"Are you ready to talk or do I have to beat it out of you?"

The taunt might have worked if Iruka hadn't been exhausted. Mizuki really had been training and he wasn't about to pull his punches now that he had a definite advantage. A few hours of nothing but taijutsu was enough to leave Iruka feeling overheated and slightly nauseous. He shouldn't have worn his vest to start with. The speed advantage he'd had the last time they had sparred was long gone. He still had more stamina, but that didn't help much when he couldn't push Mizuki hard enough to break a sweat. He, on the other hand, was drenched. He kept at it anyway. This was more of a workout than he would get on his own and although Mizuki was stronger than last time he still used the same moves as always. Iruka knew he wouldn't have lasted this long if he didn't know his style so well. "The only thing you're liable to beat out of me is my breakfast," he returned with a wry grin.

"No thanks," Mizuki snorted. "If you were going to share you should have invited me over. Now you can keep it." He pressed harder, using basic punches and jabs that Iruka should have been able to block easily. A few got through now that his reflexes were slowing down. "You're losing it, Iruka. What did I tell you? When you make chunin you train with chunin. I know genin with better taijutsu than you."

Considering they had both been genin just a few months ago that wasn't saying much. Iruka let himself take insult, anyway. It gave him the motivation to do something more than block. He landed a hit on Mizuki's side and wondered if he still bruised easily. He had noticed that Mizuki was quicker to block his face now. He took advantage of that vanity until Mizuki grew annoyed enough to force him back on the defensive. That was fine with Iruka. His preferred fighting style relied more on misdirection than physical strength. He could work on his offense on his own. To build a solid defense he needed an opponent. He wasn't surprised that Mizuki had been so quick to volunteer. As soon as he found out Iruka was planning to stick close to the village for a little while in order to get some training in, he had started hounding him for the reason. He refused to accept the simple and obvious reason - that Iruka needed the training.

"I'm not even straining here," Mizuki boasted as he edged him back toward the treeline. "All I'd have to do is take it up a notch and it's all over. Is that what you want? You know I'm going to have it out of you one way or another. I'm not too mature to sit on you until you spill."

Iruka bit back a laugh. Neither of them had threatened that in over two years. Mizuki had started it during a squabble back when they were still in the Academy. By the time Iruka put on enough weight to pin him in return they had been genin and knew how to add chakra to the sit-off. The thought of two chunin rolling around trying to sit on each other was ridiculous. "You're bluffing!"

"Think so? I've got you so worn out you won't even be able to struggle. I haven't just been increasing my strength, you know. I'm working on a chakra boost, too. Do you really want to risk it?"

Iruka knocked him down with a swift kick to the head. He didn't pause to gloat over the fact that Mizuki still couldn't see that coming despite his recent training. They had gotten a little too close to the forest and he wasn't about to risk stumbling. Mizuki might very well sit on him while he was down just to prove he could. Whether Mizuki had increased his chakra or not, he definitely outweighed him at the moment. He retreated to the center of the little training ground and listened to the grumbles as Mizuki got to his feet. "I came out here to spar," Iruka reminded him. "Not to wrestle."

"Wimp," Mizuki huffed. He stalked over slowly and stopped a few feet away. "Listen to you. You're panting like you're giving birth and you talk about sparring. Much more of this and I'll have to carry your ass home. Sorry if that's what you were hoping for, but I have other plans for the night."

"All I wanted was a sparring partner," Iruka frowned. He didn't want to get into this again.

"Right," Mizuki drawled. "You're only sticking around the village in order to train because suddenly that's important to you. And I just happen to be the most convenient person for you to spar with. Don't expect me to buy that. Unless you want to explain what's really going on, I have to assume the obvious. If you're suffering from withdrawal that's your own damn fault. You'll have to deal with it yourself this time. Like I said, I have a prior commitment."

"Mizuki-"

Iruka found himself talking to thin air. Mizuki had already taken off. He sighed with equal parts disappointment and frustration. For a moment there things had seemed so natural and easy between them, the way they had been before sex had ruined everything. He didn't understand why they couldn't just get past that. It hurt that Mizuki believed the only reason he would seek him out was for sex. When had that come to dominate their relationship? For years they had relied on each other for everything. As much as he valued his newfound independence he missed his best friend. His only real friend, if he were honest with himself. He had plenty of acquaintances, but no one he was willing to lean on. Maybe that was the real problem. Mizuki had gotten so used to being his crutch that he didn't know what to do with him now that he was determined to take care of himself. His new secret wasn't helping matters any.

It wasn't that Iruka didn't want to tell him he had found someone. He was dying to share that news. Unfortunately he knew Mizuki wouldn't believe him unless he gave him the name. Then he wouldn't be satisfied until he knew everything there was to know about Kakashi, ruining the anonymity. After their last encounter Iruka wasn't willing to risk anything messing things up between them. Just thinking about it had him feeling pleased and flattered and very satisfied. He hadn't realized a casual partnership could extend beyond sex. Now he knew he could turn to him even if all he really wanted was to be held. Not only had Kakashi not pressured him, he had flatly refused his attempts to repay him. He would do that next time and he was already looking forward to it. That was the real reason he was staying in the village. Kakashi had suggested he take a week off from away missions, with the promise that he would call on him if he did. Iruka would have agreed even if he hadn't already decided he needed to get some training in.

