AN: For those who haven't already realized where some elements of this story are slowly advancing to, I will warn you that even though the main focus is not on the sexual content but in the hilarious romance between two stubborn yet irresistible idiots (and also completing the Hokage's research on the side), the things will turn into more sexual kind as the days pass by towards the end of this peculiar research mission, and I when you read the warning for mature action in the author's notes at the beginning of the chapter, you know to anticipate it and then to cover your eyes when it suits you the best. Or your nose. Although, for those who are already anticipating that kind of action and got all worked up by the previous chapter, be patient since the time isn't right yet.

But I still hope that you guys enjoy this chapter.


Day 9: The chaos effect caused by an intervening ANBU

The rainy weather seemed to have decided to lengthen its stay over Konoha, and the villagers made their way in the gray dawn light while watching out for deep puddles and sudden heavy downpours that made the drainpipes flood and thus spill their content on the unfortunate ones passing them that moment. The children sploshed eagerly through every miniature pond they could step on on their way to the ninja academy and civilian schools, knowing that they'd get the scolding of a lifetime if their guardians ever saw them soil their rain gears, not realizing that even if the act itself couldn't be seen, the spilled mud and dirt on their coats and boots was enough of an evidence to grant them with a lecture when they'd be back home.

The ignorance of the innocent.

While fingering the tea cup in his hands, Iruka observed the pouring rain from the gaps between their bedroom and training room doors. At the sight of the graphite gay scenery, the tan chuunin gave a silent chuckle, knowing that Shikamaru was definitely having the shadowy hands full with his students at that moment. He could still remember how his classroom had looked like on his first year when he wasn't so accustomed to the devious minds of children, the first rainy day bringing the joys of muddy shoes and equally muddy hands leaving traces on every surface they could reach, making the space look more like a kitchen after a failed attempt to use explosive tags as cake candles than a room meant for diligent studying. He had screamed his throat hoarse that day, and even the neighboring classes had started to pay better attention to their tidiness after he had made his thoughts clear on making an unnecessary mess.

He admitted that it was highly recommended for children to play outside, and even he himself enjoyed making artificial 'lakes' by combining puddles to one another by tiny gutters crossing the yard with his students (he even taught geographical strategies occasionally in that way), but hell, they didn't need to recreate the said lakes inside the school as well with their soaked clothing.

He taught them water jutsus for that reason.

On the thought note of the fluid element, the chuunin felt a tic on his eyebrow. The fingers holding the cup tightened ever so finely on the porcelain surface, and the dark eyes, previously amused, now sharp and hardened, turned their attention to the evenly breathing, silver-haired occupant of their shared bedroom. He could feel his eyes droop from the lack of proper sleep, him having been over half of their night awake and keeping an eye on the obnoxious asshole who dared to sleep with no worries whatsoever concerning the harassed and highly homicidal colleague of his glaring kunais at his head a few feet away. A yawn broke out of his mouth, and Iruka gave a sleepy glance at his matcha, deeming the dose too weak to keep him from keeling over and snoozing to the next week.

Which he would very much prefer over the other, more realistic options he had to face.

Such as the ex-ANBU having been awake for the past fifteen minutes.

"...Morning." Ice felt rather warm when compared to the chuunin's voice.

After a moment's notice, the silvery tuft wiggled and a gray eye peeked over the covers to give him an unreadable look. "...Good morning."

Iruka felt his throat constrict around a bubbling growl, and the chuunin turned the primitive sign of aggression into the cold act of being civilized enough not to pummel the fucker to death right that instant with the man's porn book collection. "Coffee?"

The look in the gray eye became a speculative one. "...Thank you."

With that Iruka gulped down the rest of his green tea and stood up as gracefully as one could with sleep-deprivation, then made his tired way to the kitchen that bathed in the gray, pale light. He filled up the coffee maker's tank and then put the grains in to the opened filter before clicking the machine on, after which he helped himself with another cup of his own source of caffeine by opening the tea tin and taking the needed amount of tea powder with a tea spoon after filling the cup with the needed water, knowing that he needed something to keep his hands occupied now that the dickhead in the other room was up and about.

He would otherwise do something he might regret later on.

As the chugging and hissing of the kitchen machine filled the air and his hands stirred the spring green powder in the water with a tiny whisk made of bamboo, the academy instructor sensed the other man step silently in the dark corridor. Then the toilet door gave a soft click, and for keeping his nerves calm and steeled for such a long time through the last night and the current morning, Iruka bit his cheeks hard to stop himself from chortling at the hysteric thought of the copy-nin calmly finishing his morning routines before battling with his team member over morning coffee made by his future victim. Once having mixed his tea, Iruka rinsed the tiny whisk before putting it back in its place in his wooden tea box, and the teacher took a taste of the new cup, his tired mind twirling idly over the issue of relieving oneself while on duty.

