xxoXOXoxx
Iruka shook his head. "I'm sorry, Detective. I wish I could help you more, but I haven't seen anyone suspicious." He avoided looking at Kakashi. "And I don't have any enemies that I know of."
Detective Sarutobi nodded. "That checks out with our records and the other witnesses." He turned to Kakashi. "Mr. Hatake, I would appreciate if you shared any further information you find in your investigation with us. Here's my card, or you can call LAPD and ask for Asuma Sarutobi."
Kakashi nodded. "I'll cooperate fully, Detective."
Iruka watched as Kakashi escorted Detective Sarutobi to the front door and closed and locked it behind him, then followed Kakashi into the study. Kakashi ignored him, leaning on the table and dragging files from one screen to another as he sorted through information.
"Cro-. Kakashi."
Kakashi grunted, but didn't bother to turn from his surveillance gear.
"Can we talk?"
"Why?"
"Look, I'm-" Iruka watched Kakashi's back. "Genma told me about you. He says I was wrong to suspect you."
"Hmm."
"Kakashi?"
Kakashi turned and regarded Iruka. "You said something?"
"Fuck." Iruka stood, clenching his fists and struggling to contain his hurt and anger. "Fine. Ignore me. But when you're ready to talk, I expect you to find me."
Kakashi turned back to his work and adjusted a camera angle from a laptop, his entire demeanor cool and dismissing. Iruka stared at him for a few more moments, then left.
Outside the room, he paused. He should really study the script; he was due back at the shoot the next day, and hadn't done any prep work. Genma had dropped off blue pages for the first scene to be shot, so there were revisions that he needed to memorize.
It seemed so strange to think about going back to the set. Just three days ago, it had been the center of his life, an environment both familiar and safe. Now, it seemed empty and dull, and the thought of the Ghost lurking nearby made Iruka sick to his stomach. Genma had sworn that security had been tightened, and Kakashi had informed Iruka that he would continue to be his bodyguard on the set as well as in Iruka's home.
The front door buzzed. Iruka started for it, but Kakashi came out of the study and waved him back. "It's Yakushi," he said. "I don't want you near the door."
"It's not like anyone's threatened to shoot me," Iruka muttered. Still, he felt uneasy. He hoped the feeling would go away at some point. He liked his house, and didn't want paranoia to drive him out of it.
He waited for Kakashi to bring Dr. Yakushi to the living room and pasted a smile on his face. "Doctor," he said, reaching out to shake Dr. Yakushi's hand. He tried to hide his uneasiness, but couldn't take his eyes off Kakashi. "Thanks for dropping by. I'm doing much better today." He watched as Kakashi went back into the study.
"You look like it." Dr. Yakushi smiled. "Why don't I give you a quick checkup?"
Uneasy, Iruka glanced at the door through which Kakashi had disappeared. Without him in the room, he felt exposed. "Sure."
The examination was quick, but thorough. "Your blood pressure is still high," Dr. Kabuto said, taking off his stethoscope. He frowned. "Did you take those tablets I left for you?"
Iruka thought of the bottle sitting untouched on his bedside table. He winced. "Um, sorry. But really. I feel fine."
"Your body tells me you're lying." Dr. Yakushi shook out two pills. "Take them now and go straight to bed."
Iruka hesitated. He didn't really want the drugs. "What will they do?"
"They'll reduce your blood pressure, and act as a mild relaxant." Dr. Yakushi smiled. "Don't worry. Mr. Hatake is here."
Something in the way he spoke made Iruka's uneasiness grow. Dr. Yakushi closed his case, waiting. He shook his head at Iruka's continued hesitation. "Come on. Let's go to the kitchen and get some water. I can stay with you if you're nervous about the drug's effects."
Iruka allowed himself to be escorted to the kitchen, and took the pills as Dr. Yakushi watched. The doctor steered him toward his bedroom. "Those will take effect in a few minutes. It's best to lie down. Would you like me to stay?"
Iruka shook his head. He just wanted Yakushi out of the house. "I'll let you out."
"I can let myself out," Yakushi said. "Go. Lay down." He watched as Iruka stretched out on the bed. "Good. I'll check in with you later. Sleep for now." He left, pulling the door closed behind him.
Iruka sighed and closed his eyes. He was just starting to relax when he realized he hadn't asked Dr. Yakushi to tell Kakashi that he'd been medicated and would be sleeping for a while. If he got up now, he figured he had the time to go and tell Kakashi himself, and still get back to his bedroom before the meds fully kicked in. If he fell asleep somewhere in between, Kakashi would make sure he got back to his room.
Probably.
Maybe.
It didn't matter.
Iruka rolled out of bed. He was in the hallway when his instincts flared. He hesitated.