He left the training ground intent on checking some of the others frequented by chunin. This was only his second day and he was determined to avoid the mission room for as long as possible. He would take one look at the chaos in there and offer up his afternoons, and probably his mornings as well. That would only leave him the evenings and while he was perfectly capable of training alone he didn't like it very much and it certainly wouldn't help improve his defense.

The first training ground he stopped by was occupied by a single jounin, who appeared to be lecturing a training post. Iruka couldn't resist eavesdropping for a few minutes, just to be sure the man didn't have a companion hidden nearby. Once it was clear the man really was directing his disapproval at the battered post, Iruka moved on. If he couldn't keep pace with Mizuki he certainly had no business bothering a disturbed jounin. His next stop was even more awkward. They were chunin, either of whom he would have felt comfortable approaching had they not been occupied with something better kept indoors as far as he was concerned. They didn't even notice his approach, which meant anyone could have stumbled upon them, including pregenin and civilians. Had they not been so close to the Academy he might have been able to mind his own business and walk away. Instead he had no choice but to throw a kunai at them.

"What the hell?"

"Watch it!"

Iruka stalked forward with a scowl, completely unsympathetic as they painfully disentangled themselves. Izumo had the sense to look humiliated and ashamed. His partner wasn't nearly as smart.

"Iruka! Shit, have you ever heard of knocking?"

"On what, a tree?" His scathing response didn't make much of a dent, so he set his sights on the more shamefaced of the two. "A ten minute walk from the Academy in broad daylight? You didn't even bother to secure the perimeter. If you want to have sex in front of children that badly you might as well do it on the swing out front."

"Come on," Kotetsu groaned. "It's not that bad. Don't listen to him," he said to his partner. "He's just jealous because he's never tried it on a training ground."

"Shut up," Izumo cringed, ducking his head in mortification. "I want to die and I'm taking you with me. You are so cut off!"

"What! You agreed-"

"Temporary insanity. It will never happen again." He shot a desperate look at Iruka. "Please don't tell anyone? I swear I'm not a deviant. I had a good reputation before I started going out with him!"

"Nice. Blame it all on me. Look, Iruka, we both know you're not the gossiping sort. Let him off the hook before he has a panic attack, would you?"

"At least he understands how disgraceful his conduct is," Iruka snapped. "What's your excuse?"

"I saw an opening and I went for it. I'm a shinobi. That's what we do." It wasn't until his partner started glaring at him as darkly as Iruka was that he cracked. "Okay, so doing it here was a bad idea. I admit that and I promise not to do it again. Besides," he grinned, "I heard you coming. If you hadn't thrown that kunai I was going to invite you to join us. Izumo has never been in a threesome before."

"Neither have you," his partner accused with a furious blush.

"That's what you think. I'll have you know-"

"No," Iruka blurted. "I don't want to hear it. Just keep it out of the public training areas, especially the ones so close to the Academy."

"You have my word," Izumo said immediately.

"Suck-up," his partner muttered. A moment later his expression brightened. "Speaking of which-"

"Forget it. You're cut off."

Iruka blinked in surprise when the man darted away. Leaving him with a scowling Kotetsu. He promptly turned to make his own escape.

"Not so fast," Kotetsu called as he hurried to block his path. "You just ruined a whole week of effort. I'll be lucky if he'll even talk to me tomorrow. What gives? You're awfully prudish for someone on the prowl."

"I am not on the prowl," Iruka muttered. He wondered if he had Kotetsu to thank for Genma's adoption of that term. "And if not approving of public spectacles like that makes me a prude then I'm proud to be one."

Kotetsu sighed, giving him a sympathetic look. "Not having any luck, huh? I heard about Anko. Sorry about that. If I had known you had your eyes on her I would have warned you she doesn't play that game. She's all business. Even if she did decide to hook up with someone it wouldn't be with a nice guy like you. You come off as the marrying type."

"Where did you get that idea?" Iruka demanded. "Marrying types don't go into all-male bars."

"Sure they do. They just don't leave with anyone. Asuma is a perfect example of that. He's in there all the time and everyone knows he's as straight as they come."

That explained why Kakashi had said the man was friendly but not available. He supposed some people might go in there merely for the alcohol and company. "Anyway, I never had 'my sights set' on Anko. We had a mission together and that's all."

"Meaning what?" Kotetsu prodded with a sly smirk. "You're not the marrying type or you're not looking for a special jounin? Genma said you wouldn't give him the time of day, so we figured it was one or the other. I'd be glad to help you out if I knew what you were looking for."

"I'm not looking for anything or anyone," Iruka said firmly. He really wished Genma didn't gossip so much. "I went to the bar alone to see what it was like. Now I know. I won't be going back."

"Oh, come on. Don't be that way. You can't give up just because of a bad first try. You should come out with me and Izumo sometime. Or us and Genma. He can get us into the jounin bar. You could probably score yourself an Anbu if you try hard enough. Some of them really dig the cute and clueless thing. You can't set your sights any higher than that."

"Shouldn't you be chasing after Izumo and apologizing for humiliating him? If you do that he might be willing to talk to you tomorrow."

"Nah, he'll hold a grudge for at least a day. If I go anywhere near him now it will just make things worse. He really didn't want to do anything out here. Thanks to you he never will again."

Iruka ignored the reproachful look he was sent. "It's your own fault for picking a training ground. People come out here to train, which is exactly what I was doing when I stumbled across the two of you. Do you want to spar? A sparring partner is the only thing I'm 'on the prowl' for at the moment."

