AN: Thank you all for your reviews, they've encouraged me enough to get this upcoming chapter into shape! Enjoy!
Day 2: Service with a smile.
As the morning rays dyed the sky with dim blue hue, the inhabitants in the Hidden Village of Konoha stirred awake and began their daily lives, some making their rather slow way back home after a night with way too dizzy memories involving scandalous ways to use genjutsu, some practicing their Blossoming Springtime Of Youth by waltzing through the streets with roller skates while blindfolded, some giving a suffering groan at the beeping of the alarm clock because yesterday was just too troublesome experience to be repeated in any lifetime...
...and some were happily knocked out and fast asleep like the two frazzled figures of the extraordinary household in a seemingly harmless-looking light gray house behind an impressive fence wall right next to the bustling morning traffic.
Until the insistent ray of light hit the dark brown eyes, that is.
Iruka's eyes opened up in order to cast a narrow glare at the small innocent line of light cutting through their otherwise delightfully dark bedroom from between the sliding doors, creating a strong contrast of light and shadow against the floor, wall and ceiling it crossed on its jolly way. The exhausted sensei gave a sleepy sniff, turned on his other side and closed his eyes, determined to sleep all the way to next week, obligations be damned. The sudden throbbing wave of pain from his ribs, shins, shoulders, hipbones, temples and even jaw nerves had other ideas, though.
His body was complaining.
With an attitude.
The now very irritated teacher turned slowly back on his back in hopes for the pain getting the hint and permitting him to lull himself back to the sweet, sweet dream where his students were practicing knots on chakra ropes with the motivation of actually learning them instead of getting their tiny heads filled up with plans on how to tie up their sensei hanging upside-down from the closest ceiling beam. Then again Iruka wasn't known to be a good teacher for nothing, and applying theory into practice was what he did best.
The glaring tiny faces hanging above him had made the rest of his week that day.
The violent jab of pain shooting throughout his spine shook the tanned man out of his reveries and a suffering hiss escaped between his clenched teeth. If his back was ever before trying to kill him, he had no doubts it wouldn't succeed in its attempts this time. He could feel the tendons of his spine twisting, the once healed vertebrae grinding against each other and being just plain mean when he bent his back on his mattress in different directions in order to either find a pleasing position which wouldn't hurt like twenty giant shurikens cutting into his body, or just promptly dislocating his spine from several points which was also an efficient way to reach the desired unconsciousness. Not healthy nor wise on any scale, but being in excruciating pain did wonders to one's priorities. He turned his head to the side and the dark eyes set their focus on the room's other resident who was sleeping ten feet away from his bed. A tuft of silver hair peeked beneath the thick dark blue comforter and silent breathing could be heard from the owner of the seen tuft if one listened carefully enough. Amidst his agony, Iruka had a fleeting wonder on how the ex-ANBU could sleep so soundly right next to another shinobi. Then again, that breathing pattern was a bit too leveled and even. Iruka felt his already bad mood rocket up into new heights as his dark eyes narrowed into thin slits.
The genius asshole was wide awake.
Swell.
Iruka growled and heaved himself up on his futon, grunting and hissing all his merry way as every single muscle, nerve, tendon and even body hair flared up the second time with their own opinions against the current physical exercise. Even his internal organs had their say in the matter, hell, his spleen felt like it would cease to exist any minute now. Iruka stilled for a moment to gather his breath, sat on his rumpled bed, and tried to find reasons valid enough for him to actually be that suicidal for what he was about to do. Stretching out and putting his legs on the seemingly chill floor boards and then standing up has never before appeared so unappealing to the young teacher. Not even when he was recuperating from Mizuki's attack. As if sensing the man's troubled thoughts with the said conundrum, his physiology decided to give its final blow to his now officially second shitty morning in a row.
Shinobi or not, he still had to pee.
As to prove the point, his bladder announced that it didn't honestly care if he ever made it to the toilet or not.
