My breathe was coming in short gasps as I ran. The document had been more well guarded than anticipated. I had still gotten the document but I was having a harder time giving my pursuers the slip. I hadn't fully recovered from my last mission before taking this one. That had been a bad idea. My chakra had still been low and now it was in the red zone. If I used any more I would probably black out or die.

Kunai whizzed past my head and I jumped up higher in the trees to try and lose them in the leaf cover. I was almost home. I just had to endure for a while longer and the back up I had sent for would meet me. But I was on my own until then.

An exploding tag went off and I plummeted down from the tree tops. I landed hard on my back as I was surrounded. I forced myself to my feet as my breath came in heaves, the wind having been knocked from me when I landed.

A dozen shinobi surrounded me. Ordinarily I could have taken them but I was close to my breaking point. A shower of kunai came from above aimed at all except me. The enemy shinobi jumped out of the way as the back up finally found me. There were roughly two leaf nin to every one enemy nin.

Someone dropped down next to me and hooked my right arm over their shoulders and put a supporting arm around my waist. I was surprised to see that it was Iruka. I couldn't imagine why he would be here. He was rarely sent into the field.

"Iruka, wha-?" I started to ask.

He blocked an incoming kunai and managed to injure one of the shinobi as they came at us, all while still supporting me. "Later Kakashi-san. Can you run?" He asked looking up at me. I nodded and he led me through the battle and we started home.

Five minutes later four more enemy shinobi came from in front of us. We were forced to stop. They formed an impassable blockade. Not only were these ninja good but Iruka would have to face them on his own. I was close to collapsing.

I was about to tell Iruka to leave me but when I looked at him to tell him, I stopped. The look in his eyes could have frozen hell over. All of that anger and rage that I normally tried to provoke was being expertly channeled. Iruka's eyes blazed a reddish amber as opposed to their normal brown.

He left me beside a tree and walked about ten feet in front of me. He looked like a panther, its muscles coiled, waiting for its chance to jump out and deliver the killing blow.

The four enemy ninja surrounded him. One behind him sent three kunai his way. He ducked and kicked out behind him, his heel meeting the ninja's jaw in a very powerful kick. The ninja flew up about ten, maybe fifteen feet before coming down and landing hard. He was down for the count.

The remaining three were smarter and came at him all at once. Iruka skillfully blocked all three attacks with a kunai in each hand. But now they were locked together. One wrong move by Iruka would spell disaster. Iruka smashed his forehead into the face of the ninja in front of him, using his forehead protector to inflict damage while saving his own head.

The ninja fell back, blood spurting out of his nose. Iruka then stepped back, using the weight and strength of the other two against them. They fell together, momentarily off-balance. Iruka took down a second one.

The other two had regained their heads and came at Iruka again. One came straight at him while the other jumped over his head. The ninja stalked toward me. Iruka looked behind him to see the ninja advancing on me. I got out a kunai to defend myself.

Iruka once again using the enemy's own strength against him took out the third ninja and was on the fourth before he even had time to turn around. Iruka put his kunai away and walked up to me. I put my own kunai away as well.

I was looking at Iruka in amazement. I never expected that from him. He was much better than I had anticipated.

He hooked an arm around my waist and one of my arms over his shoulders again before we continued to the village. Fifteen minutes later we were through the city gates and Iruka was heading to the Hokage's tower. We were quickly let in to Tsunade's office.

"Tsunade-sama!" Iruka yelled.

Tsunade looked up and quickly got up and rushed over to us.

"Lay him on the floor." She instructed Iruka.

As soon as I was lying down a green glow enveloped her hands and she set to work healing me. Iruka stayed the entire time getting various things for Tsunade as she requested them. After a little under an hour her hands stopped glowing and she leaned back.

"That should do it. I only healed the most severe but he is out of danger now." She said as she got up and went back to her desk, wiping her hands on a cloth. I sat up slowly. "I'm glad to see that you made it back, Kakashi. I should have sent someone else. I'm sorry, I wont do that to you again."

I stood. Reaching into my back pouch I pulled out the scroll that I had been sent to retrieve. "Thank you Tsunade-sama. Here is the scroll you requested." I handed it to her and she took it.

