Title: Wishes Are Free
Author: Cheza-chan
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Pairing: KakaIru, SasuNaru
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto—oh, I wish I did—but I own Kan'you, all the characters of the Hidden Wave Village. I own the Hidden Wave Village because I created it! I own the Hidden Wave Village's special jutsus, etc.
A/N: My reviews are dwindling! (sniffles) The thought of people reading my story, enjoying it, but not reviewing raises my spirits, but then also makes me sad, because... well, I don't know if anyone read it! (cries Niagara Falls) Please... reviews keep me going... because I have low self-esteem... and I think my work sucks... and if reviews stop, then I know it sucks... and I won't write again for the rest of my natural-born life...
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Chapter Six - The Many Faces of Sharingan Kakashi‡‡‡
Kakashi sat up as the front door downstairs opened; he knew Sakura had been down there and would have given him notice of her departure. His fingers wrapped around the kunai in his holster and he placed one foot firmly on the floor, the other one on the bed, knee bent.
Iruka peeked around the corner, smiling. "Sakura let me in. She also said to tell you she stepped out."
"Aa." The Jounin relaxed and sat back down, eyebrow raised. "Iruka... what are you doing here?"
The brunet smiled innocently, a faint blush on his cheeks, and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He slowly headed toward the bed, shedding his flak jacket along the way. Kakashi drew his leg up under him, seriously questioning whether some enemy shinobi was trying to do him in—in more ways than one.
The Chuunin placed a hand to the scarecrow's shoulder, easing him back onto the bed and straddling him. "Kakashi..." He hooked his fingers into the other man's shirt, lifting it off.
Kakashi grabbed Iruka's hand as he reached for his mask, visible eye narrowed.
The dolphin smiled coyly and nudged the forehead protector out of the way, placing a kiss to the corner of the Sharingan eye. "Kakashi," he whispered seductively, tracing his lips over the soft material of the mask. He took it between his teeth and gently tugged.
‡‡‡
"Get up!"
The Jounin groaned loudly, placing his forearm over his face. Sakura threw open the curtains, smiling broadly. She looked over her shoulder and frowned. "Get up," she repeated.
Kakashi whined, rolling over. "Five more minutes, Sakura-chan. I was having an incredible dream..."
"About Iruka-sensei!"
'God. I'm becoming just like Sasuke and Naruto.' The man yelped as he was tossed from the bed, landing roughly on the hard floor. Sakura smiled cheekily as she shook out the covers and folded them. She placed the square on a pillow after fixing them both, and began remaking the bed.
Kakashi struggled back into his bed, curling up with his pillow, ignoring Sakura's deadly glare. "Make your old man breakfast, Sakura-chan," he sighed, rubbing his cheek against the soft material.
"What about breakfast at Iruka-sensei's?" the girl murmured, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. "Since you dream about him, you must wish to see him."
"Not allowed over there until next week, unless..." The visible eye stared up at the girl and cloud of smoke appeared on the bed. Sakura snorted as she stared at her new twin.
"Wish me luck," the second pink-haired Genin laughed, springing from the bed.
"You're going to ruin me!" The original Sakura shook her head and smoothed out the sheets she'd just tucked back in, then replaced the pillow at the top of the bed, listening to the door slam shut in her copy's hurry.
"Iruka-sensei!"
"Hmm?" The Chuunin looked up from his book, and smiled at the girl. "Sakura."
"Kakashi-sensei refuses to wake up," Sakura started in an explanation. "But even if he had, breakfast would be whatever instant meals were in the cupboards." 'Actually, it would've been milk from the fridge.'
"Hai, hai," Iruka chuckled. "Wakata. The boys are in the kitchen. See if they left anything."
"Un." She disappeared into the kitchen, instantly losing the script that had been mentally prepared as combined delectable scents assaulted her nose. She searched the cupboards until a plate was located and attacked the pots.
