Me: Hi again I have a question. Does anyone know any reputable sites that deal with Irish legends? Like, the old ones? I need to know for a paper I'm doing in class (I don't want all of my sources to be from the college web site or from the library…) and I'll try and polish chapter 8 up a little when I have the time….
Iruka sat silently with team seven in Kakashi's room. They had had to wait longer in the waiting room then any of them would have liked, though none would admit it to anyone but themselves. Kakashi had been in the operating room for a long time. As far as they could get from the doctors, he had a couple of broken ribs, there had been minor internal bleeding, and many bruises and lacerations, along with major chakra drain.
Iruka had requested three more chairs be brought to the room, predicting a long stay. Hours had passed since then, and they hadn't left Kakashi's bedside save the one time Iruka had forced them all to the ramen stand for lunch. No one had eaten much, not even Naruto.
The sun had long since set, and Iruka was beginning to doze in the chair nearest the bed, his back leaning against the hard, cold wall, when he felt a warm weight settle gently into his lap. Opening his eyes, he met the sad, worried gaze of the Kyuubi holder.
"Will Kakashi-sensei be alright?" Naruto questioned softly so as not to rouse the rooms other two occupants, both of whom were already asleep in their respective chairs. Iruka had tried to force them to go home for the night, but none had complied, arguing that if Iruka was allowed to stay, they, as Kakashi's students, should be allowed to stay as well.
Iruka sighed and ruffled the blond locks tiredly as the boy shifted positions on his lap to find a more comfortable spot.
"He's a legendary jounin. Of course he'll be fine. He's probably had wore injuries many times before. He just needs to rest and regain his chakras, that's all." Naruto nodded, looking back over at his current sensei as he leaned further into his former one.
"He just doesn't look like…..like Kakashi-sensei. He doesn't look like himself….."
Iruka looked down at the boy as blue eyes closed sleepily. Naruto was right.
His gaze slid back up to the man lying prone in the bed next to him, chest rising and falling shallowly, painfully. It didn't look like Kakashi. For some reason the truth in Naruto's words struck him harder than he would have thought they would.
It…..hurt.
It hurt to see the man he had yelled at, he had hit just the day before, the man who infuriated him no end, and yet, in some masochistic way, though he would never admit it out loud, fascinated him no end. The man who was one of the legends of the village, who was hardly ever seen without slouch, or mask or porn, who as the ideal role model in the minds all the little mini-ninjas he taught, lying prone and silent in a sterile, white bed, not moving save for his labored breaths, white cloth replacing his mask and hitai-ate, which the medic nin had had to remove when he had been brought in.
It was….scary.
Iruka felt something slide gently across his cheek and reached up to wipe at it. His finger came away damp. He stared at his hand the longest time before finally falling asleep, wondering when and why he had started to cry.
The Next Morning
Iruka woke with a start, the remnants of a nightmare fading and disappearing from his mind even as he opened his eyes and tried to figure out where he was. It took a couple of seconds for him to catch site of the still figure in the bed. That was all it took for him remember.
Gently shifting and lifting Naruto from his lap, Iruka sat him gently back on the chair as he stood, stretching his legs and rearranging him sleep rumpled clothes and crooked headband, walking the few steps to Kakashi's bed side. The sun had barely risen and the three children were still sleeping peacefully (though Iruka would bet they would all have one hell of a crick in their necks (like he did) when they woke up) in their chairs. He stood silently, watching the silver haired man sleep, feeling last nights sadness well up in him again.
Without really thinking, he reached out and gently brushed away the few strands of silvery hair that fell over the white cloth covering his eye, before trailing his fingers gently over the man's covered cheek absentmindedly.
Hearing a soft snort from Naruto, his hand stilled as he looked over at the boy, watching his nose wrinkle in sleep as his shuffled around for a better position before stilling back into peaceful slumber once again.
Iruka let out a soft, fond sigh, one that turned quickly into a gasp of surprise as he felt a hand close firmly over his wrist.