Then again, it could make that perverted lazy-ass faster with his work when he'd perform his missions with a full bladder.

Tea never felt good when it was swallowed through the nostrils, and a tan hand was slammed on the choking mouth as the chuunin fought off a fit of coughs, his whole frame shaking with mute chokes.

The absurdity of their situation was apparently finally getting to him after the poorly slept night.

..Absurd. He wasn't sure if that word could cover all of the things he had passing in his mind the previous night, not to mention the previous days they've spent together on this mission. Having muffled the coughs away, the teacher gave an exasperated sigh with a glare directed at the grass green liquid. "Are you going to stare at my back the whole day or grow a pair and come and drink your coffee, Kakashi-san?"

The silver-haired nin appeared almost soundlessly at his side, and Iruka gave the other man a short glance from the corner of his eye. Despite having slept the night through, the eyes over the mask still managed to sport quite dark rings under them, and the teacher frowned at that discovery. The older man looked like he had been awake the whole night. Had he been deceived with the man's act? The jounin calmly filled his mug and took a long inhale of his black god of addiction, but the moment the gray eye snapped to answer his suspecting look, Iruka turned his own eyes away from the man. He could feel his arms tense up on the sense of danger, the anxious feeling taking over his muscles with every passing second with the older nin standing next to him. He knew they couldn't harm each other, at least not fatally, but both the killing intent and the response to it came naturally to them in stressful situations, all thanks to their training as shinobi.

What made Iruka's body more agitated, though, was that it wasn't the killing intent that was radiating from the pale-skinned assassin.

It was the same combination of hard, cold arrogance and threat that had been present during the chuunin nominations when they had had their first real argument.

"...Did you know that the most common reason for failed missions wasn't caused by the failed compatibility of the shinobis themselves, but that the assigned team and their captain couldn't merge themselves within the team, not being able to really use each other as their shared hands, legs and minds?" The low, even voice felt like a roar through the thick silence between them, and Iruka felt his body twitch in temptation to throw a punch at the man's tone. He had thought that they would have gotten past this phase in their friendship already. Apparently he was mistaken. Then again, that meant that he now had the permission to engage in this exchange of strikes with no remorse.

The brown eyes turned to face the piercing gray one, and the chuunin kept his voice calm and steady as his dark orbs narrowed into thin slits while the carefully chosen words dropped from his lips. "If I had known the way you treat your body and mind I would have refused to work as your partner on this mission, jounin-san."

The look in the thundering eye was cold and steel-hard. "You're not in any position to question my resolutions on this matter, Iruka-sensei."

Something vicious and hot curled in his gut, and without acknowledging it, Iruka stepped closer to the masked nin and fixed the man with a fiery scowl promising pain beyond the common sense of teacher's ethics. "What happened last night is all the reason I need to report you to Tsunade-sama and ask her to either intervene or intercept this research. That was unprofessional, unethical and deeply insulting what you did to me, and it's not the way one treats their team members, were they compatible with you or not. Especially when it's you, Hatake-san."

For some odd reason, Kakashi felt his temper turn darker at the younger man's words. "What this mission needs-" Suddenly the blazing, dark pools of intensely burning fire were staring right at him only an inch away and he could feel the warm breath of the mocha-colored man against his surprised masked face.

"This mission doesn't need your personal dilemmas to twist the results, Tsunade-sama doesn't need our disputes to wreck her precious work and as long as there's even an ounce of strength in my muscles and a capable tongue in my mouth I don't need to tolerate this fucking immature shit from you, superior or not. You're endangering our assignment only because you can't handle it when you're denied from something you want and you're forced to make an effort on the things you need", in the back of his mind, Iruka knew that he was giving the man openings more than he should, but both his mouth and body seemed to have made a pack for making his thoughts known at the one-eyed ass without the consent of his brain. The foreign gleam that slowly swirled in sight in the other's narrow eye was also making it harder to keep his lips in a safe distance from the other man's own, not to mention keeping his thoughts straight.

The argument he had meant to give at the lecturing man turned into a low, rumbling purr instead as Kakashi's thundering eye lingered on the full-lipped mouth that formed the scolding words, and after a beat the copy-nin realized that he had leaned his head closer to the temperamental man's angry face, now being able to smell the sweet aroma of the odd, intensely green-colored tea the man had meticulously prepared earlier. Somewhere in the parts of his mind which tried to keep the focus on the words the other was still spilling, he noticed the last notes turn into a shaky mutter and more felt than heard the final word brush against his masked lips.

Then...a snort was heard.

The silence between the now three occupants in the kitchen was tangible, and while he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and used the sheer willpower of a professional genin tormenter to reign in his urge to spin around and toss the water boiler at the assassin who was hidden behind the ever-annoying porcelain mask, Iruka felt hardly any doubt about how their situation had looked like at that moment in the eyes of the chronically ill-timing elite.

