Iruka had only moved a few inches away when Kakashi's eyes opened and locked on him. He gave a wincing smile. "Sorry, I was hoping to sneak out without waking you."
"I wasn't asleep," said Kakashi. He had come surprisingly close to falling asleep, though. Holding Iruka while he slept was very nice, both the feel of him and knowing it was proof that Iruka trusted him. But Iruka was the trusting sort. Kakashi wasn't. He shouldn't feel so comfortable having Iruka hold him in return. There were boundaries, after all. "Why were you trying to sneak out?"
"It's almost dawn. I have things to do today. I'm sure you do, as well." And if Kakashi hadn't slept then the sooner Iruka left the more sleep he could fit in before his own day started.
"Come here." Kakashi caught his shoulders and rolled him onto his back. He was disappointed, and rather frustrated, by the way Iruka tensed, wariness flickering in his eyes. After their long night of mutual trust, Iruka should know he had nothing to be wary of in his bed. Maybe Iruka wasn't quite as trusting as he thought. He didn't let himself think about the reason, the past, behind Iruka's lingering wariness. "I won't keep you long," he promised. He had hoped to, but he hadn't forgotten that lecture in the hospital. His partner was a freshly advanced chunin, busily rushing himself headlong into potential disaster, and that was Iruka's business, not his. All Kakashi could do as his partner was make certain their interactions didn't leave him too stiff and sore to take care of himself.
Iruka closed his eyes as Kakashi pressed his hands over his collar bones and slowly slid them along his shoulders and down his arms. The pressure of his hands was firm yet gentle, and the chakra sank into his skin in a heated wave. "What are you doing?" he groaned. He didn't know how he could possibly get hard again, but he could feel it happening. He had been right that first night. That part of him and Kakashi got along far too well. He flushed furiously and kept his eyes closed.
Kakashi smirked at both the blush and the morning salute. "Don't worry," he drawled, as he brought his hands up to Iruka's chest and worked his way down. "I'll take care of that, too."
.-.
Genma gave his report first. There wasn't much to add since last time. One of the genin they were watching had scrubbed out again and his teammates were seriously threatening to replace him or leave the team entirely in order to form a new one. His fuinjutsu still showed promise, but he was slow and couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. If his team did dump him he would never make chunin unless he found another pair willing to carry him through physical encounters. That was very unlikely given his attitude.
"He's a scrawny little thing who thinks being book-smart makes him better than everyone else," Genma said frankly. The way the kid's jounin teacher favored him didn't help matters any.
"His mother was one of our best seal-breakers," Ibiki reminded him.
"Yes, she was. Unfortunately, there is no accounting for taste. She married an academy drop-out and the kid has his attitude, not hers. It's going to take a lot of intervention to salvage this one."
"I'll keep that in mind," said Ibiki. "Now why are you here?"
Genma usually only reported in the morning when he had something important and time-sensitive to share. This wasn't time-sensitive, not really, and it might not be considered important enough to rush right here. He was amused, though, and Ibiki was the only person he could share this with.
"I just had the strangest encounter," said Genma.
"With Kakashi?"
Genma grinned. Of course Ibiki would know all about what had happened at the hospital. They always had a plant there, just in case something happened, especially when Tsunade wasn't in residence.
"No," said Genma. "He doesn't talk to me unless forced to do so. But it concerned him." He explained Asuma's request and was disappointed when Ibiki didn't react. "If you ask me, Kurenai needs to stick to infiltration and leave the interrogations to the professionals. At this rate they won't have to worry about rumors involving Kakashi. By this evening most people will be wondering if Kurenai is hoping to settle down with a quiet little chunin. She even asked Shizune about him." That got a reaction, though it was more a narrowing of eyes than an outright wince. "And Raidou," he added, which had Ibiki closing his eyes entirely. He enjoyed the moment, and then sighed. "Should I try to shut that down? If Kurenai made those two curious enough to start asking around about him themselves there's no telling where the rumors will end up. But that would certainly keep Kakashi's name from being linked to his, which is what Asuma wants. There won't be as much interest in what happened with Naruto, either."
"That's what they should be concerned about," said Ibiki. "I've already had two people ask me if he was attacked."
"Did they ask if a chunin was involved?"
"Not yet. If they do, they know Kakashi is the paranoid sort and should accept the incident as an overreaction on his part."
That was the rumor Genma was worried about squashing before it could gain traction. Few would know why Naruto had been admitted to the hospital, just that he had been admitted and his guard had sealed off that wing. That Kakashi had accosted a bloody chunin in the hospital lobby and dragged him into that wing wasn't going to make people think Kakashi was interested in him, it was going to make them think Kakashi considered him a suspect. But he wasn't surprised Asuma and Kurenai hadn't fully considered that possibility. They weren't in his line of work. They focused on surface rumors rather than the more insidious ones bubbling beneath.
"Leave it," said Ibiki. "They have inadvertently set up a better distraction than you could have."
