Chapter 8
An icy blue eye stared at king Obito, the dark haired man tried to ignore it - causing conflict over the breakfast table wasn't something he did often. Kakashi was very alarmed to find he and his mother were the only ones at the table. He knew Iruka would join them eventually but Sakumo was never late to eat, he had made a promise to Kakashi when he was a child that they would always eat together.
"Where's father?" Kakashi asked. Obito ignored him and continued eating his croissant, Kakashi's visible eye morphed into a glare.
"Mother," Kakashi said cautiously.
"It was a late night Kakashi," Obito said numbly, Kakashi pulled a face at the words.
"Ewww," Kakashi joked and Obito cracked a smile. The prince always knew how to cheer him up.
"No. Military stuff… He was in a late night conference with General Morino so I've let him sleep in. Is that okay?" Obito said seriously. Kakashi nodded stiffly but worry gnawed at the back of his mind.
"I'm a prince and a solider so if something is going on…?" Kakashi trailed off. Obito placed his cutlery down gently and sighed.
"Nothing is going on. If that changes then you'll be the first to know," Obito said, he looked at his breakfast but his appetite had gone.
"It's a minor inconvenience that can be fixed after Iruka-sensei leaves tomorrow," Obito said. Kakashi's glare increased at the words, he knew something was wrong and Iruka wouldn't be leaving. Obito scoffed at Kakashi and barked a laugh.
"Give it up Kakashi, Iruka-sensei is leaving," Obito smirked.
"He's not," Kakashi pouted. Obito laughed and Kakashi remembered he was uncovered, he jerked up his mask quickly to hide his expressions.
"You've had enough time to seduce him so it's your own fault that he's not in your bed right now," Obito scolded.
'And people call me blunt,' Kakashi thought dryly.
"It's not like thaaaat. It'll be boring if my Omocha leaves," Kakashi said.
"Don't pull that card with me Hatake Kakashi, he's the only man you've ever taken an interest in and if you don't convince him to stay then you'll regret it the rest of your life," Obito lectured. Kakashi pushed his bacon away with his fork and stood up.
"I still have 2 days. He's **not** leaving," the prince growled, Obito smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
"Go for it Kakashi, Mashimizu-san has given him the rest of his time off so take him on a date or something!" Obito planned. The door creaked open and a tanned face peeked around the edge with a smile. He walked into the room and Kakashi openly admired the dark jeans and blue jumper he wore, Iruka blushed and cleared his throat.
"Sorry I'm late Heika," Iruka apologised. Obito waved his hand in dismissal and grinned brightly at the brunette.
"It's fine Iruka-sensei," Obito smiled. Iruka moved to sit down but Kakashi's hand latched onto his wrist.
"No time Iruka-sensei, off to the kennels!" Kakashi cheered childishly.
"But I haven't eaten yet!" Iruka whined. Kakashi scooped up a piece of toast and shoved it into the teacher's mouth.
"Let's go!" Kakashi pulled the choking Iruka from the room. Obito shook his head at the couple and looked back down at his breakfast, his appetite wasn't returning. A servant came and cleared Kakashi's things off the table but Obito didn't move. A horrible chill ran up his spine when he thought about his husband, he knew he shouldn't lie to Kakashi about Sakumo's location but Obito felt he had no choice. Sakumo had been at an all night meeting with the general and Obito hadn't seen him since.
'If Ibiki wasn't a seme I might be worried,' Obito joked to himself.
The door opened almost silently and a silver haired man sat in the chair beside him. Obito's finger traced the golden embellishments on the pristine tablecloth as a distraction, the dark vibe that Sakumo exuded made Obito want to cry.
Sakumo reached out and stopped the wandering hand, their fingers linked together and Obito looked at Sakumo out of the corner of his eye. Using his other hand Sakumo pulled the goggles off Obito's head, he knew Obito was likely to break them at the news.
"Kumo…. Is…?" Obito asked timidly, his throat seizing up and he tried to control his breathing.
"Yes, I'm sorry," Sakumo said. The smaller hand tensed in Sakumo's grip and a broken snarl escaped his lips, Obito tore his hand away and stumbled to his feet. He grabbed the trim of the tablecloth and pulled with all his might, sounds of breaking china and metal echoed around the room.
Gai burst through the door with his hand on the hilt of his sword, he noticed the younger king and raised a bushy eyebrow.
"It's fine Gai," Sakumo said over the noise. Gai nodded and shut the main doors over again so no more soldiers would break into the room in fear for their kings' safety.
Sakumo rested his cheek on his hand and waited for his uke's rage to fade, Obito kicked over a few chairs and pulled down a heavy curtain. His sharingan activated as he destroyed the room. When Obito's movements became sluggish and clumsy, Sakumo stood up and walked over to him.
Red eyes stared up at Sakumo with a mix of anger and fear, he watched Sakumo open his arms and he sighed in defeat. Sakumo smiled kindly when Obito fell into his arms, hands clutching at his biceps.
"Don't worry, we'll kill him this time," Sakumo reassured.
"No, I'll kill him this time….. Sasuke, Itachi and I will kill him for what he did," Obito vowed.
