Leaves in the Wind
Chapter Sixteen: Cross-Dresser at the Crossroads
Clakka, clack, clack, clakka.
Doors opened and a brief flash of red pierced the monochromatic grays of a drowning Konoha. The crimson sleeve of a kimono vanished around the corner of the apartment complex, soon replaced by a feminine face anxiously scanning the streets. The ninja would have stayed inside had he not just finished the last of his tea. Iruka had loaned his teapot, and after such courtesy, he couldn't -wouldn't- miss his morning tea.
Isamu flattened himself against the building, desperately attempting to avoid the rain. It wasn't that moisture agitated his illness; it was simply the fact that he abhorred getting wet. It would smear his carefully applied makeup. His only choice was to either stay dry without tea or risk the rain, which would be a possible episode, and get the tea as a result. He reluctantly chose the latter.
Cautiously he plopped one sandaled foot out of the protection of the apartment building's overhang. One. Two- Isamu darted into the open, bowing his head and blindly running forward.
Clakka, clack, clack, clakka!
Isamu's thin, red lips pursed together when another set of steps triggered a light fluttering sensation in his chest. The sudden jerk of his heart meant he only had an estimated twenty minutes before he'd be forced to shut down his body. Iruka-san's apartment was in the other direction, and he couldn't possibly barge in again. Just yesterday, when he had done so, he had probably walked in on something private. Well, that was assuming both Iruka-san's disgruntled, guilty expression and Kakashi's slightly mussed hair were anything to assume from. He really did not want to risk intruding again, for their sake and his own.
Was twenty minutes enough time? It was only ten minutes more to his destination…but ten minutes back and an added five to get into his apartment meant he would be passing out on the stairs…. Isamu considered turning back but decided against it. He forced himself to think of the tea. The tea was all that mattered. Yes, it would be an A rank mission that topped all others -retrieve the special green tea leaves and report back to apartment complex fifty-nine before enemy ninja can intercede.
Clakka, clack, clack, clakka!
Click, click, click, click.
"Click?" He automatically glanced over his shoulder, stopping in the middle of the street. A few passerby stared for a moment before moving on. They had failed to notice the horror manifesting in the man's face. "K-"
"Isamu-chan!"
"Oh, Isamu-chan!"
A pair of women in Chuunin uniform ran at him, waving as they approached.
"K-" A careful finger pressed to his lips.
The short haired brunette hushed him, a giggle following her words. "Not out in the open, Isamu-chan!"
The blonde drew up on the opposite side of him, effectively cutting off all routs of escape. The woman glanced over to 'her' companion. "It's not safe out in the open. Let's go back to your place, neh?"
"Wait, please…you…you can't!"
"Why are you so tense? It's just us, Isamu-chan." The brunette had gained an adorable pout-face.
Isamu bit his bottom lip, resisting the grabbing hands at his kimono. Kuro and Kuro had never accepted 'no' as an answer. "Please don't…"
"Don't worry Isamu-chan!" The blonde withdrew a fragrant paper bag from her Chuunin vest. She dangled it in the poor man's face. "We've got your favorite tea leaves right here."
The brunette Kuro leaned in, stroking Isamu's neck as he purred, "You might need some when you wake up. I can smell it affecting you already." Without waiting for protest, Isamu was promptly dragged back the way he'd come, listening to fervent whispers and giggles every step of the way.
---
"More tea?" the former Jounin asked wearily.
A fully recognizable Kuro glanced up from the book in his hand. "Thank you, Isamu-chan!" he watched the kettle hover over his cup and grinned wolfishly at the man holding it. How cute Isamu looked when he was worried. Of course, he'd get hit if he said that out loud. Isamu had locked his apartment door as soon as they had stepped inside. The man had ripped the bag of tea leaves from Kuro-kun's hand and proceeded to make tea faster than they thought was physically possible. Well, the man certainly did love his morning tea…
"How have you been, Isamu-chan?" Both twins turned to him as one.
Isamu flinched at the polite smiles. "Fine. You-"
"We miss Suzume-chan too," Kuro said carefully, as if answering a well phrased question. The ex-med nin sipped his tea and turned the cup slightly before setting it down. "We also regret not being able to work at the hospital. And Kuro-kun, he misses our parents."