"Thank you Kakashi. I am going to give you a week off. Three days of which will be nothing but bed rest. Am I making myself clear Kakashi?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." I answered.

"Iruka?" She turned her attention to the chunnin.

"Yes?" He walked up beside me to stand in front of her desk.

"I would like Kakashi to stay with you for those three days. I want to make sure he is resting. And also I want to make sure that he takes the medicine I am going to prescribe him." She smiled as a look of shock crossed both our faces. "Is that okay?"

"WHAT?" I shouted.

Iruka glanced at me. "Um, sure, Tsunade-sama. I will do my best." He replied to her.

She smiled and nodded, completely ignoring me, before writing something down on a piece of paper and handing it to Iruka. "Good. Make sure he takes this twice a day. You will have the next three days off as well. I will send in someone to take your place at the school and missions desk. Have fun." Smirked and winked.

I swear that woman can be so evil sometimes. I could practically see the devil horns sticking out of her head. I basically stormed out of her office with Iruka following. When we were on the streets below Iruka got my attention.

"Um, Kakashi-san? She really only wanted me to keep an eye on you. If you would feel more comfortable in your own home we could stay there." I looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. He blushed. "I-I don't mean to sound like I'm inviting myself into your home!" He stammered.

I laughed quietly and pondered this. That would be nice actually. Maybe having Iruka over would breathe some life into the stale atmosphere in my apartment.

"I think I would like that if you wouldn't mind staying over." I responded.

"Not at all. I just want to grab a couple things from my apartment."

"Of course."

We started walking toward his apartment before I remembered something.

"Iruka… how did you end up in the back up group I sent for?" I asked quietly.

"Um, Pakkun asked me. He said that you were in trouble and needed help. So, with Tsunade-sama's permission, I organized a team and went after you." He told me.

Pakkun… of course. That little… I sighed. Apparently the pug was determined to get me and Iruka together.

"I see."

"Why would he come to me though?"

"That's a good question." One that I intend to get an answer to. I finished in my head.

We made the rest of the way to Iruka's apartment in silence. He let us in and ran around the house packing a bag of various things he thought he might need. When he was satisfied he had everything he came back over to the door where I was waiting for him.

"I need to stop by the school. I need to drop off my lesson plans for whoever the unlucky sap is that got my class." He smiled as he locked his door behind us.

"That's fine. Your class full of terrors then?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. Sometimes I wonder if they are worse than Naruto's class. It's a close call." He laughed at some passing memory.

"I see. That is saying something."

We walked to the school and he left the plans in the top drawer in the desk and then we made our way toward my apartment. We used the rooftops to avoid the busy streets below. I hopped in through my open kitchen window, forgetting that Iruka probably doesn't use windows very much.

I heard a crash behind me and turned to see Iruka on his stomach on the floor.

"Ow… that wasn't too graceful." He said sitting up and rubbing the side of his head and glaring at me when I started laughing.

"I'm sorry. I forgot that you would rather use the door. I'm so used to using the window." I explained while still laughing.

He huffed and got to his feet. He glared at me while I continued laughing. After a few seconds I noticed the corners of his mouth twitch.

"Hey, you can't glare at me while you're fighting a smile!" I playfully yelled.

We busted into fits of laughter. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed like this. Iruka gulped in a breath of air and tried to calm down. My hushed snickering sent him into another fit and he sent me into one. This continued for a couple more minutes. One of us calming down and the other sending them back into hysterics.

When we both managed to calm down and catch our breaths I led him into my spare room. It served as my library. I saw him frown at my extensive collection of Icha Icha. I only smiled. He set his bag down in a corner and we walked back into my living area.

"So, what sounds good for dinner?" Iruka asked me.

"Um, not sure. There's next to nothing in my kitchen, so I guess that leaves take out?" I suggested.

Pakkun decided to make an appearance then.

"Hey Boss. I guess everything worked out with Iruka then?"

Iruka looked puzzled and I slapped a hand over my face. I was going to kill that dog one day.

"Pakkun, Tsunade assigned Iruka to keep an eye on me until I recover."