Something was wrong.
Heart pounding, Iruka walked as silently as he could, unsure about why he was sure there was danger nearby.
He had to get to Kakashi. Kakashi would keep him safe.
He didn't meet anyone in the hallways, but that wasn't surprising, since Kakashi had insisted that no one could enter the house without his permission, and Dr. Yakushi would have left already. Still, the hair at the back of Iruka's neck prickled.
He reached the study and paused, back pressed against the wall next to the door. A keyboard was clicking. Kakashi was typing. A lot.
Then, he laughed.
But it wasn't Kakashi's laugh.
Iruka closed his eyes and swore under his breath. Then he stepped into the room.
Kakashi was lying on the floor. Iruka couldn't tell if he was alive or not.
"You," he whispered.
Dr. Yakushi looked up. "I should have given you a higher dose," he said, his voice pleasant. "You seem to be resistant to the normal one."
Gray hair. "You're the Ghost."
Yakushi laughed. "That's not what you should be worried about right now, Iruka." He shook his head. "If you'd just stayed in bed and slept, both of you would have lived through this."
A wave of dizziness swept over Iruka, and he grabbed the door jamb to keep his balance.
"What are you doing?"
"Framing Hatake to take the fall as the Ghost," he said with a smile. "I've got plenty of material in appropriately secured files of all of the other people the Ghost has blackmailed. Just uploading them to his computer now, in fact."
"But why?" Iruka was having trouble focusing. "If he was convicted, you'd be out of a lucrative operation."
"Mmm. So true. But it's not difficult to open up business elsewhere. Besides, I owe him." Yakushi's expression turned hard. "I had a good thing going in the Navy. There's a lot of money floating around in Iraq and Afghanistan, for the right information. But he closed me down and got me discharged."
Kakashi had investigated top secret missions that went bad. Iruka suddenly remembered a comment Kakashi had made earlier, about investigating someone he thought was Ghost. "You were selling military secrets."
"Much more lucrative than you small-time civilian targets," Yakushi agreed. "But I needed to get things set up so that everything came together at just the right time and place and I could take Hatake down. I knew sooner or later someone would call him in as a bodyguard. Besides, the side income was nice."
"This wasn't about blackmailing me at all. This was about you trapping Kakashi." Iruka fell to his knees, breathing hard. "You just lied to me, didn't you? You were planning to kill us both all along."
Yakushi knelt next to Iruka and took a handgun from a holster strapped to his ankle. "I'm afraid so. You're a witness, and if I leave him alive after killing you, he'll never leave me alone."
Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka saw Kakashi twitch. Relief flooded him; Kakashi was alive.
Kakashi's eyelid fluttered. He was waking up.
He had to keep Yakushi talking, give Kakashi a chance to recover and make his move. But he was so tired... "When did you become a doctor?" he slurred.
"Interested in my life story?" Yakushi laughed. "You wouldn't stay awake long enough to hear the really good bits. Just give in to the drug and fall asleep, and it'll be painless, I promise you."
Iruka shook his head and nearly fell over. "You bastard," he gasped.
Kakashi's eye opened. Iruka saw him wince and raise a hand to his head. He needed to warn him. "If you kill us, you'll be wanted for murder," he said to Yakushi. "They'll know it's you."
He'd caught Kakashi's attention. He stared straight into Yakushi's eyes, trusting Kakashi to assess the situation quickly.
Yakushi laughed. "I planned for that. Kabuto Yakushi will disappear, never to be seen again. I've got a few other aliases to choose from. Perhaps I'll be a college student, next." He gestured with the gun. "Fall asleep already, would you? I'd like to get going soon. I still have to visit Mr. Shuranui before I leave."
"Genma doesn't know anything," Iruka said. Kakashi had risen into a crouch, silent, radiating deadly intent.
"But he has contacts at Global Security and a reputation for loyalty-" Yakushi whirled and dodged just as Kakashi lunged. "Tricky, Hatake!" His finger tightened on the trigger, his back to Iruka. "I would have shot you earlier, but I didn't want to alarm your pretty actor while he was trying to get some rest." He smiled and aimed at Kakashi. Iruka could see Kakashi gather himself for another attack, but it would be too late…
"No!" Iruka lunged for Yakushi's gun.
"Iruka!"
"Damn it!"
The shouts were simultaneous with the gunshot and the heat that seared through Iruka's chest. He fell, struggling to remain conscious while Kakashi and Yakushi fought.
The gun went off again.
"Kakashi..."
"I'm right here." Hands grabbed him and rolled Iruka to his back; Iruka couldn't muffle his cry of pain. "You're going to be alright, I promise-"
"You're safe," Iruka murmured. He tried to smile. "Sorry…"
Iruka let go.