Genma frowned, "I wouldn't go that far. I can be very creative when I set my mind to it."
Ibiki ignored that blatant request for a compliment. The fact that he employed Genma the way he did was proof enough of how much he valued his skills. "Set your mind to this." He withdrew Umino Iruka's report from a drawer and slid it across his desk. He had narrowed down the people who might be involved. None of them had any clear connections or grudges against Umino, and if killing him had been the goal there were far easier ways to go about it. In order to learn who had moved that mission scroll, they needed to know who the real intended target had been. There was a good chance the person responsible hadn't been targeting anyone in particular. They might simply have wanted the mission to fail so that scroll would fall into the wrong hands. And if he was wrong, and Umino really had been the target, then they needed to know a lot more about the quiet unassuming chunin Kakashi was suddenly so interested in.
.-.
Minato had caved during the night and taken Naruto home. Kakashi wasn't surprised. He was a bit disappointed, though. The brat seemed to be getting worse rather than better, more escapes, worse tantrums, and stronger refusals to take even the simplest of orders. Kakashi understood why Minato chose to spoil him when he was able to do so. Being Hokage didn't leave him much time to spend with his son, and tutors and Anbu guards were no replacement for a parent. With Jiraiya off doing the rounds, supposedly spying on other villages but more likely only spying on the bath houses near those villages, and Tsunade off on a well-deserved vacation, Minato was probably feeling especially guilty right now. But Kakashi didn't see how giving in would help improve Naruto's attitude problem. It made him glad he wasn't a parent. His solution would be to physically restrain the brat so he had no choice but to stay where he was put and listen to his tutors until the information penetrated that belligerent head of his. Unfortunately, his solution would probably be even worse than spoiling the boy. Naruto was an Uzumaki through and through. The more others tried to force him to do things their way, the harder he fought against it.
He hesitated outside the dojo for a moment, and then leaned against the wall. Minato was having a meeting with Ebisu. Naruto hadn't exaggerated. The man was downright smarmy. Even his voice dripped with it. But he had come highly recommended and had a perfect track record of cramming even the most boring of information into his students' heads. Some of the kids he had tutored had shown no potential whatsoever. Ebisu had taught them so well they had already mastered the basics of chakra control when they entered the academy and at least one of them had graduated in a single year. The man was useless outside the village, but he did know how to browbeat children. Except Naruto, apparently. Kakashi sighed. Just a few minutes of listening to Ebisu pontificate and he had gone from wishing Minato would take a tougher stand with that brat of his, to feeling nothing but sympathy for the man. He even felt a little sorry for Naruto, having to listen to that day after day.
"Perhaps you should take him outside," said Minato. "A practical lesson involving an unstable log or a narrow rail would let him use his chakra without risk of injury."
"Outside?" Ebisu squeaked.
Kakashi winced as the man attempted to voice his objections to that idea in a way that wouldn't imply the Hokage was foolish to suggest it. Ebisu wasn't entirely wrong. Naruto probably would be distracted by everything around him, from falling leaves to birds to his own Anbu guard. And Naruto would have to be guarded heavily because Ebisu had already proven he couldn't keep him contained in a room with only two exits. Ebisu would have no hope of containing him outside where there were no walls at all. The rest of the objection was pure supercilious nonsense, in Kakashi's opinion. Naruto didn't need to understand the long history of chakra in order to use it himself. He wouldn't have been injured so badly if he didn't know how to make his chakra cling to surfaces. He had damaged his wrist and ankles, likely because he had clung so tightly with his chakra that his own body weight wrenched him loose on the way down. Some balance exercises could only help with that. Kakashi listened closely, curious if Minato would yield to Ebisu's authority as a tutor or insist that he at least try things his way. In the end they compromised. Ebisu did have that perfect track record, after all, and Naruto had already burned his way through almost every other tutor in the village. Ebisu reluctantly agreed to stop the history lectures for now and do some indoor balancing lessons before attempting at least one outdoor lesson with a full Anbu guard present.
The moment Ebisu started his long goodbye to his most esteemed Hokage-sama, Kakashi masked his chakra and took to the roof, joining the Anbu stationed there. He waited until the tutor was out of sight before going inside. Minato was waiting for him.
"I assume you heard all of that," Minato sighed.
"Just the last few minutes," said Kakashi. "That was more than enough." He sat down across from the Hokage, feeling another dose of sympathy for how tired he looked. Dealing with someone like Ebisu couldn't be easy. Again, he felt an unwanted spurt of sympathy for the brat.
"He really has done nothing but talk at him. He has had him sitting in a chair, not moving, for hours. Every single day. For months."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Are you impressed?"
"Yes," Minato grimaced, "and rather disturbed. Naruto says he only touched him that first time, and after the bite he stayed at least three feet away from him at all times. Just talking. And Naruto stayed for hours? Sitting still and quiet?"
"According to Ebisu he did. But according to Naruto, Ebisu doesn't notice when he leaves." In this case, he would take Naruto's word for it rather than Ebisu's. Naruto was frustratingly difficult, but he was also refreshingly honest.
