The Assassin and the Dolphin
Author: jabotus
Rating: T
Pairings: Kakashi x Iruka, Lee x Sakura, Neji x Sasuke, one-sided Sasuke x Naruto
Warnings: AU – yaoi (two guys in a relationship), OOC Naruto – there is a reason for this though
Disclaimer: Don't own.
'…..' - thoughts
A/N:
1 - As promised a quicker update! I'm really enjoying writing this story. That it is being read makes it more enjoyable so a big thank you to all my readers!
2 - If nobody has noticed, I adjusted the age gap between Iruka and Naruto to about five years and put most of the Naruto gang in their late teens. It is an AU after all.
3 – Naruto will be OOC at the beginning, but it will be explained in due time. I just had an idea to make Naruto into an intimidating person. If people are interested, once I finish this story, I may do a spin-off with the Naruto from this story.
That's all folks. Enjoy this next chapter!
Chapter 9
Kakashi was drowning again. The salt water pressed down on him; dark, cold and merciless. With a jerk, Kakashi woke to find he really was wet. Had he fallen in the pool? He spit water out of his mouth and opened his eyes to see a rough rock ceiling.
"Get up."
Kakashi lifted himself up on his elbows to locate the harsh voice. He groaned when his injured shoulder reminded him of yesterday's events. He needed pain killer. What he got was more cold salt water thrown on his face. Ignoring the pain this time, Kakashi sat up to glare at the person throwing water on him.
The blond teen was kneeling by the pool holding something under. As Kakashi watched, he lifted up a bucket heavy with seawater.
"Put it down, I'm up," Kakashi grumbled. The teen smirked at him. "What do you want?" Kakashi paused to recall his name. "Naruto."
"I wanted to talk to you before anyone else got here." The teen smiled again, but something was off. Kakashi felt unnerved by the smile, though at a glance the teen looked like just another mischievous boy. But the uneasy feeling only increased as Naruto emptied the pail and moved closer to where he laid. Turning the pail upside down, he sat down on it, leaving only three feet between them.
"So what did you say to Iruka last night? He came home very upset. This morning he was telling all of us that you might be dangerous and none of us should ever come here alone."
"So why are you here alone?"
"I could take you." There was no trace of humor in his voice. He meant what he said.
Kakashi wished he could laugh. At one time, he too had thought himself invincible. Naruto was watching him in a confident silence with no trace of his bouncy personality. He wasn't the same teen Kakashi had met yesterday. This boy was something else. Yes, Kakashi wanted to laugh, but the look in the teen's eyes worried him. Kakashi believed him. He couldn't begin to explain the how's or why's, but there was defiantly something not right here. Just what the hell was this kid?
"I was only being myself. I guess he didn't like the kind of person I am."
"Maybe…I think you're hiding something."
"And you're not?" Another chilling smile, a cruel smile, a killer's smile. Kakashi briefly wondered if he ever looked like when on a mission. To hide his unease, Kakashi asked another question, "Why are you here?"
"Nobody knows, but I like it here. And I like the people here. Iruka took me in when even my own kind turned me away. I owe him my life. The reason I'm here in this cave right now is to warn you. Nobody will ever hurt my brother or my friends."
"I don't want to hurt any of them. I was trying to discourage Iruka."
"Why?" There was genuine curiosity in the creature's voice. Kakashi's eyes met with its blue eyes and he froze. He didn't answer. He didn't have to. The creature could read his mind, opening up his memories like they were books. Unable to help himself, he shuddered and the creature blinked breaking the spell.
"Sleep now," it whispered.
Wanting to protest, Kakashi tried to move, but found he couldn't and his eyes dropped closed. As soon as they closed, he opened them again. He was laying down, his heart pounding. There was a splash of water.
"Hey wake up sleepy heard!"
A dream. It was only a dream. Kakashi sat up and saw Naruto climbing out of the pool. There was nothing menacing in the way he nearly lost his footing, barely catching himself from falling back into the water. He grinned when he saw Kakashi looking at him.
"Are you hungry? Mrs. Uchiha always gathers too much food when Itachi's home. Naruto held up a metal pail, exactly like the one in Kakashi's dream. This one was filled with shrimp.
"Sure. Thanks kid." Kakashi ran a hand through his messy hair. What a dream that had been!
"I'm not a kid, old man."
"Where's Iruka?"
"He went to get Sakura. They'll be here soon." He set the pail down before Kakashi. "I'll start a fire. I won't burn myself like Iruka did." Then he darted over to the small fire pit under one of the natural air vents.
Kakashi stared after him. He didn't…no that's impossible. Iruka must have told Naruto that he burnt his hand yesterday.
"Good morning." Distracted, Kakashi glanced back at the pool where Iruka had just appeared. The salutation sounded rather half hearted. After the way Iruka ran out of here last night, it wasn't surprising he was anxious to be back here.