Iruka sat on the floor and tried to avoid the wet tongue that lapped at his face. The fluffy white puppy yapped and cooed when Iruka tried to push him away.
"Chibi-chan! Stop licking me," Iruka laughed but the Samoyed puppy wouldn't leave him be.
Kakashi watched the brunette playing with the pup from one of the blue couches, Pakkun rested on Kakashi's right thigh and Azami on his left. The large fluffy dog nuzzled Kakashi's hand and watched protectively over his baby. Iruka managed to calm the hyper puppy down and pinned Chibi on his lap, he stroked between the furry triangles on his head.
"He was probably after the crumbs from the toast you tried to kill me with," Iruka teased, Kakashi gasped in mock shock.
"Kill you? I wasn't trying to kill you Omocha-sensei, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I couldn't let you miss it," Kakashi said cheerfully.
"You didn't have to shovel it down my throat. So how are the other puppies settling in?" Iruka smiled.
"Yeah Kiba is very good with puppies but Chibi seems to have taken a shine to you," Kakashi noted. Iruka nodded and rubbed the small puppy's belly, it tiny leg twitched and Iruka laughed with childish glee.
"I always wanted a dog but my dad said I wasn't responsible enough. My mother was a kind woman who loves looking after babies and animals but my dad was serious and practical," Iruka confided. Kakashi processed the words with a frown.
"'Is' not 'was'," Kakashi corrected, burnt umber eyes stared with confusion at Kakashi.
"Hm?" Iruka hummed.
"You rarely ever talk about your family but when you do….. You refer to them in past tense," Kakashi said. Iruka's entire body grew rigid and he tried to conceal the hitch in his breath.
"O-oh I….. I didn't realise I did that. I've got such bad grammar for a teacher," Iruka grinned, tanned fingers rubbed his scar carefully.
"It doesn't matter Iruka-sensei, I won't tell your students," Kakashi winked. Iruka laughed and ruffled the snow white fur again, Chibi purred in contentment.
"Hey? I thought you were a dog not a cat," Iruka chuckled. Chibi ignored him and continued to purr happily in Iruka's lap. Kakashi nudged the older dogs aside and slid onto the floor beside him, a pale hand landed on Chibi's head and the dog's bright blue eyes opened.
"You could look after him you know…. If you stayed," Kakashi whispered. Iruka looked at the prince with a sad look, he wanted to stay but his students needed him and he knew if he stayed around the prince for long amounts of time then he was at risk.
'At risk of falling in love with him,' Iruka's subconscious jibed. So instead he painted on a happy face and cuddled the white bundle of fluff.
"Are you trying to bribe me into staying with Chibi-chan?" Iruka smiled, his voice amused and playful.
"That depends Omocha," Kakashi smirked. Iruka let the name go and rolled his eyes, the prince had the mentality of a child sometimes.
"Depends on what Prince Kakashi?" Iruka played along. Masked lips brushed Iruka's ear and his breath hitched, the warm puffs of air sending shivers up Iruka's spine.
"Depends if it's working," Kakashi said alluringly. A vivid blush spread across his tanned cheeks and he buried his face in the cloud of fur, he could hear Kakashi laughing but he kept his face hidden.
"...Bak…. Perv… Princ….." Iruka mumbled. Kakashi watched the cute display with moony eyes, Pakkun nipped his arm and Kakashi snapped out of it.
"You finished inspecting Chibi's fur yet? We have a exciting day ahead," Kakashi sang. Iruka glanced up at Kakashi with a sceptical look.
"An exciting day?" Iruka asked.
"Yep you get to spend the entire day with_ wait for it_…. Me!" Kakashi bragged.
"Wow I must be the luckiest man in Konoha," Iruka said dryly. Kakashi threw an arm around Iruka's shoulder and he grinned.
"I know. We're going to do whatever you want, we'll have lunch anywhere you want, then later I have a surprise for you, then we'll have dinner in the royal hall with the Uminos and my family," Kakashi listed. Iruka would never admit it to the egotistical prince but he was impressed at how organised the prince was.
"Sounds like a plan Prince Kakashi," Iruka smiled honestly.
"Just Kakashi," Kakashi said quickly.
"… you sure?" Iruka checked and the silver haired man nodded lazily.
"Okay Kakashi-_Yeouch! _Chibi don't nip!" Iruka scolded. The mischievous blue eyes blinked up at Iruka in an attempt to look innocent.
"I work with kids Chibi so don't think you're fooling me. Just because I wasn't paying attention to you doesn't mean…" Iruka breathed. Iruka was so focussed on the puppy that he paid no attention to the arm that still lay across his shoulders, Kakashi smiled to himself and tightened his hold.
Gaara walked briskly down the halls of the main castle, he had been called in for a 'trivial' military meeting and this worried him greatly. Years ago it had been decided that 'trivial' was the codeword for vital but they didn't want to alert the gossips who could start a mass panic. He could vaguely hear his seme's loud voice echoing down the halls, Lee was always too loud for his own good. The redhead turned a corner and spotted a group of teenagers sitting in a waiting area, most of them he knew from parties but one blonde caught his attention.
