Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Dreams ❯ Chapter 8

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Part 8

"What does he think he'll find?" asked Iruka.

He was sitting on the cement steps outside the school's main office. It had taken less time to get Sasuke enrolled than he'd expected, namely because the boy didn't have any information for them to put on file. At least, none he was willing to share.

The only hitch had come before they actually entered the building. Kakashi had offered use of his last name, in a sly tone that made Sasuke flash him a sharp black glare. While the board understood that some mutants might not have full details to give for their records, they did require a full name. Proof of identification wasn't necessary. It was more a matter of them having something to call the students since all of the professors defaulted to last names. Iruka was quick to remember Naruto's complaint last night and would have offered the use of his own name as an alternative if he hadn't suspected Sasuke would glare at him as well.

In the end, Sasuke had given a name of his own, Uchiha. Iruka was sure it was his real name because Kakashi had looked startled, then sober, and he hadn't said a single teasing word about it. Iruka hadn't said anything, either.

It wasn't until they'd started back out of the building that Sasuke looked up. Other than answering questions in the office, he hadn't spoken since breakfast. So when he suddenly said he wanted to explore the town on his own, and that he'd be back before dark, Iruka let him go with a nod, just saying to give anyone his name if he happened to get lost. It was a small town as far as the population went, but there were nearly as many derelict lots as there were inhabited ones.

Iruka had sat down on the steps and watched the boy walk off down the sidewalk. He was giving him space and freedom, something Naruto had demanded so often in the beginning that he took it for granted now. It was a good town. He'd be fine. And this way if he ended up looking around the popular streets first, he'd have a head start. The last thing Iruka wanted was for them to show up right behind him, as if they were stalking him.

But still, there was something about the way he'd asked that was different from Naruto's eager 'let me explore' pleas. It wasn't just that he'd wanted to be left alone.

Iruka glanced to the side, to where Kakashi was leaning casually against the thin black rail, "Does he think he'll find something by himself that he wouldn't if he went with us?"

"Oh, sure," Kakashi smiled. "He won't stop till he's noted every potential hiding spot in the place. By the time he's done, he'll have memorized the streets, buildings, shadows, cracks in the sidewalks, stray animals, you name it."

He caught Iruka's doubtful and concerned expression. His smile widened until his visible eye curved shut. "Hope you weren't planning anything for tomorrow. He'll be so wired by the time he gets back that he'll be up half the night and then crash till noon."

Iruka's eyes widened, "Maybe I shouldn't have-"

"Ah, don't worry," Kakashi waved, pushing away from the rail, "he's Sasuke. He said he'd be back before dark and he will. He's not big on lying. He'll just want to check out the house when he gets back, finish up his sweep. Very thorough little brat." He let out a laugh, "Just try to find something else to keep him occupied before he gets it in his head to tackle those fields next. Or the mountains."

Iruka really wanted to believe Kakashi was joking. Despite how amused he sounded, Iruka didn't think he was. "The school doesn't keep digital records. It should be difficult for anyone to track you here."

"Should be," shrugged Kakashi, "but they're mutants, too, you know. They'll show up eventually, he'll be ready for them, and you won't even notice till he comes limping home. The brother's got this rule about never involving bystanders - the brat follows the same thing. First sign of trouble and he'll head for the fields. This is the perfect place for that sort of thing."

There wasn't anything Iruka could say to that. He was still coming to grips with the idea that Sasuke was every bit as 'hunted' as he'd looked when he first saw him. Kakashi had told him some of it over the phone, just enough to warn him that while the kid was overly paranoid, he did have a valid reason to be. Iruka's first reaction was to keep an eye on the boy. If no one would attack unless they got him alone, he'd simply make sure Sasuke was never alone. Except he couldn't, because that was the same as caging him.

"Enough about the brat," Kakashi said suddenly. He flashed a smile, bent down to catch Iruka's wrist, and pulled him up. "How about that tour?"

"What," smiled Iruka, "you don't want to go off exploring on your own?"

"Na, I leave that to the angsty antisocial teenagers. I'm a social animal," Kakashi beamed. "Good company is so hard to find, I have to take advantage of it."