"Good morning Iruka!" Naruto called out cheerfully.
"Naruto, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to spend the day with the Uchiha's?"
"Nah, family bonding time makes me queasy. Not that I don't like spending time with you, Iruka." He rushed at the hurt look on Iruka's face. "It's Sasuke's family. It's too many people all at once." He pointed to the pail by Kakashi. "I brought over some leftover breakfast from the Uchiha's."
"You didn't have to do that. I would have found something for him to eat." Iruka hauled himself out and Kakashi took the time to watch the merman's awkward movements on land. Even out of water, Iruka's tail was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. He
wanted to touch it again, but Iruka had seemed uncomfortable when he had touched the merman's tail last night. Then again, wasn't Kakashi trying to discourage Iruka from liking him? Making him uncomfortable would certainly fit into that. Kakashi started to rise from his pallet but Iruka's voice halted him.
"If you dare come any closer, you will be going for a swim a lot sooner than planned." Iruka's scowl could have frozen seawater. Kakashi wisely stayed put.
"Iruka is that any way to speak to a guest," Naruto chastised.
"Naruto could you please hand me some towels. And don't go anywhere near him." Naruto sent a confused look toward Kakashi, then shrugged and did as Iruka asked. Didn't Iruka say they were brothers? But Naruto wasn't a merman…
"How are you two related?"
"We're brothers."
"Iruka mentioned that, but…"
"Iruka found me on a beach almost 17 years ago. I had been abandoned and he took me home and raised me as his brother."
"Why not a son?"
"I was only five at the time," Iruka responded.
"And your people let you raise a baby?"
"I didn't have anything better to do."
"Right, what was I thinking?"
Naruto snorted trying to hide a laugh.
"That's our Mr. Responsibility," a new voice spoke up from the pool.
"Hey Sakura. No Lee today?" Naruto called to the pink haired merwoman.
"No, he and uncle Gai are training near the old ship again."
"Training for what?"
"I have no idea. You know how Gai is, probably to retain his youthful vitality or something."
"Or something is right."
"Be nice Naruto or I won't tell you where I found some sea ramen growing the other day."
"Sea ramen?" Kakashi asked out loud. He took the chance at standing up and moving over to the pool now that Iruka was out of the water.
"It's a rare variety of seaweed. Naruto calls it sea ramen for some unknown reason." Sakura answered as she climbed out of the water. Kakashi took notice that she didn't have a tail and was wearing form fitting clothes. Now that he was thinking about it, Naruto was also wearing swimming trunks when he showed up…both in the dream and in reality…the same pair actually. With a slight shake of his head, Kakashi made a note to ask later if they always wore them or if it was because he was human.
"I do have a reason. I just don't recall it right now." Sakura rolled her eyes as she pulled back her pink hair into a ponytail.
"No tail?" Kakashi gestured to her legs.
"Not all of us have tails. Some families' genetics have been mixed with humans so much that we lost them over the generations." She held up her hands to show him webbed fingers. "We adapted in other ways to our environment."
Kakashi studied the merwoman's hands, but didn't touch. He could feel Iruka's eyes on his every move. Iruka hadn't wanted to be touched so chances were he wouldn't let Kakashi touch anyone else. So he stayed back and looked at where extra flesh connected each finger up to the knuckles. An adaptation like that would aid swimming, but also inhibit their ability to grasp items. Maybe in the ocean, such a thing wasn't that much of a disadvantage as it would be on land.
"So how are you feeling this morning?"
"Sore, but as you can see I'm up and about." Sakura frowned slightly before gesturing for him to take a seat on the pallet. She went to grab her bag and brought it over to where he sat. Iruka, his tail gone now, went to help Naruto cook the shrimp.
"You shouldn't move too much so soon. And I better not hear about you lifting anything heavy. Give you shoulder some time to heal, all right?"
Kakashi nodded as he watched her sort through her bag. "Is your hair naturally pink?"
"Yeah it is. It's a good thing humans are into dying their hair or it would have been hard to explain at school."
"So you go to school on land?"
"I do; first year medical student at NYU."
"And you know how to remove a bullet?"
"Let's just say I've studied ahead of the rest of my class."
"You did a good job however far you've gotten in school. And for how young you are. How can you be a first year in medical school? You're what 17 at the most?"
"18 and you strike me as the kind of person who knows that for the right price, the right forged papers can be found."
"So why jump ahead? Are you that anxious to get through school?"
"As a matter of fact I am. If I can understand the classes, why shouldn't I move through them as fast as I can? I have people back home take care of. Our only other healer is getting along in years and I want to learn as much as possible while I may. Once I take her place and marry Lee, I suspect my visits to the surface will diminish rapidly."
