A.N.

As said upfront, this story is rated M for a reason. This chapter gets a little more graphic that I'm entirely comfortable posting. If anyone thinks its too much, send me an email or review and I'll cut it, or take off the last part and post it elsewhere. Thanks Tampopo.

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Kakashi and Iruka each took twelve-hour shifts on The Mermaid. Keeping watch on the bridge. The pirate crew and their cunning boss obviously had to kept under close watch, and even closer threat, at all times. This meant that the two ninjas had little time together and no time at all, together, alone.

When he wasn't on duty, Iruka kept himself shut up inside their cabin. It was the Boss's cabin, the largest and by far the most comfortable, with the only private bathroom on the ship. Kakashi had taken it more out of principle than because he actually liked it. He'd have been much happier and more comfortable wrapped in a blanket on the deck, under the open sky. Iruka tried to sleep as much as he could, but sleep didn't come easy. Once or twice he caught himself looking at his hands, to see if they were getting hairy, or if he was growing wolf claws. Although Yoko had always looked normal enough. Or at least he thought she had, but with the mind-altering effect of that red mist, who knew?

Sampo had claimed the tiny cabin next to theirs, Gep's. Which looked as if it had hardly ever been used. At the beginning of the second day he cornered Kakashi there, on his way to bed and dragged him inside.

"Kakashi-kun, what's up between you two? You and your chuunin?"

The copy nin wrinkled his nose against the strong smell of incense in the room. "Nothing Sam, really. It's good."

The monk shook his head. "I've told you before, you can't lie to me, I've known you too long. And he looks scared to death."

Kakashi looked at his friend carefully. Surely, if there was anyone he could confide in it was Sam. They'd drifted apart since Sampo and his father had left their family estate in Konoha, and then he'd hardly seen him since he become a novice monk at the age of twelve. But that had been his own fault. Sam, more than any of his old friends, had struggled to maintain the thread of a connection of some kind between them. Even willing to settle for an hour or so of quick sex on those occasions when their paths had crossed.

It had been no surprise to him that the monk had done so well, risen so fast, to become one of the youngest abbots on record. He was strong, wise, and most of all kind, right down to the core. More than any other person he'd ever met.

"You know a lot about the Ookami clan don't you Sam? Can you tell me anything about Ookami Ketsuekimusha?"

"The Blood Warrior? Of course. He was the founder of Hidden Mist. One of the first Hidden Villages."

The old sennin's ancestor had founded Mist? Somehow it seemed fitting. "What about his descendents, do you know anything about them?"

"He didn't have any. That's why he was eventually deposed and exiled. He experimented on his own shinobi, trying to pass on the blood jutsu, trying to create an heir. But he always failed. They either became mindless slaves to the jutsu or died struggling against it. In the end his evil ways were too much even for that savage place. They wrapped their faces with bandages against his blood mist and rose against him. Most Mist ninjas still cover their faces as part of their uniform, that's where the tradition came from."

No descendents? That could only mean… "Sam! The man we were fighting on Wolf Island, he was the Wolf Blood Warrior. He's still alive."

The monk chuckled. "Kakashi, that's not possible. He'd be more than a hundred and twenty years old."

The copy nin looked out of the porthole to the horizon, where the last rays of the sun were staining the sky as red as the pools of blood they'd left behind on Ookami Island. The white haired sennin had obviously been old, it was hard to believe he was that old, but he'd heard of stranger things. As he thought it through, somehow Kakashi knew, just knew, that the old man was Ketsuekimusha. Just as he claimed. Somehow the founder of Bloody Mist had found a way to beat back death until he could accomplish what he'd set out to do.

"He got Iruka Sam."

Suddenly the big man was wrapped around him, hugging him like a bear. "Oh Kakashi-kun, I'm so sorry."

Kakashi could feel tears prickling in his eyes for the second time in less than a week.

Sampo could feel the other man's wretchedness, although his voice and his posture barely changed. Seeing his friend, his hero, in so much pain was almost more than the big man could stand, but he knew that he couldn't provide the kind of comfort that he needed.

