Title: Pursuit of the Mizuchi

Rating: M

Summary: Kakashi comes back from a mission, and finds a mysterious coded note in his Icha Icha. Iruka tries to attract the jounin's attention, all the while Tsunade fears for the safety of Konoha's greatest secret. What secret can possibly force an unlikely partnership to protect it?

Warnings: Yaoi! AKA male x male! You don't like then don't read.

Main pairing: Kakashi x Iruka, other pairings later on.

Disclaimer:

Me: Hey, Iruka!

Iruka: Yes?

Me: Can you get Masashi-san to sign these? *hands over a folder*

Iruka: Sure. *takes the folder*

Me: Success! *the folder bursts into flames* Noes!

Kakashi: Nice try, but it'll take more than that to get ownership of Naruto.

Me: Hmph! Rub it in why don't you? I'll never own Naruto at this rate. *pouts*

A/N: Konichiwa! I'm Manga and welcome to the prologue of 'Pursuit of the Mizuchi'. This will be my first Naruto fanfic, so I most certainly will be a fact or two wrong. This story is rate M for a reason and that 'reason' will come 'round in the future and also for future violence.

Enjoy the prologue!

The Report

Dark, swollen clouds rode across the sky, enveloping the sun light. It was not unusual for sudden down pours to happen in Konogakure during the spring time, but that did not mean that Kakashi had to like it. The Copy Nin was five minutes from the gates, but if he continued at the speed he was leaping from branch to branch, he was sure to slip and pummel to the muddy ground below.

Silver strands matted themselves to his forehead and the water ran down into his eye, temporarily blinding him. If Kakashi did not get a day off from missions, he swore he would fall over dead, if not from the cold in the least. What he wanted most now, was a warm shower and diving under the thick covers of his bed sleeping the unpleasant weather away. But no, he had to give a detailed report to the Hokage upon his return.

The Copy Nin flew past the gates, giving a brief acknowledgement to the shinobi on duty. Kakashi was nothing more a silent patter on the rooftops as he made his way to the Hokage Tower. Kakashi soon found himself inside the warm walls and facing the Hokage's doors to her personal quarters. Last time he checked, it was a bit after midnight, so, Kakashi doubted Tsunade would waltz out of bed to open the door for the hungry and very wet jounin.

Deciding that his Hokage could survive another few hours without a report, he turned on his heel, only to be face to face with the said person he was about to avoid.

"Any particular reason you're here, leaving a lake on my doorstep brat?" Tsunade asked, knowing full well why Kakashi was there.

The shinobi took a moment to look down at himself. He really did leave a rather considerable amount of water dripping from his drenched body onto the polished wooden floors. Kakashi looked up at his disinterested Hokage and let an apologetic smile cross his lips, even though Tsunade would not see it behind his mask. It was the thought that counts they say.

Tsunade sighed, cradling a bottle of sake in her arm as if it were an infant. "Well, are you going to move aside or are you going to just stand there and freeze to death while I warm up with a fresh bottle of sake?"

Kakashi dead-panned himself, of course she would have a bottle on hand, not caring if he really was freezing himself to death. The Copy Nin stepped aside to allow the older woman to get to her front door.

Tsunade held her hand to the door, her palm flat against the cool wood. A small pulse of her chakra surged into the door, momentarily deactivating the ninjustsu traps. The Hokage pushed the door wide open, leaving it so the jounin could follow her in.

"Get your ass in here brat!" she raised her voice at the silver-haired man, irritated that he suddenly developed some form of decency in the dead of night.

Kakashi obeyed his Hokage, closing the door behind him. He followed, Tsunade through her home, but he could make out little of what it looked like. The place was completely consumed in darkness. He could barely make out the silhouette of the surrounding furniture, he could, however, conclude that it was spacious and presumably filled with enriching, yet humble decorations. The Hokage of Konohagakure did have a permanent residence within the village, but Tsunade decided to make use of the personal quarters in the Hokage Tower, allowing her to be anywhere in the village within no time if there was an incident.