"Sure, why not. I'll have to work off my frustration one way or another. Might as well do it in a way that won't have Izumo kicking my ass later. Are you sure you're up to it, though? You look like you've already gone a few rounds."

"I'm working on my defense. If you stick to taijutsu, I'll do my best to keep up." He was laying it on a little thick, but only because appealing to Kotetsu's ego would make him try harder. He had seen Kotetsu in action and knew the man relied heavily on his weapons of choice. Taijutsu definitely wasn't his strong point. After fighting with Mizuki, Iruka was worn out enough that they should be about even. "If you give me a nice workout I could put in a good word for you with Izumo..."

"Deal," Kotetsu smirked. "But, technically, you already owe me that for ruining my day. I'll have to beat on you for a while if we're going to come out even."

What was it with people wanting to beat on him today? Iruka scoffed, "Assuming you can."

.-.

They were chasing shadows. Everything led back to the same conclusion - a filing error, an unfortunate oversight, the sort of mistake that occasionally happened. The Hokage had sealed the mission and had it delivered to T&I where it was up to Ibiki's department to rank it according to the capabilities of the shinobi they had in mind for the task. There it should have remained unless they decided it was safe to hand out in the mission room. The special jounin who had transported it from the tower confirmed that he had placed it with the incoming scrolls in the T&I department. From there it was Ibiki's problem to figure out how it had ended up in the mission room rather than on his desk. As far as he could determine it had mistakenly been placed with some outgoing B-rank scrolls by the morning shift. An oversight. The chunin running that shift were forbidden from opening the scrolls and were only tasked with stamping them according to the prearranged stacks they found them in. According to the jounin supervising them everything had been done properly, the same as any other day. That particular mission scroll was indistinguishable from any of the others they had stamped, so they had no way of knowing it hadn't been processed yet.

Ibiki was as dissatisfied by the obvious conclusion as Kakashi was. No one in his department took credit for having moved the scroll in the first place. He knew the jounin who had access to incoming scrolls and refused to believe one of them had made such a sloppy mistake. Kakashi's suspicion had fallen on the man who had placed the identification seal on Iruka, but even his story had checked out. He had been presented with a B-rank scroll bearing the Hokage's seal and the order to place an identification seal on the bearer of that scroll. He had done so. Nothing in his instructions mentioned making sure the bearer of the scroll was qualified to have it.

"You have too many chunin in your department," Kakashi pointed out. "Promote some or replace them."

"None of them are worth promoting. The reason they're working here is because they don't ask questions and the monotony doesn't bother them." That they were little more than drones went unsaid. It was their lack of motivation and curiosity that made them the best ones to handle sensitive information they weren't intended to know anything about. Many of them had applied for the mission room only to find they couldn't cope with the constant distractions. "I can assign a few more jounin to supervise, but I'm stretched thin as it is. My best people are in the field."

"I can think of at least one who could do with a more productive use of his time," Kakashi drawled.

"Leave Genma alone," Ibiki glared. "He's useful right where he is. Someone has to keep track of the active shinobi. We certainly can't rely on the records department. They're lucky if they can stay a month behind, and they don't even distinguish between team missions and solo ones."

That was a long-standing complaint of the T&I department. It took valuable time to go through mission reports to determine the qualities of the shinobi who completed them. Their own system added tiers between the broad B, A, and S ranks to give extra weight to solo missions and infiltration and information gathering positions on team missions. The types of missions were far more important to them than the rank, which made it impossible to profile likely recruits based on the official count of how many of each rank a shinobi had done. Kakashi was aware of that. He also knew there was no simple solution to the problem. All he could do was pass along the Hokage's offer. "We can lend you some Anbu to help with the missions. A few have been assigned to the tower for so long they're going stir-crazy. A month long mission now and then would be good practice for them."

"A demotion, you mean," Ibiki muttered darkly. "All of our Anbu-level missions are already covered. If I borrow any of yours they'll be stuck on A-ranks, maybe even B-rank team missions. That's a major step down from guarding the Hokage. I don't need any resentment spilling onto my people, especially the potential recruits."

"Have you had problems with that?" Kakashi asked in surprise. It was fairly common for jounin to pull rank, but he didn't know anyone in Anbu who would do that.

"Not from Anbu," Ibiki conceded. "But if I use them they won't be going as Anbu, they'll be going as jounin. An interesting thing happens when Anbu remove their masks. They turn back into people."

Kakashi snorted in amusement. "I guess I never noticed since I wear two masks."

"Indeed. So unless your people are capable of treating my chunin and special jounin with the respect they deserve you can keep them. I don't allow petty bickering between the ranks in my department. I have a difficult enough time finding the sort of shinobi I need without nonsense like that complicating things."

"You make it sound as if I'm offering you genin rather than Anbu," Kakashi pointed out. He didn't bother to hide his amusement. Ibiki was as protective of his people as he was selective. It was rather ironic considering the man was a torture-specialist. "I'll pass your warning along to the Hokage. I promise he will only send those mature enough to behave themselves."

"Good. You can also give him my assurance that we'll take better care to monitor incoming scrolls. I'll be looking into everyone who had access to that room. If someone did move that scroll intentionally, I'll find out why."