"Nice cover Boss. Even got the Hokage to play along."

I took off after the pug and somehow ended up on my left side on the living room floor with Pakkun in a headlock.

"Listen to me you nosy good-for-nothing. Do not open that big mouth of yours again if it has anything to do with me and Iruka being together. Am I clear?" I hissed into the wriggling pug's ear.

"I don't know why you're embarrassed. But if it makes you happy fine. Now let go before I bite you." Pakkun warned.

I let go of him and he trotted off somewhere. I turned over onto my back and closed my eye, pinching the bridge of my nose with one hand. To my left I heard subdued laughter. I opened my eye and looked over at Iruka. He was bent almost in half, one hand on his stomach and the other held to his mouth to try and stifle his laughter, and tears in his eyes.

"Enjoying yourself over there?" I asked sarcastically as I made my way to my feet.

"I-I'm s-sorry! But that was hysterical!" He managed while laughing. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. "That was just hilarious."

I sighed. I can only imagine how I must have looked. The famous Copy nin wrestling on his living room floor with one of his ninken. To someone that didn't know me well - which was practically everyone - the image was quite funny. No one knew that it was a semi-regular occurrence. Pakkun gets on my nerves on a regular basis.

"So does ramen sound okay for dinner then?" Iruka asked, still smiling.

"That's fine with me."

We walked to Ichiraku's and got our order to go and Iruka wanted to stop by the store and then we went back to my apartment. I tied a handkerchief over my face as Iruka set the bag he got from the store on the counter. We sat down at the table and ate in companionable silence. When we were finished we threw away the disposable cartons and chopsticks.

Iruka then went over to where he left the bag on the counter. He pulled out what was inside and then pulled out the note Tsunade had given him.

"Do you have a glass and a bowl?" Iruka asked as he turned to me.

"Yeah." I walked over to some cabinets and pulled down the requested items and gave them to him.

He combined the items in the correct amount into the bowl and mixed them. He then added some water and mixed it all together until it was mostly dissolved and then poured it into the glass and held it out to me.

"Apparently this… um, whatever you want to call it, will help you heal and regain chakra. You have to drink it all."

I looked at the glass offered to me. It was a dark brownish-green and I was dreading what it tasted like. I took the glass and Iruka gave me a sympathetic look before I downed the whole thing as fast as I could. I gagged and set the glass down on the counter.

"Ugh, that stuff is nasty." I made a face.

"Here," Iruka handed me a small glass of juice.

I drank that more slowly, swishing it around to try and get the taste out of my mouth.

"Better?" Iruka asked.

"Much."

"I figured that it would taste nasty so I picked up something to wash it down." The chunnin smiled.

"Thanks for thinking of that."

"No problem." He said while stretching. "I think I am going to bed early."

"The futon is in the closet." I told him.

"Thanks. Good night Kakashi-san." he turned to walk down the hall.

"Kakashi."

"Huh?" He turned to look back at me.

"Kakashi. Just Kakashi please." I asked him, not really knowing where the request came from.

"Oh, okay. Good night Kakashi." He gave a small smile and walked down the hall and closed the door.

I sighed and went to go sit on my couch.

"You see? I told you Iruka was good for you."

I turned to see that Pakkun had returned.

"Again that's none of your damned business." I told him firmly.

"Wrong, it is my business. I'm tired of watching you sulk. You're always alone. You need someone. Iruka is really the only one you pay any attention to."

"No I don't." I tried to deny.

"Yes you do. You intentionally provoke him. You always turn in those terrible reports on purpose to get a rise out of him. You tease him endlessly to get him to blush. You've showed up on several occasions to save him because you were concerned. You care about him, whether you like it or not. I just hope you wake up and act before someone else tries to claim him. He wont be available forever." Pakkun finished and got back up to jump on the comfy chair in the corner.

"Hey didn't I say no more on me and Iruka?" I asked almost as an after thought.

"Maybe, but you needed to hear it." He responded.

I sighed and got up. I went into my bedroom and grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom to shower.

Was Pakkun right? Did I care for Iruka as more than just another comrade? I shook my head. I just wasn't sure.