The dark was closing in on him. Wind whipped around him and then suddenly dropped away. The boy's writhing was the only movement. He was pinned beneath a much stronger man. There wasn't much hope, but the boy still tried to get away. Suddenly, with a scream of pure pain, the boy went totally still. A blade danced across his back, cutting him deeply from waist to opposite shoulder. And then the dark really did come.
Iruka woke up with a start, sweat had beaded on his face and had soaked though his shirt. The young teacher lifted a hand to his face and wiped away the tears. He sat up in bed and kicked his sheet off, pulling the shirt off as he did so. "Damn dream," he swore, uncharacteristically. "Damn sheets too." Iruka's eyes adjusted to the darkness and he was soon able to look around his room, reminding himself that dreams didn't happen in real life. The scar, aching on his back, was telling a different story though.
A sudden banging from the front of his apartment, made Iruka jump and the roll his eyes. "Nande?" Iruka muttered as he pulled himself out of bed and stumbled to the door. Of course Tsunade-sama would call him from his bed just now. It was almost as if she could tell it was the worst timing.
Iruka cracked the door open to see his team mates standing there in the hall. Izumo was wearing his uniform, having just come from Hokage tower, but Kotetsu looked similar to Iruka in dress, boxers, though Kotetsu had a t-shirt on too.
Iruka groaned, "Now?" he asked, and with a nod from Izumo, he rushed back to the bedroom. Iruka pulled on a pair of jeans, the night was chilly, so he also donned a zip-up hoodie. He grabbed an extra jacket and ran back to the door, where he tossed the jacket at his shivering team mate.
The three young men silently slipped away from the apartment building and began the quick run to Hokage-Tower, staying in the shadows. As Iruka stepped into a rocky patch in the road, he mentally scolded himself for forgetting shoes.
"Ne, what is it this time?" Iruka heard Kotetsu question Izumo, but the younger chuunin shushed him effectively.
Hokage tower was lit up on the inside and as Iruka stepped into the Hokage's office, he blinked in the first light he'd seen since he'd gone to bed, four hours earlier. Suddenly, the heat from the jog caught up with him and he envied Kotetsu's state of undress. Iruka unzipped the jacket and pushed the sleeves up his arms just a bit. Then, pushing his hair out of his eyes, he looked around.
The Hokage's chambers were decked out in their usual curtains that hung on the walls and surrounded the shelves that were stuffed full of scrolls. Shizune had obviously been too busy to organize them recently, or the desk, which had papers, scrolls and several bottles of sake strewn across it. The red rug that sort of matched the wall hangings was worn under Iruka's bare feet, the usual entrance to the Hokage's office.
Standing in front of the bookshelves were several ninja, all of which Iruka could identify. Closest to Iruka stood several ninja from his class at the Academy, Raidou, Genma, and Anko. Closest to the Hokage stood several more well-known ninja. Maito Gai stood stoically next to Tsunade-sama's desk, next to him was the Copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi. Standing just to the Hokage's left was Torture and Investigation Specialist, Morino Ibiki, who was murmuring something in a low tone.
Suddenly, Iruka's assessment of the grim room was interrupted by the busty blonde behind the desk as she cleared her throat. "Ahem!" She began, "Now that you are all here, we have some things to discuss." Tsunade looked around at the room and gave a contented nod of her head.
"One, Hatake put the book up and Genma keep your senbon out of Anko's face!" Tsunade shook her head and gave a sigh that seemed to say 'this room is filled with children and not superb ninjas'. "Now, secondly I'd like to address all of the jounin and ex-ANBU." Tsunade motioned for Shizune, her assistant, who immediately rushed to her side and dumped a lot of scrolls on the already cluttered desk.
Quickly, Tsunade unfurled three scrolls, a map, a diagram, and what looked like a list of names. "The Akatsuki has been on the rise and have recently decided to take out several villages in Mist. Leaf has two villages that look to be the next targets and then it's us." Tsunade looked around at the room and let the news sink in. Nobody said a word.
"So, I'm thinking we need to call up some ANBU from Fire, put some extras on patrol, and work on keeping people calm." Tsunade informed the room with a slight smile on her face that seemed as if she'd forgotten to be worried for anything. "So now I need you three, to explain your last mission for us," the Hokage turned the attention of the room to Iruka and his team mates, who with the exception of Izumo were yawning.
