Chapter 7
The wolf and the bear.
yos! I wont have time to post this weekend, so I figured, instead of posting a day late I'd post a day early!
I love this chapter. Actually this one and the next two are my favorites so far and I'm rather pleased with how they turned out.
Oh, and I actually hate Kakashi/Yamato pairings. If people out there like it, fine, I'm not judging. Just personally I hate it, so commend me on not making Tenzo a freaking ***** in here, I'm proud of myself actually as I didn't bash him, very much… (This is why Sakura will never appear in one of my storys, I'm sorry but I would kill her – violently)
…..
Plated gloves hit the wall with denting force as Kakashi stormed into his small studio apartment, cursing colourfully under his breath.
Fucking Ibiki. Why couldn't Iruka see he should just send the guy packing? Well, actually he just had, but he wasn't supposed to get kicked out too!
Why wouldn't Iruka understand; Ibiki was dangerous! Kakashi hadn't figured out the Interrogators game yet but he knew it couldn't be good. The guy had never shown any affection toward a single human being before and suddenly he was someone's personal guard? It didn't add up.
And what was that bull about him being an asshole? Iruka must have been dreaming things because he'd only ever acted normal, just like they always did. Sure, he may have started a few of the fights but Ibiki had been in the way.
He knew what his Ru-koi needed, how he wanted to be treated. Not that bear passing as a man! No, Ibiki didn't what a partner, he wanted a submissive, not the fire eyed, strong, independent creature that was Iruka.
"Yo boss"
"What do you want Pakkun"
Kakashi growled at the nindog curled up on his bed as he pulled out a bottle of whiskey from under the skin and poured himself a near full glass. Pakkun's pug brows rose.
"Something happen in your oh-so perfect plan to get Iruka back?"
"Yes something happened!" Kakashi snarled the words as he tossed back a mouthful of the strong drink "Fucking Ibiki! That's what happened!"
The pug yawned and stretched "The Interrogator? You sure it wasn't you?"
"Yes!" the glass hit the counter top hard enough to crack "It couldn't have! I didn't do anything wrong, everything was great – except for that bear being there – everything had almost been normal!"
"So you two had a talk?"
"About what?"
Pakkun sighed, the droopy eyes rolling at Kakashi's innocent comment "About you sleeping with your team mate while not on duty and cheating on him"
Kakashi sputtered for a moment as a shamed blush rose on the masked cheeks and Pakkun sighed again "That answers that then. Your such an idiot, I'm surprised he let you in at all"
"Hey! I told him I was sorry and that he was important to me! And like I said, it was back to normal, mostly"
"Mostly?"
"Ya, well. Like how it was when we were friends"
Pakkun tilted his head to the side "So – he's cooking for you but no mating?"
Kakashi's glare was answer enough. Pakkun snorted in amusement.
"Iruka's too forgiving, which reminds me. What you do to piss him off this time?"
"I told you it wasn't me!" Kakashi whirled on the dog, knocking the whiskey glass to the side as he did. The crystal fell to the floor and shattered, sending glass shards and golden liquid everywhere.
Pakkun snorted again while Kakashi closed his eye and breathed deeply, trying to stem his temper "I don't do anything, he got mad because apparently the Bear and myself can't be in a room without fighting and Ru-koi got annoyed"
"So he toss you both out? Or just you?"
"Both!" Kakashi snarled at the pug with more venom than necessary but the thought of Iruka only kicking him out hurt more than the Jounin would ever admit.
"Ok! Ok! You don't have to snap" Pakkun's voice took on a mocking tone. Kakashi once again considered just how sad it was his best friend as a talking dog.
Glaring Kakashi started to respond, to tell the pug to shove it and keeping his wet nose out of his love life, when a knock at the door made both of them, master and dog, glance over at the door.
Silence stretched on for a while till the person knocked again, causing Kakashi to sigh and put down the cloth he'd been about to use on the whiskey spilt over the floor "If it's the hag sending me on another mission I swear I'll-"
His muttered threat was never finished as Kakashi unlocked the door and pulled it open, freezing when he saw who was on the other side.
"Tenzo"
The younger man grinned "Yo sempi!"
Kakashi felt his right eye twitch even as his left began to water. fucking crybaby Obito!
"What do you want"
Tenzo's smile faltered a bit at the biting tone but Kakashi didn't care, the sting was still there and he didn't want to see his young friend - ex-boyfriend –maybe - just now. He'd never been in love with Tenzo and had known very well the ANBU was the same. It had been a game, something fun and –as Kakashi guiltily acknowledged now – a way to try and distance himself from Iruka, who at the time Kakashi had felt was getting in to close, something that couldn't happen.