"Even so," said Minato, "if Naruto stayed for even a fraction of the time Ebisu thinks he did, that's longer than anyone else has been able to keep him still and quiet."
That was true. Either Naruto had learned a bit more patience or he was sleeping through a good portion of Ebisu's lectures. Kakashi couldn't imagine anyone being able to sleep within hearing range of that man's voice. He almost felt sorry for the kid. Almost.
Minato put his hands behind him, leaning back on them. "Ebisu says he hasn't considered Naruto ready for practical lessons in chakra usage. That means either Naruto figured it out on his own, or he retained just enough information from the lectures to attempt it on his own. Which ended badly, of course. But it's a good sign."
"Ending the lectures should help," said Kakashi. His voice softened, almost apologetic. "He may simply be a hands-on learner, without the mind or attention span for lectures."
"No," Minato murmured, dropping his eyes with a sad smile. "He got the best of both of us. It isn't his mind holding him back, it's his will. When he wants to learn, he does. I just don't know how to make him want it as badly as I want it for him."
Kakashi dropped his own eyes, his stomach clenching with anger and guilt. It wasn't often his teacher mentioned her. No one did if they could help it. But when it happened he was taken right back to that time. He was supposed to be there, he should have been there, he might have made a difference if he had been there. With Asuma, Kurenai, Guy and him all working together they should have been able to break through the barrier. They hadn't been strong enough and he would never forgive the person responsible. But Danzou had insisted the Third Hokage had trapped them there, to ensure that at least some of the strongest survived if the nine-tails killed the rest of Konoha's defenders. And the Third had sacrificed himself to stop the attack. He couldn't take revenge against a dead man and he shouldn't want revenge against the man who had saved Minato's life. As always, he had no outlet for that rage and grief. All he could do was bury it and hope that someday the nightmares would stop. They hadn't yet, not for Kushina or his own teammates. But he wasn't so dead inside that he couldn't continue hoping they might.
After a while, Minato lifted his head with a tired smile. "Ebisu agreed to at least attempt a few practical lessons. If that doesn't help it might be time to consider the Academy."
Kakashi's head snapped up. "Do you think he's ready for that?"
"I'm not sure he'll ever be ready," Minato admitted. "But if he can sit quietly through even a fraction of Ebisu's lectures then he's more ready than I expected him to be at this age. Having access to other children will certainly motivate him to want to make an effort." His eyes darkened, his expression going cold and blank. "Ebisu is adamantly opposed to the very idea of Naruto attending the Academy. Did you catch that part?"
"No."
"He is of the opinion Naruto should never be allowed near the Academy," Minato murmured. "He is convinced that he and others, who he hesitated to name, can train Naruto so that he isn't ever placed in a position to endanger an entire generation of potential shinobi. I'll be arranging a meeting with Danzou to discuss that."
"Do you think he has gotten to Ebisu?"
"Not directly. But someone has slipped a maggot in his ear. When I first hired Ebisu he assured me he would do whatever he could to help prepare Naruto so he would have an advantage over the rest of his Academy class. I don't believe the difficulty he has had with Naruto would be enough to flip him so suddenly and completely. And you know," he smiled with icy cold eyes, "when it involves children Danzou is always my first suspect, after Orochimaru, of course."
"Of course," Kakashi murmured. "May I come with you?"
"Yes, and Tenzou, too. That should irritate him enough that he might be a bit more candid than he would be otherwise."
Kakashi was relieved. Although he accepted that Danzou's loyalty to the village couldn't be questioned, the man's methods ran counter to everything Konoha stood for. While the Third Hokage had allowed that, Minato refused to do so. Unfortunately, there was only so much Minato could do to limit Danzou's power when so many still viewed the man as an extension of the Third Hokage, the partner who had carried on his will after his noble sacrifice. Minato had closed the orphanage, enforced an age limit on anyone allowed into Root, and kept the group as a protecting force only active within the village unless they were sent out on official and documented missions. But Danzou had too many supporters for the Hokage to disband the group entirely, and like Root itself, those supporters had an insidious influence on others.
"And Ebisu?" asked Kakashi. "Would you like me to look into him?"
Minato's eyes warmed with amusement. "No, that would be a mistake. One hint that you suspect him, of anything, and he would be frightened and confused. Then he would be horribly offended for a bit, before going to ground for months in order to nurse his hurt feelings. His objection to Naruto attending the academy is that it would alienate Naruto from his potential peers, possibly damaging him severely if anyone were hurt during an assassination attempt, not because he views Naruto himself as a threat to others. He has clearly been influenced against the idea of Naruto attending the academy, but he doesn't seem to have been biased against Naruto himself. Ebisu is stiff and pretentious, but he is utterly loyal even to his most difficult students. He disagreed with my suggestion of practical lessons, but he remains convinced that the reason Naruto hasn't mastered the lessons is due to his own failures as a tutor. That is both arrogance about his own abilities to teach, and confidence that his students can learn anything they set their minds to. He might be a bad match for Naruto, but he isn't a bad person. I would trust him with Naruto's life and have done so for months. Ebisu is a proven asset to the village and I intend to keep him that way. I want to know who is influencing him, but it needs to be done in a way that doesn't hurt him. I'll assign Redbird to that. Ebisu is far more likely to open up to him."
