True to their words, Iruka returned to Tokyo's outskirts with Ino and Sai. He was very nervous about meeting the new family. For the past two days, Ino had been telling Iruka stories about the strange family she had. While many of them had moved out, they still came back often enough. Form what Iruka heard, they were quite the rowdy bunch even though they were nice people.
Iruka didn't know what he could do to repay the hosts for their hospitality. He didn't even know who this mysterious rich trader was. apparently, he had gone missing about a month ago and the family was still trying to trace him.
The teacher met a teen called Kiba who was working part-time at a pet store who lived with Ino and Sai. He was a loud boy who often spoke before he thought. Iruka didn't dislike his brash personality but it could be difficult to find peace in the shared housing. Even though called it a house, it was actually a huge mansion with many rooms. When Iruka first saw the western-style mansion, he could hardly believe that they were still in Japan.
The place was slightly weird. At the back of this huge mansion, there was a small Japanese-style cottage that Iruka was told to stay clear off. That was where the owner of the mansion lived in and preferred his privacy. There were also many small houses where some of the family members chose to live in during certain periods of time when they needed to be away from the main house.
Iruka didn't know who the owner was but he was definitely not lacking in money to house so many orphans. From what Iruka knew, the family was at least as big as thirty, excluding the extended family like spouses and friends.
Iruka only heard stories about the strange family but didn't really question much. Sai and Ino had to go to school so Iruka was often left alone in the huge mansion when everyone was out. There would be an occasional family member working the night shift who returned. But other than that, the teacher hardly saw anyone. There weren't even children around despite the family and Iruka reasoned that they might have moved out with their parents. Whoever this owner was, he must be quite aged to have adopted so many children who grew up into teenagers of this age.
Sai and Kiba mentioned that they were still searching for the owner of the mansion and Iruka tried to pry for details about what kind f person he was but received no reply. Without much around to entertain himself, Iruka decided to make himself useful and prepare food for the students when they returned.
The first time Ino and Sai returned to a warm meal prepared by Iruka, the atmosphere in the huge mansion livened up. Soon, more and more people started joining and Iruka found himself busy beyond belief. After settling there for only a week, Iruka was already one of them. As he recovered, the teacher tried to job hunt and took on the role of a mother effortlessly.
None of the werewolf descendants was displeased with their alpha's mate. The way Iruka's kindness shone through his actions made them feel loved and protected. Kakashi was still skulking around the mansion, unsure of how he should break the news of his identity to Iruka with each passing day. However, through observing his future mate daily, the alpha wolf was falling deeper and deeper for the human called Umino Iruka.
The first to be unable to continue watching Kakashi act like a lovesick puppy was Kiba who decided to man up and broach the subject of their alpha to Iruka over dinner with the other members around.
Needless to say, Kakashi wasn't too happy at the ruined surprise when Iruka put two and two together.
"You mean, the man I saved called Kakashi is the owner of this mansion? You've been looking for him ever since he disappeared?"
Kiba nodded. "We don't know where he went but Ino and Sai were supposed to meet him on the night he disappeared. He called home saying that he got stabbed by some punks and was robbed blind. That's why Ino and Sai were there. The vacation trip was just an excuse to search for him."
Iruka frowned. "But why isn't he here? Did you not find him?"
Ino looked uncomfortable and Sai smiled. "We did. However, he claimed to have lost memories of us and is currently living with another mutual friend. We don't know how else to approach him."
Iruka looked stunned. To think that coincidences like this could come true. For some reason, Iruka felt slightly happy that he would ow have a reason to see Kakashi again.
"Can you tell me where he is? I could find him and convince him to come back."
Sai gave Ino a look and the girl sighed. "We can try. However, I cannot allow you to go anywhere before you recover. Your elbow is still fractured and many of your wounds need a lot more time to recover. It would also do you good to stop moving around so much. You're not a maid, you don't have to clean up after the boys."
Iruka laughed at the grumpy girl's lecture and smiled. There weren't many girls in this family and Ino was quite the baggy mother hen when she wanted to be. Kiba quickly slurped his noodles and excused himself, not wanting to become one of Ino's unfortunate victim. apparently, there was a cleaning roster for the occupants of the house. However, nobody has been following it ever since Kakashi's disappearance which explained why it was in such a bad state when Iruka first arrived.
For the first time ever since his parents passed away, Iruka felt like he was home. It might sound strange to say that in the company of so many strangers but the feeling that these kids gave him was something that Iruka couldn't ever have and for the first time, the teacher hoped that he could have his feelings for a certain albino returned. It might be a little too much of a coincidence for them to meet again under such circumstances but Iruka didn't want to look the gift horse in the mouth.