Chapter 12
Catch Me.
HULK SMASH REAL LIFE!
Hum…ya, I just needed to put that out there…..*cough* anywho. This is brought to you on a frightfully cold morning (I'm frrreezzing) half way through the second cup of coffee (cofffffeeeeeeeee) while my hands bleed merrily over the key board (sticky)
Which is probably for more information than you needed on my personal life *beams*
Anywhom, please enjoy in weeks installment.
…
"We're on a date-"
All eyes snapped to the copy nin who had just succeeded in pushing his rival off, though it was mostly due to the fact Gai had just gone slack with shock. Kakashi looked pretty surprised too, like he had no idea how or why the words could have come from his mouth. The grey eye appeared slightly glazed and Iruka would have put money down on the guess Kakashi was now trying to discern whether or not he was dreaming and if he should consider running for his life now.
"A-a-a-a -" Anko had started twitching and seemed unable to get past the single vowel as she stared at Kakashi with wide eyes. "A- date?"
Silence reigned, leaving the word hanging in the air like a taunt. Both Kakashi and Ibiki had frozen in their seats, Kakashi looked equally confused and horrified while Ibiki was somewhere between smug and terror (a strange expression on the scarred face to be sure) Iruka was just glad none of the other diners wouldn't have been able to hear anything.
Not that he minded, but he didn't want Kakashi or Ibiki to scare off. Though judging from Ibiki's torn expression and the obvious Fruedien slip from Kakashi it seemed neither Jounin was as opposed to this as he'd first thought.
"Yes"
Anko whipped around to stare at her boss, shock clear in her dark eyes while Ibiki remained impassive and calm.
"A date?"
"Yes" the deep voice was steady and sure.
"Together?"
"Mmm"
"As- as in a – a – threesome? "
"Anko" Ibiki cut the stuttering woman off mid-stream with a mildly bored look, though the scarred lips had a small amused tilt. "I already said yes; now stop before Kakashi's head explodes"
Anko instantly shut up, though it was more likely due to her brain fizzling out and going to some scary perverted gossip whore fan girl part of her psyche than her actually obeying the order. Kakashi was blushing so hard the bright red could be seen over the edge of his mask while Gai seemed to have died on his feet.
Ibiki was the only one in the group that still looked calm, though when Iruka glanced over he could clearly see the suppressed emotions spinning in the black eyes. Panic mostly, the big man was scared at how he and Kakashi would react to his move.
After all, this was Anko they were talking about. The instant she was out of their sight she would find every single Kounichi she knew plus Genma and the three of them would be together whether they wanted to or not. Which Iruka did, very, very much. The issue here was-
A very loud, very high pitched shriek of delight right next to his ear cut off all chances of thinking. Blinking blurredly Iruka managed to focus in on the purple haired woman before she threw herself from his lap at Ibiki.
A look of pure terror passed over the scarred face as the big man was enveloped in one of Anko's crazed hug tackles of death. Iruka guessed he'd never been on the receiving end of one before, just laughed at other unfortunate people.
Gai too seemed to have revived from the dead, much to Kakashi's horror, and was affectionately (and loudly) congratulating his best friend at finding Two Marvellous People with which to share All of His Eternity with in Happiness and Bliss.
And people wondered why he didn't want to take the Jounin test.
"Umm…s-should I come back?"
The five ninja quieted and looked over at the waiter, standing with a full tray balanced skillfully on his arm. The poor man had the air of a frightened deer in his eyes but was faithfully doing his job. He had guts; Iruka had to admit that much, either that or he desperately needed this job. Why else would a civilian approach the village's feared head of T&I, his psychotic sidekick, the most infamous man ever to live and the scourge of the bingo book, and the Beautiful Green Beast when he was in full Youthful Love Rant.
Oh, and himself, but Iruka knew he could take pride in being the most normal and least threatening person at the table. It didn't matter that one well worded threat could have Anko hiding under the table, Ibiki grinning, Kakashi's protesting while Gai ran screaming for the woods.
He didn't look frightening and what the young man didn't know couldn't traumatize him – yet.
"No, it's fine" Iruka sent the waiter another melting smile which was returned hesitantly before the young man moved forward and started setting the plates down.
There was a loud thud as, at the sight of his eggplant, Kakashi finally succeeded in pushing Gai off. The Green Beast hit the ground hard, but didn't seem to be put out over the treatment, as he simply pulled himself up and gave Kakashi a surprisingly normal smile.
"Well, we'll leave you three to your dinner. Ko-chan?"