Kakashi cast a slightly amused yet worried look after the teacher who vehemently hobbled out of the bedroom while cursing rather colorfully under his breath whenever the man's mouth wasn't reserved for hissing or growling. Iruka's hair was tied up quickly and sloppily but efficiently enough to keep the long strands away from his face not to annoy the chuunin any further and his skin was covered with an impressive amount of cuts, bruises and burns. To Kakashi's pleased note, the teacher looked like shit flushed down twice.
Not that the copy-nin was in any better condition. The dull, throbbing pain which took residence in every nook it could possibly find within the pale body gave him a pretty good idea on how the other man was feeling at the moment. How Iruka ever managed to stand on his own and make even a single step was beyond him. Apparently training without their usual chakra did have its bad side as well, which neither of them had realized before since they usually dispelled their seals right after the training in order to heal themselves. It wouldn't do to appear in the village with more than one bruise decorating their faces or to be incapable of bending down when needed.
People might get ideas.
Now fully awake, the older man shifted his pensive lone gray eye to observe the now more illuminated ceiling of their shared room. Yesterday was interesting, even fun on some parts. They had continued their training with three more fights for twenty minutes each, and after the first Iruka had admitted to feel a bit nauseous. Then again, being thrown over other's shoulder two times and then getting hit on one's stomach with an upper-cut heel before tasting two more blows on the same spot served with quite eager fists could do that to a person. Nevertheless, Kakashi was pleased with his three wins. After all, the first match and the complete surprise in the end with the teacher's amazingly pulled leg stunt did bruise his jounin's ego quite a bit. Not that he'd ever give the brown-eyed maniac any satisfaction by admitting it. He already had his hands full with-
Ow.
Ow, ow, ow.
Kakashi heard a low groan escape his masked lips underneath the comforter as some more body parts decided to gang up against him. He really would work just fine with only one kidney. On the other hand, at the end of this current assignment he might actually be in that condition if their training kept going in even more challenging direction from what it already was.
To amplify the fun, his lumbar region decided to agree with the man.
His body really seemed to hold a grudge against all the bad treatment inflicted on it in the past.
The elite shinobi hissed and bit his lip as both of his calves felt obliged to emphasize how right he was when the sudden and very painful cramps took them over. He pressed his toes desperately against the mattress, pressed and hoped for anything, any available deity out there bored enough to pay attention to one pained copy-nin, to ease the stabbing pain burning in his legs. The combo of one spin kick, three heel kicks and two blows with both his shins was really taking its toll now. As the pain started to alleviate more into tolerable dull ache the silver-haired shinobi felt his body relax, as relaxed as one could be with constant pain, and he released a small relieved sigh accompanied with a small 'thanks' directed to anyone up there. Or below, he wasn't feeling picky at that moment.
"Good morning to you too, Kakashi-san", a slightly raspy voice half-groaned on its way past him.
The gray eye focused on the dark-skinned man who was now considering the pros and cons of even trying to bend his knees and back in order to pick up his folded clothes from the floor next to the futon. The dark eyes seemed to seriously ponder the consequences if the teacher would continue their mission wearing only his black boxer briefs that were exhibiting the firm yet seemingly uptight ass and honey-toned bruised thighs quite nicely to the pervert behind his back at that moment. The older shinobi decided to turn his eye away from the oblivious sensei, since getting an accidental morning wood would luckily just add yet another category of muscles aching like hell in his already steadily growing list of body parts he'd love to get rid of right now. That or he might just die from it, whichever came first. Either way, both options were something the copy-nin didn't feel too keen to explore on that morning, especially not with an audience provided by a fellow shinobi who had a sixth sense on awkward situations and how to turn them even more humiliating for others, especially if Hatake Kakashi was involved.
"Good morning, sensei." Being in pain wasn't a valid excuse to be rude.
"I managed to make us some breakfast in case you'd be daring enough to get up and crawl to join me." Great, now he was also hearing things- Wait, what?
