Leaves in the Wind
Chapter Nineteen: Black and Blue
What was once pure and glistening in dim light was now suffocated under a thick, steaming layer of sludge. It was dark umber, the ooze, slightly blackened in some areas, and if it was tipped to the right angle, there would be flashes of lighter brown in it as well…. Kakashi was a firm believer in distractions, and tea cups could be wonderfully effective tools, especially when the tea was gone and the remnants lay on the bottom of the temporarily stained cup. He wasn't sure about the sludge being a byproduct of the tea, but he'd be polite for once and mention it after Iruka had said whatever it is he wanted to say.
Kakashi had been meditating at the Hero Stone when Iruka had called him away to his apartment. As of yet, he hadn't explained why and so the Jounin was drifting off on a mental tangent, beginning to indulge in trivial distractions. Like this tea cup. The Jounin did a mental double-take as Iruka finally began to speak.
"We're teachers," Iruka began bluntly. He glanced across his kitchen table at Kakashi, who seemed reluctant to ignore the 'tea' residue. "And we're friends."
Kakashi quietly suppressed the sudden urge to poke the cooling goop. "What? -Oh! Yeah." The cup clinked melodically as he set it down on the table. "Yes."
"Right. And friends don't usually-" Iruka paused, wondering how to voice this. "They don't usually-"
Kakashi was now watching him expectantly. "Mm?"
All Shinobi possessed the ability to avoid the inevitable. Sometimes, however, a few found themselves lacking. "Friends-" Iruka ground out. "Don't. Touch. Each other." He realized his mistake as soon as the words left his lips.
"Yes they do," Kakashi easily countered.
"That's not what I mean!"
The Jounin blinked innocently.
"Kakashi," The Chuunin began steadily, suppressing his emotions beneath a polite smile. "Friends don't kiss each other." And again, he was wrong. Some people, mainly foreigners, did so frequently. He was hoping Kakashi would forget that aspect and get the point.
"Yes they do," a second counter.
Iruka kept smiling. "Yeah, they might…but they don't-" His patience snapped in half. "Kakashi, you know what I'm talking about!"
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do." A tanned hand slammed down on the table. Iruka was struggling for emotional stability. His skin was still heated and his face red. The warmth hadn't gone away during their trek from the Hero Stone. "Kakashi…" The Chuunin let out a deep, strained sigh. He sidestepped towards Kakashi's chair, leaned down, and quickly kissed a clothed cheek. "That is how friends greet each other. That is not what we've done before."
The Jounin paused, and then stood up. "So?" His hands were pocketed immediately. He'd had his tea, Iruka his say, now he could leave.
"I want to know what it means." Iruka was suddenly in his way, mouth set in a firm frown. "Because I know there's got to be more to it. I'm not attracted to you, damn it. I'm not!"
Kakashi stepped back from Iruka. "Tch." His head jerked to the side, refusing to look at him. "Listen, if you can't handle it, it won't happen again. Satisfied?"
"E-eh?" his defense wilted. With absolutely no effort, Kakashi had easily cracked him.
"What," Kakashi muttered, attempting to evade the Chuunin.
"Look at me, please…" Iruka's voice commanded softly. He moved as Kakashi moved, staying directly in the man's line of vision.
Kakashi stopped, eye closing and head bowing slightly. "Don't make me force my way through, Iruka-san."
This threat didn't stop the teacher. "Why did you kiss me?"
Kakashi's grey gaze suddenly bore into him. Iruka instinctually recoiled, but he would not back down. Silence hung thickly as their eyes met in a muted battle. The man offered no response.
Iruka took in a careful breath before he spoke. "Why, Kakashi?"
A firm hand pressed on his shoulder and the Chuunin was promptly shoved out of the way. The Jounin made move to leave. However, the academy sensei slid in front of him, back pressed to the door.
Iruka's face contorted with sudden anger. "Don't play games with me, Hatake Kakashi!"
A hand shot out and snatched the front of Iruka's shirt, jerking him forward to stare into a terrible, frightening glare. "Don't play games with ME, Umino Iruka!"
Iruka quieted, but he kept Kakashi's glare level with his own.
A slow breath escaped the silver-haired man's lips, and the frustration filtered away from him. His shoulders slackened and tense fingers unclenched from Iruka's vest. He looked away. "I'm sorry."
"I want to know, Kakashi." Iruka's voice was low, subdued but no degree near defeated. "For whatever reason, our views of each other have changed. What exactly do you think of me?"