"Go and get him Kakashi. Now. Show him how much you love him, you know what I mean. I can watch over this ship and a few ruffians, and I'll know where to find you if I need help." His large handsome face brightened with a smile. "Don't worry I'll knock first."

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Sakura had no idea why she felt so nervous as she knocked on Tsunade's door. The Hokage was her mentor, her sensei, her friend. But something in Shizune's tone of voice had set her nerves on edge, although no one who knew the dark-haired medic less well would have noticed any difference at all in her quiet words.

One of the ANBU guards opened the door.

"Come in. Good, Sakura-chan, I heard you were back. Wait outside."

The last order was directed at the ANBU.

Tsunade turned her attention back to Sakura. "Close the door behind you… and take a seat."

Sakura obediently did as she was told, feeling more nervous than ever. "Hokage-sama, our mission went very well…"

"Yes yes. You accompanied some rich old geezer to the capital of Wave then back to his village again. You can dump the report on that heap over there, since Iruka-sensei's not here to scowl at me about how disorganised they are."

Sakura suppressed an anxious smile. So even Tsunade-sama wasn't immune to the teacher's 'sensei glare'. Iruka-sensei isn't back yet?"

"No. That's one of the reasons I called you in here. Or part of a larger reason." Tsunade rested her chin on her interwoven fingers and leaned forward on her elbows. Shinobi have been going missing, lots of them, for over a year now. Sand has lost a dozen that we know of, cloud too. Probably the other villages as well. Iruka-sensei seems to be the first from Konoha. There was an attempt on Kakashi-san, but it was unsuccessful."

Of course it was unsuccessful. Sakura couldn't resist a certain feeling of smugness, of pride. Kakashi-sensei was the best.

"Is that why you called an emergency, Hokage-sama?"

The older woman nodded. Her apprentice had a sharp mind. "Partly. There's something out there, a threat. I can feel it in the air like a gathering storm. I've lived through wars before, too many wars, and whatever this is I want to be ready for it when it breaks."

There was dark intensity in her words that made Sakura shiver. "What do you want me to do to help Hokage-sama."

Yes very sharp, she'd been a good choice. "I want you to watch over Naruto. I don't have to tell you that the kyuubi's power is a two edged sword, you've seen it yourself. He can use it to slice down our enemies, but if it's turned against us it could destroy the whole village. "

"Naruto?" She looked down at the floor between her feet. Naruto could destroy the village?

"Yes. Iruka-sensei or Kakashi-san would have been my first choice, but… Anyway, keep close to him at all times, and try to keep him here, within reach of myself or Shizune as much as possible." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You understand that no one else must know about this?"

Sakura nodded. Keep Naruto close, in the village, if possible in this building, with the threat of something terrible coming and Iruka-sensei still out there and missing. How the hell was she supposed to be able to do that?

"Could you assign us some work to do, maybe in the mission room? Something that sounds important? Maybe we could go through the reports on all Iruka-sensei's old missions, you know look for the name of an old enemy who might have targeted him."

Yes the girl was very sharp indeed. "An excellent idea Sakura-chan. You could go through Kakashi-san's reports too, because of their, er, relationship. That should keep you both busy for a while."

As Sakura bowed and turned to leave, she finally let her smile break through. So, what goes around comes around. Iruka-sensei had suffered years of deciphering Naruto's handwriting while they were in the academy. Now to help find him, to save him, Naruto was to be condemned to countless hours of picking through Kakashi-sensei's horrible scrawl. And she knew that he would do it gladly.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Iruka knew something was most definitely up when Kakashi and Sampo marched onto the bridge and stood on either side of him. They were both grinning from ear to ear for one. He felt a momentary flare of jealousy. Just what had they been doing to make them so happy? But almost at once he knew that he was wrong. It was obvious to anyone that the monk was red hot for Kakashi and that probably explained why he had gone after him. Secondhand Kakashi was better than no Kakashi at all. But deep inside he was sure that Kakashi wouldn't cheat on him. Completely sure. …Well almost completely sure. Sampo had been the one who had laughed at the idea that Kakashi could be faithful to anyone. But then again, surely neither of them would be so obvious about it.

