Chapter Seven

"What are you doing here?" is the first thing that Iruka says to me.

Yeah, alright. I wasn't expecting him to roll out the welcome mat and come running into my arms. No, I wasn't expecting it, but damn, I sure as hell was hoping for it. To even further crush my dreams on this warm summer's day, Iruka's eyes aren't full of adoration or the slightest hint of affection. He's simply surprised. As a matter of fact, did I sense a tone of suspicion in his voice? Oh great, he thinks I'm a stalker, right?

"What am I doing here?" I ask, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. I repeat his question simply because I'm at a loss as to an answer. My head is swimming with the premonition of rejection as I stand on the sidewalk awkwardly, avoiding Iruka's eyes now. My hands are stuffed into the front pockets of my jeans in an effort to appear relaxed and unaffected by Iruka's very presence. This is hard, as I am very affected by his presence. He's even more tempting in his civilian attire. Blue jeans, the color of a bright and clear summer sky; a black t-shirt that's now only partially tucked in because of Iruka's stretching attempts to attain his cat. His short brown hair is no longer done up in that high ponytail. It sways freely down both sides of his face, parted in the middle. This softens his features and makes him look even more gentle and feminine than before. God, my heart needs to start beating again, or I'll wind up dead on the sidewalk.

"That's what I asked." He says in what I recognize as a lighter tone. His surprise was wearing off and I could hear traces of affection in his voice. It could be my imagination, though. Lord knows I'm being way too hopeful right now.

"I'm getting your cat, naturally." I reply, as I un-cement myself from the sidewalk and approach the large oak tree with the cat in it. The cat, a white Persian with puffy cotton-ball cheeks and formidable looking claws, glares at me from its perch on one of the higher branches. It seems to practically narrow its dark blue eyes at me, as if to warn me that any attempt at capturing it would be futile. We would see about that.

"Oh? You're a fireman?"

I refrain from looking back at Iruka and instead focus on the task at hand. That cat is about to learn the meaning of "Oh shit, here comes Kakashi…".

"Yeah. I became one just after the military thought I was unfit to do anything but wallow in self-pity and spend pension money." I reply with a mixture of bitterness and amusement as I begin scaling the thick trunk of the oak tree. I grab at the closest branch to the ground with both of my hands. I still work out quite regularly, so it was easy enough to hoist myself up onto the thick branch like a gymnast performing tricks on one of those thin, white horizontal poles. I settle myself carefully down on the branch, my feet dangling toward the ground, so that I'm essentially using the branch as some sort of leg-less wooden bench. My left hand presses against the trunk of the tree to steady myself as I reach my right hand out toward the cat.

I start muttering those idiotic and nonsensical sounds that people only seem to make when faced with a cute animal or baby. "Here kitty, cute kitty. Come on. Come to Kakashi. Come on…"

"That won't work."

I stop and glance down at Iruka, who's standing just beneath the branch that I'm sitting on. He's got his arms crossed over his chest and, behold, that smartass smile I love so much graces his lips. Should I jump out of this tree right now and tackle Iruka to the ground with lust-induced passion? No, probably not. But I want to. "Oh yeah? Then what will?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be standing here, waiting for you to figure it out." He replies smugly.

Alright, now I really, really want to tackle him. I return my attention to the cat, which seems to have inched even further back at the advances of my out-stretched hand. The hair on the back of its head is even puffier than it was before I attempted to lure it with sweet words and nonsense noises.

Also, I think the cat looks more hateful now. I can't be one-hundred percent sure about this, but it's like the thing is trying to eat my soul with the power of its ridiculously angry glare. Can cats even glare like that? I didn't know they had the ability to narrow their eyes in such a manner. Either this cat was some sort of magical beast from Hell, or a human in disguise. Either way, I can already tell that it wishes death upon me, or possibly a severe leg injury of some sort. I don't feel so very safe in this tree anymore.

Despite the aura of hate that I can feel radiating off of this cat, I will myself to keep going. After all, I'm not going to make myself look like a complete sissy in front of Iruka. It is just a cat. So, I urge myself forward, and grab the base of the branch that this cat perches on. I suppose what happens next can only be considered as a consequence of my actions, but I still think this cat originated in Hell.

I quickly shake the branch, forcing it to swing from side to side and the cat along with it. The next sound I hear is the angry screech of the hell cat and Iruka's startled cry as the cat jumps directly for my face. Its front claws embed themselves into the back of my scalp while its back legs force their claws into the flesh of my chest just below my collarbone. I've been stabbed in the eye, and yet that is nothing compared to the sharp, needle-like pain of cat claws in my flesh. It feels like pins made out of fire that are being forced into my skin. At this moment, I became irreversibly certain that the cat is not of this world.

My scream of pain is muffled by the mouthful of white, fluffy fur that surrounds my face as the cat clings to my head. In a moment of terror, I forget where I am and just how dangerous it is to lose my balance. Thusly, I flail and scramble my hands against the cat's soft body, in hopes or prying it off of my head. I lose my balance and fall backwards, with nothing solid behind me to keep me from slipping off of the branch. This is when I remember that I'm in a goddamn tree. The cat, probably satisfied with the chain of events that it has unfolded, let's go of my head and daintily pounces into its master's arms. Meanwhile, I fall a good few feet through the air and land on my back, with the not-so-soft-grass as a cushion.

The thud that emits upon impact seems to reverberate painfully throughout my entire body. My body goes stiff for a second and feels like nothing more than a plank of wood. My breath leaves me in a rush and I lay there, wondering if I'll be able to fill my lungs back up. The only good thing to come of this is that seconds later, Iruka's face blots out the sun, which had been shining harshly against my eyes through the top of the tree that I lay underneath. His expression is drawn with worry, though I take notice of the fact that he's still holding that stupid cat underneath one arm and the cat isn't putting up so much as a fight.

"Oh my god, Kakashi, are you okay?" Iruka asks urgently, his free hand hovering over my chest, probably afraid to touch me in case I broke something or was experiencing pain.

"You're a doctor. You tell me." I answer with a light air in my tone. My back is starting to throb with dull pain and I can breathe deeply without any severe discomfort.

Iruka frowns and his expression of worry falls from his face a little too quickly. "You're fine." He says, not seeming amused in the least.

He stands up, now holding his cat in both of his arms, cradling it like a small child against his chest. God, how I'd kill to be in those arms. I slowly ease myself into a sitting position, groaning when the tight muscles in my back stretch and send decidedly less dull prongs of pain down my spine. Iruka looks down at me and that sweet expression of worry returns. He sighs softly and motions with a jerk of his head toward his house.

"Come inside, and I'll have a look at you."

I raise an eyebrow at this and catch Iruka's gaze. His surface expression reflects worry for my condition, but underneath that is something more. It's like a secret promise of something sweet after you've just taken a batch of particularly bitter medicine. Iruka breaks eye contact with me then and turns to walk up the small stone pathway to his front door. My back urges me to stay put as stiff pain jolts along my sore muscles, but I can't deny that promise in Iruka's eyes. Hell, this is my one chance to get the man that I had been dreaming of for months. I'm not about to give that up just because of a little back pain. I'm Kakashi, damn it.

This may be the last chapter. I'm not sure yet. Smut or no smut?