The kettle was set carefully on the table as Isamu nervously smoothed out his kimono sleeves. He wouldn't state the obvious; it was their own fault they couldn't work anymore. "I see."
"We also understand that even though you're our friend, you've been talking to Kakashi-san about us."
The former nin froze.
"We don't mind," the other Kuro picked up as his brother resumed drinking. "We're just disappointed you're trying to pretend you haven't."
"It's fine. We merely wished to speak with you. Unfortunately, it seems we won't have much time." Kuro flourished his tea cup, gesturing with the other hand to Isamu's flushed face. The man was already breaking out in a light sweat.
"What do you wish to speak of?" The Harogami brothers' friend attempted to seek solace in the comfortable aroma of the tea, but the presences on either side of him were intrusive. He couldn't feel anything but the perverse fear crashing against his already jaded mind.
Kuro took the kettle to pour his own tea when he saw Isamu wasn't about to do so. His brother immediately snatched it for himself before Kuro could tip it. "What we're feeling."
"And maybe what happens next. If you're still conscious by that time," Elder Kuro added, grinning at his sibling and deeply inhaling the steam rising from his cup.
Kuro estimated Isamu had about fifteen minutes before he fell to his disease. "Kuro fears death."
The elder Harogami nodded at Isamu. He noted the disbelief being carefully masked by a passive, yet friendly smile. "Yes. And Kuro-kun wants to kill. He wants it very badly, Isamu-chan. It's strange."
"Kuro-kun has nightmares of our parents. Of their deaths. But I have none. I no longer dream, Isamu-chan."
They watched Isamu's face carefully as the man's eyes snapped shut. He visibly flinched as elder Kuro pulled him down to sit in his lap, beginning to toy with the kimono's gigantic ribbon and consequently forgetting his tea. The twins didn't seem like missing nin any longer; they seemed like lost, confused children wandering in search of comfort…blindly lashing out at people when things didn't go right. He knew the feeling…yet to murder because of it? Isamu couldn't say his own hands hadn't been stained with blood because he was guilty of that as well. It just seemed…everything about these ninja around him warped his senses. They were so twisted; he felt pity instead of hate while knowing full well they could kill him at any moment if something set them off. "I'm sorry…"
"We're so lonely…" A pair of strong, pale arms curled around his waist, holding him close.
"Very lonely." Younger Kuro reached out to stroke his friend's slick, black locks.
Touching greatly unnerved Isamu but he restrained his instincts to recoil. "So you've implied. Blood-lust, fear, loneliness?"
"Oh, yes. And regret. We do regret killing that Takigakure hunter you know." The hand stroking his hair began sifting through it, letting the strands fall between fingers.
"And Suzume-chan?"
The twins exchanged glances. "We didn't kill her. Sensei did."
Sensei? "Your sensei did?" Isamu was quickly silenced by a finger on his moistened lips.
"Shh. Don't talk about it." Kuro leaned back in the chair, taking the feminine man with him. "Kuro-kun, how much time do we have?"
"We have eleven minutes and twenty-three seconds, Kuro-kun."
The kitchen was temporarily hushed. Three pairs of eyes were fixated on the porcelain kettle in the middle of the table. A unique little piece with turtles painted all around. "This is Iruka-san's," Elder Kuro finally stated.
"Yes. He allowed me usage for a few days until I could get a new one."
"He is very interesting."
"You know, I recall most opinions I've heard of him say he's actually a little dull." Isamu watched steam billow, twist, and turn on itself. The arms around his waist tightened as the seconds ticked by.
"That's why Sensei chose him."
"Chose-? OWowowow!" Isamu suddenly found himself jammed against the tabletop as Kuro stood.
The twin glared at his younger duplicate. "Bastard!" He pointed accusingly.
Kuro met the glare, hands out and prepared to assault the other man. "You can't say anything about that, Kuro-kun." He turned his hard gaze on Isamu and it softened. "Truly apologize. What Sensei personally does or takes interest in is nothing that needs to be known except by Sensei."
"Eight minutes." The twins calmed, returning to their seats. The elder sibling yanked Isamu to him and again, the man was perched on Kuro's lap. "We want you to tell Kakashi-san the next time he sees us will be the last okay?"