Tsunade slid open a fusuma, flicking a light, almost blinding the jounin. Kakashi waited for his eye to adjust to the light. Once his eye was in focus, he noted that he was in what appeared the Hokage's study.

The blonde woman threw herself down in a chair behind an elegantly carved desk. She immediately opened a drawer and drew out a cup and planted it down on the desk. Tsunade generously filled the cup and took an extensive swig of the clear alcohol before addressing the jounin again.

Kakashi sent that time looking about the room. The floors were of dark, polished wood and the walls a warm beige in colour. From his position in the doorway, Tsunade was drinking happily behind her desk to his left and parallel to her was an entire wall lined with book shelves. It did not take a genius to figure out that most of the books were on the topic of medical phenomenon.

The silver-haired man quietly shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to keep himself from snapping and telling his leader to go take a hike, he wanted to sleep, even if the world was coming to an end. Kakashi walked into the study, leaving a wet trail behind him. He sat himself down in the chair opposite Tsunade, without invitation.

"Hn, I see your manners didn't last that long," she said absently, taking another drink from her cup. "Hand me your report so that I can drink in peace." Tsunade said, tapping her fingernails on the desk. The older woman set her cup down, resting her chin on her now free hand and propped her elbow on the desk for support.

The Konoha leader waiter for the silver-haired shinobi to submit his sheaves of paper –which had to be a hefty amount of field notes and summaries from four whole months in a foreign country.

"Hatake…"

Now Kakashi knew he was in for it. The only time, Tsunade called him that was when he was in serious trouble. He waited to be thrown across the room or out the fourth storey window for not writing his report.

A tired sigh drew his thoughts back to reality. Kakashi looked at a tired Tsunade, rubbing her temples with exhaustion. For the first time, he noticed that his feared leader was dressed in a baby blue yukata, and her hair a little more than tangled.

The Hokage opened her eyes and gave her favourite shinobi the sweetest smile she could muster. "That is not a problem; just submit your report to, Iruka tomorrow at noon and the classified report must be in my hands BEFORE midnight."

Kakashi whined mentally. It was not that he was avoiding the academy sensei; it was just that the man usually gave Sharingan no Kakashi a lecture about the necessity of orderly mission reports every time the chuunin saw his reports. It seemed that, Iruka did like giving lectures, but the silver-haired jounin could think of much better ways in which to use the sensei's mouth.

"Hai Hokage-sama," Kakashi sighed out the words. The shinobi got up and quickly made the required hand seals for a transportation jutsu and left Tsunade's study in a plume of smoke.

Kakashi reappeared in his apartment, not bothering to look around if anything was stolen for tampered with. Who would dare to break into the Copy Nin's apartment in the first place?

His feet moved with their own consent, making a tedious journey to the bathroom. Kakashi unzipped his flak jack and threw the wet article onto a corner, making a mental note to pick it up the next morning.

He opened the shower knobs, stepping back to remove the rest of his wet clothing and threw them into the laundry hamper by the door. Kakashi stepped into the warm spray of water and as relaxing as the water thundering down his body was, he desired sleep more. He washed off all the dirt and grime he had accumulated from his trek back to Konoha and got out of the shower.

Kakashi dried himself, slowly padding his way out of the bathroom and just collapsed onto his bed with his towel barely draped over his hips. The shinobi soon found himself giving in to the blank bliss of sleep.

XxxxX

The sun peered lazily through the slit in the curtains. The warm ray light roused a chuunin from his pleasant sleep. He opened his eyes and leisurely stretched his arms over his head, ready to take on a new day.

Like most shinobi, Umino Iruka was a creature of habit and like most of them he liked to start his morning with a cup of steaming green tea. The sensei practically jumped out of bed, tossing his bed sheets aside. Iruka walked down his apartment, pausing once he reached his living room.