The Jounin swallowed hard and the gray orb disappeared behind an eyelid. "I'm under no obligation to respond."
"No." Iruka stepped forward, keeping sure he was still in an optimum position to defend his door if need be. His eyes were searching for some clue, some sliver of an answer from his partner. "What are you thinking?"
"Stop it," Kakashi murmured. "Just stop."
He watched the sensei step backward, back pressing to wood again, eyes closing. He could feel Kakashi's demanding, expectant stare, just waiting for him to step aside so he could leave. Not even a hint of a tremor could be seen. Iruka had set his jaw, his shoulders were squared. He wasn't going to budge until he got an answer.
"Fine," Kakashi muttered. His image blurred and Iruka was suddenly jerked forward and slammed into the door. "Goodbye, Umino Iruka." He let the Chuunin go slack and his hands set together. Kakashi's presence vanished in a plume of smoke.
---
So Isamu was pointedly male. This came almost as a shock to Yasuo, but he had figured something wasn't quite right about Isamu in the first place. Who named their girl a pointedly male name like 'Kazahaya Isamu'? Hashimoto Yasuo shifted from foot to foot on the muddy grass of the training grounds. He stared intently across the clearing at the man, unsure of what to expect. The boy, upon discovering that Isamu was a former special Jounin in Genjutsu, had successfully convinced the man to teach him some moves. What exactly it was he would learn, he was still unsure of.
Genjutsu was, at its core, a dangerous subject for teaching or learning. They didn't go into it too much in the Academy for fear of damaging a young child's mind. Hashimoto Yasuo had learned most of his own basic genjutsu when he was studying outside of Konoha…but that wasn't enough. Yasuo needed to learn the more advanced techniques, even if that meant taking the risk of coming out a little screwed up.
As long as he didn't start cross-dressing, he was fine.
Isamu cast him an amiable, cheerful little grin, idly standing in place several yards in front of him. His arms were folded into his kimono, and the large ribbon bobbed behind him as he offered a giggle and cocked head. The smile persisted.
"Um…" Something about the grin made the boy uncomfortable.
The former Jounin shifted his weight from foot to foot, and Yasuo was suddenly on guard, stepping backwards from Isamu. The Chuunin's motion was mimicked. "Is this...?" something was going on. Isamu had wasted no time. Yasuo gulped.
Isamu gulped, his pretty face mirroring the defensively blank stare Yasuo was giving him. Beneath the bright fabric, his muscles were suddenly tense. He fit Yasuo's posture perfectly.
It almost ashamed Yasuo how easily psyched he was. He just didn't have enough experience yet, and it showed in his obvious unease. "You know, on second thought-" he tried to step backwards and found his feet frozen. His eyes widened a fraction.
The Shinobi before him twirled in place, kimono gracefully sweeping around with him. As Isamu's foot rose, so did Yasuo's. When he turned, Yasuo turned in the same direction at a relative speed. "It takes a bit longer when the opponent is stronger and more protected against genjutsu. However, once in effect, Mirror Mirror Technique isn't so easily dispelled."
Yasuo's lips moved but no noises were made. When he tried to speak, his tongue merely pressed against his teeth as his lips mimicked Isamu's.
"Genjutsu beyond the basic is too dangerous for a Shinobi to take lightly. Speak to Sharingan no Kakashi. I speak from experience as well. You risk loosing more than your life." The deep, masculine tone Isamu now spoke in reverberated painfully within Yasuo's mind. It was like he heard the man inside and out.
He tried to gain control over his body, but he wouldn't budge. His arms were firmly held in place, which left him unable to dispel the jutsu. Yasuo was utterly defenseless. It was…exciting, that's what it was. The Mirror Mirror was more effective than Shadow Bind, and apparently it had excellent range in distance. Isamu must have started it off by copying movements rather than forming seals. Technically, the genjutsu had effect for however far a person could accurately see an opponent's motions.
"Should I teach you a jutsu like this," Isamu continued, "you will not be able to execute it to completion without hand signs. Don't expect to learn in days what years of strenuous training have created." Truthfully, it had taken two years of nothing to do and a lot of experimentation to develop the technique along with a few other personalized jutsu. Sunlight glinted off Isamu's visible eye. The man winked and Yasuo did the same.
Yasuo's body was suddenly freed.
"Understand?"
