ruka-kun: hehz.. that was one of the longest chapters! Lolx. And Iruka is sooo cute…
beryl: I'm glad u enjoyed reading it ) Iruka is hot..
Pink Raine: yay. Thanks for pointing that out. I've changed that part already… (:
Uzamaki Liliana: eeps! I did spell it wrongly… so sorry.. and yes! Poor kakashi needs lots of lots of love.
Noni: thx for pointing it out.. I've changed the "sharingan". Cheers to KakaIru!
Hiei's Gothic Angel: oh my gosh.. thank you for reviewing ALL the chapters! And I'm SOOO glad u like it. It's people like u that make me want to continue writing!
Zezura: eh.. sorry to disappoint… but probably will stick to T (: I'm glad u like the kiss and sleep well!
Shuga: OOPS! Eh. The website I checked was wrong! ): Will get them together soon!
Reki-chan: thank you! U noe who vanyel is too?
anbu-kakashi: thank u for loving my story! Love u for reviewing!
Constances: big hugz back thank you so much!
Disclaimer: By now you should know that I do not own Naruto!
On to chapter 6!
Chapter 6
"Oh my God, what did I just do?" Iruka turned and ran. He ran out of Kakashi's room, he ran out of his house, but most of all, he ran away from Kakashi.
His hair streamed behind him as he ran, caught in the wind. It was a while before Iruka finally stopped. Panting, he glanced around and saw that he had run to that place.
Iruka stood before the large stone. Fingers traced the names that had gone down in history for serving Konoha. This was the place that he had gone often when he was a child. Whenever he was angry, sad, happy or confused, he would come here. And just for that little while, he would imagine that his parents were still alive and he was a child again, pouring out all his troubles to them.
What have I done? I kissed Kakashi... I kissed another man! Iruka slumped down onto the soft grass. Worse, I had wanted it... I should have pushed him away. I should have kicked him, punched him or anything... Instead, I had kissed him back so enthusiastically... Does that mean... mean that I'm really gay?
That realization did not come as a surprise. Iruka knew that he was not a typical guy. In his teens, when everyone was ogling at girls, he had maintained little then a mild interest at them. They didn't fire his blood, they didn't make his heart race... As he grew older, missions had gotten in the way of his love life. Then, Sandaime had offered him the chance to teach at the academy. Initally Iruka had taken on that job because it ensured a stable income, but he soon discovered his love for teaching. The down side was that teaching took up all of his time, which meant that Iruka rarely had the chance to develop his love affairs.
Until Kakashi had entered his life. Oh gosh... that kiss... I could blame it all on Kakashi but... Iruka's cheeks grew hot as he recalled how he had responded to Kakashi's kiss.
"Dad... Mum... what am I going to do?" Iruka groaned.
A few birds chirped in reply, but otherwise, there was no answer.
Okay... so accepting that I'm gay isn't so hard. I'm sure Konoha has its fair share of gays around... So what' s bothering me now?
Even without asking, Iruka knew the answer. Hatake Kakashi. Damn that man! He infuriates me, teases me, mocks me and then brings me to my knees with desire...
"AHHHH!" Iruka pounded the grass in frustration. Not for the first time, he wished Sandaime was still around to offer him advice. Sandaime... what advice would you have offerred me?
Iruka pictured Sandaime in his mind. Old but strong, commanding but fatherly andcaring. He pictured Sandaime pondering that question, deep in concentration. He imagine Sandaime looking up at him, grinning, "Pounce on him while you have the chance, Iruka."
No! No! No! I did NOT just think of that! Iruka quickly evaporated that thought from his mind.
Iruka sighed. Okay.. so we kissed, it's no big deal. We're both mature adults and I CAN handle this. No more dwelling on this. Right now, I need all my wits to deal with the most calculating, cunning "ninjas" in Konoha. Iruka grimaced a little at the thought of dealing with an unruly bunch of would-be genins.
I will not think about Kakashi... I will not think about Kakashi... Iruka got up to his feet and quickly made his way to the academy, determined to banish Kakashi from his mind.
"Knock knock."
