Leaves in the Wind

Chapter Thirteen: Leaves in the Wind

Darkness hung thickly over Kakashi. It was an existence so vacant and remote it was hardly worth carrying the name of life. All he could feel was the soft thumping of his own heart. It was soon accompanied by slow, regular intakes of breath. Other than this, he was numb and stiff. The copy nin attempted to twitch his fingers, but they refused the order. The sensation of cool air touching his face was next to come, followed by the feeling of gauze and stitches wound through his body.

Light slowly dawned on him as he cracked open his eye. It closed, and then he reluctantly forced himself to open it again. Kakashi was met with the stark white sight of a hospital room ceiling. As his tunnel vision drizzled away, the IVs and monitors came to his attention. Soft murmuring struck a cord in his ear, and he took in a deep breath. The heart monitor's beeping increased its speed as the Jounin regained his full consciousness. His groggy mind slowly milled over the last events he could remember. The air full lungs relaxed and a pained sigh left him.

"A…" he tried to speak, but his voice cracked. "Amaya…chan…" The heart monitor spiked again and Kakashi struggled to gain control over his limbs. His arm lifted and limply fell to his side. The voice grew louder. "Iruka…" Kakashi moaned as the full situation dawned on him.

"Ahh, awake already?" The voice had suddenly risen to a loud, comprehendible volume. "Something I should have expected of the Sharingan no Kakashi." A hooked nosed was suddenly obscuring Kakashi's vision. Bird-like eyes blinked and peered down into his face. For Kakashi's sake, the mask had been left in place -save one time when Tekki had ordered everyone out of the room to work on the man's face and neck. Other than that, he wore Konoha's hospital gown consisting of white pants and a white unbuttoned shirt. "You've been out for three and a half days total. Rather unstable condition the first night. Nearly scared the crap out of your shinobi friends there. How are you feeling?"

"W-" his voice was raspy. He paused and coughed dryly. His pink tongue licked his cracked lips, and then retreated to the confines of his mouth. "Where's Iruka and Amaya?"

Tekki straightened, pausing once before explaining rather bluntly, "Amaya-san is dead. Iruka-san is in his room, recovering."

Kakashi closed his eyes and became so still and silent, Tekki had to check his monitor to be sure he was still alive. "Dead… ne?" He'd failed his teammate… He'd failed both of them. "And the Harogami brothers?"

"No body was recovered. Alive and well, probably."

"Damn…" Kakashi took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He let out a soft squeak as he struggled to sit up in the hospital bed. Kakashi lifted a hand to his bandaged head, ignoring Tekki's panicked scolding. "Who found us?"

"ANBU." The medical ninja scowled, motioning for Kakashi to lie down. When the copy-nin didn't do so, he politely shoved the patient back. "Stay."

Kakashi met his scowl, paused, and relented. "What did they do with Amaya's body?" he finally asked, gaze flickering away to the window. It was solid afternoon.

He could hear Tekki's sandaled feet clacking as he maneuvered around wires. "It's on its way back to Takigakure."

"And Iruka-san? How is he doing?"

"Iruka-san is....awake."

Kakashi picked up on the influx in Tekki's voice. Iruka must have been taking it pretty hard… "Can I see him?"

Tekki looked him over once and huffed. "If you'll shut up and sleep when you get back."

Kakashi smiled and nodded in that innocent manor he used when he was trying not to be sarcastic. "Of course."

---

"…Hello, Kakashi-san." The Chuunin was sitting on his hospital bed, elbows propped up against the edge of the open window. There was a book lying next to him on the bed that was opened to some random page, the tip of the paper dog-eared. A soft breeze brushed in through the window, causing the white drapes to billow to either side of Iruka. He didn't look at Kakashi when he entered.

The Jounin leaned on his crutches, shooting Tekki a look before he kicked the door in his face. He quickly locked the door. Pounding erupted for a solid thirty seconds before abruptly stopping. Kakashi walked the rest of the way into the room and sat down on the edge of Iruka's bed. "…Med nins."