The man was doing it intentionally.

He was sure of it.

The ANBU gave a soft cough, undoubtedly in attempt to dissolve the heavy ambiance and failing terribly in it, and then took out a folded paper with a seal from his belt pouch and pointed it at Iruka's stiff back. "A letter to Umino-san. Hokage-sama believes it's from Uzumaki-kun."

"Naruto...?" Iruka gave a slow blink at the name that rang a chorus of five bells in his head. Then his muscles went into action and he swiftly turned around to take the offered paper from the armored shinobi. "Thank you." Without directing even a glance at either of the masked jounins in the kitchen, the tan chuunin strode briskly into the bedroom and closed the door behind him with a clear demand for others to stay out unless they wanted to count their teeth from the floor.

Both the former and the present ANBU stared after the dark-skinned nin in silence before Kakashi shifted his eye to regard the masked shinobi a few feet away. The kohai, after sensing his health being endangered, dared to answer the keen look in the thundering eye after a moment of hesitation, and since he was one of the few that had given the privilege to work with the infamous Hound, the unfortunate ANBU was adept enough in reading his senpai's body language to understand that he had interrupted something with his postal delivery and that his ex-colleague wasn't pleased about the possibility of him witnessing how the high-regarded, retired ANBU captain was being scolded about his bad behavior like a snotty academy student.

"I think we have some matters to discuss, neh, Tenzou", said the deep, rumbling voice with an echo of a rising thunder in it. "Coffee?"


As the morning slowly turned into early noon, the double doors to the shared bedroom slid open and Iruka stepped out into the training room with the unsealed, once again folded letter in hand. The chuunin listened the sounds of the house and noticed that at some point the rain had ceased for a while when he had been absorbed by the scrawny writing of his former student. Thinking about the letter reminded him to search for the older man, even though after the first encounter of the day he wasn't exactly looking forward to meet the Sharingan user. They still had matters to argue about, but perhaps the letter could ease the explosive tension they were currently having and make the bastard sane enough to continue with their task rather than risk their necks for Tsunade's punishments that were sure to land on them should they make things any more difficult for the fair-haired medic.

It also didn't benefit him if the man stayed alert for the whole day.

Resisting the demonic smirk that was threatening to display on his lips, Iruka opened the doors leading to the terrace and spotted the subject of his musings sitting a small distance away. By the looks of it it seemed that the ANBU had taken off and the jounin was apparently deeply lost in his thoughts.

"It's rude to stare, you know."

Or not.

Iruka gave an eye-roll and stepped to the terrace next to the sitting man. He sat down with his legs crossed and followed the other's gaze over the muddy yard and to the village around them, the nearby houses glistening with moisture on their roofs. Then he poked the older man's arm with the folded paper and gave the questioning look a small, timid smile without looking at the man. "Naruto addressed this to you as well."

The letter was taken from his hand, and Iruka listened as the paper was carefully smoothed open to reveal the news concerning the blonde bundle of chaos, havoc and mayhem they both had had the questionable honor to teach in the art of being a fine shinobi. The rain began once again, the light drips pinging against the already soaked roof tiles in the soothing melody of the beginning summer which filled the air between the two men on the chill terrace. Iruka could hear the breathing of his counterpart, and was also intrigued when a couple of louder sniffs escaped the masked jounin. Out the corner of his eye, he saw the dark gray eye being squinted in a way that resembled...happiness? Then the rustle of the paper made him shift his eyes away before the silver-haired nin looked back up at the rain.

"He's in good hands, it seems." The deep voice was warm and light.

"Seems so, yes", Iruka nodded and couldn't help but give a soft smile. "Even though I'm a bit skeptical if he'd ever stop using the sexy-no-jutsu now that he's been trained by one of the biggest perverts in Konoha's history." The following chuckle made his smile spread wider.

"Unlikely, unfortunately", Kakashi murmured and rolled his eyes in amused manner, knowing them both soon having their share on that peculiar skill. Then he shifted into better posture on the damp wooden floor with his hands on his lap, the pale fingers running along the edge of the worn paper, and gave the tan teacher a passing look. "But you still miss him and his antics, don't you." The statement clearly came out of the blue for Iruka, and Kakashi saw the dark eyes widen momentarily at the spoken words. Then a more brighter look took over the tan face while a small snicker escaped the younger man's mouth.

"...Yeah. I miss him too."