Pouting Anko glanced up at the tall man; she'd gone back to petting Iruka's curls and didn't seem to be eager to move. She wanted more details Iruka knew, but somehow he didn't think she'd have any problem making them up by herself.
"I have dango at my place"
There was a gagging sound as Kakashi choked on some eggplant while Anko gave a happy shriek and threw herself into Gai's arms. The Jounin simply flashed a very bright grin, nodding to the other three before turning away and carrying his girlfriend from the restaurant, Anko giggling and playing with the black bowl cut the whole way.
"I did not need that mental image"
Iruka laughed at the horrified face Kakashi was making and swiped a piece of eggplant from the Jounin's plate. "That's what you get for reading porn all the time Kashi. Besides, I think its sweet, and it's about time Anko fell for someone nice who won't cheat on her or use her"
Ibiki hummed in agreement, his mouth full of mushrooms. Kakashi gave them both an odd look.
"You know this is going to be all over tomorrow, right?"
He received two "you really think we're that stupid" looks from his dates as Iruka placed two sushi rolls on his plate for him to try. "Considering the subject and who just heard it, it's going to be all over tonight. This is Anko we're talking about; she can find someone to gossip to before Gai gets her home"
Kakashi blenched again under the napkin he was using as a mask. "I thought we were dropping that topic"
Both Iruka and Ibiki chuckled at that before returning to their meals. The rest of the dinner passed in relative silence, but a comfortable one. Both Jounin seemed to relax some now that Anko and Gai were gone, though Iruka could still sense a little of the tension due to the slipped confession they all knew would be the hot topic tomorrow.
The two famous Jounin of course were used to being gossiped about but the subject matter was one much different than they were used to dealing with. He was pretty sure no one had ever speculated about Ibiki's love life before, unless it was a crude joke about sadists.
And Kakashi; he was used to it, but he was the one to start it most of the time. This would be strange for him too.
As for himself? Iruka had been the subject of too many lewd jokes, passing flirts and rushed confessions for this to daunt him. There'd even been one Jounin back when he was sixteen who had tried to get him to go out by starting a gossip stream that they were already dating in an attempt to back the new Chuunin into a corner.
He'd learnt to ignore it, it wasn't worth his time and anyone who actually mattered would know how to pick the real from the fake.
The waiter still seemed a little nervous, but relaxed in relief when Ibiki waved him over for the bill. True to their word however Ibiki and Iruka made Kakashi pay for the meal, he grumbled a bit but didn't put up too much of a fuss. Ibiki added the tip, a very generous one too as, by his reasoning, anyone who had to deal with not only him but a love sick Anko and hyper Gai deserved some compensation.
Kakashi had grinned at that and slipped another note onto the tray as they left.
"So- where to now?" Ibiki glanced down curiously at the younger man as they strolled from the restaurant side by side, walking slowly as they waited for Kakashi to catch up. He liked pilfering as many anise seeds as he could.
"Mmm, and what's in the bag?" sliding up gracefully and slipping his hand around the scarred one Kakashi once again tried to grab the Chuunin's bag, only to get a light smack and a glare.
"You'll both see in a moment. You both know where Training Area 9 is right?"
Both Jounin nodded slowly, looking nervous when Iruka grinned mischievously and winked at them.
"Good, see you there"
And with that, Iruka disappeared.
The Jounin stared bemused at the small puff of smoke rising into the air for a moment before they glanced at each other and took off, going different directions as they sprinting toward the far side of town.
….
Iruka smiled to himself, suppressing a giggle as he leant back against the firm bark of a tree and waited.
Area 9 was a forest training area. No open plains, no big cliff faces, just miles of straight, tall trees. Stretching out in every direction. It was Iruka's favorite place as a Taper and wire specialist, there were lots of places to hide, both himself and the traps.
He heard a creak and a snap before his name was yelled out in an annoyed tone, he smirked. Was Kakashi ever not going to fall for that one?
Iruka had trapped the whole surrounding area earlier that day. Nothing dangerous or strenuous, just some fun little things to slow the Jounin down a bit. He knew they would both be pretty confused by now, but the fact was if they were both serious about dating him they would get used to the feeling.
A crash and the sound of something heavy – Ibiki – hitting the ground came from his right. The big man must have tripped into the fall pit.
"Ah come on. IRUKA THIS IS REDICULUS"
Iruka snickered as he watched Ibiki heave himself from the ground just before Kakashi swung in, covered in leaves and wearing the half annoyed, half amused why-do-I-put-up-with-you glare.
"Ok, we found you. Care to explain why you tried to kill us?"
