So since we are currently snowed in (literally, they've already cancelled school for at least two days) I decided to sit down and not write my English paper. Which means an on the spot one-shot for all of my lovelies! (That's you!)
Please enjoy! Oh, and I really don't own Kakashi, Iruka, the ninja dogs, Konoha, or, you know, the Naruto Universe.
Watch Dog
"Good morning, Iruka."
"Morning, Kurenai." Iruka smiled at his friend. "How're you?"
"As good as ever." She shrugged kindly, but sadly. It had already been a few months since Asuma, but no one could expect her to get over it so quickly. Iruka tilted his head to the side with a genuine smile on his face.
"If you ever need me, you know where to find me, right?" He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving her assurance that she would always have a friend in him. Something that Kurenai appreciated greatly.
"Of course. Thank you so much, Iruka."
"Anytime." Nodding, Iruka took his hand back and used it to pick up a loaf of bread – part of the reason he was in the grocery store to begin with. "So, I saw your flowers. They look great!"
Kurenai's face lit up at the thought of her precious window plants. She'd been putting extra time and care towards them for a while and was glad that someone else had noticed how beautiful they were becoming.
"Thanks. I'm hoping they'll be as bright as they used to be soon." Iruka smiled once again, glad he could bring some sort of joy to her day.
"I'm sure they'll be there in no time!"
Kurenai started to giggle then. She put a hand up to her mouth as she was looking over Iruka's shoulder. He hesitated, confused, and turned around to see what had made her laugh. It took a lot of will power not to roll his eyes.
"Pakkun...really? Do you think you're unnoticeable?" Iruka sighed and put his free hand on his hip. "Pakkun you are not a doughnut, now get down from there."
Kurenai's giggling doubled when Pakkun didn't answer. Iruka could feel the familiar twitch coming back. These dogs...
"Iruka, I don't think he cares much that you see him." Kurenai patted her friend's shoulder. Iruka put his head down and shook it.
"I know. It's so vexing."
They walked down the aisle together speaking about silly jounin and their strange pets.
Pakkun finally decided it was okay to move. His eyes slanted to watch Iruka and Kurenai walking away. Once they turned into another one - Pakkun thought it was one for cleaning products, Iruka had been complaining a lot about dog hair lately - he deemed it safe to leave his post. He crawled down and around the powder donuts, took a left at the choco-chocolates and then jumped right over the sprinkled one. After taking a detour at the strawberry icings, of course.
He lifted up his paw and spoke to the other nin dogs.
"The dolphin is leaving the store soon. Guruko, be ready to follow him back to the apartment."
"Hai." The answer came. Pakkun nodded (admittedly uselessly because really none of them could see him) and poofed to his next post.
In the next aisle over, Iruka sneezed. Great, he thought. I haven't stopped sneezing for days. Either I'm getting sick, which I doubt, or those nin dogs are at it again.
He looked up at the ceiling, asking whoever was up there to please have mercy on him.
- - - -
On the roof of the store, Guruko stood ready to jump. He was looking for the brown ponytail bobbing slightly like a toy that was tied to the end of a string on a stick and ran in front of him that he could never catch...
No, focus, Gu, focus. Brown ponytail...wait for it...wait for it...there!
He jumped down from the roof and ran behind a tall bush, eyes always on his target. Iruka wasn't going to get away this time, no sir. In fact, Guruko was sure he could make it all the way home without asking any of his fellow dogs for help. His focus snapped to Iruka again when someone approached the chunin.
"Oh, hey Gai." Iruka stopped and smiled at his friend. "How're you?"
"Wonderful, my dear teacher-of-the-youth! I've been training extra hard to defeat my arch rival, Kakashi! Don't forget to mention that to him when you see him, will you?" Gai's smile was nearly blinding. Iruka made sure to duck the thumbs up so it didn't poke his eye.
"Sure, I-I'll tell him." Iruka smiled nervously and stepped away, not really in the mood to talk to Gai. "But I've got to go now. Lots of papers to grade, you know?"
Immediately Gai nodded very enthusiastically. He stepped to the side of Iruka's path and got down in the starter pose for a track runner. Iruka had to consciously stop himself from laughing out loud.
"I will see you later, incredible-friend-to-all!"
And with that, Gai was off, running to save the day...or ruin it, possibly.
Iruka put his head down and continued walking. He really hoped he didn't see anyone else he knew on the way home. He just wanted to curl up on his couch and finish his work in peace. Was that too much to ask?
