This is dedicated to Hatochan. Muse and confidante; thank you for giving me back faith in myself and my writing and for 3am flights of fancy "Oh, senseiii…." ;) evil grin
This story occurs several weeks after the conclusion of "Odd Admiration" within the Tolerant Intolerance universe, with permission from Hatochan; Story title comes from Big Country's "Fields of Fire" ; Will be updated as real life permits :) My husband comes home from Iraq one week from now, so if I disappear with no word for a while, you know I'm uhhh busy… researching, as Jiraiya would say… yeah that's it… :)
Summary: Iruka plans a pleasant surprise for Kakashi to take his mind off training... of course, the best laid plans of dolphins and men go oft astray... and angst ensues
Warnings: yaoi, coarse language, violence, more deliciously wet dripping shinobi, steadily building angst, will eventually have NC-17 lemon. Specific warnings posted for each chapter. Minor Spoiler Alert for some contents of Chapter 367 (mentioning a character's name) and Kakashi Gaiden
Disclaimer: You know Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, because if I owned them, yaoi pairings would be canon… "In This Place" lyrics belong to Big Country
Between the Journey and the Rest, Chapter 3:
In This Place, Part One
All the years I spent in this place
The friends I knew here,
I loved every face…
Oh angel, it's coming down stone by stone
It's breaking up home by home
Take it away, take it away, take it,
In this place I will lay my life down
In this place I will let you carry me
As I age so my learning grows
I still touch the vision
I still smell the rose in this place
The pop and swirl of smoke caught the scarred shinobi by surprise and hot tea sloshed over the side of the cup and onto a damp thigh, "Ngggghhhh!!!"
Another fine example of dripping male anatomy appeared before the Hokage. "Tsunade-sama! We need your help; we found Kakashi," Genma ignored any proprieties in the rush to bring back aid for the copy ninja. "He's looking pretty rough but he's too far away for us to teleport him here."
Something in his voice is not... quite… right. Tsunade observed the pale skin and silently sent a tendril of chakra snaking in the senbon specialist's direction. Close to the limits of his chakra reserves, lowered body temperature, one step away from shock…That stands to reason, he was out in the storm longer than Raidou and was most likely going all out to reach Kakashi before anything else happened.
The door rattled again as Shizune returned with the requested items. Although she tried to keep her conscious mind on the current situation, a darker blush still stained her cheeks as she caught sight of her former lover. "Shiranui-san," she nodded, her voice lowering a half octave. She placed the new, more heavily laden tray of food on a small table and retrieved a small pile of towels from a bag carried over one shoulder, passing them to the two tokujous.
"Doesn't matter, Shizune, I'm going right back out. Kakashi and Iruka are waiting." The words slurred the slightest amount, confirming Tsunade's diagnosis.
"Actually, Shiranui-san, you aren't. The head of the ANBU recovery squad and Morino Ibiki are on their way. If Kakashi is as bad as you two seem to think, I can't wait around for them. I want you two to brief Morino-san and Furutaka-san for me. No arguments, Shiranui…" she said as he started to interrupt. She continued in a softer tone, "You aren't the only one that cares for that brat, Genma. And you won't be much help to Kakashi or Iruka if you go back out there in your state." She turned to Shizune, "Think you can handle these two? You have my full authority to restrain them if they give you any trouble." The last was said with a hard gaze in Genma's direction. "You will both stay here, recover, and brief my ANBU captains. Just because you found him doesn't mean something still can't go wrong, and then I'll need you both whole and strong even more. Shizune, get them into something dry and make sure they eat."
Shizune again offered the towels to Genma before scurrying off for dry clothing.
"Both of you, get some food and tea. You can eat as you make your report, Shiranui. Start with their current position and condition and fill in the other details as needed."
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Harsh rain gave way to sleet and continued beating down on the shivering pair. Iruka's teeth were chattering now. The icy drizzle stole the warmth from his body, but the suffering jounin in his lap stole the warmth from his heart, and he wondered how long he would be able to keep his lover even partially protected from the harsh elements. He seemed unable to concentrate and wild thoughts were a chaotic jumble in his head. Genma said he would come back with Tsunade, but it seems so long since he left. Maybe she isn't there, maybe she's busy with another emergency, maybe, maybe, maybe… He had to forcibly halt that train of thought; it led perilously close to panic, and he had been shinobi long enough to know better. Surely, it had only been a few minutes and his worried brain was merely altering his sense of time. He sheltered the still body to the best of his ability and did the only thing he could. Wait…
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Choo. Ah-choo. The two rapid-fire sneezes sounded incongruous coming from the honey-haired man. In fact, they seemed more suited to a half drowned kitten than to a shinobi of the hidden leaf. Shizune stumbled back into the room in with her burdens. She produced two spare ANBU uniforms and a pair of warm fleece blankets. The Hokage gestured to the screen in the corner. "Go change. You can get your food when you come out and brief me as you eat."
