Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Dreams ❯ Chapter 11

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

Warnings: shounen ai, KakaIru fluff

Embracing Dreams

Part 11

"What does it do?" asked Iruka.

Kakashi resisted the urge to fidget in his seat. They'd been talking for a while, seated in Iruka's cozy little office with the large desk separating them. It had started out great. Iruka's eyes had glittered when he decided to hide out in the office and test Naruto's willpower as payback for the outburst that morning. While he'd rather have been sharing the couch, the large chair was too comfortable to complain about. And Iruka's interest in him seemed like a very positive sign at first. Somewhere along the way he'd lost control of the situation. Completely. It worried him that he couldn't point out exactly when it had happened. They'd gone from talking about the kids, with him poking playfully for more information on Iruka's wild childhood. The next thing he knew, he was being interrogated. And he hadn't even noticed until he'd gotten halfway through describing his first encounter with Sasuke.

He'd clearly underestimated him. Even now that he was wise to the fact that he was the one doing all the talking, he couldn't spot anything in Iruka's expression besides casual interest. His tone was pleasant, the mood was as warm as ever, and the office was still a quirky comfortable striped little den. He reminded himself to ask about the stripes. His attention darted to the right, a quick glance over the spidery blue designs on the wall that seemed to change every time he looked at them. There was definitely something odd about that. Like this entire situation. How had he gone from planning to probe and bed the guy to telling him his life story?

Iruka's cup clinked quietly as he set it down, reminding Kakashi to pay attention. He glanced over and fidgeted again. Iruka didn't look the least bit impatient, just sitting calmly and smiling some when their eyes met.

"Do," Kakashi said slowly. It wasn't that he had a problem talking about himself. He just wasn't sure if telling more would help or hinder his cause here. "For me or the kid?"

"Both," Iruka smiled. "Do they do anything besides allowing the two of you to mimic things?"

Kakashi forced himself to think about what he was saying and not the paranoia that was starting to buzz around his ears. They were just talking. It wasn't like Iruka was going to explode on him for saying the wrong thing. Probably.

"Well, it depends," he said. "Sasuke uses them for everything. As far as I can tell, he can't use any of his copied talents without activating the eyes first."

There was more to it than that. Since he'd started reading energy signatures, he couldn't help but notice. Sasuke didn't even read as a mutant unless he was using the sharingan. It was as if his energy came out of nowhere the second he activated them and then it just...disappeared again. He was sure that had a lot to do with Sasuke's fatigue in the mornings, but since he didn't know what it meant, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Iruka didn't need to hear about that. If he wanted to know Sasuke's life story, he could interrogate him next. And if he did, Kakashi had an idea Iruka would get a lot more out of the brat than he ever had. Iruka was a little too good at this.

"And you?" Iruka asked, his smile widening just a hair. "What do you use yours for?"

Kakashi blinked suddenly. That buzzing had switched to a quick little tinkling bell. Aha! It was that look he'd given him earlier. Iruka didn't appear to have an ulterior motive for asking that particular question, but there was something shark-like in his ever so pleasant smile. Kakashi leaned forward to smile innocently back at him. He had no problem being put on the spot when he knew what he'd done wrong. And he hadn't actually done anything wrong. Iruka just suspected he had. Or that he'd tried to.

"I don't use that eye to copy talents," Kakashi said warmly. He could actually see a hint of tension drain from Iruka's shoulders. He loved being right. "I use it to see things."

"Really."

Oops, wrong thing to say. That tension was back and it had brought slightly pursed lips to go with it. Kakashi hurried to remedy the mistake. "Energy signals," he said, in a dismissive tone. "Everyone has them. I picked the trick up from a cranky little old lady I met a few months back. Taught it to Sasuke, too, though I'm not sure if he ever figured out how it works. For me, it's a way to tell a normal person from a mutant. I didn't mean to invade your privacy or make you uncomfortable. It was just my way of getting a good look at you."

"Really," Iruka said again, not looking very convinced. "And what did that good look tell you about me?"

"That you're very well named," Kakashi smiled.

Iruka blinked and jolted back a little in his chair. "Excuse me?"

"The office, too," Kakashi continued, his smile growing as he looked at those odd walls. "You really play up the whole dolphin thing. I like it."

"Th-" Iruka sputtered, a blush breaking out over his face. "That has nothing to do with my name!" he blurted. "The walls aren't even blue, they're more silver than anything. It's just that the patterns make me comfortable. I have agoraphobia."