Iruka let out a short laugh, "I'm a counselor, just a step away from teacher. The only difference is a small pay increase and my kids don't get graded. I'm more about listening and lecturing than being good company. If you ever need a sympathetic ear, that's what I'm here for. Beyond that, I can't make any promises."

He glanced over to find Kakashi looking at him funny. It wasn't the man's expression so much as where he was looking. He wasn't looking at his eyes, or his face, it was more like he was staring at-

"You do have very nice ears," Kakashi said agreeably. He smiled widely when Iruka sputtered for a second and then laughed. The telephone laugh. Soft, husky, a little breathless at the end, and entirely natural. Maybe Iruka didn't reserve it for the bedroom, but Kakashi still liked the sound of it.

Iruka shook his head with a smile and waved to direct Kakashi's attention to a wide low gray building down the block. "That's the bus station. It stops there every hour, but no one really waits there. If you ever want a ride, just stand on any corner and it'll pick you up when it makes its round. From three to five during the school week it only carries students. Its normal hours are six to eight, noon to five on Saturday. It doesn't run on Sundays.

"There are two groceries," Iruka continued. "One on main street and one on 37." He nodded to the road they were walking alongside. "This is 37. If you follow it, it takes you out of town and winds all the way to the airport in Sisco. There's another bus that makes the run, but you have to buy a ticket at the station for that."

Kakashi didn't think that was a hint, but he managed to look wounded anyway, "Are you trying to get rid of me already?"

"Of course not," Iruka blinked.

"Trying to get me to go grocery shopping?" Kakashi asked, as if that was even worse.

"No," Iruka said quickly. Was that the way he'd sounded? "I was just going in order of the places I thought would be most relevant. I wasn't trying to suggest-"

Kakashi smiled suddenly. Iruka stopped talking and sighed.

"Cute," Iruka said, shaking his head. "It's a small town. I didn't really plan an itinerary. I don't know what interests you, so I was going from basic to particular. For example, there's a little health food store on Franklin - I love it, Naruto hates it, they barely get enough customers to stay in business, but I would have mentioned it eventually just on the off chance you liked that sort of thing." He gave a weak smile and shrugged. "Is there somewhere you'd like me to take you first?"

"Your bedroom?"

Iruka froze as if he'd heard a gunshot and wasn't sure if he'd been hit or not. Kakashi winced. Maybe he shouldn't have said that quite so quickly. The eager, hopeful tone did make him sound a little desperate. But Iruka was the one who'd asked, so it was only natural that he tell the truth, right? Not that Kakashi had ever been as big on the truth as Sasuke was, but he had his moments. And it really wasn't his fault that the bedroom was the first place he thought of. Iruka's embarrassed little smile was too endearing for his own good.

After a moment Iruka turned his head to look at him. Kakashi forced himself not to laugh at the man's expression. If he laughed now he'd have a heck of a time convincing him he was serious.

"Are you seeing anyone?" asked Kakashi.

Iruka blinked slowly and squinted. Naruto squinted all the time and swore that made it easier to see things clearly. It wasn't working for Iruka. Kakashi's tone was as casual as if there had actually been a segue into that. Of course he wasn't serious. That wasn't even a question. Only sleezy men hit on him like that and it was always accompanied by a sweaty palm and a smarmy smile. And it absolutely never happened in public. This was another pokerfaced joke like the shopping bit. He walked into those so often he didn't even bother to blush when the inevitable punchline was given.

He forced a polite smile onto his face and met Kakashi's eye. "As a matter of fact, I'm not seeing anyone. Maybe you noticed that Naruto doesn't...take to strangers much. I'd appreciate it if you didn't make jokes like that when we go back. He gets himself worked up enough without provocation."

So much for not laughing. Kakashi dropped his straight face and smiled instead. The second he did it, Iruka visibly relaxed as if he'd just been waiting for that. Kakashi gave him a good minute to feel comfortable again, then he stepped forward into his personal space and nudged the headband up off his left eye. Iruka gasped at the sight of the sharingan, and he caught a firm hold on the man's shoulders before he could back away. He simply held him in place and smiled as he looked at him.