The loud tap-tapping of claws on the metal floor announced the entrance of a small dog.

Sampo took a seat at the control panel and lifted Pakkun onto his lap. He waved goodbye theatrically as Kakashi took Iruka's hand and led him away.

"Sam's taking your watch for you. He said we need to spend more quality time together."

"Yeah, and I've been summoned for back up. As if I didn't have anything better to do." Pakkun grunted, as he turned in circles, trying to find some softness in the monk's muscular thighs.

Iruka felt his cheeks reddening. With embarrassment, he had a pretty good idea of exactly what quality time implied, and with shame for doubting the two men.

The pirate boss watched them leave with undisguised lust in his eyes. Kakashi could tell that if he had just an ounce more balls, and a whole lot less instinct for self-preservation, he'd have asked if he could join them. Sampo had the same look, but was directing his attention to petting the pug on his lap, trying painfully hard to keep it hidden.

They sat on the bed in the master cabin, with the edgy discomfort and eager anticipation of newlyweds in their honeymoon hotel.

Iruka tentatively reached towards Kakashi's mask, pulled it down, and stared at him, letting the emotions evoked by the man's mere presence flow through him in a delicious flood. "Sampo really is a good man isn't he?"

Kakashi slowly removed his gloves, dropped them onto the floor, then used two pale fingers to brush aside a stray tendril of dark hair. "Yep. You've lived too much of your life around ninjas Iruka-sensei. With Sam there is no underneath, what you see is exactly what there is, honest and straightforward. …Scary, isn't it?"

He pulled out Iruka's hair band and ran his fingers through his silky locks. "So you did find a comb somewhere."

The teacher's face split into a mischievous grin. "No, never did. They have these things in the kitchen, er, galley, called sporks. I must have broken ten of them getting all the tangles out."

Kakshi's perfectly sculpted face came alive with laughter. "Sporks! You combed your hair with sporks! Only you Iruka-sensei."

The tan cheeks took on a shading of pink. "A ninja is resourceful, uses whatever's available to do what he needs to do. Rule number… well I'm sure it's in there somewhere."

His mind was clearly otherwise occupied, his hands were occupied too, unfastening Kakashi's jacket.

The copy nin kept completely still, basking in the moment, drinking in the sensation of Iruka's hands sliding under his jacket to ease it off. But he couldn't resist a gasp as the hands slipped under his shirt to ease that over his head too.

Iruka put a palm flat on each side of his chest and pushed him back onto the bed. Kakashi put his own hands over them. "Wait. Will you indulge an old fantasy of mine?"

Suspicion clouded the teacher's face and his eyes narrowed. "What kind of fantasy, and will it take more than two minutes because I'm getting impatient here."

"Well… I've often wondered what you'd look like as a pirate. Ever since I first learned your name. Pirate Umino? And here we are on a pirate ship…"

"Pirate Umino? You do realise that's completely redundant, I mean aren't all pirates 'of the sea'? Do you get them anywhere else?"

"Ok, then Scarface Umino, that's even better."

Kakashi was already darting around the room pulling clothes out of closets and chests. "He must have some traditional pirate outfits here somewhere, you know for festivals and things."

"Kakashi! I don't think pirates have festivals. They're all outlaws with prices on their heads. I hardly think they get together to celebrate pirating. What would they do? Plank-walking contests?"

"Half the Villages have had a price on my head on and off since I was ten, it's never stopped me. Now this has some potential." He held up a large collar-less shirt. "Good thing he's much bigger than you."

He removed the other man's jacket and shirt, pausing only momentarily to sneak a look at the partly healed scabs on his back, then slipped on the oversized garment. Using a strip of cloth from his leg binding, he bound it tightly around the waist, fastened the cuffs tight, then poofed it out.

"Not bad, but it needs more." He pulled out his sword and tucked it into the bindings so that it hung at Iruka's side. "There very rakish." And went back to searching for more accessories.

