**Chapter 7**
"Good morning Prince Kakashi!" A loud voice said cheerfully. Kakashi's eyes fluttered open and the bright lights attacked him. He was laying on the bed in his large bedchambers, a chill ran through him from the slightly ajar window. Kakashi was still wearing the ornate kimono that was so creased that Genma would weep in disappointment at the work needed to perfect it again.
"Urrgghhhhhh," Kakashi groaned. He knew the cottony taste in his mouth and the sharp shooting pains in his head too well, a hangover.
"I've brought you some aspirin and a glass of water but you have to sit up Heika," The voice said again. Kakashi lifted a hand up to rub his face and he was relieved to discover he was still wearing his mask.
"Your youthful endeavour has ended badly Heika but this should help you," the voice chimed.
'Ahh it's Lee. Of course Iruka wouldn't call me Heika, he…' Kakashi sat up suddenly at the thought.
"Lee where's Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi asked.
"Out to lunch with a friend I think," Lee said nonchalantly, he turned away to let Kakashi take his medicine. Kakashi tugged the mask down and swallowed the pills with a gulp of water, he fixed his mask and ran a hand through his hair tiredly.
'I could do with a few more hours sleep but I should go find my Omocha,' Kakashi stretched his arms above his head and Lee turned back around.
"You've missed breakfast and this mornings lessons so Shikamaru-san has pushed everything to tomorrow…." Lee said officially, Kakashi nodded and pulled the covers back.
Something felt off about Lee, Kakashi looked at the teenager with as much concern as he could muster in his lethargic state.
"Something wrong Lee?" Kakashi said. Lee was startled at the prince's consideration, it was very unusual for Kakashi to care about… well anything.
"It's not wrong per se Heika. I was worried about Iruka-sensei, he's been really freaked out today and I have no idea why. I've even asked Head Researcher Mashimizu but he doesn't have a clue," Lee blurted out. He clapped a hand over his own mouth with a scared look.
"I apologise Prince Kakashi it was highly improper of me to speak in such a way. I'll carry…" Kakashi rolled his eyes and tuned out Lee's punishment but his complaint about Iruka stuck in his mind.
'He's freaked out? What about?' Kakashi's clouded mind thought.
The chopsticks swirled around the bowl of ramen, the broth threatened to spill over the edges. Sullen brown eyes watched the movements with minimal interest and it was obvious to Mizuki that Iruka was distracted by something big.
"So did you handle that emergency last night?" Mizuki smiled. Iruka's head snapped up and he forced a smile.
"Yeah it was…." Lips parted and Iruka felt the warm tongue mapping out his mouth, a pale hand rested on Iruka's stomach "...Handled," Iruka finished.
_Get it out of your head Iruka, just forget about it._
**And what about when the pervert prince shows up demanding kisses from his 'Omocha'?**
_He won't…. Will he? Oh god this is such a mess! It's everything I was taught to escape from, they always told me how wrong it was. How could I kiss him…. No I didn't kiss him, he kissed me…. Yes that's what happened…_
**But you enjoyed it…**
_Yes...NO! I didn't… I couldn't…. I wasn't brought up that way… _
**Neither was uncle Mashimizu but he's married to a man and has such a cute son, remember?**
_But just because uncle Mashimizu likes men doesn't mean I do…_
**You can't lie to me…. I'm you!… You like him.**
_I don't… He's a good kisser, I'll admit that but he's still the same perverted monarch._
**If he showed up right now and kissed you, you know you wouldn't refuse him.**
_I would! He's a selfish, perverted child with too much power and a terribly persistent personality!_
…**.Exactly.**
_I'm leaving in 7 days, we couldn't be together…. Even if I wanted to._
A warm hand on Iruka's forearm brought him back to reality, a worried Mizuki watched him. Iruka blushed in embarrassment and pulled his arm away quickly, Mizuki inwardly scowled at the gesture.
"I'm sorry Mizuki-kun, I'm not being a good companion today. Lack of sleep I think," Iruka lied.
"It's fine Iruka-kun but if you need to talk about anything, I am here. As your friend I would be glad to help you," Mizuki said seriously, he knew Iruka's time was short so he needed to twist the brunette's perceptions of those around him.
"Thank you Mizuki-kun," Iruka smiled but inside he was sighing 'But not even you can help me with this,'.
"Oh! How did last night go? Did you catch your ex?" Iruka asked and Mizuki nodded.