Iruka's energy signature was a vibrant blue, layered and swirling, with a thin sickly shadow on the edges from whatever drug had left him dazed that morning. And his only talent was simple healing? He was a much better liar than Kakashi had given him credit for. He was also ridiculously obtuse.

Kakashi's smile widened slowly, "I'm not making a joke, Iruka. You want to know what interests me? You interest me. What sort of things I like? Well, I'll like anything you allow, and I'll make certain you like it, too." He eased closer, just enough to murmur in the frozen Iruka's ear, "I'm very good."

Iruka snapped suddenly and shoved him away. Kakashi let him go, pulling the band back over his left eye and keeping his smile. Iruka's face was so red he almost felt sorry for him, and his indignant, horrified, and shocked sputtering didn't even border on coherent.

"You...! That - without even - and to....!"

Iruka cut himself off and dropped his head, curling his fists over his ears for one shaking moment to center himself. Then he snapped his arms down and glared so furiously Kakashi took a startled step back. Iruka stalked forward, forcing him back further until he was standing on the curb. The shocked look in Kakashi's eye was rewarding, but not nearly rewarding enough.

"We're on the sidewalk!" Iruka roared. "In public! Two blocks from the school! From children, from Naruto! What the hell were you thinking!"

Kakashi stared wide-eyed at the vein throbbing on Iruka's temple. He was suddenly very aware of the trickle of traffic passing on the street two feet behind him. There was an old man sitting on a porch swing two houses down, smoking a pipe and leaning forward with an eager, vulture smile as if he were just waiting for Iruka to push Kakashi into the road. Small town didn't mean dead town, Kakashi realized.

So maybe Iruka had a right to be a little upset. This wasn't 'a little upset', though. This was actually kind of frightening. That mildmannered infinitely teasable mothering schoolteacher type had fire in there. If it hadn't been so scary it would have been sexy. Iruka would definitely be great in bed. Kakashi kept that observation to himself for the moment. He'd learned his lesson. Time and place. On the sidewalk in public two blocks from the school wasn't the place. Yes, lesson learned. He was ready to go sit in the corner now.

Iruka shuddered a little, his teeth clenched as he built up steam to continue his rant. He was cut short by a hand clapping down on his shoulder.

"Are you taking adult students now, Iruka-sensei?"

Kakashi blinked and marvelled at how casualy the stranger asked that, as if he'd seen Iruka explode so many times it wasn't a horrifying and shocking sight anymore. He wondered how long it would take him to get that immune to the venomous glare Iruka snapped on the man.

"You stay out of this," Iruka spat.

"Now, Iruka," the man sighed, smiling calmly in the face of that glare, "do you really want me to cuff you in front of the elderly? You're a little old to be disturbing the peace. Why don't you leave that sort of thing to Naruto, eh?"

Iruka glowered resentfully as the tension drained out of him, leaving his shoulders slumped. He shot a look at Kakashi and his eyebrow twitched. He hadn't caused a scene on a public street like this since he was twelve. It was humiliating. And that was the entire reason he'd gone off in the first place - being publically humiliated. Oh, Kakashi had no idea how lucky he was Hiko had stopped him before he committed murder in front of voyeuristic neighbors.

"Kakashi-san," Iruka said tightly, not even attempting a polite smile, "this is Hiko, volunteer constable." He looked at the officer - who'd once dragged him by the ear and locked him in a closet for fifteen hours after he caught him in a 2am yelling match over who'd broken the most car windows - and glowered darker. "He's staying with me."

"Really," the man blinked. He turned appraising eyes on Kakashi and grinned. "You're either really brave or really smitten."

"Both," Kakashi smiled back.

All of his confidence slipped back into place, and he shook hands with the other man. He decided he liked him. He was rough looking with shaggy sandy blonde hair kept out of his eyes with a dusty blue bandana, and pulled back in a thick tail so loose half of it fell around his face to his shoulders. His eyes were pale blue, narrow, and he had a weathered face, tan with a hint of stubble and an easy grin. He was the same height as Iruka, but his build made him look more like someone who fought with his fists, a bouncer, than a street cop in a tiny nowhere town. He wasn't wearing a uniform, either.