Not to him.
But then the Chuunin had found out and cut him from his life and Kakashi had honestly never thought someone could hurt him that much without dying on him. But Iruka had.
After, he had asked Tenzo out seriously, thinking it would get him over the Chuunin who'd been part of his life for years. It had a little, least he'd told himself that when Iruka refused to talk to him in the Mission Room except for the polite 'Thank you, good work Shinobi-san' he gave everyone.
Three months he'd been able to fool himself – then he got the ironic pleasure of taking Iruka's spot. This time he being the one to walk in on his 'boyfriend' tangled around their team mate Yuago, though his turn had noticeable differences.
He had only felt mild annoyance and anger at Tenzo. Nothing like the stricken, about to cry look Iruka had worn for a moment before he had moved in and punched the both of them and tossed them out in a surprising show of strength for someone his size.
The second was Tenzo wasn't sorry at all, it hadn't been a serious relationship so Kakashi couldn't even explain to himself at the time why it had made him upset.
Now he knew.
It had been the lack of respect, the fact Tenzo hadn't thought twice about doing it, the fact he just assumed Kakashi would be fine and laugh it off with him. Which was when Kakashi finally got the main reason Iruka was hurt.
He'd done the same thing, just figuring that –once again – his long-time friend would simply forgive him, just like he always did. He'd taken Iruka for granted and had finally pushed him past his ability to forgive and forget. Not to mention the fact he had been the one to start the relationship, pushing the younger man until he got him into bed and eventually out on a date.
The fiasco with Tenzo had made Kakashi realize he wanted Iruka back and would do whatever necessary to achieve that. But then Iruka had gone missing and when he got back, well….
The Bear got in his way.
"Sempi? You there?"
Kakashi startled out of his thoughts, grey eye focusing in on the ANBU, who was now standing much too close to him. Flinching back he glared at the younger man, trying to remember just why he was there before realizing Tenzo had just told him and he'd been too distracted to hear.
"Sorry, what?"
Tenzo blinked owlishly at the reply then grinned, as if amused at Kakashi's tendencies to zone out "I was just asking if you wanted to join me and the gang for a drink. You haven't come out for a while so-"
Kakashi felt a growl rising in his throat. How dare he. After what he'd pulled just coming up here acting normal and like nothing had ever happene-
The mental slap hit him with stunning force and Kakashi once again cursed that he seemed to need a wakeup call whenever it came to Iruka.
If he felt insulted by Tenzo right now, he was surprised Iruka hadn't physically attack him.
He hated it when Pakkun was right; it just inflated the pug's ego.
"Sempi? You ok?"
Kakashi blinked at looked back at the spiky hair man who was staring at him in concern. Clearing his throat and shaking his head Kakashi managed a smile that didn't look like a threat.
"Fine Tenzo, just thinking. I'll have to pass on the drinks; I've got something to do, have a good night"
Moving to close the door Kakashi was surprised when Tenzo stopped him by grabbing hold of the wood.
"Sempi!"
Kakashi paused, raising one brow in question, mildly curious when Tenzo flushed.
"Your not- well, you not avoid us – because of me…are you?"
He let silence hang between them long enough for the ANBU to grow nervous.
"Yes, I was"
The dark brown eyes – so very different then Iruka's warm shade – lifted and Tenzo opened his mouth to make a protest but Kakashi raised a gloved hand to stop him.
"I won't anymore but – Tenzo?"
"Yes?"
"You're dating Yugao now right?"
The young man nodded slowly, eyes big and unblinking at he held his Sempi's gaze.
"Don't cheat on her; she – unlike me – will probably kill you. And you can tell the rest of the team I'm no longer an option for anyone. Got it?"
Tenzo nodded again, a guilty flush still dusting his cheek as Kakashi closed the door. He'd give it a few more days before he went back down to the bar with the team. Tenzo wasn't the only one who had needed the wakeup call.
Kakashi just hoped they listened; his situation was not one he wanted any of the kids on his team to go through.
"That went well"
Kakashi huffed and sent the cocky pug a glare as he cleaned up the broken glass and alcohol from the kitchen floor "What was I supposed to do? Punch him?"
Pakkun shook his head "I wasn't being sarcastic Boss, you handled that well"
"Oh" it shouldn't feel so good to be commended by a dog. Kakashi really needed to get out more.
Tossing the towel in the general direction of the laundry pile Kakashi quickly changed his clothes into ones that didn't reek of liquor then headed for the window, managing to get one leg out when a pug like cough stopped him.