"...Come again?" Kakashi gave a brief, baffled look over the edge of his comforter at Iruka who somehow had actually managed to pull his slacks on and was now very, very slowly stretching his hands above his head in order to slip into a white striped tank top. Add some hissing, cursing and grimacing and voilà, the sensei was all dressed up. Still looking like shit but nonetheless, the academy sensei was up while the elite jounin was still loitering under his blanket.
The jounin who felt his ego bruise a tad bit more as he caught a glimpse of that damned smug shit-eating smirk spreading on that cut and bruised tanned face.
"I said I made us some b – r – e – a – k – f – a – s – t, Kakashi-kun." Iruka's back was killing him, his legs were seconds away from giving in and it was getting increasingly hard to stand straight as the room felt inclined to shift constantly around him, but he'd be damned if he didn't notice the condition the other man was in, which was frankly seemingly shitty, nor rubbing the said man the wrong way the second he got the chance.
'That's right, you arrogant asswipe', his all the while spreading grin told the superior shinobi, 'the little chuunin is up and good to go while you're still cuddling that pillow of yours, o the man of thousand egos.'
"I'll wait for you on the terrace. Feel free to get up, Kakashi-san." With that the mangled man once again hobbled out of the room but with much more dignity than a few moments ago on his way to relieve himself (which was a trial he never thought he'd experience before being older than at least ninety years and something he'll never mention to anyone).
It took Kakashi some precious seconds to calm down his boiling blood and gather the remnants of his famous hip and cool demeanor, as the nightmare in green would put it, before Iruka heard the doors to their bedroom and toilet open and close and the careful, shuffling sounds of a maimed body reached his ears. The teacher snickered as the mumbled curses wafted in the air while the older man dressed up. Pleased with having found the right strings to pull in order to get the lazy man out of his bed, Iruka fiddled the warm tea cup in his hands and held his eyes closed against the bright morning light. He was badly beaten, true, but he hadn't had so much fun in years when compared to yesterday's training sessions.
That and he also had felt something stir back in life inside him during their last match, like something once lost was finding its place again and the teacher had realized that he liked it. A lot.
A rather loud curse flew past him from inside their bedroom through the opened slide doors of their training room and Iruka felt a faint grin tug at his lips as he took a sip of his tea. It seemed that Kakashi had finally spotted the marks he had managed to inflict on the pale torso during their matches. The teacher gave a glance at his equally suffered hands. He was surprised to find out that he was actually a rather skilled fighter without all of his chakra, but also quite pleased with the pale cyclops who was actually a very good teacher when he chose to. Kakashi never took their squabbling seriously and didn't intentionally demean Iruka whenever he couldn't land a decent hit on the jounin. On the contrary, the silver-haired man took notes when they fought and actually provided good hints on how to create a better attack when the next opportunity came. After beating the shit out of him while smirking all the way like the sadist the man was, of course. It was a habit they had created rather accidentally during their very first match in the past. A wry smirk stretched on the scarred face and Iruka felt his body shake with silent chuckle when the memories of their first fights came back to his mind.
"You have three seconds to explain yourself before my fist takes permanent residence in your gut, sensei."
Good that Iruka was a professional. Otherwise Kakashi would be missing more than that tongue already.
While reigning in his reflex to spin around on the spot and use his left hand to smash the tea cup against the wall beam next to him in order to give it sharp edges deadly enough to cut whatever body part the asshole behind his back was willing to jeopardize while his right hand would have made sure the fucker wouldn't move even a quarter of an inch before making the said cuts, Iruka chose to calmly set down his tea before turning to meet the dark gray eye which was boring holes into his head.
"I made you some coffee, Kakashi-san." Not to forget the bright smile on his lips, of course.
"That was good. Thank you, sensei."
Empty plates were piled on the small tray between them as they devoured the breakfast Iruka had managed to create for them. Even if it was simple and consisting of fruit and fish mostly (apparently Tsunade had forgotten to mention that she'd put them on a diet as well, something they both deemed to be as plausible as Jiraya-sama writing juvenile literature), it was still enjoyed with a healthy appetite. Their bodies were starving. Apparently sparring without all of their chakra reserves also affected their metabolism and the sense of hunger. Something to keep in mind when out on a mission.