"Are crazy." Iruka finished. His warm brown eyes finally broke away from the outside world and turned to his friend. "Or at least Tekki-san is. I fear for any ninja that doesn't follow his orders…"

Kakashi's expression lightened at this comment. They'd had an interesting conversation in the hallway when Kakashi had refused a wheelchair. "Yeah." The Jounin looked Iruka up and down once, noting the nearly infinite cuts, bruises, and bandages that covered his body. "How are you feeling, Iruka-san?"

"Like shit, Kakashi. How else?" He glanced over his shoulder at the town and then down at his book. He picked it up tenderly and set it in his lap. "And you?"

"Mm." The Jounin didn't offer an answer more than that. "How long have you been up?"

"Hm. About a day and a half." Iruka heaved a great sigh and set his book to the side uselessly. He leaned his elbows back on the window sill and hung his head in attempt to escape Kakashi's gaze. "Do yourself a favor and listen to Tekki."

Kakashi laughed lightly and pulled his legs up onto the bed, crossing them and placing his hands on his ankles. "I'm checking out as soon as I'm through with you."

Iruka's attention snapped to the man. "Kakashi-san! You've got lacerations all over your body, severe blood-loss, extreme trauma to the head and-" The Chuunin was abruptly cut off by a glare. Iruka sat up, matching the glare with full 'sensei' force. "Kakashi-san, I'm serious. You still need to be attended to."

"You have any dreams?" He switched the subject.

"NO. Look, you can change the subject, but you're not going to distract me that easily. I mean it, Kakashi…san. You need to stay here."

Like hell he was. "Fine, Iruka. I'll stay for one more night."

"No, no, you won't." The Chuunin continued to glare. "I know how you operate, Kakashi. As soon as you walk out that door, you're out of here."

Iruka was rewarded with an incredulous stare. "And what do you plan do to about it?"

"I'm going to chase you and drag your sorry ass back here because I don't feel like worrying about anyone. I've got it bad enough as it is." He pressed a thumb to a temple and sighed, squeezing his eyes tightly.

"Iruka, you couldn't out run me in this condition if your life depended on it."

"I have minions," Iruka muttered darkly.

Oh, well that was a point. "You'd have to find me first."

"…Kakashi…." the man warned. "You're going to stay here."

The Jounin sighed, setting his feet down on the floor again. He plucked at the white hospital clothing. Kakashi felt like he'd been violated. He never liked wearing any clothing other than his own. "Mm."

"If you leave, I will follow." The sensei had such finality in his tone…

Kakashi stood up, obviously taking up the Chuunin on his challenge. "Bye."

Iruka growled. "Damn it Kakashi, go back to your room!"

The crutches clicked as he settled them in place under his arms. Then he headed for the door. "No." It opened.

"KAKASHIIII!"

Tekki stared at the Jounin as he walked past in the direction of his hospital room…. The hawk-nosed man raised a brow, and then narrowed both out of suspicion. Oh, he expected some trick to be pulled -if not now, then later. On impulse, he peered into the crack of Umino Iruka's door, recoiling as Kakashi's name blasted at him- damn well nearly exploded his ear drums. "At least your lungs are healthy…" He grumbled bitterly to the Chuunin. The door clicked shut. People, Tekki mused. They were so much easier to take care of when they were incapacitated…

When Tekki walked into Kakashi's room a few hours later, he found the Jounin sleeping peacefully. With a glance to the IV, he noticed it was drained. Tekki produced the needle and walked over, setting up another package. The needle slipped under the skin and-

Poof

Well damn. That pissed him off.

---

Kakashi leaned over the bar counter of Itadekimasu, full uniform on, sake in hand and crutches propped up at his side. He'd collected a few stares from the tender, but the man didn't have enough courage to ask the Shiringan no Kakashi what was bothering him. So instead, the Jounin was left in peaceful silence. That is, until Asuma walked in.

Asuma was closely followed by Genma and an oddly forlorn Nakura. She trudged in behind the men, causing both to twitch when a deep sigh would periodically escape her. Genma shook his head and led her toward the back. Asuma had already spotted his prey. Thus, he immediately took a seat next to Kakashi. "Yo."

"Yo." Kakashi set the glass on the counter and turned the cup, studying it carefully. The barstool creaked when he shifted wearily.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

"Yes."