"Where are you going?"
"To talk to Iruka, don't worry mother I'll be back by ten"
Pakkun let out a half amused half annoyed sound as he jumped to the floor "What about Ibiki?"
Kakashi froze as he glared over at the dog "What about him"
Pakkun sighed and moved to take up residence back on Kakashi single bed "This whole mess was because you have no people skills outside of Iruka and the team that's just as bad as you. Don't think you should talk to the guy before going back to grovel at Iruka's feet?"
"And why the fuck would I want to talk to the guy who's trying to take my boyfriend away?"
Pakkun blinked owlishly "Because he's obviously important to Iruka"
Kakashi froze, not looking at the pug as he slid back inside and crumpled to the floor "So…what? You're telling me I should let him go?" he tried to snarl the words but all the venom seemed to fall flat with how tired he was.
"No" Pakkun lifted his head to gaze at his master solemnly "No, I'm not saying that. I'm just suggesting that you try to look at this from Iruka's point of view or from Ibiki's"
Kakashi glanced over sharply "Morino's? Why the fuck would I-"
"Because the man just spent two weeks watching Iruka get tortured while he was helpless to stop it"
There was no smart comment from the man on the floor so the pug carried on.
"It must have been awful, sitting there, watching that, knowing that if he stayed silent they'd keep hurting Iruka but if he talked they'd still kill him, only faster. I wonder if they put them in the same cell or separated them? I guess it doesn't matter cause-"
"Pakkun"
"Yes Boss?"
"Shut up"
Pakkun watched quietly as Kakashi pulled himself from the floor, the grey eye clouded and cold. The ninkin fought back his wince; he hadn't meant to hurt the nin that badly, just give him the push he needed.
Pakkun didn't like to think about Iruka getting hurt anymore then Kakashi. The sensei was a great guy, one he and the whole pack loved. They'd been furious when Kakashi'd gotten his idiotic ass thrown from the chuunin's life and Pakkun would do anything to help his master regain his mate.
Even if at the moment it meant hitting the guy with a mental bat.
Slowly Kakashi moved back to the window and once again began to slip through the small space. Pakkun snorted and let his noes twitch "So where are you going?"
Kakashi glanced back over his shoulder, dark eye clearly omitting the silent message for him to 'shut the fuck up' as Pakkun was sure he'd say if he'd spoken the words.
"To talk to the Bear you nosy mutt"
Pakkun smiled his doggy smile as the window slid shut and he watched Kakashi jump off across the roofs.
He wondered what the other Jounin would think of his new nick-name.
….
What the fuck?
Ibiki's fist made contact with the alley wall hard enough to make the brick under it crumble slightly. Clenching his jaw he sucked in a huge breath, shame and humiliation still making his face burn in a way it hadn't in years.
Seriously, what had just happened? Iruka'd had no right to toss him out!
Right?
Snarling the big man moved on, sulking down the back streets of Konoha. He'd always found that walking helped him calm down and at the current moment he knew he couldn't show his face on any public streets without terrifying civilians and more than a few shinobi.
And he really didn't want to get dragged back into the Hokage's office for the 'damaging village productivity and you can't break the villagers' speech again. It had been bad enough the first time, especially since the fucking ANBU had kept snickering the whole time.
After walking half way around the whole village Ibiki determined he'd blow off enough steam to think clearly and headed for the central park, his favorite place in Konoha. The park was peaceful and calm and no one could bother him there.
Strolling along the little paved paths Ibiki finally made it to the duck pond and settled down in the bench on the hill. He like this spot because he could see the not only the pond but the field beyond it, all well still being hidden from view by the big willow trees.
He could watch the children playing ball and other games, couples on outings; families out for strolls and could relax in the odd feeling of normality. Even if it could never be him down there, it was still nice to watch and know it existed.
Sighing Ibiki ran a large hand over his cloth covered head, his trained mind playing through the events of the past few hours. Ibiki wasn't one to kid himself, thinking back on it now he knew Iruka had every right to get mad and had tossed them both out so to avoid playing favorites.
It was what he'd threatened to do a week ago and Ibiki was a little impressed that the younger man had held to his promise, even if it was a bit annoying at the time it had once again shown some of Iruka's unique charterer. Very few people in Ibiki's experience held to their words these days.
What was really bothering him was Iruka's comment about coddling. Had he really been doing that? Sure, he knew he'd been a little protective but coddling?
"You're incredibly hard to find you know that?"
