with her colors; she wore gray because the color matched her eyes. Though her dark brown hair looked captivating down, she slicked it back into a neat ponytail. It was incredible how a nineteen year old aged just a couple years based on her outward appearance.
When she had completed her morning to-do's, she exited her apartment and headed for Konoha's library. The village was so large Kameyo's apartment was placed far from the big city. She liked the quiet atmosphere, especially the privacy; not a whole lot of people lived on the neutral streets however. The library, on the other hand, was a different story. The building was parked just a few blocks away from the hospital which is just shy from the Hokage's place. Kameyo didn't mind the presence of other people, she just preferred to be by herself; blame it on her shy side.
The hour wasn't even 9AM and already the streets (in each direction) were swarming with citizens. Kameyo shyly smiled her way through the crowd and patted the heads of the young-lings that greeted her. Although she may dress like a widow, her heart was just as cherishing as a loving mother. This explained why the kids adored her so much; whether they were training ninja or typical students, Kameyo loved them like they were her own. However, she did have a favorite.
She unlocked the front doors and turned on the electricity in the library building. The first thing she did was say good morning to all of the books. Then, she rolled out a cart full of book returns and began sorting them out. Shelving books was Kameyo's favorite part about her job because occasionally some titles would catch her curious eye. The books nearly fell out of her hands when suddenly the front door slammed shut.
"It's too early for anyone to be coming in here," Kameyo whispered to herself.
She grew more cautious the moment she heard somebody snickering. Kameyo didn't mind the extra presence as long as they obeyed the library rules. But again Kameyo jumped out of fright. This time, she yelped out loud enough that she could hear her voice echo through the entire dome of a building.
"Ha ha! You should've seen the the look on your face," laughed a young boy.
"Naruto, shh, we're in a library. You talk in a hushed tone like you would in a hospital," Kameyo told him.
"You don't have to tell me twice; I know where we are," the scrawny blonde boy giggled. His loud voice only increased in volume.
Kameyo shook her head out of amusement. She had met Naruto not too long ago. One day she caught him sitting alone in the back of the library during closing time. He had on a bum face, so Kameyo approached the small boy and kept him company. She asked him why he was hanging around there, and he simply replied that the library was a place where he wouldn't have to listen to everyone scorning him. They ended up staying overnight with the books; there was no other choice. Kameyo had just started on reading Naruto a story, and he immediately fell asleep.
"Why aren't you in class?" Kameyo asked him."We're have a late start. Which reminds me, I have a surprise for you," Naruto eagerly told her.
"A surprise?"
"It's not ready yet. I'll come get you once it's done! Just stay here!" He ordered.'Like I have a choice,' Kameyo sarcastically thought as she watched the energetic spaz run out the front doors. Kameyo giggled quietly, but then quickly returned to her work. If Naruto was going to take up her time, then she had to work twice as hard so she wouldn't fall behind.
Closing time approached and still no sign of Naruto. Kameyo sighed and locked up; she wasn't too disappointed,after all, she see's Naruto everyday in the morning.
The night sky had completely taken over, dinner time. Kameyo couldn't resist the suspense, so she marched over to Ichiraku Ramen to, first, get something to eat, and second, learn what the surprise was all about. Once she entered the restaurant, she saw Naruto (of course) enjoying a bowl of ramen, but he wasn't alone. There was a strange man eating with him. Kameyo had never seen him before; he wore Konoha's ninja headband. Her face burned bright red with shyness. She wanted to avoid any awkward moments, so she turned around to leave.
"Welcome to Ichiraku, what can I do for you?" the male chef asked.
"Kameyo!" Naruto mumbled.
'Crap,' she thought. "I guess I'll have a bowl," she told him.
"Kameyo Takara, this is —""Iruka Umino," the strangerinterrupted.
"I had your surprise all set but I got chased around the village and Iruka-sensei made me take it down," Naruto apologized.
"You put graffiti all over every face of the past Hokage," Iruka explained.