"We have to go away for a while. Kuro-kun must satisfy his needs and I must satisfy mine." Kuro idly toyed with his hair, watching the chimes sway and clank against each other noiselessly. "We are entrusting our home and belongings to you until we return."
"Please visit Tekki-sama. Make sure he's doing his job."
Isamu opened his mouth to speak.
"Be careful, Isamu-chan. You shouldn't be going out so often."
He bit his lip as the Kuro holding him suddenly nuzzled his neck. "You shouldn't be staying alone. Tekki-sama is your cousin, right? You should stay with him for a while."
"W-wait-"
"Six minutes, Kuro-kun."
Isamu was starting to feel that pressure in his head again. Six minutes was exactly right. "Wait, why?"
They stared at him expectantly.
"Why are you following-?"
"Because Sensei trusts us and we trust Sensei." Both men laughed. "Isamu-chan should lie down."
"Tea." The retiree murmured, peeling Kuro's arms away and rising to take the tea kettle. Kuro glanced at his tea cup, then at his brother, then at Isamu at the sink as he turned the water on. They continued watching as he scrubbed his kettle clean. What a waste of tea. The poor man obviously wasn't thinking straight. Perhaps they were to blame?
"Two minutes." Kuro-kun said at length.
A sleek, long nailed hand slid out of the crimson sleeve, gripping the counter.
"You should probably go see Kakashi-san after you wake up."
"No! Isamu-chan, don't say anything to him about our departure."
Kuro fired a pout at Kuro-kun. "Why not?"
"It ruins the surprise. One minute." They watched the knuckles on Isamu's hand turn white. The man's head was bowed and his breathing was labored.
"Sleep well!"
Isamu tottered through his kitchen, past the brothers, toward his coach. He swayed dangerously with every step he took.
"Fifteen seconds."
"Eight!"
"See you, Isamu-chan!" Kuro stood as his sibling did.
"Seven!"
Isamu hovered over the couch, watching Harogami Kuro watch him.
"Six!" Both Kuro brothers lit up in anticipation.
"Five!" Excitement grew.
"For!" Breathless.
"Three!" Exclaimed.
"Two!" Clenched fists.
"One!" Hands flipped up in the air in celebration of their accurate countdown.
Kazahaya Isamu tumbled back, sprawling over his couch in a heap of cloth and twitching limbs. His head jerked backwards and his jaw clamped down on the inside of his cheek. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Sweet dreams, I-sa-mu-chan."
The apartment was suddenly silent and empty sans its singular convulsing inhabitant. Two cups of rapidly cooling tea sat on the kitchen table and a few ivory hairs littered the wooden floor.
---
"Iruka-" Kakashi's words were interrupted by a gasp for air. "Iruka, don't slow down, damn it!"
The Chuunin grunted, just as breathless as Kakashi. "I'm pushing as hard as I can! It's your own fault for going too fast!"
"I can't help it if you made ME get in front! I told you I'm better off on the backside, but you never listen!" Their breathing grew harsher. THUD. Both Ninja let out a shout and sigh of relief when the brand-new blue couch finally reached Iruka's third floor apartment door. Kakashi leaned forward, placing his hands on the back of the couch for stability. He swallowed and blinked, catching back air in his lungs. The Jounin grinned. "This is one damn heavy couch. Next time get someone else to do lug the thing up here."
"You offered." Iruka panted, wiping sweat from his brow. He hadn't really offered much energy into lugging the thing, his arm prevented it, but he tried. The Chuunin straightened and opened his door, inspecting the inside carefully. "We'll have to turn it onto its side."
"Sure." Kakashi nodded, pushing on the couch back and turning it so that it was balanced on its front. The Jounin gave it a good shove and it slid through the door. He flipped it back to all four feet with a BANG and then flopped down on it. They had been lucky enough to have the couch delivered to the complex. It had been covered in plastic when it arrived, and the unhappy delivery boys were drenched by the rain. They promptly ditched them there. "Finally some life gets returned to this room."
The cushion shifted as Iruka joined him on the couch, leaning his head back. "Finally!" He was ridiculously happy that he had a new couch. "Thanks a lot, Kakashi."
