The Assassin and the Dolphin
Author: jabotus
Rating: T
Pairings: Kakashi x Iruka
Warnings: AU – yaoi (two guys in a relationship), OOC, OCs
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
A/N: See, I'm not dead! Although, I have a sinking feeling I will probably be stoned for taking so long with this chapter. I am really sorry! I don't think I can apologize enough, but it's here now and I will do my best to finish this fanfic.
Thanks for all the lovely reviews and comments about flying in airplanes! !
Chapter 21
"You're laughing at me," Iruka accused as he sat back in the seat.
"You're amusing to watch," Kakashi confessed.
Iruka scowled which only resulted in more chuckling from the other man. So he'd never been in a big city before, why shouldn't he look at everything? Movies were not the same as actually looking at the tall buildings surrounding them on the either side.
"Don't be like that. I didn't mean it in a bad way. Just think of it as payback for all the times you watched me."
Iruka's face tinted red and he turned his head away to look out the window. The human would have to bring that up.
"Stop here," Kakashi told the cab driver and pulled out some cash from his wallet. The driver pulled over to the sidewalk. Kakashi paid him and then got out.
Iruka followed, his neck tilting back to stare up.
"You look like a tourist."
"I am, aren't I? Do people actually live in these things?" Iruka gestured to the tall skyscrapers surrounding them. He hoped his questions wouldn't annoy Kakashi because he had a lot of them stored up since they entered Chicago.
Kakashi smiled, "Actually no, this is the business sector. They work here." He shut the cab door behind Iruka who continued to gawk at his surroundings.
"Oh."
"Stay close. I don't want to lose you in the crowds." He didn't have to say it twice. Iruka finally looked away from the sky to the busy sidewalk full of humans coming and going. The merman took a step closer to him just as Kakashi started to walk away.
"So where are we going?"
"A bank where I have a safety deposit box."
"The cab couldn't take us there?"
"I thought you might want to see some of the city before we left, which is better at a walking pace than through a cab window." Iruka dodged a woman on her cell phone.
"Do we have time?" Iruka asked when he managed to get close enough again.
"We have time. Our flight to New York doesn't leave until tomorrow." Iruka made a pained face when he said flight.
"We'll stop at a drugstore and get something for your nausea," he promised. Iruka only nodded.
"We also need some winter clothes." Iruka blinked and looked down at the jeans and long sleeved shirt he wore. He hadn't even noticed the cold.
"For appearances at least." Kakashi gestured to the people around them, bundled up in heavy coats, scarves, hats, and gloves. Iruka did look out of place. Kakashi at least had a coat though the salt water hadn't been kind to it.
For the next twenty or so minutes Iruka bombarded Kakashi with questions of whatever he glimpsed. Kakashi, on his part, answered what he could and never complained about the number of questions.
"Here," Kakashi announced at one point.
"Hmm?" Iruka looked away from the cop with a horse to where Kakashi stood.
"Shoes. My feet are freezing." Kakashi stamped his sandaled feet.
Iruka nodded and followed him inside. Then he attempted not to gawp at the rows and rows of shoes that filled a room four times the size of the cave. How could there be so many different kinds of shoes? Kakashi was already moving down one aisle so Iruka hurried to catch up. At least he seemed to know where to start looking for a pair of shoes. They came to a stop before some running shoes, or at least that was what a sign said. Kakashi didn't take long to select a pair.
"Do you need shoes?" Kakashi stood on one foot to take off one of his sandals and slip on the new shoe.
"No, thank you." Iruka glanced at the faded gray shoes he wore. Lee had found them on the beach last summer. Humans tended to leave odd things on the beach as his friends' collection in the cave proved.
"These will do for now." Kakashi took off the shoe and put it inside a box. "I'm not much of a shopper." Iruka didn't argue. He'd been dragged along once with Sakura and Ten-Ten on a shopping trip. He'd never been so exhausted in his life afterwards and realized too late why the other males, with the exception of Lee, had refused to go.
After paying for the shoes, Kakashi paused at the front of the store to put the new ones on. The sandals were dropped into the box and they left the store. At the first trashcan, Kakashi dumped the box inside.
"Unnecessary baggage," said Kakashi as way of explanation, "And now for a change of clothes."
Ten minutes later in another store, Kakashi led him over to racks of jeans.
"Do you know your size?"
"My size?" Iruka held his hands to his waist then lifted them up in the air as steady as he could.
"About this."
Kakashi laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"I need a number. What are you wearing now?"
"I don't know."
"Here, turn around and let me look."
"Turn around?" But Kakashi was already turning him around and reaching for his waist. Kakashi pulled the waistband back and Iruka flushed when he felt Kakashi fingers against his skin.
"What are you doing?!" Iruka hissed, eyes darting around, but nobody paid them any attention.
"Reading the tag. Mmm."
"What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. Just remind me to pick up some boxers." He let go of Iruka's pants and turned to the rack of jeans with a smile.
