Finally back with an update...so sorry for the delay. Warning: of kind of "M" rated action at the end - still conservative in my opinion; I value your feedback to see if you disagree...
Chapter Nine
The temporary hope that came with putting his name on the list faded long before any results came from it. A full six months went by; and while Iruka continued to train with the others, doing every bit as well, it was with the isolation and bitter knowledge that in the end, they would advance, and he would not.
Instead, he would be left behind on his own to man the backlog of lower D-ranks, review what he'd already learned with solo training and work on practice drills to occupy his time. He would be in limbo until the passing group of pre-genin was ready to move up and form the next genin class for him to join. Many more months would then have to pass in order to meet the standard minimum time-in-genin-status requirements before being allowed to take any proficiency test.
Everyone knew he was being held back thanks to the boys who had opened the notice in the ward, and the most popular opinion voiced almost out of his earshot was that he was too much of an immature cry-baby to advance with the rest. He tried to time his visits to the memorial so that no one else would be there, right from the very first time he'd gone there to grieve; but there were so many others vying for private time to pay their respects, it was nearly impossible. He refused to be pressured into not going at all. He refused to apologize for any tears shed in honor of his parents, or protest that it had been many months since he had done so, in spite of their talk. It was none of their business.
The gossip had grown until he now used stealth to visit the stone just to avoid any harassment. Mizuki had offered to stand guard for him, but that seemed like it would surely make it worse; it would look like he had to get someone else to fight his battles for him. It was small comfort that the things they said about him were not true; in fact, it made him feel more frustrated and vulnerable. Lies could spiral in any direction no matter what he did. He hadn't shed a single tear in over a year for any reason, and he had no intention of ever doing so again if he could help it, but he had been freshly branded as a crybaby. He could probably kick ninety percent of his classmate's asses in a fair fight, but they still called him weak. And he himself had no idea why they'd held him back. He didn't believe that lame excuse about the times he'd been in trouble. Mizuki had suggested that it was the Third, or the bug jounin, or the both of them that decided to keep picking on him because he had no parents to protest against it, and that was the only halfway reasonable explanation that he had found. He wasn't sure how he could have handled all of this without Mizuki in his corner, commiserating and helping him figure it all out.
Twice now, since being pulled off-track, he'd lost his temper and ended up in a fight, both times with groups of boys. Not very smart. He'd given as good as he'd gotten, though, in spite of the odds. And being one against many kept him from disciplinary action. Even though he'd thrown the first punch that started the melee in both occasions, his opponents didn't want to be identified and accused of ganging up on a peer; and Iruka refused to name them through his split lip and bloody nose. Rumblings of a rematch were always in the background, but the overworked sensei was either oblivious or chalked it up to the normal flux of the pecking order. In any event, officially, none of it ever happened.
It was important to him to stay out of the limelight if he ever hoped to get his shot at chunin, but his self-control was thinning. He was desperately grateful when word came through that he finally qualified for a collateral assignment; Toma-sensei had discreetly called him aside and handed him the papers when they were alone. It helped a great deal that he didn't have to bear any ridicule along with his disappointment when the long-awaited news arrived. The assignment Iruka received was that of teacher's aide for the pre-genin classes. It was an embarrassingly wimpy job; it sounded like baby-sitting, and he was no babysitter. And these much younger kids could be his classmates before too much longer. It felt like he was going backwards instead of forwards. It would be a death-blow to his reputation. And for what? It wouldn't be of any value to him at all. It was a job so simple an old woman could do it, and it would bore him out of his mind.
It only took the first hour to find out just how wrong he was.
With a mini-kunai protruding painfully from his hip, he tried fruitlessly to hustle the group back into line after a small disagreement had broken out during throwing practice. The kids were curious enough about him to behave well for almost the first five minutes after the sensei left them in his charge. After that, they proceeded to test his abilities as a supervisor to the limit, ignoring his direction and growing more and more disobedient. A deliberately aimed rock whizzed through the hair of his ponytail and when he spun to find the culprit, the whole class seemed to be in on it, clapping and laughing in delight at their pint-sized act of treason.
That prank got them more than they bargained for. Iruka's fiery temper flared up and he blasted them verbally until they were leaning away with wide eyes and open mouths. Silence fell over the group and they sidled into their proper place, never taking their eyes off of him.
When the sensei returned he observed the group standing in straight lines and taking their turns in an orderly manner; he nodded to Iruka with a knowing chuckle.
"Nice work, Umino. Looks like you've got their number."
Iruka nodded back with a dark look. This was not fun, regardless of his success at it. They filed into the classroom, and a lesson on basic messenger handling started. Each student was soon wrestling awkwardly with an old, senile bird. The poor things had been hauled out of retirement and deposited with flailing feathers on their small polished desktops.
The sensei and Iruka went around and worked individually with the kids, helping them to understand and apply the techniques that would bring the bird into obedience while they fumbled to learn the right way to attach the message capsule.
