Of Dogs and Men
Author: remthedogsitter
Rating: R (to be safe)
Summary: (AU kakairu) Going home from a mission Iruka suddenly finds himself responsible for a litter of seven puppies surrounded by mysterious circumstances, will he be able to find out where they came from in time before their real owner comes looking for them?
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form
A/N: Longest chapter so far, lots of Kakairu in here
Chapter 3: Just because it looks like something, tastes like something and smells like something doesn't mean its what you're thinking of.
The pups have grown exponentially since Iruka first found them, with Kakashi's judgment they were the equivalent of roughly one month old puppies after five days in their care. They needed less care but the housebreaking was still something to be desired since their little bodies couldn't handle holding it in for long.
"I'm home," Iruka once again developed the habit of calling when he entered the door and slipped off his shoes, the puppies enthusiastically hopping around him and licking whatever inch of skin they could.
"Welcome home." Kakashi greeted back from the kitchen. He was wearing a handkerchief in place of his mask just for the convenience of still being able to eat and cover his face at the same time. "Dinner in a few. The pups ate already."
"Ok." Iruka sounded out, making himself comfortable on the couch, the pups piling on his lap and shoulder for a petting session. It was amazing how easy they fell into a routine, since Kakashi was the one making the pup's meals it slowly became him cooking all the meals for all of them. Iruka would clean and leave the laundry in the morning and the copy nin would put them away in the afternoon. I have him for the week, his breath caught a little at thought he's been in my bed, he's in my kitchen, in my shower his thoughts began to wonder wistfully. Here was the man who he was head over heels for but whether it be good or bad to say he got over and accepted would be nothing more than a drunken kiss under the mistletoe at a New Year's Eve party hosted by the mission desk staff.
Kakashi was believe it or not the touchy sort of person, over dinner whenever he would pass Iruka something like chopsticks or a full bowl of rice, their fingers would touch. Or the jounin had this habit of pushing Iruka's hair out of his face whenever he let it down around the house and it was particularly messy, which was often. They slept in the same bed true, as Kakashi continued this after the first night because the chunin was aware and didn't give any sign of protest, even if there was a litter of puppies between them.
Was this man cruel or bored enough to be doing this to him? Iruka looked up from his bowl of yakiniku to see Kakashi's eye arch to what translated as a smile. Two little black tipped ear looking like a shark hunting in the shallows were poking about until the familiar black masked face popped up. Tanuki took a real liking to the jounin, choosing to be in his company more often than not whether napping or playing tag. Kakashi picked up a little meat from his bowl with his chopsticks to feed the little one who after finishing the treat licked his chops and nuzzled his head against the copy nin's chest in thanks before hoping down.
"Sensei are you busy tomorrow evening?" The jounin asked as he cleared the dishes, the pups still prone to the soft habits of newborns were already in bed asleep and practically occupying half the space with their growth spurts.
"Just a short shift at the mission desk, why?"
"Nothing just wondering." He muttered vaguely and didn't say anything more.
The evening couldn't start soon enough, there was a small advanced class he had to teach that morning as requested by the hokage, they were some of these new recruits more of orphans from some of the smaller allied villages that had been victim to a crossfire from a mission here and there. They were well behaved at least but this seemed to be the kind of class that would become out of hand given time and the opportunity.
Curiosity was over taking him more than anything.
"Anything wrong Iruka you looked flustered again." Genma said teasingly poking him in the side as they were fixing up the last of the boxes for storage.
"Nothing."
"So, you sleep with Kakashi yet?" he smirked
"NO." Almost immediately his face turned hot and scarlet "Of course not why would I?"
"Your blush gives you away every time." He chuckled "I thought you were over him."
Iruka waved his hand back and forth in a dismissive manner "Of course I am but ever heard of the phrase out of sight out of mind? Kind of hard to forget a person you're living with, no matter how temporary it is."
"Uh-huh." Raidou poked him too joining the fun "I still can't forget how fast you went for that whore after our delivery mission last month just because he had white hair."
"It was your fault for getting me drunk and pushing me in that direction in the first pla—" he paused midsentence when all three of them looked in the direction of a tapping sound on the window.
It was Kakashi knocking on the glass, his nose buried in Icha-Icha, though it was a wonder how he could read with nothing so much as moonlight out tonight.
Iruka cursed under his breath and composed himself.
"Go on lover boy." Genma sniggered, giving the chunnin's ass an encouraging push in the right direction. "Me and Rai will finish up here."
"Don't worry about the pups Sensei I got someone to babysit." Kakashi said as he knotted his handkerchief behind his head and pulling down his mask. The sushi restaurant was in the older part of the village which he didn't really frequent.
Since when did we understand each other without talking? Iruka wondered realizing that the man answered his question before he opened his mouth to ask, that he followed him knowing he was going to take him to dinner, that the man left the light in the bathroom open just when he was thinking of taking a shower and not anytime else and those were just some instances now that he thought about it.
