Leaves in the Wind

Chapter Twenty: Child's Play

A dry cough followed by a pained groan came from the boy lying on Kakashi's apartment couch. Yasuo's hand twitched and he stiffly shifted his spine to a new position, hearing short pops and creeks in his joints. His heart pounded, and blood rushed to his head, beats echoing in his ears like large base drums. The Chuunin dared to crack open an eye to a bright afternoon light. The second eye joined it, and as they both adjusted, he peered upwards to a white ceiling. He suddenly jerked up and clamped hold of the couch to keep from falling off. The world swooned to the right and swayed back to the left. His eyes snapped shut and he gagged, hand lifting to his mouth. The moment of nausea passed, lingering like the remnants of a thick morning fog. Yasuo tilted his head upward and glanced around to take in an unfamiliar location. His heart leapt to near panic. "W-" His throat clamped up and he burst into a fit of coughs, "Where am I?!"

"Calm down." He jerked back, startled by the lazy voice. The boy stared up at Kakashi through round brown eyes. The man had a smile in his eye, but it didn't serve to calm him. "You're in my apartment," the Jounin explained.

"F-father!" Yasuo spurted out. "W-what-"

"Don't worry, your father is fine." Kakashi sat up, placing his hands on his hips. "I had a little chat with him this morning."

"W-what? H-how did I get here? What's going on?" Yasuo's breathing grew harsher, his eyes widening. He instinctively clutched at his arms, hunching over and clenching his teeth.

"Calm yourself," Kakashi demanded. It was either out of fear or shocked obedience, but the boy stopped breathing all together. The Jounin stared at him, unaffected, until a deep breath was released and Yasuo gained control over his emotions. "You passed out last night. Iruka and I brought you back here. Your father is at his apartment." Kakashi moved into the open kitchen. "You can't go home. He doesn't want you anymore."

"Wh…What?" The boy slowly looked up to Kakashi as the Jounin went about his business. "Doesn't… want me any more?" Hurt suddenly dominated Yasuo. His fingernails dug into fabric. The copy nin had not returned a response, so the boy shifted, putting both feet on the floor before standing. Yasuo joined Kakashi in the kitchen. "He… I…" He lifted a hand to his pounding head and looked away from Kakashi, nervously nibbling at his bottom lip. "Well… damn, where am I supposed to go?"

This, for some reason beyond Yasuo's imagination, made Kakashi grin. It was soon explained to him. "You can stay here."

"What?" Yasuo shook his head. "I-I couldn't possibly-"

"I hardly use the space myself." The Jounin turned from his work to stare at the Chuunin. "In return, I want you to keep maintenance and fresh food in the cabinets. You can have full reign of the bedroom and bathroom just as long as you don't pick through my belongings. And I will know."

"But-"

"Deal?" Kakashi cut him off.

The boy felt uncomfortable with the idea, but he gave a dazed nod. "Fine. Deal."

"Excellent." Kakashi pulled the rice off of the stove, scooped it into a bowl, and pushed it into the boy's hands. "Eat up."

---

"So, you read Icha Icha Paradise?" Yasuo asked, standing in front of the book rack with Kakashi. He stared at the many novel covers. All of the books in this section had 'mature themes' with titles such as 'Moonlight Tango', 'Kill Me Kiss Me', 'Rose Budding', and more. "I didn't know you liked this kinda porno."

The Jounin nabbed up a book and scanned the synopsis. "They're romance novels," he corrected, offhandedly flipping through pages.

"Ah, right. That's why you have to be eighteen to buy them." The smile he sent Kakashi was all but innocent.

"Don't look at me like that." The Jounin said, re-shelving the book. He continued to search. "Get your own."

"I'm only seventeen. I turn in two weeks, but Makoto-san is too stubborn." And thus, they reached the point of Yasuo's conversation.

"Ha," Kakashi grinned. "Get Iruka to buy it for you."

"He'd never-"

"Point."

"Fine." Yasuo glanced over to the book keeper. He slipped behind a rack and placed his hands together. An exact copy of Kakashi peered around the corner. This made the Jounin double-take. The doppelganger grabbed a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, smiled at him, and headed for the register.

Kakashi gazed around the row of bookshelves to see Makoto staring down at a newspaper. The jounin considered his options, and then a poof of smoke leapt into the air. The Jounin appeared as Yasuo, and then he went back to sifting through the porno novels.