Iruka grinned broadly. "Kill? No, never kill, Kashi"
"Comforting" Ibiki was the one to growl this time, but the frown didn't reach his eyes.
Kakashi simply roll his eye and plunked himself down on the ground next to Iruka, once again eyeing the leather bag curiously. "So, why are we here?"
Still grinning Iruka grabbed the bag and flipped it open. "We're going to play a game"
Incredulous looks from both men had Iruka chuckling again as he reached inside the bag and began pulling out the needed items.
"Why?" Ibiki sounded extremely wary. Good, he was learning.
"Because it's fun?" Iruka blinked innocently up at him while he separated the three coloured strips of cloth. "Honestly Ibiki, do I really need a reason for doing something?"
Ibiki frowned, as if he could sense flawed logic but couldn't pin point it yet while Kakashi just sighed. He knew by now resistance was futile.
"So, what are we playing?"
Iruka beamed and held the coloured cloth up. "Catch Me'"
Both Jounin gave him looks of pure confusion, causing the sensei to deflate a little and sigh.
"Right, I'm talking to un-social Jounin. It's an Academy game that some of the Chuunin and young Jounin changed a little to make it harder and better for betting. We each have one of these flags" the bright strips were waved for a moment. "And we attach them somewhere on our person, any where's fine so long as it's visible and will come off easily if tugged on hard enough. The most common places are tucked into your waist band or loosely tied around an arm. The goal is to keep your flag while trying to take someone else's. You lose your flag you're out"
The Jounin looked thoughtful and were no longer protesting so Iruka pressed on. "The normal children's version only calls from a time out before going back in the game, but this is the shinobi version, that would be too easy"
Iruka grinned at the Jounin who were slowly but surely beginning to grin back, the idea warming on them as they heard more. It was a fact really, Jounin loved playing games, even if they didn't know it themselves and the stranger or more violent with more perverted rewards the better.
"Rules are simple. You can use traps, tijutsu and pretty much any form of ninjutsu, but nothing deadly or maiming. I don't want to have to drag your sorry asses to the hospital."
"What's the prize?" Kakashi was leering at the Chuunin, taking no effort to hide just what he wanted for a prize.
To his surprise however Iruka simply returned the grin. "I'm glad you asked Kashi. I have a few treats in the bag, baked this afternoon and" Iruka hurried on when Kakashi started to look a little crestfallen. "You two have to agree of course but – the losers having to do whatever the winner says for the rest of the night, sounded like a good incentive to me?"
The way the Jounin's eyes instantly lit up said it all and Iruka pondered for one moment if this was actually a good idea. He didn't have time to dwell on it though as Kakashi moved forward with lighting speed.
"We get the flags now yes?"
Blinking, Iruka slowly handed over a bright yellow cloth, watching as Kakashi slyly slipped it through a belt loop. The blue flag went to Ibiki and was tied around a thick arm (Iruka pouted at that, it would make it harder to reach) while he took the orange one and teasingly slipped into the back of his pants, so it hung out like a tail.
Both men gaped slightly at the act and Iruka grinned mischievously.
"You got the rules then? Good. Readysetgo"
Hand signs flashed in the dim light and Iruka let out a laugh just before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
…
Fucking hell
Kakashi dodged as another tag went off by his head. It was obviously Iruka's handy work as it was only a mild explosion, like a cherry bomb, meant to startle and make a point. One saying that if this had been real Iruka could have hurt him very seriously, more than once by now.
Then again, if this had been real Kakashi would have been a little more careful, but the jist of it was still there. He'd always known Iruka was Jounin level with his traps and the fact was blatantly being thrown in his face now.
Iruka could easily test to be a trap master, he would get it too – but that would stop him from teaching and until the village was in dire need that was something Iruka would not give up. Still, being on the receiving end of those traps was no laughing matter.
Another explosion – to the left this time – had the whole tree shaking and birds taking off into the sky. Kakashi ducked and rolled, landing gracefully on the ground and tucking himself up against a large free standing trunk. He stayed there, quietly catching his breath as he listened carefully to the forest around him.
After Iruka had disappeared he and Ibiki had instantly gone for each other and had, unfortunately, pushed each other back into the area Iruka had previously trapped. They'd had to take off after that, going separate ways while trying to flee the mass of wire springs, smoke bombs, pit falls and sling systems.
It was clear to tell what was going on; Iruka wasn't after his own brand of twisted humor. He didn't just want to watch as he and Ibiki had a mock war. No, Iruka was playing this to win and something was telling Kakashi that he really didn't want the little sensei to have total control over himself and the Bear of the rest of the night.