This was entirely different. Iruka's easygoing ways and clear, logical demonstration skills had him helping more students than the sensei by the time they had the entire classroom covered. One-on-one, the kids were a lot friendlier and easier to deal with; they actually wanted his help and paid attention. Although he would be reluctant to admit it, he already felt more accepted by these kids than he could ever remember feeling with his own peers. In the end it seemed that Iruka's kids had slightly better confidence in handling their birds. The sensei was impressed.
"You may have a gift for teaching, Iruka-kun," Masato-sensei said after the classroom emptied at the end of the long, challenging day. Several of the kids had tried to stay back and gather around Iruka to find out more about him; the teacher had just finished shooing them out and closing the door. "Listen, this is something you should seriously think about. We're hurting for staff right as it is, and there's been talk of recruiting new trainers at the apprentice level to have them ready when the next teachers retire. That would make the timing just about right for someone in your stage of development. I hope you'll keep an open mind about this. I won't kid you, this job is very difficult. And there are those who don't see the importance of it. But I wouldn't go back and change a day of my career. This is a position as vital to the village as that of Hokage. The very future of Konoha rests on the shoulders of those who teach its young. You would find it very rewarding and meaningful. It's difficult to compete with the obvious glory and glamour you see so much of with the jounin lifestyle. But a man who chooses this path has rewards that more than compensate for sacrificing those things. You just need to have the right conviction, the right degree of loyalty and selflessness."
Iruka rubbed the stained spot on his hip where the mini-kunai had pierced. "Well, it's more hazardous than I thought it would be," he joked.
The older man grinned. "Just one managed to get you? A lesser man would have looked like a porcupine, the way they were behaving." He reached down and with a quick touch of chakra, the wound was gone. Iruka looked mildly surprised.
"Flash healing of minor wounds is a basic for this job," he explained. He continued to look at Iruka intently, as if he were assessing him still. "I lost my last aide a few months after the early promotions were announced. Seems that she wanted to get more training in to make sure she would qualify for acceleration. Now all I have are open requests for assistance for the rest of the school year. You're the first person they've sent me since. They usually rotate the assistants in and out, but I guess you can tell that you don't really have any competition for this. Look, give this an honest try. And if you find it suits you, I'll see if they will let me extend your time so you can work here for the rest of the school year. It may interfere with your fast-track training, so we'll need to fit in some compensatory lessons here. I may be getting ahead of myself…but I want you to think about it. Report back here tomorrow for duty, and we can talk again after class."
"You mean…as an apprentice?"
"Oh…no, don't misunderstand me. This offer I'm making to you now is for the collateral assignment as a teaching aide only. You'll have to perform well and prove yourself in that position first. Then you would go through the application process for apprenticeship. Although, with the acceleration, you might already be chunin by then and you could just apply for the regular staff position. The apprenticeship is a way to bridge a genin level nin into the position so you can work on getting credentialed simultaneously while they are still working on their chunin promotion. The standard sensei rank is chunin, and you would normally have to wait and do your first year or two as chunin under probation to earn the credential. It lets someone work ahead until their rank catches up."
Iruka hesitated. He liked Masato-sensei, and the last thing he wanted to do was give him a bad impression. But he figured he'd better be honest.
"I've been taken off fast-track, sensei," Iruka said hesitantly. He could tell right away that his elder took this news very seriously. From the length of the pause it created before he got any reply, he half-expected to be asked to withdraw from this program as well.
"Is that so? A bright young man like you?" The older man said finally, with a look of concern. Rifling through his recent memory, he hadn't seen this revelation coming at all. When the name had been submitted to him, he had not been careless about screening the candidate. He'd pulled Iruka's training records and thumbed through them without seeing anything remarkable. His file was stuffed with irrelevant things, copies of practice mission reports, target accuracy results and old quizzes and test scores. Really, just seeing his grades would cover that. But other than a few incident reports regarding mischief he'd been disciplined for well over a year ago, there was little else. A generous handful of referrals to the medical unit for training injuries were neatly stapled on the inside cover in chronological order. That was the only unusual aspect to his student record. Apparently, they hadn't managed to associate the paperwork for the fast-track removal in his file. "What happened?"
"Nothing! I don't understand. I was doing really well. And all the paperwork says is that it's due to 'prior disruptive behavior'. I had some troubles pre-genin, but I've been very good since! I was a whole year on fast-track, without any big problems…but they took me off anyway. They did it months ago. And everybody in my unit knows about it."
"I already know something of your behavior in your pre-genin classes. You maintained passing marks in spite of it." Masato was puzzled. Many of the village's greatest shinobi were the worst cut-ups in the classroom. This made no sense to him at all. "Still…I will look into it. I doubt that this will have an effect on your assignment as far as I'm concerned, Iruka. If you've told me the truth, I don't think we have anything to worry about. You're still qualified to assist here, and it doesn't change my opinion of you."
"Thank you, Masato-sensei. I'll be back tomorrow, and promised to consider what you've told me very seriously." Iruka bowed and left, a bit sobered at having to confess to his bad behavior and loss of acceleration privileges. It would have been bad enough that the older man knew without the embarrassment of having to say it himself.