It was early in the morning and Kakashi wondered at who the person could be. Quickly donning a shirt and adjusting on his mask, he hobbled towards the door.
"Tsunade-sama?"
"Kakashi." Tsunade acknowledged him with a slight inclination of her head, seemingly oblivious to his surprise.
"May I?" She gestured.
"Er.. sure." Kakashi wondered since when had Tsuade ever needed an invitation to enter someone's house. "Make yourself home."
Tsunade quickly sat down on a large comfy sofa and indicated to the seat opposite her. "Sit." she commanded, "There's something serious we need to discuss."
"Not here to examine my wounds? And here I was thinking of how nice you were to be so concern..."
"Kakashi, SIT."
Something in her voice alerted Kakashi. He obediently sat down, donning his expressionless, almost bored look.
"I presume this is not a friendly visit."
"No, Kakashi. This is about your last mission."
Kakashi arch his brow in question.
Tsunade suddenly looked away, unwilling to look at him in the eye. She clasped her hands together in front of her in a defensive action.
Puzzled, Kakashi waited in silence for her to speak.
"It WAS a mission in that the scroll needed to be out of the enemies' hands. But, I also knew it was a trap."
Kakashi waited.
"And, I know the trap was meant specifically for you."
Silence hung in the air as the implications of the words sank in.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed, "You purposely sent me? Even knowing it was a trap?"
"Yes, but listen, I needed to have more information. All I knew about the enemy were rumours and sketchy information. I needed concrete proof and solid confirmation."
"So you sent me to spring the trap."
"Yes."
Kakashi was silent for a moment. The knowledge that he had been a mere chess piece in Tsunade's plans left a bitter taste in his mouth. But...
"That's not all that you've come to see me today about is it? What have you found out?"
Tsunade nodded, impressed by Kakashi's preceptiveness. "Orochimaru and Kabuto are brewing something and whatever they are doing, it is trouble. The plot I suspect involves a Sharingan."
"They want the Sharingan, Kakashi, and not just any Sharingan, they want you and YOUR Sharingan."
"Konohamaru!"
Deafened by Iruka-sensei's amazingly loud voice, Konohamaru froze in mid-action.
"Get back here, Konohamaru!" Iruka stood hands on his hips, legs slightly opened wide, his face fierce and serious. It was a formidable face meant to scare even the most brave of students.
"But.. but, Iruka-sensei! I need to go to the loo!"
"This is the third time in one hour that you have gone!"
"but... Iruka-sensei..."
"Get back here before I drag you sorry self to your seat and give you the spanking you deserve."
Konohamaru stood silently for a while, weighing the pros and cons of obeying Iruka-sensei. The cons would be that he would have to endure another 2 hours of boring lessons. Pros would be that he would not have to endure anymore of those deafening shouts, would be able to shake off the persistent Iruka sensei and most of all, would be able to prevent the possibility of suffering the humiliation from being spanked by Iruka-sensei.
Clearly the pros outweighed the cons.
"Hmpf, Iruka-sensei, you sure are moody today, are you sure you are not a girl? I thought only girls have such mood swings." Konohamaru remarked as he slowly shuffled his way back to the classroom.
Iruka stiffened. Moody? I'm not moody for goodness sakes! I'm not thinking about that kiss. I'm not thinking about Ka... Iruka caught himself before he let his thoughts wander to the person he had forbiddened himself to think about.
Iruka ran a hand down his face. The children were especially tiring today. More restless and more easily provoked. Somehow, they had caught the restlessness of their sensei. For hokage's sake I must get my spirits together.
"Okay children, since you are all so restless , we shall not have any more lectures today. For the next few hours, we will practice taijutsus outside."
"Yay!" The children chorused as they all scrambled out of their seats and ran to the courtyard.
Iruka smiled as he followed them to the courtyard. I don't blame them for finding the lessons boring, they are just a bit too dry. I need to think of ways to make them interesting...