Of course he was. Redbird was a gentle man who would never be recognized as Anbu without his mask. Even with the mask, few would guess he was an efficient and merciless killer of anyone who threatened those he loved. And he loved everyone in the village, even those he had never spoken a word to, simply because they were members of his village and that was all that mattered to him. Kakashi didn't care much for the man, because while loyalty was a good trait he almost always caved when confronted by a comrade, unwilling to argue even when he was in the right. He needed more of a spine, in Kakashi's opinion, but he was definitely a good choice for dealing with a smarmy man like Ebisu. Ebisu wouldn't be the slightest bit suspicious or intimidated if Redbird took a sudden interest in making friendly with him.
"What about Sai?" asked Kakashi.
Sai was the last young recruit Danzou had made before the age limit was set in place. The boy was severely emotionally damaged and although Ibiki had done what he could with him, they hadn't seen any improvement until Minato had placed him with Redbird. Being forced to live with someone who ignored his bizarre behavior didn't appear to be helping him act more normal, but it certainly wasn't hurting him any. If nothing else, it was getting him used to being treated gently by someone who didn't expect anything in return. He might never build an attachment to his 'keeper' but he hadn't made any attempts to attack or get away from him, either. As a foster situation for a potentially dangerous and underage orphan it was working out rather well so far. Redbird was skilled enough to keep the boy in check and nice enough to give him a taste of human kindness, something he had never experienced in Root.
"I'll place him with Tenzou if this takes too long. I don't expect that to be necessary, though. Ebisu is the sort to unfold like a flower when bathed in positive attention. A little praise and Redbird should know exactly who is influencing him."
If the man was that easily influenced, he didn't sound like someone who should be allowed near children. But Minato was a good judge of his own people, so Kakashi would have to respect that. If nothing else, Ebisu clearly worshiped the ground Minato walked upon. That alone would make the man protect Minato's son with his life.
He was concerned by the thought of Naruto attending the academy, though. After that talk with Iruka, he imagined the place to be full of underpaid workers who resented having to be there and who didn't care what happened to the children they were forced to deal with. Naruto's tutors had been paid well, had been determined to prove themselves and please the Hokage and they still hadn't been able to keep him at his lessons. Having access to kids his own age probably would motivate Naruto to stay in the classroom so long as they stayed in it with him, but that didn't mean he would be motivated to pay attention long enough to learn things. If he had teachers he hated as much as his tutors he would be gone, likely taking any classmates willing to go with him. That was assuming he had any classmates in the first place. Ebisu wasn't the only one who would be concerned about possible attacks on any class Naruto was a part of. If the parents pulled their children out, Minato would do his best to keep Naruto from realizing why his class was so small. But Naruto would find out eventually and be hurt at being ostracized that way. He was too young and emotional to take that sort of blow.
He wondered how Naruto would deal with a teacher like Iruka, someone who actually wanted to be a teacher and presumably at least liked kids. Naruto would like him, probably as much as he liked the more friendly members of his Anbu guard liked Redbird. At first Naruto might make an effort to behave so Iruka liked him back, but it wouldn't take him long to realize he didn't have to try very hard to make someone like Iruka like him. Once he figured that out, he would walk - or more likely bounce - all over the man. Iruka seemed far too gentle and considerate to control rebellious students, much less stubborn tantrum-throwing brats like Naruto. Did Iruka really understand what he would be getting himself into if he did work at the Academy?
Kakashi firmly reminded himself that was none of his business. If the Hokage did decide to enroll Naruto, and if Iruka was working at the academy at that time, then the man would become his business as the head Anbu in charge of protecting Naruto.
"Excuse me a moment," said Minato. He went to the interior door, pausing just in front of it. He summoned two small toads that Kakashi had never seen before. "Naruto has had a mishap," he told them. "You can keep him company, but he needs to stay in bed."
"Is he badly injured?" asked the female. "Does Jiraiya-sama know?"
"Not badly, and yes, Jiraiya is fetching Tsunade as we speak. But Naruto is immobile at the moment and will be glad for any entertainment you can give him."
"You can count on us," the male grinned. "We'll cheer the brat up in no time."
"Thank you," said Minato. He opened the door to let them in, and then returned to sit across from Kakashi.
"No improvement in his summons?" asked Kakashi.
"He's getting a few frogs now instead of just tadpoles, but none that can talk so far." Minato grimaced. "The last frog he got was poisonous. He had the poison all over himself by the time I got home and found out what he had done. He promised not to do any more summons without supervision. He didn't have any reaction to the poison, though. I'll be looking into that."
"Do you think it's the nine-tail's influence?"