"How about we get a drink," Hiko said, turning to smile pointedly at Iruka. "I've got plans tonight that don't include making a visit to your place with the coroner later."

Iruka's eyebrow twitched again. Kakashi was smiling at him as well, looking as content and easy going as he'd been an hour ago. That just wasn't right.

Iruka glared sullenly at Hiko, "Aren't you on duty?"

"Took the day off," Hiko smiled. He prodded Iruka on the back, turning him and poking so he started walking. Kakashi followed pleasantly.

"How were you planning to cuff me, then?" Iruka scowled, unwilling to let go that easily. An arm swung at the back of his head, and he blocked it with his wrist. His eyebrow twitched again at Hiko's smile.

"Different kind of cuffing," said Hiko. He flashed a look at Kakashi and jerked his head toward the fuming Iruka. "Cute when he's sulking, eh?"

"Very," Kakashi beamed back.

Iruka stopped walking and wheeled around. He marched himself in the other direction and made it all of four steps before an arm caught his elbow and turned him back around. Hiko was still smirking, but there was too much steel in his eyes and grip to do more than continue glowering. Fine. So he'd join the two idiots while they drank. But he swore if he found fingershaped bruises on his arm later, he was going to sic Kyuubi on him. And this time he wouldn't step in the second it looked like Naruto was winning.

.-.

Considering how quaint and small the town was, Kakashi was rather impressed by the bar. It reminded him of a disco club he'd been to in Cuernavaca, only emptier. There were three stories, the top being off limits, the bottom floor consisting of a bar on three sides and a dance floor in the middle. The second floor was a balcony set directly above the bar and open with a rail where people could stand or choose a table close enough to look down at the dance floor. They even served Mexican food, though it wasn't nearly as good or cheap as the real stuff.

The best part of the place was the hostess, a half naked knockout who somehow managed to make her tanned skin look good with a fluffy tail of pale pink hair. If Kakashi hadn't already set his sights on Iruka, she definitely would have been on his list. At least she would have been up until Hiko elbowed him in the side and directed his attention to the blonde giant frowning at him from the other side of the bar. Taken. That figured.

She was still nice to look at, and really friendly, too. The first thing she did was put her hands on her hips, exposing a long expanse of belly between her tight top and too short skirt, and told Hiko he'd better not plan to get Iruka so drunk he passed out again or she'd kick his ass. Kakashi liked her immediately. They had some surprising characters here, for such a small town.

Two hours later and he liked the bar, the owner, her broadshouldered boyfriend bodyguard, Hiko, and the town a whole lot more. They were all eager to talk about Iruka and between his talents and that surprisingly short temper, there were a lot of things Kakashi wanted to know. The fact that Iruka was a happy divulging drunk didn't hurt, either.

"I was awful," Iruka winced, grinning painfully, "you wouldn't believe it. Naruto's never done anything half as bad as some of the things I used to do. I have to go easy on him. Have to. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't."

"I wish I could have seen that," Kakashi sighed. The explosion earlier gave him an idea, but Iruka was so reserved and polite it was hard to imagine him as a wild child. Especially a wild delinquent child.

"I got pictures," Hiko offered with a wide grin.

Iruka shot up straight in his chair, "No! No way, that's where I draw the line. I already know what he'll say and I do not want to hear it."

"Oh, come on," Hiko prodded playfully. "It's not that bad."

"Yes it is," said Iruka, quite seriously. "You'll just encourage him."

Kakashi perked up at that and caught Iruka's eye. They were sitting across one of the smaller tables from each other or he would have tried poking him. He was so cute like this!

"Encourage me to do what?" asked Kakashi.

Iruka shot him a droll look, "Like you don't know..."

He was flirting with him! He was actually flirting. Kakashi's smile widened, but a small twinge had him sending a quick look at Hiko. He didn't want to ask. Really didn't want to. He had to.
"So," Kakashi drawled, "how drunk is he?"