"We talked and decided we needed time apart to see other people," Mizuki said sadly, Iruka grasped his hand with a comforting look.
"Time heals all wounds Mizuki-kun, if your destined to be together then you will end up together… eventually," Iruka said sweetly. Mizuki bit back a smirk and nodded, the trust in Iruka's eyes made Mizuki want to stand on top of the ramen bar and cackle.
'Oh Iruka… so innocent and trusting…' Mizuki thought sadistically.
"Hmm… did you see how drunk the prince got last night? I'll bet he's waking up next to some opportunistic uke, I doubt the prince will even remember the poor man's name," Mizuki laughed. Tendrils of jealousy crawled up Iruka's spine and he had to bite his lip to stifle a growl.
"Probably," Iruka agreed stiffly. He knew he shouldn't care who the prince bedded but a small part of him wanted to seriously injure whatever uke was waking up beside Kakashi. He didn't want anyone else to see the face he'd seen the night of the ball or the body he'd seen when he was training.
"Though I'm 100% sure that Prince Kakashi lured the poor soul to his chambers, even when he's drunk the prince is still… promiscuous. He'd say 'I love you' to someone's face just for a romp between the sheets," Mizuki gossiped, he watched a light flicker in Iruka's expressive eyes. He had seen the way Kakashi had stared at Iruka and the shy looks Iruka returned with, he didn't want the mysterious prince stealing away what belonged to him.
Mizuki's words hurt Iruka's heart, it thudded painfully against Iruka's chest. He knew his friend was right about the prince, it was impossible for someone like Kakashi to ever settle down with one person, no matter how much King Obito dreamed.
"He thinks he can lie about important things because he was born with a silver spoon in his masked mouth," Mizuki sneered. Iruka raised an eyebrow at Mizuki's tone and the grey haired man adjusted it quickly.
"After all you shouldn't lie about such important things, love is too special to lie about. Saying you love someone when you're just after their body is unforgivable in my book," Mizuki said cooly. Iruka smiled widely, Mizuki was a man with strong principals and his boyfriend was lucky to have him…. Even if he didn't see it.
"I agree. I've got to get back to work but do you want to meet here tomorrow? I'll be better conversation after a nap I think," Iruka guiltily, he didn't like mistreating his friends and having his attentions stolen by Kakashi.
"Sure, Tuesdays are pretty slow anyway so I should be able to slip away. Goodbye Iruka-kun," Mizuki waved and Iruka bowed politely.
"See you tomorrow Mizuk-kun," Iruka called over his shoulder.
Later that night
Iruka peered down the long hallway, he had managed to avoid Kakashi all day and he just needed to get to his room and then he'd be home free. He scurried down the hallway and grinned as he placed his hand on the door knob to his room.
"Ah Iruka-sensei," A voice said to his left, Iruka looked shocked as Shikamaru walked up to him.
"Shikamaru-san, I-I have to get inside my room," Iruka said in a hushed tone, his eyes darted along the hallway to look out for Kakashi.
"But I thought you shou…." Shikamaru replied but Iruka cut him off.
"I'll deal with it tomorrow but I really need to get inside. You didn't see me," Iruka pleaded.
"Didn't see who?" Shikamaru smirked and he bowed and walked past the grateful brunette. His sources had informed him of what had transpired between the prince and the teacher and something deep inside him told him to tell the kings. It was his duty to inform King Obito that his son had taken an interest in Iruka but he suspected the dark haired king already knew so he didn't feel the need to tell the kings anything.
Iruka slipped inside his room and shut the door quickly, he rested his forehead against the cold wooden door with a sigh.
'Thank god, I should have been a ninja!' Iruka mentally high fived himself and turned around. Brown eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
The silver haired man (dressed in his usual casual clothes) sat on the side of Iruka's bed with his nose buried in the bright orange book. Kakashi looked up at Iruka with his upside down U smile.
"Konbanwa Omocha-sensei," Kakashi greeted, he buried his head back in the book with a shrug when Iruka didn't answer him. Iruka licked his lips and glared at the prince, trying to figure out his motives for sneaking into his room. His dark eyes took in the evidence.
Kakashi, porn, night, bed…..
Iruka didn't need to be a genius to figure out what was going on, his posture grew tense and he wanted to walk back out the door. Mizuki's words echoed around his head and Iruka frowned, he refused to be a one night stand and give his virginity for the prince's amusement.