"Nah." The Jounin let out a deep breath. He would have expected moving a piece of furniture up three flights of stairs wouldn't be so hard, considering everything he went through every day. "Right, well, glad that's over with."
Iruka laughed, reaching over and clapping a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "You're lucky it wasn't the kitchen that needed refurnishing."
"Really! Refrigerator, oven, table and chairs." Kakashi grinned. "Those delivery boys would not be happy."
"And I'm sure you'd enjoy making them suffer."
He laughed and gave a short shrug. "No, no. If we had that many items, I'd make it a mission for Team seven. Hey, we should have given Naruto a call. His kage bunshin would have come in handy. Just make him do it."
"Yeah, but I'd worry about the neighbors…" Iruka glanced out his window. It was still raining, though not as hard as it had come down this morning. "Naruto can be a little loud…" The shinobi let silence fall between them with that comment.
Kakashi looked to the window as well. "It's going to be really muddy when that rain finally lets up. However, it would seem as though it was protecting us from any trouble for a while. How long was it? Three days now?"
"Help! Kakashi-san?! Iruka-san?!" They instantly recognized the girlish squeak as Kazahaya Isamu's voice. By its distance, he was somewhere below them, probably on the stairs. "Help!"
Iruka scrambled off his couch and darted out his door, glancing down over the railing. He caught a glimpse of a black head and a flash of red cloth. "Yeah…it's Isamu-san."
Kakashi was instantly at his side, peering with him. "Hey! What's wrong, Isamu-san?" he called down, eye watching as the man ran up the final set of stairs to them.
"I'm so sorry!" Isamu stopped five steps away from the Shinobi, clutching at his chest. "Sorry…Very sorry. I didn't…mean to interrupt." He inhaled. "But I had to come as quickly as I could and- Ah, my god! Iruka-san, I forgot your kettle at home! I was going to buy a new one on my way back to my apartment after this but-!"
"It's fine, Isamu-san, please, calm down." He ushered the frantic man into his apartment, guiding him to the couch and gently pushing him to sit.
"T… tea…" Isamu panted.
"Tea?"
"Yes…Harogami…drank tea at my apartment."
"What?" Kakashi shut the door and locked it. "The Harogami brothers stopped by you apartment to have a cup of tea?" That was the strangest thing he'd heard all day. "Please, Isamu-san, tell me you poisoned it."
"Um, well, you see, I accidentally drank the last of my poisons about a year ago so…and I never saw the point in restocking since I don't…um, no. I did not."
Iruka massaged his temples, sensing a headache threatening to manifest.
"Their bodies would flush it out anyway." Isamu offered, smoothing the fabric over his legs.
Kakashi lifted a finger to his temple and closed his eyes. "These guys are being tracked down by ANBU and they still have time to visit an old friend? What did they say? Did they tell you anything important?"
"Yes…but the conversation itself was really very disturbing…" He threaded his fingers together, placing his hands in his lap. "I wouldn't say the twins are afraid of you, but one of them did express a fear of death. They were both keen on emphasizing dying actually. I'm afraid the other brother is developing a strong lust for blood. As far as I can tell, they're starting to regret what they've done, but they're making no moves to stop it."
"Blood lust and fear of death," Kakashi muttered darkly. "Perfect. If we're lucky maybe they'll kill each other." He stalked into the kitchen, feeling a sudden need for space. The two watched him lean against the counter with arms crossed in thought.
"On the contrary; they're clinging to one another far more than I remember them doing. It's as though they've reverted back to an almost infantile state."
Iruka was suddenly reminded of Suien, but he shook that off. Suien had reacted much as a child would react but to think of the man as 'childish'? "Because they're seeking human contact outside of what they'd normally allow?"
"Precisely. But it's the way they speak and move. They said they were lonely…" The singular golden eye Iruka had been staring into closed. Isamu's brows creased ever so slightly. "They expressed regret for the Takigakure nin's death and for the death of Leiko Suzume-"
"It doesn't do them any-"
"-Which, I must add, they told me, they had no part in."
"No part?" Kakashi shifted away from the counter and stared through the kitchen entrance to him. "Who did they say killed her?"