"I'm glad you liked it. Don't get used to it, though, I think I used my quota of being nice to you for the rest of the week." The dark eyes glinted with amusement as Iruka gave a rather challenging look at the older man beside him. He was glad that Kakashi had enjoyed their breakfast fully, the man had even mind enough to thank Iruka for the coffee he brewed for the jounin. Being a tea drinker didn't mean he couldn't handle one coffee maker.
They had manuals for a reason.
"Maa, I'll make us lunch then. Sharing the chores."
"You mean after rendering me into an immobile heap of beaten mush on the floor so I wouldn't be able to do it anyhow, Kakashi-san?"
The mismatched eyes arched into delighted crescents. "Precisely."
"How thoughtful of you", Iruka snorted and took the last sips of his sixth tea. Then he reached to his side and took the small notebook they had found from Tsunade's bag the previous day. Kakashi gave the book a suspecting glance over the edge of his mug. He didn't like the amused look on Iruka's face. The man was onto something.
"We both read this notebook yesterday, right?" Now Kakashi was really worried, that smile wasn't boding anything good.
"..Yeah?" Iruka couldn't ever believe that the lone gray eye could look so hesitant.
"Did you notice it had seals on it?" Iruka dangled the book between his fingers with a raised eyebrow directed at it. Kakashi took the book and gave it a thorough scan with his Sharingan only for a second in order not to waste away any more chakra than necessary. The sudden silence that ensued was tangible between them.
"...What the hell?" Kakashi was astounded. Never during his career had any Hokage relied on so firm precautions with his mission details than Tsunade. He gave a look at Iruka and saw that the other was thinking the same.
They didn't like it.
Not one bit.
"She really knows us, neh?" Iruka chuckled and snapped Kakashi out of his speculations. The gray eye cast a questioning look and the dark orbs crinkled with bright amusement. Then the other seemed to catch on what the tanned man meant and they both shared bemused chuckles over the small book.
"She really seems to, sensei." Kakashi tapped the book with his fingers. "Impressive."
The fact was that they were both notoriously nosy, especially when it came to mission details, and it seemed that their Hokage had anticipated that they would dig out everything there was to dig when concerning the set up of their cooperation.
"The seal type she used opens one spread at a time as the time goes by. It has about five seals, but I couldn't deduce the time range they're set for. We'll just have to wait, I guess, since it isn't wise to use your chakra on your Sharingan when you'd need it constantly during our fights." Iruka scratched the scar on his nose. He really didn't mean to doubt that they weren't given all the information concerning the research, but he just had to check if that small book really had only a briefing about their fighting times, chakra seals and the sample taking. He knew there was something fishy going on with that book the moment he took it out of that bag.
Kakashi opened the book and gave the brand new pages a quick read. Apparently his surprises didn't end yet for the day. The new spread was filled with small illustrations of different stretches Tsunade seemed to think necessary for them in the morning, in the evening and both before and after every match. That wasn't the whole surprise, though.
All of the stretches were meant to be carried out with a partner.
This was going to be a trying mission for both of them.
"...I sense someone tensing up, sensei."
"Oh hush", Iruka hissed, his glaring brown eyes a mere seven inches away from Kakashi's as the two men were standing at the backyard of the house, both having their legs firmly planted on the grass and both holding their hands on each others' shoulders, holding themselves an arms-length away from one another. As they both knew that Godaime had a sixth sense on her patients' bluffs when it came to their physiotherapy and that her wrath alone was already keeping the times in the hospital quite busy as it was, the men decided it would be less humiliating to do them altogether than face the burning amber eyes and the steel fists of their leader.
If they would've known how awkward it would actually get when bending down from their knees like the old geezers in the parks while holding another shinobi a little too close for comfort, moreover trying to hold from collapsing at the same time because of the sheer pain the stance caused, they may have spent another minute to reconsider their decision.