"Now some big gold earrings would be just the thing…" He dug into a carved wooden chest with ornate brass hinges. "Look there's lube here, a ton of it. And kinky stuff, chains. You can chain me to the bed… as your prisoner." He grinned in a way that would have removed anyone's doubts about his wolf ancestry. "…Of love."

But Iruka didn't hear the last sentence past the blood rushing in his ears, even as it drained from his face. When he was able to speak his voice was small, and breathless, but in all the wrong ways. "No. I… I can handle ropes right now but not… not chains."

Kakakasi stopped cold in his foraging. Iruka was hunched on the side of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest, almost in a fetal position. He was next to him in an instant, with his own arms wrapped around him, kissing his face softly.

"Ruka, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"It's ok, there's no way you could know."

"Forget it, all of it. I want to make some good memories for us, not bring back bad ones."

Iruka grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the lips. "Then let's use the good memories to drive out the bad. Get those chains."

Kakashi shed the rest of his clothes and stretched out on the bed, carefully hiding his concern under a thick layer of playfulness. "Which way up? Do you want to fuck me or ride me?"

Iruka grinned nervously as he picked up the heavy iron chains. "Pointy part facing up. Scarface Umino rules and rides more than just the waves, and I haven't had you in me for… well for too long."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After three days of waiting in the mangrove swamp even Lee had to accept that Gai-sensei was not going to 'be right back'.

Team Gai headed home towards fire country, slowly, reluctantly. Looking behind for the approach of their sensei constantly. Of course, since it was Neiji who was looking, they were also looking ahead, to both sides, and in every other direction constantly as well.

As they were closing in on the outer ring of the forest hiding the hidden village of Hidden Leaf, he paused and signaled his teammates to duck behind a rocky outcropping.

"Ssh… there. In the…sixth, no seventh tree in that direction." He tapped his finger against the stone. "There's someone up there."

Tenten had an assortment of weapons in each hand in a flash. "Who? What? Can you tell?"

Neiji allowed his head to move from side to side almost imperceptibly, while seeming to keep his colourless eyes directed at the same square inch of rock, a foot in front of his face. "Just a little too far to see clearly, but I don't think he knows we're here yet."

Lee opened his eyes wide. "Do you think it's an ambush?"

Neiji watched him… while still watching the tree. "I can't think of any other reason why someone would be hiding in a tree, can you?"

Tenten felt her scalp bristle, she'd been itching for some action for days. "Lee, you're the fastest so you distract him, Neiji and I will bring him down and we'll haul him back into Konoha with us. Hokage-sama will show him what we do with creeps sneaking up on people in trees.

Jiraiya saw a flash of movement, impossibly fast, behind the trees. At last a real break, but he couldn't take any chances. It might well be an ambush. They picked a good spot for it too, the forest was so dense here that they had excellent cover, no one would be able to see very far. He leapt over three trees in a single hop. Then ducked as a kunai thudded into the branch behind him. Good aim, from that range too. He tracked it back to its point of origin, and saw… oh my, what a sweet little vision.

As Tenten aimed again he slid his hand down her arm from behind and made a tiny correction to the angle of her shoulder. "Very good my dear, you were less than two inches off, but remember a miss is still as good as a mile."

The girl stiffened as she felt the deep rumble of his voice, and felt his hot breath in her hair. She tried to spin around and slash a shuriken across his throat, but he was holding her firmly by both wrists. Jiraiya heard the thud of her remaining weapons dropping to the ground. He was starting to curve his lips into a smile when he felt a touch on his back and the distressing, but unfortunately not unfamiliar, sensation of his chakra points sealing over.

Oh shit. Was this a set up?

"Hiashi, I'm sorry. I had no idea your wife and daughters were at the women's hot spring as I was, er… passing by. I promise I wouldn't have gone near the place if I'd known." Jiraiya's deep resonant voice took on a note of forced humour. "Frankly I wouldn't waste my time, even you've got to admit it takes Hyuuga eyes to see tits on those girls even when they are stark naked."

The response was immediate and very loud. "What! How dare you say that about my cousins/friends/comrades!"