"Kakashi-sensei not to sound rude," Iruka started putting a piece of what Kakashi ordered for them, which had the strange semblance to well marbled beef or sirloin. "But is anything... wrong..." he trailed off as he chewed, the ootoro melting in his mouth. The chuninn had only heard about this, the best cut of tuna sushi money could buy, the small belly part of every tuna. Damn its not my weakness for food... just good food.
"Mah always accusing me of planning something." He waves his hand dismissively in an exaggerated manner. It seems outside his apartment, they were back to how they were before the puppies were in the picture. "Why can't I be nice to my favorite teacher-before-me-being-a-teacher-to-my-students-now?"
"Because I'm the only one?" He snorted, for some reason he missed this side of Kakashi.
"Well that too," Kakashi chuckled eating some more of the sushi "Doesn't that make you special? The one and only." The last part was said more wistfully and with a certain look that Iruka couldn't quite place. What am I to you really?
"Kurenai talked to me yesterday, it seems she cant find a pet store willing to take in the pups." He said changing the subject before taking some of the sake waiting for either of them to start drinking.
"I don't see why we can't keep them." Kakashi shrugged draining a cup of sake himself.
Iruka noticed his his use of we, what did that mean exactly?
In all seriousness you could give him, Kakashi laid his hand on the table next to where Iruka's was. "I'm leaving on an S-rank mission tomorrow. It's expected to be a week or two long but I don't know when I'll be back."
So that's what this is about, he was just trying to butter him up so he wouldn't be as mad at him for leaving him with the pups at home.
"The pups wont be much of a bother now, it took some time but they're house broken... practically and recipes of food in a small notebook on top of the fridge. They're good with kids I made sure cause I've been taking them to the playground every afternoon..."
Iruka started to giggle or maybe it was the alcohol talking but Kakashi was starting to resemble a mother hen more and more every day. "Kakashi I never knew you were the mothering type."
"Mah Iruka, if you didn't notice I have a soft spot for dogs." He smiled before taking another drink. "I mean look at Pakkun, a face only a mother could love but don't tell him I said that."
"My parents never let me have pets." Iruka muttered into his glass before downing some more sake "And I was kinda turned off from canines well after you know... that incident."
Kakashi put his fingers lightly on top of Iruka's knuckles in a comforting gesture and using the other hand to fill both their glasses.
"But I'll take care of them don't worry."
Running from his apartment to the village gates wasn't necessarily a difficult thing, but with seven puppies in tow in a box, a bag filled with a mess of bowls, leashes and a few toys that in itself could be a B-rank mission all on its own.
"KAKASHI!" he called echoed by a sound of excited barks.
The white haired jounin looked back eyebrow cocked up in question. "Weren't you supposed to be on your way to the academy sensei?"
The chunin didn't say anything, fumbling through the stuff in the bag under a few packs of home made dog treats and plushies was a bento box carefully wrapped in a blue handkerchief. He handed it to a wide eyed Kakashi without word.
"When you get back we talk. Ok?" Iruka said with a finality he put on his brave face but his knees were shaking. The pups around an estimated five months in size and still growing waited patiently at their feet, not playing stuff my wet nose in your clothes and see how much you scream game for once.
The copy nin blinked, looking from the box in his hand to Iruka. "Ok." His eye made the arch that in Kakashi language meant he was smiling before he turned to leave.
"Come back safe ok." The chunnin said quietly, half of him wishing that the other man did not hear it.
"I will." Was said just as quietly back before Kakashi leapt into the wilderness of the outside to accomplish his mission.
Preview: (finally more of the puppies)
"Ok class, throwing practice today." Iruka clapped his hands as the kids formed a line as he taught them before they could go outside. Thankfully his classroom was overlooking the practice area and the pups were down for an afternoon nap after lunch.
...
As the kids were throwing their weapons Iruka's sense reacted before his mind could as he went and caught several kunai that ricocheted in the wrong direction towards one of his charges. He caught them in time, the little boy in his arms hardly realized what happened. The teacher sighed relived and patted the boy on the head before he heard a shout and a very dog like yelp "IRUKA-SENSEEIII!"
A/N: sorry for the long update, I wanna mull over this story for a while longer and I've been busy (and even busier in the days to come) but I'll update eventually, as for typos, I have no betas at the moment sorry : ( there are only so many things I can find on my own and since I wrote it I tend to overlook some. thanks to all who suggested a name for the pups :D and all those who wrote in this fandom before me (the handkerchief idea) and amongst other idiosyncrasies found here. Thanks to beck for Tanuki (lol that name was floating on top of my head too) and jay345sal28 for that names you'll see some of them soon *hint hint* I'll try to get more things happening in the next chapter or two and the true nature of the pups as well *dun dun dun*