The two men walked to the back of the room, and Genma started peeling the clammy shirt from his body before he even cleared the screen. Muted thumps and rustlings were the only noise in the room until a rather muffled voice said, "They're at the old Hatake estate." Genma stepped out, tugging the dry shirt further down over his chest and cocooning himself in the blanket. Raidou followed soon after, bringing the wet pile of clothes. Shizune hurried forward to dispose of the clammy mess, unable to resist one last peek at the physiques not quite hidden by the skintight uniforms.
Raidou was all practicality as he moved the table containing the food and placed it between the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk before wrapping himself in the blanket and filling a plate with his selections. Genma confined himself to a cup of hot tea and a mere handful of steamed gyoza. "Iruka recognized the area and followed a hunch. We found Kakashi at his parents' house. Out in the garden." One deep breath caught and held for a long moment before he continued, in a rough, brisk tone that Tsunade recognized from too many difficult debriefings. "He was clutching an old katana buried into the stone in the formal estate garden. He appeared unconscious, but other than that and the slashes across his palms, there were no obvious injuries. Still… I can't help thinking this is something serious, Tsunade-sama. I don't know, he… Kakashi needs help right away."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed at the mention of the katana. The Memorial Blade, Jiraiya called it. She remembered the look on his face when he informed her of the now forgotten reminder for a man who was once a hero, once their friend, once Kakashi's father. Sakumo… I know you meant it all for the best, but you never should have left us, never should have left Kakashi so young. I know you did it for him, but he still needed you here, needed you to show him it was possible to be shinobi and still have emotions. You never did teach him the real meaning of the twenty-fifth shinobi rule, holding in the emotions while on mission, while in public, but letting them out in private afterwards. So many of his generation never learned that lesson.
Yes, if Kakashi was having memories of Sakumo, she supposed he did need help soon. He loved his father so much. She remembered Kakashi's first break; he was only eight and a chuunin and found his father dead in that same garden. I wish Jiraiya were here. She sighed; Jiraiya was away with Naruto and not scheduled to return for at least another week. I might as well wish Minato were here. He brought Kakashi back from the edge of the abyss that time and a few times after. Kakashi was never the same after his death. Not that I was here to see, but I still heard, and I can still see what has happened to him in the years since. This time the burden falls on Iruka's shoulders. We'll have to give him all the help we can.
"Shizune," Tsunade's low voice broke the quiet. "Take care of these two. Make sure they go straight to bed after the briefing, even if you have to tuck them in yourself. I expect you to listen to her and obey, Shiranui. She'll tie you to the bed otherwise, and I don't mean in a kinky bondage way, so I suggest you give in gracefully before she sedates you. If I'm not back with them in half an hour, meet me there." The sannin disappeared with an almost unheard pop and a delicate swirl of mist.
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Hmm, no wonder those two were so worn down, it's a truly horrible night out here. Tsunade ran swiftly from the edges of the forest near the small dwelling. It's barely changed in almost twenty years. I could almost expect Kyoko to invite me in for Jasmine tea and sweet bean cakes, or to see Jiraiya and Sakumo drinking sake on the bench just outside the formal tatami room, or to hear Kakashi and Minato debating some minor triviality after a long day's training.
Such happy memories in this place, surely now turned to dust, a small chain of events stretching down through the years leading to this moment in time. If Yubari-san hadn't died on that mission, his daughter never would have killed Kyoko. If Kyoko had remained alive, surely Sakumo would never have made such a deadly mistake on his final mission… and would never have felt the deep guilt and need for atonement. Kakashi would not have been an orphan at eight; he would never have been torn between the warring values of teamwork and duty, would not have had to go through that hell with Obito. But he wouldn't be the Kakashi he is today. The same events that had seemed to tear him down repeatedly were also the ones that built him into the strong warrior he had become. Adversity could be the forge that shaped wills of the finest steel as well as the fire that ruined the most wondrous pieces of work with a moment of inattention.
The estate is still well tended. He would never so insult his parents' memories as to let it fall into disrepair. She swiftly made her way to the back reaches of the garden. It had been many years, but she could still find her way in the dark. She merely needed to travel towards the sounds of the trickling waterfall. Dark shapes barely showed up against the stormy sky, and she quietly announced herself so as not to startle them. No one with sense purposefully surprised any shinobi, not more than once, anyway. "Iruka? It's Tsunade. Are you two alright?"
A muffled grunt was the only response. She captured a hand in hers and was dismayed by the almost marble touch. "Iruka. We need to go inside, you need to get out of this rain." The chuunin's reactions were pathetically slow, showing just how cold and tired he was. Tsunade lifted the jounin into her arms, surprised at how light he felt. He's lost a bit of weight recently, and he didn't really have any to spare before this. Such speculation would have to wait until they were inside, though. They needed to get warm and dry as soon as possible. "Iruka, come here." She waited until the chuunin was nearby and pulled him close before teleporting the short distance into the kitchen.