Whispering Illusions
Chapter One
Improbability
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Things were quiet around Konoha Village. If you could ignore the screeching of the Godaime and Shizuno. Everywhere in the large village you could hear the Hokage's screams and the determined shrieking of her assistant as she tried to get the Fifth do her paperwork and something of slightly more interest. Anyone near enough to hear words laughed and stopped to listen to the exchange, as it was more violent than any other. Even the Special Jounin Izumo had crept down the outside stair and was shooting glances over to Raidou, trying to get his attention. Apparently, whatever those two were arguing about was worthy of the highest form of appreciation. The Gossip Vine.
Raidou sighed. If he didn't hear what Izumo wanted, then the man was just going to bug the hell out of him until he would listen. Why it had to be him and not Genma, he never knew. Genma had been all over him the last week about something big coming in, but Raidou still wasn't sure what the hell he was talking about, even with him being closest to the Hokage, aside from Shizuno. He groaned and strode over to the now wildly gesturing Izumo.
"What do you want, Izumo-san?" he ground out.
Izumo smiled brightly and motioned him in closer. When Raidou didn't come any closer, he stepped closer and whispered loudly in his ear. "The Fifth and Shizuno are going at it over Iruka-sensei."
Raidou growled. "I know that, you idiot! Everyone within a one-mile radius can hear that!"
"Yes, but not about what," the sly little man shot back, winking. Hook.
Now that got Raidou's attention. "What are you blathering about, man?" He wanted to know, even if he didn't tell the whole Jounin group about it, which would be a no-brainer. If he didn't, Genma would wheedle it out of him and tell anyway.
Izumo laughed evilly and leaned closer. "Hokage-sama wants Iruka to leave the Academy for a while."
"What? That's nothing to be fighting over," Raidou sputtered, looking a little taken aback.
"Ah, but that is where it gets interesting," Izumo continued. "It's not just that. Earlier today, he lost it. And I mean lost it."
Raidou looked disbelieving. Iruka-sensei lost it? "What do you mean 'lost it'?"
Izumo lowered his voice even more, stepped even closer, and cupped a hand around his mouth. "Pressure got to him. Dealing with kids all day finally made him snap. During kunai practice, one of the kids threw a kunai and missed. It wouldn't have been a problem if the girl hadn't repeatedly missed and nearly hit Iruka-sensei. Everytime. At. Practice." He grinned at the rapt expression on Raidou's face. Line. "Well, she missed really good this time and nailed Iruka in the thigh, except this time, it was during the multiple throw exercise. She got him in the arm and the ribs, too."
"No one is that bad," Raidou said, blinking a bit at the image of Iruka impaled with several kunai. It was just to disturbing. "What happened?"
Sinker.
"I don't really know what he did, but he apparently went on a rampage and ran after the girl. He never caught up to her, but Hokage-sama found him balled up in the teacher's lounge. He was crying and raging. It took her a minute to calm him enough to get the kunai out of him and heal him enough to stop the bleeding. After that, Iruka-sensei was sent home," Izumo finished, pulling back.
Raidou looked poleaxed. Iruka-sensei chased a student? What the hell?
It took them both a second or so to realize that the shouting match had ended. They looked up to the Hokage's office, worried, but relieved it was over. Sighing, they went to make sure everyone was still alive. Opening the office door, Raidou stepped in and called out. Shizuno came through her office door and smiled at them. Apparently she had won the argument. She greeted him and motioned for Izumo to come in too.
"I have missions for you both," she stated as soon as the door was closed. They gave her worried looks. "Oh, nothing dangerous, mind. Just a little something around the village."
"What is it, Shizuno-san?" Izumo asked, leaning against the door.
"I want you to find someone to take over Iruka-sensei's spot at the Academy. He won't be working there for the rest of the year due to health problems."
"His or the kids?" Izumo muttered, half to himself.
Shizuno laughed nervously and proceded, "Both, actually. He's been under a lot of stress lately and needs to take a break from teaching. With the way things have been with Naruto and the attack on the village, he's not been able to handle the stress all that well."
"Will that be all, Shizuno-san?" Raidou queried, half turning back to the door.
"If you see Hatake Kakashi lounging around, send him to the Hokage. She has something for him," Shizuno said, turning back to her office.
Izumo smiled and opened the door, following Raidou out. This was going to be some juicy tid-bits to feed to the Vine. Yes, definitely gossip worthy.
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Snarling, Iruka sent the dummy bag swinging with a quick rabbit punch. What had possessed him to lose his temper like that? It wasn't like she had meant to hit him. He stretched, the new skin pulling around the healed wound on his ribs. Why didn't he cancel the practice today? He should have known that the girl wasn't ready for this new exercise. He struck out at the bag again. His bronze skin shone in the afternoon light. With it being so warm, Iruka has stripped his vest and shirt off, not wanting them to smell to badly when he went home.
Cursing himself for losing his temper so royally, Iruka pushed himself to the limit working on his taijitsu. After punching the baf for so long, he knuckles started to bleed. Leaving off on that, he threw himself into rolling jumps, high jumps, spinning kicks and running around. Once his legs became to heavy, he sat down and went through every genjutsu he knew, wearing his chakra down to nothing. This didn't take as long as the other exercises had. He growled at his lack of Chakra. He wasn't good at anything but teaching and his proof was in his Chakra flow. He was useless as a ninja.
Feeling even more sorry for himself, Iruka threw himself down onto his stomach, setting his head over his crossed arms. He was mentally and physically exhausted. He didn't know when he would be able to move again, not that he really wanted to. It was really warm out and the sun felt so good on his skin. As he drifted in and out of wakefullness, Iruka thought back over the last few hours.