No, he – Sharingan no Kakashi – had to win this at all costs. One night, that's all he needed to show Iruka, to remind him. One night and he would fix everything.
A gloved hand closed around his gift, still tucked safely in his pocket, as he hid himself in the shadows. Kakashi smiled, feeling sure of himself once again as he waited.
The night had been fun, he would admit it, but he still couldn't see himself sharing the love of his life with another man for the rest of his life. Ibiki was great, he was willing to see that now, but it still didn't change anything.
He would win tonight and everything would go back the way it shou-
"Kakashi!"
The sound of his name pulled Kakashi from his plans and he glanced up. Warily peeking around the edge of his hiding spot Kakashi instantly spotted Ibiki in the trees above him. The big Jounin was looking around almost frantically as he yelled the copy nin's name again, a definite panicked tone to the deep voice.
Kakashi frowned, edging farther out as he tried to figure out what could be wrong when he suddenly threw himself back. It was a trap! Ibiki was trying to draw him out.
"Kakashi this isn't a joke!"
The silver brows farrowed and Kakashi leant forward again. Peering up at Ibiki he saw the big man had his coloured flag in one hand as he continued to look around, the scarred face looking pretty scared.
"Kakashi please! This isn't a trick! I think Iruka's in trouble!"
Kakashi started and almost jumped from his hiding spot then stopped. He wasn't going to fall for such a low mov- one more look at the other man's face had Kakashi biting his lip before he crawled from the hole.
"You better be serious about this Morino"
Ibiki whipped around to face him, relief slowly trickling into the frightened look that Kakashi never wanted to see on the big man's face ever again.
"Kakashi! Thank goodness!"
"Ya, ya, don't get sloppy. What's wrong?"
Ibiki jumped down to the forest floor, landing with surprising lightness for someone his size. "I was stuck in one of Iruka's chakra barriers and was trying to get out when it suddenly crumbled, all support to it ended, just like that. I think Iruka pushed himself too far and ran out of chakra. Did you notice the number of traps seemed to have gone down to wire and pre-sets?"
The grey eye widened before Kakashi whipped around, ripping the eye patch off the Sharingan as he turned. A quick glance around was all he needed to see Ibiki was right. Iruka's chakra was nowhere to be seen, which should have been impossible given the amount for traps he had set.
"Do you think he collapsed or just pulled his reserves back?"
Ibiki shook his head helplessly. "I don't know. I'm hoping the latter as this is Iruka we're talking about, he knows when he's in danger. But with the damage to his sensory system his chakra control would be lower, he could have used more than he thought and passed out"
"And you're just remembering this now?" Kakashi snarled the words at the big man. Ibiki however didn't fight back.
"I'm sorry. I thought he was fine, you know him! He acts like nothing's wrong even if his in pain. I thought I was able to see through it by now, but obviously I can't. Just help me find him! Please!"
Kakashi stared back helplessly, feeling very bad now about his outburst. Ibiki was already kicking himself; he didn't need Kakashi doing the job for him.
"Slow down Morino, this isn't your fault. I didn't notice either and Iruka's ridiculously stubborn. He's worse than me when it comes to pushing himself too far. Come on, let's go get him."
The scarred face relaxed a little at the sincere words before becoming concerned again. "Kakashi, this place is over thirty miles wide and twice as long. How are we going to find him?"
Biting his lips under the mask Kakashi glanced around again before he smiled. "You just have to know where he'd hide"
Making a motion for Ibiki to follow Kakashi sprung into the trees and took off, praying that he was actually right and not making it up as he went. Trying to look surer of himself then he really was Kakashi turned and headed for the waterfall Iruka had once taken him to.
It had been a while ago, right after they had started dating and Iruka had finally warmed up to idea of being together. To show this the Chuunin had threatened the desk workers into giving Kakashi a few days off then dragged his new boyfriend out on a picnic.
It had been wonderful and easily went down as one of Kakashi best memories. He just hoped he was right in the guess that Iruka would hiding there.
One more turn and the waterfall came into sight, shadows playing along the churning water as it crashed into the pool below. It was a beautiful scene; one that Kakashi would have definitely appreciated if he hadn't been on the verge of a panic attack.
But as it was, Kakashi didn't even see the falls as the moment he'd burst from the woods, the only thing his eyes could see was the small figure lying crumpled by the rocks. Their chakra low and unresponsive.
"Iruka!"
…
Maa, I'm being evil again *leers*
Anyway, hope you guys liked the chapter! Give me love with a review? *puppy eyes*
Well, I have to go put more bandages on my abused hands. See you next week.