"Kakashi-san!"

Makoto glanced up from his paper long enough to regard the cross-dresser's friendly wave to the kid in the back of the store. He eyed the fake Kakashi in front of him, then the book. Isamu completely disregarded the Kakashi at the register and ran towards the real person. Makoto shook his head. "No sale, kid."

Yasuo released his jutsu with a scowl, lowering the book in defeat. He whirled around and pointed an accusatory finger at the genjutsu specialist running to the back of the store. "Isamu-sensei!" He shouted. "You ruined my plan!" Yasuo marched away from the counter.

The bell over the door rang and Makoto watched with obvious disdain as his least favorite customer entered.

Matsuhara Tekki wasn't pleased to be there either. "Gin," he half-greeted.

"Matsuhara," Makoto returned.

"I'm here for my cousin."

"I wish you weren't."

"It's mutual." It wasn't the med nin's ideal day off. An ideal day would have consisted of working despite the break, taking enough time to sleep and then eating before entering another shift at the hospital. He also didn't believe in 'vacations'.

Isamu was already deeply engrossed in attempting to converse with Kakashi. "Is that the first edition? Because I heard they revised it twice after that. The ending is far more graphic in the third edition."

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder to see Isamu standing next to him, hands clasped near his chest. Yasuo was scowling behind him, glaring daggers into the back of Isamu's head. Kakashi released his jutsu. "Hello, Isamu-san."

Yasuo grumbled and sidestepped the two men, placing the book back on the shelf. "Come on, Kakashi-san, please? I'm only two weeks away, it's not like it'll make much of a difference."

The Jounin placed a finger on the boy's forehead, pushing gently. "I don't have time for whiners."

This shut the Chuunin up.

"You should let him have some fun, Kakashi-san." Isamu grinned at Yasuo. The former Jounin's curtain of fine, ebony hair was pulled back today so that both eyes were visible. Two long, thin scars normally hidden by the strands contrasted sharply with Isamu's creamy unblemished skin. Both began at the back of the man's jaw, extending upward to just below the eye, crisscrossing once. Scars were commonplace among Shinobi and this one certainly wasn't the worst that any of them had seen. It was the fact that the face it marred was Isamu's.

"Kazahaya-"

"That would be Kaza-kun, Tekki-san."

"-Don't encourage their behavior."

A mischievous light flashed through Isamu's golden eyes. He swiped Icha Icha from the rack, pranced to Makoto and slammed it on the counter. He then announced with startling authority, "I am buying this book."

Makoto glared.

Isamu placed money on the surface, in order to appease this angry, wrinkled and decrepit god. Makoto-kami, pleased with the offering, shoved the book at him. It was promptly tossed over to Yasuo from across the shop, Tekki watching it soar with horror, as though it were highly explosive.

In some ways, it could be considered such.

It was snatched, and Yasuo had to hold back a victorious cackle. Instead he grinned broadly and exclaimed, "Thank you very much!" He quickly tucked it away in his vest before any of the other adults could snatch it away from him.

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle and he turned to Tekki with an amiable grin. Neither had seen each other since the last time Tekki had attacked the Jounin with a roll of gauze, and both willingly meant to keep it that way. But, oh, fate had its cruelties and here they stood before one another, caretakers of their puppy-like friends.

"You're doing well," the hawk-nosed man stated, watching Isamu flit around in front of book racks in the corner of his eye. The two cousins looked nothing alike save their rare, golden eyes. Were it not for that link, the fact that they were in any way related…just…didn't work.

Isamu motioned for Yasuo to join him in 'nature studies'.

"Of course," the med nin continued, "if you weren't doing well, then you'd be dead, wouldn't you?"

"Yes." Kakashi pocketed his hands. Both shinobi stared at one another skeptically. "You seem to be having a nice time off," he said as half of his attention lingered around a giggling Isamu and a gawking Yasuo.

"You'd never expect it would you?" They heard Isamu saying. "But the female does need to feed her young somehow; therefore, the male's limbs are more than sufficient. And by limbs, I mean all of them. See?"

Tekki blanched. "Better than dealing with you. At least Umino learned when to stay down."

"Yes, he's good at staying down," Kakashi said sarcastically.

"Wow," Yasuo's voice, "I never realized how cool spiders were. Turn the page, Isamu-sensei."

