Disclaimer: I lay claim only to my family, cat, house and car.
No picture inspirations for this chapter. I just wanted to show Iruka had a life outside of teaching and Kakashi and so I gave him friends. And I couldn't think of two better guys than Asuma and Genma. They just look like the type to play cards, don't they?
Picture This
Chapter 5
Iruka sat down at the table with a piece of pizza and a beer. He looked at the man to his right suspiciously. The brunette with the senbon hanging from his mouth just gave him an innocent smile.
"He didn't look at your cards. I was watching him."
Iruka smiled at Asuma who was sitting across from him while Genma scoffed and slouched back in his seat and pouted.
"If you guys think I cheat, then why do you still let me play?"
Genma smiled at the cards in his hand and placed one on the growing pile. Then he looked at the man to his right. Asuma shook his head gently and took a long drink from his beer before turning his attention back to Genma.
"We let you play because you bring the beer."
All three men laughed and the game continued with little conversation as they ate pizza and played. As Genma returned from the kitchen with fresh drinks for everyone and Asuma shuffled the cards for a new game, Genma frowned down at Iruka and gently pushed his head.
"So where'd you disappear to today? I was looking for you to see if you wanted to workout."
"Oh, I was training with Kakashi."
Genma froze as he handed Asuma a beer who was equally immobile, his hand hanging in the air as he reached for his drink, and both men were looking at Iruka with questioning eyes.
Iruka looked from one to the other and frowned.
"What?"
"You were training with Kakashi?"
"Yes."
"But he doesn't train with anyone but Gai."
Iruka kept looking between his two friends, his confusion growing. Genma had since regained his senses enough to sit down in his chair, but he still looked at Iruka as if in wonder.
"What are you---?"
"Did you barge in on his training session with Team 7 or something?"
"N-no, he invited me to train with him. The children weren't there."
Genma and Asuma looked at each other with raised eyebrows and then looked at Iruka one more time before returning to drinking their beer and studying their cards. For his part, Iruka was irritated with his friends and he slammed down his cards in frustration.
"What is going on? What's wrong with training with Kakashi?"
Asuma shrugged and kept his focus on his cards.
"Nothing. I'm just shocked he invited you to join him. He's a rather solitary creature."
"Practically everyone in the village knows Kakashi! He's not what I would call solitary."
Genma scoffed and placed a card on the table with a groan.
"Everyone may know him, but he doesn't know most of them. Waving and smiling and exchanging a few pleasantries as you buy your groceries does not make you a social butterfly."
Asuma smiled as he reached for a card and Genma shot him a dirty look.
"I've actually invited him to play cards with us a few times."
"And?"
"He just smiles and politely declines. If he's not with Team 7, he's usually by himself. Hell, Hokage even sends him on solo missions."
"He's not alone, Asuma. He has those damn books."
Iruka didn't like the tone in Genma's voice or the sneer on his face and from the look in Asuma's eyes, neither did he. Iruka knew what books Genma was referring to. They were legendary. Not for their immense literally content, but because they were written by one of the legendary Sanin and religiously read and coveted by the Copynin. With the support of two such figures, how could the book not gain a certain mysterious notoriety?
"Iruka?"
"Hmm?"
"Your turn."
Iruka frowned down at his cards as he tried to concentrate on the game at hand, but his thoughts were preoccupied with Kakashi and his motives for asking him to join him in training. Why would he ask me? We're not friends and certainly not equals when it comes to skills. Was he testing me? But why? Or could he have just invited me because he wanted-----
"Jeez, 'Ruka, tonight."
Iruka looked up and glared at his friend who just sat there, a thin silver senbon gleaming between his lips.
"Fine."
Iruka placed his card down and sat back with a satisfied smile on his face. Asuma just chuckled as Genma growled and reached out to draw four cards.
"Jerk. What color?"
Iruka looked down into his hand again and scanned the array of yellow, green and blue cards and his smile grew as he spied the lone card on the far left.
"Red."
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Kakashi grimaced as he pulled the shuriken from his shoulder and slid to the forest floor. He held his breath and listened for a long, tense moment before exhaling slowly and letting his head fall back against the tree trunk.
Damn it. I used up too much chakra fighting off those psychos and now I've got to get back home. If I rest here for a few hours and eat and drink a little, I should have enough chakra to teleport most of the way home, decreasing my travel time by at least a day. But if I encounter trouble on the way, I won't have enough chakra for a proper fight. Which means I'll have to resort to other means. But I'm not exactly in the best of shape for that either. So I guess no matter what, I'm making a run for it.
After digging a big enough burrow to hide in for a few hours and choking down some water and a nutrient bar, Kakashi settled in for some much needed rest.
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Iruka kept a steady pace as he walked the dark, quiet streets of Konoha, his hands in his pockets. He hadn't meant to stay so late at Genma's but it had been such a long week and it was nice to have somebody cook for him for a change. And the beer didn't hurt either. Iruka's lips curved just enough for a content smile as he let the buzz take over his mind and his eyelids drooped just a little. Man, I'm really tired. Maybe I should have just accepted Genma's offer and crashed at his place.
As Iruka regretted his decision to walk home he squinted into the darkness, wondering if he was imagining the shadowy figure. I'm not that drunk, but I am that tired I suppose. He rubbed his face with his hands and looked again, his eyes suddenly going wide in realization and his mind instantly sobering up.
"Kakashi! What happened?!"
Iruka stopped in his tracks and watched the juunin as he slowly approached. He had a large crimson stain on his right shoulder which was hanging down lower than his left. His clothes were dirty and tattered and there was a growing stain on his thigh. He shuffled his feet and looked like he was about to fall over when Iruka finally regained his senses and rushed forward to help support the man.
"Where are the children? Are they ok? Here, lean on me more, I'll get you to the med station."
Kakashi was more than willing at this point to obey Iruka's instructions and he leaned most of his weight on the strong chuunin.
"They weren't part of this mission. I was…alone."
Kakashi leaned his head against Iruka's shoulder and let a quiet groan escape. He didn't care about presenting a strong front to the man helping him. He was hurt, rather badly, and welcomed the caring support.
"Sorry…to trouble you. I couldn't teleport all the….way."
"Nonsense! I'm amazed you made it this far without somebody seeing you."
"Truthfully, I've been avoiding being seen." He chuckled quietly and Iruka could hear the pain. "It'll ruin my image if I'm seen like this."
Iruka frowned and shook his head, grateful to see the med station within sight.
"You're incorrigible."
"I prefer boyishly charming."
To be continued….
A/N: I suck at card games. EXCEPT Uno. So I had to make that the game of choice for the big guys.