Iruka panted a little as they arose to stand up before bending down again, and Kakashi had to admit that even he felt a bit out of breath after holding the first stance for five minutes. He gave Iruka a little squeeze on the man's shoulder and received a similar one on his. It was something he was taught in ANBU and what proved to be rather handy when words would take too much effort. They nodded at each other and slowly began their way down once more.
"Agh..shit..how in hell do you hold up so well..?" Iruka grunted as his thighs screamed in pain and his knees complained. Apparently launching oneself from a wall wasn't the brightest thing to do.
"Being an ANBU helps. Once one gets trained properly it also gets easier to bear the pain." Kakashi gave the tiniest shrug he could with his occupied shoulders. He usually didn't like to speak about his past career before the chaos triplets, but somehow Iruka's grimacing face was giving him enough reason to elaborate on his tolerance on pain. Not that he wasn't groaning in agony inside his mind at that moment, that is. The dark brown eyes stopped their wincing to look deep into the gray eye which started to look more uncomfortable than unreadable with every passing second under the teacher's examining gaze. Then the observing eyes shifted away and Kakashi witnessed how a small red tinge took over the tanned cheekbones.
"..Silly me. Sorry, Kakashi-san."
"..No worries. It's what it is, those things are the past now. What about your back then, sensei?"
Iruka snapped his eyes to stare again at the older man. The gray eye was as unreadable as ever over the mask, but the curiosity was there. Iruka could feel the small twinges of pain on his spine, and after the other's revelation he did feel obliged to share something about himself to the now silent man. He gave a small shrug as well. "It doesn't hurt anymore on daily basis, if that's what you think. It took about half the year to get rid of the pain, though. Another half for it to really function properly, since Mizuki had managed to hit quite close the verterbrae and the nerves around them. I was indeed lucky that night. Nowadays, not so much fuss about it. Although it does hurt like hell now, thanks to someone eagerly serving me a menu of feet and fists yesterday", he gave a dry smirk at the pale man. He didn't want to worry the other, but he knew that Kakashi had stared at him for just a second the previous evening when they showered after their last match before going to sleep. It was just a matter of when the curious bugger would probe the subject.
"Not to forget the service with a smile, eh?" Kakashi's voice gained again an amused tone, for which they were both grateful. They stood there, their aching knees bent, and the village around them filled the air with the day's noises carried over the fence.
"Kakashi-san."
"Hm?"
"..I can't feel my left leg anymore."
Kakashi dropped down and slid beneath Iruka's swinging leg, then stood up and whacked the man on the back with his both fists, thus sending the teacher stagger on the tatami mats. Iruka spun around with a growl and lifted his forearms to block the punches Kakashi delivered the next second, the jounin pushing the sensei backwards towards the nearest corner. The moment Iruka felt his back hit the wall he dodged down to the side as he could see the fist aiming for his head whiz through the air towards its goal. As he dodged, Iruka managed to punch straight at Kakashi's midriff, hence making the man double over as the air left him. Then the teacher lifted his leg and half pushed, half kicked the man away from him in order to get away from the wall. The pair fell silent, Kakashi leaning on his legs and Iruka heaving for air as he shifted his balance from one leg to another. Narrow gray eye examined the equally narrow brown ones.
"..Fuck." Iruka grimaced and suddenly collapsed on his knees on the floor while holding his sides with his hands. The pain was overwhelming, his already bruised sides throbbing with pure vengeance as they were once again violated. Kakashi was next to him in an instant.
Iruka saw the passing smile on those masked lips and knew that he couldn't do anything to stop whatever the jounin had in store for him.
The jounin landed a heavy blow with his both hands on the firm chest, taking the last wheeze of air out of Iruka's lungs. Iruka's eyes widened up and his mouth opened for a silent cry as he felt himself left without even a whiff of breath. Kakashi leaned down next to him, caught the man as he fell backwards towards the floor and slowly lowered the gaping chuunin on his back. Iruka gasped for air and for a moment the ex-ANBU really thought he had gone too far, but then the teacher again proved him wrong when he managed to pull in huge gulps of breath, his skin returning slowly back to its normal sunny color.
