I myself am a huge hockey fan, and am from the Buffalo area... I love the Sabres, and that's why Iruka does in this story. I consider myself knowledgeable about the sport, so I will try to avoid inaccuracies in this.
This fic will not be KakaIru. It's a good, strong friendship and bond between them. Don't ask me to make it KakaIru, because I don't plan on it. I have one KakaIru fic in the works, to be titled 'The Definition of Family,' as well as Cast No Shadow, which is a couple chapters in already. BTW, I am going to update CNS soon; it's just taking awhile for me to write it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kakashi, Iruka, or any other characters in this thing. It's all copyright Masashi Kishimoto.
And now, the story:
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Concentration was key. Losing it spelt doom. Uncertainty spelt doom. Faltering would be his demise. Everything rested upon this moment. Everything was lost if he failed now.
Focus, Iruka!
Concentrate-concentrate-concentrate...
The enemy was coming nearer, the object of Iruka's desire in his clutches, being shuffled across the smooth, glass-like surface upon which they all survived. Iruka trained his eyes upon the enemy, following every movement of his feet, every shifting in the bladed staff of composite wood that held the round chunk of charcoal-black rubber that he sought so fervently. That puck was his...
The opposing forward bore down on his stick, putting on a quick burst of speed and trying out a few fancy stick handling moves that might have worked to throw off some lesser goaltender. But Iruka was a tough guy to beat at the net. There wasn't much that got past him. Not if his concentration was on.
Closer.
Closer.
A tell-tale shift in the enemy's grip told him exactly where he needed to go. He slid himself down to the ice beneath him, dropping to his knees and shifting to his right, his gloved right hand darting out of its own accord to snag the puck that hurtled towards him from a quick wrist shot.
A grin spread across his sweat-drenched face as he felt the satisfying weight of the puck in his glove, and he closed his leather-encased hand around it in a death grip. Peering out from the cave-like helmet surrounding his head, he saw his teammates falling into face-off formation to his right, a familiar tall, proud figure in the center position with his stick gripped in the backwards fashion used in the face-off.
The adrenaline finally drained away, and he felt able to loosen his grip on the puck. He flipped it out of his glove and to the man in the striped shirt, who then skated off to stand between the Konoha Elite's star forward and the opposing team's center player. Iruka looked on, ready to defend his goal should the need arise. But he'd seen this same set up too many times to be very worried.
Not with Kakashi Hatake on the ice.
Nobody ever worried too much when Kakashi Hatake was on the ice.
There wasn't really much reason too, as was about to be proved yet again momentarily.
He watched the familiar play unfold before him. Kakashi won the face-off easily, passing it backwards to the right-winger, Izumo Kamizuki, who, though he stood a few inches shorter than Kakashi, was a surprisingly quick skater. He maneuvered easily around the enemy defense and skated in over the line into the opposing team's end. Kakashi was right behind him. A quick drop pass led the puck into Kakashi's stick, where it was snatched up and propelled forward along with Kakashi as the teen put on a burst of speed towards the net.
The rest, as they say, was history.
The goalie never knew what hit him.
Kakashi had a signature way of faking out the goalie that involved a complex method of copying the goalie's movements, rather than letting the goaltender follow his motions. Nobody was sure how he did it, since he'd never really explained even when asked by the coach. It was his move. It worked almost every time.
Like now.
The puck was between the goalposts before you could say â–’Goal!'.
Iruka smiled.
Yeah, most of the team was pretty damn happy that Kakashi played for their team rather than the enemy's.
Not to mention that the Konoha Elite had a damn good goaltender on top of having Kakashi as a center. Not that Iruka would ever brag about that... well, not too much... okay, maybe just a little bit.
The game was over shortly after Kakashi's goal. The Elite's defense stood strong, with the massive Ibiki Morino and sturdy Raido Namiashi on the line. Ibiki could scare the pants off of any enemy forward with single glare, and you just didn't mess with Raido. Period. It wasn't that he was too impressive to look at, but he was tough as nails and a terrific fighter. Between the two of them plus Kakashi, Izumo, and the left-winger Kotetsu Hagane, the opposing team stood no chance of coming back from their 3-goal deficit in the remaining 5 minutes of play.
The Elite won.