"Prince Kakashi. What are you doing in my room?" Iruka said calmly. The prince shut his book and looked up at the brunette, the wary look in his eyes made Kakashi want to throw up. He didn't want Iruka to be scared of him for whatever reason the teacher had made up. He could see how freaked out Iruka was and told himself to thank Lee for pointing it out tomorrow.
"I'm not allowed to visit? It's just…. I get the feeling you're avoiding me," Kakashi smiled again but the fakeness (I know it's not a word but I couldn't think of another) was obvious.
"A-avoiding you? Not at all, you're imagining things," Iruka laughed nervously.
"Hn. I have a problem Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said seriously though Iruka could detect the trace of teasing. Kakashi took his eyes off Iruka to put his book away in his trouser pocket and Iruka's eyes trailed over Kakashi. He nearly slapped himself when he realised what he was doing, he looked down at his feet and bit his tongue in anger.
"What would this problem be Prince Kakashi?" Iruka asked. A bright blue eye stared at the brunette anxiously, Iruka was tempted to comfort the pained looking man.
"You see…." Kakashi trailed off, a hint of pink bled across the pale skin above his mask. Seeing the prince flustered was a strange treat for Iruka and he felt himself blushing back.
'He's kind of cute when he blushes…. No bad thoughts….. I won't fall for whatever he's trying to pull,' Iruka thought. Kakashi lifted a hand up to scratch his head and he looked up at the still standing man.
"I might have had a little too much to drink…. Can you tell me what happened?" Kakashi said timidly.
Iruka blinked once.
Twice.
A wide smile broke across his tanned face and he tried to hide the elated look from the confused prince.
"You don't remember anything about last night?" Iruka checked and Kakashi nodded.
"I remember checking on you in your room and then having to listen to boring people talk but that's it," Kakashi admitted. Kakashi looked at Iruka's relaxed smile with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing remarkable happened, you got drunk and Shikamaru-san had to drag you to bed. End of story," Iruka answered. Kakashi nodded and stood up, content with his answer.
"Aah good. I'll leave you in peace then Omocha-sensei," Kakashi said smoothly. Iruka bristled at the nickname and opened his mouth to answer.
"Don't call me Om…" Kakashi stood directly in front of Iruka with a serious look. Iruka could feel the warm breath through the thin mask and he averted his eyes from the taller man.
"..ocha," Iruka choked out. The temperature of the room had risen and Iruka felt very uncomfortable.
"Iruka-sensei…. You're blocking the door," Kakashi smirked. Iruka exhaled sharply and stepped to the side politely.
"Sorry, I'm tired and not thinking properly," Iruka smiled.
"You aren't the one with the hangover," Kakashi replied childishly. Kakashi opened the door and Iruka shook his head.
"You shouldn't drink so much and then you wouldn't get a headache," Iruka scolded.
"That's boring Iruka-sensei. Shino told me you like dogs?" Kakashi questioned and Iruka nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah dogs and children, I always wanted a dog," Iruka said.
"Tomorrow morning, skip work and I'll take you down to the kennels," Kakashi offered. Iruka shook his head violently at the prince who laughed at the reaction. Iruka couldn't skip work to have lunch with Mizuki so he definitely couldn't skip it to spend time with Kakashi, even if dogs were involved.
"I can't do that, I won't!" Iruka hissed into the quiet hallway.
"We'll see," Kakashi said, he gave Iruka a mock bow and walked towards his own room. Iruka didn't close his door until he heard the prince shut his door over, he pressed a palm against his lips and started to laugh uncontrollably.
'He doesn't remember! I was so worried but I didn't need to because things are fine. There will be no awkwardness or anything, just friends until the week is up,' Iruka thought gleefully. He stripped off his clothes and changed into his pyjamas, he fell onto his bed with little giggles.
"Everything is going to be okay, he doesn't remember the kiss," Iruka whispered. A horrible feeling settled in his stomach at his words. Iruka tried to ignore it but he could recognise the feeling easily.
_Disappointment._
'No, I refuse to think of some fairy tale 'what if'. This is how is has to be, I'm not a notch on someone's bedpost especially not a man's bedpost. No matter how handsome he is and Kakashi wasn't being serious, he was drunk and if I told him about it then he would be just as embarrassed. 7 days is all you have to endure…. Then you can put everything behind you,' Iruka told himself.
Iruka slipped under the covers and pulled the spare pillow to his chest to cuddle, the past 24 hours had been a roller coaster of emotions but Iruka was trying to put it behind him. He wanted normality, he didn't want to fall for a man who would gladly lie to get Iruka into bed and he didn't want to think about what could have been. He squeezed the pillow with a sigh.
