This chapter is pretty short. Sorry. The next will probably be longer; this one's just getting it set up.
Training with Jounin
Chapter 5: The Rules
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Sunshine entered the room through the dusty curtain on the window and illuminated the two bodies wrapped together on the huge, silk covered bed. Iruka stretched out like a cat and awoke. Being a ninja, he didn't open his eyes right away; instead, as was his ritual, he stretched out his senses to feel for any danger. He did so today only out of habit, because in truth, he had never felt so safe. Kakashi's arms were wrapped around him, his skin warming the chuunin pleasantly.
Iruka didn't have anywhere to be and no classes to teach, so he stayed in the bed for a moment, snuggling closer to the jounin beside him. A bruise had formed on Kakashi's shoulder over night, with the indentation of teeth framing it like a picture. Iruka placed a kiss on it, hoping it wouldn't bother the other man greatly. At least it was far down enough that it wouldn't show, especially since the masked man wore turtlenecks year round. It was such a shame, how he covered up that beautiful body…not that Iruka wanted anyone else to see it though. Damn it, he wasn't making any sense. He laid his head back down on Kakashi's chest and listened to heavy breathing as it rose and fell. Iruka was quite sure he could get used to waking up like this, although it might ruin his reputation of never being tardy…
A quick glance at the clock, which was upside down-Kakashi must have put it that way so he could just lean his head back over the bed to see the time, rather than actually getting up, the lazy pervert-which was nearly noon. Despite the exhausting day he'd had yesterday and the late night, the sensei wasn't one of those people who could stay in bed all day. He carefully untangled his limbs from Kakashi's, placed a tiny peck of a kiss on the other's exposed lips, and slid out of bed to retrieve his clothes. A few minutes later, a fully clothed chuunin exited the jounin bachelor apartments, much to the disappointment of a certain naked jounin who frowned at the loss of warmth.
KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI
Iruka had come and gone from his apartment, dropping his filthy clothes into the laundry, showering, and dressing again. As he left, he met Izumo, Tsunade's messenger chuunin at his door.
"Hokage wants you to join her for lunch." He said, and left. The man wasn't very verbose, Iruka thought. Maybe he got paid for the messages he delivered, and was trying to get as many in as he could. Iruka's job seemed a whole lot better to him. Dealing with a room full of eight-year-old killing machines seemed like a walk in the park compared to having to serve the Fifth Hokage's every whim.
"So, how did the training go, Iruka-kun?" Tsunade asked as he transported himself to her office.
"It went well." Iruka replied politely, hoping she wasn't going to embarrass him too much.
"Did you learn any good moves?" She asked slyly. Iruka blushed.
"I'd like to think so."
"Oh, do tell! It's important to keep track of these things, Hokage's duty." Iruka smiled. She wanted to know, did she? Well, ask and you shall receive.
"It was so educational, Hokage-sama! Gai-sensei taught me some of his best youthful moves." He exclaimed, feigning enthusiasm.
"Gai-sensei?" Tsunade said weakly. She turned pale.
"Yes! He and Ebisu-san even demonstrated some great team moves, although they said I'm not flexible enough to do those yet. But they even promised to train with me until I am!"
Tsunade cringed, and began clawing at her ears.
"And Ibiki taught me about some wonderful new ways of interrogating people, and all it takes are a partner, some rocks, and Naruto's sexy-no-jutsu." The words 'Ibiki' and 'sexy-no-jutsu' used together in a sentence struck the killing blow for the leader of Konoha.
"Stop! Stop! I won't ask any more questions, just please, stop! The images, they're worse than the things that Jiraiya thinks up!" Iruka smirked. Today had to be one of the best he'd ever had. Waking up beside a drop-dead sexy shinobi and driving the most powerful ninja in the village to her knees before lunchtime. And the Hokage even had lunch ready for both of them, so there was free food in the equation too!
"But seriously, do you think the training went well?" The Hokage asked, looking ready to cover her ears should he mention Ibiki again. "I know Sandaime had great trust in you, and I want to know your opinion."