"Will you miss it?"
"In ways, I've made some dear friends and I will miss them."
"They don't know what you are."
"No, it's not something we tell to just anybody."
"Are you trying to make me feel special?"
"I don't have to. Somebody else already thinks the world of you." Sakura glanced over at Iruka and Naruto then turned back to smile at him. She poked his chest. "Now off with the shirt so I can check the stitches.
Kakashi couldn't help but think Iruka was very bad at keeping secrets since all his friends apparently knew of his crush.
"Have you been in much pain?" Sakura asked while she checked over her work.
"A little."
"Did you take any more of the drought?"
"No."
"You should have. If nothing else, it would have helped you sleep. I know this cave isn't the most comfortable of places to sleep."
"I managed all right."
"I'm leaving instructions for Iruka to make sure you take some tonight before you sleep any way."
"Yes, ma'am. You're the doctor."
"So what do you think of Iruka?"
"Huh?"
Sakura leaned back on her heals so she could see his face. "Do you like him?" She asked slowly.
What was with her? It was as if she was trying to set them up.
"What makes you think I would be interested?"
"I saw you staring at Sasuke yesterday."
"He was naked. Where I come from, guys don't walk around in the nude."
"I've been there and guys also don't usually stare at other naked guys unless they're interested. There's no way you're going to convince me you're homophobic."
"What if I said I'd rather see you naked?"
Her eyebrows rose at the comment. Then she responded with, "I'd say you're bi-sexual."
"And what does this have to do with my healing process? Am I good to go or not?" Sakura studied his face for a moment before shaking her head.
"No and until I say so, you're stuck here. So you might as well make some new friends with your spare time."
"Look I'll be straight with you. I'm not a good person. Your friend is better off not knowing me. All of you are. Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm thinking your healing process is going to take a really long time."
"This is kidnapping."
"We're not human. Your rules don't apply to us. Besides your only other choice was death. If Iruka hadn't saved you, you wouldn't even be alive right now."
"Believe me, I've already thought about this. You don't have to remind me." Kakashi eyes drifted over to the fire. Iruka and Naruto were making shrimp kabobs.
"Iruka's a good guy," Sakura said softly.
"I've noticed." The bitterness in his voice didn't go unnoticed.
"We don't want him to get hurt."
"Then you should tell him to forget me. Do Iruka a favor and tell him to forget it before things become even more complicated."
"More complicated?" Sakura smiled, "I'll take that as meaning you do like him."
'Dammit,' thought Kakashi. "I shouldn't have to remind you that you pulled a bullet out of my shoulder yesterday. That is my life. Someone like Iruka doesn't stand a chance in my world."
"The fact you say that only confirms my suspicions of you liking him if you're concerned about him being in 'your' world. As for surviving, Iruka is stronger than you think. And thirdly who said anything about you living there."
"What are you implying?"
"By now, they most likely think you are dead. Unless you have a family waiting for you up there, who said you had to go back." Kakashi could only stare at her, his mind reeling over her words. Not go back…but then he didn't have anything to go back to except for his job.
"How?"
"Like Naruto. He wasn't born in the ocean like the rest of us. He became one of us. Naruto was only a few months old so he wouldn't remember his change." Sakura met Kakashi perplexed face. "I won't lie to you. It is a painful change; your insides will shift and you will grow gills to breathe underwater. The webbing isn't as painful when your flesh grows, but it will be hard to get used to since you will not be able to use your hands as you been accustomed to. But it is a very real possibility."
Kakashi didn't know what he could say to that.
"Even if you don't ever feel the same about Iruka, I don't think he'd mind if you stayed here permanently if it gave you a safe haven from whatever your life was up there."
Finally something he could respond to. "And just remain friends. Nobody ever wants to be just friends."
"I know you can't make two people fall in love. The gods know I tried with Sasuke. But you could give him a chance instead of chasing him away."
"Did Sasuke give you a chance?"
With a smile, Sakura nodded. "We dated for three months but his being in love with Naruto was huge turn-off."
"Him and the blond? Are they together?"
"No, Sasuke is dating Neji, but no matter what he says, I believe Sasuke is still in love with Naruto."
"And Naruto?"
"No clue whatsoever."
"Why are you sharing the local gossip with me? I haven't said I'm going to stay."
"No, but once you've made friends, it becomes that much harder to leave a place."
Suddenly Naruto called out. "Hey, what are you two whispering about over there?"
"You," Sakura answered with a smirk.
Then she stood up and handed Kakashi back his shirt. "Think about it," the doctor-in-training said before joining the other two at the fire.
Kakashi stared down at his t-shirt. Could he really? Could he really give it all up and start over again? Live in a different world than what he grew up in. Give himself a chance to fall in love again, but possibly this time be loved back. The chance was almost too tempting.