ChapterSeven

"Kakashi!" Iruka called happily in the halls. He caught up with the laid back teen and handed him the disk. "It's far deeper than any of your other songs the melody is dark. Your lyrics, however, don't fit."

He took the CD back and listened carefully to Iruka's criticism, he smiled. "Thank-you."

"Uh, Kakashi?" Asuma poked his shoulder. "We have class, you and your boy toy can converse your sleeping schedule elsewhere."

Kakashi quickly shoved the case into his pocket and winked at Iruka before leaving with his best friend. Once they were far enough away, Kakashi looked over at Asuma. "What would you say if I told you I was gay?"

"I'd be wondering what movies you and Gai rent when I'm not around. But if you're serious." Asuma stopped and looked sincerely at Kakashi. "Iruka may be a twit but if you feel something for him and vice versa. Than who am I to play Cupid or whatever that thing is that wears the diaper. Go for it."

Kakashi smiled but flinched a bit. "I think I know what I was so afraid of."

"What?" Asuma scowled.

"Telling my -"

The buzzer let out a LOUD whine and Kakashi was cut off. He didn't wait to finish instead he bolted into his first class with Mr.Hopfner. Slipping into their seats, relieved that the brute wasn't there, they relaxed and tried to look prepared. 5 minutes passed and still no teacher, everyone was quite worried while a few joked about it. The vice principal finally came into the class 20 minutes later, a grim helpless look cast through her face. The students all sat quietly and waited for her to speak.

"Class, Mr.Hopfner has suffered a stroke and will not be back to teach this class. More information will be available to today's assembly in the afternoon. Until further notice, this class is canceled."

The class neither cheered nor sobbed, they all sat quietly, letting all the information soak in. Mr. Keno left without saying another word, after him, the students followed filled with remorse.

Kakashi and Asuma stayed seated and passed a note back and forth. It read:

K: Where is he?

A: That ass wipe always nails us for being late!

K: I don't care more time to sleep

A: He's still a prick

K: A stroke? Is he dead?

A: Obviously not. But it must be serious!

K: An assembly? Well should we leave?

A: Yeah. Let's leave, this class is creepy.

The two left quietly, leaving the note in the confiscated object drawer that Mr. Hopfner kept. His daughter Lidia sat in the office talking with a paramedic; tears streaming down her face and her cheeks white. A lump caught in Kakashi's throat and he quickened his pace.

'I hated him. But no one deserves to a lose a parent.' Kakashi moaned.

"Are we still sore?" Asuma lightened the mood.

"Yes." Kakashi bit his lip. "I'm hungry."

-bliss-

Sitting quietly on the benches in the foyer. Kakashi read over notes from Ms. Loriz's class. They had a test tomorrow and he never really paid all that much attention. It was a miracle that he was even passing all the classes he was taking. The pages flipped crisply from never being used. There was a thud next to him as Anko plopped down with a huff.

"Something wrong?" Kakashi looked up at her hesitantly.

"Yes." Anko snapped. "Some teacher was practically hitting on me."

"That's disturbing."

"And creepy. I guess I'm just that good looking."

"Aren't we conceited?"

Anko folded her arms and smiled peevishly at Kakashi, slowly moving closer to him. She lay her head on his shoulder and gripped his arm, his eyes widened as he looked down at her.

'She's kidding, right?' Kakashi pursed his lips and looked away, a sudden flash of embarrassment over coming him.

"After all, Kakashi. That's the reason you liked me," she flashed him a scowl and stood up abruptly, "before I dumped you because you were more in love with your band than me!"

Kakashi blinked, with a humorous twitch of his mouth. He smiled and looked at her blindly. "Well that was your decision."

"It was the best one ever." Anko teased, waving a finger before Kakashi's eyes mocking him.

After all the years of knowing her, he still was surprised at her crazy antics. She was even slightly more hyper active than Naruto. He closed up his binder and sat back along the wall a grin spreading across his face and leaking into his dark eyes.

"Just think, you could still be with me. The lead singer of the most popular band in town."

"Right. Let someone else have the chance to be that lucky girl." Her lip twitched with sarcasm and she turned her back to him and was about to leave when she heard him mutter something to himself.