"You tell Izu-chan," Iruka managed to mumble before a huge yawn took over his voice.
"I'm too..." Iruka's yawning was catching and causing Kotetsu to be unable to finish his sentence. "...tired." he muttered before he yawned again.
Izumo shook his head at his team mates and looked back at the Hokage. "Well, we were assigned an easier B-rank, a transport mission. We had to get a lord's son across the border of Wind, but pretty soon the mission turned A-rank when we stumbled across a few Akatsuki." Izumo paused here for his own yawn and Iruka took over.
"We thought we might be able to go on as if oblivious, to see if we'd make it but a lookout saw us." Iruka took a breath and continued, "It only to a few shuriken to assure safe passage, luckily we'd only met up with a few lost members, however these are their charts," Iruka motioned to the Hokage's desk. "And we are on them," he said with a final tone that set the room abuzz with nervous chatter and the beginnings of strategies.
The teacher voice Iruka had adopted while explaining, disappeared as he turned to his team member. "Ko'," he said softly as he buried his face in his friend's shoulder. "You're making me..." a yawn interrupted him, "...yawn," he said with a soft moan.
Kotetsu chuckled softly and rubbed his cheek against Iruka's loose, soft hair. "I was gonna say the..." his voice was cut off by another yawn, "...same thing."
Genma's voice interrupted, his tone rough from sleep. "When you two are done making out, we have work to get to." Iruka looked up from Kotetsu's shoulder and grinned at the special jounin.
"Ne, I wouldn't make out with Ko' here, he bites..." a yawn stopped Iruka momentarily. "...so I swore off him for a while." Kotetsu nibbled on Iruka's ear just to prove the point, making Iruka blush lightly and nuzzle his head back into his friend's shoulder.
Genma gave a groan and swatted Iruka, "Don't talk like that where I can't do anything to you, Sensei." Genma's husky tone made Iruka's chest tighten in a gasp and he hid his face as it flushed. Though it wasn't the first time Genma had teased him, by far, Iruka still managed to feel like a violated maiden every time his friend and co-worker opened his mouth. Especially when Iruka remembered how things had gone just before the last time Genma's voice had sounded sleepy to him.
Izumo walked up to the three friends, coming back from talking to the Hokage. "Tsunade-sama wants us all at the mission room sorting this stuff out." She looked over his teammates who were still in their hastily dawned clothing. "She said you don't need to change for today, she just needs us feeling sharp."
Kotetsu's face split into a smile. "I always wanted to go to work in only my underwear," Kotetsu said, latching on to Izumo as Iruka dragged himself away from Kotetsu's body heat to search for a hair tie.
Iruka snuck up next to Anko and took her by the arm, effectively breaking her eye contact with Kakashi, who fell silent as the tired teacher politely interrupted. "Nande, Iruka-chan?" Anko asked him as he grabbed her arm.
"Anko-nee, I need a hair tie," he mumbled, blushing slightly under the Copy-nin's intense stare.
Anko, Iruka's long time sort of big sister, turned to the young man and ruffled his hair, "Nande? It looks so good like this! Right, Kakashi?"
Anko turned to the silver-haired genius and grinned at him. "Yeah," he agreed as he saw the glint in Anko's eye. It was the same glint he'd seen the last time she beat him up. It showed up in Ibiki's eyes sometimes too, like just before he entered the interrogation room. With that glint directed at him, Kakashi would agree to practically anything, especially when it was just vocalizing something he already thought. "It looks so good," Kakashi said, repeating Anko word for word.
Iruka's pinks flushed again and Kakashi assumed he was pleased with the compliment, though he had to be pretty dense not to see it wasn't original, though it was meant whole-heartedly. But then he watched as the teacher bopped Anko over the head, lightly swatting at her purple hair.
"Anko-nee, leave him out of this, I just need a hair tie." Iruka widened his eyes on purpose so that Anko wouldn't be able to refuse him and pouted a lip out. "Please, nee-chan," he pleaded, tugging gently on her arm. He heard Kakashi draw in a deep breath behind him and guessed that the man was trying not to laugh at how Anko was giving in so easily. But Iruka tried not to pay attention to the other man.