"Fear of spiders?" asked Kakashi, eyeing the web-like walls uneasily. Iruka hadn't struck him as a masochist. Not that he had a problem with masochists. They made things interesting.

"Open spaces," Iruka glowered. "If you think this is bad, you should see the ceiling in my room."

Kakashi whipped around immediately. "I'd love to! I've always had a great interest in interior design. And if you feel more comfortable when you're closed in, I'd be happy to accommodate you."

"You're so helpful," said Iruka. His eyebrow twitched twice before he broke and sighed, giving in to a wry smile. "Seriously now, what did you see when you looked at me earlier?"

"Blue," Kakashi admitted. He propped his elbows on the desk and nudged the band up and off his left eye. Iruka tensed, losing his weak smile. Kakashi gave him a sober look in return. "I see blue. Thick, uncontrolled, with a thin darker layer underneath. And there's a shadow on the outside that shouldn't be there."

"A shadow?" Iruka asked cautiously.

"Mm," Kakashi nodded. "It's not as heavy as it was earlier. Whatever drug you're taking, it isn't good for you."

Iruka flinched and a queasy expression passed over his face. "You can see that. Is there anything else? Anything that...shouldn't be there?"

Kakashi closed his right eye, sharpening the focus so the black commas of the sharingan rotated full circle. He'd never get used to the way that felt. Already he could feel a tension headache threatening along the back of his neck. He didn't see anything suspicious besides that shadow, and the shadow was definitely thinner than it had been a few hours ago. It was thinner. Because it was being stretched and pushed out by that hazy blue.

He blinked both eyes and covered the sharingan again. Iruka was watching him with a wary expression. He shook his head in response. "Nothing. I don't know much about reading like this, but there doesn't seem to be anything else. What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of anything," Iruka sighed. "It's just-" He broke himself off with another sigh. Then he leveled a probing look on Kakashi. "You know how I mentioned that Bunchu could 'see things' with his eye? He never saw a shadow or anything like that because I never had to take the drug when he was around."

"Because he can suppress what he sees," Kakashi finished. "You mean uncontrolled talents."

"I mean everything," Iruka said sharply. He looked both impressed and uneasy at the thought. "Everything he sees. Talents, memories, instincts, rebellious thoughts - everything. If someone like Sasuke's brother copied a talent like that..."

Kakashi's eye widened. His first thought was that he wanted to meet this guy. The bored and greedy little collector in him was already rubbing its hands together. He didn't even know if a talent like that could be copied - chances were, it would backfire the same as it had with the sharingan. But he'd be damned if he didn't want to find out as soon as possible. First things first, though.

"So this Bunchu guy suppressed your talents when you were living with Hiko," said Kakashi, "and when you left you resorted to a drug?"

Iruka looked off to the side, staring just past his shoulder. Kakashi didn't have to turn around to guess he was looking at the wall behind him.

"Yes and no," Iruka murmured. "I wasn't lying when I said healing was my only talent. It's all I can do." He glanced back to Kakashi and frowned at him. "The drug doesn't have anything to do with that. It's just to help me sleep."

"That shadow was weighing down your energy," Kakashi countered. Iruka didn't look like he was lying, but Kakashi was starting to think Iruka could hide things better than he'd thought. "I could see that much."

"A minor side effect," Iruka said with a shrug. He stood and circled the desk, stopping next to Kakashi. "All I can do is heal minor injuries. Anything beyond that doesn't work the way it should. Let me see your eye again."

Kakashi stared up at him for a moment before pushing the band back again. "I can't keep it open for long. I did an hour once, really pushing it, but I ended up in a coma for three days. It's a good thing it wasn't longer or I'd have starved to death. The brat never even considered spoon feeding me. Or rolling me over, come to think of it..."

Iruka gave an involuntary smile at that. "I'm not surprised, what with the way you met."

"Maa," Kakashi shrugged. He slouched back in the chair and let his eyes creep over Iruka again. "So what am I looking for this time?"

"Nothing," said Iruka. "I'm providing a demonstration. Feel free to try copying it if you can. I doubt it would backfire whether it works or not."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that. "What makes you think I'd try to copy your talent?"

"I didn't get the impression you were interested in me for my intellect," Iruka smirked. "And since you copy by touch, hitting on someone would be the easiest way to get close enough to copy whatever you want."

"Sharp," Kakashi winced. A pout crept over his face, mostly hidden by his mask. "I'll have you know I'd be all over you even if you didn't have any talents."
"You're after my body either way," Iruka pointed out, with a soft laugh. "So don't take this as an invitation. Kindly keep your hands where I can see them till I finish."