As the buzzer went off signaling the end of regulation time, Iruka tossed his helmet back off his face and skated out to celebrate with the rest of his team. There was glove-pounding all around, a few brotherly hugs and a lot of cheering. Kakashi and himself both received claps on the back and words of happy praise from the rest of the team. Spirits were high as the team headed back into the locker room.
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After dutifully listening to Coach Arashi's lengthy post-game spiel, Iruka hefted his heavy equipment bag over his shoulder and exited the crowded locker room, tired, but happy at the team's win. The rest of the team followed suit, with most of them ending up in the main area of the modest indoor rink. Parents of the team members, as well as a few classmates, waited around for their respective players. Home games were always better because they generated a larger turnout, and what could make a player work harder than to know his peers and family are staring down at them?
Iruka had only one person there for him. He found him after searching around for a moment.
"Hey, dad!" He walked over, weighed down slightly by the weight of his equipment, the one downfall to being a goalie. Not to mention it cost a fortune to buy in the first place if you wanted anything quality...
"Iruka! Nice job out there!" The grey-haired man before him gave him a grin and an easy clap on the shoulder. Sarutobi wasn't exactly his father, at least not in the traditional sense. Iruka had lost his parents when he was twelve, and Sarutobi adopted him out of foster care when he was thirteen. Iruka, now sixteen, cared for him like he had his own father, and even though Sarutobi was older, he was a better father to him than most men Iruka had ever met.
He grinned at his adoptive father, shifting the weight on his shoulder to a more comfortable position. Iruka was a good ten centimeters taller than Sarutobi, which left him feeling like he towered over him even though the older man was his central authority figure.
"You see when I snagged that one shot, dad?"
"I did. And it never fails to surprise me how calm you still look when you're playing. Like nothing was even happening."
"That's certainly not how it feels on the inside, I can tell you that right now..."
"Hey, Iruka!" A booming voice rose out over the group, deep and loud, and unmistakably Ibiki's. "You're coming to the midnight bowling tonight, right? Everyone's gonna be there, y'know."
"Yeah, I planned on it. I think I need to go home and get some sleep first, though. Four-thirty is way too frickin' early for a Saturday..."
"I hear you, man! See you later!"
"Sure!" Iruka turned back to his father, a happy smile fixed on his face. "Hey, uh, dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Kakashi said I could come over, you know, hang out, watch a movie or something, and then get some sleep. His dad would drive us up to the bowling alley later for the lock-in."
"I guess that's fine. Saves me a lot of driving around, that's for sure!"
"Cool. I'll just put my stuff in the car, and then go, alright?" He set off walking, lugging his equipment behind him.
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A few minutes later, he was walking side-by-side with Kakashi down an ice-crusted sidewalk, his bare hands shoved deep into his coat pockets and his head bowed slightly in the wind. Kakashi held a similar position, although he still managed to produce a carefree slouch in his posture that made him look unhurried even in the freezing wind. His equipment bag, smaller than Iruka's, was slung over his shoulder. The wind sliced right through Iruka's coat, it seemed, even insulated as it was, but he was used to the cold. Living in Canada can do that to a person. They wouldn't have walked, but since Kakashi didn't live too far from the rink, and his dad was still working, they hoofed it home.
"That was a nice goal today, Kakashi. Tucked it right in five-hole; it was sweet! The goalie didn't even see it coming."
"Yeah."
Normally, such a response to abject praise would be slightly annoying, even insulting to the person doing the complimenting. Not to Iruka. He knew Kakashi too well to be insulted by a one-word response. Most things only warranted a single-word answer from him, and Iruka was used to just continuing to talk, because he knew Kakashi was listening. A lot of people thought the silver-haired boy was ignoring them. Well, actually, that was because he usually was... But Iruka knew he was one of the few that his friend actually listened too when he spoke. He'd even done the impossible; he'd had an entire, two-sided conversation with the teen, and he knew very well that he was one of the few who'd done so.
"Yeah, and Izumo was doing good today, too. That drop-pass was perfect; it went right where it was supposed to. He's been practicing, I think..."
"Saw him working on that this week," Kakashi said quietly, shifting the shoulder that held his bag.
A chill breeze blew through them, ruffling their hair and drawing unwilling tears out of Iruka's eyes. Kakashi didn't as much as flinch. Iruka reached up to adjust his earmuffs, trying to get them to cover the tips of his ears that were starting to feel pretty numb. Yes, he was wearing earmuffs. Only around Kakashi did he dare to wear something like that; Kakashi was the only friend of his that wouldn't make fun of them. He was cool like that. He himself had a black fleece headband around his forehead, slanted downward to cover his left eye. It served not only to keep his ears warm, but to cover the scar on his eye and also kept his over-long, shaggy hair out of his face. It would have looked pretty damn girly on anyone else, but he could pull it off.