Wishing he could be any other color than red around this particular human, Iruka recalled the horrible flight and changed his mind; red was better than green.
"Why don't you try these on?" Kakashi thrust a pair of jeans into his arms.
Iruka glanced around nervously. It was one thing to change clothes in a dark cave in front of his own kind, quite another among human strangers. For one thing, they might see his gills.
"Right here, like how you tried on the shoes."
Kakashi smirked. "As entertaining as that would be for me, especially since you're not wearing anything underneath your jeans, you may want to use a dressing room in the back of the store."
"Oh…ok." Iruka hoped Kakashi wouldn't grow weary of his ignorance about human culture. So far, Kakashi had only laughed at him. Iruka frowned slightly. Not that laughing was much better; rather insulting…but he didn't believe Kakashi meant any harm by it. Compared to all the times he'd seen Kakashi looking so miserable even from a distance, making him laugh had to be better. Actually now that he thought about it, being the cause of this pleased Iruka to no end. If only Kakashi would let him stay by his side for the rest of their lives, Iruka would be glad to be on the receiving end of Kakashi's teasing.
"Here." Kakashi dropped a pile of shirts and more jeans into Iruka's arms. "If those fit comfortable enough, it will do until after I settle things in New York."
"And after that?" Iruka asked as Kakashi escorted him to back of the store.
"After that, I will buy you anything your heart desires."
"But you can't buy what I most desire." Iruka bit his lip and glanced over at Kakashi. 'He'd tease me less if I stopped walking straight into them,' he thought. 'Well, I'll just have to give back as good as I get.'
"Stop grinning like that. It's not as if you know what it is."
"Oh. All right then. You can tell me later."
"Or not at all," Iruka muttered, but Kakashi was greeting a woman standing behind a counter.
"He'd like a changing booth, please." The grin was gone, but a glint of humor lingered in Kakashi's eyes.
******
"This is the last stop." Kakashi pushed open one of two doors and went inside yet another building. Despite his dislike for shopping, Kakashi had enjoyed the time spent with Iruka. He wouldn't mind spending more afternoons like this one if his dolphin was there. But that would be later, after this stop, they should find a place to eat supper and then a hotel for the night.
"Where are we?" Iruka whispered in the quiet lobby which was unlike any of the stores they had recently been in.
"A bank. This is why I had to come to Chicago."
"I knew you spent too much money on me today. I told you I don't need all these clothes."
"Hey, it's nothing like that. I have a safety deposit box here. And considering the rags you had in the cave, you definitely needed some new clothes. So did I."
Iruka wasn't convinced, but Kakashi didn't want to spend too much time here. All the cameras made him nervous. He stopped near a chair in a small lounge at the front and set down the two bags he carried.
"Wait here. I won't be long." Iruka set down another bag and sat down with a sigh. As he walked away, Kakashi wondered if Iruka had ever walked as much as he had today. He shouldn't have pushed the merman so much if he hadn't. Swimming wasn't the same as walking and if you didn't normally have legs to begin with…
"How may I help you sir?" The teller, an elderly man, asked politely.
"I'd like to see my safety deposit box."
"I.D. please and you will need to write down your account number on this." He handed Kakashi a form. After showing the teller the fake I.D. he'd used back at the airport, he wrote down the account number that went with it.
"Just a moment please."
A phone call later, Kakashi was directed to an elevator. This particular bank was more secured than most. It ought to be since it was owned by the infamous Nara family. The elevator opened and a security guard gestured for him to step inside. The doors closed behind him and the elevator descended to the basement vault. When the door opened again, Kakashi stepped out and met with two more guards standing behind a small office surrounded by bullet proof glass.
"Place your hand on the screen," the male guard told him. Complying with the request, the black screen turned green when his hand rested flat against it.
"Welcome back Mr. White," said the female guard when a glass door slid open. "Now if you will follow me, please." She led him to one of several doors on either side of a long hallway. "Someone will be with you shortly."
Inside the room, unlike the hallway, there were no cameras. Whatever customers put in their box was completely confidential. Kakashi liked that about this bank. He wasn't there but a minute when the door opened and a cart was wheeled in by man wearing sunglasses and with a bandanna tied around the top of his head.
"If there is nothing else sir, just take your time, and when you are done, lock the box and leave it here. It will be returned to the vault immediately."
"Thank you."
Kakashi waited until he left, before pulling out his wallet and retrieving the small key tucked inside. Thankfully, it hadn't been lost in the ocean.
Upon opening the lid, he recognized the items from the last time he was in Chicago about eight months ago. His hand itched to snatch the gun, but he left it inside. It would be too much trouble to attempt to get through airport security with it. No, he would have to collect on his favor to Zabuza for some weapons once in New York. So instead of the gun, Kakashi picked up a cloth bag and dumped the contents onto the cart. He sorted through the pile of fake I.D.'s for one with a New York address and the name the mafia would recognize. Though he didn't do jobs for them, it was best to not ignore who and what went on if only to keep from stepping on anybody's toes.