His head snapped around quickly, and he found himself staring into a single sharp, blue eye.
"Ah, Hatake-san! You're awake!" he gasped, blushing as he realized that his fingers were still gently resting on the jounin's face right next to what felt like the corner of his mouth, though with the cloth on him, he couldn't really tell for sure.
"Hnnn." Kakashi made a soft noise in the back of his throat that could have been agreement, but Iruka suspected the man was really trying to get his bearings strait.
"The kids refused to leave your side, so I stayed as well to make sure they didn't run themselves down. Someone had to make them eat, after all." He said briskly as possible. Kakashi still hadn't let go of his wrist, and he was watching him intensely. It was starting to make Iruka nervous.
"I see…." Kakashi said slowly after a few moments of awkward, tense silence. He still hadn't let Iruka go, and while he wasn't hurting the other man, the circulation was leaving his hand rapidly. He wriggled his arm a little in protest and felt the grip loosen in return though Kakashi still didn't let him go. He looked like he was contemplating something.
Iruka was about to call him on this when the man in question took a breath, as if he were about to say something, paused, exhaled almost dejectedly, and let him go. Iruka pulled his arm back and took a small step away from the bed. Kakashi turned his head away to stare out the window. Iruka, unnerved by the jounin's unusual behavior (exactly what had happened!) watched him silently, concern seeping into his features.
Kakashi's point of View on All of This
Kakashi had woke with a start a little after sunrise, eyes snapping open and taking in his surroundings. White walls, crisp sheets, the sour smell of anesthetic, alcohol, and sickness had imediatly invaded his sensitive nose. And another, more familiar smell. Several of them, actually. His nose might not have been as good as that Kiba kids, but it was good enough for him to pick up on and identify the different smells of his students and….his eyes widened slightly….one he had become increasingly familiar with over the past few days.
He turned his head gently so that he could look over Sasuke and Sakura, both sleeping in odd positions in two strait backed chairs near a dresser against the far wall. He turned his head a little further and smiled slightly at the site of Naruto curled like a puppy in the lap of his favorite sensei, who's head rested back against the wall, legs sprawled out in front of him, arms around the boy snoring in his lap, mouth open slightly, hair poking and tumbling out of his usually tight, perfect rooster's tail, hitai-ate slanted to a position almost mirroring Kakashi's.
Thinking about his leaf headband made Kakashi reach up automatically to touch the soft cloth covering his eye, not surprised to find the cold metal that was usually there gone.
His attention focused once again on the slumbering teacher as the man stirred slightly, before waking with a sharp inhalation of breath. Kakashi closed his eyes again, watching the teacher curiously though the smallest of slits in his eyelids. He watched the teacher blink around the room for a couple of seconds as Kakashi forced his breathing to become that of a sleeper again. Iruka's eyes landed on him, and an odd expression crossed his face.
He stood, gently lowering Naruto back into the chair he had vacated before straitening his clothes and walking slowly over to stand right beside Kakashi's bed, looking so sad Kakashi had the sudden urge to reach up and pull the chunnin into a kiss, one that (he liked to think) would wipe the expression right off the man's face. It made Kakashi's heart hurt to see that look on the young teacher's face.
Kakashi inwardly flinched at the mushy feelings the look had made him feel. That damn teacher was ruining him.
Kakashi's eyes nearly snapped open again in shock when the man standing over him reached out ever so gently and brushed away a few strands of hair from his face before trailing his finger softly down his cheek, his touch cool and gently when he skimmed over an exposed patch of skin. Kakashi felt his heart rate increase quite a bit. He had never hated his mask up until this very moment, when he cursed his habit of wearing one.
A soft snort from the blond in the chair drew Iruka's attention away from Kakashi for a moment, though his fingers remained touching the corner of his lips. Kakashi felt annoyance directed toward the blond for a moment, before deciding that those fingers were going to drive him crazy if they remained where they were for much longer, just barely touching him as they were. Especially since his skin seemed to be acutely aware of every shift the digits made, even through the cloth separating flesh from flesh.