"It can't be anything else," said Minato. "I'll wait until Tsunade returns before testing that theory out."
Having an immunity to poisons in addition to quick healing would certainly be an asset. Testing it, on the other hand, could be difficult. Minato wouldn't want to use anything that might physically hurt Naruto. Although the kid had an impressive pain tolerance for scrapes he had gotten himself into, he reacted like the child he was if anyone else hurt him. That was typical of Naruto. The brat never made anything easy.
Minato raised a hand to cover a yawn, and Kakashi's eye narrowed sharply. He should have noticed sooner how pale and wan his former teacher was. The Hokage exuded confidence and strength, but the father tired easily when Tsunade was away from the village for too long.
"Get some rest," said Kakashi. He didn't bother making that sound more like a suggestion rather than an order. Being the man's former student gave him some privileges, after all. "I'll make certain you aren't disturbed."
Minato flashed him a tired smile. "I have been up all night. See that I'm woken by three this afternoon, though. I'll want to have lunch with Naruto and then get some work done. I didn't get much done last night."
"Understood."
.-.
Iruka ended up not requesting a spar from Izumo. Kakashi's chakra-massage had left him feeling loose and limber and remarkably ache-free. But Izumo was so ashamed that Iruka almost felt guilty for making him feel that way. He threw himself into reassuring the man that he had never had any intention of mentioning what he had stumbled onto to anyone. He would never do that to a fellow shinobi, certainly not someone as sensitive as Izumo. On the other hand, if Izumo had been that strongly opposed to having sex on a training ground then he should have stood up for himself more. As far as Iruka was concerned, Kotetsu pushing Izumo into such a potentially public display was no different from Mizuki trying to push him into 'experimenting' during sex. Except Izumo had even less reason to cave to whatever pressure Kotetsu put on him. The two weren't just sex partners, they were lovers. Iruka gave the best pep talk he could manage considering he had never had a lover of his own. By the time he was done, Izumo was beaming and blushing and telling him how sweet and considerate Kotetsu was during both missions and their more private encounters. They did seem to be good partners, Iruka assured him, so long as Izumo didn't let himself be pushed into things he was uncomfortable with. And, in Iruka's opinion, if Kotetsu really cared that much then he would accept and understand and not push Izumo in a way that would upset him.
"He's so confident," Izumo sighed. "I feel like I should at least try to be more like him. But I'm not bold like that and...I'm not sure I want to be. Not if it means..."
Having sex in a training ground close to the academy in broad daylight? That was understandable. Iruka tried to maintain a balance between his own idealistic idea of what having a real lover might be like, and Izumo's fears. Kotetsu really was bold and easily bored and Izumo might have good reason to fear he might leave him if he didn't go along with the things he wanted. If Kotetsu really had taken part in a threesome he was far more experienced. There was a legitimate chance he might grow bored if Izumo stood up for himself. Iruka acknowledged that and still stuck to his own beliefs.
"I've never had a lover," Iruka admitted, "but I'm convinced your lover should care as much about you as you care about them. If they don't, they're not the right person for you."
Izumo ducked his head and murmured, "He was my first...and I want..."
"You want him to be your last?" Iruka smiled gently when Izumo flashed him a pained look. "I understand. I hope to find that for myself someday. Kotetsu isn't a bad sort. Most of his boldness seems more playful than anything. He might be far more experienced than you, but," Iruka raised his eyebrows, "he might also be bluffing in order to make himself seem more experienced. Some people think that makes them more attractive. That's something to consider even if you aren't ready to ask him straight out. My first impression after working with him was that he talked a big game, both because he liked the attention and because it gave him a confident front to hide behind. He likes to be liked. If he wants you to like him, then he should be willing to tone himself down for your sake, if that's what you need to feel comfortable to be yourself."
Izumo gave a shy smile, dropping his eyes. "He definitely does that. Tones it down, I mean. He did that a lot when we first got together. These days I really envy how bold and funny and confident he is. I want to be more like that. Not just so he'll stay with me. Honestly, if he wanted to date someone like himself he never would have tried so hard to get me to date him. I just...I'd like to be more like him. Free, you know? But doing it on a training ground was too much. He didn't push me into that. That's not fair to blame it on him. He didn't make me do anything," he said sharply, talking more to himself than to Iruka. "I gave in because I was feeling worried and insecure. I was just being stupid," he scoffed. "A flirt like him is lucky to have someone as stable as me."
Iruka agreed wholeheartedly, but didn't say anything. He had said enough. He might have said a little too much. This probably didn't count as 'putting a good word in' for Kotetsu. But Izumo didn't need a good word to make him want to keep his lover. If Kotetsu didn't see what a great partner and lover he had in Izumo then he didn't deserve him. Uncertainty flared in his chest and he shoved it down viciously. Mizuku could call him gullible. Kakashi could call him naive. He didn't care. His parents had loved each other, therefore love was real. And the world was full of people. There had to be someone out there for each of them. He personally thought Kotetsu and Izumo had found their perfect match, but if not they had good a good chance of finding their perfect match eventually. Life for a shinobi was too short to believe otherwise. That way led to depression and hopelessness, and he refused to accept that possibility. Naive by choice? Maybe so. Better to be optimistic and hopeful than to lie down and die. Yes, there was a wide area in between the two, but he considered that purgatory rather than life. He had spent two painful years floundering in that meaningless gray before latching onto the white with everything he had left. His parents had died for the village, for him, and he would not let their deaths be in vain. He was going to live life his way and make the most of it.