He liked Masato-sensei much more than he had liked his genin instructors already. It was very appealing, the idea of getting trained one-on-one by this man, instead of en masse with the group of peers that always acted as if they had no use for him.
He reported for work every day over the course of the next week and as he began to get to know the kids, things improved to the point where he could see himself becoming a part of this team after all. As soon as the last school day of the week was over, he stayed after to talk, determined that he would accept the offer the sensei had made, if it was still an option. The chance to break off from the other genin for something more positive was far too good to pass up. He was even a little excited about it.
Masato didn't stand and chat at the doorway. He closed the door, silently pointed Iruka to one of the small student chairs, and stood looking down at him as he sat. His stony stare didn't give away any clues as to what he was about to say. Iruka sat quietly, not sure what to expect. The easy camaraderie they'd shared while teaching in the classroom all week had just vanished. This was his superior, his upper ranked senior, directing him in a way that stressed the difference in their stations. Iruka knew from repeat experience that when adults pulled rank on him, he shouldn't take anything for granted. His full attention was expected, and Iruka complied in wide-eyed, worried silence.
"I understand that you've been assigned in the teen ward for your housing, Iruka," the sensei said, very seriously. "That's a difficult environment to be in. We have to think in terms of probability of success before we offer someone the challenge of juggling sensei training and shinobi training at the same time. It doesn't really do anyone any good to set you up for failure. I understand, too," he went on, watching Iruka closely, "that you have been injured a number of times after hours. The number and variety of these injuries is rather remarkable. Is there anything you'd like to tell me about that? I will tell you up front that I will respect your confidence."
Iruka fidgeted. "I don't actually stay at the ward. I kind of…camp out a lot. Things sort of happen sometimes because of it. But I do all right. I get my homework done. I get by." He felt a sinking sensation. It sounded like the sensei was changing his mind, thinking that Iruka was not in a position to continue as aide.
"You choose to be homeless," Masato said mildly.
It provoked him suddenly. "I choose? I chose nothing! My parents died in the Kyuubi attack and the village took away my home! They put me in that ward, like it's some kind of big favor, so I can sleep with one eye open and still get pushed around and made fun of. What am I supposed to do? Just take it? Be their chew toy? I'm just doing what I have to do, until I can find a way to support myself!" His face reddened with anger, and his mouth clamped shut too late. What the hell was he doing? He was supposed to be ingratiating himself, fighting for the chance to stay on - not blasting the man for something he had nothing to do with!
"Okay, okay! I get it, settle down now. I think you're going to like what I have to say next, then, even more. The ward is just not a suitable environment for you, so I had an idea. We have a couple of living spaces, very small efficiency apartments, located in mid-town. Usually, these are used for incentive. We let the new chunin sensei stay there for six months to a year when they first sign on. It helps defray their loss of income, since we discourage them from taking any missions during their initial probation period on the teaching staff. Well, due to the personnel shortage, the apartments aren't going to be used for a year at least. I thought I would offer the use of one to you. It comes all utilities provided…and you do realize that your assistant position, if you sign on for the duration, comes with a paycheck. It's very modest compensation – but with the small orphan's stipend you'll get by giving up your space in the teen ward, it should be enough for food and essentials."
Iruka's jaw dropped. The first thing his mind latched on was the idea of getting his small bag of personal items back from Mizuki and actually having a place to keep them.
"But…BUT," the sensei warned, "it isn't a complete 'gimme'. There are restrictions. At your age, since you're still genin, there's a fairly strict level of supervision required. As your evaluator I'll have a key as well. I'll have rights of entry at any time. And I will be checking on you, sometimes without warning. If you've got some bad habits or deep dark secrets, you'll have to set them aside for the time being, or I promise you I'm going to find out every one of them."
Those words bounced off the bubble of his euphoria. A key, and the right of entry, was a restriction? The man could come in anytime as far as he was concerned, it would still be tons more privacy than a tent in the woods or sleeping strapped to a tree. "It sounds too good to be true." Iruka, still just fourteen, would be enjoying incredible fortune: still genin yet living so well on his own.
"You've shown me some very special qualities. I think a little leg up is all you need." Masato had been alarmed after discussing the true reasons for Iruka's removal from fast track with his current sensei; it had been disturbing to hear of the things he had purposely left out of Iruka's file to preserve his chances to make rank someday. Iruka seemed well suited to teaching, and he seemed likely to need the extra supervision that this situation would provide. Both his genin sensei and Masato agreed that if Iruka would go along, this was an excellent resolution to all of their concerns about his behavior. "So, are we in agreement?"
Iruka hesitated. Mizuki would not like it if he made this decision without conferring with him. But he just couldn't see a downside; and now, they wouldn't have to sneak around and worry about whether to stay together when Mizuki got his apartment. They would each have their own place.
"I am grateful. I will do my best to meet your expectations. The restrictions are more than reasonable. I accept." He bowed low.