"Gaa-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, a soft smile stretched across Gaara's lips as he dodged a flying hug from Naruto. A few nobles rolled their eyes at the whiskered man and started complaining about him being the 'supposedly' strong heir to the Uzumaki clan. Before Naruto could jump in and shout at them, Sasuke threw them the terrifying sharingan glare.
"Problem with Naruto?" He said dangerously, the nobles shook their heads quickly and Sasuke nodded.
"Good," Sasuke stated.
"Naruto, Sasuke," Gaara greeted. Sasuke nodded at Gaara and Naruto tried to glomp him again, standing behind the couple was a taller pair of men. One was as pale as moonlight with long jet black hair and a bored expression and the other was a tall blue man who stared out the window with a sharp toothed smirk.
"They've summoned both Uchihas?" Gaara said. Sasuke and Itachi looked at each other and nodded, it was rare for them both to attend the same meeting. Usually Itachi handled the professional things and Sasuke handled the combat but being summoned together meant only one thing.
If Gaara wasn't a stoic noble he might have sent his apologies to Naruto but he knew with just one look that the blonde understood. Itachi looked out the window with a small pout, he wanted to know what was taking Kisame's attention away from him.
Out on the lake two figures could be seen sitting in a boat, the silver haired man clumsily tried to row while the brunette laughed.
"Just give them here, I'll row," Iruka choked out between laughs.
"No, I can do it," Kakashi replied stubbornly. Iruka tried to grab the oars but the prince shuffled backwards, Iruka crawled forward and Kakashi stood up. The boat rocked and Iruka pulled Kakashi down with a shocked yell.
"Don't stand up in a boat!" Iruka scolded. Kakashi shrugged and lay down beside Iruka, deciding that floating around would be fine.
"You worry too much," Kakashi yawned.
"Maybe," Iruka smiled.
Itachi snorted and turned to Kisame, his seme was always close to Kakashi and it took Itachi a while to understand that it was just friendship, he was paranoid that his cousin would try to steal Kisame from him even if they were both semes. Naruto, Sasuke and Gaara moved over and watched the prince and the teacher with fond looks.
"Kakashi is going to get his heart broken," Kisame muttered, Itachi hummed in agreement. Naruto grew red with anger and he growled at the shark man, Itachi shot his younger brother a warning look but Sasuke didn't move.
"Iruka-sensei wouldn't do something like that. Plus I'll bet he doesn't even like Prince Kakashi, why would he? He's an arrogant, perverted and-and Iruka-sensei is a saint," Naruto said loudly.
"We know Naruto however…. Fate isn't kind and Iruka-sensei belongs in his own world while Kakashi is destined to take the throne. There is no compromise," Kisame explained. Naruto bit his tongue and rubbed the back of his neck, he knew Iruka was set on leaving but he had thought the pervert would convince him to stay.
'I'll have to do that after this boring meeting,' Naruto planned. He could see Sasuke fidgeting beside him and he couldn't hide his worried frown. Sasuke could stand perfectly still in silence for hours but he had been far more anxious recently.
'I could blame it on jealousy about Iruka-sensei getting close to me but this started at least a month before that…. He wouldn't be cheating on me would he?… Is this what this meeting is about? Has he found someone else? Oh god,' Naruto panicked. Naruto started hyperventilating and Sasuke raised an elegant eyebrow at him.
"What's up dobe?" Sasuke said indifferently. Naruto calmed himself and looked at the raven with a strange look.
"Back in 2 minutes," Naruto told Gaara, he grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled him away.
"Dobe! We need to wait here! What if we're called in?" Sasuke reasoned but Naruto continued to pull him away.
"We won't be long," Naruto called back with a fake smile. Sasuke looked back at his brother and scowled, Itachi was giving him the I-am-so-much-better-than-you-and-Kisame-would-never-do-that-to-me look. Sasuke glared and turned back to his blonde lover, they turned a corner and then he was pulled into a secret nook.
Naruto slammed him up against the wall and dominated his mouth, Naruto's tongue pushed into Sasuke's mouth and his hands slid under the folds of Sasuke's black kimono. Part of Sasuke wanted to give into Naruto's demanding actions but the main part of him wanted to push the blonde away. Naruto pressed harder against his uke, begging Sasuke to join in and prove he still loved the Uzumaki. Sasuke turned his head to the side, dislodging Naruto's lips and taking in a deep breath of air. Naruto's hands stilled on the pale waist and Sasuke's eyes grew ice cold.
"Don't touch me," Sasuke whispered harshly. Naruto whimpered against Sasuke's cheek and shook his head violently.
"Please Sasuke… I don't know what I did to annoy you, well annoy you more then usual but I'll fix it. You don't have to leave me for some big muscly seme like Kisame because I'm better then anyone and I love you more then anyone and…." A pale hand reached up and covered Naruto's mouth, a smirk stretched across Sasuke's face. His other hand moved to push Naruto's wandering hands off his abdomen.
"Dobe what makes you think I'm leaving you?" Sasuke sneered. Bright blue eyes blinked at his lover and he started talking away behind the hand, Sasuke rolled his eyes and pulled the hand away.
"Repeat?" Sasuke offered.