"That was your surprise?" Kameyo asked. Naruto chuckled, it was meant as a message for the entire village. "I'm gonna be greater than all of them, me, Naruto Uzumaki, as Hokage!"
Kameyo blushed when he said that. Then she patted his head to show her support. She ignored all that was around her except Naruto. Iruka, on the other hand, switched his focus to the third party.
"Kameyo," Naruto then spoke.
"Are you going to stay for another bowl?"
"Oh I really should go. I've intruded already."
"Only if this place were private intruding would've took place. But if you have to go, let us walk you home," Iruka insisted.
"Not so fast. I want another bowl!" Naruto demanded.
After dinner, Naruto and Iruka escorted Kameyo to her apartment. Because of the hour they ended up making a drop off when the 12 year old passed out from exhaustion. So both Iruka and Kameyo tucked the boy in and then made way to Kameyo's.
"You don't have to feel obligated to walk me home," Kameyo shyly spoke.
"It's not a problem. You're a friend of Naruto's, besides it's not always a good idea for people to walk alone at night."
"Just people or certain folk?"
Iruka stumbled with his words. He didn't want to give off a bad impression, so he just laughed it off.
"So, Kameyo, how long have you been living in Konoha?"
"My whole life," she replied.
"Did you attend the academy?"
"No," she answered.
"I guess it makes sense. I would've remembered you if you were a ninja."
"There are a lot of ninja in this village it wouldn't have made a difference."
"So then, what do you do?" Iruka asked."I work."
"Not just employment, what do you do that makes you look so neat?"
Kameyo didn't answer him. Instead, she stopped walking and defensively looked at the ninja. Iruka rubbed the back of his head and nervously laughed. His body language became stiff and unsure.
"I guess my small talk isn't doing well. I didn't mean it like that. It's just . . . . you're so . . ."
"Boring," Kameyo answered.
"Shiny," Iruka blurted. "Ahem, I mean, I'm just trying to get to know you."
"Why?"
"A friend of Naruto is a friend of mine."
Kameyo's eyes widened. The moment she truly examined Iruka, it was as if heaven's light came down and glowed all around him. Her heart beat thrice as fast; although, ironically, she found it hard to breathe. She got lost in his dashing eyes almost as if they cast a spell on her. She sheepishly continued to walk with him until they finally reached her apartment. Konoha was a large village; too big for Kameyo to hope that she'd ever see Iruka again, so for her, it was back to her world of fantasy with work by Alexandre Dumas.
Two months slowly went by in the hidden Leaf village. Though no matter how busy Kameyo was, she still had enough time to think about Iruka. In everything she did: working, dilly-dallying, even reading, he was the distraction. She tried to change her thoughts by thinking about Naruto.
"Which reminds me, I haven't seen the little bugger for awhile now," she muttered to herself.
With another day coming to an end, Kameyo locked the library doors, but paused. Her body started to tremble the moment she felt his presence drawing near. Kameyo clutched onto her books, dropped her head, and prepared to plow through the streets.
"Got somewhere to be?" Iruka asked waiting out in the road. "I finally got to see where you work."
"Did you find me out of coincidence?" Kameyo asked.
"Something like that. I was just heading for Ichiraku; is there any chance you're going there too?"
"There's a high chance Naruto may be."
"Nope, not tonight," Iruka replied.
"Why not?"
"He's on a mission. Well his first outside mission. I don't know if he told you that he graduated from the academy."
"He did," Kameyo spoke.
"Well, a couple days ago was his orientation, getting put in a squad, and meeting their new sensei," Iruka explained.
"I thought you were his sensei."
"Come on, we'll talk over ramen, unless you prefer something else."
"Ramen is fine." Kameyo's face turned red again. She was starting to feel like a little girl. Her mind was frantically panicking about how her hair looked after working, and hoping her face wasn't too pasty from the sweat. The difficult and insane effects men can do to women, and they don't even try. When Iruka smiled at her, she almost lost it.