Ibiki just barely managed to clamp down of his yell of shock when the deep voice came from his right as pale hands dropped into view by his shoulder. Spinning around on the bench Ibiki came face to mask with Kakashi, who was leaned casually over the back of the park bench, the long arms crossed as they folded at the elbow. Holding the tall man up as he slouched, bent at the waist, against the seat back.
Pulling himself back together after the scare (which he would NEVER admit to, ever, as long as he lived) Ibiki narrowed his eyes at the relaxed Jounin who had just barged into his personal time, in his personal spot.
"What the fuck do you want Hatake?"
The lone eye turned to him, grey depths calm and sincere with no signs of mocking or malice. It was a startling change.
"I want to talk, and yes-"one pale hand, which Ibiki noted was missing its glove, lifted to stall his incoming challenge "I do mean talk, I think we've argued enough already"
Ibiki's 'I will kill you' glare faltered and he sighed again "I guess your right"
"May I sit?"
Thin brows rose before Ibiki nodded slowly, surprised the copy nin had been considerate enough to ask. The feeling dropped a bit however when Kakashi simply hopped over the bench rather than walking around, nearly kicking Ibiki in the process.
The younger Jounin noticed this belatedly, grinning sheepishly in light of Ibiki's new death glare.
"Haha, sorry"
"Is the insistent need to always take shortcuts a disorder or something?"
Kakashi blinked in surprise at that before the grey eye tilted into that funny smile of his "Probably, the window thing started cause I was so small as a kid and now it's just a fun way to annoy people. It also goes with my whole 'lazy bastard' act. Though people don't tend to think about how much harder it is to go through a window."
Ibiki was momentarily stunned at the burst of honesty from the man famous for beating around the bush with lies and tricks. Kakashi seemed to read this from his expression and smiled softly.
"It's fine if you don't believe me. Ruka's probably one of the only people alive anymore who can actually tell when I'm not screwing around"
"And yet you threw him away"
There, that was better. Ibiki always felt much more like himself when he was growling – well, not himself really, but it was easier to be around people when they were sacred of him.
Kakashi's reaction however remained passive, the grey eye sad with no signs of the Jounin fighting anywhere "Not my brightest move and I know it, like Ru says, stupid genius"
Alright, this was getting infuriating. Irritating Hatake he could deal with – kicked puppy Hatake…hell no. Ibiki felt his annoyance mounting and couldn't stop his next snark for slipping out.
"If you knew it was a bad move-"
"Why'd I do it?" the copy nin turned to lock eyes with him, sincerity practically pouring from the grey "Because I was scared, Iruka was starting to mean to much and I stupidly thought it would just push him back to a safe distance. I over used his capacity to forgive and by the time I realized I needed him back, he'd gone missing"
Once again Ibiki found himself stunned speechless, very aware of just how much Kakashi was risking here, just how much the famous Jounin was opening himself to attack. The black eyes narrowed.
"Are you – trying to…have a heart to heart….with me?"
The masked head simply nodded as the grey eye had turned away, now watching a group of boys as they tossed a flying disk to each other.
"…Why?"
It was hard to keep the wary tone from his voice. Distrust, fear, and anger he could deal with, but sincerity? Well there were only a handful of people Ibiki received that from and Hatake Kakashi was not one of them.
The other Jounin sighed as the silver crown head dipped forward "Because I realize now that you are important to Iruka and it's unfair of us to try and make him choose"
Turning Kakashi once again met Ibiki's eyes "I know I screwed up but please believe me when I say I'm trying to fix it. Do you annoy me? Yes, and I'm very sure you'll say the same of me. Anyway, the way I see it, we're both trying to make up for hurting him"
The words hit Ibiki hard. He could practically see Kakashi moving to yank the blade from his chest. The scarred hand clenched but once again the big man found himself unable to deliver a blow of his own.
Luckily Kakashi felt the change in character and quickly shook his head "I didn't mean what happened was your fault, I said that before cause I knew it would annoy you. I meant you feel you owe it to Iruka to make up for him getting hurt; am I right?"
Slowly Ibiki nodded, realizing there was no reason to lie and that, for all the fact he was a utter moron Kakashi was still a genius in the tactical sense.
The younger man sighed "You know he doesn't blame you right? Anyone with half a brain knows there was nothing that could have stopped it, not with the traitors doing the dirty work. Though-"Kakashi paused, as if trying to resort his next words "Ru's right, you are coddling him"
"When?" the word slipped out before he could think and it left him wanting to go whack his head against a tree. Who knew Hatake was actually dangerously easy to talk to when he wasn't being an ass.
"You didn't-?" the grey eye widened a fraction in realization "You didn't even realize what you were doing, did you?"
Ibiki remained silent but it was still enough of an answer for the copy nin. Kakashi let out a mirthless laugh.