"Ah. Alright." The Jounin laughed, snubbing out his cigarette in the bar's mini tray. "So Tekki's going to sic his squad on you, and you're going to sit here and drink sake while they turn Konoha inside and out?" He eyed the bottle of sake in front of Kakashi. It was exceptionally heavy, Asuma noted. Kakashi was suffering through more than physical pain.

"Yes." Kakashi nodded, slipping his mask to his chin, taking another gulp, and setting it back. Apparently, he was beyond caring at the moment. "Don't plan on getting caught."

"Sure. Sure." Asuma lit another cigarette. "You've got balls."

Kakashi smiled, hanging his head and letting out a low chuckle. "I know."

"So how's Sensei doing?"

"Feels like shit, but he's recovering well." Kakashi sighed, refilling his glass. He rested his chin on his palm and stared at the glass forlornly. "I don't know when he'll be out though. He say's he'll hunt me down, but I'm not sure."

"Hmm. Don't know about that. That man can hold a grudge. And he has this capacity for tracking down 'lost' students…I get nightmares about the punishments I've heard he gives." Asuma cackled. Smoke loomed about the men like a hazy halo.

Kakashi didn't join the laughter, only gulped down all of the sake in his glass. He smacked the cup down and stood, taking his crutches in hand. "I sense the nins coming. See you around, Asuma-san."

"Good luck. I'll throw them off your trail." The man grinned and said no more.

The copy nin peered out the door and down the street. There was a set of four white clad medical nins searching all of the shops one by one as they left. Kakashi's fingers crossed and he henged into a young woman. He started off down the street once more, concealed his chakara, and successfully evading his pursuers. Kakashi didn't release the henge until he reached the clearing of the Hero Stone. Oh, he'd walked this path many times, but only once before had he experienced such a powerful sensation from it. The battle ground had been cleaned up, and the grass was replaced. The Jounin dropped the crutches to the ground and dropped to his knees in front of the black marble stone, sitting where Amaya had experienced her last moments.

Kakashi's hands crossed over the fresh grass at his side, and he sighed deeply, a forlorn look crossing his features. The Jounin looked back at the marble and touched the carvings. He knew so many people on this stone… He closed his eyes and let out another deep breath.

He'd failed again. Twice within the same week was not good for Kakashi. The drinks numbed him up enough to handle coming here. God only knew what condition he'd been in if he'd come straight to the memorial without stopping before. Kakashi lifted a hand to his face as if he were trying to hide from it all. Not his hitae-ate or his mask could save him from the shame he felt. "Amaya…"

"Amaya-chan died after a glorious fight…" Iruka's sad voice came from behind him. "And she knew before she came here that her death was a possibility." It seemed as though he were trying to console himself more than his friend. "Such is the way of the ninja." Iruka emerged from the foliage, book in hand. He seemed distressed at seeing Kakashi so…depressed.

Kakashi slowly looked up and over at the Chuunin. Iruka had hidden well. "Yes, I know." But did that really make death seem any simpler? His eye slowly rolled back to the stone and a look of finality came over him. Kakashi didn't dwell on it any longer. He grinned at Iruka. "It would seem as though you've caught me."

"Indeed. And as promised, I'll be dragging your ass back with me." The Chuunin held up a hand. "But I'm willing to compromise. I'll drag you back to your apartment, and I'll have Tekki-san come and look you over. That'll be that."

The Jounin nodded. Those terms, he could accept. "Thanks, Iruka." Kakashi glanced back to the stone to find his fingers still lingering over the names. He took his hand back.

"She'll be avenged." Iruka murmured, grass crunching beneath his sandals as he approached Jounin and monument. He crouched down next to Kakashi and propped his book up against the black marble. "I'd gotten this for Amaya-chan. Forgot to give it to her…" After a moment of hesitation, Iruka placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, risking a pat.

Kakashi laughed at the contact, and he leaned forward, picking up the book. 'Three Days of Rain'. The light left Kakashi's eye and his brows furrowed. "She will be avenged," he agreed. "Harogami Kuro and his brother will regret the day they crossed my path." He set the book next to the memorial again. "I think I'll go back to my apartment now…"

"Yeah. I'll be there with Tekki-san. If he's not already there, that is. He's as skilled at finding people as I am with my students." Iruka winked. "It's secret jutsu."