Kakashi made his way back to the tower resigned to the fact that if Ibiki couldn't find a culprit there wasn't one to be found. That was better than suspecting they had a traitor inside the T&I department. It still wasn't a satisfying explanation. If it had simply been a mistake, then someone should have come forward to admit it. That scroll hadn't moved itself. And it was the only one of the incoming scrolls that had been conveniently misplaced. What were the odds of that?

He was nearly to the tower when a worried-looking jounin waylaid him. His day had just gotten worse.

Kakashi was furious by the time he reached the hospital. The message he had received said only that Naruto had suffered an accident and been admitted. Given the boy's Kyuubi-induced healing abilities, he hadn't believed that for an instant. He set his sights on the weaker of the two guards stationed outside the boy's room and intimidated the truth out of him. The Hokage's son had fallen off a roof. Kakashi was staring the man down, daring him to repeat that absurd statement, when the Hokage opened the door.

"Stop torturing RedBird and see for yourself, Kakashi."

He immediately calmed. His teacher wouldn't have looked so bemused if it had been anything but a true accident. He entered the room and abruptly stopped short. Naruto stunk of overly ripe vegetables. From the medley of bandages covering him, he must have fallen into a crate of them. Make that a few crates. The superficial wounds would heal within a day or two, so those had only been bandaged to protect the cleaned scrapes from the rest of him. His right arm and both legs were elevated and hidden by bulky casts. For a long moment Kakashi could only stare, marveling at the amount of damage the kid had managed to do to himself. Then he sighed and shook his head at the red-faced boy. "You fell off a roof?"

"It's all your fault!" Naruto tugged on his right arm before finally using his left to point accusingly at Kakashi. "If you had been there I wouldn't have had to go along the roofs!"

The Hokage sent him a quelling look and resumed his seat on the stool beside the bed. "It seems Naruto has been skimping on his chakra control lessons more than we thought. He fell off the roof, broke his wrist and both ankles failing to catch himself with his chakra, and then barrelled through a stack of rotten produce destined for one of the farms."

"I stumbled on a crack," Naruto insisted. "That roof sucks. And I meant to land on those crates! It's not my fault they couldn't hold me. They should have built them stronger."

"He has been cutting out more often lately during the chakra lessons," Kakashi remarked, ignoring the boy. "Perhaps you should increase the number of guards during those."

"That won't stop me!" Naruto yelled, fuming at being ignored. "I hate that guy! He doesn't even look at me. It's all Hokage-sama this and Yondaime-sama that, and your father is so great you should be so proud. He doesn't even notice when I leave. You should have heard him this morning. I tripped on the steps and he didn't even hear me because he was too busy telling my chair how great you are." He glared at his father and then turned his face away from them. "If you want someone to sit around listening to that you do it. I won't!"

The Hokage turned an amused look back at Kakashi. "I might suspect there was a personality conflict if his last instructor hadn't run into similar trouble getting him to pay attention."

"Ebisu does tend to get carried away when he's extolling your virtues," Kakashi admitted. "You have so many of them, after all."

"I do, don't I," Minato sighed. "I should have thought ahead to the consequences before doing so many great things."

Naruto whined, tugging fitfully on his bound and elevated limbs. He managed to pry one of his ankles loose, and his father calmly lifted it back into place.

"Well," said Kakashi, "now that he's immobile maybe you should send his instructors here. He'll have no choice but to sit through the lectures now."

"I'm considering it," Minato said with a sober nod. "If he's going to be bedridden for the next few months he might as well be learning something."

Naruto tipped his head back and wailed. His voice was so high pitched it came out more as a spoiled shriek than the cry of fury he intended it to be. Kakashi was impressed that Minato put up with it for an entire minute before whipping a hand over that gaping maw. He was even more impressed when the brat slobbered on him instead of biting. He knew for a fact Naruto had bitten Ebisu the one and only time he had tried to silence him that way. That was before the man learned to simply talk over his tantrums.

"Really, Naruto," Minato grimaced, wiping his wet palm on the sheet. "You have no idea where the scrolls I've handled today have been."

"Ew!" Naruto whined. He scrubbed a bit of the sheet over his tongue. "You're supposed to wash your hands before you touch me. You said so! Now I'm gonna catch something and then I really will be a cripple for life!"

"Not for life, just for a few months until the bones heal. And rather than germs, you should be more worried about the minute traces of poison, blood, and dirt. Don't worry, though. If you absorbed enough poison for your hair to fall out you can always use a henge."

"He hasn't mastered that yet," Kakashi pointed out sadly.

"Oh, that's right. Well, some people look good bald." Naruto's whining increased in volume as he worked his way into another wail. His father cut him off by patting a hand on his pillow, close enough to make him cringe away from the possibly contaminated fingers. "Just think of all the attention you'd get with a shiny head. Once you're hobbling around on crutches people will stop comparing you to me and start comparing you to my grandfather instead."

"He was wrinkly," Naruto grumbled. "And I'm not using crutches. No one's gonna see me hobbling anywhere. I'm staying right here until the fox heals me or Baachan comes." His eyes narrowed in a squinty glare, which he turned on Kakashi. "Go get Baachan. Now! That's an order from your next Hokage."

Since the order was coming from a whiny child who literally couldn't use his chakra to save his life, Kakashi felt it safe to ignore him. "Would you like him transported home?" he asked the Hokage.

"I'll let him stay here for a few weeks, since he's so set on the idea," Minato smiled.