'He doesn't remember…. Now if only I could forget,' Iruka thought painfully.
Iruka lay in the bed with his covers covering his nose, he dark eyes looked up at his uncle with a pitiful look.
"You're ill?" Mashimizu frowned and Iruka nodded.
"I-uh- have a migraine, it should be over by the afternoon and I can come into work then," Iruka lied. Mashimizu raised an eyebrow at his nephew and rolled his eyes with a sigh.
"Fine, I'll see you in the afternoon. Oh and Iruka?" Mashimizu chimed.
"Y-yes uncle?" Iruka whispered.
"You need to practice a bit more for it to be believable, I have a 6 year old who does a better job but if you were willing to fake illness for something then it must be important to you," Mashimizu smiled widely, knowing eyes bore into Iruka's shocked ones.
"It's not.. I mean… I don't…. Thank you uncle, I'll remember that," Iruka gave up. Mashimizu ruffled his hair and left the room. Iruka threw the covers off to reveal he was fully dressed, he ran a hand through his hair with a pout.
'That's why I don't skip work by playing sick, I'm really bad at it. I shouldn't even be indulging Kakashi's whims even if I want to see the dogs,' Iruka thought sternly.
"Stop smiling you baka prince," Iruka snapped but the wide grin didn't leave Kakashi's face. He knew he could get the straight-laced teacher to skip work and spend time with him.
"I'm not smiling sensei, how would you know anyway? I'm wearing a mask," Kakashi sang. Iruka lifted his hand up and flicked the prince's ear.
"I just know… Lee-san," Iruka bowed to the wide eyed teenager, Lee bowed to the pair and kept walking. He couldn't resist casting a look back at them, they did look good together and there was a rumour going around about them sneaking off for secret trysts.
'But that can't be where they're going could it?… No that's the way to the kennels and that would be too loud with the barking for them to….. Unless it's to cover the noise… oh my…. I'll tell Gai-sensei!' Lee raced along the hallway with a wide grin.
Kakashi scuffled along the hallway without a care in the world, unlike Iruka who walked with tense shoulders and suspicious eyes. He was worried someone like Genma or Obito would see them, the looks that he got when he accompanied the prince just screamed inappropriate.
After a short walk through the castle gardens the pair reached a large building made of strong wood with paw print shaped windows. Iruka almost laughed at how cute it was but he felt Kakashi watching him carefully.
"Here we are. I'll go first Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said cautiously, he didn't know how his dogs would react to Iruka. They could hear excited barking from the building and Kakashi rolled his eyes, the dogs could obviously smell the new scents.
Kakashi opened the door and a 4 dogs bounded out, 2 leaping up at their master while the remaining 2 sniffed around the new person. Iruka reached out and petted the taller dog, it had a large black mohawk-like crest on his head and jagged teeth but Iruka wasn't afraid of it. He knew dogs could smell fear so being scared wouldn't help the situation. The other dog bounced around his ankles like one of the children from his class or Naruto on a ramen high. It yapped happily when Iruka stroked his head tenderly.
"Come on boys, get inside. Guruko, Shiba leave Iruka-sensei be," Kakashi said loudly. The dogs left Iruka's side immediately and the humans followed the dogs inside. The inside of the kennel house was well furnished with everything any dog could ever want, some dogs were lazing about, some play fighting and some eating but that all ceased when Iruka entered.
"Wow how many dogs do you have?" Iruka asked in awe. Kakashi guided Iruka over to some couched and pushed the brunette until he sat down.
"Originally 8 but Minato-sensei thought it would make Naruto more responsible if he had a dog. But Naruto…" Kakashi trailed off and Iruka pursed his lips together. He had only known Naruto a few days and he instantly bonded with him, he thought Naruto was very responsible considering how childish he was.
"He was only 12 at the time so he wasn't responsible enough then. So he gave me Asami to look after and he recently had pups so… 13 dogs in total," Kakashi counted. Suddenly all the dogs were rushing around both men's feet, trying to determine if the teacher was a threat.
Personally Kakashi thought the dogs would love Iruka, his scent was warm and calm with small hints of honey. Kakashi remembered burying his face into Iruka's loose hair when he pulled him through the mirror and inhaling the sweet smell. He knew there was only one thing that could make Iruka's scent perfect and that was having Kakashi's scent on him too.