The dark brown eyes turned to give a wink at the unreadable gray. Then, a small chortle broke out beneath the dark mask and the silver-haired jounin bowed his head. He heard Iruka laugh lightly at his 'defeat', and the infamous copy-nin felt a more genuine smile tug his masked lips. As much as the boy had increased exponentially the amount of gray hair among his silver ones, he was glad to be acknowledged as the blonde's teacher by his village, moreover by the genin himself. If only-

"...We've all made mistakes with our students, yours truly in particular, and I have already said that you're a good sensei when all the things are considered." Kakashi snapped his thoughts back to present and was greeted with a sad smile on the chuunin's features. The academy instructor gave a sigh and shook his head, and after the brown eyes had given a lingering look at Kakashi's demeanor the dark-skinned nin fixed him with a more mischievous look. "I'm also not one to get involved with complete morons, even though you do your best to drive me up the walls every now and then."

Kakashi felt a small stir in his gut for the hidden compliment, and gave a pensive flip of the unfolded letter in his pale hands that have been accustomed to hold both dead and living in their grasp. "Good to hear that, sensei." The smile in the mismatched eyes was honest that time. Then the skilled fingers folded the sheet back into more compact form and handed it back to the other recipient. "It's good to hear from the boy as well. Even though half of the time goes in wondering if I'm holding the text upside down..."

"I thought that it wouldn't be a problem for you to read texts that are tortured to death as well as yours usually are." The nonchalant tone did nothing to hide the jab in the rich baritone.

"Actually, against the common belief, my handwriting is quite clear and neat."

The sharpened look was a clear warning for him.

"..I'll go get the bells."


"Maa, hold still, now-"

"It hurts, it really, really hurts!"

"I'd be surprised if it didn't. It appears that we really should have stretched more this section here-"

"Hindsight is a bitch and I'm about to slap one if you don't hurry with it!"

"Mind the language on your healer, sensei. I could make a slip."

"Healer or not, you're still a- KAMI!"

"That's the spirit."


As the pale, lean legs carried him out of the kitchen with a plate in each of his hands, Kakashi gave a small smile at the rumpled-looking sensei who sat waiting for him in the training room. "How's the shoulder?" A pouting huff was the answer, and the jounin had to stifle a snigger at the grumpy look on the other's face as he maneuvered the plates on the floor before sitting on the mat himself with his back against the other man. Iruka did give him the needed privacy for eating and had kept those dark eyes to himself quite well, but now the humid air made Kakashi want to lower his mask off completely for eating instead of constantly pulling it back and forth on his face. Even he himself got annoyed from it from time to time, and to be honest, he was a bit interested on how the other managed to ignore his most guarded secret so well.

"It's alright...I guess." Iruka gave the shoulder a tentative roll and winced as the joint that had nearly been dislocated gave a sharp twinge. "Emphasis on the guess at the moment."

"We have to be more careful with the other matches, then. You did injure it quite badly."

"I wouldn't have if a certain someone hadn't kicked me to the floor while I was still in the air."

"There's hardly any reason to accuse me for choosing a poor strategy." Kakashi pointed the teacher over his shoulder with his chopsticks and then twirled them in his fingers before piercing an innocent bit of a melon. "You make mistakes to learn from them, especially in combat training since the one who loses usually doesn't get a second chance in the real battle." The jounin regarded the brutalized piece of the light orange fruit for a moment. "...You'd be dead by now if I were your actual opponent."

He could sense the teacher lower the chopsticks on the plate.


The pale fists whammed against the wall in a rhythmical set resembling loud drums as they followed their frantically dodging prey, the tan man slipping away each time the hands reached the suitable range. Iruka dove down in a low crouch and with a strong push given by his legs against the wall, he launched himself at the older nin's middle torso and successfully tackled the man to the ground, ending them in a frenzied pile of limbs and grunts as they wrestled for the victory on the woven mats.

Kakashi reached his hands behind the already sweating, mocha-colored neck and pulled Iruka down as he rolled on top of the younger man, already settling his weight on the other in order to pin his opponent to the floor and get the chiming bell on the other's hips. Then the chuunin managed to surprise him and pull the lean legs between them and use them to push the copy-nin from above the other before rolling away and stumbling back on the seemingly hurting legs, not that the chased chuunin had any time to concentrate on the dull ache as the jounin was already moving towards him on the ground level, the man definitely aiming at the other's midriff. The teacher darted away from the man's range and used the nearby wall to run upwards it and then plunge himself over the other's head, ending behind the broad, sweaty back and assaulting it with his cutting roundhouse kick.

The jounin spun around to block the oncoming kick in a nick of time with his arms and then took a hold of the kicking leg, seized the shin and reached for the strong thigh in order to fold the leg by the knee and make the other nin lose the balance. Before he could perform that plan, though, Iruka's hands shot out to take a firm hold onto the pale shoulders and the pair stilled with Kakashi having a good grip on he twitching leg and Iruka having a bruising hold onto the copy-nin's upper torso, neither of them willing to let go. Slowly, Iruka increased the resistance in his captured leg and felt his muscles wail under the iron hold of the other man as he tried to twist free. Then, he pulled back his fist.