The alarm began its beeping.
"You...cheap...bastard.." Iruka grabbed the masked man's cheek and pinched it for all its worth with his trembling fingers.
"Maa...always go for the kill, sensei." The gray eye gave a dry smile.
They both had small books on top of their heads as they sat cross-legged across from each other, the sunlight dancing on the walls surrounding them. The rather flat look from dark eyes questioned heavily the quite sheepish gaze in the lone gray.
"This is ridiculous, Kakashi-san."
"...Well, you never know before you try."
"...And why did you want us to try this?"
"Saw it in a movie once. Wanted to try and see what all the fuss was about."
Iruka snorted, snatched the book from upon Kakashi's head and gave the silver-haired dimwit a good whack with it. While the surprised jounin gathered himself from the floor, Iruka stood up and slowly hobbled to make some tea, coffee and fish sandwiches as a small snack for them before their next match, his gray thermal clothes swishing as he made his way into their kitchen.
That crazy jounin will be the death of him one of these days.
They once again held the arms straight but this time gripping their joined wrists while leaning backwards and filling the air in the room with pained hisses and gasps. They could feel their backs and shoulders complain about the hell they've been put through and quite frankly knowing that they'd be experiencing that a lot in these upcoming weeks did put a strain on their already ambivalent moods.
"Shit, shit, shit this hurts...ow..ow..oww..." Iruka groaned and hung his head downwards, his eyes tearing as a particularly nasty jab shot through his system. A low affirmative growl reached his ears and he had to sneak a peek at the other's face, just to be sure he heard right.
Not many got to see a sulking Kakashi and survive to tell the tale.
Kakashi felt a small tremble on his arms and lifted his eye to find out just what was going on with his stretching partner. Only to face eyes filled with mirth and a twisting mouth biting on its bottom lip frantically.
That damn chuunin was laughing at him. Again.
"Something funny caught your eye, Iruka-sensei?" The icy look on that lone eye did sober Iruka's gleeful mind for a moment and the pain that had subsided just for a minute dashed for the chance it got. So instead of the bright laughter like the one on their previous evening, a suffering, low moan escaped the gasping mouth and Iruka's eyes squint shut as he grimaced. A small pressure was felt on his wrist and he gave a small nod to the man, not trusting to open his eyes as yet another moan rippled from his throat. His back had reached the very peak on its scale of pain apparently.
"Oh fuck, shit, holy kami that feels like twenty Narutos plowing on my back...no..make it forty."
"Don't tense up, sensei. You should try to feel only your muscles rather than the pain surrounding them. That way you won't sprain them and actually help them to become relaxed and pliant again. It will hurt like hell, believe me I know, but it's worth it. Just breathe and take it slow." Kakashi gave an assuring smile against the skeptic look thrown at him and he slowly leaned more back, causing them both to tremble more as their muscles struggled against the slow stretch they were forced to take. Iruka's hands clawed harder on Kakashi's as he tried to keep himself from falling to the ground. Kakashi was trying equally hard to gather his focus. Scratch being an ANBU, he felt like weeping like the three-years-old he was when he stumbled and hit his head through a shoji screen wall while sparring with his father. More out of humiliation than pain, but weep he did.
They stood still for a moment, both doing their best with their resentful bodies. Then they slowly pulled each other back up and felt their arms tremble as they let go. They shook their muscles and bent their sides cautiously for a moment before Kakashi strolled casually to the small alarm waiting for them patiently.
"Ready for the next round?" As the jounin set the time and put the alarm back on its place the resonance of silently running feet on the matted floor was all the answer he needed.