"Or guy..." Kakashi trailed off into his darker thoughts.

"Did you say something?" Anko looked at him happily, believing she'd hit a nerve. But when she caught the look on his face, blank and deep in thought she scrunched up her nose and turned on her heels.

"Nah." He breathed lightly and there was a short pause until he realized that Anko had already walked away without waiting for his second response.

He now sat alone and closed his eyes, sinking deeper into a train of thought that raged dangerously close to a daydream. He took in a deep breath as if coming back to life when he heard a foot tapping annoyingly in front of him. Opening his good eye, he saw Ms. Loriz with an angry muted face.

"I'm coming."

"I thought I sent you to the office?"

"Yeah."

"So, why aren't you there?"

"Got lost?" Which wouldn't be a complete lie, he had gotten lost in his large school several times during his first two years in school. Grade eleven proved to make him smarter and more navigational savvy in that area, in his last year of school as it was now, he enjoyed it better when the teachers couldn't find him.

"Kakashi. That earns you detention tonight." A wave of her finger, Kakashi moaned and followed her back to the class.

Asuma was sitting back in his seat as well, his arms folded over behind his head. He smirked as he saw Kakashi trail in behind Ms. Loriz, sulking as she handed him an assignment before sending him back to his seat.

"Got busted?" Asuma smirked.

"Yeah. Detention too."

"Sucks to be you." He snarled. Kakashi gave him a tedious look as he sat back, all relaxed.

"You got detention too, didn't you?"

Asuma winced and without saying a word; smirked and nodded. "What can I say, just just wants to see more of me."

Kakashi grinned silently agreeing to his friend's foolish statement. He turned his attention to the front of the class and watched as several students made uninteresting speeches up by the white board. He zoned out and almost in physical shock, his mind jolted to Iruka and he flinched out of his chair.

The entire class turned to see who had made the noise and all of them burst out laughing at the Kakashi who lay sprawled on the floor in a surprised and irritated manor. Even Ms. Loriz seemed entertained by her pupil's current position and inability to remain seated in his chair for more than a minute in any of his classes or day to day life.

"Hey buddy, you're not supposed to jump out of your chair when someone's boring you. Although this is the highlight of my morning." Asuma gave a wide grin and sat back in his chair as Kakashi pulled himself together and pulled his body back into the chair.

"Why always in this class?"

"Maybe she has your chair rigged!" Asuma whispered in a shocking matter.

XXXX

Kakashi and Asuma sat under that same tree talking while Gai entertained himself with a mirror. He seemed to be making several poses and adjusting his features as best he could. The girls' track team walked by and, pausing, Gai joined them in a light jog in one sad attempt at a few pick-up lines. He came back to the other two, slightly broken, but he was still Gai.

"Did they have a pepper spray threat?"

"No. Not this time." Cringing he climbed into the tree's larger branches and sat there swinging his legs. Asuma in this time had turned his attention back to Kakashi.

"So, you never told me what sent you flying in class today."

Looking stupidly at him, Kakashi shrugged. "Don't know."

"Oh you know. So tell me!"

"It was... well..."

"Iruka?" Asuma muttered and he was answered as Kakashi nodded and seemed to relax slightly. "Well can't say this is a shock."

"Yeah. It was really weird though. It was like a sudden jolt of pain; as if a car had hit me."

"Ouch. Wait, you've been hit by car?"

"It was a mo-ped."

That sent Asuma into a laughing fit and then he calmed himself, but to no extent did he try and hide the fact that he was still picturing it.

"But it didn't hurt physically, it was more...surprising."

"Possible. This is more for a girl to decipher. Ask Gai."

Kakashi smirked and concentrated on resisting the urge to actually consult the conceited parody. Just as if on cue however, Gai swung down and stood, front poised, center before them glaring.

"I'm not a woman, but a hot male individual."

"See, ask him about being gay." Asuma chucked a small pebble at his pal.

"I'm not gay!" Gai whined as he fell to sit cross-legged on the foliage.

"You love yourself enough."

"Well that's just being self-confident!"

"Stop. This isn't helping, and anyway... we have to plan the Grad party." Kakashi nodded and the other two settled down.

"Agreed. We're having it at your house." Asuma and Gai nodded.