The walls were of a warm beige colour and the floors decked with a dark wood. The teacher looked about. His forest green couch was paperless, the low coffee table - paperless. He felt a smile spread on his lips and made his way to the kitchen, passing the kitchen table which on many occasion doubled as a desk for mountains of tests, which today was paperless.

"Ah, the wonders of school holidays," Iruka sighed in content. It was only a week long holiday, but it did give the chuunin some time to himself.

The chuunin drank his tea by the table in peace, not having to hurry to be at the Academy ten minutes before any student. Iruka set his cup in the sink and took a quick shower and dressed in his standard gear, closing the drawer of his dresser. He took his hitai-ate in hand and proudly tied it to his forehead, pausing before he left his room to glance at the only reminder he had of his parents, an old framed black and white photograph. They were both smiling proudly at the small bundle in his mother's arms, idly reaching up to tug at his mother's long hair, his father smiling like the proudest man on earth at his new-born son.

Iruka absent mindedly traced his forefinger down the simple frame which held his greatest treasure. Smiling to himself, the chuunin left his room, making a slice of toast and wolfing it down before he embarked to the Missions Office.

The chuunin-sensei found himself humming a tuneless melody while manoeuvring through the throng of civilians, giving a nod or polite reply to students, former-students and other acquaintances alike.

Iruka opened the doors of the Missions Office and found it empty –to his delight– save for the on-duty chuunin. The sensei gave a smile to his friends, taking a seat and preparing himself for a busy day that mainly consisted of yelling at battle-hardened jounins that cowered under his gaze.

"Ohayo, Izumo, Kotetsu," Iruka sat behind the long desk, waiting for one brave soul to venture in. "Aren't you two supposed to be slaving away for Hokage-sama?"

"Well, we were put on normal desk duty today. Thank Kami-sama for that. Oh, by the way, Hokage-sama informed us that you are to expect a report from, Kakashi at noon," Kotetsu said with a sly smile. "And, if his report is not handed in on time or you find it unsatisfactory, then you are free to use any methods necessary to throttle a report from that jounin."

Iruka made a very audible squeak at the mention of his latest assignment. He eyed the man next to him, looking for a sign that it was some sort of joke that they usually played when it came to the very mention of the Copy Nin.

Izumo rested his elbows on the desk, cupping his chin in his hands. He gave the teacher a smile that he knew all too well. "Think about it for a moment, Kakashi always hands his reports in late and the reports themselves are written in some coded language. This is the perfect opportunity to try and seduce him."

Iruka knew his face was a cheery shade of red by now and made no effort to hide his heated cheeks. He had secretly… admired the jounin since he took over his role as sensei to Naruto. The chuunin stilled remembered the first time he had asked Kakashi about adopted little brother's wellbeing. It was embarrassing that there was a blush plastered on his cheeks for the duration of their awkward and short conversation.

It was now Kotetsu's turn to torment the chuunin-sensei. He snaked his arm about Iruka's neck, pulling him close and huskily whispering in his ear. "You can always… 'punish' him for the bad report you know." Kotetsu could practically feel how his comrade's face heated up.

"Th-that's ridiculous!" Iruka shrieked and shrugged Kotetsu's arm off of his neck.

"Aw, you're no fun!" The wild haired chuunin teased. "A dark room and some light bondage and any man will be putty in your hands. Right, Izumo?" He sent a sly glance at his lover. Sure, he would get a stern reprimand later for being so immoral, but the make-up sex was always worth it. That was why he often shirked his duties and was eating out of a jar of syrup one time as seductively as he could, licking his fingers slowly and sucking on them hard, shirking his duties in favour of the simple act. Needless to say when they got home that night, Izumo had even given up on his lecture half way through in favour licking the syrup his lover had dripping down his fingers at the time. He claimed to be 'cleaning' him, but when Izumo did kinky acts like that, Kotetsu did not mind his lover's germaphobia in the least bit.