"You've been acting weird the past 2 months and then this big meeting comes up and…" Naruto trailed off. Sasuke wanted to slap his boyfriend for his stupidity, he knew Naruto had a brain but the blonde rarely used it.
"I haven't been acting weird and you seriously don't know what this meeting is about?" Sasuke said in disbelief. Naruto shook his head and Sasuke pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek.
"When was the last time Itachi and I were called to the same meeting?" Sasuke said slowly, he waited for Naruto's brain to connect the dots.
"Was it_ then_? Naruto said quietly and Sasuke nodded stiffly.
"6 years ago," Sasuke confirmed. Naruto pulled back from the raven and cleared his throat.
"After you," He gestured and Sasuke snorted, he latched onto his seme's arm and they walked back towards the meeting room.
The heads of several important houses in Konoha sat around the large table, both kings sitting at the top with serious looks. Naruto glanced at a few files that were scattered around and 4 metal disks were placed strategically on the solid surface. He sat down next to Sasuke and Itachi dropped into the seat on Sasuke's other side, Uchiha's weren't known for being supportive but being there was enough for the younger raven.
"You've all been called here today for an important reason," Sakumo announced "Uzumaki Kyuubi has gathered a small army and plans to attack Konoha,". People gasped and Minato grabbed the table in anger.
"He's not an Uzumaki anymore, my brother died when Kyuubi killed first," Minato snarled, Naruto nodded quickly.
"Kyuubi abandoned his clan 7 years ago and had killed hundreds, including the Uchiha clan," Sakumo said seriously. Obito's eye twitched and Itachi glanced at his brother, Sasuke had been the only survivor. He had been out with Kisame and Obito was already married to Sakumo.
"His troops are deep in the dark forest on the edge of Konoha, we've begun evacuating the villages that are closest to the forest as we anticipate their first attack tonight. We can't get the right resources until tomorrow so we'll have to wait," Sakumo ordered.
"Wait?" Sasuke hissed and several eyes looked at him, including Obito's.
"Yes... wait, his blood will be shed tomorrow," Obito said coldly. Sasuke nodded and returned his eyes to the table.
Ibiki stepped forward and touched one of the disks on the table, a large hologram appeared and Naruto clenched his fists. A tall tanned man with blood red hair and red eyes, a sharp scar on his cheek was shown.
"This is our most recent image of Kyuubi, his forces are small in number but large in skill. We believe his intention is to take control of Konoha so he'll be trying to enter the stronghold," Ibiki commanded.
"Look at the files in front of you and this will..." Ibiki droned on.
Iruka laughed and shoved the prince to the side, he was genuinely having fun with Kakashi and a hint of regret ran through him. Part of him wanted to stay and have fun with the prince forever but his practical side screamed for him to leave before he could get hurt. Kakashi pushed a door open and held it for the brunette, he gave a mock bow and looked innocently at Iruka.
"After you Iruka-sensei," Kakashi smirked. Iruka walked through the door and cast a suspicious look back at the silver haired man.
"Since when have you been polite Kakashi?" Iruka smiled. Kakashi pouted through his mask and the pair continued down the hallway.
"I'm a Prince so I'm polite, photogenic, pleasant, popular…" Kakashi listed.
"More like… persistent, petty, promiscuous, perverted," Iruka replied dryly, Kakashi pouted and started stalking Iruka.
"You're so_ pessimistic_ Iruka-sensei," Kakashi chimed. Iruka rolled his eyes, he didn't know how the prince knew so many adjectives beginning with 'p' but he found it incredibly annoying. He was the teacher so he was supposed to be intelligent not some pampered prince.
'Although intelligence is an attractive quality,' Iruka thought. He could admit that the prince was a handsome man, the image of Kakashi's naked face was burned into Iruka's mind and had been crawling into the teacher's dreams recently.
"You okay sensei?" Kakashi asked. Iruka snapped out of his thoughts with a faint blush and Kakashi bit his lip, it was hard to resist Iruka when he was so obliviously cute. They reached the dining room doors and Kakashi silently cursed, he didn't want to share Iruka's attention.
"I'm fine, let's go in," Iruka said, he pushed the double doors open and peered inside. The dining room was empty except for the royal advisor, who sat in his designated seat. Iruka turned back to Kakashi with both hands on his hips.
"How late are we? Kakashi!" Iruka scolded, Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the exchange and smiled down at the clipboard in his hands.
"I was considerate of your inane desire to be on time," Kakashi responded, Iruka's forehead twitched and Kakashi winked at Shikamaru. The Nara sighed and shook his head, he should have known the prince was a masochist.
"How late are we?" Iruka repeated.
"5 minutes," Kakashi answered, dark eyed blinked a few times and Iruka scowled.
"Impossible, where is everyone?" Iruka said. Shikamaru looked up at the pair and stood up quickly, he brushed non-existent dirt off his outfit and cleared his throat.
"They're still in the war room they've been in a meeting for a while but it must have overran. If you'll both sit down, I'm sure they'll arrive momen…." Shikamaru's request was cut off by an angry growl. Iruka was shocked to hear such a sound erupt from the normally lazy and calm prince.