"Excellent." The sensei breathed a sigh of relief. He truly liked Iruka, and now, he would be able to get closer and see to it that any self-destructive behavior was identified and dealt with.
O0oo0o0o0o0o
When he gave the news to Mizuki, the older boy was pensive. It went contrary to his greedy plan to have Iruka by his side every night; but it wasn't terribly disruptive in the long run. They could be just as together at Iruka's as they would be at his place. And maybe he could move in with Iruka instead, eventually. The apartment wasn't far from where he'd planned to find a rental.
He hadn't quite gotten around to making the move yet, anyway. The temptation to extend the excuses that kept their outdoor maneuvers going had been just a little too great. This would push him into making that move, the circumstantial changes substituting for the willpower he just couldn't quite come up with.
He knew it was unavoidable; that their relationship would have to change eventually. It was a testament to his scientific brilliance that his wonder drugs had enabled him to keep Iruka so oblivious and well-controlled this long. But there was an element of luck to it as well, and so far no one from the village had stumbled onto their activities. He'd had a couple of close calls, and they had even been caught once by a stranger who had enjoyed the show and luckily was not enough of a friend of Konoha to blow the whistle on him. Now that Iruka would be seen up close every morning by the sensei, the risk of discovery was greatly increased. He wasn't entirely certain if an experienced shinobi would still be able detect anything by the next morning, but it would only have to happen once to risk everything.
It was clearly the right time to work on making their partnership into more, so much more, by elevating their physical relationship so that it could continue with Iruka's knowledge and consent.
Because their bodies already knew each other so well, he was sure that it would make the transition seem more natural, more 'meant to be'; but the few passes he'd made already had been greeted with startled, stilted response. It seemed that the first subconscious memories that his intimate touch aroused were not the ones based in pleasure, but perhaps those of being helpless and in pain; at times, even at mortal risk. Up to a point, he was able to get quite close to Iruka. Then he would hit some invisible threshold and the warmth and intimacy of the moment would go cold.
Instead of letting his rage get the best of him when that addicting warmth was cut off, Mizuki channeled his energy into raw determination - he would simply keep trying until he hit upon the right angle to break down the wall of resistance. Between his chemical helpers and his strong emotional hold on the sweet brunette, shifting their relationship was just a matter of patience, persistence and careful manipulation. The most difficult aspect was managing his own urges and aggression; he could not afford many slip-ups during this delicate transitional period.
Iruka was still his to keep. He was no longer young enough to be considered a defenseless child, so the watchful eyes of the Aburame and the Third were rarely interested in the boy's whereabouts these days. The boy had squared off against most of his contemporaries in thinly hidden resentment and the anger of rejection, eliminating his peers as a factor in any natural competition for his budding adolescent affections.
The massive tow-headed shinobi had time, motive and opportunity all on his side. His quarry was already culled from the shelter of the herd. He had no reason to entertain the thought of failure.
The first rude awakening to Mizuki's plan came when he discovered that he would not have an easy time trying to spend the night in Iruka's new place, at least, not at first. It seemed that the sensei Iruka was working with made it clear that for the first few months, he needed to be available for a room check at any and all hours of the day or night. If Iruka had not agreed, the offer of the apartment would have been rescinded.
Masato-sensei told Iruka that it was standard because he was under sixteen and genin. That wasn't the entire truth. Age and rank were factors; but the main reason he was required to submit to such scrutiny was due to the recommendation of his genin sensei, who had witnessed too many unexplained injuries and felt it was asking for trouble to let the boy hole up alone if he was given to hurting himself.
"The first week, we should take turns, and do a check at a random hour each night. Get it set in his head that he can't be certain of complete, uninterrupted privacy at any particular time. That way, if he is self-inflicting these injuries, he'll be forced to think twice about it now. That bit of behavior modification can be enough to stop someone who is borderline depressive. And the extra attention he'll be getting doesn't seem unwelcome," Toma-sensei reflected, helping Masato sign off on the paperwork to submit to the housing section.
"Yes, when I told him we'd be checking in on him, I thought he almost seemed to be pleased. I don't think he's the hermit type. This lack of socialization with his class seems to be more situational; he's an unusually open and friendly kid for his age, at least he is around me."
"He might grow out of his problems, Masato, but I think he would have ended up dying in the field if I left him on fast track. Even if he's just accident-prone, he can't be going on missions if he's not safe camping out alone at night! He shouldn't be promoted until he can prove his fitness for duty beyond any doubt. This is the best thing we can do for him. It's better than I would have been able to do alone, I really don't have time to do any individual monitoring. After the first couple of weeks you're on your own with him as far as that goes. Don't be too lenient, though. If he's not going to cut it, the sooner you wash him out the better. You know how rough the transition is once they're this old. Waiting and sending him down to civilian status after he gets much older is downright cruel."
"He's no wash-out, Toma. But regardless of his situation, there's nothing that can happen to him at the academy, so let's just give it some time and see how it goes."