The sudden strike sent at his direction did make Kakashi lose his hold on the limb, and he ducked away from the following second hit, ending within a short distance from the stubborn assailant.

They stilled, both already sweaty, tired and panting from the day's fifth match, and both the gray and brown eyes darted to check on the set alarm.

Two minutes.

Their eyes met again.

Both the tan and the pale body went into action.


"Would you take the first shower turn, Kakashi-san?"

"Separate showers, sensei? How cold."

"You can only blame yourself for that since I'm not letting you anywhere near my naked ass after last night."

"Maa, you wouldn't be so cruel to deny the man his simple pleasures, now would you?"

The bathroom's double doors echoed with a loud wham as they slid between his head and the tan fist that was sent towards it, and Kakashi chuckled to himself as the outraged stream of colorful curses he could hear being muttered behind the closed door. The jounin stripped off the sweaty singlet and dropped it in the already quite full hamper with the rest of his dirty clothes. At the sight of the accumulating pile of their dirty clothes, the lightning user mused that they'd need to do the laundry soon again, otherwise they would have to include the results of a chemical war in the research. It wouldn't be pretty, he was sure of it. After having stripped completely, Kakashi turned his thoughts away from the aspects of misusing a pile of soiled clothes in combat and stepped under the warming water while listening as the rain's pattern mixed with the water that hit his body. He always felt content after a long day if he was given the possibility to wash himself, which was something he always argued about with his ninken who weren't so keen on getting any baths. The pale hands reached for the shampoo and the older man released a low purr as he massaged his scalp clean from the sweat and dirt, his mood lightening considerately at the promise of the new pillow Tenzou should have delivered on his bed by now-

Then it hit his nose.

As the water caressed his currently frozen muscles and the suds from the shampoo were rinsed from his hair, the jounin gave another sniff, only to feel a fluttering flock of butterflies invade his gut as the scent became clearer.

...It couldn't be.

The dark eyes were narrowed and Iruka bit his lips as beads of sweat trickled down his unmoving body. The tan hands were pressed against the bathroom's doors on the training room's side, and the silent shinobi had his concentration focused solely on the target behind the said sliding doors. He sensed the heavy rain pour against their ceiling, he could clearly sense the warm water of the shower flow on the white tiles, gather into puddles and then go down the drain, he could picture the droplets of warm water travel on the pale, taut body and he could feel the prominent bulge that was currently forming in his pants as his element connected with the electric current that for some odd reason was currently surrounding the other man, but he paid no mind on that detail.

After all, he had a naughty jounin to discipline.

The sun-kissed fingers tensed on the wooden surface as a smile not boding well to any deity nor mortal within a twenty mile radius crept on the full lips. Let's see how you like the life's irony, asshole. He let the last restraints fall from his emotions, and the moment his temper went up so did his arousal and for a moment the room spun before his eyes as he struggled to keep the rapidly losing control on his own body as the fundamental base of his being unleashed itself on the unsuspecting victim in the bathroom.

Still dazed from the unnerving scent that seemed to follow him everywhere nowadays, Kakashi backed off from the water in order to clear his thoughts, only to slip and fall heavily on his back with his hips still under the shower spray. A pained groan fell from the unmasked lips and the copy-nin felt his backbone give a mighty sting due to the hard impact with the tiled floor. A series of dribbles hit the copy-nin's skin and the gray eye turned to observe the falling miniature rain that descended upon him from the room's ceiling. He had fallen heavier than he thought to have caused that.

An ominous chuckle dropped from the dark lips. Too easy. A small pulse left from his fingertips.

A horrified yelp of pain and misery rang in the steamed up room as Kakashi felt his crotch freeze under the suddenly icy water, which also turned the still dropping water from the ceiling into icy rain hitting the rest of his pale body with glacial glee. The pale man rolled instantly on his stomach in order to protect his precious bits from the frosty death, only to get pinned to the floor as the water's weight took a turn into something reminding him of his most powerful water dragon jutsu, forcing the poor jounin down flat on his front under the violent shower. With his arms and legs trembling both from the struggle against the heavy stream and the chilled drop of the temperature, Kakashi painstakingly slowly managed to pick himself halfway up under the spray, the mismatched eyes glaring death under the soaked bangs at whatever it was that had decided to interrupt his sacred shower moment.

And he had a pretty good hunch on who that suicidal fucker might be.

Meanwhile, the tan culprit took a deep breath and wiped his face on his shoulder, only to realize that his tank top was soaked through with sweat and thus getting the confirmation that the occurrence was indeed connected to his element's character. With that revelation in mind, Iruka closed his eyes and noticed that the jounin had almost managed to sit up under the spray. The man was indeed professional, he could give him that. A grin that revealed a row of teeth splayed on the chuunin's face. Quickly, the nimble fingers moved up and down against the closed door.

