Love Beyond This Life

@ momentai.

"Then we don't get caught," whispered Ryo. He watched as Iruka made a move towards Haruta, who subconsciously leaned towards him before her battle instinct kicked in and forced her to dodge. Ryo sat in amazement their body language was so in sync that Haruta-sensei actually had a delay in her usual split-second reaction time. When he spoke his thoughts softly to his squadmates Ryo became more and more aware of the fact that the two Jonin-- or at least Haruta-sensei-- we're completely unaware of their body language. "It's like she doesn't even know it's happening."

Haruta's body moved around Iruka's blows in ways that made it her lazy Gantle Fist formation look like a free flowing dance. It was then that Neji had finally come to the training area to see his sister and Iruka-sensei sparring with Haruta's squad of Chunin just a school year younger than himself sitting in a cluster whispering to each other. He caught the end of Ryo's statement as he sat down on the end of their line beside Aki, he'd met and even gone on a mission or two with his sister and her squad so he knew the kids fairly well. He matched their volume and tone of whisper, "Know what is happening?"

Iruka, admittedly, was a little frustrated with how easily Haruta could dodge his attacks. It really shouldn't have surprised him at all, though; Haruta had always been able to read his movements so easily. And with his slowed movement due to her previous attacks, it was likely even easier now than it used to be. Still, it didn't stop him from urging on, trying to get a land in as much as possible - except it didn't seem possible at all. It was almost frightening, the way that she was so much more advanced than he was. On top of that, he was a little embarrassed that he was losing in front of Haruta's team, students he had once taught.

"And if we do get caught, I'll just blame you," Aki mused quietly, smirking over at her friend. When she heard the new voice, though, she couldn't help but to jump, having not realized that Neji had joined them since she had been concentrating on the way her new and old sensei had been sparring, moving together in such sync that it was kind of mystifying. Upon recovering from her shock, she blinked and looked over at Neji. "Oh, what fun would it be to tell you? Try to figure it out." She grinned before gesturing to Haruta and Iruka, though she was doubtful that Neji would see what she and her friends saw.

@ momentai.

Haruta felt a tiny bit bad that she was beating Iruka so badly in front of his old students, but that didn't stop her from dancing around him with a smile and a little laughter. "Should I put you out of your misery, Iruka?" Haruta began to center her chakra in her fingertips in perpetration for an attack. She slipped around to his back and hit a general chakra point in the middle of his spine. Haruta then just as quickly side stepped around him so that she was between his extended punching fists and she whispered as her face was a small foot from his, "I hope your wallet is prepared, Iruka, because it's over." Not missing a ear Haruta brought up her charged fingers and hit a basic chakra point between his collar bones, knocking him flat on his back.

"Then it's settled-" Ryo began to speak but he was interrupted by the thus of Iruka's body hitting the grassy ground. "Whoa! Way to go Haruta-sensei!"

Neji smiled at his sister and gave a little wave to signal his appearance. Neji stayed seated with the kids but laughed with a loose motion to poor Iruka laid out on the ground, "What were you doing exactly because from my late entrance and perspective it didn't seem like Iruka-sensei had a chance here."

Iruka sighed as he stared up at the sky, trying to regain his strength as much as possible. He was pretty sure that he would be aching tomorrow due to how many chakra points had gotten hit, but he chuckled nonetheless. Once he managed to get over both his loss and his embarrassment, he forced himself to stand up and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Oh, I'm sure I have enough in my wallet to feed us both," he decided with a grin, figuring that he should take the loss in stride.

Aki couldn't help but to be amused with it all, though she applauded along with Ryo - and even Katsu joined in. It was clear that the trio pretty much idolized their sensei - and, if not idolized, they definitely admired the woman. "We should be well prepared for following them, huh?" she asked quietly to Ryo and Katsu. Turning to Neji, the girl offered a grin. "They made a bet that whoever wins has to take the other out to dinner. Besides, Iruka-sensei would never have a chance against Haruta-sensei."

Katsu offered a subtle nod. He wasn't particularly keen on spying on his sensei, but it did seem like it would at least prove whether Ryo's and Aki's theory had any truth to it.

@ momentai.

Haruta smiled at Iruka, he was always one to accept defeat gracefully. "Is that another challenge?" She laughed and shook her head at him, she was clearly joking because they both knew Haruta couldn't even put a dent in the record Naruto had for spending Iruka's money. She stepped closer to him and dusted some dirt from his vest on his shoulders before she turned to smile at her brother and students. "So, what did we learn? And, hello Neji."

Neji let a small smile appear in his face in acknowledgement to Haruta's greeting but he burst into a laugh at Ryo who quickly blurted, "That Iruka-sensei never had a chance?"

Haruta lightly laughed but shook her head at the clown of a kid, "Ryo, be nice. Iruka accepted his defeat with grace, there's no need to rub it in that I clearly beat him." With her little dig at him, Haruta let her eyes travel to steal a glance at Iruka.