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched. He closed his mouth with a sullen frown. A moment later he opened it again. Iruka had leaned forward and placed his palms on his temples. His headband was the only thing keeping those fingers from sliding into his hair. Kakashi couldn't help but complain about that. "It doesn't seem fair that I have to keep my hands to myself when you're the one touching first."

Iruka coughed on a laugh. "I'm trying to concentrate here."

"You and me both," Kakashi drawled, his eyes widening at how close Iruka's face was to his. He suddenly wished he'd never gone with the whole mask idea. "Are your lips as soft as they look...?"

"Ka-" Iruka blushed and glared. "Shut up and make sure you stop me if it looks like I'm going to faint."

That sobered Kakashi up, at least for the moment. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to show you why I said healing minor injuries is the only thing I can do," Iruka sighed. "Now be quiet."

"Hm," Kakashi frowned, obeying reluctantly. Iruka was staring at his left eye, which was a little strange now that he thought about it. He'd gotten used to having people look at his right eye, or at the bridge of his nose as if he had two eyes like everyone else. They either did it to be polite, or because they suspected he could see through the band. Not that he cared at the moment. Iruka was standing right against the arm of the chair and leaning over him. The view was just as good as it had been on the street earlier. Except this wasn't in public. Time and place? He'd be a good boy through the demonstration, but as soon as it was finished the good boy was taking a nap.

His gaze was drawn to that scar again. Surely it was too perfect to be accidental. What could do that by accident? Something falling straight down and trying to cut his nose off his face, maybe. A really clumsy person aiming for the eyes and cutting everything but. An angry child trying to mar what was otherwise a very likeable face. Iruka had said his friend's matching scar was self inflicted. Maybe he really was a masochist. He glanced back to Iruka's eyes and blinked at how dazed they looked. It reminded him of how glazed and unfocused they'd been that morning. What exactly was he supposed to be demonstrating, anyway?

He focused on Iruka's energy again. The shadow might have been a little lighter, the blue could have been hazier than before. It did seem to be waving more around his arms. He could see the tiny hairs shift against the pale walls in the...background. Oh. So that was why the webbed stripes had seemed to move. It was a gradation trick. The pale silvery marks stood out a fraction past the darker colors, the rough texture offsetting the rest so the design appeared to change depending on where he looked. He could see where the repetition started and the contrast with Iruka's energy was like being in an aquarium and Iruka's eyelashes were fluttering and-

"Ah," Kakashi winced. He wrapped an arm around Iruka's waist and pulled him up so he was sitting on the arm of the chair instead of sagging over it. "Stop now, whatever you were doing. I get it."

Iruka blinked slowly, his head lolling so he was looking in his general direction, "Mn?"

"Yeah, that would be uncomfortable," Kakashi nodded, with an overly serious expression. "I can fix that."

He pulled him further until he had a lap full of unprotesting Iruka. He promptly took the opportunity to nuzzle the nape of his neck. Nice. Iruka squirmed and pushed his head back with a sleepy frown. Kakashi beamed back at him.

"I like you like this," he grinned. "No protests, no explosions, just warm and soft and - ah! Um, hey there...feeling better...?"

"Hands," Iruka reminded him, his frown not quite as sleepy as before, "where I can see them."

"Come on," Kakashi sighed, "you know you liked-" A pointed jab stopped him from going further. He reminded himself that his warm bundle of Iruka was in a very good position to damage parts he happened to be quite fond of. He offered an apologetic smile and promptly lifted his hands. "Where you can see them. Got it."

"Better," Iruka drawled. "Now explain why I'm in your lap."

"It's better than the floor?" Kakashi ventured with a hopeful smile. "You looked so out of it, I thought you'd sink down and puddle wherever you landed. This way's much more comfortable. So, about that demonstration. Did you enhance the sharingan or heal the fatigue?"

"Neither," said Iruka. He pushed himself up, a droll glare stopping Kakashi when he made to hold him in place. He wavered a little and leaned back against the side of the desk. "That's what happens when I try to heal something too serious for me to heal. It stops healing and the energy I'm trying to use gets transferred instead. What it gets used for depends on the person. Tenka used to call me a living battery. I can't control it and once I start, I can't stop on my own."
"Until you pass out," said Kakashi.

"Not even then," Iruka frowned. "A battery doesn't stop until you disconnect it or it goes dead. That's why I don't even attempt to heal more than minor injuries. Have you encountered others with this sort of problem?""No," Kakashi admitted. "I've seen a few who could transfer energy to each other, but that wasn't their actual talent. More like a side benefit of having more energy than most people."