Naruto, who sat on the counter the sink was built into, shared a looked with Sasuke and then they both glanced at the back of their pink-haired teammate. "Sakura-chan..." the blonde murmured, squinting. The girl ignored him and continued filling her plate.
"I thought you were always concerned about your weight," Sasuke commented with a scoff. If anything, girls were always worried about their size. His eyes narrowed when no angry retort came and he flung a kunai at the girl. Sakura tilted her head to the side and Iruka smiled at the dull thud in the wall. Even though he'd warned the Jounin not to come back over, he always managed to liven up a dull morning.
Kakashi took his plate to the table, then glanced at the children. Naruto was grinning and staring, hands pressed between his legs on the countertop. Sasuke was just being "observant". The silver-haired shinobi picked back up his plate and headed into the hall leading to the front door, glancing into the den. "Iruka-sensei—"
"Take it and bring it back."
"You're so generous."
The dolphin shook his head with a snort and resumed his reading. He pretended not to hear the door open just moments after closing, but the extra body in the den was unnerving and he looked up. Kakashi was holding the fork he'd left with, but there was no trace of the plate.
"Your tab just increased. You can eat in here," Iruka added as he stood after closing the book around his finger to keep his spot.
"Domo, domo."
"Aa." He walked by the Jounin and headed up to his room for some privacy. He made a dog-ear on the page and placed the book on the nightstand beside his bed. As it was impossible to hate Naruto, Kakashi fell into the category. 'Because you like them both,' his subconscious whispered. Iruka sat at his surprisingly uncluttered desk and opened a folder labeled Academy.
It contained the statistics of the three-man Genin teams—including their leader, the Chuunins, and the remaining Jounins. He was also included in the file. Umino Iruka. Chuunin. Two sons. Separated. A twenty-five-year-old teacher knowledgeable in Genjutsu and Ninjutsu. That was the gist of it.
The dolphin flipped through the sheets until he came to Shuku May. Special Jounin. Single. The thirty-one-year-old founder of the Hidden Village of Wave. She, along with her father, taught those who would become Jounins for the Academy.
Iruka blinked. "Shuku-san has never spoken of her father," he murmured. "There's no mention of him passing. There's no mention of either of her parents..." 'At least mine says deceased.' He shut the folder, crossing his arms over it, and placed his head down atop them. 'I need a day of peace... A day with no worries...' He turned his head to other side with a groan, brow furrowing. He knew his wish was impossible; most wishes usually are.
The young dolphin had just begun drifting off when his door opened, making every muscle in his body go rigid with anticipation of a fight.
"I'm not going to attack you," the Jounin sighed. "I was just checking up on you. You were up here for over forty-five minutes and I thought there might've been something on your agenda that you needed to do."
"There was!" Iruka jumped up, muttering angrily as the folder and its entire contents tumbled fell. "No, no... This was supposed to go out to Shuku-san thirty minutes ago."
Kakashi took the folder in one hand and Iruka with the other. "I'll take it. You need to rest," he informed the young man.
"No. Kakashi..." Iruka ran his hand over his bushy ponytail, tugging at its end, and dragged his feet as the scarecrow direction him towards the bed. "These are... documents... I'm the only one..."
"Rest."
The Chuunin blinked in surprise as he felt the other's cloth-covered lips on his. He sighed deeply and sank onto the bed, hanging his head. There was a puff of transformation smoke and he rose his head long enough to witness himself, then fell backwards. The standing brunet grinned, tapped the folder in his hand once, and disappeared.
Iruka slid an arm out of his flak jacket as he rolled over, turning his face to the soft pillow. 'I'm not sure if they qualify as kisses, but that would be the second one he's given me...' He smiled sheepishly, blushing, and closed his eyes.
§§§
"Shuku-san?"
May turned away from her large window with a smile to see the Chuunin standing in her doorway, an embarrassed blush present on his features.
"Iruka-kun."
"I apologize for being so late, but..."