"He lied to me," Kakashi whispered harshly, his visible eye was narrowed dangerously. Iruka felt like fleeing from the prince when he was like this, he knew Kakashi was a soldier but he didn't think he would ever witness Kakashi's warrior persona. A pale hand grabbed his wrist and Kakashi pulled the brunette down the hallway, towards the war room.
Iruka let himself be pulled along by the stressed out prince, he stumbled over his feet a few times but managed to keep up.
"Why would he lie to me? I'm strong enough," Kakashi said more to himself than Iruka.
"I've always wanted what's best for Konoha but apparently I'm not important enough to be let in on whatever is happening!" Kakashi ranted. Kakashi pulled Iruka down a corridor that he didn't recognise but the teacher didn't want to question Kakashi's actions when he was angry.
"I should have been involved!" Kakashi gritted out. They reached the final hallway and Iruka found his voice.
"I'm sorry," Iruka squeaked. Kakashi stopped at looked back at Iruka like he hadn't realised the uke was behind him, he noticed his hand digging painfully into the tanned skin and he loosened his grip.
"No. No, I'm sorry. I've really enjoyed spending the day with you, it's been great but I just wish my parents wouldn't lie to me," Kakashi said, his fingers rubbed over the marks with a soothing touch.
"I wish mine would," Iruka confessed. He wished his parents would be there, to lie to him, to tell him the truth, to advise him, warn him, do all the things a living couple should do.
The blue eye watched Iruka with a confused look, he opened his mouth to speak but Iruka cut across him.
"You going inside?" Iruka hinted. Kakashi's hand dropped from Iruka's arm and he nodded, he pressed against a nearby ivory door and the pair walked in. Most of the nobles had left the room already, content with the information they'd been given. Minato, Naruto, Sasuke, Obito, Sakumo, Mashimizu and Hiruzen looked up at them with shocked looks.
In the middle of the table stood the hologram, sadistic eyes bore into Iruka and Kakashi. Iruka felt like something was groping around inside his skull, like all the air had been forced from his lungs.
"Kyuubi?" Iruka exclaimed, both hands jumped up to cover his mouth.
"Iruka-sensei…. How do you know my uncle?" Naruto asked. The room was silent and all eyes were on Iruka's shivering form.
"I-I…. I don't," Iruka lied. Hiruzen shook his head and stepped forward, he pushed a button and the image of Kyuubi disappeared.
"It's time you told them the truth Iruka-sensei," Hiruzen said knowingly.
"I…. You know?"
"Yes, Tsunade and Jiraiya told me. I know you were trying to spare your uncle the pain of knowing and trying to spare yourself the pain of remembering….. But you should probably tell them," Hiruzen explained.
"What pain? Iruka what's going on?" Mashimizu pressed. Iruka looked up and his uncle and stifled a sob, he didn't want anyone to know. He wanted to leave without telling Mashimizu the truth but he knew it was unavoidable now.
"I….I…. can't," Iruka mumbled. His heart constricted painfully and he raised a hand to grasp at it.
"Tell them or I'll show them," Hiruzen threatened.
"….. I'm sorry…. I'm so sorry," Iruka whispered, he pushed past Kakashi and slammed the door behind him. Kakashi heaved the door open and watched Iruka running away in floods of tears.
"Iruka!" Kakashi called.
"Come back inside and shut the door Heika. You'll want to see this too," Hiruzen said calmly. Kakashi contemplated ignoring the guardian but he was too curious about how Iruka was connected to Kyuubi. He shut the door over and Hiruzen herded everyone into a corner, ignoring the protests.
"Iruka wouldn't tell you so I'm going to show you. I was sent the memory from Iruka's guardian, this was set 6 years ago. Just after the Uchiha massacre, Kyuubi entered the mirror and arrived in the Umino household," Hiruzen said. He walked over to the 4 disks and sent waves of chakra down them. The walls, ceiling and floor dissolved around the group and they were thrown into complete darkness.
"Hiruzen-sama!" Obito yelled.
They arrived outside a elegant Japanese house in a small rural street.
"Have no fear, this is a memory and so we don't exist," Hiruzen said softly. The youngest king was about to question it when a small figure walked up the path towards the house. He wore a simple school uniform, his long hair tied back neatly and his face was unblemished by scars or freckles.
Mashimizu smiled at the boy, he was no older then 16 but he looked far too innocent. He opened the front door with a smile and unwrapped the long red scarf from his neck, it was too long for someone his height but he didn't mind.
"Tadaima," Iruka announced but his face fell when he got no reply. Normally his house was bustling with relatives and he always got an answer.
"Tadaima~!" Iruka shouted but the house remained deathly quiet. He dropped his school bag by the door and kicked his shoes off messily. Iruka walked further into the house and opened the first door, in the living room he spotted his grandparents sitting on the decking.
"Obaasan, Ojiisan," Iruka said but they didn't look back at Iruka. Their backs were slumped and Iruka guessed they were asleep, he shut the living room door over and started walking down the hallway.
Bloody hand-prints on the mirror made Iruka stop.
8 bloody hand-prints, all the same size on the surface of the mirror.