Iruka snorted at that. "It's never been a benefit for me. It doesn't even help the way you'd expect it to. I thought it was an enhancement at first, but when I tried it with Tenka it just made him lose control of his own talents. He couldn't even manifest one of his weapons without it exploding." He gave a soft laugh at the memory. "Then I had to heal him on top of everything."

"What does it do when you sleep?" asked Kakashi. Iruka tensed and shot him a sharp look. He'd expected as much.

"Nothing," Iruka said, in a tone that didn't encourage arguments. "That's what the drug is for. And before you ask, it doesn't have a name. It was made for me in particular by a friend of mine who specializes in mutant medication. I've been taking it for years, with no adverse side affects."

Aside from being dead on his feet when he woke up. Kakashi decided not to point that out. Iruka looked too defensive already. He'd probably had trouble getting custody of Naruto because of this issue. It was clearly a touchy subject and there were far better subjects involving touch for them to get into.

"Maa," Kakashi waved. He slunk more comfortably in his chair and casually stretched his legs so Iruka was standing between them. Nice. "It doesn't sound like the sort of talent I'd want to copy."

"I didn't think so," Iruka sighed. His eyebrow twitched, but he continued leaning against the desk as if he hadn't just been trapped there. "When you copy uncontrolled talents, you can't control them any better than the person you got them from, right?"

"Absolutely right," murmured Kakashi. "That's a danger in this profession. Of course, it depends on whether the talent is uncontrolled, or uncontrollable. I master things very quickly when I put my mind to it."

"Of course," said Iruka. "I wasn't implying otherwise."

"I didn't think you were," Kakashi said smoothly. Now if he could just get his chair a few inches closer to the desk...

"Kakashi-san."

Kakashi blinked at the amused glare Iruka was giving him. "My hands are right here," he protested. No one had said anything about ankles...

"Yes, I can see that," Iruka remarked. He didn't want to be amused, but Kakashi's innocent expression combined with the way he was holding his hands up made his lips twitch. "As tempting as the offer is, I'm really not interested in a quick lay."

Kakashi gave a lascivious smile. "Who said anything about quick?"

"And besides," Iruka said quickly, forcing back a helpless smile, "the energy I gave you won't last forever. You should really cover that eye back up if you don't want to end up in another coma. I'd make Naruto spoon feed you. I don't think you'd enjoy that."

Kakashi blinked in surprise, one hand rising to his left eye. He hadn't even noticed. No tension in the back of his neck, no queasy twisting 'focus' of those black commas, and the view was so vivid he'd simply enjoyed it without thinking about the reason. It wasn't until he pulled the band down that he realized Iruka had used that distraction to step over his outstretched legs and was now sitting in his own seat on the other side of the desk. Sneaky school-teacher type.

"That was mean," Kakashi pouted.

Iruka laughed. "I'm really trying not to encourage you."

But he hadn't exactly turned him down. Kakashi knew when he was making progress. True, Iruka wasn't jumping at the chance to get bedded. He was still smiling and blushing in a way that said he enjoyed the flirting too much to make an outright rejection any time soon. Kakashi would get to him long before that time came. The chase was half the fun. Well, no, it wasn't even a fourth as fun as the actual bedding, but it was definitely an enjoyable portion of the process.

"Just watching you smile is encouragement enough," Kakashi drawled, earning him an even more embarrassed smile. Or maybe that was a resentful pout. Whatever it was, he liked it. He leaned forward onto the desk just as a sounds erupted downstairs.

Iruka paled and looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "That came from the kitchen."

"Yeah?" Kakashi prodded. Voices sounded from below. He raised an eyebrow at that, his eye gleaming suddenly. Voices. Plural. "I think that one was Sasuke."

"They're in the kitchen," Iruka mumbled in a panicky little voice.

"Yeah," Kakashi waved dismissively, "but that one sounded like Sasuke. I've been torturing that kid for years and I've never heard him raise his voice. Not once." He glared at the floor resentfully, just as a muffled rattling sound came from below. "That's not fair..."

Iruka shot up out of his chair, his face solemn and pale. "Naruto. In the kitchen."

Kakashi had barely stood up before Iruka was out of the office. He heard every step he took down the hall and onto the stairs. He followed along, still distracted by jealousy at having someone else get a raised voice from his kid, and by how painfully thin the walls were in this house. He'd have to remember to do something about that when he got around to the bedding.