The boy's face lit up and he grinned. There was a moment as he gathered words to respond with, and he finally spurted out, "That was so awesome!"
"Why thank you, Yasuo-kun." Isamu sang, clapping his hands together. The smile gracing his thin lips was no less warmer than it had been before. "I hope you're ready for a very long, hard day."
"I am!" Yasuo's hands clenched in front of him excitedly. "I'll work to my full potential, Isuma-san!"
"No, no! For now, it's Isamu-sensei."
---
Hours lulled by at a sickeningly slow pace. Kakashi had spent the rest of the day avoiding Asuma and trying to spend some time at the Hero Stone. Unfortunately, that had become too predictable as of late so when another Shinobi wanted something, all they had to do was ask the right person, and they would find him at the monument. This course of events had driven Kakashi into town, where he felt crowded and unable to clear his mind.
That had backed him into a corner and he resorted to hiding away in the most unpredictable place on the entire planet -his own apartment. No one would ever think of coming there to find him, and he found the rest of the evening slipping away undisturbed by anyone. Kakashi sat comfortably on his futon, pillow propped between his back and the wall. He stared down intently at the orange-red book in his hands, too completely lost in the story to take notice of his surroundings.
"Hey, Kakashi," a smug, gruff voice tried to get his attention for the umpteenth time. "Kakashi, you look at me or I'll bite you."
This garnered only a small twitch, and the Jounin finally pried his eyes away from the pages to stare down at Pakkun, his pug summon. Why he had suddenly felt so possessed to call the Alpha dog to him, he still couldn't quite figure out. All he really realized was that the pug, no matter how vain or irritating he could become, made good company on a down day. "What?" Kakashi muttered, very cross at having his reading disturbed.
The pug jumped onto the futon and shook its head rapidly ears flopping around his face. He adjusted the blue vest with a hind leg. "You're really beginning to get on my nerves," the dog announced indignantly. "Aren't you going to at least feed me? Or stroke my beautiful fur?"
Kakashi sighed and reached out, scratching behind Pakkun's ear. He went back to reading as the dog rolled over, begging for its stomach to be rubbed. The Jounin vacantly complied.
His ear pricked up to the sound of tapping. He could ignore the polite knocking on his front door if he wanted, and this, Kakashi did quite willingly. He turned the page as there was silence at the door. Whoever it was could just go away. Who would have thought to look for him here anyway?
The dog next to Kakashi rolled over impatiently as there was another knock. He stared up at the Jounin. "So you going to get it or are you going to make me?"
"Who is it, Pakkun?"
The dog sniffed the air. "It's that Academy sensei. Umino Iruka."
"No." Kakashi continued to stare at the book, but his eye had stopped moving. He must have gotten stuck on a particularly perplexing word.
"Fine." Pakkun jumped away from the futon and trotted out of the room.
Kakashi suddenly stood up, throwing the book to the side. "Pakkun, get back here," he hissed, voice nearly inaudible.
"Umino!" Pakkun shouted, sitting down next to the closed apartment door. The pug looked up to the door knob. "What do you want?"
Kakashi visibly twitched.
They waited for the long, palpable pause on the other side to end, and when it did, a weary, apologetic voice responded with painful hesitance. "Good evening, Pakkun-san. I've been looking for-" he faltered, "for Isamu- for a very feminine man wearing a kimo- Is Kakashi there?" Pause. "He'd know who I'm talking about…."
Kakashi's muttered lowly to Pakkun. "Ask him why he's looking for Isa-"
"Boy, I'm not going to play your games." The dog pawed at the door, nails scraping against the wood. "Let me out, I need to go relieve myself anyway."
There was a loud, pissed off grunt and the door jerked open. Pakkun was kicked in the rear, and the dog landed across the hall. Kakashi glared at it. The irritation, no matter how he willed it to remain in intensity, faded upon seeing Iruka. "I last saw him with Yasuo…." He finally offered.
Alarm instantaneously manifested in Iruka's face, rapidly fading to resignation. "Shit…" Remembering where he was, he shook his head. "Sorry. I had a message to give him." The Chuunin glanced at Pakkun. He hadn't talked to the pug before, only greeted him the few times he'd happen upon the dog at the training grounds.
Pakkun lifted his tail high in the air. "See if I help you-"
"-track him." Kakashi said.
"No." The dog started trotting off. "Don't blame me. You're the one who didn't stroke my soft fur. I've got my own business to tend to." Clicking nails on wood signified the dog's decent of stairs.