Reaching up, he grabbed the slender wrist above him firmly. Brown eyes met his in surprise, a soft gasp escaping soft lips.
"Ah, Hatake-san! You're awake!" The brown eyes slid from his own to the fingers Kakashi realized were still resting on his face. The eyes returned to his, this time one of those adorable blushes dusting across his features. Mesmerized, Kakashi could only manage a "Hnnn." in response.
"The kids refused to leave your side, so I stayed as well to make sure they didn't run themselves down. Someone had to make them eat, after all." Iruka said with a small, fond smile. So that was why he was there. Kakashi knew he shouldn't have felt disappointed, but he did.
"I see…" He finally managed. Iruka looked uncomfortable, but it wasn't until he wriggled his hand a little that Kakashi realized he might be hurting the man. He loosened his grip but, still reluctant to let the man in front of him go lest he leave, continued to keep the wrist captive.
The scene he had witnessed the night before when he had left the village came back to him. He wanted so desperately to ask what had happened, if Iruka really did want to do something with that man, or if he already had. What was it the teacher saw I that man anyway!
He didn't realize has was about to give voice to these questions until he felt himself taking a deep breath. He paused. He couldn't ask Iruka something like that! It was like admitting that he had been spying on the man. Which he hadn't. Yea, even now he could delude himself.
He released the air from his lungs, let go of the teacher , who stepped away from him, and turned away. That's when he spotted his flack vest.
OH YEA! THE SCROLL! HE HAD COMPLEATLY FORGOTEN!
He had to get it back to the hokage ASAP! There was a spy in the village, he was sure of it. There was no other way those two nins would have known to ambush him that night on that particular trail. And he had a sudden guess as to who it was. He tried to set up but was only rewarded with much pain and little movement. A tan hand on his chest forced him to lie still.
"Hatake-san, you came in yesterday with massive chakra drain, among other things. It'll be a little while before you're able to sit up and move properly. Please don't over tax yourself until then." the chunnin's voice was heavy with concern. Kakashi felt his insides squirm pleasantly at that, despite his annoyance at not being able to move. The he had an Epiphany.
"Ne, Iruka-sensei?" he asked softly, turning his head back towards the teacher (who, coincidently, hadn't removed his hand from Kakashi' chest.). The man in question raised an eyebrow to show he was listening. "Did the nurses take anything out of my vest?" Iruka looked surprised, but turned his head towards the chair in the corner that held the garment.
"Not that I know of, no. I didn't think they were supposed to." Kakashi nodded.
"Good. Go over and look I the top pocket on the inside. It's hidden in the lining. There should be a scroll in there. You HAVE to get it to the Hokage as soon as possible! It's what those nin were after." Iruka blinked but nodded, walking over to the vest and turning it inside out, searching. He found the pocket with a little trouble and pulled the small item out.
"Demo, Hatake-san, why not have Naruto or Sasuke take it?" He asked, glancing back to the man watching him from the bed.
"Because," Kakashi answered "someone in Konoha told those nin I where I was going and what I had. Naruto or Sasuke, being members of my team, are the logical choices for me to send with the scroll. If the spy is who I think it is, then you would have a better chance of slipping past him because…." Kakashi paused for a moment, mulling over weather or not he should say what he was about to say. Shrugging it off, he grinned. "because Yuki-san likes you."
Iruka blinked at him. "Yuki-san?" He didn't sound very surprised, Kakashi noted.
"Hai. The nins that attacked me were wave ninjas." He said stiffly. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that. Iruka nodded, turning wordlessly and headed for the door. As he placed his hand on the knob, Kakashi called out softly to him.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei?" the man turned, his hand still poised to open the door. "be careful, please?" Kakashi said at length. Iruka blushed slightly and nodded, smiling as he left the room.
Me: Sorry if this chapter was a little boring, but it's five page, so I think I'll leave it here for now