"Bye! Iruka-sensei." Iruka grinned and waved goodbye to the kids as they spilled out of the school gates into the arms of loving parents. Laughter and chatter filled the air as the children prattled on about the day's activities while the parents smiled in indulgence. Iruka loved this time of the day. When the rays of sunlight slanted across the sky, when you can see the first tinges of orange and yellow among the clouds.
"Iruka-sensei..."
Iruka looked down to see a contrite Konohamaru looking up at him with baleful eyes.
"I'm sorry for what I said just now... "
Iruka bent down to ruffle Konohamaru's hair. "It's alright. Your taijutsu was good today."
Konohamaru gave a wide grin. It lasted for awhile, but faded quickly.
"Anou... Iruka-sensei, is it alright for a ninja to miss people?"
Iruka followed his gaze to see Konohamaru staring at the groups of children with their parents.
Konohamaru... You miss Sandaime and Naruto don't you? Iruka's heart ached with sadness for this little boy who had lost so much but still faced every day with such cheerfulness. So like Naruto...
"Ninjas are human first, and all humans have the right to have emotions. Come, let's go to Ichiraku to have ramen. My treat!"
"Really? Yay!" Konohamaru barreled into Iruka and wrapped his small arms around his waist.
Iruka smiled.
"Wait while I call home first." Whipping out a cell phone, Iruka punched in the numbers. The phone rang three times before it was answered. Lips suddenly dry, Iruka wet them with his tongue.
"Hello?"
"Kakashi-sensei... this is Iruka. I'm taking Konohamaru out for dinner tonight. Would you be alright on your own?"
It was a rhetorical question that didn't exactly needed to be answered.
"No problem, I'm fine, I'll just grab whatever you have in the kitchen."
There was a pregnant pause as neither party wanted to broach about what had happened this moring. It was Iruka who spoke first.
"What happened this morning..."
"We'll talk about it when you get back."
It was a command, not a question.
"Alright."
"You have a good time with Konohamaru."
There was a soft click as the receiver was put down. Iruka stared as he felt the monotonous tone sounding loud and empty in his ear. Overbearing jerk. "Come, Konohamaru, let's go." He said as he grabbed Konohamaru's hand. "We're going to have fun tonight, just you and me!"
Back at Iruka's house, Kakashi looked around at the empty place. It seemed cold. Empty and cold. Tsunade had spoken to him at length about what she had known. He tried not to be bothered that someone was after, possibly his life. He knew for a fact that many people would love to kill him, copy ninja Kakashi. Orochimaru was just another guy to add to the long list.
That thought was not the least bit comforting.
Kakashi tried to return to his book, but even the juiciest bits of Icha Icha Paradisu couldn't cheer him up. It wasn't just what Tsunade had told him today. It was also Iruka...
Tried as he might, Kakashi couldn't stop thinking about Iruka, of how that chuunin had tasted in his mouth nor could he forget how Iruka had felt in his arms... Yet, he was also haunted by the caged look in Iruka's eyes as he had ran away from him.
Run... yes, run away from me. There's nothing I can give you except more pain and more anguish. You deserve so much better then me.
Iruka was avoiding him. Kakashi had no doubt of it. That was why he had brought Konohamaru out today, so that he could avoid seeing Kakashi. It shouldn't have mattered, but nonetheless, Kakashi felt just the slightest twinge of hurt.
Abandoning his book, Kakashi proceeded to rummage through the kitchen for anything that requies little cooking but would fill his stomach.
Iruka carried a sleeping Konohamaru under his arm as he walked on the streets of Konoha. The sky tonight was dark, the moon had apparently taken a holiday and the streets were softly illuminated by the lights from houses and the few shops that were still in operation at this time.
Shizune was waiting frantically at the house. She had almost worn the floor down with her pacing when Iruka appeared at the doorway.
"Iruka...? Konohamaru!" Shizune went forward to relieve Iruka of the dead weight.
"Gomen, I brought him out for dinner but didn't thought to inform you."
"Hn." There was just the slight disapproval in her tone.
"It's alright. Konohamaru can fend for himself. You worry too much about him. He's more capable then you think."
"Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade gave Iruka a smile while she waved Shizune away.