Kakashi grabbed the crutches and stood up, setting them in place. The man smiled. "I'll have to copy that then."

---

"I should have killed him myself." Tekki growled, clutching a bag of basic medical supplies. The veins in his arms, forehead, and hands all strained against his skin. "I should have killed him."

"Tekki-sama…"

Tekki turned his anger on Iruka momentarily, and the Chuunin recoiled a bit. "And you! You followed the miscreant! You, who I trusted to have common sense! More than that bastard anyway! You're letting the slacker get under your skin, Umino!"

Iruka mumbled something under his breath.

"Damn it! Why must the good be spoiled?!"

Iruka stopped and waited for Tekki to do the same; otherwise, the man would walk headlong into Kakashi's apartment door. "Tekki-san, he'll hear you."

"Let the bastard hear me!"

The door opened, and Kakashi gave Tekki a congenial grin. The man was leaning on a crutch for support. "Evening!"

"YOU!" The medical ninja head snarled, whipping out an accusatory finger. "You've corrupted him! You've corrupted one of my best patients!"

Kakashi's eye traveled over to Iruka. He pointed. "Him?"

"YES HIM!" Tekki yanked Iruka into the apartment after him and immediately demanded Kakashi sit. Kakashi sat like a good boy should. "SHIRT. OFF."

The Jounin had gained a grin on his features as he unzipped his vest and set it to the side. The black, long-sleeved shirt was pulled over his head to expose pale skin and bandages. There was blood seeping through. Damn Kakashi had ripped his stitches again. By this time, Iruka had politely turned his back on the two, effectively hiding his blush. He could hear Tekki's furious growling and cursing as the med nin set to work. "BASTARD JOUNIN."

"Naturally!" Kakashi's voice chirped in the air around Iruka. There was more shifting and a thud. "Hey! Hey! Cut that out!"

"SIT STILL, DAMN IT!" The sound of scuffling caused Iruka to turn slightly, and then he immediately faced the wall again. "PANTS." Tekki demanded.

"I can do that myself, thank you for the offer." There was more scuffling as Kakashi dodged Tekki's swipe.

"THAT'S IT! I'M DONE! HE'S HEALED! I'M LEAVING!" Tekki pushed past Iruka and stomped out the door without another word. That is, until they heard a fairly distant scream of, "IF YOU DON'T EAT AND SLEEP PROPERLY, I'LL KILL YOU!"
Iruka flinched, still facing the wall. "He's a little…high strung…"

"I can tell." There was a satisfied lilt in Kakashi's voice. He'd snatched the gauze right out of Tekki's hand, and the sound of the cloth strip being unraveled was the only noise to grace the air.

"…Tea?"

"Thank you."

Yes. Tea. Iruka would make some tea. He'd pretend he hadn't just encountered yet another homicidal med nin. He immediately preoccupied himself in Kakashi's kitchen area. When the tea was set, he decided they should have something to eat. Thus, cup ramen was the instant solution. And when that was done, suddenly Kakashi's kitchen seemed to have collected a decade's worth of grime.

A shirtless Kakashi walked into the kitchen, placing the finishing touches on an arm bandage. "Iruka… why are you cleaning my kitchen?" "You know, I wonder if Ebisu is still alive." Iruka laughed nervously, lifting a hand to his lips as he did so. "The kids aren't that bad, but if it's a teacher they've never seen before…"

Kakashi shrugged, sitting down in front of the ramen at the kitchen table. He stared at Iruka for a long moment as the Chuunin jumped around the kitchen. It quite reminded him of a darting rabbit. "Tekki-san scared you?"

"Kakashi, that man never ceases to scare the hell out of me." The Chuunin heaved a heavy sigh, removing the tea kettle from the stove. "It's everything. Everything that's happened accumulated into this anxiety." This sort of thing he normally dealt with on lower levels, but nothing of this magnitude. Not since his parents' deaths so many years ago.