Both Aki and Katsu grinned at Ryo's words and they were tempted to sneak the boy a high-five, but they refrained from doing so - mainly because they didn't want to ruin Iruka's ego any more than it already was. "Well, we also learned not to make bets with you, Haruta-sensei," Aki mused with a nod.

Katsu looked like he wanted to say something, but he held back due to his nature of avoiding talking around people he wasn't close to. Instead, he offered a shrug, not wanting to attract too much attention to himself.

Iruka laughed lightly and rubbed the back of his neck. It felt rather odd for him to stand there whilst his old students joked about what had just happened. At least they weren't intentionally taking jabs at it - they were mostly just joking. "Yeah, well, we'll see about that next time," he decided with a grin.

Because there was no way that he wasn't going to try to win a different spar with her, if only to regain face.

@ momentai.
(I'm sorry thus is so awful.)

"Next time?" Ryo echoed in disbelief. "You seriously are going to challenge her again after this?"

Haruta laughed and shrugged, "Not once had he beaten me, but every day brings new opportunities to success and grow as a Shinobi and as a person."

Neji stood and stretched with a small smile, "That's right. Even I haven't beaten Haruta many times. I think our tally is one hundred and sixty-three to five in her favor?"

Haruta started blushing, "Alright, alright I'm not that remarkable. We don't want them thinking I'm invincible. Every Shinibu has their weakness."

Ryo spoke up then, "Well, then if everyone has a weakness, what's your weakness, Haruta-sensei?"

(It's not, don't worry! :) )

Iruka ran a hand through his hair before looking around at the students and shrugging slightly. "Hey, you never know. I may be able to beat you tomorrow, after all," he joked lightly, though he doubted it, really.

Aki rolled her eyes at hearing Ryo and nudged him. "Why would she reveal a weakness to us, Ryo?" she asked with a laugh before she pushed herself to her feet and grinned. "We don't even reveal our weaknesses to each other."

Of course, that didn't mean that they each didn't know each other's weaknesses. Katsu knew that Aki's stealth wasn't very well - just like Aki knew that Katsu's emotions were his weakness. Though, they each had more than one weakness, really; those were just the more obvious ones.

@ momentai.

"I know a new weakness of hers just by watching a few minutes if this match," said Neji simply with a faint trace of a smile.

Ryo and Haruta both looked at Neji in disbelief but Haruta spoke first. "Oh? And what's that, brother?"

Ryo sat in complete silence, much like a child would before they were about to receive the best candy in the world. "It's right..." Neji lifted his hand slowly, dramatically for Ryo's sake, who's eyes were as wide as saucers with anticipation. Neji pointed a finger at Iruka, "There."

Ryo's excitement dropped remarkably, "What the heck does that mean?" Neji shrugged and said to ask Haruta before he said goodbye and began to walk away. Meanwhile Haruta's cheeks had taken in a faint pink color at Neji's words. When Ryo turned his face to look at Haruta he got halfway through repeating his question when he saw the pink, "Hey, Haduta-sensei are you okay? Your cheeks are red..."

At calling attention to it, Haruta's cheeks only grew more red, "I-I'm fine, just ignore Neji. He thinks he knows everything when he doesn't. Back to being focused, you have have to tell me something you seriously learned by watching and then you're dismissed until tomorrow."

(I'm going to bring Neji back into play while the squad is following Haruta and Iruka.)

(Haha, alright. :) )

Aki, admittedly, was completely amused with the entire thing before she grinned over at Ryo. "I'm pretty sure it means exactly what we were talking about earlier," she whispered before she lifted her shoulders in a shrug and looked back towards Haruta and Iruka.

Iruka's cheeks were tinted a bright color, his blush rivaling Haruta's. He could see the students looking at him and Haruta and he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling rather awkward as he stood there. "Ah, perhaps I should go?" he suggested.

"What fun would that be?" Aki asked before she grinned broadly.

Katsu, on the other hand, felt that it was only fair to spare the poor man as he looked towards Haruta. "It's best to avoid close-combat when fighting somebody who's skilled in the Gentle Fist technique," he offered as an answer.

It surprised even him that he had spoken whilst still in Iruka's presence, but he really just wanted to get out of there before things got too awkward.

@ momentai.

Haruta raised her brows at Katsu and hearing his voice in Iruka's presence and couldn't help but to smile, "Thank you Katsu for actually listening to me. You're dismissed, I'll see you back her tomorrow bright and early."

Ryo grew a wicked grin at Aki's mumbled comment and mumbled back, "I told you so."

Haruta diverted her gaze to Ryo, "What was that?"

Ryo instantly turned into the child that got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "Ah... Nothing, Haruta-sensei. I was just saying I learned that footwork and body movement is really important in a battle." Ryo smiled, surprised and satisfied with his quick cover up.

"Sure you were, you're dismissed as well." Haruta turned her pale eyes lastly on Aki, "And what did you learn?"

Iruka was slightly amused with the entire thing as he watched the group before he looked towards Haruta. "I'll go ahead and take my leave. I'll see you later, though, so that we can go have that meal," he told her before offering a wave to her and the students and disappearing down the path back towards the village.

