yrindor (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
yrindor) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
writetomyheart2023-07-22 10:39 am
yrindor) wrote in writetomyheart2023-07-22 10:39 am
Entry tags:
[TEAM THREE] After the Bell
I'm back in a Naruto mood again, so here's some Shikamaru and Iruka teacher heart-to-heart. 400w, G.
For Shikamaru, the transition to teaching was anything but smooth.
"How do you do it?" he asked Iruka over a bowl of Ichiraku ramen after his first day--the discount special of the day since Academy instruction paid less than a D-rank mission. Though how teaching a dozen kids chakra manipulation and weapons skills didn't qualify for hazard pay was beyond him. He'd be bringing that up in his next meeting with the Hokage.
"Do what?"
"Not lose your mind? Run screaming into the Forest of Death during lunch? I dunno, any of it?" He picked a stray vegetable out of his bowl. His head was killing him, and all he wanted was to sit up on a roof and watch the clouds until he felt less like he'd been caught in an lightning jutsu gone awry. But even after classes ended, there was lesson planning, and reports, and apparently now company over dinner too. How had Iruka not spent years with a constant migraine? Or was he just better at hiding it?
Iruka let out a quiet laugh. "So, how many maintenance requests, and how many infirmary tripe?"
"One broken window, two broken desk legs, a couple of scraped knees, and one infirmary trip for a kid who showed up with food poisoning."
"Congratulations!" Iruka said with a grin that seemed entirely out of place. "I think that's the best track record we've had in years!"
"I don't think that's something to be proud of. The reports are such a bother, and the Hokage's going to have my head over the repair bills."
Iruka sombered. "I'm serious. Take that many untrained kids, put them in one place, and there're bound to be accidents. Spend long enough at the Academy, and you'll get used to it. If everyone goes home in one piece and the training grounds are still mostly standing, you've done well enough."
Shikamaru set aside his chopsticks. "How does it not get to you?" he asked.
"The chaos?"
"The pressure. This morning my classroom was packed with students dreaming of becoming legendary shinobi. They reenacted famous battles, and all I could think was that if I didn't teach them well enough, they'd die before they ever had the chance."
"They always grow up too fast. We do the best we can, and hope it's enough."
For Shikamaru, the transition to teaching was anything but smooth.
"How do you do it?" he asked Iruka over a bowl of Ichiraku ramen after his first day--the discount special of the day since Academy instruction paid less than a D-rank mission. Though how teaching a dozen kids chakra manipulation and weapons skills didn't qualify for hazard pay was beyond him. He'd be bringing that up in his next meeting with the Hokage.
"Do what?"
"Not lose your mind? Run screaming into the Forest of Death during lunch? I dunno, any of it?" He picked a stray vegetable out of his bowl. His head was killing him, and all he wanted was to sit up on a roof and watch the clouds until he felt less like he'd been caught in an lightning jutsu gone awry. But even after classes ended, there was lesson planning, and reports, and apparently now company over dinner too. How had Iruka not spent years with a constant migraine? Or was he just better at hiding it?
Iruka let out a quiet laugh. "So, how many maintenance requests, and how many infirmary tripe?"
"One broken window, two broken desk legs, a couple of scraped knees, and one infirmary trip for a kid who showed up with food poisoning."
"Congratulations!" Iruka said with a grin that seemed entirely out of place. "I think that's the best track record we've had in years!"
"I don't think that's something to be proud of. The reports are such a bother, and the Hokage's going to have my head over the repair bills."
Iruka sombered. "I'm serious. Take that many untrained kids, put them in one place, and there're bound to be accidents. Spend long enough at the Academy, and you'll get used to it. If everyone goes home in one piece and the training grounds are still mostly standing, you've done well enough."
Shikamaru set aside his chopsticks. "How does it not get to you?" he asked.
"The chaos?"
"The pressure. This morning my classroom was packed with students dreaming of becoming legendary shinobi. They reenacted famous battles, and all I could think was that if I didn't teach them well enough, they'd die before they ever had the chance."
"They always grow up too fast. We do the best we can, and hope it's enough."