"Tsunade-sama. Thank you for taking care of Konohamaru."
Tsunade shrugged. "You're too good, Iruka, I take care of him so that when I meet Sandaime in the netherworlds, I would not have to face his wrath of not taking good care of his grandson. Besides, Konohamaru is a great kid... So... how are things between you and Kakashi? I popped by today. He's healing really fast, faster then I had expected. He'll probably be gone in about two more weeks. You should be glad then."
Two weeks? So fast... Iruka quickly hid his disappointment. But Tsunade did not miss it, neither did she miss the conflict of emotions playing across his face.
Something is going on between them... Tsunade hid a sly smile.
"Eh, yah, I'll sure be glad! We're fine, but you know how irritating Kakashi is, always reading those dirty books of his, but he's good company."
"You are a gem, Iruka. No wonder Sandaime thought so highly of you." speaking so, Tsunade tiptoed to plant a kiss on Iruka's cheek.
Iruka blushed furiously.
"Good night, oh and be nice to Kakashi." Tsunade turned on her heels, leaving Iruka to wonder about her last remark.
It was very late by the time Iruka had reached home. Luckily there wasn't school tomorrow. He still had half a stack of papers sitting at home, unmarked. The house was already dark. Kakashi must have fallen asleep. That's good, I don't really want to face him now.
Iruka had returned home late frequent enough and he knew his way around in the dark with practice ease so he didn't bother turning on the lights. Not waiting for his eyes to adjust to the near pitch-darkness, Iruka made his way towards his bedroom.
Two hands captured his wrists and a hard body hit him to the ground.
"Wha.."
A large hand covered his mouth. Iruka panicked and twisted beneath the person. Intruder! What happened to Kakashi?
Iruka squirmed, trying to throw the person off. Then, the lights came on.
"Iruka?"
Kakashi immediately released his hold on Iruka and swung him up.
"Kakashi! What the devil are you doing? Attacking me like this!" Iruka fumed and ranted while Kakashi listened, amused.
"Hey hey.. I thought YOU were an intruder, coming in in the dark."
"This is MY house! I thought you would be asleep by now and I didn't want to wake you! So much for my kindness."
"I was asleep. I'm just a light sleeper."
Iruka mumbled something intelligible under his breath.
"Did you say something?"
Iruka took off his hair tie and ran his fingers through his long hair. "Look, I'm tired and you just scared the hell out of me, le'ts just part in peace and deal with this tomorrow okay?"
"No."
"What?"
"I said no. We need to talk about this now." Kakashi was adamant.
Iruka sank into the comforting arms of the sofa, combing his hair with his fingers and closing his eyes in weariness. He had thought about little else besides Kakshi today. And some time during the evening, he had found the "answer" he was looking for. Iruka waited for Kakashi to say his piece.
"I... this morning..."
Kakashi trailed off, uncertain of what to say. Iruka opened his eyes to look at Kakashi expectantly. To his amazement, the usually confident jounin was stuttering like an uncertain child.
"I... just let me pack my bag now and I'll go."
"No."
"What?"
"I said no. You're not leaving."
"You need not mind me you know? I can take care of myself." Kakashi smiled, trying to lighten the mood. His eyes slitting into one cresent shape line.
It was an empty smile.
Iruka hated that smile that was so devoid of feeling, so fake.
"I thought about this for a long time. I tried not to think about us, about you." Iruka stood up and stepped closer until he was standing directly in front of Kakashi.
"I couldn't do it. You were everywhere in my mind... This morning was my fault as much as yours." Iruka looked up seriously into Kakashi's one black eye. "You make me want you..." he whispered.
Angling his head forward, Iruka placed a chaste kiss on Kakashi's lips, through the mask.
"I promised Tsunade-sama to take good care of you, and I keep to my promises."
This time, the smile that Kakashi gave was genuine.
yay! finished this chapter. i hope i dint make Iruka and Kakashi too OOC... hehz. i hope chap7 won't be too late in coming... whee.. thanx everyone for reading and will be happy to receive suggestions/comments on how u think the story is or how u think i can make iruka/kakashi better!
yay!