"I think it went very well, Hokage-sama. The jounin weren't going all out, but they got to practice their skills, and more importantly, they were kept entertained."
"That's good. Help yourself to some food, Iruka-kun." Iruka and Tsunade ate and discussed the happenings of Konoha. Tsunade really did value Iruka's input, even if she did love tormenting the man, and not only because he was one of the friends of her Sarutobi-sensei. He was caring, had common sense, and was willing to offer advice on tough issues. The discussion they had over lunch saved her at least two hours worth of research she would have had to done before signing documents about some new academy policy. Now she could get off early and maybe hit the casinos!
"Thank you, Iruka-kun. Let me know if there's ever anything you need." She told him, thanking and dismissing the chuunin at the same time.
"Actually, Tsunade-sama, there is one thing you might do. I was wondering if there are any records of the original rules for Jounin Jailbreak in the Village's Library."
"I'll look into that for you, Iruka-kun. Now go on, I've got important business to attend to." 'Slot machine, here I come!' She thought to herself.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. Good luck!" He said, disappearing.
KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI
Iruka walked down the street, planning on hunting down Naruto and taking him for ramen. This plan didn't last though, due to an unfortunate kidnapping by one Yuuhi Kurenai. She dragged him into an empty alleyway and sat him down on a wooden box.
"What did you do to him?" She asked. Iruka had to wonder, what was it with women interrogating him today?
"What did I do to who, Kurenai-san?" He was generally confused.
"Kakashi! What did you do to Kakashi! He just came to me saying that he thought he made the worst mistake of his life last night, and I want to know what's going on." Iruka's heart sank. 'The worst mistake of his life?' His entire body went cold.
"Well?" Kurenai asked, tapping her foot.
Iruka's misery quickly turned to anger. "The worst mistake of his life! That bastard! He sure as hell wasn't complaining last night!" Iruka gripped a kunai so hard that his knuckles went white.
"Wait. I'm not saying he didn't enjoy it, Iruka-kun! He thought he'd made a mistake because you didn't like it."
"What? Of course I liked it. It was the best night of my life." Iruka was about to go into more detail, until he remembered exactly what he was talking about, and with whom. He quickly clamped his mouth shut and flushed.
"Then why did you run off? He was convinced you regretted it. That's why he thought it was a mistake." Oh. That was all? Iruka laughed.
"I don't have any regrets, Kurenai. I just got up because I don't like to stay in bed all day, and then the Hokage called me in to talk. I enjoyed myself very much last night."
"Oh." Kurenai was silent for a moment. Then she let out a whoop of excitement. "Yes! I'm a goddess! The match-making GODDESS!" She did a little victory dance in front of a stunned chuunin sensei.
"What are you talking about, Kurenai-san?" He finally asked. Female jounin were a scary, unfathomable lot.
"Kakashi is so hopeless when it comes to romance. He's never had a real relationship, can you believe it? Mind, you're almost as bad, with this lack of communication and these misunderstandings floating around, but at least I didn't have to shove you though a window with a note pinned to your lapel to get you to ask him out." That would explain the cheering outside of his window when he'd agreed.
"That was you, then? I was wondering."
"Yes. I had to help him out. He's been mooning over you for months now, but he wouldn't have ever asked you out on his own. His plan was to kidnap you for a first date. I've had to tell him what to do every step of the way."
Iruka found that kind of endearing, in a disturbing sort of way. Kakashi was so clueless about relationships. No wonder he acted like a small child every time he asked Iruka to do something date-y, like eating dinner with him or walking him home. And he could just see Kurenai having to drill instructions into his head so he'd know what to do and not mess anything up. It was cute.
"He really cares about you, Iruka. He doesn't open up to people very often, so don't hurt him."
"I won't, Kurenai. I care about him too." Kurenai smiled. Then she gasped.
"You shouldn't be telling me this! Kakashi still thinks you don't like him! You have to find him and tell him before he does something stupid!"
"I just need to know one thing first." Iruka said. He asked his question. Kurenai and Iruka whispered to one another for a few minutes.