"Leave me out of this." Izumo snapped, busying himself with paperwork.

"See," Kotetsu said confidently, folding his hands behind his head.

Shinobi of different ranks started to pile into the Missions Office with a steady flow, keeping all three chuunin busy. Iruka had out their discussion at the back of his mind but a little voice in his head kept on chiding him to act on what Kotetsu had suggested.

When noon came by, Iruka found himself looking at the door, actually expecting the silver-haired jounin to casually stroll in and hand him that damned report. However, the chuunin experienced no such luck and started thinking over how he was going to get a decent report from Kakashi.

Time stretched by and it was time for Iruka's shift to come to a close. The sun was sinking down into the horizon, bleeding out soft red and orange hues. The chuunin gathered the reports he had yet to read and rewrite before filling it away to the archives. He took a sturdy leather satchel he kept in the Missions Office for the very purpose of taking work home with him.

Iruka had no idea where to find the Copy Nin could be at that hour, but he guessed he was lounging about Konoha too absorbed in his book to care. He did not know where the silver-haired shinobi lived, so there was no point in trying to harass him at home.

The sensei slung the hefty satchel of reports over his shoulder and set on his way. Iruka unlocked his front door, toed off his sandals and left them there. He put the satchel onto the kitchen table, sighing to himself, thinking how naïve he was in thinking he could turn in early for once.

Iruka padded his way to his bathroom, freed his chestnut hair from the confines of his hair-tie and untied his hitai-ate and put both article carefully on top of his dresser. He unzipped his flak jacket and tossed it onto his bed that he hardly remembered making that morning. He stepped into his bathroom, enjoying the cold tiles underneath his feet.

The chuunin shed himself of his leg wrappings and laid them onto the counter by the sink. He undressed himself fully, throwing the uniform in the laundry hamper, pulling pack the partially see-through shower curtain and opened the hot water.

Iruka stepped into the shower, immediately taking a bottle of shampoo in hand and roughly massaged the liquid into his scalp, feeling his day-long migraine slowly fade to a dull ache. The sensei was out in maximum of seven minutes, drying his body with a fresh, fluffy, white towel with a dolphin patch on; it had been a birth-day gift from Naruto a few years back. Iruka tied the towel securely about his waist. He grabbed a smaller towel to dry his hair. The chuunin quickly combed his fingers through his damp locks of hair, smoothing out any knots he may have gotten.

Iruka walked out of the bathroom and gathered his flak jacket in his arms, and walked through his apartment with nothing but towel to clothe his waist. He hung his flak jacket in its appropriate place on a hook right by the front door.

The chuunin moved over to the kitchen, boiling some water for tea. He opened is pantry, debating whether or not to eat Cup Ramen or make some chicken stir-fry. Deciding on the latter he gathered his ingredients and laid them out on the laminated counter tops and took out the various cooking utensils he required.

"Maa, Iruka-sensei, if that's the way you prepare your food then I certainly wouldn't mind to order some room service."

Iruka nearly jumped out of his skin, dropping his green pepper and whirling around to see Kakashi lounging comfortably on his window sill as if he owned it.

"Hatake-san what you doing in my apartment?" The chuunin asked in mild distress, more concerned about the man being there than catching him in his lack of dress.

Kakashi smiled with his eye. "Well, would you believe me if I said I came to admire the scenery?"

"Wha-"

Iruka took a moment to realize that the jounin was referring to him and he looked down at himself to see the towel riding very low on his hips. Completely embarrassed, he pulled his towel higher and tightened the knot, all the while looking down at the floor as if it were the most interesting subject.

"I-is there something you wanted, Hatake-san?" The sensei asked timidly, his nose and cheeks coloured a rosy shade of red.

Kakashi laughed to himself. Well, there are many things I want, just from seeing that rare sight, the Copy Nin though to himself. The jounin pushed himself off of the window sill, toeing his sandals off in the process. He walked across the living room to where the chuunin stood with a blush that put a tomato to shame.