Kakashi stared after the pug with mild frustration and amusement. He settled for his usual lazy look and leaned on the inside of his door frame. His eye flickered up and down Iruka a moment, sizing up his condition and emotional status. The Jounin sighed, looking away. "Need help?"
"Yeah... Thanks, Kakashi-san." Iruka inclined his head slightly, his bound brush of hair swaying slightly with the movement.
"Let's just hurry before it gets too dark out," Kakashi shut the door behind him, starting off down the hallway. "It'll be harder to track down Pakkun later if he refuses to come back on his own."
The two made their way to the last place Kakashi had seen them, which was on the east side of Konoha. Considering the direction they were going in, Kakashi made the assumption they were headed for the training grounds. They crossed the ever familiar bridge, making their journey in silence.
Gleeful shouting of the Kazahaya Isamu variety greeted them at full force through the thick foliage as they approached the fringes of forest ringing the cleared part of the training grounds. He sang a few nondescript words before bursting out with, "Bonzai! Bonzai! You failed again!"
Iruka inhaled deeply. Both Chuunin and Jounin became witness to a bizarre spectacle of Sensei and student intermingled in a crazed dance. Isamu spun in frenzy and Yasuo was joining him, matching the moves and the speed.
"Jutsu…" Iruka murmured, frown deepening.
Yasuo was released from the genjutsu and he stumbled backwards, suddenly breathing harshly and flopping to the ground. "Damn it!" He said, twitching and staring at Isamu. The boy pulled himself shakily to his feet. Obviously he'd used most of his chakara. Yasuo always was the one in Iruka's class who would keep trying until his body wouldn't allow it anymore.
As Iruka started forward, Kakashi reached out and touched the man's shoulder. "Hold on. They haven't noticed us yet. I want to see what he's trying to do."
"He can't do anymore, Kakashi!" Iruka protested. "His reserves have dried out!"
Isamu laughed lightly. As far as any of them could tell, he had yet to break a sweat. "That's enough for today! It's time for my evening tea and I've been looking forward to using this lovely new set Matsuhara-kun bought me."
"No! Wait!" Yasuo said, stepping perfectly in time with Isamu's motions as the man tried to leave. "One more shot. I've got one more shot in me. Please?" His hand lifted when Isamu's did, attempting to duplicate it.
As Isamu turned on his heels, so did Yasuo. A light blue aura glowed in the waning light and his hands suddenly snapped together in the taught combination of seals. The aura disappeared and he stared at Isamu. He thought he might have felt something, but there had been so many times during the day when it didn't work and Isamu just played along to get his hopes up. He wouldn't fall for that trick again.
Isamu chuckled, dashing what was left of his hopes. He flourished a hand, stepping aside, leaving Yasuo in place. "Learn how to protect yourself from genjutsu and to dispel it. That is the most important accomplishment before attempting these maneuvers. Yasuo-kun you idiot! You wasted a whole day!" The cross-dressing nin raised a thin brow. "Now, what have you learned today?"
Yasuo dropped to his knees, huffing once again. Deep, long shadows stretched across the training ground. Isamu's dark figure had overshadowed half of his student, leaving the other half to appear washed in the orange dusk. "Well, yours is a custom jutsu." His voice was frustrated and defensive. "How am I supposed to fight against it if I just learned what it-" he coughed and his vision blurred. His hands planted in front of him as he swayed, and he hung his head, squeezing his eyes tightly. "Damn." Yasuo took in a sharp breath and held it. "Bye. I'll hunt you down tomorrow." He looked up and smiled weakly as the man toddled off, now only having tea on his mind. The boy hacked again, shoulders trembling.
No longer held back, Iruka swooped down on Yasuo, comforting, warm hands on his back, deep brown eyes projecting concern and scanning his body for anything unusual. "Yasuo-kun, how long have you been training with Isamu-san?"
Yasuo's eyes slowly lifted to Iruka, only then noticing his teacher was there. He blinked and his head fell against his chest. "I 'unno. Too long, maybe?" The boy lifted a hand to his head and he wiped away at sweat and dirt. "God, I sucked so bad. I have no defense against genjutsu at all, apparently." Further ramblings dwindled to incoherent murmurs as his vision began to tunnel. Yasuo snapped himself back.