Toma took the first two nights. At eleven on the first night and at one a.m. on the second, he rapped on the door and roused Iruka out of bed. He got a good look at him through the slightly open door just to make sure he was all right, and left without much else said but goodnight.
Masato took the third night. He knocked and waited. It was shortly after midnight, not all that late. Iruka called out his name before he came padding to the door to open it. Good, good, Masato thought. He had used his chakra naturally to identify his caller before even making a sound that would reveal he was inside.
The door opened just a little, as far as the short security chain would allow. Iruka gave him a pleased, if slightly sleepy, smile. "It's you tonight!"
"Yes, Iruka-kun. Are you going to make me stand outside?"
"Oh!" Iruka was a little startled, then unchained and opened the door. "Sorry. Toma-sensei just wants to see me come to the door."
"It's all right." He patted Iruka on the head as he passed him on the way in, noting his ponytail was down for the night. He was in loose pajamas, hanging low on his thin hips. They seemed oversized for him.
He stepped in and looked around in the dim lighting. The place was still neat as a pin. Iruka's raveled, half-flattened futon pad with a thin blanket was the only furnishing in the room. His clothes were carefully folded and stacked on the floor next to it.
He gave himself a little kick mentally. Of course, the boy would have nothing. It looked like he had scrounged the futon from someone's trash.
If the kid knew he was indigent, his face sure didn't show it. He gave his sensei a warm smile and rubbed an eye sleepily.
Masato couldn't help but smile back. "This place suits you?"
"I like it here. Thank you again, Masato-sensei!" He glomped the older man in an impulsive hug and then stepped back unsurely. He really was sleepy, and he got carried away when he was tired sometimes. "Oh, sorry."
"It's perfectly fine," he said reassuringly. Except that a cute, relatively defenseless kid should be a little more careful in such a potentially compromising situation, especially with someone he had not known for very long. He walked into the kitchen area and pulled open the drawers and cabinets. "Pardon my intrusion, but there were some vermin problems here, I just want to make sure everything's in good shape. Haven't seen any bugs or mice, have you?" Only two drawers held anything at all. One had a few odds and ends of chopsticks, a wooden spoon and an old knife. The other held two ration bars. He pulled open the refrigerator and found a milk jug that had been refilled with water, and a couple of used teabags on a clean, upended jar lid. An old newspaper was wrapped around some field greens of the type that could be gathered from the woods nearby. He supposed the lone saucepan on the counter also provided the hot water for the lone cup by the sink.
Pathetic, really. He threw away more than this without a thought. Although, it did speak of some strong resourcefulness. Iruka was making do with what little he had rather cleverly. That seemed like a decent indicator that the boy was not feeling self-destructive, at least not now.
"We'll talk tomorrow, Iruka. I think I have a few things that I don't need anymore that you might find useful."
Iruka kept that relaxed smile as he nodded. Just this little bit of home seemed to make him immensely happy. Masato got the impression that Iruka would cheerfully do just about anything for him at this point, he was so grateful. While he felt a strong parental urge to give the kid a long, reassuring hug, he seemed happy enough without it, and there was no point in encouraging bad habits like letting one's guard down too quickly. He might bring up the lack of defensiveness tomorrow; but for tonight, everything was fine.
"Lock up behind me, Junior," Masato chuckled. Iruka followed him and did as he was told, returning to his futon and a deeply satisfied sleep, feeling safe and secure and free from nightmares for the first time in as long as he could remember.
Energized by the extra lessons and duties, Iruka's performance improved almost daily. He fit in right away and the training methods Masato came up with were well suited to him; the minimal time around his peers helped his spirits rise, and the firm footing he gained by having a safe haven at night provided him with a much greater ability to concentrate and internalize the things he learned. In short, it allowed him to finally thrive.
Masato's eagle eye eventually mellowed, and while he kept tabs on Iruka's mental status, there was little to note but enthusiasm and optimism; well, and the occasion flash of red-hot temper. He practically had to crack the kid over the head to get him to settle down on the occasions when he offered to take him to the local stand for ramen. Even the tiniest of favors delighted Iruka so much; it seemed almost criminal that he had spent so much time shelved in the teen ward unmentored.
It had puzzled him a bit when Aburame Shibi had come by to ask about the boy's progress, and had mentioned his attempt to take him in. Masato couldn't feature Iruka being so shy of the offer; but perhaps, as Shibi had suggested, Iruka was not comfortable in the family setting, and so the more formal school and workplace relationship had allowed him to drop his guard. Shibi spoke highly of Iruka and gave Masato a few insights into just how difficult a time after the Kyuubi attack had been for the boy.
Mizuki had to take a back seat to Iruka's new situation. It aggravated him unbearably. He watched from the shadows in black rage when Masato went anywhere with Iruka after school hours; evisceration would be too good for the old pervert, bribing Iruka with cast-offs and meals just to touch him. Oh, the hugs and hair scruffles and rump pats all looked innocent enough, but Mizuki knew what fantasies would be fueled with such contact. The feel of that taught body, the scent of his hair, the nervous thrill deep in your gut at the sight of his unguarded smile and doe-eyed look of affection. It probably made the old man's balls ache the same way his did, impatient for an opportunity to possess every tanned, flawless inch in as many ways as humanly possible. It added to the urgency of his quest to advance the relationship, to make it clear that Iruka was not available, not in any way, shape or form.