"Naruto is now ranked as a Genin; the lowest level in being a ninja. He's been teamed up with two other classmates, and a jonin who is also their mentor," Iruka explained.
The two sat at Ichiraku for hours and they were still on their first bowl.
"I never did care much about the ninja business, but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful. It's just . . . seeing all those young children entering in it and going on missions kills me. Some never even return," Kameyo confessed.
"Adult ninja fall under the same fate too."
"I know, and that breaks my heart too. That's why I dropped after my parents died."
The slurps from the noodles and hot broth ceased for a little bit. Iruka observed the librarian; her eyes started to well up, but Kameyo quickly wiped them away. Iruka recapped the tragic with his parents.
"We have something in common. We both lost our parents. No wonder you related with Naruto so well," he spoke. "Why did you withdraw? You could've made a great ninja."
"Eh," Kameyo blushed. "I didn't focus enough anyways. My nose was in all the books that had nothing to do with ninja abilities."
"I see," Iruka nodded as he stared at the stack of books she brought. "That was more of a selfish remark. I guess I was just imagining that I would have taught you in class, and we would've met sooner."
Kameyo's brows rose; there was no way he just spoke that sentence and meant it. She assumed he was just being polite. She never dated a guy, so the change was new to her. Even as a child she didn't have crushes. She was too lost in her world of imagination; she pretended she was a poor peasant who is falsely accused and suffers many years in prison, then befriends a group of pirates and sails to look for sacred treasure.
The two walked down the night streets of Konoha learning more and more about each other. Kameyo enjoyed listening to Iruka's background, except his childhood, that she was saddened by.
"So, Kameyo, there's something that's been bothering me all night," Iruka told her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I actually cheated. Before Naruto left I asked him where you worked."
Kameyo didn't know what to say. Thankfully, for her sake, Iruka continued. "Tonight, Ichiraku up to strolling, do you consider this . . . . a date?"
Kameyo was thrown back. She didn't know what to say; what could she say? She wanted to consider the night a date, but what of Iruka? It's possible he only thought of it as just a night. Her head had so many possibilities; perhaps Iruka thought it was a date and was unsure of her side, hence, the reassurance.
'But why would he bring up date if it isn't?' Kameyo thought. 'Did I do something that may have gotten him thinking it was a date? Oh what do I do? What do I say?'
Kameyo cleared her throat and opened her mouth, but Iruka jumped in again. "Okay, I'm just going to make this obvious."
So he grabbed her arms and pulled her in for a deep mind blowing kiss.
"You were glowing when I first saw you. That's why I said you were shiny. But now I can't thank Naruto enough for painting all over the Hokage Monument. I want to consider this our first date, but only if you agree," Iruka poured out.
Kameyo stood frozen before him, dumbfounded. The sensation she received from Iruka — she wanted to feel it again. She took her eyes away from him and looked down. Already Iruka regretted his confession; he let go of her arms and sighed. Finally, after a moment of silence, Kameyo took a step towards Iruka but he took a step back.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Would you just stand still?" she asked. Kameyo wrapped her arms around his neck and deeply buried her lips into his.
After a few months of dating, Iruka popped the question to Kameyo. Normally she never would have acted in haste, but in her heart she knew Iruka was the one for her, no second thoughts, it was true love. They had a small wedding nevertheless; the crowd was rather large thanks to Naruto's big mouth. It did save Kameyo on invitations however. Neither Iruka nor Kameyo could blame his excitement; after all, he was the best man. Kameyo though didn't have a maid of honor or someone to give her away.
"Alright Mrs. Umino, now I would take it easy with the shelving; you're little bump won't stop growing on account of work, it's rather selfish."
"I'm not too worried; I have my co-workers who'll force me to rest easy." Kameyo told the doctor.
"See that they do. So are you going to watch the Chunin preliminaries?"
"Well I did promise Iruka I would go for him. Besides, I'll be supporting Naruto, so I guess I am," She answered.