They watched the man compulsively smooth his clothing. "They know I'm relaying this information to you. I'm sure you're both aware of that, but they've just openly confirmed it… Um…as for whom, they were vague, only referring to a 'sensei'."
"So there's more…" Kakashi pocketed his hands. His course of travel brought him into the living room and over to the window. A suspicious glance was thrown into the evening light. Their protective curtain of rain was slowing to a drizzle. It was unusual to have such long storms pass over Konoha. At finding nothing suspicious besides the weather, he stepped away from the window. "Did they say anything about Iruka?"
"Yes…" The Chuunin his side stiffened. "They said he was 'interesting' and when I said generally, most Shinobi disagreed-" Iruka pointedly kept his gaze on Isamu. "-they agreed, and said that was why their sensei had 'chosen him'. Er, younger Kuro-kun then cut his brother off saying 'sensei's business is sensei's business.'" Isamu was currently wondering if what he'd been doing for the past few days constituted as traitorous behavior to his companions.
"Did they say what their roll in this was? Any clues as to who their sensei is? Or possibly what they want from, with, or do to Iruka?"
"Sorry…They said they trusted 'sensei' completely. The rest of the time they merely expressed concern about my welfare and counted down the seconds until I, urm…fell unconscious." A golden eye met Kakashi's gray.
Kakashi stared back intensely. "What sickness is it?" he finally asked as if it were completely relevant.
"Childhood illness." Isamu murmured faintly. Iruka silently scowled at the Jounin.
The Jounin easily deflected the glare. "I find it strange that the twins could count down seconds before you passed out. It's no ordinary illness, is it."
Isamu stopped the Chuunin from breaking out into a lecture. "No, it's alright. It isn't an ordinary illness. In fact, it was once a source of strength for me. When it manifested before, it didn't have the effects it does now. The twins were able to count down seconds because once I feel the symptom being triggered, there is exactly twenty minutes remaining before I loose consciousness."
"That's-"
"Unusual, yes." Isamu laughed. "You needn't know more than that. It's just an inconvenience."
Iruka started to speak.
"Ah, yes! By the way, if by any chance, you ever end up seeking me for something, I won't be at my apartment. Not for a while, anyway." The former special Jounin grinned broadly. "I will be staying with a cousin actually. He lives close by."
"Who's your cousin?" Kakashi asked, cutting off Iruka another time.
"Matsuhara Tekki-sama. He's-"
"One of the head medical ninja," An irritated Iruka answered. He paused. Wait…
Could it get any worse? "Ok. You'll be fine with Tekki-san." Kakashi let out a deep breath.
"You know where he lives?"
"Yes."
Isamu popped off the couch, smoothing down his kimono. He showed a bit of relief at having successfully relayed his information to the two that mattered most. "Well! I need to get that tea kettle now; I hate to barge in and out but, well-"
"It's fine." Iruka pulled on a cheerful smile. "You're welcome here any time, Isamu-san."
"Thank you! I must be going now, so I bid you well, Kakashi-san! Iruka-san! If I hear anything more I'll let you know." They watched the man bow, bow flopping over with the movement, then turn and run out the apartment door. His steps were lively and quick. Not at all like they'd been when he'd been clambering up the stairs, gasping for air…
Kakashi heard a deep, depressed sigh and turned to see Iruka sinking into the couch cushions. The Jounin sat down next to Iruka. At first he was severely miffed, but it slowly faded away to the usual, lazy glint in his eye. "This is almost unbelievable."
"It IS unbelievable." The Chuunin leaned his head against Kakashi's shoulder without thinking about it. "Just what are they trying to pull? Here we thought Suien was working under them, now we find they have a possibly stronger 'teacher' they cater to." A strangled growl escaped his throat. "I'm sick of it…"
Kakashi let Iruka stay where he was. He remained silent, thinking through the situation on his own.
Iruka's hand tightened on the blue couch cushion. He was trying to eradicate any anger from his expression but, it was painfully obvious in his body language. "I wish they'd come…" The tone was quiet but lethal.
"You'd only be placed under genjutsu and we'd be forced to fight each other again," Kakashi murmured.
"Huh?" The weight against Kakashi's shoulder vanished abruptly as the Chuunin sat up, staring at him blankly. "What?"