It came at him from three directions, in three quite different voices.

He blinked hard and found himself staring into the fresh faces of three very young Konoha chuunins. And they were staring just as hard at him.

Neiji was the one to break the silence.

The young Hyuuga released his hold. "Jiraiya-sama I presume." He bowed then stood firm even as the other members of his team seemed to wilt down into their clothes at the mention of the legendary Toad Sennin's name.

"Er, yes. And you would be…?"

"Team Gai." Tenten answered, struggling to recover her battered poise.

The great white-maned sennin loomed in front of her. Great, so now he was supposed to track spies with Konoha's green beast crashing around in the forest. But he wasn't completely surprised. He'd thought that he'd sensed a hint of him. "Ah! So… where is Maitai Gai?"

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"Captain Red-eye, my arch nemesis, at last you are in my clutches." Iruka rubbed at the tight cuffs of the boss's shirt with lube slicked fingers. "Can't I take this off now? I feel like such a dork wearing it all puffed up like this, especially with no… you know, with nothing else."

From his position chained to the bed, wearing nothing but some strips of cloth around his wrists to prevent the iron cuffs from chafing, Kakashi thought he looked perfect. Iruka, no, Scarface Umino's black hair draped forward onto the white linen shirt as he leaned forward straddling his chest, tan thighs splayed on either side. Golden, glorious. And between them, peeking cheekily from beneath the frill formed by the shirt's bottom few inches, the most perfect, perfectly hard, perfectly proportioned, perfectly beautiful cock on the seven seas.

"Mmmm, looks good from here. Are you threatening me with that weapon Scarface Umino?"

Iruka looked puzzled for a moment, the sword had been discarded almost at once as too cumbersome. His eyes followed Kakashi's line of sight. Oh… that weapon.

He inched forward, eyes shining, brushing the weapon in question up the length of the other's torso. "I'll make you taste the point of my steel you scum."

"Steel? Seems more like wood to me." Kakashi licked his lips in anticipation.

Moving forward a little more, Iruka felt Kakashi make contact. The copy nin closed his eyes and stretched, probing around the edge its head, using all the exquisite sensitivities of his tongue. Yes! That's what he wanted, the taste of Iruka, unique, perfect.

Iruka gasped as most of his shaft was engulfed. He felt strong hands on his buttocks, pulling his back into an arc as a quicksilver tongue traced its way along the little furrow on its underside. It sent shivers of pleasure tingling through his groin, up his spine, and through every nerve in his body.

"Just a minute!" He opened his eyes. "Kakashi! You're supposed to be chained! Put those manacles back on. If you aren't going to do this properly…"

He pulled back indignantly, if reluctantly, and glared into the other man's pout.

Kakashi slipped his hands back into the cuffs with ridiculous ease. "But I couldn't reach."

Iruka sighed. He wasn't ready to give up control completely, not yet. "You aren't supposed to reach, I'm torturing you, remember."

"That's true enough. Please Iruka, let me bring you off, just once. You'll come too quickly otherwise."

"No, this is what I want." Kakashi's lips and tongue would be there later if he still needed them.

He shuffled back and reached for Kakashi behind him, already slippery with oil. It had been a long time, and he was tight, but he couldn't wait any longer. There was a jolt of pain as he impaled himself, but it was soon overwhelmed by familiar pleasure, as he tilted his pelvis just so and the mound of his prostate brushed down the length of that delectable organ spiking into him. He settled his weight onto it, feeling full, filled, and leaned forward, melting into a long breathless kiss. Both ends of his body felt on fire with desire, flames that could only be fueled by Kakashi.

"You can lose the chains now."

He felt Kakashi's lips curve into a smile under his, moments before he felt fingers stroking his hair, trailing over the skin on his throat, then moving to unwind the fabric at his waist."

"Let's get rid of this shirt too."

Iruka opened one eye to glance at the iron manacles. Now they were just another tool, the menace was gone. Whether they were used for good or bad depended entirely on the intent of the user.

"This doesn't count you know."

"Count?"

"Ah huh, you still have to fuck me senseless."