"One of the Harogami brothers were killed," Kakashi stated as Iruka set the cup of tea down in front of him. "But apparently they can regenerate each other. It takes a lot of chakara to pull that off, and taking in the fact they didn't kill us off when we were unconscious-" if that was ever part of their plan to begin with, "means that they were too weak to do anything but recover. We've got a good amount of time, maybe a week, before we have to worry about them returning to complete their mission." The Jounin reached out for the tea, and he turned the glass in much the same way he had done to the sake earlier. He stared at the Chuunin across from him. "So use this time to recover rather than stress."

"Mm." Iruka stared down into his tea cup, picking up his chopsticks and clicking them together absently. Kakashi's gaze was still locked on him. There was an inquisitive, scrutinizing glint in his friend's eye. Eventually, Iruka glanced up from his ramen, slurping up a noodle and looking rather comical in doing so. "What?"

The Jounin's serious stare didn't relent. "Contemplating…"

"Eat your ramen." Iruka muttered in response, returning to his own and slurping noisily. He marginally hoped that concentrating on the annoying noise would lessen the effect of Kakashi's stare.

The Jounin fell very still and let out a soft breath. Finally, he moved, pulling the mask around his neck and picking up the cup ramen, chopsticks in his hand. Kakashi casually leaned the chair on its back two legs and sucked up the noodles.

He would not look, he would not look. He. Would. Not. Look. Sluuuurp.

Kakashi's eyes lifted to Iruka curiously. Apparently the copy nin was testing some new boundary, but where that boundary was, the sensei could not be completely sure. Kakashi paused, stirring his noodles with his chopsticks, absently looking at the steam that rose up.

Sluuuuuuurp. Slurrrrp.

"Umino Iruka."

Sluu-GAG. Iruka started choking and nearly knocked his head against the table as he pitched forward, clutching at his neck. "W-w-what?!"

Kakashi paused and then placed the mask where it belonged, setting the ramen back down on the table. "Nothing."

"What the hell was that for, Kakashi?" The man inhaled deeply, clutching his chopsticks to him like they were items sent by god. "Damn it, I can't handle…I can't handle…" He just gave up and grabbed his tea cup. And there, of course, was that blush across his cheeks. It made that scar really stand out.

Kakashi stood up and set the crutches in place and idled into the living space. He pulled his shirt on over his head and rolled up the sleeves to his elbows. He'd leave the vest to the side. "I feel like seeing my students."

"Kakashi-" Where did the 'san' go, Iruka wondered. "-They're probably already home by now."

"I'll stop in the market and bring Naruto some vegetables. He can't live off of miso ramen forever." He turned to grin at the man. "Coming, Iruka?"

"Yeah." He owed it to Naruto.

---

"No!" Umino Iruka couldn't stop his eye from twitching. "Never again am I going to burst into Naruto's apartment with that many vegetables. Especially when he's sleeping. Kakashi, that was completely uncalled for!" His hands were set in fists and he was close to decking Kakashi on the spot. Naruto was happy to see both of them, but that was after they found themselves attacked by several Kage bunshin clones…armed with all manner of vegetation. Iruka had a bruise from a carrot. He was not a happy man. Yes, seeing Naruto made up for some of it, but he was at least going to sic Konohamaru on Kakashi's students. Unrest among students meant non-stop complaints at teachers. He very much doubted Kakashi wanted twenty-four hours of bitching from Naruto and Sakura.

The sensei half smiled. There was some retribution to be had.

They continued out of Naruto's apartment complex, both men still able to hear the boy calling out goodbye. It was currently twelve at night. They'd stayed for several hours, enjoying more cup ramen, more tea and some various fried veggies. Including carrot.

Next destination: Iruka's apartment. It was now repaired and ready to live in. The only work that needed to be done was restoring photographs and décor. Iruka didn't have a couch anymore, regrettably, but he at least had an extra futon.

The Chuunin felt an overwhelming wave of relief as he opened the restored door with his name plaque on it. Ah, his kitchen. His hallway. His…empty living room… Best ignore that and move on. He ushered Kakashi in and locked the door behind him -this being an old, almost pointless habit. He watched at Kakashi propped the crutches against the wall near the door, testing his own stability. Iruka decided not to argue. "I'll be in the shower. There should still be an extra futon in my closet."

