"Iruka, meet my pack."
The brunette blinked as he took in the eight dogs that had been summoned. Bull carefully padded over to the biggest bowl. No wonder he fed the dog so much; it was almost as big as him! Kakashi sat as still as he could and caught his breath, so he didn't faint right then and there, that would've been embarrassing. He lightly patted the pug-like dog who had taken a seat on his lap, "Kak-Hound," he corrected quickly, "you should know better than to summon us in this condition."
"And let you guys starve? What kind of master would I be? Then I would have to listen to Bull's grumbling tummy and feel guilty."
"Idiot," the dog, presumably named Pakkun, growled. "Your health is more important than ours, especially since you don't even bother to care for yourself after getting injured! That's right, we can all smell the blood." Bull let out a small whine, and Kakashi sighed, deciding to change the topic of his injuries, "Iruka is here for that very reason, to take care of me for the time being. He did save my life a couple of days ago, so be nice." Pakkun hopped off Kakashi's lap and onto the chunin's who had been silently observing the interaction between the two.
The pug inhaled the brunette's scent, memorizing it quickly. Bad things seemed to always happen to those the idiot boy cared about, hopefully, it would turn out differently this time. Iruka let out a nervous chuckle as all eight dogs began silently sniffing him for no apparent reason. Honestly, the whole situation was just plain weird, it seemed almost anything involving the silver-haired ANBU was always weird or different. The brunette had never been surrounded by so many ninken before.
The pug cleared his throat after they all memorized the brunette's scent, "Allow me to introduce ourselves. I'm Pakkun, the big guy over there is Bull, the tan one with weird eyes is Urushi, the one with the mohawk is Shiba, Biscuit is the one with circular eyes, Uhei is the redish one, and slanty eyes over there is Guruko."
"I'm Akino," the remaining member with shades said casually. Iruka nodded and lightly shook the paw Pakkun stuck out, "I'm Iruka Umino, pleased to meet you." Pakkun was silent for a minute, "You're polite, unlike that brat over there." Pakkun gestured to the ANBU with distaste, "Sorry to leave so abruptly, but the idiot's chakra is gone and having us here is only going to make it worse." The pug took in the entity that was Iruka Umino, "I hope we meet again," he said quietly. Iruka was temporarily stunned at having heard the ANBU being called a brat. He chuckled softly, hoping the other hadn't heard what Pakkun had said. It only lasted a moment as he realized that the jounin had just used the last of all his remaining energy to feed his dogs.
The pack disappeared in eight poofs, and Iruka hurriedly walked over to help the ANBU up, wanting desperately to scold him like one of his students. Iruka decided to do just that, and hooked the ANBU's shoulder over his, "Do you have a death wish?! This destructive behavior is useless! How can such a high-ranking ninja like yourself not care properly for themselves? You're acting like a depressed teenager."
Iruka sighed when he received no reply and simply hoisted the other up, "I'm going to check your wounds since, truthfully, you shouldn't even be moving." The brunette sighed as he thought about the brief afternoon teaching session. He had been an idiot to let the advanced ninja harm himself further because of the belief that the jounin was indestructible. It was foolish; the ANBU was every bit as human as he was, and he was ticked at himself for forgetting that. Kakashi thought over what Iruka had said, he was like a depressed teenager?
He had hit the nail on the head about the depressed part, the other half wasn't exactly spot on, considering he was at least a couple of years older than the chunin. Kakashi gestured to the bathroom Iruka had been looking for, and he soon found himself sitting on the ceramic toilet seat as his shirt was carefully pulled off. Normally, Iruka would've been embarrassed about undressing another person, but he was so focused he didn't have time for the feeling. He quickly scurried out of the bathroom and went back into the kitchen to get the first-aid kit he'd been smart enough to bring. Iruka was back in record time to see the jounin still sitting quietly, only holding his book of make-out paradise. The brunette blushed slightly, and he got a washcloth out to clean the wounds Kakashi had left unbandaged the entire day. It was a miracle he hadn't started bleeding all over the place.
"Please leave these on this time, they really do help. I can redo them in the morning since I know it's a pain to wash in." Kakashi nodded lazily as he watched Iruka work carefully on the few stab wounds. He was a relatively quick healer, so he never really needed to rest as much as most. Kakashi was just too stubborn to give a shit about the condition of his body, pushing it to the limits so many times he was forced to have a caretaker.
After Iruka was done wrapping gauze around the ANBU's entire chest, he leaned back with a satisfied smirk and helped hoist the other up. Kakashi led them to the bedroom, which hadn't been exactly cleaned in a while, judging by the dust. Kakashi ignored the dust and headed straight for the bed, which contained only a comforter. Iruka looked around for a pillow and frowned when he didn't find one.
"I'll be back tomorrow morning, and I'll have you know I'll be pissed if I find you dead on the floor somewhere. So pissed off I'll somehow manage to bring you back from the dead just so I can kill you myself." Kakashi chuckled, not at Iruka, but from the way the brunette seemed to prickle at the laugh, it seemed he was misunderstood again.
"I'm sorry, sensei, I wasn't laughing at you. I just found it funny at the thought that I would most likely die in some random place."
"How is that funny?" Kakashi shrugged, smiling that fake coy smile behind his mask. Iruka examined him before turning to leave the Anbu's home. Iruka sighed as he swiftly put his shoes on. He looked over his shoulder for the final time, "I'll be back tomorrow morning." Iruka closed the door behind him, and Kakashi could tell the brunette's presence was no longer there after a few seconds.