He was anchored by his teacher's familiar warm hands, one on his shoulder, the other on his back. "You pushed yourself too hard." The voice of his Academy days, the one he'd often hear murmured to ailing children, brushed lightly by his ears. He wasn't trying to patronize Yasuo; he expected the boy to be developing an enormous, pounding headache within the next five or ten minutes. He'd seen it happen before with frequent users of genjutsu. More specifically, with those just starting out. "You need to go home, Yasuo-kun."
"Yuh." Yasuo nodded, pulling himself shakily to his feet. He swayed dangerously and yet again, a strange hand on his shoulder stopped him. The boy turned his head to see Kakashi staring at him. "Oh. Th'ks."
The Jounin looked to Iruka. "We should escort him in case he passes out along the way."
Iruka nodded slowly, a firm grip placed on Yasuo's opposite shoulder. "Where do you live, Yasuo-kun?"
"Indi…" He blinked heavily. "Indigo Complex 2. Apartment A-15."
"Come on," Kakashi lead them off.
It was a good half hour of slow progress through the streets of Konoha. Yasuo had begun to daze and had a hard time focusing as a migraine started to take hold of his head. Despite the inhibitors, Yasuo had managed to make it to the complex without passing out. The younger Chuunin lived in a poorer section of town, and it was rather depressing to the boy's former sensei. Every city had its downs, and this was where he lived.
Yasuo pushed open the heavy wood and metal door to the building. The carpet stretched out in the hallway was a sickly green, and the lights were flickering, old models that seemed to cling to the walls by its last cords. The bulbs flickered as the door shut behind the two senseis. "I'm at the end," Yasuo explained, passing the stairs and trudging down the way. He kept a hand on the wall for stability and guidance. He stopped at the last door and jiggled the golden handle. It was locked.
As Hashimoto Yasuo fumbled for keys in his vest pockets, Kakashi stared at the door. It was light wood with the digits A-1 in gold. There was a pale mark where the 5 had once hung.
The brown-haired boy slid a key into place and he opened the door. "Father, I'm back…" he called into the apartment before stepping a foot inside. He turned and smiled gratefully. "Thanks for helping me out. I appreciate it."
"Of course." Iruka offered Yasuo a conspiring grin he'd never seen on the sensei before. "If you're questioned, just tell him you were helping your old sensei at the Academy today."
"Mm." Yasuo nodded and shut the door carefully. After a moment, it locked.
Kakashi and Iruka exchanged short glances and then stared at the closed entrance. They waited patiently. The sound of an opening door hit their ears and there was a soft murmuring. The response to Yasuo's voice was something harsh, but simple and short. The ninja felt the soft vibration from heavy, controlled foot falls. Silence fell again.
Both remained in place, unmoving. After a stiff silence, Yasuo murmured again. The silence returned.
Kakashi placed his hands together and two bunshin appeared next to him. They walked down the hallway idly and then outside, shutting the building door hard behind them. Both the Chuunin and the Jounin concealed their chakara.
"What the hell have you been doing?" a sharp bark. "I've been waiting all damn day for you to get your scrawny ass back here. Did you have a mission or something?"
"Ah… Yeah," came Yasuo's weary voice. There were light footsteps.
"And so where's the money?"
The boy faltered, unable to think fast enough this night. "It wasn't much…"
"You pig-headed liar," a low, threatening growl underlined these words. "Where have you been?! You look like shit, not that it's an improvement on any other day. Hey! Hey, where do you think you're going, boy! You still need to make dinner!"
"I… can't tonight."
"WHY NOT?!" There was a slam and a crash. Some inanimate object had been thrown or swept to the ground. "You ungrateful son of a bitch! Get out here!" Stomping rumbled through the floorboards and the sound of wood ramming plaster signified a thoroughly beaten door. The voices were suddenly muffled into incoherency. Exclamations escalated into outright roaring and
FHWAM! Yasuo's shout sliced into them, soon followed by a pitiful whimper. And again.
Kakashi saw Iruka's fists clench at his side, the man's teeth were gritted together and his body was already tensed.
"GET UP! You make me SICK!" Another loud slam. There were soft pleas and an excuse. "BULLSHIT!" FHWAM. "You damn kid! You're useless! You're a worthless piece of no-talent crap! You hear me?!" It was replied to with a soft 'Yes sir'.
Iruka's dark eyes gleamed. They were locked on the door.
Kakashi stared at him for a moment and finally he stepped forward, rapping three times.