Anko patted the pockets in her vest and frowned in confusion. "I haven't got one, 'Ruka-chan," Anko patted her vest again and looked back up, her brow furrowing in concentration. "I bet that Ibiki has something you could use, 'Ruka, you know how he favors you. Oh, or Genma he still owes you one right? From when you did that thing..." Anko tugged on one of Iruka's locks of hair making the young man stick his tongue out and pull away.
"Nande? Genma? He gave me a back-rub for that. Though maybe I could use... No, you know he'll just use this as a debt to get me to do..." Iruka trailed off and shivered remembering the last debt he'd owed the senbon sucker. Then, he felt his cheeks flush and Iruka shook his head. "No, I'll stay away from him while it's dark out. Maybe in the morning light," Iruka began to mutter when he remembered that he wasn't alone.
"Ano, thanks anyways, Anko-nee," Iruka smiled sweetly at his sister-figure and then gave a little nod to the more famous man standing across from him. "See ya'," Iruka chirped and turned to go find the Torture and Investigation Specialist.
The large and muscled man was giving Raidou instructions when Iruka walked up and he left off his previous conversation right away. "Iruka-sensei, did you need something?" Ibiki growled in a friendly and caring manner.
Iruka flushed and nodded, a hand going up to his nose to rub his scar absent-mindedly. "I've not got a tie for my hair and Anko told me to ask-" Iruka cut himself off as Ibiki put his hand out in shinobi-sign for silence.
"Say no more," Ibiki said and dug around in one of his vest pockets. He pulled out a pink hair tie with a plastic sparkly flower attached and handed it to the blushing teacher. "It's the only one I've got," the older man said with a shrug.
Iruka nodded with a smile, "Of course, and thank you, 'biki-san," Iruka yawned mid-sentence. "I better get to work, ne?" Iruka covered another yawn and scratched absently at his tan, hard stomach and lifted his arms in a stretch.
Suddenly, he felt two hands grab at a wrist and gave a slight tug. "Iruka-sensei," The person attached to the hands murmured into Iruka's ear. Iruka turned slightly and caught sight of the honey colored hair that most definitely belonged to Genma.
"Genma," Iruka said, tugging slightly out of his hold. He gave a head bob of apology to the two men he'd just been speaking with and let Genma tug him off. "Is it too much to ask for one conversation where you don't come up or interrupt?" Iruka asked the older jounin teasingly.
Genma shrugged as he led Iruka out of the Hokage's office and into the hallway under the stairs by the Mission Room door. "I can only take so much before-" Genma began, but was cut off by Iruka's lips pressing to his own and a tongue that cut off his ability to speak. Instead, Genma settled on a needy moan as he pressed the chunnin-sensei into the wall and farther into the shadows. "'Ruka," he said, trying to catch his breath.
Iruka squirmed as Genma panted his name. The way he was pinned to the wall gave his older, on and off lover more control, but Iruka knew he could still be in charge. He drew his lips back to nibble on Genma's neck and then let the suction leave a mark. Genma moaned again and pressed Iruka flush against the wall, using his hips to hold the younger man's.
"G-Genma," Iruka stumbled over his words, "M-more l-later..." Iruka couldn't get ahold of his words, so he gently pushed Genma off of him, stopping the assault on his own neck. Iruka faught to get his breathing under control and when it was he tried again. "You and I, you know what Tsunade-sama said at the last Mission Room meeting. Not at work."
Genma moaned in despair as his hands were peeled off of Iruka's hips. "Not even-" Genma began to ask, but Iruka's disapproving look was enough to stop him. "Alright, then how about after work?" Genma proposed.
Iruka nodded quickly, "After work, and you can cook me breakfast afterwards." Iruka gave a shy smile and a blush dusted his cheeks as he pulled away from the smirking jounin. The chunnin-sensei gave Genma one last kiss, involving much less tongue than all the ones before it, and then he turned on his heel and walked into the Mission Room, giving his hips just enough sway to draw out a last moan from the man watching him. Then, he shut the door behind him, tied up his throughly mussed hair, and got to work.