"You seem to excel at driving my patients to insanity," the med nin continued. "I can only return the favor and turn my cousin over to you. He gets lonely when I'm working."

"Here, Yasuo-kun. Avian copulation."

Tekki sighed. "Someday, I might accidentally slip one pill too many in his tea."

"Turn him over to me?" Kakashi muttered, smile dropping away. "Are you sure that's intelligent, Tekki-san? I'll lose him." Quite on purpose at that.

"That would be unfortunate, wouldn't it?"

"-and once it has trapped the female-"

"Most unfortunate," the copy nin agreed.

Their conversation was interrupted by Yasuo's next question to Isamu, "Are they the only animals that can do it in midair?"

Both men twitched.

Isamu then replied slyly, "Actually, I know a few Shinobi-"

"Kazahaya!" Tekki immediately turned abruptly, pointing at the man. "Afternoon tea!"

The kimono-clad ex-nin craned his neck to view his cousin. "Tekki-san, I'm not finished yet. Yasuo-kun and I are preoccupied."

Kakashi lifted a finger to his temple. "Aiya…. Yasuo-kun, come on, leave Isamu-san alone."

Yasuo's eyes were wide. "No… way…" Apparently, he hadn't heard a word Kakashi had just said. "Are you serious?"

"Oh yes." Isamu nodded vigorously. "When I was on a mission a few years ago, I had just gotten out of Takigakure, and I was on my way home when I stumbled upon-"

Tekki grabbed a fistful of fabric and dragged the babbling man behind him.

"Yasuo-kun! You'll be training again tomorrow! Don't take any missions today!"

The medical ninja grumbled lowly. His sarcasm had been devolving into cynicism lately and it wasn't something he appreciated. People like Kakashi were making his life hell. He had to constantly deal with ANBU and lower rank Shinobi involved with the Harogami search party. He was still mourning over the loss of two of his more talented staff members. Today he just didn't feel like putting up with Isamu. Thus, at the door, he released the man and shot a look at both Kakashi and Yasuo. "Why don't you do that today, Kaza-kun? Take Yasuo-kun and go train or whatever it is you two do in your free time."

Isamu shook his head. "No. I want it to be tomorrow."

He had to get rid of the man before he attempted an escape to the hospital.

"Why does it have to be tomorrow?" Yasuo asked.

"You need to be ready for it." Isamu grinned broadly, pink lips glistening. "Your genjutsu training will take place every other day and, if I decide so, occasionally every other week. It depends on the jutsu."

"You're teaching him your jutsu?" Tekki whirled around sharply. "What the hell are you thinking, Kazahaya!"

"Oh, well, it'd be a shame for me to die with my jutsu. I want to share it." The smile never wavered. "I may die in a few months, perhaps a year or even a week. Neither you nor I know when."

Isamu's hawk-nosed cousin said nothing more. He huffed once and vanished outside, Makoto's glare following him out.

"Yikes…" Yasuo murmured, watching Tekki go. "What's got his underwear in a wad?"

"Tekki san is one of the chief medical ninja in Konoha. He's actually very soft under all the sarcasm. A little sour maybe…I usually think of him as an oyster."

"Oy…ster…." Kakashi stared.

Yasuo grinned. "Well, if there's no training today, what will you be doing?"

"I was going to visit Iruka-san at the Academy. I wanted to see the children." He laughed, flattening the top of his kimono against his chest.

"Oh!" Yasuo chirped. "I would like to come too, do you mind?"

Golden eyes pinned Yasuo to the nearest book shelf. "Of course not! Come, come! Let's go!" The two darted out the door.

Kakashi sighed and reluctantly followed.

---

Isamu arrived on the field before either of his companions and they saw him suddenly stop at a bench, staring down at the tilted head of an obviously unconscious Chuunin. The children were either doing what they were supposed to be doing -two out of twenty did this- or, as everyone else was wise enough to do, whatever they wanted. It was a raging battlefield out here. It didn't seem like something The Iruka Sensei would do, leaving children unattended.

Iruka's mouth was curiously suspended between a smile and a frown. It seemed he couldn't decide if he were enjoying something or suffering from it.

Kakashi and Yasuo drew up beside Isamu. Some of the children had noticed their approach, and their play stopped to stare at the strangers.

"So he does sleep during school," Yasuo murmured.

"It's Yasuo-kun!" A little girl shouted from the gathering class. "Yasuo-kun, did you come to visit Iruka-sensei again?"

