Chapter 1: Truth or Dare
The group huddled together as they eyed each other intently. The room was dark, the only source of light from a lamp in the corner. A single kunai lay on the table they were crowding around. All of them were silent as they waited for each other to speak. Someone swallowed thickly. Finally, one of them sighed and stared at his comrades.
"This will be the last time we are doing this. Everyone has made their choice. You guys know the rules for this." Nods were seen. The man continued. "Whoever the kunai points at, the person will have to accomplish the task."
Silence hung in the air before the group nodded uncertainly. The man took in a deep breath.
"Shall we do this?" Murmurs of agreements were heard. The man placed his hand on the kunai and hesitated for a moment before he spun the weapon in a swift movement.
Everyone watched the kunai intently. The sound of the metallic weapon against the wooden surface of the table was loud in the silence of the night. They offered a silent prayer to the person whose fate will be sealed by the weapon. The sound slowly faded as the kunai came to a stop.
Everyone paused.
The man who spun the kunai fumbled for his lighter and flicked it. He brought the small light close to the table and looked at it. The rest followed suit as they tried to see who the chosen one was.
Another silence before a small gasp was heard. The man covered his mouth as he nudged the person beside him.
"Switch on the lights." His partner complied and eased himself from the floor and headed towards the corner where the only source of brightness was. A flick of something could be heard and a moment later, the room was flooded in light.
All of them squinted at the sudden intrusion to their eyes, which had grown accustomed to the dark. When they recovered from it, all of them stared at the table, trying to confirm what they had seen under the dim light earlier on.
And, all of them turned to look at the person which the point of the kunai was directed at. One of them shook his head in sympathy as the others shuffled uneasily, trying to hide their emotions.
The man who had spun the kunai gaped a few moments, hands still over his mouth, before funny sounds started coming out from his throat.
And then, all of them burst out laughing.
Everyone, that is, except for one who was still staring at the kunai, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
"Oh my god! It's Iruka." Genma gasped in between laughter. Raidou stood at the corner where the light switches were and shook his head lightly, amusement evident in his eyes, as he eyed the horrified younger man.
"About time. He always escapes the last round. Oh my, this is going to be fun." Kotetsu rolled on the floor, clutching his sides. Izumo bowed over the table, laughing hysterically.
Iruka gaped for a few seconds, staring at the seemingly innocent kunai before he stuttered. "Wa…Wait! Wha…What the hell? What did you do to the kunai, Genma?" He hadn't expected it. Of all the times they had played the truth or dare game, Iruka had always managed to escape the last round, which consists of either forcing out the most brutal truth or doing the most insane dare that any of them could come up with. The kunai had always pointed at Kotetsu or Izumo, sometimes Raidou and occasionally Genma. But never him. No, he always escaped that. He groaned when he realized that his luck had run out this time.
Genma straightened himself and tried to keep his amusement as he faced the younger man. "I didn't do anything. I just spun it like I did every time." He hugged his stomach as another bout of laughter came bubbling out.
Raidou walked over and sat down beside the special jounin. He looked at Iruka, torn between sympathy and amusement. He gave in to the latter when Iruka focused his gaze on the kunai, seemingly trying to stare it down for getting him into a fix.
In between fits of hilarity, the scarred man managed to voice out a few words to the academy teacher. "Accept your fate, Iruka."
Iruka growled and glowered at the group in front of him. "That's enough!" He snapped. "Just tell me what you want me to do."
Genma took in a few deep breaths before he calm himself down. He looked at the chunin and had to bite his bottom lips to prevent himself from laughing again. He had no intention to incur the wrath of a very pissed Iruka.
When the laughter had subsided, Genma folded his arms and looked around at the group. "Well, if I remember it right, before we spin the kunai, I think Iruka opted for a dare." The rest nodded eagerly. Iruka growled again. He was beginning to hate this truth or dare game.
"And since that's the case, I think I have a wonderful dare for Iruka." Genma looked thoughtful as an evil smirk spread across his face. Iruka flinched. He was sure he will not like what was coming up.
"Well, Iruka." Genma propped himself on the table and leaned across to grin in the younger man's face. Iruka frowned and fought the urge to smack the jounin.
"What?"
"You know who Kakashi is, don't you?"
Iruka swallowed and nodded. He knew the infamous silver-haired jounin. He was Naruto's jounin sensei and squad leader. But other than that, he doesn't really know the jounin that well.
"Well, you know how people had always found him to be mysterious and detached. Perhaps we can do a little something about that." Genma paused for a moment. The others leaned in to listen to what he had to say. "My dare for you is to pull down Kakashi's mask, take a good look at his face and give him a deep and passionate kiss."
Iruka gawked as the others fell back laughing. He was certainly very sure that he hated the game now.
"What?!" Iruka managed to choke out. "That is impossible. Are you insane?" The moment the words got out, he regretted it. He should be well aware that there are no jounin who are sane in Konoha.
When Raidou finally settled down, he elbowed the senbon sucker. "I have to agree with Iruka, Genma. Your dare is a little impossible to achieve. First, with Kakashi's speed in flittering in and out and his tendency to disappear, I don't think Iruka stand any chance at all to grab him and perform the action. Secondly, I don't want to deal with a deadly jounin after our blood if he finds out that we are the ones behind the joke."
Genma mused for a moment before Kotetsu interrupted. "Fine. We will make it easier to achieve then. Iruka, just find Kakashi and tell him that you love him."
Iruka glared at the man and was very much tempted to strangle him.
"Kotetsu, I thought only jounin are insane. I didn't know you have joined their league." Iruka snarled. "Are you crazy? That's as good as asking me to dig my own grave. Who would want to tell a mentally unstable jounin that? And to top it off, all my life that I've known him, I don't think I even spoke past ten sentences with him."
Iruka huffed and continued. "He will most probably just eradicate me and come after the rest of you."
"You imagine too much, Iruka. Kakashi will not kill his own comrades. But frankly speaking, I think that dare is a little too simple. Finding a jounin, telling him that you love him and then disappearing out of sight isn't too much of a challenge." Genma chewed on his senbon absentmindedly as he thought about his options. Then he smiled.
"Well, I've got it. Iruka, you have to accept this, or else, accept your punishment and buy us dinner and drinks for one month." Genma grinned. Iruka flinched. He knew he was being cornered. Buying dinner is fine with him. But buying drinks for that bunch of drunkards was as good as telling him to file for bankruptcy for the rest of his life.
He sighed resignedly. "Fine. This better be good. What is it?"
"Well, Iruka, all you have to do is to ask Kakashi out for a date. And when I mean date, I mean a proper dinner, sightseeing, walking in the park and all." Genma grinned as he rolled the senbon in his mouth. "If you managed to kiss him, that's a bonus. We will buy you drinks for that. But if you don't, it's fine. And you have to do it within this week, or else you will have failed your dare all the same." He watched Iruka hesitate a little.
Iruka eyed the group around him, all of them anticipating his answer. He thought for a moment. Asking Kakashi out won't be that bad. He will just treat it as another conversation to ask about Naruto's progress. Sighing heavily, he gave in.
"Alright, I will do it."