A polite cough interrupted Kurenai and Iruka's discussion. They turned around to find the chuunin Izumo, holding out a report. Iruka took it from him.
"Thank you." He told him. Izumo transported himself away. Iruka began flipping through the report, eyes flashing across each page. '
"What is that?" Kurenai asked. Iruka held up the cover of the report for her to see: 'The History of Jounin Jailbreak.'
"Perfect." Iruka said, as he found what he was looking for.
"What?"
"I just found something that the others might find very interesting. Kurenai, could I ask you a favor? I need you to gather up everyone who was at the games and have them meet me at the forbidden area as soon as they can."
Kurenai nodded. "Just promise me you'll work things out with Kakashi." She said.
"I will. Have him come to the forbidden area and I'll take care of everything." He said. She disappeared. Iruka re-read the passage from the report. Perfect! This really was the best day of his life. He scrambled to get up off of the box he'd been sitting on, and sprinted for the forbidden area.
KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI
The jounin whispered to each other excitedly, speculating as to why they had been asked to gather. No one seemed to know, and Kurenai, who had gathered them all, was refusing to tell.
Genma and Raido were a bit peeved, considering what Kurenai had interrupted with her message. She'd caught them in a compromising situation, and had relayed the rendezvous information by writing it on a bit of paper, tying it onto a kunai, and blindly tossing it into their bedroom (hey, she'd already caught quite an eyeful when she'd glanced in the first time to see of they were home!). The fact that the paper she'd written the note on happened to be an exploding tag didn't help matters, either.
Asuma didn't join in on the conversation, but it wasn't because he was angry. Asuma was giddy, actually. He was caught in a day dream. 'I wonder if it unravels.' He thought. The object of his wonder was Kurenai's bandage dress. Could he unravel it? Would he start at the bottom, if it could, pulling away those hindersome strips of cloth to reveal her smooth, pale thighs? Or would it be better to work his way down, unveiling her firm breasts first? A drop of blood snaked its way down Asuma's nose, unnoticed by the smoking jounin. He was thinking about the girl of his dreams, and petty things like nosebleeds weren't going to stop him.
Kakashi was smiling again, although with his mask firmly in place, the expression wasn't really visible. It didn't matter, though, because Kurenai had told him that he had nothing to worry about, and she was the goddess of match-making. Iruka was going to come and work everything out. Speaking of Iruka, there he was now, waving his arms to get everyone's attention.
KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI
Iruka almost fainted when he saw Kakashi in the clearing of the forbidden area. He wasn't wearing his usual turtleneck. He wasn't even wearing sleeves. The man was wearing an ANBU tank top, the only piece of clothing he owned that could reveal that not-so-little love mark he'd left on his shoulder. He'd known that the jounin wasn't as shy about things like that as he was, but he hadn't expected him to flaunt it like some sort of badge! Genma and Raido were looking from it to Iruka, and back and forth again. Raido patted Kakashi on his back with a chuckle, while Genma pointed at it and shouted, "Hey Iruka, did you do that? Damn, out academy sensei is a little minx!"
Iruka blushed and coughed loudly, calling for silence. He glared at Genma and then addressed the crowd.
"A discrepancy about the rules of the game Jounin Jailbreak has been brought to my attention." He said. The jounin gave him blank stares. He tried again. "There's a rule of the game I think you should know about."
He held up the report the Hokage had provided him with. "These are the records of the first Jounin Jailbreak. It says right here, 'The game began at noon and continued until the sun began to set.'" The crowd was silent.
"So?" A jounin finally asked. "What's that to us?"
"I was caught after the sun began to set." Iruka replied, seeing understanding dawning on some of the jounin's faces. "Technically, we made a mistake. The hiding team should have won."
The members of the seeking team looked at each other. They communicated silently, shrugging and nodding. Kurenai spoke up.
"Alright then. Since you won, you'll be given the prize. One night of whatever you want. Is that acceptable?"
The hiding team cheered, all except for Iruka, who waved once again for silence.