The wet sploshing caught Kakashi's attention as he was about to get back on his feet, and as the irresistible scent once again assaulted his nostrils and made his head reel, a pillar of water suddenly gushed up in the air right next to him before exploding against the ceiling with a loud splash. The weighty shower was abruptly removed from his body and the copy-nin stumbled forward from the sudden sense of lightness on his muscles after having resisted the water's power so strongly. Not that he had any time to revel on that small victory, since the sploshing sounds suddenly multiplied on his right. As he turned his head towards the increasing sounds to see what was happening, he saw rapidly advancing three rows of violently exploding pillars rush towards him. Kicking his legs into action despite the stiffness that was taking them over due to the very cold shower, the ex-ANBU captain slid and scrambled on the slippery floor as the advancing pillars chased him towards the shower stall wall while he tried to stay out of reach for the freezing geysirs. The moment one sneaky, cold wave knocked his legs from under him and made him once more get an eyeful of the ceiling above his wet face, the pale man realized soon enough what was about to happen, and decided that death was too simple solution to get back at his current torturer.

The moment he sensed his slippery opponent slip, slide and fall on his pale back with a wet slap (oh, how he enjoyed the sound of that), the dark eyes flashed with a sadistic glint accompanied with a feral smirk taking over the tanned features. Time to scream, bastard. The series of shocked cries that followed the vicious pulses that were sent from his rapidly moving fingertips made Iruka moan in devilish delight. Although he had to bite his lips as yet another wave of delicious shivers ran over his own body when he made the pale jounin shout some more and the jounin's element abruptly lashed out at his own with a loud pang, this one almost enough to break his concentration on his element. As the following, way louder howl resonated from the walls around him and the ache in his pants gave a responding throb, Iruka remembered their last discussion with their Hokage, especially one specific fragment on the speculations the woman had presented them with.

"- - it might also be a personally projected reaction between individuals."

Pushing his focus away from the arousal that was doing horrible things at his boxers by the time the lightning user's sharply striking element had collided with his own for the third time in a row, the sizzling sensei took a better position against the door and then abruptly slid his hands to a one side of the dampened wood.

He could get back to that certain topic later.

Suddenly the water pillars were gone and Kakashi hissed in pain as he stumbled, fell and then staggered back up on his shaky legs, the pale body having been hit more than just a few times with very accurate blows by the violent gushes of water and, to his terrifying discovery, causing his own element to electrify himself in the heat of the battle. Heaving for air, the jounin leaned one shaky arm against the stall's wall and hung his head in exhaustion, an army of bright blue dots dancing in his field of vision. He should have known that the monster of a sensei had something planned in that demonic mind as nothing major had happened between them during the day, unless one counted the verbal brawl they had had that morning. Then, a sight of rapidly moving water on the floor caught his attention, and as a proud example of his notoriously curious rank, without giving it a second thought in his already hazy mind, the jounin turned to follow where the water was suddenly disappearing.

When he found out the roaring reason, it was already too late to dodge. Oh hell no-!

"HAAH!" The loud battle cry left Iruka's mouth as he swung his hands in wide curve across the door, only to hear his victim's equally loud yell inside the bathroom before the walls and the foundation of the the house shook as the tsunami he had managed to create by gathering all of the excessive water from the now flooded space hit the bathroom wall and nailed one jounin on its way. With a victorious smirk on the dry, sun-kissed lips, Iruka's body slumped against the door and beside seeing that he had managed to wet the doors to their bathroom with his shaking hands, he also noticed the drops of sweat that were on their joyful way of creating a hefty puddle under his trembling feet. The maneuver was clearly taking its toll on him, which he understood when he felt his throat to be dry and hoarse as sand paper. He would need some hydration soon, otherwise he was sure to collapse.

But damn he felt good.

After recovering from the disaster of a massage, he had spent some good hours of the night trying to figure out just how it would be the best to use his rebellious element for his advantage, and gathering all the information he had gained from the previous escapades had given him a few ideas worth trying. A strong throb in his pants snatched his attention away from the mauled shinobi in their bathroom and made his control on the shower's water slack for a fleeting second.

A bad mistake.

As soon as the chuunin noticed his counterpart move rapidly towards the doors behind which he was located, the wooden barriers were pulled wide open and before he could move even a third of an inch to escape, Iruka felt a strict grip take a good hold on his wet top and yank him inside the other room, the pull strong enough for sending him to slide on his side along the wet floor. Pale fingers that soon took a firm hold on his chin made his heart stop for a beat as the first wave of electricity hit his veins, and as he was forced to follow the tight grip to look up at the masked man who was currently leaning over him, a wave of heated tremors traveled down his body and his pulse sped up as a minor sidenote announced itself to his consciousness.

He was seeing more than just a gray eye.

Way more except for the man's lower face that was covered with a hastily wrapped towel, that is.

And far too close for having anything to do with the word 'chaste'.

