Chapter 14: Falling Sick
Iruka walked down the streets quietly with the jounin beside him. He casted his gaze onto the ground, refusing to look up. Around him, he could distinctly hear the laughing voices of children heading towards the academy.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. This was so totally different from the Iruka he had seen just half an hour ago. The kid now lacked the exuberance and cheerfulness he had witnessed earlier on. Instead, Iruka looked crestfallen and if he could, Kakashi was sure Iruka would hide inside a hole and not come out for the rest of his life.
The jounin sighed. "What's wrong?"
Iruka shook his head quietly. Kakashi frowned as he studied their surroundings. Just what was it that had gotten the boy feeling so down all of a sudden?
Then he understood. Around them, walking down the same path were academy students laughing happily as their parents walked them towards the school. He shot a sideway glance at Iruka and then, shoved his hands inside his pockets.
"Are you alright?"
Iruka nodded, refusing the meet the teen's eye. For the nth time that week, Kakashi cursed his luck for having to stand in as a baby sitter. No matter how he tried, he just could not decipher human's emotions.
When they reached the academy, Iruka finally look up. "Thank you, senpai."
Kakashi nodded and raised his hand in a half wave, motioning for the child to go for his classes. Iruka hesitated at the entrance for a moment, making Kakashi raised his eyebrow in mild curiosity.
"What?"
"Um…… I……" Iruka fidgeted nervously. Then he shook his head and forced out a smile. "Nothing. I will be off now, Kakashi-senpai." Iruka lingered for a moment more before he turned.
He was about to walk into the building when another child beside them shouted so loudly that Iruka jumped and Kakashi cringed.
"Bye, mum! You will pick me up after school right?"
"Of course." A woman bent down and gave her son a kiss on the forehead. "I will wait for you here when your classes end."
The child ran off. Kakashi shifted his gaze slightly and studied the longing look on the Iruka's face. He sighed. Perhaps he had to play a little more of the caregiver role which he had been entrusted with.
"Iruka."
The child turned slightly and looked at him.
Kakashi eyed him passively. "I will wait for you here after your class."
Iruka's eyes lit up. He nodded happily and then with a wave of goodbye, he ran into the building, joining the rest of his classmates.
Kakashi stood there for a moment more before he raised his eye to stare at the sky. He still did not understand just which god on earth he had offended that landed him in this kind of situation.
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Kakashi stared, appalled at the child before him. Iruka's clothes were dripping with water and he was shivering from the cold.
"What happened?" He asked carefully, trying to decipher if the academy had been under attack and someone had used a water jutsu against the kid.
"I…… I…. fe..fell into th…the water." Iruka's teeth chattered from the cold as his small hands fisted in his shirt, trying to wring the water from it.
"How?" Kakashi frowned slightly.
"Cha….. Chakra control prac…. Practice." Iruka said as he rubbed his arms, trying to warm himself. A few academy students walked pass them and snickered at the tanned child. Kakashi scowled at them.
"Didn't the teachers give you a change of clothes?" The jounin frowned.
"It was the la…. Last class." Iruka shivered. "Th…. They told me to hu…hurry home and change."
Kakashi was about to say something else when a voice came up beside them.
"Well Iruka, how did it feel falling into the water? Now you could really save on a shower." Peals of laughter broke out. Kakashi clenched his fists as his eye darkened.
"Sh…. Shut up." Iruka's face scrunched up and he let out a loud sneeze.
"Man, you are so weak. Just a little drenched and you are coming down with a cold."
"It….It's al…all your fault, Mi…Mizuki." Iruka glowered as he wrapped his small arms tightly around himself.
"Well, I thought you have a mighty control over your chakra. Who would have thought that just a small push and you would fall into the water like this."
Kakashi turned and glared and the snickering Mizuki. The white-haired boy backed away a little, but he returned the glare with the same intensity.
"What?" Mizuki scowled. "Don't think you can always threaten me like that. My parents are jounin too! I'm not afraid of you!"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. But he did not say anything. He turned back to Iruka and sighed. "Let's go back and get you changed out of these."
Iruka nodded as he shivered and turned to follow the jounin away.
"Goodbye, wet duck." Mizuki called out. "We will see what you will fall into tomorrow."
The children around them burst out laughing. Kakashi threw a glance over his shoulder.
"You know, jounin are required to have a certain level of intelligence and skills before they can be inaugurated. For a kid with jounin as parents, your intelligence is really to be doubted."
Iruka immediately covered his mouth as laughter threatened to spill through. Mizuki saw red and stomped towards the boy. But Kakashi merely stepped in between them, and forming a few quick seals, he transported the both of them away in a puff of smoke, leaving a dumbfound Mizuki standing a few steps away from the spot where they had previously been standing in.
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Iruka snuggled into bed after his shower, wrapped up in thick layers of warm clothing. He sneezed a few times and shook his head to clear it.
"You are coming down with a cold." Kakashi stood by the door of the bedroom, arms folded and frowning. "Do you want to go to the hospital?"
"No. I'm alright." Iruka snuggled deeper under the covers.
Kakashi shrugged and retreated from the room, leaving the boy to his rest. He sank down into the couch and from his spot, he could hear the sneezing and wheezing from Iruka's room. He stared at the ceiling for a moment. A loud sneeze broke into his reverie and he straightened himself, looking towards the general direction of the bedroom.
Then, with an exasperated sigh, he pulled out a kunai and nicked his thumb. Forming some seals, he slammed down onto the coffee table.
The puff of smoke cleared. A pug sat in the centre of the coffee table, licking his paw and swiping it across his face.
"Hi kid, haven't seen you in a while." The pug finally stopped its antics and glanced up at the teen.
"I'm on a mission."
The dog looked around and studied its environment in silence. Then, it spoke in a low voice. "Where is this place? It looks a little too peaceful. You've got to be careful."
"This place is perfectly safe, Pakkun." Kakashi reached out and tickled the pug behind his ears. "I need you to do me a favor."
"What?"
Another loud sneeze interrupted their conversation and Pakkun jumped slightly, not having quite detected the presence of another person yet.
"Go to Raidou. Ask him if he could help me prepare some porridge. Just tell him I have a patient with me. And then, go to Genma and ask him to go to the market place to help me pick out some herbs." The silver-haired jounin tied a piece of paper onto one of the forelegs of his dog as he spoke. "Tell them to get back to me as soon as they can. I don't want some kid dying on me."
"Kid?" Pakkun raised an eyebrow. "When did you get attached to kids? And what has that got to do with the missions that you do?"
"I didn't get attach to any kids." Kakashi murmured. "I was thrown one to take care of when I was totally unguarded against it. That's my mission."
"Oh?" Pakkun frowned in befuddlement as he tried to comprehend what his master was actually telling him. "I will be on my way then."
Kakashi nodded and slumped back onto the couch. The dog trotted over to window before leaping out of it and soon disappeared from sight.
Another loud sneeze from the room and Kakashi cringed. He debated for a minute before he sighed and got up from his couch and headed over to the bedroom.
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