The noise abruptly ceased and there was a tense pause, broken only by short, painful sobs. Footsteps led to the doorway and it opened to expose a tall, brown haired, broad shouldered man. There was a dim flush in his cheeks, indisputably alcohol induced. His eyes narrowed at the two senseis suspiciously. "Wha'd'ya want?"
"To apologize ahead of time." Kakashi said lazily, staring the man in the eye.
"Wha-"
WHAM! Kakashi's fist made a clean shot square in the man's face, pushing overboard and throwing him to the ground. "For that."
Iruka darted into the apartment, kneeling next to the beaten boy, eyeing manifesting bruises. He wondered why he hadn't noticed anything when Yasuo had been a student. Long sleeved, high collared shirts. Yasuo had never worn shorts, always pants. "Hold onto me, Yasuo-kun, we need to-"
Yasuo's eyes turned to Iruka, glazed and hardly comprehending. His lips formed something, but no voice came. His head slumped forward and his body fell slack, falling into Iruka.
Kakashi, with hands on hips, stared down at the unconscious father. He nudged the guy with his foot and shook his head. "Out like a light." It was almost disappointment he expressed with that comment. "Maybe I shouldn't have gone so easy on him?"
Iruka hefted Yasuo off the ground, slinging the boy over his shoulder. "The bastard deserves it."
"Where are you taking him?" Kakashi asked, using his foot to roll the lug to his side. He watched a thick arm flop over.
"Your place." The Chuunin was already sweeping past him out the door and down the hall.
Kakashi blinked. "What?" At getting no response, he quickly followed, pausing at the door way and shutting it behind him.
---
Iruka slid to the floor next to Kakashi's couch, gently replacing a limp arm over Yasuo's rhythmically rising and falling chest before exchanging the drying cloth over his forehead with one that was sufficiently damp. Guilt lingered, but he forced himself to stay. He regretted not having seen this before. He could have…done something…
The boy twitched and flinched with the touch of the cool cloth, but did nothing more.
"So who's the pup?" Pakkun said from beside Iruka, looking up curiously. He'd been in Kakashi's apartment when they arrived. Damn dog.
The Jounin watched Iruka's tender care from the kitchen. He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. "A former student of Iruka's. He ran into a bit of trouble."
"And you brought him to your apartment, why?" The dog stood on its short legs and pranced into the kitchen, sitting at Kakashi's feet.
"Cause it's closer," the silver-haired shinobi responded. "He'll probably end up staying here for a bit."
"I can move him to my apartment if you don't want him here." Iruka dabbed lightly at Yasuo's blackened eye.
"He can stay. It's not like I use the apartment anyway," Kakashi murmured. His grey eye fell to the expectant dog. "Don't you have something to do?"
"Did it," the pug responded indignantly. "I know when I'm not needed." His tail flipped up in the air as he stood and started through the living room, headed for Kakashi's bedroom. "You're boring anyway." Pakkun nudged the door closed with his snout.
The Jounin sighed.
"Sorry."
"Nah. Pakkun is always like that."
"….Yeah." The sensei set his anxiety ringed eyes back on Yasuo.
The Jounin walked forward and placed his elbows on the back of the couch, leaning forward to stare down at Yasuo. He was silent in his observation. The boy obviously wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon but neither man seemed to be willing to move either. They were locked in place in pregnable silence. "…Sorry," Kakashi replied.
"Kakashi-san?"
He was silent, staring down at the boy.
"He's strong." Iruka offered as silence threatened again, patting down Yasuo's neck and face with the cloth.
Both ninja had each taken their turn evading the real topic of conversation. "Yeah," Kakashi said as he turned, sitting on the backrest of the couch, turned away from Iruka and Yasuo.
"He reminds me of Naruto. They're both stubborn and charismatic."
"Mmhmm."
"I… should go. Good night." The cloth was draped over Yasuo's forehead.
Kakashi's eye lowered to the ground at those words. He didn't turn, only lifted a hand. "…Good night, Iruka-kun…"
The apartment door clicked shut quietly.
---
Door shut and locked, surrendering to darkness, Iruka finally lay down on his futon, uniform intact, closing his eyes tightly. He reviewed the day's events, marking his responses and the responses he'd seen from others. Guilt and unanswered questions pervaded his thoughts until he finally willed himself into a deep state of meditation where conscious desires meant nothing.
Umino Iruka remained unaware of the nightingale perched on his windowsill, watching him intently. Another joined it half an hour later.
And another. And another…