He had already seen the other man's body during their showers, but only from the back and even then mainly just the upper part due to them being polite enough to use towels. But now that his eyes were forced to take in the fine specimen of male anatomy that was openly displayed before his eyes, he couldn't help his mind from categorizing the definitions that suddenly flooded his head with academic precision. The pale body was lean, well-trained and mouth-watering attractive on every imaginable scale the teacher could think of. Then again, the jounin's body was also bruised, exhausted, trembling with cold and downright ready to go on a rampage and inflict fatal damage on anything that happened to cross its raging path. Which just happened to be the one unfortunate academy teacher who was fighting a losing battle against his libido that did its best to convince him to get a better look at one specific and not so little detail on the pale man's physique that teased him in his peripheral vision.

Brilliant.

"Maa, Iruka-sensei, I'm sure someone must have warned you about the dangers of harassing naked people in the shower." The strike of thunder was clear in the deep voice that was slightly muffled due to the thoroughly wet towel covering the mouth, and it didn't take long for Iruka's ears to pick up the ominous buzz that was already getting louder with every passing breath between them. The flush of heat hit his cheeks, and he could feel his nether regions snap into wanton attention as the first and more pronounced pinch of electricity teased his inner thighs.

Suddenly, somewhere behind the murderous copy-nin's back and behind the closed door that led to the corridor, a shift in the air made them both still on the spot. Iruka could feel the pale fingers tighten their hold on his chin as a flash of frustrated indecision passed the piercing, gray orb.

"Sempai? Umino-san?"

The ANBU.

Iruka swore he would attack the man in the near future if this kept on happening.

The silver-haired, currently soaked and well-chilled jounin shifted the hold he had on the chuunin and before he knew it, Iruka was promptly pulled back up on his trembling feet and then unceremoniously pushed out from the bathroom to face the bewildered other jounin who stood in the dim-lit space that led to their kitchen - and was holding a pristine white pillow in the armored hands.

Iruka heard the door slide shut behind his back and the shower turn back on, but as he realized how he himself looked like at that moment, the relief of avoiding the electric shock was short-lived. He was dripping wet from head to toes, there were imprints of strong fingers still left on his jaw, he was sure to still sport a very vivid blush on his cheekbones, and according to the heat still lingering in his loins, his arousal was quite lively underneath his now wet slacks that clung to his skin and were udoubtedly leaving very little left for the imagination. Now, when a person gets into a situation where the only outcome will ever be the one resulting with the joys of mortifying awkwardness despite all the efforts the ones getting into the said predicament might perform, the unfortunate individual usually strives to preserve at least one solid factor to help them to get through the embarrassing events with the relative sense of dignity that is directly connected to maintaining the relative delusion of sanity.

"...Good evening, ANBU-san. May I ask what brings you here at this hour?"

For Iruka, it was his manners.

The ANBU gave his whole persona a slow look before giving an equally cautious nod as a silent greeting. Then the man lifted the pillow better in sight, clearly offering it to the teacher. It seemed that the young academy instructor wasn't the only one feeling a bit uncomfortable with the current situation they were in, despite the already numerous moments when the ANBU had seen him in less clothing than a thoroughly wet tank top and soaked black slacks. With that thought in mind, Iruka did feel his spirit lighten up a bit. As embarrassing as the interaction between him and the porcelain-masked assassin had been so far, it couldn't the man's fault to have a horribly bad sense in timing. Though for the shortest second the teacher hoped that the same quirk didn't apply in combat. Shaking off the odd thoughts from his mind, the chuunin offered the man a quick smile as he strolled past the other to make himself some calming tea and to also prepare some coffee, the bronze-skinned chuunin moving as normally as one could while wearing clothes that were glued to the skin and sporting a slowly passing erection that kept scraping against the wet fabric on each step. He really needed something to drink, and Iruka was fairly sure that a certain pale-skinned jounin was also in need of one steaming hot cup after the man had finished with his shower.

That and their mission still needed two people to complete it, and he wasn't too keen to probe on the subject of getting painfully aroused to death.

"You can go put the pillow on Kakashi-san's bed, I'm sure he knows what to do with it afterwards." The teacher turned his head to give a bit warmer grin at the ANBU who nodded and went to their bedroom, soon joining the honey-toned nin back in the kitchen after the delivered lump of feathers was plopped on his sempai's mattress. Iruka dug out his tea sieve and a pouch of oolong, and for a passing blink remembered it being the first tea the infuriating bastard had brewed for him during their stay in their current accommodation. A tiny twist in his gut made the teacher worry his lower lip as the blush arose back on his cheeks, but soon the strange feeling passed and the tea was measured in the sieve before setting to steep in the warm water.