Iruka rushed back into the living room and over to his grandparents. He gasped when he saw their fronts caked in blood, the red droplets fell over the edge of the porch and onto the stones.
"Obachan? Jiji?" Iruka stuttered. He reached a hand out but couldn't bring himself to touch their corpses.
"No…. I don't understand," Iruka said. He left the room and shut the door firmly, he never wanted to look back.
"Okasan! Otosan! T-T-There's been an accident!" Iruka shouted. He turned and rushed down the hallway, he stood before the bloody mirror and started to hyperventilate. He reached a finger out and ran it through one of the hand-prints, his finger was stained with wet red blood. Iruka wiped it on the wall in revulsion.
"Does blood disgust you little one?" A dark voice said. Iruka looked up at the mirror and saw someone standing behind him, his eyes and hair were ruby red with evil intent gleaming in each slitted pupil. Iruka span around and tensed in fear like a deer in headlights.
"It's a shame because I need your blood next Umino-chan," Kyuubi crooned.
'Next…. Does that mean he….. No… please… no,' Iruka begged.
"Who are you?" Iruka asked.
"Give me your name and I shall give you mine," Kyuubi grinned, his sharp fangs glinted in the low light.
"Iruka," The teenager said. He was proud that none of his fear showed in his voice, not a tremor… not yet.
"And I am Kyuubi….. Now stay still Iruka-chan," Kyuubi purred, he lunged and Iruka who dodged the attack quickly. He ran down the left hallway and thought he was homefree until a sharp pain in his back made him drop to his knees.
"AAaaah!" Iruka shrieked. A large dagger was embedded in his spine and every movement made him feel like he was being torn in half. Sharp fingers dragged along the steady stream of crimson that dripped from Iruka's back, Kyuubi watched the blood on his fingers with glee.
"Yes this is the one," Kyuubi said to no one. He pulled out a small bottle and grabbed the knife in Iruka's back, the boy squirmed and tried to get away but the older man was too strong. He pushed the weapon deeper into Iruka's back, the sweet cries of pain excited him like nothing else could. Using the bottle he captured Iruka's blood and stored it away in his pocket.
Iruka opened his eyes and tried to breathe through the pain, his hands were torn and bloody from the broken glass on the floor. The glass cabinets on either side of him were smashed to pieces and a glint caught his eye. His grandfather's kunai was among the shards of glass and Iruka formed a plan.
"I have what I came for, I'm going to return home now but…. What a dilemma," Kyuubi said dramatically. Iruka could feel his breathe on the nape of his neck and it made him want to throw up.
"You see Iruka-chan…. I don't like leaving things half finished," Kyuubi spat. Iruka snatched the kunai and turned around quickly, he thrust the kunai up and heard Kyuubi hiss in pain. Iruka looked up at the man standing over him, blood trickled from a scratch on the man's cheek. Kyuubi's eyes flared with anger and he laughed sadistically, another dagger appeared in his hand.
"A scar for a scar Iruka-chan, that's fair right?" Kyuubi said smoothly. He grabbed Iruka's face tightly and dug the tip of the blade into his cheek, sepia eyes widened and Kyuubi sliced across the bridge of Iruka's nose.
Mashimizu winced and Kakashi watched in horror as Iruka's screeched in pain, his hand covering most of his face but blood dribbled through his fingers. Sakumo turned away in shock and the Uzumaki's and Uchiha's found their ability to speak was robbed from them.
The gash caused Iruka so much pain that he went blind for a moment, all he could see was scarlet red and all he could feel was mind numbing pain. His brain pounded against his skull and he couldn't think clearly. Kyuubi took advantage of the opportunity and returned to the mirror, he wiped his bloody hand on it and it gave off a faint glow. He smirked and stepped through it.
Iruka regained his sight and he looked around nervously for any sign of Kyuubi.
"He must have gone…. Thank god," Iruka croaked, his voice was tender from screaming. He found the rag that his grandfather used to clean his kunai with and pressed it firmly against his face to slow the bleeding. He reached behind himself and wrapped his hands around the dagger.
"No… Iruka don't…" Mashimizu cried. Iruka tugged the weapon out with a heart wrenching cry, he threw it in a random direction and ignored the steady stream of blood that gushed from his back.
Iruka got to his feet and kept walking slowly down the hallway, he needed to find his parents.
"Okasan. Otosan," Iruka called weakly. He turned a corner and saw two bodies on the floor, he made his way over to them and checked their pulses. The woman had short black hair and her normally vibrant eyes were concealed behind bloody eyelids.
"Aunt Fuji wake up," Iruka implored but her skin was as cold as ice. The man next to her was still gurgling, his throat slit and blood spurted from the deep cut.
"Uncle Aito!" Iruka exclaimed, he took the rag away from his face and pressed it against the neck of his light haired uncle. The man gurgled and pushed it away, he knew it wouldn't help him.
"...Kids…." He choked out, every word hurt. Iruka's mind froze, he hadn't even considered the possibility of his younger cousins being hurt.
"Where are they? Where's Hanayo and baby Daichi?" Iruka pleaded. The dying man pointed to the children's separate rooms before his hand fell limp.
"Uncle," Iruka murmured sadly.
