Oh, Crud - Chapter 1
A/N - I'm finishing this story this year. I hope you enjoy your ride with me.
ON WITH THE FIC!
Harsh words were said and lies were told instead,
I did never mean to make you cry,
But love can make us weak as it can make us strong,
And before, I was totally in love with you,
I had faith in you
Lost in you, captivated by you,
Amazed by you, dazed by you,
Nothing can go wrong…nothing can go wrong…
…everything has gone wrong.
"Oh, crud"
A simple phrase composed of two simple words. A simple phrase which could, apparently, start off a usual argument between people. A simple phrase uttered with blunt simplicity which could depict inner turmoil within an individual in a given situation. A simple phrase, yes but if uttered in a tight situation, it turns into anything but simple.
A groan. A tangle of sheets. Limbs straining and a creak of a mattress. Clothes thrown haphazardly across the tiled floor.
A typical scene in a typical day for an unattached bachelor living in a lonely old apartment in a far-away land. Right, for an unattached bachelor. Kakashi Hatake was miles and miles from being single. That is, if one considers seven whole years of keeping a lover bearing the name of Iruka Umino as a way of being committed. Yes, after their topsy-turvy excuse for a relationship, they officially got together after six months. Who would have thought that the six months would be followed by another six months and continued for another six years? Most of the ninja community didn't think so. Everybody thought that the man would find another lover in a span of a month. Proving them wrong had been one of the few pleasures he had and how wrong they really were. Until today.
A turn of a knob.
A swing of the door.
A bag groceries dropped to the tiled floor.
A gasp.
Iruka Umino stood in the doorway of Kakashi's apartment fresh from a morning jog in the market district. After seven years, Iruka still insisted that they should not live together. Says it was unhealthy for a nin couple to do. Ergo, a compromise was made. Each of them got a key of each other's apartment so that they could enter whenever they want. It was such a good idea to Iruka at that time that he agreed without much thought. Who would have known that it would bite him painfully in the arse a few years along?
"Good morn – " Iruka stood, mouth agape, as he reached for words to express his surprise. Actually, surprise was a far cry for what he was feeling. He was feeling a rather violent mix of the air knocked out of his chest, the butterflies and a dull pain which can only be caused by being hit by a blunt knife over and over. Ah well, you get the point.
He just stood there until his common sense caught up with his racing mind followed by Kakashi waking up. Iruka couldn't really digest the scene in front of him. There was his lover, stark naked with another guy and as his senses started to kick in, the room actually smelled a bit like bleach. A little bit like overnight sex. His vomit reflex kicked in and he ran for the door. Fresh air was a leisure which he could not find anymore.
"Oh crud," was all that Kakashi said as he quickly untangled the blanket from his naked flesh. A dull thud could be heard from a pale body hitting the floor. He only saw a blur of dark brown and blue and he already knew what could have happened and what he had done.
"What the fuck?! Hey!" Genma piped up from underneath the bed. "You could've warned me or some-huh?" he looked up to find that Kakashi wasn't there anymore.
"…did I just sleep with a guy?" Genma mumbled to himself dumbly.
Am I not good enough for him? Iruka thought desperately as he ran through the roofs of Konoha. A dull pain was turning into a flesh wound and everything was turning into a distant blur. I-I thought…he loved me. A belief was shattered and all that he wanted was a silent moment's reprieve from the onslaught of misery, shattered trust and the reality of everything that had occurred.
He jumped blindly, his chakra on full blast, as he sped through the bright town – his Konoha. The Konoha that wouldn't betray him. Unlike his lover had done. It was ironic that the sun could smile upon those in misery as if everything was fine in the world. He landed softly in front of a rundown, desolate building and fumbled with the keys with his shaking hands. Kakashi wouldn't find him here. This was his slice of solitude.
"Crap," Iruka cursed half-heartedly because he couldn't get the keys to cooperate with his shaking hands and the doorknob. The guy who invented the doorknob should've designed a bigger keyhole!