Meaning he would let him stay overnight alone here, so that by tomorrow he was begging to go home. "And Tsunade?"

"I've sent a message to Jiraiya, but she's still on vacation. By the time he tracks her down, Naruto should be almost ready to walk without his crutches."

"I'm not using crutches!" Naruto shouted.

"I doubt she'll hurry back for something as minor as this," he shrugged, as if he didn't know she would rush back the moment she heard what had happened. "It's just as well. Spending some time as a cripple might even teach Naruto to appreciate his chakra enough to learn how to use it."

"That's true," Kakashi said, talking over the ranting boy in the bed.

The Hokage stood and walked to him so he wouldn't have to raise his voice in order to be heard. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you when you were otherwise occupied."

"Not with anything fruitful." He passed along Ibiki's findings as well as the qualifications he had placed on any Anbu he 'borrowed' from among the Hokage's personal guard.

"I understand his concern. He has his eyes on Anko," Minato explained.

"I see." In that case Ibiki really did have a valid reason to be especially careful in accepting anyone he might have working alongside her. "Lend him Guy," Kakashi suggested. Guy didn't consider any missions beneath him, and rather than be biased against her he would appreciate her determination to prove herself an asset to the village. He was also the last person Ibiki would expect or want. The Hokage must have been thinking along the same lines because he shook his head with amusement.

"I'll compile a list for him to consider. In the morning." He sent a quick look back at his now quietly pouting son. "I expect to be here for a while. Consider yourself available if Ibiki has any missions you're interested in. It should be a while before this one is in any condition to cause trouble."

Kakashi willingly took his leave. He did consider returning to T&I, but he honestly didn't view himself as a likely candidate to help train in Ibiki's new recruits. He preferred assassinations over infiltration and surveillance jobs. When it came to team missions he favored partners he knew well, and there were only a few he could work with smoothly. He was just the type of jounin Ibiki didn't want, one liable to pull rank and complete the mission himself if his teammates weren't up to the task. That was a side effect of having been in Anbu for so long. His people skills were a little lacking. He proved that to himself when he spotted Iruka in the front lobby and his immediate reaction was anger rather than concern.

Iruka panicked when Kakashi started toward him. He had seen him coming down the hall and had remained as quiet and unobtrusive as possible to avoid catching his attention. But he hadn't been able to resist sneaking a quick and curious look at him. Of course Kakashi had felt it and looked back. Now he was coming over and Iruka had no idea how he was supposed to act. At least he had talked Kotetsu out of accompanying him to the hospital. He would definitely have given himself away with him here and then the entire village would know.

"What happened?" Kakashi demanded. A bandage had been applied to the left side of Iruka's neck. It was soaked through, with a heavy splash drying over the shoulder of his vest. Kakashi could hardly believe it. The man had been out of his sight for less than two days and here he was once again flirting with death.

"It was an accident," Iruka said, in what he hoped was a casual tone. He kept his eyes locked on the intern across the counter from him as he repeated what he had already told her. This would be much easier if she weren't staring curiously at Kakashi as if it were strange for him to ask a fellow shinobi about an injury. "I was clipped by a stray kunai. My partner applied a field dress to it, but neither of us has the medical training to seal it." He felt himself growing impatient and annoyed when the woman didn't even glance at him. The injury might not be serious, but it was bleeding freely enough for his fingers to be sticky where he was holding the gauze to keep pressure on the wound. Surely that merited more attention than Kakashi's masked appeal. "Excuse me," he said firmly, forcing her to acknowledge him. The woman blinked in surprise, as if she had actually forgotten he was there despite the fact that he had been speaking. "Are there any medics available?"

"Yes, of course," she said distractedly. "Have a seat and someone will be with you shortly." She immediately turned her attention back to Kakashi. "Is there a problem in the private wing? We haven't received any calls here, but if you need assistance-"

"No." Kakashi cut her off before she could truly annoy him. She obviously had no idea who had been admitted to the private wing or she would have known any calls they made would be done through the Anbu guard and not the front desk. He grabbed Iruka's arm and pulled him down the hall he had just come out of.

"Jounin-san!" The woman called after him frantically. "Does he have clearance to-"

"Yes," Kakashi snapped without looking back.

"I do not," Iruka hissed, sending him a harried look. He couldn't believe Kakashi was making a scene, not to mention how high-handed he was being. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting you out of the lobby so I don't yell at you in front of witnesses."

Iruka's mouth snapped shut. He had assumed Kakashi was concerned when he had hurried over to him. Now that he was looking directly at him he could see that he was in fact angry. It didn't take long for him to start feeling angry himself. By the time Kakashi pushed him into an empty examining room he was feeling downright pissed. He pulled away and rounded on him. "What reason could you possibly have to yell at me?" he demanded. Not that he honestly believed Kakashi would yell. The man didn't need to raise his voice to be intimidating.

"You gave me your word you wouldn't be taking any missions for at least a week. It's only been two days and you're even more battered than you were the last time I saw you." Iruka hadn't struck him as particularly reckless. That was half the reason he was so annoyed. He had thought he was finished misjudging the man.