Yasuo looked down at the dark-eyed child tugging on his pants. He smiled and patted her head. "Of course, Arina-chan."

Arina grinned triumphantly. "I told you he fell asleep," she stated matter-of-factly.

Kakashi leaned over Iruka. He quickly recalled a scrap of information, and thus proceeded to prod the Chuunin's sensitive stomach.

This produced a loud moan and suddenly, Iruka's head jerked forward. The man shot to his feet and one hand now held a kunai. He squinted at Kakashi for a tense three seconds before pocketing the weapon. "Afternoon, Kakashi-san, Isamu-san, Yasuo-kun. Sorry for- Aiyaa!" His attention landed on the rampaging children. "All of you start running! How long have you been sitting around? Go on! Move! Move!" He turned his sensei eye on Arina, voice lowering. "Maybe Yasuo-kun would like to run laps with you."

"You're awake, Iruka-sensei!" Arina exclaimed. Iruka shot her one look before she took off running to join her classmates.

"Slacker," Kakashi mocked Iruka.

"Yeah, Iruka-sensei," Yasuo said with a grin. "Maybe YOU need to run a few laps. Always worked for me when I fell asleep in your class, ne?"

Their victim flushed, sharply turning his attention on his dashing, jogging and walking students. "It was meditation," he stated with vague conviction.

Isamu only laughed, running out onto the track to join the children.

Yasuo turned his head to watch. Arina shouted his name and he considered before dashing off into the crowd. Iruka wasn't doing too well getting the walkers going, so he quickly began to organize races. Yasuo was always good at organizing people into forces of good and evil. He did it so well when he was in the Academy…

Kakashi pocketed his hands. "Darn, didn't get to hear the mumbling. Perhaps I should have let you sleep longer."

"Bastard…" Iruka muttered.

"Oh come now," Kakashi said softly. "You're so harsh as of late."

"And I have good reason to be harsh as of late." Irritation faded from the undertones of his voice as it softened. "Sorry, Kakashi…"

"Nah," he smiled. "It'd take a lot more than that to hurt me."

"I won't mention it again."

"That's fine." Kakashi shifted his weight, looking at his feet as he did so.

The Chuunin laughed lightly. "You look like a kid whose henged his sensei's chair."

The Jounin shrugged in response.

"Did you drag them here?" He pointed to the two Shinobi currently being mauled by his pack of midget demons.

"Ah, no. Actually I was the one who got dragged."

Iruka watched Yasuo dodge a little boy's stick. "How was he doing this morning?"

"Mm." Kakashi shrugged, looking over again. Yasuo had gained his own stick and was now chasing children. "He bounced back pretty strongly, but he's grown fidgety now that he's completely on his own. I'll keep an eye on him for you though."

A true, bright smile was Kakashi's reward. "Thank you, Kakashi."

Isamu laughed loudly as Yasuo was tackled from above, behind, and both sides.

"Ramen tonight?" The sensei stretched.

Kakashi considered. "Sure."

Yasuo shouted, rolling over, taking two children with him. He laughed as they squealed, trying to wiggle free. That's when he was nailed with a shuriken.

"STOP!" Iruka had immediately left Kakashi's side, already apprehending the offender and piercing the poor boy with a string of disciplinary babble sharper than the weapon he'd thrown. When he'd finished yelling, his voice lowered and he issued a mild sentence of two extra laps around the track. The other children, who'd been enthralled and horrified by their sensei's classic outburst, quickly settled down and resolved to behave for the rest of the day. They promised only to throw kunai and shuriken at practice dummies or -as some of the trouble makers amended- at sensei.

Yasuo was released from further harassment. Isamu had watched all of this with mild interest and, when lecture and class had disjointed, he clapped Yasuo on the back, congratulating the boy. "Bold aren't they? One should never underestimate a child, ne, Iruka-san, Kakashi-san?"

Yasuo laughed. "Iruka-sensei, you didn't have to yell so loud. It was just a nick." He held up his arm to show the ripped sleeve with some blood lining it. The boy grinned. "I've dealt with worse. We were only playing."

"That particular student has a lot of potential but…" Iruka shook his head. "He's not disciplined enough. Not to be a Shinobi." A lot like Naruto. A lot like himself at that age.

"Like I was so much better," the boy laughed. Well, he did have self-discipline, and he exercised it well in Iruka's classroom, but that was only when he wasn't busy causing a scene and coordinating the other children into a rebellion.