That was Kakashi, cool, calm, unflappable. The kid could have remained calm even if his hair spontaneously caught fire and exploded on top of his head. But that was alright with Iruka. He and Kakashi had stuck together through thick and thin, and they probably knew each other better than their own fathers did. Iruka knew he had enough of a happy-go-lucky and good-natured attitude for both of them, just as Kakashi was always able to keep him calm. They balanced each other out pretty evenly, and they were as close as brothers because of it.
"Yeah, so Ibiki said pretty much everyone's gonna be there tonight. Should be a good time, I mean, who doesn't like pizza and a whole bunch of friends playing some stupid game for hours on end? We all know Ibiki's gonna win, but it should be fun to see who comes in second. Maybe Raido? He's pretty damn competitive when he feels like it."
"Hope Gai doesn't challenge me to a damn pizza-eating competition or something," Kakashi muttered, a slight tone of annoyance in his voice. "I hate all those stupid contests..."
"So I've been told before... A couple thousand times, or so, I think." He grinned and looked beside him at Kakashi, who was shaking his head and smiling slightly, his hair tossing up and down. "Hah!"
"What?"
"Made you smile."
Kakashi rolled his eyes, the visible one, at least. "I'm not a complete emotional vacuum, you know."
"I know."
Kakashi smiled again. "Hn. S'ppose you do..."
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They stopped eventually at the back door to Kakashi's house. Kakashi took a second to chip a bit of ice off the lock and then unlocked the door and opened it. He stepped in, and Iruka followed, kicking the snow off his hikers before entering. He pulled the door shut behind him. Immediately he was assailed by the sound of barking and howling, loud and resonating and pretty close to deafening, and, seconds later, 8 sets of clicking paws bounded into the modest kitchen.
If there was one thing he loved about coming over here, it was seeing Kakashi's dogs. He loved all of them, and made sure to spend his first ten minutes in the door petting each of them. Ushi was the first to butt his head up against Iruka's leg, his massive, slobbering jaws open and drool dripping from its muzzle. Iruka moved a hand to scratch behind the gigantic brown Mastiff's rose-shaped ears. Tomodachi followed suit, leaning his tall, muscled body up against Iruka's side, begging silently to be petted. Iruka obliged, stroking the orange-colored coat of the mutt fondly.
He was hit suddenly by a flash of grey, and a crazed-looking Husky bowled into him eagerly. The ground came up under him and soon he found himself sitting up against Ushi's huge body, scratching his fingers through the eager Ureshii's thick grey fur, causing the dog to wiggle in happiness. And the rest of the dogs soon found their ways to him; Tsuchi, the mutt with the eye markings like dark sunglasses; Hidoi, who latched his sharp Husky teeth around his arm gently and refused to let go. Momo and Imouto were a little gentler, silently begging for attention and climbing up on his lap to butt their heads against him and nuzzle his hands. A tiny pug dog was the last of the bunch to reach him, but he was greeted by being gently lifted into Iruka's arms and cuddled against the teen's jacketed chest fondly. Pakkun was undoubtedly Iruka's favorite out of the bunch.
A few minutes later, Kakashi had managed to smuggle a good amount of food up to his room while Iruka distracted the pack of dogs, and he came back into the kitchen, beckoning Iruka to come on upstairs. Iruka slipped through the kitchen door and clicked it shut behind him, effectively sealing the dogs into the one room of the house in which they were allowed free reign. As he walked up the stairs, he unzipped his jacket, hot now that he was inside and in the central heating. He stripped off the rest of his outerwear and slung it over his shoulder as he stepped through the door into the veritable hockey wonderland that was Kakashi's bedroom.
It was like walking into the Hockey Hall of Fame in miniature; sports memorabilia coated the walls from ceiling to floor, with everything from signed hockey sticks to vintage jerseys in frames. Posters hung like wallpaper, and ticket stubs from what must have been every game Kakashi had ever seen filled in the space between. He had shelves of hockey books, and shelves of trophies, and shelves that held his signed puck collection. The bedspread was NHL print. The lampshade was printed with Ottawa Senators logos. His equipment was neatly put away in one corner, and if one were to look in the closet of this obsessive fan, they would find nothing but hockey jerseys and team logo t-shirts. The only thing not hockey-related was the 14-inch plasma TV that hung on the wall, but Iruka knew that even that that was used for not much more than watching hockey and playing NHL video games.