Iruka's anger settled nearly as swiftly as it had come. It had mainly been a defensive response, anyway. "This didn't happen on a mission. I was sparring with a partner in a training ground near the Academy when I was clipped by a stray kunai. That's all. It was just an accident." Kakashi's expression darkened as if he didn't believe him. He was disgruntled enough to raise a mocking eyebrow at him. "Do you really think I would lie when I know you can check the records yourself to see if I have been on any missions? Be reasonable. I would much rather have been wounded during a mission. It's embarrassing to admit I was injured simply because I wasn't paying enough attention." To be perfectly candid it wasn't his inattention that had caused this so much as his slow reaction time. Kotetsu had warned him the moment he spotted the kunai, but Iruka hadn't been quick enough to avoid it entirely. He might have admitted that to Kakashi if the man had shown the concern and sympathy he had expected. Now he wished he hadn't bumped into him at all. Just when he was looking forward to seeing him again, the jounin turned up angry with him. That was becoming a trend with them and he didn't like it one bit.

Kakashi had to take a mental step back. He was too much of a shinobi to accept yet another 'accident' today. Stray weapons were hardly uncommon, especially in training areas frequented by pregenin and genin like those close to the Academy. But the odds of a chunin receiving a near-fatal wound by accident were simply too high. Iruka either had remarkably bad luck or an enemy. Considering he was still alive he doubted his luck was the problem. He would have to share his conclusion, and he already knew Iruka wouldn't accept it willingly. If he had to stand here and listen to Iruka defend the person who had attacked him he was guaranteed to snap and say something he would regret. He turned on his heel and went to the door. "I'll fetch a medic for you. Don't leave this room. You're not supposed to be in this wing."

Iruka scowled after him. He wouldn't be in this wing if Kakashi hadn't dragged him in here. He took a stiff seat on the tall stool next to the examining table and fumed. This was what he got for allowing himself to forget that Kakashi was a jounin. The man probably hadn't even intended to come off as unappologetically rude and bossy. Luckily the memory of how considerate and attentive he could be in private was still fresh enough in Iruka's mind for him to overlook his current attitude. Mostly. He still wanted an apology from Kakashi for accusing him of lying. It wasn't a question of trust. He accepted that Kakashi didn't know him well enough to take him at his word. But as a shinobi he should at least give him more credit than to assume he would tell a lie so easily exposed. Really, it was the insult to his intelligence that he resented the most. That along with the way Kakashi had caught him so unprepared. As far as he knew they weren't even supposed to acknowledge that they knew each other in public, let alone make a scene that would attract attention to them.

He had no idea what excuse Kakashi had given the medic he returned with. The man didn't ask him any questions, and Kakashi merely watched from the position he had taken up by the door. The healing was done in silence and so quickly Iruka was convinced Kakashi had pulled rank in order to get the man here. It was only when the man finished that he looked directly at him. By then Iruka was feeling so guilty about having wasted his time that he flushed and dropped his eyes.

"Don't forget to file an incident report," the medic reminded him. He nodded to Kakashi and then left the room without any further comment.

Iruka immediately lifted a hand to his neck and sent a reproachful look at Kakashi. "You shouldn't have done that. I don't like that sort of preferential treatment. I would have been perfectly content to wait for the first available medic in the lobby like everyone else."

As if Kakashi would leave a partner of his to be treated by some rookie medic. "It was either this or do it myself. My medical ninjutsu is limited. I prefer to leave open wounds to the professionals when possible." Healing it himself might have left a visible scar. Iruka would get enough of those on missions without picking them up right here in the village. He approached and reached over his shoulder to feel the deep cut on the back of his vest. "You didn't mention that it was aiming for the back of your neck. That's quite a lethal target for a stray kunai."

Iruka grimaced in embarrassment. So much for not admitting that he had tried and failed to dodge it entirely. He should have known Kakashi would guess the trajectory the moment he saw the wound. "I had warning and plenty of time to get out of the way. I just wasn't moving as quickly as usual."

"I don't suppose you kept the kunai or checked the area to see who might have thrown it."

His tone was so casual that Iruka snapped him a startled look. "Are you trying to insult me or do you honestly believe I'm that stupid?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him and instead of being annoyed all he felt was disappointment. "Do you have such a low opinion of chunin in general or just me? The truth, please."

"I think you're naive. Possibly by choice," which made it all the more frustrating.

"I may be naive, but I assure you I am not stupid." He wished he could feel as indignant as he sounded. After learning the details of his last mission it wasn't surprising that Kakashi had such a low opinion of him. "I kept the kunai and will be turning it in along with my report of the incident. As for the wielder, I have three possible culprits, none of whom took credit. I will not be providing their names on the report because that isn't required when the incident involves pregenin." Not that anyone had ever hesitated to name him when he had been an Academy student. He gave a bitter smile. "I know that because I was involved in a handful of incidents myself when I attended the Academy. I did not, however, have anyone accuse me of attempted murder when my aim was off. If refusing to place that accusation on children as clumsy as I was at that age makes me naive, so be it."

Kakashi felt much like he had in Ibiki's office earlier, as if he had slammed into a solid wall that all of his senses insisted couldn't be there. He had learned to survive by trusting his instincts, all of which told him three 'accidents' in quick succession, two involving the same person and all involving people close to him was impossible. Yet even he had to admit that a pregenin made an unlikely assassin. "Are you certain they were pregenin?" He knew he was reaching even as he asked the question. He was only surprised that Iruka didn't take insult. The man suddenly seemed to exude patience and calm logic in the face of his unreasonable but instinctive insistence that something suspicious was going on around here.

