#no canon support just me in my echo chamber thinking well why did konohamaru not make tokujo and went jounin instead

[hozukitofu]

@virtualcarrot im operating on a westernised principle but now that you mention it how weird would it be for iruka to say... shino-sensei. konohamaru-sensei. as a sign of respect. but they both jump every time iruka (the OG teacher) calls them sensei on the streets or something

iruka to kakashi: today i called konohamaru 'sensei'. then he looked at me, then looked back at himself, like he only just realised he IS a sensei. poor boy thinks he stops being a sensei when he sees me

kakashi: does it get less weird? because when people call me 'hokage-sama' i still look for tsunade. i do this while wearing the whole outfit

iruka pushing his head aside: i've had to tell him 'you ARE sensei' konohamaru. doesn't get less weird no matter how big or older they get. and you ARE the hokage too

idk what's weirder for iruka: konohamaru becoming a jounin sensei or shino becoming an academy teacher and both of them are his colleagues now instead of former students. one is a reformed prankster carbon copy of naruto and one spoke maybe four words to him during the entire time he knew the kid. imagine running into them in the staff room. i would need to leave immediately.

they also refuse to call him without honorifics or if this is a modern AU - mr umino/sir/sensei. iruka tries so hard to make them comfortable and feeling like they're his colleagues, to no avail. they got as far as 'iruka-sensei' and then promptly faltered.

all the little students look up to iruka as a superhero. their teacher's teacher. none of that silliness where they don't respect him - his disappointed face is lethal