"Cheater!" Aki quickly called when she heard Ryo's words. His decision of an answer wasn't even directed towards the actual fight, just Haruta's and Iruka's behavior whilst they fought. When she heard Haruta, she blinked and turned to her sensei, listening to Katsu as he stood and left.

"Ah," she murmured before placing her finger against her chin, trying to think of a proper answer. "That if I ever want to properly answer that question, I should probably pay attention rather than listen to Ryo gossip?" She grinned then and shook her head. "Kidding, Haruta-sensei! But, I guess it would be that speed isn't really the necessity when it comes to beating you. Iruka-sensei kept trying to attack with speed, but he kept failing - so it would probably be best to sit back and watch for patterns, rather than diving right into attack mode?"

@ momentai.

Haruta raised her brows at Aki, impressed. "It's too bad Iruka didn't stick around long enough to hear your answer. In all our years of knowing each other he never quite caught that one," laughed Haruta. "You're dismissed too, but I've got one last thing to ask before you go. Why did you just call Ryo a cheater?" Haruta could hardly ever keep up with the mischief that went on between her students, especially when Ryo was involved.

Aki blinked in the most innocent manner that she could manage to as she looked towards her sensei, offering a smile. "Well, Ryo wasn't really observing the foot and body movement so much as he was the language," she explained with a subtle nod. "He was more interested in the manner that you and Iruka-sensei interact with each other. He thought your body language spoke flirtation." As if she would dodge an attempt to rat on Ryo when he had just abandoned her. She grinned broadly at the thought.

@ momentai.

At Aki's full explanation Haruta's cheeks lit up in a rosy pink blush, "That is ridiculous! What did he expect to find? Iruka and I are only old squad mates, that's all we've ever been. Nothing more. Nothing less." Haruta found herself slightly flustered at the mention of Iruka at all but to hear that her students had picked up on something made her feel nervous beyond belief.

A quiet giggle escaped Aki's lips, though she lifted her hand in an attempt to stifle it. Regardless, she grinned pointedly at her sensei and shrugged. "You're blushing, Haruta-sensei. I'm almost certain that it speaks for itself," she mused with a subtle nod. "Just because you were once squad mates doesn't mean that you haven't ever been attracted to each other, correct? In fact, I would think that it would have actually increased the liklihood of you two falling for each other, spending so much time around a select few people and everything."

@ momentai.

Haruta sighed in annoyance and defeat, "Don't you have a house to go home to? You're dismissed." Haruta smiled as she waved away Aki, though the blush was still there. "And tell Ryo to stop looking into my movements! It's creepy!" She called after Aki with laughter as she watched the green haired Chunin disappear on the trail leading back to the village. Haruta sighed and ran her hand through her bangs, "Well looks like I have a dinner to get ready for."

"You're the one who wanted me to stick around," Aki joked lightly before she grinned and rushed off. "I can't guarantee that Ryo will listen to me!" She laughed quietly before she turned her attention ahead, her eyes tracing the path ahead of her towards her home. She reminded herself that she had to get ready to spy on the senseis, but she wasn't entirely sure what to think about the entire plan.

@ momentai.

Haruta let a small smile grace her lips as she began to walk home to the Hyuga Branch house. When she finally got there though she stormed into Neji's room to find him laying on his back in bed, holding a book in the air above him. Haruta was tempted to pull out a kunai and throw it but Neji's calm adm steady voice sounded first, "You know I'm right."

Haruta scoffed, "Doesn't matter if you're right or not. Don't go around giving my students more things to gossip over and meddle in."

Neji laughed, closed his book and sat up to look at his sister. Their matching pale eyes connected, "Look, it's the truth. Iruka-Sensei has been your number one weakness for years now. I just had no idea it affected you in battle too."

Haruta's jaw dropped in disbelief and she protested, "It does not affect me in battle!"

Neji raised his brows knowingly before he turned back to his book, "Keep telling yourself that, sister."

Haruta let out an over dramatic groan as she stormed out from Neji's room and into her own. She had to freshen up for dinner, maybe she'd even wear her hair down for once. Haruta hadn't had dinner with Iruka since she became a Squad Leader and he began to teach at the academy, and even though Haruta was fully aware of her feelings for Ituka, she was fairly sure he had no idea.

(I'm sorry for taking so long! And also sorry that this likely sucks. D: )

Iruka had went ahead and gotten ready for his dinner with Haruta once he had gotten home. Of course, he wasn't really used to hanging out with other adults in casual manners, having mostly spent his time with the kids to make sure they were doing well. Aside from that, he only occasionally spent time with a sensei or two - and he couldn't really remember the last time he spent time around Haruta.

That thougt aside, once he was done, he turned his attention to the door, wondering if he should go ahead and go meet up with Haruta or wait a bit.

---

Once she got home, Aki had gotten ready to hang out with her friends and to spy on her sensei. Silently, she wondered if she should feel bad about spying on them, but she pushed that thought aside, deciding not to worry about it too much.