Iruka flopped down on the bed, eying the food Kakashi had dumped on his desk hungrily. It occurred to him that he hadn't eaten since very, very early that morning. Before playing a hockey game. He needed some food.
Kakashi collapsed into his desk chair with a tired sigh, turning to look at the stash he'd brought up with him. He began to list off what they had.
"We've got turkey, ham, or roast beef. Swiss or sandwich cheese. Regular bread or that Italian kind you like. Mayo. Ketchup. Salt and vinegar chips or regular. Coke or milk. And..." With a smirk, he held up the piece de resistance of their lunch spread. "Official licensed NHL cookies."
Iruka shook his head and grinned. "Don't you think you're, maybe, bordering on obsession with that sport, Kakashi?"
"Am not." A slight sulk entered his voice.
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Are too. Now let me at those sandwiches; I'm starving..."
He practically dove on the food, fixing himself no less than three sandwiches, and claiming an entire bag of chips for himself. Half the carton of milk was poured into his glass, and with a grin, he tucked into his meal happily. Kakashi did the same, though with a bit less enthusiasm; not for lack of hunger, but just because he was, well, Kakashi.
Eventually their hunger subsided a bit, enough for them to turn on the TV and plug in Kakashi's Playstation 2.
"How about we play something else for a change? Medal of Honor or Halo or something. I've had enough hockey for today."
Kakashi shot him a predictably scandalized look. He then smirked and proceeded to set NHL '07 in the disk tray.
"You do realize that I'm not quite as obsessed with this sport as you are, right? This game is getting old, we play it, like, every time I come over and quite frankly I-"
"I finally unlocked Buffalo."
Iruka stopped ranting for a moment. Had he just said what he thought he just said...?
"You what?"
"I unlocked Buffalo."
Iruka paused, mouth slightly agape, and his eyes shining happily.
"Gimme that controller..."
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5 o'clock found Iruka slumped over the pillows of Kakashi's bed, fast asleep. Kakashi lounged at the other end of his bed, legs outstretched. Iruka's legs had somehow crossed over his as the boy slept. An old hockey game played on the TV, almost silent with the volume turned down as low as it was. Ottawa vs. Buffalo, during last year's season. Kakashi remembered it well, mostly due to the fact that Iruka reminded him often how the Sabres had been missing almost all their veteran players due to injuries and had still lost only by one goal to Ottawa.
Kakashi usually took that moment to remind Iruka that Ottawa had, in fact, won the game.
Iruka claimed it was a 'moral victory' on the Sabres' part.
Kakashi would then shove Iruka into a snow bank, smiling.
Kakashi himself was slowly falling asleep as well, his eyelids drooping even more than usual. He forced himself awake, however, shaking his head to wake himself up. He gently removed himself from under Iruka's legs and slid off the bed, reaching out a hand to switch off the TV. The screen flickered off, leaving the room silent except for the quiet, gentle snores coming from Iruka and his own breath. He grabbed a throw blanket off the end of the bed (Ottawa Senators print, of course) and tossed it over Iruka's sleeping form. He picked up the perishable food items from the desk and headed silently out the door, clicking it shut behind him.
Much as he wanted to sleep, the dogs had to be taken out first.
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And there's chapter one for you! A lot of introductory stuff, but something of a plot should start to form in the next chapter.
About the dogs' names: Ushi - Bull, Tomodachi - Friend (lifted the name from the KakaIru story 'Blind' 'cause I thought it fitting), Ureshii - happy, Tsuchi - earth, Hidoi - mean, violent, Imouto - younger sister, Momo - peach. It was fun trying to come up with names for all of them...
Note: Yes, I do realize that you don't have to unlock teams in NHL '07. I just made it that way because I am God of this story. So there.
If you have any questions about hockey terms or anything, feel free to ask via a review... Or just review because you liked it or thought something could be improved. Whatever the reason, just please do REVIEW!!!!!! Please?
Next chapter: Midnight Bowling with the team, and extreme discomfort for Iruka in the form of an obnoxious girl named Anko...