Iruka left Izumo full of self-confidence and optimism. By the time he reached the training ground where he had promised to meet Anko, his feelings had been splintered by doubt. How much of what he had said to Izumo were things he wished someone had said to him the first time Mizuki had pressured him to have sex? Yes, he had eventually learned to simply refuse to step out of his comfort zone, but it had taken a very long time. And while he and Izumo might have some things in common, Kotetsu was nothing like Mizuki. Kotetsu was the sort to badger and tease and then whine and pout when he didn't get his way. He wasn't the sort to get angry and leave over a minor disagreement. Izumo might have enjoyed having someone agree with him and reassure him, but he hadn't really needed a pep talk, certainly not from someone like him. Embarrassment twisted in his stomach and he threw a quick look back over his shoulder. As if he could go back and redo the conversation. It was done. If he had made a fool of himself, there was no taking that back. All he could do was cringe as he recalled the tone of voice he had used, as if he had been talking from a position of authority when Izumo knew far more about being in a real relationship than he did.
"Do you think you're being followed?" asked Anko.
Iruka jumped to find her right beside him. He hadn't been that distracted, she was just that good at moving silently. She was looking suspiciously back along the path he had taken.
"Why would anyone follow me?" he sighed. She might prefer to be sneaky, but he refused to act as if they were doing something illicit. "If you're already feeling paranoid, we should forget about intentionally feeding the rumors. People will say what they want regardless of anything we do. And, honestly, I'm a very bad liar. If we're seen together and someone asks about it, I'm going to tell them the truth. We're comrades and you're helping me with my training."
"That's fine," Anko said dismissively. "You tell the truth. Your explanations are so plausible and mundane that'll make some people even more suspicious as to what you're really hiding. Did you talk to Raidou after I left last night?"
"What? No. I don't think we have even spoken to each other since that one mission. I see him in the mission room now and then, but that's all." He had done his best to avoid catching the man's eye. He had made a habit of doing that with most of the people he and Mizuki had worked under as genin. It was a foolish hope that if he avoided them long enough they might forget about those missions, so if he did interact with them again someday he could do so with a clean slate. He knew how unlikely that was, but it was worth a try.
"Interesting," Anko smiled. "I haven't spoken to him in weeks, yet the morning after I told you why I have never asked him to help with one of my missions he shows up at my door inviting me to help him with one of his. If you hadn't just assured me that you're a bad liar, I might think you're lying."
Iruka didn't like the way she was looking at him. "I'm not lying. I wouldn't betray your trust that way."
"Probably not," she agreed. "You'd have nothing to gain from it. But it's one hell of a coincidence, him showing up like that. Want to know the best part?"
She was trying to get a reaction out of him. Once he realized that, he relaxed a little. Maybe this was just what she did, playing with people like a cat with a mouse for her own amusement. That was something he could get used to. It was just a different brand of teasing, after all.
"I'm curious," said Iruka, "but only if you want to tell me."
He gave a teasing smile of his own, wondering how long it would take her to realize he was more of a turtle than a mouse. One flash of her claws and he would simply stop engaging her and she would have to go find someone else to entertain herself with.
Anko grinned. "Oh, I want to tell you. That's what takes this way past coincidence into downright suspicious territory. According to him, he sought me out because he heard I was the last person who had done a mission with you. He wanted to know why I would take a genin on one of my missions, and he said if I was that hard-up for partners I should have come to him because he can always use someone like me on his own missions. So, really, he only came to invite me on a mission because of you. Isn't that strange? He obviously hasn't been paying attention to you since he didn't even know you had made chunin. But suddenly he's so curious he looked into you and ended up with my name."
This was all Kotetsu and Genma's fault for making such a big deal out of them doing a mission together the morning after his trip to the bar. But Anko wanted their names linked, so that wasn't the problem. The question was why Raidou would look into him before he found out their names had been linked. The timing certainly was suspicious. The only explanation he could think of was that Raidou had heard about that scene at the hospital. If the man was friends with Kakashi he might have been curious enough to look into him. He didn't want to tell Anko about that. But if there were already rumors going around she would hear them eventually. Silence would only buy him a bit of time. Why couldn't people just mind their own business like he did?
He sighed. "I don't know what to tell you. I honestly haven't had any interaction with Raidou since that one mission."
"I believe you about that," Anko said quickly. "I agreed to help him with his mission tonight, so I'll find out why he's suddenly so interested in you. And why he came to me instead of Mizuki. Maybe he couldn't find him."
