"Why did you take Gai's challenge?"
Iruka looked up from the papers he was grading. Why, why, why did he think it would be a good idea to assign a research paper on the history of ANBU to the advanced class? Now he had to grade the stupid things and some of them were so bad they had to be responsible for the throbbing pain just starting behind his temples. He blinked and tried to focus on the slightly blurry figure standing in front of him.
"I'm sorry, what?" Now that his eyes were working again, he could make out Kakashi standing in front of him. The Copy Nin looked better than he had the previous day. He was clean and his hair had resumed its upright position and its normal color. His visible eye, however, was still red and that, combined with the bandages Iruka could see sticking out from his shirt sleeve and the pale green tinge to his skin, made Iruka think that maybe he still wasn't back to normal. Or as normal as Kakashi ever got.
"I said 'Why did you take Gai's challenge?'" Beneath its usual tone of unconcern, Kakashi's voice held a hint of impatience and annoyance. His eye narrowed as it focused on Iruka.
The teacher blinked and looked around the now-empty mission room. What time was it? He vaguely remembered waving goodbye to everyone as they left and promising to close up when he was done, but how long ago had that been?
"Um," he tried to focus on Kakashi's question, "I don't know. Just seemed like the thing to do at the time, I guess."
The jounin frowned at him, his eyebrow expressing disbelief and derision. "I don't need your help. I can handle Gai on my own."
Iruka felt himself flush. "Kakashi-sensei, it might amaze you to know that not everything I do is for your benefit. Did it not occur to you that I might have challenged Gai for my own purposes?"
"What reason could you have for wanting to challenge Gai? And what kind of challenge is it anyway—who can babysit the most kids?" Kakashi's cold, sarcastic tone washed over Iruka like freezing rain.
The years of learning to control his legendary temper disappeared and Iruka's blood began to boil. "My reasons and my challenges are mine alone and I'll thank you to keep your nose out of my business. Now, if there's nothing further, I have actual work to do, so you can show yourself out." He looked away dismissively.
"Oh, I'm so sorry,sensei," Kakashi drawled. "I didn't mean to interrupt your vital efforts to protect Konoha using your magical red marking pen. I'll leave you to your beloved scrolls. I know you want to get done so that you can get to bed early. You'll want to be fresh as a daisy tomorrow for another day of clucking over toddlers like a mother hen. It's too bad Naruto isn't here any longer…"
He never finished the sentence. By the time the boy's name had left Kakashi's lips, Iruka's temper had reached the breaking point. The chuunin leapt over the mission table and wrapped a hand around Kakashi's throat, pinning him back to the wall, fast as lightning.
"You bastard. You lazy, no-good, bastard," Iruka growled. "You leave him out of this."
"Now, now, sensei, temper," Kakashi's voice was strained from the effort of pushing past Iruka's fingers, but it still held a fine note of distain. Iruka then realized that the slight pressure on his chest was a kunai pressing into his flak jacket. He had been fast, but Kakashi, as always, had been faster. But even the knowledge that the Copy Nin could gut him in an instant didn't make Iruka loosen his grip. His anger was too strong.
"Kill me, I don't care, but for once, damn it, you're going to listen to me," he growled. "Whatever problem you have with me, with my abilities, with my rank, with my teaching style, whatever, you leave Naruto out of it. He is no longer your concern."
As he spoke, Iruka could see the fight leaving Kakashi. By the time he was done, the man had dropped his arm, the kunai falling forgotten to the floor. He hung there, as if Iruka's hand was the only thing supporting him, and his eye slowly closed.
"You're right, Iruka-sensei, he isn't. None of them are. And never will be again, if they're lucky. I'm sorry for my behavior. It was not my intent to come in here and insult you." He started to pull away. "I actually wanted to see if there was a mission available for me."
Iruka stared at him, forgetting for the moment that his hand was still on Kakashi's throat. "A mission? But you just got back and you…" He trailed off, unable to think of a polite way of saying 'you look like shit and should probably take a few days to recover.' An alarm began to go off inside him, but he was having trouble figuring out what exactly was making him think something was wrong.
"Maa, I'm fine, really," Kakashi muttered as he raised a hand to Iruka's and tried to pull himself free. His fingers were ice cold, a stark contrast to the heat radiating from the face just above Iruka's hand. That was it!
Iruka raised both hands to cup Kakashi's face. Even through the mask he could feel the heat pouring out of the jounin. Pushing up Kakashi's hitai-ate, he pressed a palm to the pale forehead and confirmed his fears. "Kakashi-san, you're burning up!"
"No, no, it's nothing. I'll be…" Kakashi's voice trailed off and Iruka watched in horror as his eye rolled back in his head. Just in time the teacher reached out and caught the other man before his limp form could hit the floor. Trying not to think about how very light Kakashi felt—had he always been this thin?—Iruka formed the hand signs and transported them both to the hospital.