"How's sempai treating you, sensei?" Without him even noticing it, the ANBU had managed to step very much closer to his back than the man was a second ago. The quietly presented question made his hands still on his cup, and the sounds of pouring summer rain created an intriguing noise pattern with the chugging of the hard-brewing coffee maker next to him.

Then, Iruka turned to give a look over his shoulder at the white mask peering at him. "We're doing well, against all odds. Relatively speaking, at least." The look in the dark eyes narrowed. He didn't like the tone in the other's question.

The ANBU nodded and then turned his masked head slightly to look over his shoulder down the corridor before shifting his shadowed eyes to regard the wary sensei. "He can be a handful occasionally, but he's a good shinobi, sensei." The voice of the assassin was amused and warm, light even, but that didn't lessen the odd feeling that had started to settle in Iruka's gut. What was the man aiming for?

With a frown, the teacher turned his attention back to his cup and removed the sieve before taking a testing sip of the sweetly smelling liquid. "True. I'd say he's an excellent shinobi, ANBU-san." The man's presence hit on his body the instant he realized that there were hands resting on his both sides on the counter. He could hear the muffled sound of the masked man's breath puff against the porcelain mask, and as the rain banged even louder against their ceiling, Iruka was sure that he could sense the man sniff his skin.

"..He's also a man, sensei", said the now hushed voice right next to his ear, and to his unpleasant discovery Iruka could feel the other settle almost flush against his back. What made alarms go wild in his head wasn't exactly the man's quietly whispered words, though.

It was the very distinctly interested set of male genitalia pressing against his ass.

Forcing his surfacing reflexes to stay put, Iruka curled his fingers firmly around his tea cup, hearing the porcelain crack ever so subtly under the slowly added pressure. Not that the other seemed to take the tiny hint.

"...I ask you to step back now, ANBU-san." His murmured warning was carefully pronounced and weighed.

Not apparently paying any heed at the chuunin's threat, the man pressed him more against the counter and Iruka let out a quiet hiss as his hurting muscles were pinned against the hard surface. Luckily his own misplaced arousal had subsided already as the remnants of the stinging electricity had died away from his system, otherwise it would have been more than just a hiss escaping his mouth. While taking a deep breath, Iruka focused his glaring eyes on the yellow-tinted tea. Either the ANBU enjoyed the idea of a challenge when closing in on his targets or the man was missing a shuriken or two in his mental holster. A warm gust of breath ghosted against his neck, and for the first time in his life, the chuunin wished he had his chakra reserves so that he could take on the intrusive elite shinobi, not caring if he would go down burning.

"Are you, by any chance, taken yet..Umino-san..?"

The first crack appeared in the tea cup as Iruka felt his lungs dysfunction at the surprising yet apparent suggestion. The ANBU continued, the light voice puffing moist air against his now burning neck as it repeated the question. "Are you?"

"Nope. He isn't."

Iruka felt the ANBU's body stiffen completely against his back, and he could only stare numbly at his cup as the deep, hard voice resonated through his figure. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed how the hands trapping him against the counter twitched ever so subtly as Kakashi calmly continued to elaborate on the currently discussed matter. "Iruka-sensei isn't currently taken by anyone, kohai. Not you, not me, and I suggest that you drop that intention unless you want to see what a stray lightning bolt can do in a confined space."

Quietly, the surrounding hands retreated from the counter and after a moment's silence a pop echoed from the spot which just a second ago had a busted ANBU. Releasing the breath he had been holding, Iruka let his fingers slack around the almost shattered cup. Sensing the older man's eye stare at him behind his back didn't put him completely at ease, though.

"Are you alright, sensei?" The tone was unreadable, but the chuunin could bet that the look in the gray eye was concerned on some level.

He gave the silver-haired man a curt nod and relaxed his body with a couple of deep breaths. "That was rather...unexpected, one could say. Caught me by surprise."

A pensive hum carried through the tense ambiance as Kakashi stepped next to him to the counter. The look in the gray, narrow eye became noticeably surprised after a moment as the man noticed the bitter aroma that wafted in the air. "You made me coffee?"

For a reason he didn't feel like venturing at that particular moment, Iruka felt a hot blush take over his scarred cheeks and he gave his nose an embarrassed scratch. "Ah..well..yes. I thought you might..need it..after the shower.." He had already forgotten why it wouldn't be wise for him to stay in the same room with the eccentric lightning user due to the wooing assassins dressed in way too skin-tight spandex pants, but now that he remembered, his alarms went into a frenzy for the second time that evening. Scratch being almost molested by a horny ANBU, he would soon get tortured to a pained yet undeniebly well pleasured death by an electric current the moment the infamous ex-ANBU wanted to make him pay for his latest stunt.

The evil gleam that took over the gray eye was all the confirmation he needed for preparing himself for the jounin's undoubtedly inventive penalty that was awaiting him.

"Well, thank you for that gesture, but you still owe me a massage."

"...What?"

Inventive indeed.