More likely, Raidou hadn't wanted to deal with Mizuki under any circumstances. Iruka still didn't know why Mizuki had clashed with the man so badly, but Mizuki had burned that bridge and had no interest in building a new one. In this case, Iruka should probably be glad those two didn't get along. If Raidou had gone to Mizuki and mentioned Kakashi's name, he would have arrived home to Mizuki pounding on his door. Iruka might be able to avoid hearing any rumors going around that might tell him more than he wanted to know about Kakashi, but there was no closing his ears to Mizuki when he was in the mood to rant. And he would definitely rant.
"Well?" Anko prodded.
Iruka blinked and frowned at her. "Well, what?"
She sighed, giving him a pitying look. "You're not even curious. What kind of shinobi are you? You're boring, Iruka. Stop it."
He gave a startled laugh. "I'm sorry. I really just prefer to keep my head down. At the moment, all I'm curious about is those chakra sensors. Do you still want to do that today?"
She scoffed, and then tossed him two small scrolls. "Everything you need to know is there. See how far you can get on your own. Raidou needs me to head out tonight, but we should be back sometime tomorrow. I'll stop by your place when I get back and help if you don't get it right."
"I thought the point of this was that you would be training me yourself," Iruka drawled. He didn't mind, really, but this wasn't their agreement.
Anko gave an insulted huff and held her right hand up, showing the ink stains on her fingers and palm. "I wrote those out for you myself. Unlike you, I don't want to be a teacher, so trying to write out a lesson someone else could follow was a major pain in my ass. Don't tell me I'm not doing my fair share. And, since I'm letting you keep the scrolls, you owe me now. You can repay me by treating me to lunch. I want dango. We can sit together on the bench out front and count how many people stare."
"I thought you wanted to be sneaky," said Iruka. "Sitting there, as if we're on a date, would be far more obvious than you being seen entering my apartment."
"Nonsense. It's not like you're going to impregnate me in front of the dango shop." She grinned widely when Iruka sputtered and blushed. "On the other hand, if you blush like that the whole time this might backfire miserably. They'll think I'm the predator and you're my innocent little victim. The idea is for them to think you're interested in me. Man up a little, Iruka. It's going to be okay. I promise not to drop a dango in your lap and accidentally give you a squeeze." She took one look at his face and then laughed so hard she put a hand over her stomach. "Oh, you are something else, alright. Fine, then. You just be yourself. Blush your head off if you need to. That will certainly attract attention. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep a straight face through it, though."
.-.
Genma was conflicted by the time he did the rounds in the last of the evening crush. He hadn't learned anything new about the men on Ibiki's list. Most of them had been working full-time in the T&I building for at least a year. The other two hadn't done a mission in months and those had been solo missions. He might have to do a little investigating outside the mission room to find out who they interacted with in their off time. He could explain how the scroll had ended up in Iruka's hands, though. One of the chunin regulars had held onto it for him, knowing Iruka preferred the solo B-ranks and wanting to return the favor for Iruka's work in the back room. A total coincidence, then. He would need to check the records to see who else had come in that day, before Iruka, who might have asked for that sort of mission. Even if one of those people could be connected to someone on Ibiki's list, it sounded like more of an attempt to sabotage that particular mission than a personal grudge against the person sent on the mission. There was no way to guarantee who received a seemingly random B-rank mission handed out in the mission room, after all. Those were first come first served.
Then there were the rumors. There wasn't even a whisper of what Kakashi had done in the hospital. There were a few worried and frustrated comments about Naruto, most assuming he had gotten into some scrape while roaming loose around the village, and when was the Hokage going to put a stop to that, anyway? The consensus was that the brat should either be enrolled in the academy or given his own mini-class of similar-aged would-be shinobi he could train with because it really wasn't right the way the Hokage kept him isolated when anyone else his age would be interacting with his peers by now. That was a very positive vein that Genma looked forward to informing Ibiki about. Really, the only ones who liked having the Hokage's son isolated were some of the civilians, and Danzou's crowd, of course. Most of the active shinobi felt badly for the village brat and were ready to see him blossom to his full potential. One older jounin even suggested the Hokage should start bringing him along when he put in a morning shift in the mission room, as if that might get him out more and help him behave better. Even the Hokage would get a laugh out of that one. Well, maybe not right now, but once Tsunade was back and Naruto was all healed up, then Minato should be in a position to appreciate the irony of it.
The rumors about Iruka, on the other hand, were all over the place. Genma was tempted to add his own twist after Shizune had cornered him earlier, asking if he knew how to get in touch with Umino-kun because she had heard he was staying in the village for a while and she could really use his help in the mission room. The way she had blushed made Genma want to scoop her up and give her a snuggle. Damn adorable. But Tsunade would be back soon and he liked his teeth right where they were. He was fairly sure those two had a platonic relationship, but that didn't mean Tsunade wouldn't break anyone who dared to upset her assistant. He didn't consider the possibility of Shizune hurting him herself. She was fully capable of it, but she preferred to hide that fact unless dealing with someone who threatened Tsunade herself. She was content to be a sweet loyal dear, flitting between the hospital and the tower, wherever she was needed most at that particular moment. Hardworking didn't begin to cover her dedication. She would be a great wife for Iruka if he really was hoping to settle down and start a family of his own. Her dedication and willingness to throw herself into the work no one else wanted to do was just like Iruka's.