Iruka was frozen in the kitchen doorway when Kakashi caught up to him. He leaned around to see the damage. And he frowned in disappointment. There was an overturned pot of noodles on the floor, what looked like ice cubes all over the place, and a red faced Naruto standing behind the counter. Sasuke was sitting quietly on one of the stools opposite him. Both boys looked like they'd been rained on fairly recently - Sasuke in particular - but there wasn't anything apocalyptic enough to explain Iruka's sudden paranoia.

"I didn't do it," Naruto blurted, the second he saw them.

Sasuke snorted from where he was sitting at the counter. Naruto grimaced.

"Okay," Naruto scowled, "I did it. But it was an accident! I was just trying to make some food. It would have been fine if know-it-all there hadn't gotten in my way. Like I was really going to catch the kitchen on fire again. I'm not that clumsy."

Iruka closed his eyes tightly for a moment. Then he sighed. "Why were you trying to cook, Naruto? We've talked about this. What happened to the sandwiches I left you? You couldn't have eaten them all."

"I did!" Naruto said quickly. "Most of em, anyway. There's still a few of the tuna ones left, but you can't eat those after an hour - they get all soggy and that's, egh, you just can't eat that. And I couldn't ask you to make something cause you said not to bother you, and Sasuke didn't get anything earlier, so-"

"Don't blame this on me," Sasuke interrupted calmly.

Naruto glared at him for a second before taking up where he'd left off. "Anyway, I was just gonna make some ramen. Only you didn't get any of the microwavable kind so I had to use the stove. Then the idiot over there got burned and made a fuss about the ice so I dropped half of it and, yeah, it's definitely his fault, too. Still an accident, though..."

Iruka turned apologetic eyes on Sasuke. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," said Sasuke.

"No he's not!" Naruto scoffed. He pointed a finger at the boy, "See, he's got-"

He blinked when he spotted the towel of ice sitting untouched on the counter to the side of Sasuke. His eyes narrowed. "Hey," he muttered. "The point of the ice is to put it on the burn so it doesn't hurt as much, moron. It's not gonna do any good if you don't use it."

Sasuke didn't so much as look at him. He was staring calmly at Iruka, "I'm fine."

Naruto scoffed. "Yeah, right. Iruka-sensei can heal stuff like burns, you know." He finally caught Sasuke's eyes and smirked. "It's not worth lying about."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched at having his own words thrown back in his face. It twitched again when large hands fell on his shoulders. There was a pervert behind him.

"Now, now," Kakashi said pleasantly, smiling down at the top of Sasuke's head. His black hair was wet and mussy, and his clothes were damp. He'd definitely been playing in the rain again. "I'm sure we've been over this before. If you hide nasty wounds they get infected and smelly. That's inconsiderate to the people who have to smell you."

Kakashi pulled away before the boy could snap around and attempt to mutilate him. And he found Naruto squinting suspiciously at him from across the room. He beamed back, tilting his head a little.

"How come you can touch him without him freaking out on you?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi ignored the black glare Sasuke turned on him. "So you've tried it," he smiled at Naruto, "Good boy."

The kid might have gotten a raised voice, but Kakashi was confident he was still the only one who could pet Sasuke and get away without so much as a broken bone. He smiled encouragingly at the pouting blonde. "Just keep at it, don't let him maim you, and he'll get used to you before you know it. It helps if you remember his bite is worse than his bark, and he can't do either if you keep his mouth full."

"Kakashi-san."

A certain brown-eyed teacher-type was raising an eyebrow at him. Kakashi gave a sly smile in return. "Full of food," he said, looking Iruka over. "What were you thinking I meant, Iruka-kun?"

"I'm sure I don't know," Iruka said cooly, firmly telling himself he was not the least bit amused. He went over to Sasuke. "Let me see. As long as it's superficial, it should only take a moment to heal."

Sasuke put his arm on the counter. He glared when Naruto immediately leaned over to stare at the burn covering the top of his hand.

"Oh, gross," Naruto gaped, his eyes wide. "It's got bubbles now...!" He blinked and looked suspiciously at Sasuke. "How much does that hurt?"

Sasuke returned the look with narrow eyes. "Do you really want to know?"

"Ah," Kakashi said quickly, waving a hand so Naruto leaned back and there was more space between Sasuke and his would-be victim. "No fires in the kitchen, Sasuke. I think that's the lesson for the day."

Iruka nodded and pointed at the damp floor. "Naruto, clean up that mess before someone trips on it." He ignored the grumbling that followed the order. "Sasuke, please hold still. This won't hurt a bit."

-.-
TBC