The situation stretched his willpower past the limit, and his only relief was to backslide when the frustrations reached critical mass. The missions were getting longer now, and the opportunities to find time to vie for Iruka's attention were often lost. Getting Iruka to come away for the night was getting more difficult no matter how he tried. When he managed it, he used excessive doses of the hypnotics and went way too far; his pent up frustrations and obsession released uncontrollably and he did things he was unable to completely hide. Their hike to the falls had ended with broken bones and the worst head injury he'd inflicted on his soulmate yet. He'd had to rush Iruka into the medics in the wee hours of the morning, the story he'd had to come up with was risky at best, and the writing was on the wall. Another incident like this and his luck would run out completely. That damned sensei was always looking at him with that sideways, distrusting glare even before this when he came by to meet up with Iruka. Afterward, he seemed even more disapproving.
Mizuki nearly came unglued trying to find a way to live without anytime access to his partner. Just a week after the incident at the falls, while he struggle in the increased scrutiny to honor the ban on after-hours visitors, he discovered that Iruka had allowed a strange little homeless kid to stay overnight. Only after venting his rage by destroying a number of trees and unlucky wild animals could the venomous shinobi calm down enough to address it in proper channels, anonymously turning Iruka in for the violation to make sure it didn't happen again.
After that, his frustrated visits to Iruka's apartment seemed to always degrade into an argument when he tried to stay and was told he could not; which forced him to either retreat, or when he had been holding out beyond his limit, to give Iruka a short dose his special drink and spend every minute of the next two hours taking full advantage of the privacy the small apartment afforded them. Knowing that Masato made spot-checks at might, he kept the activity confined to the daytime and early evening. It wasn't the exotic or creative sort of thing he indulged in out in the wild; but he managed to make it work. He managed enough healing to cover up the worst of his activities afterward. He managed to use the vivid memories of these sessions to tide himself over in between. He endured it, because it was temporary, and because as a part of his grand plan for the two of them, it was necessary.
"Ki," Iruka said when the answered the door, sadness in his eyes. He used to be so happy when Mizuki came over. But lately, he had begun to wish he didn't have to come over so often. Sometimes, when things were going really well the school, he sort of forgot about looking for Mizuki afterward. That is, until he showed up on his doorstep. It never was the other way around anymore. Iruka never sought out his partner. When he wasn't around it was fine. He took for granted that they would see each other soon enough. By developing a little more maturity, he was getting a greater sense of independence - which added a little resentment to the feeling of being monopolized by the older chunin.
He should have held his tongue like he always did, but today it finally got out: his real thoughts. "What are we going to fight about today, Ki-kun?" he asked in thinly-disguised exasperation.
The look in Mizuki's eyes stepped Iruka back. He wasn't saying anything the two of them didn't already know. They fought all the time now. But he did know better than to say something about it, to provoke the large nin with the unpleasant truth that their great comradeship was more of an unhealthy snarling match much of the time.
"We're going to fight, eh?" Mizuki growled. "You want to spar? Is that it?"
"No! No, I…I just…what are we doing, anyway? I mean, if we don't get along, if we just get angry…maybe we've just become too different. I mean, you're gonna be jounin any day. I'm probably going to be capped on advancement as soon as I reach chunin. I know the effect of being held back. I'm not stupid. They'll never let me go jounin now, no matter what I do. And you're already all missions and deadly force and poisons and munitions. Me, I'm in repeat basics, elementary learning tactics, childhood behavior and conditioned response. The gap between us is just going to widen. You just want me to be like you, but…I'm not. I'm not going to be good enough. They've been pretty clear about that. I don't have the right stuff. So now I've found something I can do instead and still make a contribution and a decent living. You have to stop being mad at me for that. If you can't then maybe we shouldn't hang out so much anymore."
Mizuki snuffed his first reaction, because mopping up the place with Iruka would only make things worse, and bring watchdog-sensei down on his ass again, not that he cared what that interfering old fart thought. But he'd managed to cause tremendous trouble and put far too much distance between the two of them already, and the last thing they needed was any more.
"Ru-kun," he said, softening his approach, gently moving Iruka aside to enter the apartment and close the door. "I don't mean to fight with you, I'm just frustrated. I don't have any problem with your teaching at the academy. And you do to have the 'right stuff'. The village just has a bunch of blind assholes controlling the promotions. They give 'em out to their pals, the Hokage's cronies, the nin that kiss their high and mighty asses. It's got nothing to do with who earns it. Just look at your situation, Ru-kun. This is why I get so angry, because you refuse to see it. They had no excuse whatsoever to take you off fast-track. You didn't bribe them, you aren't related to anyone important, and you didn't play the game, so they punished you for it. Why don't you just admit it? They flat out abused you for the fun of it. That's Konoha, Ru. You should see it for what it is."
