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Chapter 2

Iruka lay in bed, fighting the urge to groan. He couldn't recall ever feeling this sick. His whole body hurt and felt like it was made of lead. He couldn't regulate his body temperature so he was constantly pulling the blankets on and then moments later tossing them off again.

He'd found out from a very severe-looking and unsympathetic med station nurse that Kakashi had once again brought him in, weak and incoherent. He noted the disapproving look on her face but he had no idea if it was actually meant for him, or the absentee copynin. When he inquired about Kakashi's whereabouts, the nurse simply scoffed and left, mumbling something about "laziness and porn". This left the teacher wondering just how well the nurse knew Kakashi.

Iruka groaned as he adjusted himself to lie on his back and stare at the ceiling. He'd tried to distract himself and do some reading, thinking since he was stuck in bed he might as well treat himself to a good book. But his mind, in its weakened and drugged state couldn't concentrate on the words before him. He found it much easier to gaze, half awake at the ceiling. As his eyelids started to feel heavy, and blinking was taking a very long time to complete, Iruka's mind kept asking one question over and over: What was Kakashi doing at my apartment in the first place?

As if being summoned by Iruka's echoing thought, a puff of smoke revealed the juunin, much to Iruka's shock. The sick man sat up quickly, his fright helping his mobility.

"Aah!! Kakashi?!"

"Well, you're much livelier than the last time I saw you, so you must be on your way to recovering."

"How…wha…"

Iruka brought his hands up to his head. His quick, sudden movement made his head swim and he needed to stop the room from spinning.

"Or maybe not." Kakashi carefully put his delivery down and walked over to Iruka's side. "Is something wrong? Can I do anything for you?"

One eye peered out from between Iruka's fingers and it fixed on the silver-haired man beside his bed.

"What's wrong is you teleporting into my bedroom without warning."

"Yes, well, you weren't answering the front door."

"Ugh. My head is spinning and it hurts."

Iruka looked away from Kakashi and tried to bring the world back into focus and into its upright position.

"Would you like me to take you to the med station?"

"No."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the growl from the normally soft spoken man.

"Can I get you some medicine?"

"No." Iruka sunk back down into his bed with a sigh. He eyed the copynin standing at his bedside, his mind finally catching up with reality. "What are you doing here, Kakashi?"

"I came to deliver this." A brown box materialized in the ninja's hands and Iruka blinked a few times to confirm what he was seeing. "It's a 'Get Well' box."

He placed it on a nearby chair and opened it, pulling out a worn, yet soft orange blanket.

"This is from Naruto. He's lending it to you. He seems to think it has stronger healing properties than the medicine you were given."

He placed the blanket at the foot of the bed.

"Here is an herbal rub from Sakura. She says to apply it to your chest and it will help with your breathing."

The jar was placed on Iruka's nightstand.

"And this…."

Kakashi pulled out a rather thick tome and placed it on Iruka's lap, smirking at the puff of air escaping the sick man as his body supported the weight.

"….this is the young Uchiha's way of putting you to sleep. He says reading this will help you to get all the rest you need."

Iruka smiled at the thoughtfulness of his former students.

"They didn't want to deliver it themselves?"

"Well….." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Sasuke didn't want to risk getting your germs and delaying his training. Naruto launched into a fit of righteous anger over Sasuke's 'heartless attitude' as he called it and started a fight. That left Sakura as their referee."

Iruka chuckled but it quickly turned into a coughing fit that wracked his whole body. Kakashi frowned as he removed the book and brought Naruto's blanket up to Iruka's chin.

"Are you sure I can't do anything for you?"

Weary brown eyes looked up at Kakashi.

"You can tell me what you were doing at my apartment yesterday."

"Oh, that….well I noticed the kids were running amok and so I asked one what was going on and he said you never showed up. So I came to check on you."

"Oh. I thought you might have come here to gloat."

"Gloat? No. Why would---"

"This wouldn't be the first time we've disagreed about something and you've turned out to be right."