"The battle between that Uchiha kid and the kid from the Sand is why I'm going. You're Naruto is up against that Neji Hyuga, last year’s number one rookie."
"So if Naruto defeats him, will that mean he gets the title Konoha's ultimate rookie?" Kameyo questioned. "He may be a knucklehead but he surprises me all the time."
Iruka ran down the halls of the hospital. He didn't even bother stopping to ask exactly which room Kameyo was in. The building was already in chaos, everyone was busy with their own patient, so nobody could really help him. Iruka just ran up and down every level and yelled out for his wife hoping she would respond to his cry. Finally, he was stopped by a nurse who asked for him to lower his voice.
"I'm sorry," Iruka breathed. "But my wife is here. I know it. She's pregnant and got caught in the village attack. Some ninja brought her here. They said she was covered in ashes and debris and took a bad hit."
"Calm down Iruka. She's fine. She's right in there. You're welcome to go in, but she inhaled a lot of construction dust. Maybe too much," the nurse told him.
Iruka gulped at her sentence. He began to question whether Kameyo was truly alright or not. He took a deep breath and slowly entered her room; he inched his head through and almost died at the sight. Seeing the love of his life lying in a hospital bed was torturous to him; he only wanted to see her in the hospital was for giving birth, nothing more. Iruka rested his left hand on her stomach and his right on her forehead. Kameyo lay still in her bed breathing through oxygen tubes; Iruka fought back his tears, but once Kameyo jerked her head, his face was drenched with water relief.
"Kameyo," Iruka whispered.
"Iruka," she answered. "You're alright."
Iruka laughed. He leaned over to kiss her; relief took over his entire body.
"We're operating now," Kameyo told him.
"What are you talking about?"
"The baby isn't breathing right; something happened during the attack. I told them no matter what save my child!"
"Are you alright?" Iruka worriedly asked.
Before she could answer, Iruka scurried to the room door, opened it, and screamed for assistance. Kameyo closed her eyes just to rest for a bit. She smiled to herself as she listened to Iruka lose himself. He paced back and forth alongside her bed; sweat ran down his face.
"Kameyo, why are you giggling at a time like this?"
She opened her eyes and admiringly gazed upon him. She stretched her hand towards him. Iruka took it and knelt beside her. She cupped his chin and caressed his cheek.
"My dear sweet husband." she started. "I love you so much."
"I love you too."
"You can call for the doctor now."
Still in the hospital Kameyo lay in bed rest. She peered at the blessing sleeping in her arms. A beautiful baby girl: well, to Kameyo she was beautiful, the most amazing baby she ever laid her eyes on. In the right light, the baby's eyes were a mix of blue and purple, blurple. She had thing blonde hair, so bright, but Kameyo knew the true color.
"I don't get it," Naruto spoke. "You both have dark hair, so why does she have blonde?"
"Because we wished really hard that our child would look like you," Iruka joked.
But Naruto thought he was speaking the truth, so the boy embarrassingly grinned and rubbed the back of his head. His cheeks turned a little pink, for he thought it was flattering too.
"But I don't have a flat nose or weird chin," he blurted out.
"Naruto," Sakura, who was with him, scorned. All of squad 7 was in the room.
"She had a birth defect, but that's normal. With or without it, she has the beauty of a swan."
As Naruto pointed out, the baby's nose was almost completely flat. Also, the right side of her lower jaw was underdeveloped, and a portion of her right cheek had almost no puff in it. But still, Iruka and Kameyo loved her the same.
"What did you name her?" Kakashi asked.
"Iruka wanted Ayelen, which means smile," Kameyo told the jonin. "But because she was born in early autumn, we settled for Akiko."
“Hey, maybe someday she’ll be my apprentice,” Naruto excitedly spoke.
“We’re still debating on whether or not to put her in the academy Naruto,” Iruka immediately looked at the love of his life.
“I think that once she meets Naruto we’ll let her decide.”