Guruko shook his head to try and focus himself. That green blur looked way too fun to not chase. But he had a mission. Pakkun and Kakashi and all the others were counting on him.
...shit.
"Umm, guys?" He spoke into his paw. There was a collective groan ringing through his ears.
"Gu? Again?"
"Come on! You said you'd be okay this time."
"Shiba, Bisuke, you're up."
"We're on it."
Guruko sighed, disappointed in himself. But that disappointment vanished when a squirrel squeaked nearby. He'd have time for at least one good chase before he had to be home, right?
- - - -
Shiba and Bisuke were running very fast through the village. They needed to catch up to Iruka and make up for Guruko's lost ground. They ran past the shop, the bush where Guruko had been, a few stands that were closing up for the day, and once they neared the academy they slowed down. Iruka couldn't possibly have gotten that far, unless he was running the whole way.
"Keep your eyes out." Bisuke said. Shiba nodded in confirmation. They walked past the schoolyard sniffing the whole way for Iruka. They came across his scent at the end of the sidewalk, right around the corner. Slowing enough to not have their footsteps heard, they leaned into the fence and listened carefully. Iruka was having a very...interesting conversation.
"Aaw, come one 'Ruka! You know you want to."
"No, Anko. I really really don't."
"You are lying to yourself. Leave denial in Egypt."
"That joke sucks every time, dude. Every single time. You should stop it and leave me alone."
"Hey," Anko held onto Iruka's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. He looked tired as hell, worse than usual even. "Are you okay? You always want to go shopping with me when-"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He nodded and leaned towards her for a hug. "I promise. Just really exhausted."
She pursed her lips skeptically. Having known Iruka for so long, she knew exactly what was really upsetting him. But she also knew that when he said nothing was wrong, it meant he didn't want to talk at the moment. Probably later, when the problem was either solved or hopeless, he'd come and tell her everything.
"Alright. But I'm going to check up on you later, so don't go disappearing, okay?"
Iruka laughed a little at her and backed up.
"Wouldn't dream of it. You'd kick my ass." Anko nodded once affirmatively and crossed her arms.
"Damn straight." They then said their goodbyes. Iruka continued on his way and Anko, not missing a thing that smart little jounin, quickly turned the corner and bent down in front of the two nin dogs that had been listening in the whole time.
"O-oh! Uh...Hey, Anko?" If dogs could blush, they both would have been beat red. Narrowing her eyes, Anko grabbed both of them by the ears and lifted them up so they were too high off the ground to run.
"He can walk home by himself, you dogs. Leave him alone, or I will make sure that Shino kid cooks up an extra batch of fleas this season, capiche?" The dogs nodded as well as they could with their collars choking them and she let them go. By the time they'd collected themselves enough to look up, she was gone.
Bisuke spoke to the others while Shiba tried collect himself.
"Uhei, Urushi, Bull, are you guys close?"
"We've already got him. You guys take a second to recover, then make it back to the apartment ASAP. Good work, nin. She was an admirable foe."
Once he heard that Bisuke fell down on the side walk and started panting.
"I've never been so scared before."
Shiba could only nod in reply.
- - - -
Bull was a big dog, but he really wasn't prepared for this.
"Come on, Uhei. Do I have to?"
"It won't be that bad, Bull. Urushi will back you up." Bull sighed and stretched out his legs. This was going to be the weirdest thing he'd ever done.
"Okay, ready?" Uhei started the count down. "Three, two, one."
Iruka was really getting tired. He didn't want to be standing here talking to these two about the Academy when he didn't have to be there for another couple of days. Choji, was the kid's name. He and his friend Shikamaru just wouldn't leave the poor guy alone. Not that Iruka didn't love his students, he did, he really did. It was just hard when he wanted to go home so bad and they would not stop talking about Naruto and Sasuke's fight from Thursday. He knew what had happened. He was there. He stopped the window glass from killing Hinata. No need for a recap.
The dogs knew that Iruka was being bothered, and since it was there mission to get him home as soon as possible, they had to help him. Bull, since he was half the size of Choji and therefore had the best chance of knocking him over, charged at the boy. Urushi took care of the skinnier one, Shikamaru.
"Aargh!" Choji screamed as he was pummeled. Before Shikamaru could do anything, (or Iruka for that matter. He was just kind of standing there in awe.) he too was thrown to the ground by a dog.
They were struggling underneath the dogs for a minute as onlookers...onlooked. After a second of shock, Iruka finally helped the kids by lifting the dogs up (pushing Bull, he's not that strong) and dusting off their clothes. They stood as far away from the canines as they possibly could and stared at them wearily.