"I just came to hand in my mission report," he handed over the said documents, smiling with every feature of his face behind his mask.

The sensei took then gingerly, looking over each page. Iruka sighed, making a mental note to add the new report to the ones he had to rewrite before ten o'clock the next morning. The chuunin set it down by his satchel, not really caring if he was parading about in a towel with a cute little dolphin patch on it.

"You do know that your report is seven hours late, Hatake-san." Iruka had switched into 'teacher mode' and was using the same harsh tone he used to reprimand his pre-genin.

Kakashi liked that the other was acting so casually around him now, even though he was invading the man's personal space. "Gomen…" The jounin wanted to tell him of how he had to help this street urchin find his way back to his parents but something had caught his eye.

Iruka had noted how the Copy Nin had trailed off and looked up at the man to see he was looking at something in his apartment. He turned around to see what he drawn the jounin's attention so much. The chuunin-sensei was smiling when he realised that it was his post of hard wood that was tucked away in the furthest part of his living complex.

"Ah, that is just what I use to practise on when I have time to spare." Iruka said sheepishly, scratching the tip of his scar.

"I haven't seen a practise post like this before," Kakashi said moving closer to the said post.

It was seven foot long and as thick as a fully grown sprout of bamboo. The entire surface of the post was dented and worn out from years of use.

"It's an ude makiwara." Iruka followed in step behind the jounin, who appeared to be fascinated by his sparring post. "It was used mainly by Isshin-ryu practitioners; however the material art soon became forgotten, lost in the pages of old jutsu scrolls."

The silver-haired man was fascinated. He never expected Iruka, the loving chuunin-sensei to have a profound interest in material arts. Granted, the man was a shinobi but he never seemed like he was highly skilled in taijutsu.

"Then who taught you?"

Iruka lowered his head, brushing his fingertips fondly against the post as if it were a beloved friend. "Sandaime taught me, after he made it apparent that he was determined to teach me and ultimately get me out of my trouble-making ways." The chuunin found a smile cross his lips. "After months of training, I suppose the discipline of Isshin-ryu, coupled with raising Naruto, made me into the man I am today."

Kakashi glanced at Iruka, who was caught in his memories. "A rather fitting taijutsu for you, Iruka-sensei."

The said chuunin snapped his head back to Kakashi. "What do you mean?"

"Isshin-ryu, One Heart Method; the style suits you."

Iruka didn't know what to say. He sucked some air into his lungs and tried to fight down an on-coming blush. "Th-thank you." It was all the chuunin could manage.

The silver-haired shinobi felt a small smile tug at his lips from behind his mask. Kakashi could see that there was something the chuunin wanted to say. He wanted to run his fingers through those dark, damp locks or fist them to pull the sensei into a kiss.

"Hatake-san," Iruka knew that it was now or never.

"Hm?"

The brunette sheepishly scratched the edge of his scar out of a nervous habit. "Well, I was wondering if you would like to stay for some dinner – I mean… I was already making some and to make more wouldn't be a problem." Iruka mentally face palmed himself at how lame he sounded.

Kakashi was a little taken back by the sudden invitation to dinner. Before the jounin gave his answer, a stern reminder from his Hokage regarding his classified report came to him.

"I would have loved to join you for dinner, but, Tsunade-baachan is expecting me." The silver-haired man would have given anything to have dinner make by the subject of his wet dreams as of late. However, if Kakashi did not hand in his report then Tsunade might just send him on more tedious mission, as if he wasn't spread thin enough already.

"Ah well, you best be going then."

The jounin nodded in agreement. As the silver-haired man turned his back, Iruka had an idea spark in his mind. Kakashi was at the window, putting his sandals back on and was about to leave, but not without a back glance at the siren in the apartment. The image of the chuunin-sensei in nothing but that towel of his was going to haunt the jounin for some time.

"Have a pleasant evening, Hatake-san."