"Not enough," Iruka answered before Hiko could open his mouth. He pulled his half filled glass closer to himself and gave Kakashi a narrow-eyed look. "Don't get any ideas."

Kakashi blinked, once more bemused by how endearingly cute a bristling - but clearly tipsy - Iruka could be.

"That's his last one," Hiko shrugged. "Three of those, five if it's beer, or two shots of the hard stuff and that's it. Have to cut him off there or he won't be able to sleep."

That was a decidedly odd statement. Kakashi might have asked about it if Hiko hadn't pulled out a tattered wallet and slid it across the table toward him. Iruka jolted and went to slap a hand over it. Hiko caught his wrist at the last second and pulled him back like a naughty child.

"Now, Iruka," Hiko smiled, "think about it. Are a few pictures going to make much of a difference? He already hit on you in public."

Kakashi pulled the wallet toward him, enjoying the way Iruka's glower followed his hand. Those sharp brown eyes flicked up to him, and he smiled until his eye closed.

"You say one word and I'll deck you," Iruka promised. "I haven't looked anything like that in years. Obviously. I'm a grown man."

"You're still cute," Hiko apologized. It would have sounded more legitimate if he hadn't been smirking. "You're just not as pretty and fragile anymore."

"I hate you," Iruka deadpanned. "Just the fact that you keep those in your wallet is disturbing. Pedophile."

"Hey, now," Hiko winced. "Tenka's my son."

"That's even worse," said Iruka.

Kakashi sent them a curious look and then opened the wallet to flip through the laminated photos. The first ones were of the same two women, one of which looked like she was related to Hiko. The boys were in the middle of the set. Kakashi's mouth dropped open so suddenly he had to readjust his mask to keep it from slipping down. Pretty and fragile. He definitely agreed with the pretty part, but the kids in the photo didn't look the least bit fragile. They looked like, well, Iruka looked like he was a harlot or something. The other kid was dressed in chains and black and looked like his pimp. If not for the telltale scar over the long-haired boy's face and the fact that Iruka had already exploded on him once that day, Kakashi would have laughed and passed the pictures off as a really funny joke.

He flashed a peak at Iruka, found him staring back with narrow eyes and pursed lips, and looked down at the photo again. There was definitely a resemblance. And Iruka was right, he didn't look anything like that. The kid in the photo was Sasuke's size, effeminate enough that he might have thought it was Iruka's little sister, and the skirt...

Kakashi ventured another look at Iruka, his lips twitching, "Halloween picture?"

"Yes," Iruka spat, glaring at Hiko now. "I hate you."

"I know, I know," Hiko sighed happily.

Kakashi grinned behind the safety of his mask. The photo wasn't sexy. He didn't go for children, but his very active imagination told him Iruka would look better in that outfit now than he had as a kid. Maybe someday he'd get a chance to tell him that without getting his head ripped off. He flipped through the other photos, many of which featured the same two kids. The other one continued to look like a punk, shaggy black hair and a shit-eating grin - definitely Hiko's kid - while Iruka was glowering, bristling, pouting, or posing obnoxiously in every single one. It wasn't until he flipped back to the first photo that he realized the similarity the two boys shared.

"What with the scars?" asked Kakashi. That was it. Both boys had a scar over the bridge of their noses.

"I don't remember," Iruka shrugged. He was much calmer now that he knew Kakashi wasn't going to burst out laughing. "I've had mine for years. I think Tenka's was self inflicted to copy me."

Hiko snorted. This time he was the one to glower. "Iruka's four years older, though you'd never guess from those photos. He's been a bad influence from the start. I tracked my kid halfway across the country and found him in a jouvie hall with this brat. Took em both home with me. I swear, if there's anything worse than trying to hold onto a runaway, it's having a pair of them set on mass destruction."

"Tenka was worse than me," Iruka told Kakashi, in a 'don't listen to him' tone. "Always. He could make weapons out of his energy, like those Star Wars movies with the swords? I had to stick with conventional things like tennis rackets and bricks."