"I think it's time to go. Bye Iruka-sensei!"
He waved to them as they ran and then turned to Bull, Urushi, and now Uhei who'd come to join them.
And he was not happy. Nin dogs had just tackled his students. Little preteen, pregenin, preskilled students! And now they were staring at him as if nothing had happened.
"Uhei," Iruka looked at him like he looked at a student that was about to get a serious "talking to".
"Yes, Iruka?" False confidence. Don't be fooled. They knew exactly what was coming.
"What the hell are you guys doing?! You've been following me since I went to the store! Not only is that a rude invasion of my privacy but it's freaking insulting. I am capable of at least getting home by myself. I mean, every once in a while, if it's okay with you, I'd like some goddamn privacy!"
Slowly, cautiously, the dogs were backing up away from the steaming teacher. They hated when he got like this, all angry and loud and embarrassing. They were only following orders, after all. He didn't have to get so upset.
Luckily for those three, the head of the operation knew something was going wrong. Akino showed up out of no where in between Iruka and the endangered pups and stopped Iruka from moving closer. Fully aware of the death they'd just escaped, Bull, Uhei, and Urushi were quick to poof home. You don't mess with angry, tired, sad sensei. Ever.
"Please, sensei. We're only here to help you." The soothing quality of Akino's voice struck a chord with Iruka. It sounded so much like Kakashi when he messed up and was asking Iruka to calm down and just listen to his excuse. Iruka couldn't be mad anymore. He deflated.
His voice was monotone when he spoke.
"Fine. Take me home."
Akino smiled as much as a dog could and put his head under Iruka's hand. He walked Iruka halfway down the street to his apartment building and up the stairs.
To an empty apartment, Iruka thought.
That's why they'd been following him all day. Iruka was letting it get to him again. The fact that Kakashi was gone on a mission. A very very long mission.
It was one month he'd have to go without seeing or hearing from his lover. It was pure torture. This was the kind of torture enemy nin probably would use if they ever captured him. Just keep reminding him that Kakashi wasn't there. He didn't have anyone to eat with. No one was going to read him pervy books while he tried to concentrate on grading the children's homework. He was going to bed alone that night.
Thinking all of this as they walked up the stairs left Iruka sorely unprepared for the surprise that awaited him on his living room couch.
There was a literal dog pile encompassing the entire thing. Shiba, Bisuke, and Uhei were lying together on one side while Bull sat on the floor next to them. Urushi was furthest away from them curled up next to the arm of the couch, leaving a space big enough for a human and a dog to lay down. Pakkun stayed on top of the couch, looking at Iruka with his head slightly tilted.
"Welcome home, sensei," he said.
Were he not so trained in hiding emotions, Iruka would have cried.
"You guys are so sweet. You didn't have to do this, I would've been fine." He sniffled a little, trying to stay as cool as he could.
Which, considering they had seen his stuffed dolphin pillow, wasn't very much.
"I told you outside, sensei," Akino nudged Iruka as he spoke. The chunin put his groceries down on the coffee table and let himself be pushed to the couch, shoes and all. "We were charged with helping you. That means both your physical and mental well-being."
Iruka laid down with his head on Urushi and his feet under Bisuke. Akino jumped up next to him to keep him extra warm. He smiled as his eyes closed.
"You guys are awesome," was the last thing he mumbled before falling asleep. They were warm and comforting. They even kind of smelled like him...
- - - -
"Awesome?"
"Yep."
"Nice. Hopefully that'll help him more than just a picture of me." Kakashi's eye crinkled in his signature smile. Pakkun nodded his head in agreement.
"I think it's going to help a lot more."
Kakashi pet his friend on the head as he fell asleep next to the fire. Pakkun had done an excellent job today. All of his dogs had.
"Don't worry, 'Ruka. I'll be home sooner than you think."
Looking up at the stars, Kakashi made a promise to himself to never leave his best friend and lover alone ever again. Even if it meant getting some very good help from the best watch dogs around.
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I love this one! ^.^ I'm on a huge KakaIru binge right now. They are THE BEST pairing EVER. I've decided. And my word is law, well, at least as long as you're in my story. :) Thanks for visiting! Please review! Join the review revolution! Just type a smiley face, if you want! That's cool with me. I'll send one back. :P we'll start there, your turn!
Yobster
P.S.- Anko and Iruka officially have the best bromance ever. Just so you know.