"Don't worry about it. Do you have them?"
"Hai." The young man stepped into the room and crossed to the window, standing beside her.
She took the folder and opened it, thumbing through the many papers. "Did you look at it..."
"Ha—"
"Neku," she finished, looking up with a smirk.
"Iie," the man chuckled, transforming into the blonde Jounin. "Iruka-sensei had overworked himself, so I put him to bed and took it upon myself to bring these important and confidential documents."
May chuckled, tilting and shaking her head. "Send Iruka-kun my regards."
"Hai, hai." Kentan bowed and backed out of the room, closing the door. The woman shook her head and resumed her inspection of the files. Kentan tucked his hands into his pockets as he took the stairs two at a time, whistling softly.
"Someone sounds happy."
He stopped just before the corner and noticed Tenko had been going up in the opposite direction. She laughed at his surprised look of being caught in the act of expressing his feelings so flagrantly and continued upward to speak with her supervisor.
The light-haired Jounin kept all sounds to himself, and, with lips pressed thinly, made his way back to the house, deciding to take the long way. Before he stepped beyond the Academy gates, he transformed back into Iruka, curious to see what kind of life the young man led with the public.
His first confrontation was with the mother and the daughter of the corner flower store. "Mama! Mama! It's Iruka-sensei!" The bright-eyed little hid behind her mother, blushing as she stared out at the passing Chuunin.
"Risa," the woman sighed. She turned back to the teacher, bowing while holding her loose chestnut hair out of the way. "She just adores you. Left up to her, all flowers would go to you."
Iruka laughed, scratching the bridge of his nose. "My house would smell wonderful with so many flowers, but there's not enough room. Especially with two rowdy boys." He walked over and knelt, tilting his head to stare around the woman to the child. "Thank you, Risa-chan, for thinking about me."
The child turned crimson red and hid her face in her mother's skirt. Iruka straightened up and stared around at the selection. 'Maybe I should get something for the real Iruka-sensei.' "Risa-chan, what do you think I would like best?"
"Lilies," was the muffled reply.
The Chuunin nodded to the mother, smiling. "Three of every color you have."
"Hai!"
The flowers were selected, wrapped by Risa's hands, and paid for. Iruka waved to the mother and child and turned around to face forward. He stared at the bouquet in his hand and smiled brightly, waving them around. The disguised Jounin stopped as he was struck with an idea and ducked into a nearby alley. He took to the roofs until he made it back to their street, then jumped down, transforming.
Sasuke looked up as the door opened. If it had been permitted, he would've been out sparring with someone rather than sitting in some house doing nothing but watch Naruto doodle all over everything. He stood as a diminutive figure rushed by the entrance, then relaxed as he recognized the chakra. 'He's worse off than I am.'
Skipping up the stairs, Risa came to Iruka's room. She pushed open the door and peeked inside. Giggling at the sight of the brown-haired young man wrapped in the covers, she tiptoed to the bed and laid the bouquet down on the nightstand. The child lifted herself up onto the bed and placed a kiss to the Chuunin's cheek, causing him to stir from his slumber. "Shuku-san sends her regards."
"Hai... Risa-chan..." Dark eyes reopened and Iruka found himself staring up at the silver-haired Jounin. "Kakashi... was there just..." He shook his head and caught sight of the flowers. 'He brought me flowers...' Blushing, Iruka buried his face in the pillow and resumed sleep.
Kakashi chuckled softly at the other's disorientation and decided he had spent enough time away from Sakura and left, leaving the door open.
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A/N: Hey-lo! Maybe I should threaten my readers with continuous short chapters such as this one... ¬¬ Yes, it is short, because it doesn't even constitute as 2,000 words. Give me reviews! (stomps her foot) Meh... this chapter comes with another one because, like I said, it's short.
Mm! Also... crabapplered. I can't see the image...! Fanfiction-net is crappy that way with imagery. And I really wanna see it too! (rolls around)