"But…" This is the village that his parents lived and died for, that they held more love and loyalty for than their own son. The village that he himself had been raised to give his life for without question. The centerpiece of existence for them all. This treasonous talk was the furthest Mizuki had ever gone in his disrespect for their country. It made Iruka ache for his friend. To be so convinced that the village didn't mean a thing…as bleak as Iruka had felt when the village had failed to treat him as he would have hoped, it was nothing compared to this state of Mizuki's, to have lost faith in their land altogether. "I know you're just defending me, but it's no good to blame the whole village. I have a lot of flaws, Ki. They're right about me. I've had to accept it."
Mizuki burned to tell Iruka that the majority of the failings he was now so convinced of were merely doubts he himself had planted, in order to slow the trusting brunette's charge up the shinobi ranks. That if Konoha's regulators had half a wit and half their balls they wouldn't have lazily taken his sensei's doubts at face value and let a truly talented man get thrown out with the bath water. But in a way, by treating it as the truth, his prophecy had been self-fulfilling. Because a ninja's strength comes from within, and it requires a firm base of self-confidence and mastery. With the erosion of that base, Iruka truly was inferior in his potential as a deadly warrior…at least until Mizuki could get him out of here and do a custom-rebuild of his confidence, somewhere far away from the oppression of the Leaf government.
"I still believe in you more than I believe in them. And it doesn't mean that I think that becoming an instructor is a bad choice. I miss being together, that's all. You still train, but we don't do it together anymore. You have new surroundings I'm not a part of. You have your new co-workers now, and I'm sure they want to spend time with you. You expect me to just disappear, Iruka? Is that what you want? Doesn't it mean anything to you now, the way I've been there for you when your family and friends disappeared? You've replaced me in your life that easily?"
"No! No, Mizuki, I still…" Still what? Cared? Loved? Needed? Right now, all he really felt was terrible pain and slight panic; because the words made it feel frighteningly like they were tearing apart. He hadn't felt abandoned and alone since the two of them became companions. Even when they fought and there were stretches of time when they stayed apart to cool off, there was never a time where either of them thought that they were through. They were connected in a way that seemed to transcend that, as if they were blood relatives, linked in an inescapable way. "I don't want to replace you. I couldn't, not ever."
"Ru-kun," Mizuki wrapped his arms around the distressed and confused boy, pulling him close and holding him protectively until he began to relax. "You need to choose your own path. Do what's right for you. But you have to be patient, don't shut me out. I'll catch up. We don't need to be fighting. We need to be together, and I can adjust. I don't ever want you to feel like you're alone without me. I'm your safety net, your back-up, your good right arm. Just like you've been for me. Don't worry, Ru, we'll get through this. We're fine, we have to be. I don't think I could live without this, holding you close so I can feel your heart beat and know that you're all right."
Mizuki had called a truce, and it pulled everything back together. It brought with it a new realization. When he controlled himself now, he had much tighter control over Iruka. When he lost control, it caused random, unpredictable changes in the balance between them. That caused Iruka to be unsure, to be more consciously uncomfortable with his moods and behavior, and even compelled him to avoid seeing him so much. But then, when he exhibited good control and judgment, Iruka fell to him in relief from the dread of abandonment. For the short run, Mizuki managed to keep their visits from degenerating into spats as the genin time requirement grew closer to being fulfilled.
Iruka's time in status and excellent marks finally qualified him to take the chunin exam. The candidates were far too few in numbers to justify the normal festival-like chunin trials. Instead, a series of tests and a final presentation would be judged by a panel of three jounin and the Sandaime himself.
Iruka and three other boys were up for this challenge. Two of the others were from the teen ward like him. He would have called it a prejudice, and rightfully so, that the orphaned kids were made to suffer longer training, work harder, and endure rigorous testing for the same advancement in rank that was handed to the others merely for graduating from their fast-track classes.
All of them passed, and in the end, they likely were better prepared for the elevation in rank than the fast-track shinobi. When the Sandaime gave Iruka his approval, he felt the greater confidence and strength in those dark eyes. This remarkable soul was going to make him proud, he was sure of it.
The promotion meant that Mizuki and Iruka were both chunin now, and there would be little chance of penalty despite their age difference if the two were caught having a physical relationship. Mizuki's disappointment at not staying a rank above was somewhat assuaged by that. He took full advantage of it immediately.
They celebrated, Mizuki treated them to ramen, and they went back to Iruka's apartment afterwards. His brown eyes absolutely sparkled with the happiness at earning his promotion. No one could say he had lucked out or skated on any of it. He had proven himself worthy of the promotion, the doubt of which had been nagging in the back of his head ever since his best friend's rather violent attempt to warn him against premature advancement.