Iruka grabbed a hold underneath Kakashi's arm pits and bent the man's arms up and back while he planted his feet firmly on the ground. Kakashi twisted himself in the iron hold and then suddenly plummeted forward as he took hold of Iruka's wrists from behind his head. He rolled his back forward and threw the surprised sensei over his back down on the floor. Iruka continued his momentum after his back hit the floor and rolled away from the other man just as the pale fist whammed on the floor right where his shoulder was seconds ago. The teacher rolled quickly on his feet and dashed at Kakashi from the man's side, aiming a nasty punch at the man's hip but missing the blow as his target dodged backwards. They stood up and circled the room, keenly waiting for the opening they knew the other would present, one way or another.
Iruka was the first to spot one.
Kakashi felt his body hit the wall as he was surprised by the teacher's accurate kick. In seconds the chuunin was over him, landing blows on his blocking hands with such enthusiasm and strength that he was rather doubtful if he'd be able to hold his coffee mug the next days after their session. Iruka drew his fists back for the deadlier blow and Kakashi chose that moment to put his own hands into more convenient use. The pale hands shot out to drive in sharp jabs on both tanned shoulders under that white and already sweaty tank top, effectively reducing the speed of the oncoming blow and giving himself time to slip away from the teacher's fists. He rounded the chuunin, grabbed the man's ponytail and forced the now struggling man against the wall with a thunk. Iruka managed to shield his head with his arm as Kakashi pounded his head against the wall once, then he felt stinging pain as the sadist in question yanked him back from his hair and threw down on the floor. Iruka instantly shielded his diaphragm and his head with both his legs and arms, stopping Kakashi's fists before they made contact. The jounin gave an evil smirk over the trembling arms and legs, then he grabbed the crossed wrists and started to force them over the tanned man's head in order to pin them to the floor. Iruka glared the man with all his might and resisted his intentions, the hands being pulled and twisted amidst their game. Then the older shinobi added his body's weight on top of the still bent knees and Iruka choked in agony, his legs being bent further against his middle, pushing his body more into fetal position on his back.
The sudden knee pressing down on his now exposed rear was highly unexpected, though.
Iruka jerked against the intrusion and the moment he realized the man's plot it was already too late. Kakashi victoriously pulled the hands above the chuunin's head, took hold of them with his one hand as the other hand started to press against the spasming side presented to him while he bent the teacher's body into an arc on the floor. Iruka realized he was royally screwed the moment Kakashi's legs managed to push his own legs apart and the man settled between them on his knees, leaving the teacher open for the man to torment him. The jounin's knuckles dug deeper into his ribs and it took all his training for Iruka not to cry out in pain.
He would not crumble in front of this man.
No way in seven hells.
"You're quite something, sensei."
There was no way he could even snort for that line. Iruka twisted his arms against the hold, knowing he wouldn't last long in this position. He needed a plan. Fast.
The jounin knew he was in trouble when he spotted that gleam in the glaring eyes.
Iruka bent his legs once again, brought them rapidly against Kakashi's lower body and started to push them against the joints between Kakashi's hips and thighs, creating an enormously uncomfortable pressure against the tender skin areas as the heels dug mercilessly further into them. Kakashi's free arm flung to tear away the imposing limbs, but two legs against one hand was proving to be a challenge. As he felt the man shift his weight more on his one knee only, that way giving a little more space for the chuunin's other leg to move, Iruka saw his chance and snapped his foot sharply at the man's groin. A strangled sound escaped the masked lips and the violated jounin jerked upwards, feeling slightly disoriented due the burning pain in his trousers, and the next thing he knew were two blows on his jaw and then hands shoving him to his side on the floor as the body once pinned underneath him rolled hastily away. Collecting all the temper he had to offer, Iruka staggered up and delivered the cruelest kick he could ever pull into the stomach of the man laying on the floor. The jounin doubled over and small heaving sounds escaped his lips while Iruka swayed on his feet upon him.
The fact that he had apparently nailed the famous copy-nin for the second time slowly dawned on Iruka and he felt more than heard the small disbelieving chortle leave his lips.