Kakashi nodded as he slipped into that almost familiar bedroom. The Jounin pulled out the extra futon and looked around the room. The opposite wall was taken up by a dresser, then there were the closet doors, and then Iruka's own bedding. He looked around and then shrugged, unrolling it next to Iruka's. He stood up again and walked out the bedroom. He shut the door behind him and his ear twitched, head turning to the bathroom door. The rustling of fabric gracefully piling on the floor had caught his attention. Then the sound of clear, rushing water colliding with and slipping over tan skin, weaving through perfectly sculpted muscles. The squeaking of bare feet on slick tile as Iruka twitched to the side once-

Kakashi pointedly moved into the empty living room. The window didn't even have draping. He walked into the kitchen and found the corner burnt picture of Iruka and himself standing side by side. Kakashi didn't remember having this picture taken. Naruto probably did it when he got his new camera a while ago. He picked it up and walked back out, propping it against the glass window. There, he'd done his share of the work.

The water was abruptly cut off and a body shifted out of the shower, patting itself dry with a terry cloth towel. Kakashi heard Iruka maneuvering around the bathroom, rewrapping gauze, pulling on clothing. After a few minutes more the door opened and Iruka emerged, towel draped over his head, shirt over one shoulder. He crossed into his room and muttered something to himself. When he finally came out of there, his dark hair had returned to its customary tail -albeit, it was a rather sad, floppy one. Iruka grunted when he entered his kitchen, washing out his tea kettle. He paused when he noticed something seemed off. A tiny detail but it was there in the forefront of his mind.

At last he placed it. "Kakashi, where is-?"

Kakashi was standing proudly next to the little piece of paper on the window ledge. He pointed. "What an honor it is to be the first one in your living room."

Iruka sighed, rolling his brown eyes. "An honor you bestowed upon yourself, apparently." The Chuunin stared at his friend for a moment.

Kakashi's attention was abruptly taken from Iruka as he stared out the window. He thought he heard something change. Wind? No, distant rain apparently.

"Right." Iruka stood up straight, shifting his weight to one leg. "I'm going to sleep now."

"Mm." The Jounin seemed suddenly absorbed by the change in the weather. Rain slowly crept across the buildings until it finally hit the window. Perhaps it was a paranoia returning to him. Rain made it harder to hear the nighttime noises. Ninja often used the rain to their advantage. Finally, Kakashi seemed to deem it safe, and he looked back to Iruka. "Sweet dreams."

"Ha ha. Very funny, Kakashi. Good night." He gave the Jounin a half hearted wave and stalked down his hallway. Kakashi could hear the thud as he flopped onto his futon.

The Jounin followed silently afterward, shutting the door behind him. He paused to adjust to the darkness. A soft blue ambient light from outside allowed the ninja to see gentle outlines of the room. He walked over and flopped over on the futon, yawning and stretching. This was the way it was supposed to be. Eating and crashing at other peoples houses. He'd spent plenty of time over at Asuma's house, and he'd also stayed nights with plenty of ladies. Being forced to stay in his own apartment was starting to make him twitch. Kakashi shifted under borrowed blankets. Rain pitter-pattered against Iruka's bedroom window.

"So you mooch off others?" This was severely muffled by a rather thick pillow. The Chuunin had buried his face in it and was apparently going to stay that way until he either suffocated or rolled over.

Kakashi shifted to his other side to face Iruka. He watched the form under the blankets. "Asuma-san calls it that."

He could see one brown eye peer at him over the mass of Iruka's giant pillow. "And what do you call it?"

"A meal plan."

"…Right." The eye vanished.

"Hey, you've stayed over at my apartment plenty of times." Two was more than enough to Kakashi. HE didn't spend that much time in his apartment.

"Kakashi, I don't live in other people's apartments." The man grunted into his pillow and rolled onto his side, back facing Kakashi.

"Good point." Shadows were cast across Iruka's form by the outside light, twisting and dappled by the harsh rain. Kakashi watched the man's chest rise and fall for some time. "But your home seems like a home," he attempted to explain. The concept was almost foreign to Kakashi.

"Th-" A huge yawn forced Iruka to reattempt a comment. "Thank you, I guess." He turned over again, this time onto his back, and he stretched before closing his eyes.