Why had being hit made such a difference? Why had he went after the girl? He knew that during the Chuunin exam he had suffered from high anxiety. He had even confronted that maniac Hatake over his entering his just graduated Genin into the exam. That fight had led to even more anxiety during the final stages of the exam. When the village had been attacked, it had caused him to nearly lose his mind with worry when he found out that Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were fighting the Sand Genin by themselves. But that didn't compare to when Naruto had went off to bring Sasuke back. He had died a little inside when Kakashi-sensei had brought the bloody boy back, half alive.
Since then, he had had no time to channel his anxiety, hurt, worry, and disdain into anything other than work. He knew it was this that had contributed more to him attacking the girl than anything else. Maybe it was a good idea that the Hokage ordered him to take a break. He needed one, really. Dealing with kids day in, day out with only one day of rest wasn't helping his or their health. He could take the time to work on his Chakra. Or he could work on getting stronger. He really was only equipped to deal with children and really weak adults.
With these thoughts floating around in his head, Iruka dozed off. Unaware, he never knew the presence lurking in a nearby oak.
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Kakashi grumbled under his breath. Why him? Why did he, the Copy Nin, have to take a vacation? It was absurd. With him no longer in ANBU and his Genin team scattered to the winds, there was nothing for him to do. Though that didn't keep him from watching over Naruto or tagging along on other people's missions. How that woman found out, he would never know. He could hazard a guess, but that would only make him more irritated.
Already the Vine was buzzing with the latest news. Iruka had finally lost his legendary patience and had attacked one of the students in his class. Kakashi couldn't blame the man. There were times when he wanted to belt Naruto and Sasuke just for the hell of it. He sighed and made his way to the monument. He hadn't had a chance to pay his respects to Yondaime and Rin today, thanks to Godaime. He frowned as he landed on the upper branches of an oak.
Who was that bouncing around? He noticed the vest and shirt laying off to the side of the training field. He looked closer and was surprised to see Iruka going through some impressive kicks and spins. If he thought about it, no one really knew when Iruka trained or if he trained at all. It was a mystery to even those close to him. The village loved him, but he didn't have that many that knew him. Iruka was a mystery to most of the Jounin and half the Chuunin that hadn't advanced to Jounin. In a sense, Iruka was just like him. Yeah, if you took away the mask, the feeling of being inadequate, and the constant paranoia. Yeah, Iruka was just like him. He continued to watch the dark skinned man as he used his Chakra. Kakashi was a little taken aback at the amount he had, figuring he would have a high amount, but was mistaken.
When Iruka finally collasped, Kakashi noted the gleam of sweat coating him and how the sun made his skin glow golden. It was a very nice sight. Iruka was slimly built, but made up for it in the ropy muscles that rippled across his back. He was built for speed and agility, Kakashi noted as he smiled, pictures of things he could do with those abilities. He shook his head and continued to watch the man sleep. Slim hips and a nice ass. Better and better all the time.
Kakashi had no qualms about men or women sharing his bed. He liked them both, but he preffered men. It was easier to understand them, unlike women with mecurial moods and insane emotions. They were a little to rational for him. He liked wild. He wondered if Iruka was bent toward men? If he was...
Kakashi smiled behind his mask, his grey eye crinkling up. Oh, he could have so much fun with this. But, he frowned, how was he going to get Iruka to like him and not to hate him for what he put his prized students through? Arrgghhh! he screamed in his head. He was going to drive himself insane if he kept thinking of all the perverted things he wanted to do to the school teacher. He froze as another perverted thought entered his head.
Iruka was standing over him, berating him for his bad grades. He kept him over after class to deal out his punishment. But instead of Iruka doling it out, Kakashi stands over him and pulls him close, lowering his mask to kiss the little teacher hard on the mouth. He could feel Iruka's hands on his shoulders and trolling through his hair. He pushed Iruka back onto the desk-
Iruka had felt someone staring at him when he jerked awake. He carefully looked around and finally spotted a shadow in the oak above him. He looked carefully and saw it was Kakashi. He was staring at him with a very wicked glint in his eye and his face was flushed. Iruka had an idea of what he was imagining. Scowling, he slipped a rock into his hand, rolled, and fired the makeshift missile. He grinned when he heard a grunt.
Kakashi rubbed his head and noticed Iruka glaring up at him. Busted. Grinning behind his mask, Kakashi lowered himself to the ground.
"Yo, Iruka-san."
"What do you want, Kakashi-sensei?" Iruak asked, gaining his feet and crossing his arms.
Kakashi almost drooled over Iruka's hard little body. Oh, this is so much better than my fantasies. Jerking back to reality, he smiled at Iruka. "Nothing much, Iruka-sensei. I was on my way to the monument when I spotted you running around. I didn't want to disturb you, so I just sat reading."
Iruka cocked an eybrow at the Jounin as he collected his shirt and vest. "Uh-huh. And how long have you been daydreaming?"
Kakashi laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Not long."
"Right. And you expect me to believe you? You're a maniac, a liar, and a pervert, Kakashi-sensei. I will never know why Sarutobi-sama put you in charge of Group Seven," Iruka muttered as he donned his shirt. He threw his vest over his shoulder, not bothering to put it on. "Well, as nice as it was to talk to you, I have things to do."
Kakashi sighed as he watched Iruka walk away. I guess he still hates me. He rubbed the new lump rising above his left ear. He's got wicked aim, too.