Finally, after much cursing and a few tears, he burst through the door and collapsed into a threadbare couch. A table was in front of him. He kicked at it and the two picture frames perched on top of it fell onto the dusty floor. He felt sorry for one of the pictures. Specially the one taken after Naruto's 'graduation' from the academy. He treasured that as much as he treasured the photo that lay beside it.
The one that contained their first anniversary picture.
They had been so happy.
He let the tears creep down his scarred face. Where did I go wrong?
What have I done? Kakashi asked himself as he made a dozen shadow clones of himself. They zoomed in and out of all known buildings in Konoha but they couldn't find who they were looking for. The real Kakashi stood on top of the Sandaime's head and surveyed the town from the height.
Of course he knew what he did. He slept with another guy for fuck's sake. Of course, the fact that it was a guy was not disturbing him; it was the fact that it was not Iruka with whom he slept with. He should've known better than to go to a bachelor's party at Gai's place, it was just not done. He had low tolerance for alcohol and his loneliness was getting to him. At that time, Iruka was away on a retrieval mission from the Fang country and Kakashi didn't expect him to come to his apartment at the crack of dawn. But of course, expect the unexpected. You just let your guard down and everything you worked for will be gone in that brief moment of carelessness. He should've known better. He really should have known better to have a one night stand behind his lover's back.
'Ruka, where are you?
A fumble with hand seals.
A whirl of the wind.
A puff of smoke.
Kakashi Hatake was gone with the wind.
Iruka still lay in the run-down couch in an equally run-down shack. This was his haven when he was younger and only one person had ever found him here. The Third Hokage alone found him here when he was venting all his anger and frustrations from his parents' death. He never used the shack after that.
Until today.
Today had started out nicely. He just came back from a mission and had enough time to jog to local market to buy some produce and other things for breakfast. A breakfast that he was supposed to be spending with his lover.
Yeah, supposed to be seemed to be the perfect phrase to describe the situation. He was supposed to be a good ninja and not lie around like a crumpled heap of broken flesh. He was supposed to take everything in and look the other way. He was supposed to be calm and composed throughout a situation like this.
Too bad, he never read the rules and codes concerning how to deal with a cheating lover.
Did he really deserve what Kakashi gave him? He had been good – heck – he had been better at everything just to keep up with stuff. He had to juggle clerk work, teaching, being a shinobi and taking care of Kakashi and Naruto all at the same time. Well, maybe not Naruto, he already has someone taking care of him. Anyway, he balanced everything. He gave without expecting to be repaid for his services. Was it his fault that this happened?
A bitter taste invaded Iruka's mouth as the image he saw earlier crept to his consciousness for the hundredth time that hour. A perfect day just seemed to go downhill from there.
'What a perfect way to greet someone good morning, maybe next time he'll smile at while screwing with two other guys and a dog to show me his appreciation,' he thought sourly, all the while allowing grief to gnaw at his core. It was in these rare moments that a nin can be allowed the gift of emotions.
Maybe it really was his fault that Kakashi decided to find another guy. Lately, he had been from one mission to another and hadn't spent enough time with the silver-haired shinobi. Maybe he was not doing his errands right and somehow, along the way, he already lost his lover without knowing it. Didn't they say that distance makes the heart grow fonder? Stupid sayings, they had no hold over reality. In reality, distance makes your lover fuck other people. In reality, distance makes the heart grow numb. In reality, distance hurts. In reality, shit fucking happens.
Iruka smiled to himself as he wiped his face. Tears continued to fall freely from his eyes. Silence reverberated through the room but Iruka couldn't seem to care less. As his senses were focused on the current situation and he was on emotional overdrive. Usually, when one enters this phase, it usually leads to a panic attack. For Iruka though, instead of a panic attack, damage control kicked in.
He shifted and sat straight up. Back straight, a stern face and a sudden halt of tears signaled that he was over this business of being a sodding wet paper towel. One could've been fooled easily but the red-rimmed eyes told otherwise. However, red-rimmed eyes were far from Iruka's concerns. Right now, only one thing was consuming him.
I want bloody retribution.
A/N: review please!