"Actually, in all logic, our one night would only serve to cancel out the night that your team wrongfully took. In order for us to really gain anything from our victory, we'd have to be awarded a second night. Otherwise, we won't have won anything, which would make the game totally pointless. I propose we be granted an extra night…unless anyone on my team has any objections?" He looked straight at Asuma.
"I'm all for it. Kurenai made the first move. I'm not holding anything back now." Once the catcalls died down, the seeking team went back to conversing about the new demands. This time, Kakashi spoke for the group.
"We accept your terms, Iruka-sensei." He said with a sweeping bow. He reached out to touch the chuunin, but Iruka was swept away in a tide of his exalting team. They placed him on their shoulders and paraded around, reveling in their unexpected victory.
"You are GOD, Iruka!" Genma shouted.
"I'm going to find out if it unravels!" Asuma exclaimed happily, to the confusion of all.
Iruka performed a quick replacement jutsu, leaving a henged log on the shoulders of his teammates. He made his way away from the rowdy bunch and back into the village.
Kakashi appeared beside him a moment later, having followed his chakra-signature.
"I suppose you don't have any regrets if you're bargaining for two more nights of it." He said to the chuunin. Iruka shook his head.
"No regrets."
"In that case, how about I get started on paying you back for that night I 'stole'?" He offered with a lecherous smirk.
"Kakashi, it's only two o'clock. I think it's a little early to be getting started on the night I've won."
"Ah, but being early had many virtues!" he chirped. Iruka stared at him. "…which I wouldn't know about. Ok, I'm not the most punctual of ninja, but it's never too late to start good behavior, right?" His eyes were begging. Was he still worried that Iruka hadn't enjoyed having sex with him? Iruka hadn't known that Kakashi was so insecure about this. He glanced around to make sure they were alone. His quick search revealed no one, so he pulled down that pesky mask and claimed Kakashi's mouth in a not-so-innocent kiss.
"Kakashi, I promise you that we'll tackle this prize early, but I need some time to get things ready. Meet me at Ichikaru's and we'll grab a bite to eat at five, then we'll get started." Kakashi nodded. He was like a child waiting for Christmas.
"Five o'clock. Understood. Unless we want to grab an early dinner, about four? Or even three-thirty; I haven't eaten yet!"
"Kakashi!" Iruka said, using his oft-feared teacher voice. "We're eating at five, and if you try to come by before then, I'll have you cleaning my house for the entire night!" Kakashi hung his head down and nodded.
"Yes sensei." He muttered, and disappeared. He reappeared a moment later with his mask down, stole a quick, breath-taking kiss, and was gone before Iruka even had time to scold him. Iruka caught his breath again and ran back to his apartment. He had to get everything ready.
KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI KxI
The Conversation he had with Kurenai
"I need to know one thing first." Iruka told her. "Kakashi could have used his night to do whatever he wanted, but instead, he let me choose what I wanted and he made the whole night about pleasing me. I want to do something to thank him for that, but I don't know what. What would he like, Kurenai?"
Kurenai thought back to Iruka's question as she walked away from planning how and when Asuma would claim his prize. It made her glad. Kakashi was going to be okay with Iruka. They might both be clueless about romance and oblivious to the world, but they cared for each other so much that it brought out the squealing fan-girl in her, a battle-hardened jounin kunoichi. She hoped Kakashi would enjoy what she had suggested. She had a feeling he would love anything Iruka did (as long as it involved at least a slight bit of nudity), but this, this was really going to take the cake.
But enough of speculating about other peoples' relationships! She had her own to worry about. She wanted to show Asuma the best part about her bandage dress- it had always been a secret fantasy or hers to have him unravel it off of her. But should she have him start from the top or from the bottom…?
She'd find out tomorrow how the two love birds fared.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Yes, this chapter is pretty short, but the next one will be pleasantly citrus flavored (though probably not a full-fledged lemon; sorry to disappoint). I'll have more time to write over the weekend.
Tee hee. Tsunade's reaction to involving Gai, Ebisu, and Ibiki are based off of some of the horrified reactions I gotfrom putting them into pairings!
Teaser for next chapter: Icha Icha vol 6; that's all you're getting' from me!