Kakashi smiled. Iruka was always so formal. "Thanks, but I have a favour to ask: call me Kakashi." In truth, having someone calling him that made him feel old.

The chuunin bowed his head a little, looking at the window sill the silver-haired shinobi was occupying. "H-have a pleasant evening, Kakashi."

"Maa," the jounin smiled. "The same to you too, Iruka-sensei." With that said and done, Kakashi slipped out the window.

The silver-haired shinobi jumped across the rooftops of Konoha and soon found himself at the Memorial Stone. With nothing better to do, he sat at the base of the memorial and slipped out his latest volume of Icha Icha.

He opened from where he had last stopped and to Kakashi's surprise, a slip of paper fluttered out from his book's pages. The shinobi cautiously picked the paper off of his lap. It looked like a normal square cut of paper that was often used to write notes on. Kakashi flipped over the page and found writing on the other side. Neat numbers were written across the page: 1 4 3.

A code? It was the first thing that came to mind, but this was unlike any other ciphered message he had seen. That was saying something in itself since the jounin was a master in cryptography.

The Copy Nin sat there, thinking over what those three little numbers could possibly mean. What Kakashi found more disturbing was the fact that someone was able to sneak a note into his Icha Icha volume without him even noticing the change in weight.

When the silver-haired jounin bothered to look up at the sky, he noticed that the moon was just about setting. He was beyond late for his meeting with Tsunade. He tucked his book into his pouch and pocketed the note.

Kakashi made his way over to the Hokage Tower, stopping outside Tsunade's personal quarters. The jounin knocked on the door for a few times and then waited for the Hokage to storm out to throw him out the nearest widow for bothering her at such an ungodly hour.

"BRAT!" The door flung open and Kakashi was met with the sight of a very angered Tsunade. "Your late!" The older woman forcedly pulled him into her home and dragged him all the way to the study.

"You better have some good damn information or you'll be begging to Kami-sama that Iruka was the one in charge of your punishment." Tsunade sat herself down and automatically poured herself a cup full of sake.

Kakashi remained standing, now completely serious. "Hokage-sama," he started, immediately getting her attention. "Four months ago you sent me to Kirigakure to see if I could acquire any information regarding the current whereabouts or plans of Uchiha Madara."

Tsunade nodded. That was indeed what she had sent him to do. She did however fear for Kakashi. To send him into the loin's den was suicide, but he proved her wrong and came back alive and in near perfect condition.

"I was unable to find his whereabouts; however, I did attain certain information." He paused to look at his Hokage. "He continues in his search for the Juubi and during his research he had set his eyes on Konoha. I do not know if he is after Naruto this time or seeking some other artefact."

Tsuande bowed her head. "Well done brat. I have one question: Where did he acquire his research?"

Kakashi did not understand why it mattered when his student was in danger. "He stole scrolls from archives hidden beneath the Mizukage's Palace. The place was heavily guarded with traps but he got past all of them and the scrolls he attained seemed to have been from before Kirigakure was even founded."

"I see," the woman folded her hands in front of her face, propping her elbows on the desk. "You're dismissed."

The jounin preformed a teleportation jutsu and left the Hokage in her study. The said woman filled her cup again and looked down at the liquid, deep in thought.

"Kami-sama help us."

A/N: Yays! The prologue is complete. I hope you all enjoyed the prologue. You may have noticed mistakes in my grammar or spelling and that is because English is not my first language. This story is also completely un-beta'd. So please forgive me if there are factual mistakes, especially by the material arts. I'm no expert. More will be on the way, but some chapters will be shorter or longer than others and I will try to up date as regularly as possible. I'm still in high school, a dedicated art student and I do not have regular internet access so it may take up to a month to update at times but please bear with me.

Reviews would be appreciated. I accept criticism but flames are going to keep me warm this winter.

See ya next time!

EDIT: I only saw the stupid mistakes after I posted the chapter and hopefully it's all fixed now. ^.^;