* author's notes at the end of the story - contains explanations, in case you don't understand the story *

disclaimer : NARUTO and all the characters and stuff related to it, are not mine.

don't forget to write a review after reading this!

* this story contains SHOUNEN - AI *

if you are in any way homophobic, i advise you not to read this.

* the story seems angsty at first, but i swear that this fic is NOT angsty ... *

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Paradise

by anata

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It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. Iruka stood atop a cliff, breathing in the fresh air that wafted by. The wind was changing. It would soon be time for the seasons to shift - time for the birds to fly south for the winter. He felt good hearing the birds' hauntingly beautiful melodies, whose tunes reminded him of summers long ago. It was a refreshing change from being stuck in a stuff old classroom all day long. He felt almost completely free - almost. He had finally found the perfect day and the perfect spot. With nobody around for miles upon miles, it was absolutely perfect.

' It's the perfect day for me to die.'

He had dreamt of this day for so long. No - he had actually planned this. He wasn't going to fool himself by pretending that this was all an accident. With each step he took up the rocky mountain trail, in his heart, he knew what was going to happen. He didn't need to be a psychic to predict his destiny. Really, he just wanted to get over this life, and hopefully, if the gods permit, move on to the next life. He NEEDED to escape from this world, and from the nightmares he faced every night.

' I wonder if I'll ever see paradise? '

Ever since his parents had died, Iruka faced terrors beyond the comprehension of any other sane person. His original fear of the dark had evolved into a monster that tormented his sleep. He had began to hear voices at night - voices which resounded with screams high and piercing into the night. But only he could hear them, and only at night. Was he going mad? Maybe. It was only much later on when he recognized the voices. These were the sounds imbedded into his mind that fateful day he witnessed the nine-tailed demon fox chew his parents into tiny bloody morsels. With his very eyes he saw his parents skulls being crushed in a thousand pieces, while their bodies were swallowed into the massive creature's belly. The voices he heard that night were the cries of fear and pain of the ninjas who had lost their lives that day, including his own parents. The screams, on the other hand, were in fact his own. They were the manifestations of the terror he went through every single time he closed his eyes.

' I don't want to be alone.'

But nobody really cared. That was when Iruka realized how alone he truly was. No matter what he tried to say or do, nobody would ever actually listen to him. He was just an orphan ... and after a few years, a teacher. Now, in just a few seconds, he would be nothing more than a bloody corpse lying on the pretty flower -strewn field that lay beneath the cliff. He was the flaw, the mistake in this whole picturesque scene. His broken bones and deep red blood would soon marr the perfection around him. At least his corpse could be of some ecological value if and when some wild animals chanced upon it. As least he would be feeding some animals.

' I doubt that anyone would try stopping me, even if they happened to see me right now. '

He took one last look around him, savoring the view all around him, as a starving man would savor a meal. With a deep breath, Iruka stepped closer to the edge. Just one more step, and he would finally find the salvation from his nightmares. Just one more step and he would finally be free. Just one more step, and maybe, just maybe, he would find paradise. He had no more hesitations. With one thought in mind, he was ready.

' Paradise. '

Iruka closed his eyes and fell.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kakashi walked cheerfully along a narrow stone path that lead to one of his favoritie spots near the village. It was a secluded area that seemingly he alone knew about. He had just come from the bookstore, and had just purchased a book called ' Come Come Paradise ', that had been placed on the new arrivals section, the minute he had walked in. The moment his eyes had caught sight of the cover picture which depicted a man lustfully chasing a giggling woman, he knew that this book would be ' the ONE '. But then again, the last twenty or so books he had bought had all deceived him into thinking that they were the ultimate book. Only time would tell, but this new book seemed very promising. On the back of the book, instead of a summary of the story, there was only a short message from the author.

" Buy this book. If you do, say ' come come paradise ' three times, and paradise will

really come to you. If it doesn't, well, then buy yourself a bowl of beef ramen. "

Seeing this message intrigued Kakashi, so he purchased it regardless of his lack of knowledge of the any plot whatsoever. As he walked, he gleefully shouted " Come come paradise ! " several times, and waited. Of course, nothing actually happened. It wasn't like he really expected something to happen right? Paradise wouldn't actually come just because of that. He was slightly disappointed, but this didn't diminish his excitement to read the book.

Finally, Kakashi reached his destination, and picked a comfortable spot amidst the grass. He sat down ( indian sit style ) and flipped open the novel to a random page. His eyes began to quickly skim over the words, occasionally guffawing and reading out loud certain parts he found interesting.

" Hmmm ... The handsome hero with the amazing butt strode into the battle field, his

long wavy hair blowing in the wind. His bare chest, ah what a lovely muscular chest,

was glistening like a million diamonds in the sky. The sweat trickled down, flowing

into crevices within. No one could take his eyes away from sexy man. No one could

take their eyes off the hunky form of the hero - more specifically, the gigantic bulge that

was threatening to overcome - ... "

' What a load of crap this is. At least it's amusing. I should try that some time.' - thought Kakashi to himself, as he tried to envision that moment in the story, with himself as the ' hero '. ' I wonder what would happen if I grew my hair long and went to work without my shirt on? Hahaha, all the other ninjas would probably swoon - or maybe not. But how the hell does one make his chest sparkle like diamonds? Ah, life is so wonderful, with its many unaswerable mysteries. I should ask the Hokage, maybe he knows how. '

Kakashi flipped farther ahead and continued reading once more.