Unfortunately for her, Genma was pretty sure Iruka only liked men...or feisty and adorable and potentially sadistic type women, if Iruka really did have a thing for Anko. Genma didn't think he did, but he was actually starting to wonder if he had misread the man. The potential relationship between Iruka and Anko was the predominant rumor circulating at the moment and Genma didn't know what to make of it.
There was a little talk about Kurenai, but not as much as he had expected. Some of that was because the people who knew her respected her too much to mention her by name when passing along the story about how even jounin women were interested in 'that nice marrying-type chunin' so there must be something interesting about him. Others had convinced themselves she and Asuma were practically married and she wasn't the sort to stray, which made them wonder if it was Asuma who was showing interest in 'that chunin' and how could Asuma do such a thing to a wonderful woman like Kurenai? Genma had almost broken cover and snorted himself into a choking fit the first time he encountered that rumor. Asuma might not have wanted Kakashi's name attached to Iruka's, but he probably didn't want his own attached, either. But that was his own problem for letting Kurenai question people, many of whom hadn't even noticed Iruka's existence until then.
There was no mention of Raidou so far. But he and Anko had worked together before, so maybe he had gone straight to the source to warn her that Kurenai was sniffing around her chunin. Or maybe he had rushed over because he had hopes of hooking up with Anko himself and didn't want to lose her to a nice little chunin like Iruka. The thought of that had Genma removing the senbon from his mouth so he didn't chip a tooth.
Genma was the one who had started the rumor linking Iruka and Anko together, so this was all his fault. He had only done it to tease Iruka and to offer up a rumor even more salacious and unbelievable than the nasty rumor that Iruka was a horny gay sub willing to fuck even the filthiest of lowlifes in an alley. That story kept popping up no matter how many times Genma and others killed it on sight. His original rumor about Anko was so unexpected that even the female shinobi were spreading it. And now that rumor had a life of its own and Anko was going to hate him, and possibly mutilate him at his rate.
Even people who had never dealt with either Iruka or Anko were talking about it. What was that all about? Who was he? Did this mean she really had turned over a new leaf? They had been seen together, so it wasn't just a single mission fueling the talk now. And someone, a female jounin supposedly, was trying to steal that nice well-grounded chunin away from poor lonely Anko? Sides were being formed for and against the idea of it. He can do better, she can do better, does this mean he's available, does this mean she's available? Most of that was minor bickering and curiosity. But there was also the darker underbelly brewing. Those who had heard the alley rumor were of the opinion that Iruka, being a screamer, shouldn't waste his time with Anko when there were plenty of men who could give him something to scream about. Genma did his best to shut that down with a mixture of contempt, disdain, and amusement that anyone would be stupid enough to believe that when everyone knew Iruka was the sort to run straight to the Hokage at the first bruise. Better for those types to think Iruka was a tattle than for them to think he might be available to people like them. As for Anko...
Genma's gut was churning at some of the things being said about her and how she just needed a real man in her bed. If men started hitting on her she was liable to hurt someone and it would be all his fault. He had even heard a female chunin say Anko was so lonely it wasn't right that more of the women hadn't gone out of their way to befriend her and they needed to do something to make up for that as soon as possible. That was just as scary as the interest the men were showing. Random women try to befriend Anko might get as a violent a reaction as random men trying to hit on her would. And if one of those women tried to hit on her? There was no telling what she might do.
He really needed to just suck it up and talk to her. She would be furious to know he had started this, but she had worked with Iruka so she would understand why he had done it. She knew better than most how damaging whispers could be. If she didn't have that nastiness with Orochimaru hanging over her head she could probably do his job better than him. She was going to make a wonderful T&I nin and everyone who mattered knew that. Yes, she would understand. Whether or not she would be willing to forgive him was another matter. Genma wasn't sure if she had ever forgiven him for trying to pick her up back when she had been a genin. It had just been mild flirting on his part, harmless, expected of him, but her reaction had been so severe he had felt guilty for months afterward. She didn't act as if she was still holding a grudge over that, but one never knew with her. She hid her true self as easily as she saw what others were hiding. Genma had never really believed she might hook up with someone like him. He doubted he would ever settle down and she wasn't the sort to play around. But he wanted her to view him as a trusted comrade who had her back. Because he did. If he had been in this job when she returned to the village, no one would ever have known what had happened to her. That was his primary reason for taking this job in the first place, to do his part to protect his comrades, because rumor could do far more damage than truth and was much easier to influence with just a few comments in the right ears.
.-.
TBC