Kakashi sat down on the floor, cross-legged, contemplating Iruka's words. It was true, their history had been peppered with various disagreements, but not once had Kakashi ever lorded his victories over the teacher. But surely we've had more pleasant conversations than disagreements. Kakashi thought back and he really couldn't recall any casual, friendly exchanges. I don't want to be Iruka's adversary. I have to show him that's not who I am.

"Are you hungry? Would you like some soup?"

Iruka blinked a few times at Kakashi's question. He expected some sort of response to his comment. Maybe he's avoiding the subject because I'm right. He frowned and rolled over, making sure the orange blanket went with him.

"No, thank you. I just need to rest."

"Alright then. Get well, Iruka."

Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke and Iruka lay there, staring at the wall. Why does he suddenly seem so concerned with my wellbeing? Is he doing it because of the kids? The thought of a bright-eyed, energetic Naruto made Iruka smile and he brought the blanket up to his face and closed his eyes. It was soft from use and smelled of ramen. Iruka chuckled and gave a contented sigh as he pictured the young man giving his current sensei a hard time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

TWO DAYS LATER

Iruka smiled as he watched his students run from the classroom for their lunch break. Once the room was empty he made some last minute notes then left to seek out his former students.

It didn't take him too long to reach the meadow Kakashi had taken his students to that day and he waved as he approached. He saw Naruto's face brighten and the energetic blonde immediately left Sasuke behind and started running to greet Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Hello, Naruto. Training hard?"

"You bet!"

Iruka placed a reassuring hand on top of Naruto's head and ruffled the sunshine yellow locks affectionately as the two fell into step together.

"Glad to hear it."

"What are you doing here?"

They had reached the rest of Team 7 and Iruka smiled at his former students.

"I just wanted to thank you all for your get well box. Every item was most helpful in my recovery and it was very thoughtful of you to think of me."

Iruka's heart warmed at the smiles and enthusiastic well wishes from the young genins. Well, two of them. Sasuke, true to form, stood there and didn't say much, but the small curve at the corner of his mouth was enough for the teacher.

"Well, I don't want to keep you from your training any longer. Keep up the hard work, and thanks again!"

Iruka waved goodbye and headed over to where Kakashi was waiting, casually sprawled under a tree looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. He came to a stop several feet away, his hands buried in his pockets, gazing down with a smile on his face.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi. Sorry to interrupt your training."

"You're always welcome, Iruka."

"Yes, well….thank you." Iruka rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture as he worked overtime to suppress the warmness in his cheeks. "Listen, I, uh, wanted to ask you about something."

"Oh?"

"There was a bowl of soup sitting on my dresser. Do you know where it came from?"

"Ah, that was my contribution to the get well box."

"Really? Well….thank you. It was….it was very good. I had no idea you were such a skilled cook."

Kakashi let the satisfied grin show through his mask. There are lots of things you don't know about me, Iruka.

"I'm glad you liked it. The Fourth Hokage taught me how to make it years ago. It's very tasty, but also a very potent elixir for boosting the soul's energy."

"The soul's….energy?"

"Yes. In order to be truly healthy, everything should be in balance: the mind, the body and the soul. Your mind was not ailing, but often when your body falls ill, it affects the soul as well and few are aware of this. After you ate the soup, did you notice a difference in how you felt?"

Iruka thought back to sitting in his bed, sipping at the soup and looking out at the morning sky, blazing orange with the promise of a new day. He had thought that feeling of lightness and sense of calm had come from the inspiring sunrise. Is it possible it was the soup?

"I…I felt very calm and…..light." Iruka could see the smile widen behind the navy face guard and he couldn't help but return the gesture. "Thank you, Kakashi."

"You're very welcome."

"Well, I don't want to interrupt your training any more. I have to get back to my students as well. I'll see you guys around. Thanks again!"

Kakashi watched the retreating figure until it was out of sight before rejoining his students who were sparring amongst themselves. Thoughts of the warm-hearted teacher with the chocolate eyes remained foremost in his mind for the rest of the day as he contemplated how best to show Iruka his many other talents.

To be continued…..