Kakashi paused and stared at Iruka. "No one…" Of course no one told Iruka. The only ones who had seen the fight were either dead or missing, besides himself that is. The Jounin looked away from him, suddenly guilty. Iruka must have assumed he'd collected a bad blow to the head and lost memory of the fight. Kakashi hadn't given him details on Amaya's death. Neither had ever touched the subject with a ten foot pole since the day he woke up at the hospital.
"Kakashi, what did that statement mean?" Iruka's gaze bore into him.
Kakashi opened his mouth to speak or to gape, he couldn't decide which. The man just stared back like a dear in the headlights. He'd been wondering why Iruka wasn't taking Amaya's death a bit harder, and now he knew exactly why. His mouth snapped shut and then opened again. Kakashi fumbled over a few words in his mind and then let out a deep sigh with the word "Nothing," attached to the end of it. He couldn't do it. He couldn't tell Iruka. This apparently wasn't going to work for Iruka, so the Jounin stood up, walking into the kitchen. "Can you believe it? It's seven o' clock already and we still haven't had any dinner! I'll heat up some of that stir-fry you made this afternoon." He ducked out of view behind the refrigerator door.
And he could feel Iruka's presence tail him into the kitchen a moment later, the man stopping a few inches behind him. He could feel Iruka's warm breath on the back of his neck as the Chuunin repeated his demand for an answer. Kakashi slowly stood up straight and shut the refrigerator door without withdrawing any food. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to the freezer. He was silent, milling over something in his mind before he spoke. "Iruka… Every wound you awoke with in the hospital was inflicted by me…"
The Chuunin's unyielding presence pushed him to explain.
The copy nin slowly turned around, back pressed against the appliance. He placed his hands in his pockets and looked down at the man. "The Kuro brothers… placed you under some strange possession-like jutsu and used you to combat me while they killed Amaya…."
Iruka's gaze suddenly shifted from irritation, to anger, to disbelief, and finally shock. "No…" Iruka's eyes snapped shut. "No…" It was the only unchallenged word that would slip past his lips. "No. No."
Kakashi's hands lifted from his pockets as if to reach out, but he stopped himself, finding he didn't know what to do next.
Iruka's head tilted forward slightly. Hands turned to fists.
The jounin felt brows furrow, a deeper frown tug at his lips as he watched Iruka struggle with the news. He knew some part of Iruka was beginning to blame himself for their teammate's death. Some part of him felt violated, cold, distant- all of these things Kakashi understood. All of it he had experienced, still felt reverberating into today and even the future.
"I'm sick of their games," Iruka muttered lowly. The fringes of his voice trembled with bottled emotion. "If they want to take me, then let them. This twisted child's play needs to come to an end."
Kakashi's lips parted. He felt a need to say something, do something to help stave off the familiar negativity. "Iruka…" The whispered name made umber eyes lift to his, and he held the gaze there. "You of all people know that ninja die to protect those they love."
"Oh yeah?" Iruka snapped with force he shouldn't have. He threw his hand to the side, anger suddenly unleashing, "Is that how you count Amaya's death? A sacrifice to me as I turned and fought my comrades?! Fuck!" A fist shot past Kakashi's head and slammed into the refrigerator. "I was used! From the beginning I've been some kind of tool- a toy that just ups and dances at their will. I've done nothing for our mission but complicate it and act as a vehicle to their whims, and you have the fucking gall to say that Amaya died for love?" Iruka's rage ripped louder from his throat, and a trembling finger roughly rammed into the jounin's sternum. "What would you die for, Sharingan no Kakashi! Would you, too, so easily pass up your life to save mine even if I was the one holding the goddamn kunai to your throat! Would you call that love?!"
Kakashi stared quietly at Iruka, watching the frantic, shaking gaze that never left his. The finger at his chest hurt, pressed harshly but struck somewhere deeper than the mere flesh it pressed against. Slowly, his hand lifted, and Kakashi brought himself to touch Iruka. Fingers alighted on the chuunin's wrist, and carefully, the accusatory hand was removed. A soft breath preceded his words. "I would die to protect you," he answered softly.