"Yes. I saw them at the Academy myself shortly before my last mission. There was an altercation and I assisted in restraining two of them. I suppose they might have held enough of a grudge to take a shot at me, but I seriously doubt it. Attacking a chunin is very different from teaming up against someone half their age. Besides, they were terrified when my sparring partner caught them. He also recognized one of them. He should be speaking to the boy's father at this very moment about the weapons they were armed with. They certainly weren't the practice weapons supplied by the academy. So, although I didn't get a confession it's fairly obvious one of the three was responsible. Which one doesn't matter. It was a simple accident and as much my fault as theirs. I knew that training ground was close enough to the Academy for genin and pregenin to be in the area. If I had been paying more attention to my surroundings I would have noticed when they approached and this never would have happened." He didn't take comfort in the fact that Kotetsu hadn't noticed them, either. The man obviously didn't pay attention to his surroundings or he wouldn't have been doing what he was when Iruka had arrived in the first place.

"I don't believe in coincidences," Kakashi said, in a grudging and reluctant tone that wasn't at all like him. He blamed Iruka's unexpected calmness for putting him out of sorts. He was catching a glimpse of the sort of teacher Iruka might make and it reminded him uncomfortably of his own youthful belligerence under Minato's tutelage. He decided he didn't like it when Iruka had logic on his side. He much preferred him confused, flustered, and angry.

Iruka stared at him for a moment and then gave a slow smile. "In that case you must suspect the man who shoved me that night in the mission room was hoping to get us together." That was as likely as a pregenin attempting to assassinate him for interrupting a playground brawl.

"I hadn't considered that possibility," Kakashi admitted, only partly joking. "I'll have to look into that. I can't have shinobi going around playing matchmaker with me." Iruka grinned, and just like that he knew all of his suspicious and hostile behavior had been forgiven. The man was far too accepting of the less appealing aspects of his personality. He let out a sigh as guilt reared its ugly head. "Today has been a frustrating day for me and seeing you injured didn't help matters any."

"Apology accepted," Iruka smiled. "It's probably because we lead such different lives that you misread the situation so badly."

"Excuse me?" Iruka's smile made it difficult to tell if he was being insulted or not.

"Well, first you thought I had been injured on a mission despite my telling you I wouldn't be taking any for a while. You don't know me well enough to realize that when I say I'm going to take a break from missions that's exactly what I'm going to do. I don't take breaks lightly and won't be taking them often. Scheduling a break means tightening my budget and delaying my plans. That's a very serious matter for me. Judging from what I've seen of your apartment it's been a while since you had to rely on mission pay just to cover your bills. My situation is typical for your average chunin. I'm not sure if you really know what that means." He smiled apologetically. "You said your schedule wouldn't let you make yourself as available to me as a chunin's might, but I don't know any chunin with a relaxed schedule. We're in and out of the village at random, training with every spare moment, or working full time in a fixed duty that leaves little time for anything else. I may be taking a week off missions, but that doesn't mean I'll be wasting my time. I intend to get as much training in as possible while I have the chance to."

"I'm not so old that I don't remember how hectic things can be for a freshly advanced shinobi," Kakashi drawled. The fact that he had never been in Iruka's position didn't make him unfamiliar with it. He saw it all of the time, along with the burnout, accidents, and deaths that resulted from rushing too much. "What I don't understand is why you're in such a hurry. You have a modest goal," to put it kindly, "so there's no need to take risks with excessive missions or training." Even without the bloodstains he would have known Iruka was pushing himself too much just by how ragged he looked. "The requirements to teach at the Academy are fairly low."

"So is the pay," Iruka snorted, with a wry grin. That was intentional, of course. The village didn't want teachers who were in it for the money, so there was very little involved. "That's why most chunin resent having to work there. I'm not going to be one of those people who drop out halfway through the temp period. Maybe you aren't aware of it, but that can last for up to a year. It's more of a trial to weed out those who aren't serious about making the commitment than a training period. Those who go into it without saving up in advance are broke by the time they begin teaching, and then they have to hire substitutes in order to fit in any missions they can take to supplement their income until they've been around long enough to have a secure position. I know exactly what I'm getting myself into. If I'm in a rush, it's so that I won't make the same mistakes as others. When I apply at the Academy I intend to have a nice apartment and have enough savings to get me through the temp period and well into my first year of teaching. I also plan to have enough experience to take missions on the weekends, if necessary. I hated every substitute we ever had when I was in the Academy. Now I know why they resented having to deal with us so much. I will never hand a class of mine over to someone who is only taking the position because he can't find anything better."

"I don't know much about how things are done at the Academy," Kakashi admitted with a pronounced frown. If it was as bad as Iruka said then it was a wonder they had any teachers at all. Naruto would have to be enrolled in the Academy eventually, if only to introduce him to would-be shinobi his own age. Minato would be taking a close look at those working there before he allowed that to happen. Kakashi had barely spent any time at the Academy himself, so all he remembered of his teacher was that he had been old and prone to dozing off without noticing how many students were missing when he woke back up. Someone like that wouldn't be able to keep Naruto in a classroom for five minutes. Ebisu had worked at the Academy for a while before making special jounin and hiring himself out as a tutor to the well-to-do families. When Kakashi thought of Academy teachers, he was the sort that came to mind. Know-it-alls with meager fighting abilities who weren't much good for anything else. He couldn't place Iruka in that category. If nothing else, he was far too motivated. "Why do you want to teach so badly?"