Mashimizu scrunched his eyes shut in pain, his parents were dead and so was his older brother and his sister in law. Sakumo lay a hand on his shoulder in comfort but he had a feeling things would only get worse. Kakashi watched Iruka's injured form spring up and the brunette sprinted as fast as he could towards the rooms.
Iruka opened the door to the nursery and his eyes noticed the cot, blood on the railings. Iruka hesitantly walked over and he gasped at the bloodied baby in the cot. Iruka broke down in sobs and smeared the mixture of tears and blood onto his sleeve. He picked up a blue blanket and lay it over the body.
"I can only hope you were sleeping Daichi," Iruka sobbed. He pushed himself off the side and reminded himself that Hanayo needed him. He stood in front of the paper door, decorated with various flowers and butterflies. He pushed it aside and walked in, the small toddler was facing away from him but still breathing.
"Hanayo!" Iruka called, he knelt down beside her and rolled her onto her back. She had a gaping wound in her chest as if someone had ripped out her heart.
"Iruka….. Your hurt," She said pointing to the bloodied scar. Iruka shook his head with a smile and silently inspected her injuries.
"It's just a scratch," Iruka lied. He tried to lift her but his back groaned in agony, she wailed at being moved and Iruka set her down.
"Hurts too much…. Hurts…." She whimpered. He brushed her dark bangs out of her face and placed a kiss to her forehead. She grasped his hand and squeezed it tightly.
"It's okay, we'll get out of this somehow," Iruka smiled.
"Are we going to die?"
"No… we aren't going to die,"
"But it hurts…. So much…"
"Just…. Go to sleep…. Go to sleep and the pain will stop,"
"Promise?"
"Promise,"
Her dark eyes drifted shut and her hand slipped out of Iruka's. He watched over her for a few moments until she stopped breathing, he stroked her cooling cheek lovingly and let the tears and blood fall together.
_**Thump**_
Iruka looked around, he was on high alert in case Kyuubi had returned. The kunai was wedged in his pocket and he ran his fingers over it lightly. He heard a weak groan and his eyes grew wide.
'Okasan!' Iruka screamed in his head. He jumped up and ran out the room, he had to lean on some walls for support but he finally reached his parents' room. He was scared to open it, scared what he would see and the entire group shared his feelings.
He gathered his courage and tried to ignore the gaping hole in his back, he had left a thick trail of blood behind him and it worried him.
'Is all that blood mine? That's not good,' Iruka thought. He pushed the door open and saw his father on the bed, bandages were crudely wrapped around his torso but his skin had turned blue. Iruka still checked his pulse and bit into his lip when he found none. The brown eyes stared up at the ceiling and Iruka sobbed, he placed his fingers on the eyelids and shut them.
In the corner of the room a woman lay on the floor, he yellow kimono was stained in so much blood that it couldn't legitimately be called yellow anymore. Iruka sank to his knees beside her and the warm grey eyes turned to him. Her dark hair was dyed red by the pool of blood beneath her.
"Iruka," She smiled.
"Okasan…. What's happening? Tell me it's all a bad dream," Iruka begged.
"I'm sorry…. This is the end," She kept smiling. Iruka bend over, despite the pain and grabbed her robes helplessly.
"NoNoNoNo! I won't let it, we can go get help and.." Iruka fantasised but even he knew the trauma was too much.
"I thought I was meant to see a flashback of my life at the end but I had a vision," She said sweetly.
"A vision?" Iruka played along and she nodded.
"I see your future Iruka, you're going to be amazing. You're going to help so many people and have… a wonderful… life," She struggled. Iruka looked her straight in the eye, not caring if she saw his tears.
"Please don't leave me alone….. I don't want to be alone," Iruka confessed. She coughed and patted his head gently.
"You won't be. I see it in my vision, you won't be alone," She smiled brighter. He saw the light fading from her eyes and he started to sob louder but she only smiled up at him.
"Why are y-you smiling okasan?" Iruka asked. The lacerations were bleeding quicker and she had to inhale deeply before speaking.
"Because I… got to see… my baby boy…. Again," She said honestly, the tears that she was holding back finally escaped and ran down her cheeks.
"Okasan," Iruka cried. He kept wiping away the blood that ran from his nose so it wouldn't land on her.
"Iruka…-ove… yo-," her final words were quiet but Iruka could still hear her.
"Okasan," Iruka said numbly. The mental pain made the physical pain seem like nothing.
"Hello? Is anyone in here?" A feminine voice boomed.
"Tsunade-hime?" Iruka called back. She laughed in relief and Iruka could hear her thundering towards him. His own heart thundered and his head felt heavy, he stood up to go find the woman but he started feeling dizzy. The elder's voice got closer and closer but Iruka couldn't hear anymore, he crashed to the floor beside his mother with a large exhale.
Kakashi stepped forward, forgetting he couldn't do anything and Obito pulled him back. He didn't want Kakashi going near the blood, it was too like his family's murder.
The scene dissolved and they were all back in the war room, Hiruzen tapped the disks a few times and turned to the stunned men. Hot tears streamed down Mashimizu's face but he didn't wipe them away.