Iruka's routine was predictable so whenever Iruka was going for a bath, Kakashi made sure the only shampoo and body wash available was the one he used. Kakashi's scent on Iruka did more then make the prince happy, it helped the dogs to accept the brunette.
Cold noses nuzzled Iruka's hands and he tried to pet them all, a content smile on his face. Kakashi snapped out of his daze and left Iruka with most of the dogs, they didn't seem aggressive towards the teacher so it was safe.
Pakkun felt a shadow fall across the pillow he was laying on and he cracked an eye open lazily.
"So that's Iruka-sensei?" Pakkun yawned. Luckily Iruka was to preoccupied with the other hounds to notice Kakashi and the talking dog.
"Yes that's him," Kakashi muttered. The pug looked Iruka over a few times before nodding approvingly.
"Is he still leaving?" Pakkun questioned and Kakashi nodded stiffly.
"6 days," Kakashi ground out. He was angry that he couldn't convince Iruka to stay but every attempt was thwarted, he knew the brunette was homesick but he also knew he was a selfish man who didn't want to let Iruka go.
"And you're going to let him?" Pakkun huffed.
"Never," Kakashi growled. The dogs appeared around Kakashi's feet and he turned around to see Iruka smiling at him.
"Thank you for showing me your dogs, they're great," Iruka praised. Chocolate eyes fell on the pug, he seemed the be the boss of the dogs.
"Come visit them anytime, they love getting attention," Kakashi's eyes narrowed at Pakkun.
"And who's this?" Iruka asked.
"I'm Pakkun," The gruff voice answered. Iruka didn't even flinch when he heard the voice, his smile widened slightly and Kakashi edged towards him.
"Nice to meet you Pakkun, I'm Iruka-sensei," Iruka greeted. The dogs scattered and went back to whatever they were doing before their master arrived. Kakashi finally noticed the dazed glint in Iruka's eyes.
"You okay? About the dogs talking?" Kakashi detailed and Iruka nodded.
"It's not the weirdest thing that's happened in the past month," Iruka laughed. Kakashi pressed himself up against Iruka's back and Iruka could feel every muscle of the prince's body.
"W-what do you think you're doing?" Iruka blushed.
"Just getting ready to catch you when you faint," Kakashi teased. Iruka blushed deeper and stepped away from the disappointed man.
"Baka pervert prince," Iruka mumbled.
"PRINCE KAKASHI!" A voice screeched from outside and the dogs whimpered at the loud noise. Kakashi shrunk back and Iruka burst into laughter.
"Were you meant to be at lessons? Ebisu-sensei is going to kill you!" Iruka chuckled. Kakashi threw Iruka a puppy dog eye and a masked pout but Iruka didn't fall for it.
"I'll leave you to deal with him. I'm off to see Kaname and then out to lunch before going back to work," Iruka smirked.
"Omocha-sensei," Kakashi whined. Iruka walked to the doorway with a confident smile, he winked at the laughing pug and opened the door.
"See you later Prince Kakashi," Iruka sang. Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest in a bratty fashion and stuck his bottom lip out in protest. He looked around for a place to hide when he heard voices talking in the distance.
"Iruka-sensei have you seen Heika?" Ebisu's voice said. Kakashi's blood froze and he felt like a trapped puppy.
"Prince Kakashi? Nope, haven't seen him," Iruka said innocently. Kakashi could almost hear his teacher's eyes narrow in suspicion.
"Really? Because I heard you two had escaped to the kennels for a 'romantic interlude'," Ebisu said loudly. Iruka paled and his eye started twitching.
"Romantic interlude? Tch yeah right," Iruka said walking away quickly, he didn't want Ebisu to see his blush. Kakashi scoffed and checked his watch, the gossip circles were working overtime that day and it wasn't even 12 yet.
A pair of eyes glared through his dark glasses at the lazy prince, Kakashi had pulled out his book and was ignoring his teacher.
"Heika you're late to your class," Ebisu said angrily.
"I'm always late," Kakashi pointed out.
"You are an important noble so you must attend classes on time. It is important things you are learning and if I'm chasing after you then the others won't be learning anything," Ebisu snarled.
"They don't care," Kakashi yawned.
"What's the matter? You've almost been on time to your classes for weeks and now you're going back to being really late?" Ebisu interrogated. Kakashi shrugged and turned a page in his book.
"Nothing, let's get to class Ebisu-sensei," Kakashi said slouching past his teacher. Ebisu shut the kennels door and followed after his most troublesome noble students.