"Lots of reasons," Iruka shrugged. "None of which I care to share with you." He offered a smile when Kakashi looked taken back by that. "No offense, but you aren't the only one who likes to keep some things private. Speaking of which, I was under the impression we weren't supposed to acknowledge each other in public. What should I say if people hear about this? I'm not very good at lying."

Kakashi wasn't particularly worried about the little scene he had caused. He was more interested in what reasons Iruka had that were too personal to share. That was sketchy territory right there and he knew it. Since Iruka didn't know what was normal for partners of convenience Kakashi was free to stretch the boundaries a little. But he had no more business prying into his personal life than he had checking his mission report or questioning him about an injury. If he didn't draw a line somewhere, and quickly, he might as well just date the man openly. He wondered if Iruka would be as disturbed by the thought of that as he was. If so, it probably wouldn't be for the same reasons. "If you can't lie credibly, just stick with the truth. I wanted to know the nature of your injury to be sure we don't have a traitor in our midst. Feel free to play up how skeptical I was to learn you were nearly taken out by a pregenin."

Iruka flushed in embarrassment at the thought of that information getting out, and managed a feeble scowl. "Rumor has it I snubbed you at the bar. If I admit you pulled me aside here some people will suspect you're stalking me."

"Which has a ring of truth to it," Kakashi pointed out. If Iruka had expected that news to bother him, he was in for disappointment. "I don't mind if the gossips think I have trouble taking no for an answer. Especially since we both know I do. If anything, it will make me even more attractive to my admirers."

"Which is the last thing you need," Iruka muttered, thinking of the woman at the front desk.

"Are you jealous of them or me?" Kakashi teased.

"You," Iruka said bluntly. "I already get more of you than they do so I have no reason to be jealous of them."

"That's a shame."

"That I get more of you?"

"That you're jealous. You intend to hide yourself away at the academy, so you'll never get to be as famous as I am." He was curious to know how much of that fame Iruka had heard so far. That their paths had never crossed wasn't surprising considering how rarely he showed up in the mission room, and he had no contact with genin at all. But Iruka hadn't even recognized his name. He had to wonder how isolated Iruka was to not have heard even a bit of gossip in connection to his name. He was the only Kakashi in the village, after all, and it was an understatement to say people often talked about him.

Iruka was reluctant to take the bait. He had assumed Kakashi had quite a reputation simply from the way people looked at him. But he knew nothing about his 'fame' and didn't care to. It was awkward enough to view him as a jounin who, at least in public, he couldn't even speak to without a good excuse. If Kakashi really was famous then it was only a matter of time before he heard his name mentioned somewhere and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from listening closely. He wasn't looking forward to it, though. The less he knew about Kakashi's public life the easier it was to overlook everything except the way they got along together when it was just the two of them. Then he was just Kakashi, someone he was surprisingly compatible with and who had nothing to do with work or the place he was trying to carve for himself in the village.

"I wouldn't want to be famous," Iruka said eventually. "I have had a taste of what it's like to be the subject of rumors lately and I would just as soon go back to being invisible. What I envy about you is the way you take it for granted that people will stare at you, that you don't seem to care at all. I bet the mask helps." He smiled a little, not minding Kakashi's raised eyebrow. "If I had started wearing a mask as a pregenin I doubt I'd be as self-conscious now. But I've had my scar for as long as I can remember. By the time I noticed that shinobi typically covered theirs with bandages and masks I was too used to mine."

"Your eyes give everything away," Kakashi informed him. "There's no point in you wearing a mask."

"I know." He noted that Kakashi didn't correct his assumption that he had been wearing a mask for a very long time. Although Iruka preferred not to know about his reputation as a shinobi, he was very interested in him as a person. He had no doubt that the mask contributed to Kakashi's casual self-confidence. No matter how much attention he attracted he was never truly exposed. He didn't even take it off in private because to do so would make him vulnerable. Iruka, on the other hand, wore his weaknesses openly. The closest he came to hiding was behind anger and awkward humor, which were poor masks at best.

"I should go now," Iruka said reluctantly. He was feeling a little too comfortable. If he weren't careful he would forget where they were. "There are things I have to do before it gets too late." He was disappointed when Kakashi didn't ask. That meant he probably wouldn't be contacting him tonight. He promptly scolded himself for expecting too much. Kakashi had his own reasons for being in the hospital that had nothing to do with him. For all he knew he was keeping him from important duties. He rose with an apologetic smile. "Should I walk out or teleport so no one sees me?"

"You can't teleport out of this wing. I'll see you out." He was amused by the way Iruka winced at that. He would have to look into those rumors Iruka had mentioned. Maybe he would drop by to see Asuma while he was waiting for Iruka to go home for the night. He hadn't been 'in the loop' for quite some time, and he was curious to know if anyone had an inkling as to what was really going on with them. Despite Iruka's reasonable explanation he hadn't dismissed his suspicions entirely. There were quite a few people with grudges against him who weren't beyond taking a shot at a partner of his. He couldn't see them going so far as an assassination, but they could easily have overlooked the fact that Iruka was a newly-advanced chunin, making a simple attempt to scare him much more deadly. He didn't even consider that it might have been an enemy of Iruka's rather than one of his own. As far as he could tell the man was harmless, likable, and too quick to forgive to leave grudges in his wake. He certainly didn't have the sort of ambitions that made other shinobi feel envious and threatened.

.-.
TBC