Hiding the new I.D. inside his jean pocket, Kakashi slid the others back inside the bag and placed it back inside the box. Next he grabbed a thick stack of fifty dollar bills from underneath the gun and divided it up to different hiding spots inside his clothes. They had spent more money than planned today, but Kakashi would gladly have spent more on the merman if Iruka had let him. Money would never be a problem for them. In fact, Kakashi grabbed some more cash from the box. He would give some to Iruka just in case they were separated. Then if it all went bad, at least Iruka would have enough money to get back to the ocean.
Satisfied, Kakashi shut the lid and locked the box. Maybe it was just paranoia, but he didn't like Iruka being out of his sight though there was no way anybody he knew would ever recognize a merman who spent almost all his life in the Atlantic Ocean.
On his way back to the desk, he saw the guards clustered together. When he was closer he saw the man with sunglasses from earlier now had a bloody nose and was waving around a book.
"How did he get this book? They shouldn't sell porn to eight year olds!" The man fumed.
"Man, it's not even in English. Maybe the bookseller didn't know?" The male guard suggested. It was the one from the elevator, the other was nowhere in sight.
"I still say you should read it out loud. It may not be as bad as you think," the female guard said.
"No, it would be worse."
Kakashi stopped and waited for them to notice him since only one of the guards could open the door. He caught sight of the title of the book and couldn't help but jump into the conversation.
"That's a really good series."
"Oh!" The man with sunglasses dropped it on the desk.
"Sorry sir," the other man answered, jumping to his feet, apparently embarrassed at having been caught acting so unprofessional. He quickly moved over to the control board to open the door.
The woman only rolled her eyes at the younger guard then turned her head to speak to Kakashi. "Really? Ebisu can't hold his porn so we wouldn't know."
Ebisu scowled at her. She smiled sweetly in return.
"You know Japanese?"
"Yes, I do." Kakashi started to step through the doorway when the one called Ebisu stood up.
"Here take it. I don't want it." He shoved the book into Kakashi's hands.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, please. Just get it out of my sight."
"Thanks."
"Good day Mr. White."
Kakashi lifted a free hand back at the two behind the glass as he stepped into the elevator with the third.
With a faint smile, Kakashi glimpsed at the back cover of the novel. It was the newest volume of Icha Icha Paradise. What great luck this was!
Back upstairs, the guard apologized once more before Kakashi stepped back into the lobby. He didn't really hear because his eyes immediately went to where he left Iruka. The merman was still there, fidgeting in the chair, but when Iruka caught sight of him, he visibly relaxed and smiled.
Most people were tense around Kakashi. That someone would actually be relieved at the mere sight of him was new, but not unwelcome. The warm feeling this brought was becoming more familiar now and didn't take him by surprise this time. Kakashi returned the smile and crossed the room over to Iruka.
"Did you get what you needed?" Iruka glanced at the book in his hand, looking perplexed.
"Yes, I did. Are you hungry?"
"…you…we flew all the way to Chicago for a…book?"
"It's a very special book."
Iruka stared at the book and his lips parted as if to say something, but instead he shook his head.
"I guess I'm a little hungry."
"Good. I know this great Chinese…" Kakashi stopped talking when his eyes fell on the door behind Iruka.
"Kakashi?"
"Wait." Iruka picked up immediately on his tone and fell silent.
Five men had entered the bank. The two younger in front of the older armed men, not that many people would suspect anything about the weapons, hidden as they were. One of the young men was tall and lanky; his dark hair was long enough to be tied back behind his head. His companion was just as tall, but round with a sock cap pulled down over his hair. They looked like average college age kids, but the average kid didn't have three bodyguards following behind like shadows.
As they passed by, Kakashi heard a bit of their conversation.
"Come on Shika. She wants us to help."
"How troublesome. Shouldn't her mom be doing this?"
"She's in Europe on a business trip."
"I don't know anything about wedding planning and neither do you."
They passed out of hearing range, so Kakashi didn't hear the other's response. Iruka looked at him then to the young men who walked past the front desk to the back offices without hindrance by security.
The appearance of those two wasn't what held him frozen in place though. After all, this bank did have ties to the mafia. No, what had sent a sliver of fear down his spine was the guard who had stopped near the entrance to use his cell phone. Thin and bony with long stark white hair gathered loosely at the nape of his neck.
"Shit," Kakashi muttered.
"Is something wrong?" Iruka whispered.
"Stay still Iruka. He won't know you."
Shit! It was one of Orochimaru's men. What the hell was Kimimaro doing with the sons of prominent mafia men? Was his boss in town as well? If Orochimaru found out he wasn't dead...
Kimimaro finished his call and without so much as a glance around him, went the same direction as the others. Kakashi waited until he was out of sight then grabbed their bags and ushered Iruka back out into the cold winter afternoon.
Iruka didn't ask any more questions, but he knew the merman would want some kind of explanation but not here, not in the open.
The best he could give him was, "We have to get out of Chicago right now."