"That's why he was so angry at me….. I left him all alone. If I'd known what had happened I would have brought him here sooner I swear," He whispered.
"Iruka never wanted you to know, you've built a life here and ignorance is bliss," Obito understood. Mashimizu knew the king was right but it still hurt. Sasuke held onto Naruto's hand, the young Uzumaki was crying heavily and Minato looked grim.
"Why brother?" Minato hissed angrily. He looked at his student and saw the prince hadn't moved.
"Kakashi?" Minato said. Kakashi shook his head and walked slowly towards the door, the others watched him leave without a word to stop him.
"I'll escort you home Professor, come on Naruto and you too Sasuke," Minato ordered. The younger men nodded and helped guide the dazed brunette from the room. Sakumo sat down and watched Obito pace back an forth for a few minutes, dark eyes turned to Sakumo with a sigh.
"I always liked Iruka but I never realised how much we had in common….. Kyuubi screwed up both over but at least I have Itachi and Sasuke," Obito said sadly.
"It's late and I've lost my appetite, let's go to bed," Sakumo offered.
Finding Iruka wasn't hard, the astronomy tower was locked so Kakashi checked his bedroom. He knocked once and opened the door, Iruka lay with his back to the door and his face buried in a pillow. Kakashi shut the door behind him and walked up to the bed.
"It's just me," Kakashi reassured and he saw Iruka nod into the pillow. Kakashi didn't want to start with a rant about him keeping secrets or bring up anything too graphic about what happened.
"She was beautiful, your mother," Kakashi complimented.
"The most beautiful person in the world. She had the perfect smile…. Even in death," Iruka said slowly.
"A smile you inherited," Kakashi said. Iruka smiled into the pillow and tried not to be consumed by the warm feelings.
"Thank you," Iruka replied. He felt the bed dip as Kakashi sat on the edge, pale fingers stroked through the loose hair.
"Don't pity me Kakashi, I know I was a weak coward," Iruka whispered, the fingers stopped and Kakashi shook Iruka's shoulder harshly.
"You weren't! If you were a coward then you would have ran away when you saw the blood. You weren't weak, you landed a hit on Kyuubi…. Not many can say that," Kakashi said seriously.
"I didn't protect them….. I failed," Iruka mumbled. Kakashi untied his boots and pulled them off, he tugged his dark jumper over his head and took the cloth covering his eye off.
"It wasn't your job to protect them, things like that don't happen often in your world so how could you be prepared for it?" Kakashi answered. Kakashi lay down on the bed next to Iruka and rested both hands behind his head, he pulled the silk covers over him.
"Tsunade-hime said it was a serial killer from another country and I believed her but…. Deep down I think I always knew….. He wasn't…. I could feel something evil and unnatural like he was from a different world…. Irony," Iruka said into the pillow.
Kakashi reached over and plucked the pillow from Iruka's arms, ignoring Iruka's protests he threw the pillow across the room. Iruka wore a plain white t-shirt and pale blue pyjama bottoms and Kakashi thought they looked great on him.
'This isn't the time to be checking him out Kakashi,' The prince scolded himself.
"Kyuubi killed my family too…. On my mother's side. Mother, Sasuke and Itachi are the only Uchiha's left not including myself," Kakashi confessed. Iruka grew tense and he reached his hand back to hold Kakashi's.
"I'm sorry," Iruka whispered.
"Don't be…. All I'm saying is that I understand…. Partially," Kakashi said. He slid an arm around Iruka's waist and rolled him over, Iruka's cheek rested against Kakashi's collar bone and the brunette sighed.
"Is this okay?" Kakashi checked and he felt Iruka nod.
"Just this once," Iruka said softly, tears welling up and falling against Kakashi's masked neck. Iruka's hands clenched Kakashi's shirt and he tucked his head under the prince's chin. Kakashi wrapped himself around the smaller man and drew circles against his lower back.
Iruka inhaled Kakashi's musky scent and sighed happily, his tears slowly stopped falling and Iruka snuggled into the warm body. They stayed like this for a few minutes until Kakashi broke the peace.
"You've only known me a month but I've known you much longer," Kakashi said.
"On my 18th birthday I wandered into the grounds and came across the mirror, curiosity got the better of me and I looked into it. I saw an angel with the saddest eyes I had ever seen but he had the most amazing smile. I wanted you to smile at me like that…. I wanted to make those sad eyes light up with happiness," Kakashi confessed. He held Iruka tighter and smiled under his mask.
"I went back every night for the past 5 years in an attempt to catch a glimpse of you. Suddenly no one caught my eye, no one was good enough. I didn't want anyone except you," Kakashi admitted. Kakashi glanced down and saw the brunette was snoring lightly against his neck.
"Maybe it's good that you fell asleep," Kakashi chuckled. Iruka shifted in his sleep and his hands fell from Kakashi's shirt. Iruka snored and threw his arm possessively over the prince, Kakashi laughed and pulled Iruka's body half on top of him.
"If you were awake you might realise…" Kakashi stopped and brushed a strand of hair out of Iruka's face.
"How hopelessly in love I am with you," Kakashi mumbled, drifting off with Iruka in his arms.
