There's only one thing to do. Hatake Kakashi thought to himself as he wiped dried blood away from his nose and hung his head to stare intently at the ground.

My first priority is this mission. It has to be completed no matter what. And that's what's going to happen. We'll finish the mission. Forget the fact that Iruka is having sex dreams about me. Forget the fact that the very thought of him helpless and completely under my control just makes me-…

Kakashi coughed and forced the thought from his head. He inhaled deeply, held his breath for a moment and then let it all explode from his lungs before pulling his mask back up over his face and heading back towards the area in which his mission partner was currently waiting, casually leaned up against a tree, trying to appear aloof. (The attempt was quite futile though, for his shoulders were tense and his brown eyes were glancing around wildly like those of a frightened horse.)

The second Iruka saw Kakashi pushing through the trees and underbrush he had to squeeze his eyes shut and take a deep breath.

Mental note: get some pants that don't allow 'happy Mr. Man' to be so visible… The chunin thought as he felt the blue fabric of his uniform pants ripple care-free in a passing breeze. Iruka shook his head slightly and opened his eyes.

"Listen, I-" The chunin began, knowing that he probably had to explain himself, but his brilliant excuse, (which involved a hot spring and many beautiful women,) was interrupted.

"Man, I really had to go! Water really goes through you fast…" Kakashi said, forced humor in his voice. Apparently he felt the need to throw out an excuse as well.

We'll just pretend none of this ever happened… The jonin thought.

Iruka laughed lightly and uncomfortably.

You can do this Umino…you can do this… He assured himself. And surprisingly, he was right. At this point he was so busy worrying about the now full-blown attraction he held for Kakashi, and wondering if it was really The Dream that had brought it on that he actually didn't feel such a strong urge to jump his mission partner. This meant that, for the time being, Iruka was mostly under control and could attempt to act 'normal'. He was seriously starting to wonder if he'd ever be able to think 'straight' around Kakashi ever again, in either sense of the word.

"Ready to head off?" Iruka asked, trying his best to be his usual, chipper self.

"Hn? Oh…yeah." Kakashi agreed and nodded once before pulling the ever popular orange book out of his pocket to keep his mind off of his fellow Shinobi. Iruka didn't notice that Kakashi was a little more distracted than usual. Instead, he just praised himself for being able to control his unusually crazy hormones enough to keep from mounting Kakashi like a horse.

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"Wow…this place is a dump. How could anyone believe that this is a safe place for the children to sta-"

Iruka was cut off by the sharp ringing sound of metal on metal that echoed off the horribly old gate that marked the entrance to a tiny, rather insignificant village that seemed to be in a desperate state of disrepair. The chunin spun around just in time to see a kunai knife ricochet off said gate and clatter to the ground; clearly it had been deflected by another kunai.

"Thanks," Umino muttered to Kakashi and mimicked his companion by pulling out kunai of his own and taking a defensive stance. In another blink of an eye, the pair of Konoha shinobi were surrounded by four other shinobi who were clad in black.

"Identify yourselves!" Demanded one of the ninja, whose long black hair was pulled back into a pony tail.

"I am Umino Iruka and this is Hatake Kakashi. We are shinobi of Konoha, sent as an escort for the children you've got hidden in this village." Iruka announced in a 'we-mean-business' voice that surprised Kakashi a little bit. Who would have guessed that the laid back, almost meek Academy Teacher could be so intense?

The black-clad ninja glanced at each other as if trying to decide whether or not these two new ninja were lying. One of the ninja, one with a face mask similar to Kakashi's, bright green eyes and hair of a matching color nodded once, and his fellow ninja relaxed instantly. Iruka and Kakashi held their defensive stances, still not sure that they could put any trust in these mysterious shinobi.

"Please forgive us for attacking you." The black pony-tailed ninja spoke, bowing slightly. His dark brown eyes flashed venomously. "You must understand; the children you have been sent to retrieve pose a huge security threat…we just want to stop any trouble before it happens."

Iruka didn't really trust the ninja or the apology, but to avoid any further conflict he nodded and put his weapons away.

"We understand." He said in a blank, emotionless voice.

Kakashi wordlessly tucked his kunai away and stood up straight.

"Come, we'll take you to the children straight away." The black haired ninja said. He beckoned to Konoha nin and together they passed through the gates and into the village.

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Author's Note: Darn these short chapters! I have to start writing longer ones…