Iruka raised a brow, quite serious. "You were."

He pouted. "You're so negative, Iruka-sensei…."

Kakashi's eye landed on Yasuo. "Not all children who come to the Academy are suited to be ninja."

The boy scratched his head, and then dismissed the topic.

Isamu was intently watching a pair of song birds fly by overhead, landing somewhere among the trees. Perhaps it was his mind wavering again, but the feeling that they were watching him was slightly perturbing….

---

Team seven was currently engaged in the strenuous, laborious training routine Kakashi had devised for the day- watching his dogs walk the Genin had never been more rewarding than it was now. Six of the eight summons were pulling Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke into and through various traps he'd set in sporadic areas throughout the Eastern sector of Konoha's forests. Of the last two, the second smallest of his furry attack squad was patrolling the area and the last, being Pakkun, was sleeping, sprawled halfway across his leg with stomach up, legs twitching.

Isamu, with Yasuo in tow, had suddenly departed the Academy after Iruka's class had been sent inside. Since Kakashi had no intention of joining sensei and student in the bliss of learning, he'd made his own exit, and finally, after half an hour at the Stone, he'd met with his team. Same old excuses, same angry outbursts, same sadistic yet meaningful torture.

Lounging in the shade of a massive oak, Icha Icha Paradise in hand, with drooling, twitching dog in lap, made life seem relatively tolerable. A Shinobi needed a day or two where other ninja weren't using him or her as target practice.

THUUUD. A shuriken star vibrated in place before stilling, lodged in bark half an inch from his ear. "Hey! Kakashi-san!" A female. Upon analyzing the hysteria that emphasized every word, Kakashi decided it had to be Nakura-chan. "Hey!"

Kakashi reached up with a hand, pulling the star out of the tree trunk. He didn't look up from his reading. "Ah, Nakura-chan. Iruka-san isn't around here."

"I know that." The woman dropped down in front of him, plucking leaves out of her hair. She tossed a scroll at him and it panned Pakkun's exposed stomach. "He asked me to deliver this for him." And of course, she couldn't say no. She'd gone to the Academy to ask him for a night out and he'd immediately requested a favor. Oh Iruka-san…

Pakkun twitched in Kakashi's lap. The pug's pink tongue flickered out once and then slipped back in.

Kakashi snapped his book shut and plucked the scroll from his lap, unrolling it carefully.

Kakashi,

Ramen tonight? I want to hear how Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are doing. I'd visit, but it's my turn to supervise detention.

I'll pay.

Meet at Ichiraku at eight.

-Umino Iruka

Nakura was looming near him, glaring at the scroll.

Kakashi smiled, rolling it up and carefully tucking it in the front pocket of his vest. "Thanks, Nakura-chan." The Jounin's grey eye lifted to her, questioning her presence.

Nakura shifted, stepping away. She felt intimidated alright, but it was completely overshadowed by a sense of rivalry. They were both Shinobi, it wasn't unusual, but she was well aware that Kakashi outranked her in everyway. This rivalry…stemmed from something unknown. She just felt as though Kakashi were in on something that she should be the one to have. Primarily Iruka's attention.

"Yeah. See you, Kakashi-san." She didn't budge from her spot.

Kakashi stared. "Bye," he lifted a hand. Nakura remained frozen to her place. He waited patiently and finally began reading again. Apparently, she had something to say to him.

"Why are you spending so much time with Iruka-sensei?"

"And what information do you have for trade?" a witty retort.

"Why?" she demanded.

Knowing exactly what she meant, Kakashi chose to answer her literally. "Because I enjoy a fair exchange for wanted details." The Jounin didn't bother looking at her when he spoke.

Nakura glowered. "The next three volumes of Marionette's Tragedy."

This caught Kakashi's attention. "Bring the goods and we may have something to talk about." A grin.

The nin grunted, vanishing into the thick foliage above.

Pakkun snorted and stretched lazily. The pug yawned, tongue lolling out and jaw snapping shut again. He opened an eye, peering up at Kakashi. "What's the scroll say?"

"Meeting Iruka for dinner."

"Weren't you two fighting?"

"Yes."

Pakkun paused. "Ramen?"

"Yes."

"Don't you humans eat anything else?"

"I'm a bachelor."

This seemed to satisfy the dog, and the questions ended there.