The ANBU took off his mask and let it fall somewhere onto the bed. His wounds had a constant dull throbbing, and the ache of his body did nothing to allow him to relax. Even as he was lying in bed while in his own home, he would never let his guard down. It happened once before, a rogue ninja sneaking into his house while he was unawares, and that was a mistake he wasn't willing to repeat. Even with his worn-out body, he couldn't let himself sleep, knowing that if he did, there would only be nightmares. He took out his book and fully prepared himself to reread the masterpiece for the millionth time.
…
"Ne, Iruka-sensei, do you know that man from earlier?" Iruka turned to see Naruto guzzling down his third bowl of ramen. It was late, and Iruka had already eaten dinner with the ANBU, but for Naruto, it was never too late or too early to eat ramen. Iruka had been surprised to find the boy sitting outside his door when he got home from taking care of the ANBU. Seeing the lonely boy made him forget about the earlier punishment of no ramen.
"No, I can't say that I do. Honestly, I don't know what to think of him." Naruto grinned, "I like him! He's one of the only people who has been nice to me. One day, when I'm Hokage, both he and you will be my servants!"
"You want to make the people who were nice to you your servants?" Naruto blinked confusedly. Iruka laughed wholeheartedly, finally allowing himself to truly relax for the first time since he'd been in the ANBU's presence. He patted Naruto on the head, ruffling his blond hair, "I'll follow you wherever you go, Naruto, I believe in you." Naruto beamed, "Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" The boy spun off his chair and ran away from the shop.
"Wait, Naruto! Where are you going?!" Iruka sighed when he found no sight of the blond and paid for the boy's ramen. He thanked the cook who stayed past closing time to make Naruto the ramen.
"Anything for my top two customers!" Teuchi replied. Iruka smiled and thanked him again before exiting the shop. He thought back to the legendary ANBU. Why would such a great man not take care of himself? Iruka had seen the total disregard for health, even allowed it, and that made him angry at himself. He bit his lip and continued his walk home once more. How could he have been so stupid? The ANBU was injured, bleeding almost to death in front of him, and then he still let him teach a class of kids the very next day!
Iruka hadn't meant to be so snappy in front of the ANBU. Generally, he was a very calm, level-headed person. However, when he had been nearly abducted to care for a very uncaring ANBU who had no regard for his own life, he had lost control of his temper. Finding out exactly how much the ANBU didn't care about his own life, based on his house, had ticked him off even more. Iruka was getting peeved just thinking about it. He got attached very easily, and when he did, whether they were a friend or foe, he couldn't stand not helping them.
Thus, he became a teacher rather than continuing to go further in his ninja career. Iruka made his way back home and trudged into his small home. He still had no idea how the trap on his window was broken, which made Iruka more paranoid than ever, someone had managed to break into his home. Iruka was by no means weak, and there was no way he would not put fairly strong traps for his home. Maybe it was the ANBU that had been sent to pick him up. Who was he kidding? Of course, it was some type of ANBU; they didn't just let anyone care for their people. To think he had instinctively attacked one when they had come to take him away. He sighed, Cat would have been fully in the right for killing him for that stunt.
Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose, he had to stop being so negative about things; it never helped. He laid down on his worn-out couch and sighed, he still had to grade his student's papers. Iruka slowly got back up and rubbed his eyes as he skimmed over Sasuke's paper before marking the A at the top like usual, and he continued the same process until he got to Naruto's. He forced himself to look at the paper with only half-answered questions and grade honestly, marking a D- at the top. Iruka sighed, knowing exactly what the boy was going through. He laid back down in hopes of getting some sleep before he had to return to grading.
Iruka's eyes shot open as a shrill alarm pierced the air. He spun around, still disorientated and confused. Iruka ran to the room to shut the alarm clock off and cursed when he saw the time. It was 7:00 A.M and he still hadn't finished grading or completed his lesson plan for the week. He ran an irritated hand through his messy hair that had somehow escaped his ponytail while he slept. Iruka quickly gathered his things in his arms and reset his traps. He ran to the jounin's house, hoping that something catastrophic hadn't happened while he was away.
Iruka rang the doorbell twice, tapping his foot anxiously; he still had work to complete. The jounin opened the door a few seconds later and lazily trudged back to the couch where he had left his book.
"Good morning, sleep well?"
"I don't usually sleep," came the slow reply. The ANBU flipped a page of his porn, "You're off to a late start. From what I know, you're usually at the school by this time." Iruka shrugged and looked at him, "How much do you know?"
"Enough," the jounin drawled. Iruka frowned but said nothing and proceeded to cook breakfast while under the scrutiny of the ANBU. He wasn't fooled by the book. Sure, the ANBU could be reading it, but Iruka could feel the eyes trained on his back. Iruka worked quickly and efficiently, getting the meal ready in only ten minutes. He quickly set a piece of toast down, a bowl of miso, and a small piece of broiled fish. The ANBU closed his book and walked towards the table.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Iruka turned away and shoved the food down his throat much like Naruto would. He finished in minutes and gathered his things, not looking toward the ANBU.
"I'll be back for lunch. Sorry for leaving so quickly, I'm late." Iruka left for school, leaving behind a bemused jounin. Kakashi had been watching the brunette since he had set foot in his house. Iruka hadn't even had the time to comb his hair properly or change out of the clothes he had so obviously worn and slept in the day before.
"I'll see you soon," he drawled to no one in particular. Kakashi liked the sound of that coming from the chunin, a little more than he would have liked to admit.