Kakashi remained silent, and he rolled over, tucking the blankets under his chin. He'd let the man alone for now.

Eventually, Iruka's breathing regulated. The rain had helped lull away his anxieties so he carried no tense muscles and no worried expression. He was finally at peace beside Kakashi. It seemed as though the rain wouldn't relent for at least four days.

---

Kakashi awoke to the soft hush of rain mingling with an early morning light. His gaze landed upon a dresser across the room, and then a window. Rain fell upon it so thickly it was like watching a waterfall. Kakashi blinked, pulling himself to his elbows and taking in his surroundings. Oh, that's right, he was in Iruka's room. At remembering the Chuunin, he looked over to find him sleeping soundly. The copy nin pulled himself to his feet and he grabbed the bag he always carried with him when he stayed away from his apartment. He slung it over his shoulder and stretched, rocking to the ball of his feet and hyper extending his fingers. He left for the restroom.

The shower water turned on, matching the rain in strength and exceeding it in temperature. His hand slipped under the stream until it was to his liking. The Jounin pulled his shirt over his head and began to unravel the bandages. He'd have to take his time. Then, a thought occurred to him that made him laugh lightly. Tekki would be stopping by HIS apartment in a few hours. Well, they all said he was good at tracking. Tracking through heavy rain this early in the morning, however, would guarantee a great mood when the man arrived.

The rest of Kakashi's clothing and bandages dropped to the floor and he stepped in, letting the hot water rush over his wounds and bare skin. He let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes, tilting his head back to allow the water rush over his face. His hands lifted to his cheeks. It felt strange not having the mask there. His skin had grown hypersensitive from the lack of exposure to the world.

The water carried pink swirls as it circled down the drain at Kakashi's feet. A few of the particularly deep wounds still had a small, gentle flow of blood that had been stopped up by gauze. The Jounin watched his blood mix with water and his eyes closed, hand pressing to the wall of the shower for stability. His mind tumbled over everything that had happened during the most recent days that he could remember.

By the time he dried off, redressed major wounds, changed clothing, and walked out of the bathroom, Iruka was already in the kitchen. The Chuunin was staring blankly at a frying pan on his stove with sizzling yellow fluff in it. Iruka heaved a sighed and a guilty expression claimed his features. Kakashi interjected Iruka's thoughts. "What's that?"

Iruka jumped and he looked up nearly startled. The sensei saved himself by grinning and turning back to his work. "Scrambled eggs. Amaya's recipe." Iruka prodded the fluff with a spatula then pointed the object at Kakashi. "Tea's already on the table."

The Jounin walked over and poured a cup full of it. He sat on the edge of the table with his back to Iruka. He kept himself busy by staring at the pictures of old students that adorned his wall. He sipped idly. "Are you returning to the Academy soon?"

"Yes. As soon as this arm is good." Iruka flipped the fuzz. "My wounds appear to be healing at an abnormally fast pace." He shook his head and prodded the yellow egg remnants again. "Or I could change my mind and go regardless of my arm." He removed the pan, scraping eggs onto two plates. The pan was placed in the sink, one plate was set down behind Kakashi and the other Iruka placed on his side of the table. He glanced at the photo set against the window before sitting down. He glanced at Kakashi as the man slid off of the table and sat in the chair like he was supposed to. "Mm." And glanced at his food.

Kakashi picked up a bit of egg fluff with his chopsticks. It dropped to the plate. "You know, I had trouble with this before." He tried again. "I think I remember Amaya talking about forks. Wasn't really paying attention at the time. Too busy with Icha Icha Paradise…"

Iruka was popping piece after piece of the dish in his mouth with no problem at all. "Huh."

Kakashi let his mask fall around his neck and he tried some, playing with the food on his plate rather than eating it normally. It tasted exactly like Amaya's version. It was good. The Jounin found himself smiling as he took another bite.

Iruka popped more egg in his mouth and found the photo against his window very appealing.

Kakashi started the game again, ignoring the Chuunin's awkward discomfort. He continued to eat. "Who took that picture anyway, Iruka?" He had to hold back a snicker as Iruka visibly flinched.

"Ah, Naruto-kun."