"Well, now it makes more sense"
"Care to share just what I was doing so terribly wrong?"
Ibiki grit his teeth, extremely annoyed that he had to rely on Kakashi to fix his situation. Anger once again started mounting when the younger Jounin let out a chuckle.
Glancing over Kakashi held up his hand in the universal sign of surrender "Sorry, didn't mean it like that. It's just kinda relaxing to finally not be the only person in the dog house"
Despite himself Ibiki had to chuckle at that one. From what both Kakashi and Iruka had said the two had known each other for years, he doubted he would ever hear all the stories of their most likely extremely colourful friendship.
Sighing Kakashi leant back and crossed his arms behind his head as he stared out across the park "Let me put it this way. Ru can deal with huge mind boggling problems without so much as batting an eye, but there are a ton of little things that annoy the fuck outta him. In a lot of ways he's probably more eccentric than most Jounin or ANBU. He spent the prominent years of his childhood on the streets as there was no more room in the orphanage and since he's clan-less he was a low priority. By the time the village was no longer in crisis and the elders started paying attention to the 'little people' again Ru was already a Genin and expected to take care of himself. All of this adds up to him being very conscious about his independence. It's almost a disorder now, he was expected to be self-dependant at the age of nine so, now whenever people try to help him he sees it as an insult, like their saying he can't take care of himself"
The grey eye flickered to the side to meet Ibiki's black "Anyone can see your just trying to be nice but Iruka can no longer think that way. So carrying his bags, always trying to cook may seem like small harmless things to do but unfortunately Iruka interprets them as a different message. That's why, even though it may appear like I'm always being a lazy ass – which I know I am at times – I'm really trying to give Ru his space while helping out in more subtle ways he can't get upset about"
"Such as?"
Kakashi shrugged "I donno - getting him the fancy hot coco mix he loves but will never buy for himself and slipping it into the cupboard. Writing a funny note about idiotic Ninja or something and putting it in his school or Mission Room desk to give him a laugh sometime during the day. Putting him in bed and cleaning up when he falls asleep on the couch" the tall man shrugged helplessly again "Stuff like that, it doesn't intrude his space but it – it makes him happy"
Ibiki stared at the famous copy nin for a moment, eyes wide and jaw dangerously close to dropping open. Then the scarred face split into a huge grin "Well fuck" the grin only grew when the grey eye turned his way curiously.
"Hatake, you're actually sweet"
A very dog like growl escaped from Kakashi throat "That stays here understood Morino?"
Still chuckling Ibiki nodded "It's not like anyone would believe me anyway"
Kakashi grinned back in response, with the mask hiding the slim face it was hard to be sure but Ibiki would have put money down on the guess that it had a wolfish edge. It brought a startling change to the look of the man on whole, he seemed less harsh and less – daunting?
No, more human.
"You know…" the feral grin faded as the grey eye grew thoughtful "Ru's very choosy when it comes to people he actually likes. Sure he's nice to everyone but there are only a handful of people he actually trusts. The chuunin Izumo and Kotetsu for example, then Naruto of course but – he's actually really closed off, more than me really"
"What are you saying?" The scars on his left hand had suddenly become extremely fascinating. The whole thing felt surreal.
"I'm saying-" Kakashi drew in a deep breath "I'm saying that if your good enough to catch Iruka's attention, then you can't be a bad guy"
Slowly Ibiki looked up "This applies to you as well?"
Kakashi chuckled "Only if you want it to"
Silence stretched between them, not really uncomfortable, just – quiet. After a while Ibiki heard the younger man shifting from the bench, obviously planning to walk away, the talk finished.
Gritting his nerves Ibiki opened his mouth. Kakashi had been the first to let go by coming here, it was his turn to give a little.
"Hey Hatake-"
The copy nin paused, head shifting to the side slightly in the silent question.
"You – want to get drink?"
Kakashi looked fairly stunned for a moment, then the grey eye crinkled up into a smile.
"Sure, and – don't call me Hatake"
...
*moans* ok, the first part with Pakkun was a breeze to write, two hours! Done! Then the two of them talking? *whacks head on table* FUCKING BASTARDS WOULDN'T PLAY NICE! Then Kashi was too bratty, then Ibiki- well, you get the point…
I really like Ibiki in this – well, both of them really, but Ibiki especially. It may be my crazy talking but I see Ibiki as this really obsessive person who likes everything just so and freaks out if his system is messed with.
Anyway, that's it for next week. Thanks for tuning it!
Shale: What are we a TV show now?
Ryth: yups! Please review!