"What? My Dad would kill me!"

"Do it when he goes out of town, or send him out of town. We can store everything in the garag- shack."

"Did Kurenai train you to say that?"

Asuma shook his head. "I'm not whipped."

"Sure fooled us." Gai smirked.

"It's at your house, deal with it. But we should get going to class."

"Agreed."

Last Class of the Day

Kakashi fumbled with a test tube with Rin as his lab partner. They were in the process of diluting an acidic solution and Rin wasn't paying much attention and knocked over the entire stand. Mr. Peters hurried over and carefully cleaned up the spill. Rin blushed and stood back quietly, staying invisible. Kakashi acted cool as if nothing had happened.

'He is so cool.' She blushed deeper into a purple. 'It's as if he doesn't even care what just happened.' The truth was, he didn't, he was just happy now that he didn't have to do the experiment and they just joined a different group.

She was pleased too, because now it meant that she could still remain close to her favorite person in that entire classroom. Well that was until the teacher summoned Kakashi into the hall, at that point Rin snapped from her daydreams and went back to helping out her makeshift group.

In the hall stood Asuma and Kurenai, this baffled Kakashi and was almost wondering if the school had discovered their little journey through the school on the polisher.

"Do any of you know the where abouts of Iruka?" The Principal asked as the three sat before him, his sausage like fingers interlaced on his lap, like a feminine touch to his masculine exterior. But all three remained silent, not one of them had seen him that day. Was it possible?

Kakashi stared down at his backpack, the CD that Iruka had returned to him, just barely exposed. "I saw him this morning, before first period."

"Well that helps, but Iruka never made it to first class." He stroked his pant leg and made himself more comfortable. "What was the last thing he said to you?"

Kakashi blinked, his cheeks turning a pigment of dark red in embarrassment at what he'd told Asuma. He ran a hand through his shaggy silver hair. "We were discussing a CD demo I'd lent him and then Asuma showed up and I left with him to class."

The Principal looked sternly at Asuma. "Did you say something that may have offended him?"

Kurenai stepped in with a snap, her deep red eyes narrowed in stress. "Iruka isn't hurt so easily."

"Please Kurenai, I asked Asuma a question."

"I believe I said nothing to Iruka directly, I did however tell Kakashi that he could talk with his 'boy toy' later and we went to class."

"Mr. Sarutobi, the police are here requesting to see you."

"Thank-you." The Principal stood slowly. "Stay here kids, I'll be right back."

After he'd left, Kurenai turned to Kakashi with a look of both confusion and dismay. "Does that mean that, Iruka is gay?"

He looked at her slowly then at Asuma. "I don't know. Plus, I don't think I'm at liberty to say, even if he was."

Even though her face was struck with questions, she contained herself and sat quietly leaning on Asuma. Kakashi played with a buckle on his bag and thought over every possibility of where Iruka could be, he felt a lump rise in his throat as he strained his ears to listen in on the conversation going on outside the office. All he caught was pieces of it however, and none of it made complete sense.

"Asuma?" Kakashi breathed lightly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that maybe he just, left?"

"Doubt it." Kurenai sighed. "He has to attend at least one class a day, unless otherwise unable to, to keep up his editor position on the paper."

"Oh yeah." Kakashi muttered.

Their Principal soon returned, his face paled and his appearance much smaller. He took no leisure in sitting, but stood against the door and looked at the teen solemnly, they all glanced back. None spoke, ad the silence was almost like a sickening gas suffocating them.

Mr. Sarutobi cleared his throat in preparation to speak. "It seems that Mizuki and a few of his pals took Iruka off school grounds and beat him. The police are interrogating them -"

"Is he okay!?" Kakashi snapped from his chair towards the Principal, his hands shaking.

Mr. Sarutobi looked at Kakashi in worry. "Well, I'm not supposed to tell you, but he's in stable condition at the West Side General Hospital."

Kakashi darted out of the office before anyone could stop him and bounding out the door he found that he had no way of getting to the hospital. He squatted on the front steps, staring at the police cruiser before him. Asuma and Kurenai soon joined him, both looked and felt differently, while they remained similarly worried about Kakashi. Kurenai pulled out her car keys.

"C'mon Kakashi. Let's go see him."

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