Kakashi blinked.

Iruka frowned a little and finished his drink. "Don't look at me like that. I told you I was awful."

"Ah," Kakashi smiled slowly, "I guess you did. It's just hard to picture you as a little hellion."

Iruka actually looked pleased with that. He gave Kakashi a sweet smile and pushed his empty glass aside. The owner of the bar, Caldina, immediately came over with a cup of coffee for him to sip on.

Hiko snorted, "Iruka went straight the second time Tenka took off. The brat switched to responsible considerate and polite so fast you just know he was only acting before that. Turned into a damn scholar on me and took off for Japan."

"Hiko's boyfriend was the one who told me about Lyberday," Iruka explained, still looking pleasant and mellow. "He was passing through and stopped by to let me know that he'd moved out here. I called him up that same day. He made it sound so peaceful I couldn't resist."

Kakashi looked at the wallet he was still holding and slowly slid it back across the table to Hiko. "Boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Hiko rolled his eyes, "I know what you're thinking. The guy's got a kid who keeps running off and he's gay? Must be his fault. Well, it's not. Tenka never had a problem with me. He was weirded out by his mother sleeping with my sister. We split up right after he was born and I was straight as a pin up until a few years ago, so you can't lay any of that on me."

Iruka reached over to pat a sympathetic hand on the man's shoulder, plucking up his drink and setting it off to the side. "I think you're drunk, Hiko."

"Eh?" Hiko blinked from him to his drink and snorted softly. "The hell I am. I'm gonna get there, though. You look like you're calm enough not to kill him when you get home, so you two head on out. I'll hang around and look pathetic till Caldina lets me crash upstairs. You know she likes having someone to mother over."

Iruka nodded and got up, waving Kakashi to follow. He paused at the bar downstairs, where the skimpily dressed owner sighed and patted Iruka's head when he tried to pay for their drinks.

"He's lonely again, right?" she frowned. "On the house, then. You might try to visit more often now that you're on break, Iruka. He only comes in here every other week, so you just know he's spending the rest of his off time by the phone. It's not healthy."

Iruka sighed. "I've offered to let him stay with me, but you know how he is. Plus I have guests now, with more expected as soon as word gets around."

"Yeah, you got yourself a handful there," she smirked, eyeing Kakashi, who grinned back at her. "I still expect to see you around more often. You don't have to come in to drink, you know. I have the best amaretto in the country."

"Because it's the only amaretto in the country," Iruka told Kakashi, with a fond smile. He shook his head and waved on his way toward the door, "I'll see you later."

Once they were outside, Iruka cricked his neck, yawned a little, and bit down hard on the side of his left wrist. He didn't seem to think anything strange about that until he noticed the funny way Kakashi was looking at him.

"Wakes me up," Iruka laughed. "I've never been fond of alcohol, so a few drinks are my limit."

"Your friend back there," Kakashi started, letting the question hang unspoken.

"Mm," Iruka sighed. "He's worried about Tenka. Tenka doesn't get into as much trouble as he used to, but when a few months go by without any word from him, Hiko sends Bunchu out to look for him. That's the boyfriend. He's a mutant, too. I'm really hoping he'll come back soon. Naruto's never even met him. He has a strange ability that I think might help Naruto figure out what his talents are. It's the same thing that lets him find people."

He flashed Kakashi a knowing look, remembering the way he'd stared at him earlier with that red eye of his. He tapped a finger on his forehead. "Bunchu has an eye here that sees everything a person wants to hide. And what he sees with it, he can suppress with it. A very useful talent..."

.-.

Notes: Ouch, crossover characters. I know how people hate that. My excuse - I need people here before the rest of the kids show up or Iruka's never going to be able to keep them all alive in the same house. I already have plans for most of the main Naruto cast, so I had to draw in characters from other anime. They won't steal the spotlight (they'll be far outnumbered by the Naruto kids), so they're more like cameos than anything. Anime used - Hiko, Tenka, and Bunchu are from Soul Hunters (Houshin Engi) and Caldina and her as-of-yet unnamed beau are from Magic Knight Rayearth.