The trembles had escalated, reached Iruka's shoulders and buried into his chest, making breath come shakily. Expression shifted, something angry and guilty. His arm wrenched, and the wrist snapped free of Kakashi's fingers as Iruka's entire body turned away from Kakashi. The chuunin's gaze cursed the ground, the table, the chairs, the air he breathed, but it could not be brought back upon the other man.
Iruka swallowed dryly, eyes reddening and irritation bubbling further, slowly rising to the surface despite his dignity. "I'm sorry," he muttered lowly. "That was…uncalled for. Needless. I overreacted." Iruka squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to calm down.
The jounin waited a moment, and a smile lifted the curves of his face. "I won't tell anyone," he promised.
"Thanks…"
A tense moment of silence fell between the two. Neither shinobi was quite willing to move, neither was quite ready to simply put this all behind them. Recovery was needed, a regain of mental status that had broken in both of them, but as they stood with tightened muscles and dodging gazes, the answer to their problems would not come.
Iruka's body suddenly jerked, as if uprooting himself from the ground he stood on, and he moved to quickly exit the kitchen, a wave of anxiety in his wake. Kakashi instinctively moved after him, reached out, caught the wrist. Iruka whipped his head around, momentum suddenly jerked into inexistence, and their gazes locked.
They shared timed breaths. Umber eyes were questioning and the singular grey look of the Jounin reflected the same emotion. Lost- desiring to take action but unsure of where the boundaries were. Begging permission to find them.
Kakashi leaned forward, hearing the blood rush to his head as breath came strained, and he acted upon a desire that clutched at him desperately. The mask was pulled downward, and Iruka glimpsed pale flesh before the touch of warm lips against his made eyes close. Kakashi pulled back momentarily and gazes met in an attempt to decipher their hazy emotions. "Iruka…"
"No more words," the chuunin whispered. Iruka pressed forward, chests pulled closer and touched, body heat shared momentarily with the contact. Mouths reconnected and Kakashi's tongue swept across a bottom lip, seeking the response he needed.
Permission was granted. Access allowed, tongues clashed in heated, desperate battle befitting of their shinobi roles. Fingers tangled in hair, they moved, stumbling backwards out of the kitchen and into the living room. Iruka felt the couch arm at the back of his knees, they fell, and hands were suddenly upon each other, Kakashi crawling over him and Iruka loosening shirts.
Tan fingers swept upward, gliding along sculpted muscle often hidden under Kakashi's jounin uniform. He felt soft skin interrupted by thin lines of scars. So this was the true Sharingan no Kakashi. He hadn't had time to appreciate him like this before. Lips broke apart and Iruka tilted his head, a slight gasp slipping from lips as teeth grazed at his neck, pulled at sensitive nerves and breathed in his ear.
His hand slipped up the Jounin's shirt further, almost beginning to tease the notion of removing the article of clothing completely, but the brush of stiff gauze made him pause. Umber eyes opened wide as the snap of reality came crashing down upon him, and the hitch in his breath was not one entire issued by Kakashi's ministrations. Or- perhaps it was, in a way, but in not the sense the man had intended.
"Kakashi…" He murmured heatedly. Fingers spread, pressed gently against the bandages there. The bandages that he had been partly responsible. There was real danger out there, hunting them at this very moment in time, and he busy setting himself up to harm his companion further. "Kakashi…Stop."
The jounin paused momentarily, some amount of confusion settling with him, but before anything could be said on his part, Iruka took the opening and pulled away. Iruka stood up, looked as though he were about to say something to the rejected jounin, but then quickly turned away and stalked down the hall. Iruka disappeared into the bathroom, a soft click of the lock behind him.
The jounin followed after, "W-wait, Iruka, I-" but the sound of rushing water from the showerhead stopped his words. He cursed himself softly, head tilting forward and hitae-ate clicking gently against the bathroom door as his forehead lightly connected. A tongue swept out to wet lips, goad himself into speech again. The sound of rushing water continued.
"You seem to be having trouble."
Kakashi froze. He could feel no presence with the immediate vicinity, but he could hear the associated voice. Kuro's words spoken without Kuro's body.
"But then," Kuro continued to croon sweetly in Kakashi's mind, "I can understand why. People like this are difficult to deal with; they feel too much."