" Oh baby, your sword is just sooo huge. It the first time that I've seen a tool that long

and wide. I - I'm so afraid just looking at it, but baby, I really want to take it and ram it

into my waiting - "

Kakashi grinned happily and doggy-eared the page. At least it was getting good, but he wanted to read on further. A couple of good sex scenes in a book will not necessarily make it his all -time favorite book. There has to be that something special about it. He paused for a moment to enjoy his surroundings. He had been pleasantly surprised to wake up that morning with the sun shining brightly on his unmasked face. The past few days had been cloudy, once in a while peppered with some light showers. Today was the first sunny day in weeks. He had vowed to enjoy such a beautiful day. With renewed enthusiasm, he resumed his reading.

" ' No! ' cried the hero as he watched his beloved being carried away be the evil fiend with

the mustache. ' My love! My sexy gorgeous beloved love with the big boobs! I will find

you! Even if it takes me a hundred thousand years in bondage training, I will find you and

ravage your sweet sweet lips once more. If only I had the strength! If only I had a better

weapon, something longer, long enought to reach out and touch you. It's my

grandfather's fault. His tool was just too small. I must have gotten mine from him.

WHY? ' He fell to the ground sobbing his heart into the dusty arid ground. He had just

lost the love of his life - he could do nothing but despair ... and despair, and despair.

With a burst of lightning shock, he realized that his chest no longer sparkled. Now, it

merely shone. Oh, the woes he had to endure. Won't somebody help him? Suddenly,

a feather dropped down from the sky, followed by a hundred more pristine white feathers

from high above. The hero looked up into the sky, carefully shielding his eyes from the

harsh sunlight. ' Could it be? Could it be the mating season of the birds? Sob, I will

probably never be getting any, now that my beloved has been taken by that bastard

donkey trainer. The birds probably get more sugar than I do - GASP! No! It's - it's - it's

an angel! It's an angel falling from the sky! I must - "

With a snort of derision, Kakashi closed the book. He could accept the part about glistening chests, gigantic bulges, small tools, and even birds in mating season - but angels? ... falling from the sky? That was something that would NEVER ever happen. This book was just too much.

' This must be the dumbest book in the world. Ha! Angels falling from the sky - oh yeah, when pigs have wings. That's about as possible as humans being able to - '

Kakashi's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he noticed the shadow that had fallen upon the area he was sitting. He looked up into the sky and caught sight of ...

' Oh my god! It's true! The fricking book was telling the truth! There are ANGELS! There really are - OOOMPH! "

That so-called ' angel ' landed on Kakashi, almost knocking him breathless. Almost, but not quite. It was when Kakashi looked at what had fallen on him, that he truly had his breath taken away.

The angel - no, PERSON, in his arms was absolutely gorgeous. The person gave a little moan before opening his eyes. The first thing Iruka caught sight of was one eye. The other eye was covered. Iruka couldn't quite comprehend why he was only seeing one eye, but then again, he didn't really care since he was already drowning into the warm depths of that one eye. He couldn't really understand what had happened. Just a few seconds ago, he had stood atop a cliff, on the brink of death, and now ... here he was in the arms of a complete stranger.

" Is - is this paradise? " asked Iruka weakly. He was feeling somewhat guilty for enjoying the feeling of being held in someone's arms. He didn't really want this feeling to end, but he had to ask. Maybe he had really died. Maybe he really was in paradise.

Kakshi smiled. This person he was carrying was really too adorable for words.

" No, I'm afraid it's not paradise. But it can be. Hi, my name is Kakashi. What's yours ? "

" ... "

" You're really cute you know. "

" Eh? "

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

" Come come paradise.

Come come paradise.

Come come paradise. "

That was the day ' Come Come Paradise ' became Kakashi's favorite book. That was also the day Kakashi's hair turned gray. ( from shock ^_^ ) ... and that was the day both Kakashi and Iruka, found paradise with each other.



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END

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* author's notes *

( just in case you didn't get it ) :

1. this fic began with iruka's point of view, then it shifted to kakashi's point of view

2. no, this isn't an ANGSTY fic ... it just began that way ... it's actually meant to be a romantic/comedy

3. yes, this is shounen-ai ( kakashi / iruka ... and yes, there's some hints of hetero sex stuff )

4. iruka committed suicide, but he ended up not dead because kakashi just happened to be where iruka

landed ( wow, such coincidences can only happen in fanfics ! ^_~ )

and in case you read the fic and are wondering :

1. NOPE, the stuff i mentioned there about kakashi's book ' Come Come Paradise ' have no actual

basis to them ... I just made all that stuff up about the hero, the birds, angel, tools, and all ... I really

have no idea what is written in that book ... nor do I know when did kakashi buy that book

2. I'm really just kidding about kakashi's hair turning gray that day.

3. I wrote this fic because I wanted to give a ( non - perverted ) reason as to why kakashi loves that

book so much, in addition to the perverted reason of course !

4. this story is set before iruka met naruto, before the anime series, etc.

... and yes, i know quite well that there are some people out there who dislike / abhor fics that contain shounen - ai or yaoi couples ... sigh, PLEASE, instead of flaming me about your homophobic tendencies, constructive comments and criticism would be nice ...

... as for those who took the time to write a review for me previous naruto fic entitled ' GIFT ', thanks you very very much! ... those reviews were really appreciated ! ... MWAH!

REVIEWS would be lovely. - anata