"Thought so. It's from a low angle." A pause. "What's so interesting about it?" Kakashi knew exactly what was going on, and Iruka knew he knew that he knew that he knew, and yet, he refused to do anything about it, the bastard.

"I can't tell if your hair is silver or light blue." The Chuunin ventured. "The lighting is…off." Oh, wait. Stupid answer…

"Mm. Looks silver to me." More eggs and a sip of tea. "You have a strange expression on your face in that picture. Is it embarrassment?"

"Not sure." Iruka swallowed some tea, focusing on the soothing warmth running down his throat.

The last bit of egg quickly disappeared. Kakashi lingered a moment, staring at Iruka, and the mask was put into place. Kakashi took the liberty of clearing his own plate and cup -something he didn't normally do. Kakashi walked over to the refrigerator and plucked a random picture of Naruto pulling on Iruka's cheeks. He placed it next to the picture of himself and Iruka. Now he'd done twice as much work than he'd expected to do.

"Don't strain yourself." Kakashi heard from behind. Rather sarcastic too, that was.

Kakashi grinned. "Tekki was right, I am rubbing off on you."

Iruka blushed and dropped his plate in the sink. "Idiot!"

The Jounin's hand rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. He turned back to the window and peered through the rippling rain, out into the muddy streets below. No one was there. "Hey, Iruka-kun, want to come to the book shop with me?"'

"In this weather?" Iruka paused to listen to the heavy water. He muttered to himself as he contemplated, and finally said, "Fine."

---

Rain had soaked them to the bone. Kakashi could hear Tekki's screams in the back of his mind, but this didn't quicken their pace. As a matter of fact, Chuunin and Jounin had slowed down to a stroll, keeping their heads bowed slightly so that water didn't get in their eyes. It was nice. No one was out on the streets, the sun wasn't glaring or heavy on their backs, it was just Iruka and Kakashi alone on a walk to the book store.

The door swung open and bells rang above their heads as they entered. Makoto, the old book vendor, stared at them incredulously. Kakashi raised a hand as greeting and started with purpose to the very back shelves.

Iruka ignored this and instead marched with purpose up to the desk Makoto was leaning against. "Hello, Makoto-san."

"Iruka-kun. I'm surprised to see you here."

Iruka raised a brow. "Mm."

"You hate getting wet don't you?"

"Can we call it a truce today, Makoto-san? I don't feel up to verbal sparring."

The old man narrowed his eyes. "Eh. Only if I get a good purchase out of one of you."

"I'm sure you will," Iruka muttered darkly as he eyed Kakashi move about at the back.

There was a sudden, cheerful 'Banzai!' from the back of the store. Kakashi was holding up a poppy red book with a big 'R' on the back cover. "Icha Icha Violence is out!"

For the love of- "As I said. Good purchase." The Chuunin wished he could burn that heinous object. And all other copies that happened to exist, while he was at it.

Makoto laughed. "Ah, good choice!"

"Yes! Yes!" Kakashi strolled up to the counter and placed the book in front of him. "What'll that be?"

"The usual."

And without further bargaining, Kakashi slipped a small sum of money across to the old man. Iruka's eyes widened. How did he get it that cheap so quickly when he, a long time friend, had to haggle for twenty minutes to get Makoto to a reasonable price?! Iruka resisted the urge to yell. It was mostly directed at Makoto, although, he wouldn't mind chewing Kakashi out either. Instead, he merely uttered a short goodbye and ushered Kakashi out of the shop. "Geezer…"

Kakashi had tucked the book under his shirt and into the rim of his pants to keep it as dry as possible. "Great guy, isn't he?" He pocketed his hands and they hunched their shoulders as the rain began to soak them further. For some reason, the two found themselves walking in the opposite direction of Iruka's apartment, but neither seemed to mind. The time with a friend seemed to be a welcome and precious item to both of them.

The weather grew harsher. Up ahead, a citizen dashed across the street with a cloth held above their head. They quickly disappeared into a building. Otherwise, they were alone and content, despite their shivering bodies and blue lips. After a good amount of walking, Iruka finally asked the question that neither really cared to answer. "Kakashi, where are we going?"

The Jounin shrugged and smiled, placing an arm over Iruka's trembling shoulders. "Where the wind takes us, Iruka."