The sound of alarm faded into darkness when the teacher saw the floor catch up to him as his mind shut down for a nap.
"..sei. Sensei."
The brown eyes squinted at the hurting light and tried to find their focus on whatever was disturbing his sleep. Iruka felt his throat to be dry, his lips been split from several spots and his temples throb.
"...Iruka-sensei?"
He didn't like that hesitating tone. Hesitating Kakashi meant Iruka with a headache.
"Really, sempai, give the man some air."
The snorting ANBU from yesterday. His headache became justified.
Iruka blinked his eyes slowly and after a moment they focused on two rather eccentric figures looking down at him, one with a black fabric mask covering half of his face while the other had his face completely hidden behind that unnerving porcelain mask. Talk about the inventiveness of shinobi fashion.
"..What..?" Iruka dared to cast a a look over the examining men and saw that they were in their bedroom. That and there was something probing his right leg at the exact moment his consciousness caught up with him. He lifted his head to give a better look at his leg. What he saw made both his blood boil and retreat from his suddenly pale cheeks.
He was missing his black slacks and thus he was laying on his back in nothing more than his black boxer briefs and damp white tank top while the seemingly amused ANBU was sitting on his other side and the other prick on the other, all the while taking Iruka's blood sample from the joint of his hip and thigh. Iruka did notice the bright green healing bandage on Kakashi's leg but that did nothing to lessen the homicidal urges surging into his mind and body the second he fully understood his situation.
It was a long month ahead of them and by all the things cruel and unholy he'd make the one-eyed dick's life a living hell during it.
As if sensing the seething sensei's speculations on how to make his peer suffer with unnecessary violence, the ANBU gave a polite cough and put his hands casually near the teacher's head. Iruka recognized the subtle warning for what it was and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. It wouldn't do to get an ANBU on his neck, after all, he was supposed to be a professional. The sting of the needle being pulled out caught his attention and he looked as Kakashi bound the bandage around his bruised thigh after sealing the vial with Iruka's blood in it, the heavy silence stretching between the three persons in their small bedroom.
"Sempai called for me to come and check if he had accidentally broken you, Umino-san." Was it him or did the ANBU sound very amused at those words?
"Huh?" Iruka heard his mouth join the conversation without the consent of his brain.
"He means that I was merely concerned if you'd used too much chakra and thought that since I couldn't do any excessive healing due to my own seal, it would be wise to call for someone else in case you needed more medical attention than just rest and painkillers, sensei." Kakashi huffed and glared at the snorting ANBU over the resting teacher, his next words slow and filled with a promise of pain. "And since Tsunade-sama was away in a meeting I had no other choice than to call for ANBU, as they are the only ones beside us to be able to enter here. Thank you for your time, kohai."
The ANBU gave a nod with a small chuckle, then stood up and gave a small look down at Iruka.
"You'll be fine, Umino-san. Just rest for a few hours and eat something. You still have chakra left, but your body is exhausted. Don't push it too much."
Iruka gave the man a slow nod, not trusting himself to sit up just yet, and he heard Kakashi give a small grunt as his reply. The masked ANBU lifted two of his fingers as a farewell and vanished. The silence between them two left in the room enveloped them and Iruka could feel the slow burning creep on his cheeks as he considered his vulnerable state. That and the fact that he had managed to present himself to the same frigging ANBU the second time while wearing only his underwear. If those talks about the importance of the first ten seconds when giving the first impression were true, the now cherry-red teacher was sure that the ANBU in question had no doubts whatsoever about his capability as a chuunin academy teacher.
He could never again scold the ANBU for stealing their weekend sake from the mission room.
It was Kakashi to snap Iruka out of his uneasy thoughts. The jounin tapped the chuunin's leg, gaining a rather dark glare from the man on the mattress, and gave the teacher a small placating smile under his mask, the mismatched eyes turning into brightly smiling crescents as well.
"Do you want your supper served in bed, sensei?"
AN: Ah, well, second chapter done. Digging for more bones! Chapter three coming up!