Mizuki seemed to be engulfing him all of a sudden. He was constantly up against him, touching, holding. He didn't mind so much tonight. The occasion was very special, and they had indulged in several generous toasts from the bottle of sake Mizuki had smuggled in for them. In fact, the bottle was nearly empty. The pink tint to either side of his distinctive scar came from the heat of the alcohol deep within.
Iruka's convertible futon, the one Masato-sensei had given him in exchange for some minor work around his home not long after he moved in here, held them both comfortably. It was set up as a couch now, the two of them sitting and drinking amicably.
Mizuki turned slightly and slipped his palm under Iruka's chin, guiding his face into the right angle for a deep, insistent kiss.
This time, when Iruka began to pull away, Mizuki held fast.
"Don't fight this, Ru-kun," Mizuki's voice was husky with lust. "To be chaste as a chunin is to beg for trouble. You must learn your body's natural potential now. There are missions in your future that will require it. You should always learn from someone you trust."
"I'm not scheduled for any of that kind of training yet," Iruka said, pulling away. "I – I'm not really ready…" his voice trailed off as his eyes locked on the large pale hands that started moving as if they had his permission.
"You are. I can prove it. Your body will be honest, even of you lie to yourself." The platinum-haired shinobi slid his hands down firmly and began to undress his Iruka, like he had so many times before. It was more exciting to do it looking into wide open eyes. Iruka was struggling within himself, wanting to get away, but wanting to be close as well.
Mizuki expertly stripped them both, brisk and confident to discourage any protest. It would have been extremely difficult if Iruka had been any more reluctant. The sake had been the right touch.
He already knew what to do, what response the lithe young body would give to each particular touch. It was a well-rehearsed dance, but a stunning experience for Iruka's conscious mind. He was swiftly taken to arousal far too intense to deny.
"You have been craving this, Iru-kun. You look as if you're going to burst." Carefully tender and seductive, the older boy nuzzled and lapped the reddened skin on Iruka's neck, feeling the heat radiating from the smaller body. His hands pressed, rubbed and squeezed all the right places until the objections became unintelligible and low, soft moaning replaced it. "Trust me, just relax. If you'll let me, my tongue can find other places that will feel much, much better."
The room was nearly melting already, and Iruka couldn't conceive of anything feeling much better than he already did. Mizuki's touch was amazing; it was drawing sensations from his body that were almost intolerably pleasurable.
Getting no objections, Mizuki stood and made a quick trip to flip off the light switch, the sight his fully aroused, mature body adding another flood of wildly mixed emotions to Iruka's already muddied thinking. The light over the range had been left on in the other room, radiating a soft glow from around the corner, sending a flattering hint of light to illuminate their 'first time'.
When he returned he settled on the floor on his knees, slipping Iruka's legs up onto his shoulder, giving him full view, control and access to his partner. As uncomfortable as that made the smaller boy in his shyness, the next move mortified him. The first touch with his tongue had Iruka gasping in shock.
"Uh! Not there!" Iruka interrupted the reflex to shove Mizuki away uncertainly, as confused by his own reactions as he was by his partner's insistence.
"Shhh," Mizuki smiled, using plenty of saliva, making the thighs in his firm grasp squirm. "It's important. You'll see."
He took a few minutes to carefully soften the resistance he found there, but after so many nights when he'd taken no time at all, the task was easy. Just being slow and careful would be enough to insure that this was not painful. But he was taking extra care. Their bodies were communicating flawlessly. Iruka just need a little time for his attitude to catch up.
When he pulled Iruka into a good position for entrance, it caused a minor panic.
"Wait! You can't…" A kneading fist began working his painful arousal, milking him into a breathless pause.
"Just feel, Ru-kun." Mizuki began slowly working in, deserting the hand work to take that perfect ass in both hands in a hard grip, kneading the large muscles to counterpoint his progress. By the time he was all the way in, the ragged breathing told him that Iruka's body was enjoying this a great deal. "Does it hurt?"
Iruka shook his head hard, too excited and dizzily nearing his peak to talk.
The futon frame squeaked as Mizuki was leaning more and more into it to penetrate fully. They didn't last long, and when Iruka came, writhing and trying to suppress the oddly erotic noises his own gasps were turning into, he nearly passed out. The room grew darker and every cell in his entire body seemed to have been agitated out of its normal place.
A few minutes later, carefully maintaining a steady rhythm to suppress his harsher urges, Mizuki came as well. He lavished Iruka with attention and praise afterwards, using the occasion of their first shower shared as lovers to reaffirm how right it was for his hands to travel every inch of the tanned body. Watching the smaller, nearly flawless maturing body as it looked from behind filled him with possessive pride while the rivulets of water cascaded to cleanse them both.
For once it was Iruka who was clinging as they fell asleep, holding him through the night as if he might fall if he let go. Breaking that barrier laid Iruka bare to their relationship, committed him totally to trust Mizuki with his unprotected heart. The older boy pulled him in tight and encouraged his dependence with open arms. As far as he was concerned, this sealed the balance of their fates together once and for all. No trite ceremony could touch the seriousness with which he regarded their union; even death could not part them now.
tbc