Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ I'll Cover You ❯ Iruka's Prolouge ( Chapter 2 )

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

a/n: Wow. I mean, like wow. Sugoi. Incredible. Look at this. My quickest update ever. Wow. Wow.

Iruka: I'm sorry, she's a little stunned over the amount of reviews she got for the first chapter. It's more than she's ever gotten on an opening night (for lack of a better term) so please, be patient with her. (Iruka is refering to fanfiction.net)

tsukiraven: So many reviews.... So many...

Kakashi: Ruru? I think she's broken.

Iruka: Gah! Kakashi! Not in public!! You promised not to call me 'Ruru' in public!

tsukiraven: Reviews...

Kakashi: Aww come on... Ruka then. You're Ruka now.

tsukiraven: Awwwww! So cute!! (referring to the pouting Iruka)

Iruka: I don't need this. I'm going to go listen to my Rent CD.

tsukiraven: Yeah, I think I will too. --looks for CD-- Hey? Where'd it-- IRUKA!!!

Iruka: (from far away) I'm a ninja, remember?!

Kakashi: I guess it's up to me to do the disclaimer. Tsukiraven does not own Naruto or Rent, no matter how much she wishes it were so.


Because it's been asked: Sorry about all of the spelling errors, but I was quite sick when I typed the first chappie, so I do hope you'll all forgive me.

Because it's important: I have gotten some statements that inquire about my using Rent in a Konoha setting. Well, aside from the fact that it is an awesome combo, I did mention that this is an AU. Same ninja, same ranks, different Konoha.

Because she loves you: Thank you so much for all of the kind words and reviews! Constructive crit is always welcome, and reviewer responses are at the end. Love you all and Enjoi!

Because it's a warning: This is an AU story with depressing contents and shonen-ai. If you feel the need to continue, please enjoi it!!!

flashback
'thought'
"dialogue"
story

I'll Cover You- Chappie 2
Son, you have to be prepared for everything and anything that you'll face as a ninja. You have to be ready.

Well, it's like that with students, Kakashi-san. You always have to be prepared because you never know what they'll throw at you.

Iruka could've sworn that Kakashi's voice was dripping with anger when he told the chuunin that he reminded him of his late father. Everyone in Konoha at least knew that much of the jounin; he was an enigma that did not like to talk about his past. Which is why Iruka was so surprised. It wasn't until later that he learned that Kakashi's voice was dripping with admiration.

Less than two weeks later, he was crying his heart out in the jounin's arms. All of those feelings that he had been holding in, all of his emotions that had refused to manifest for the last year had burst when Kakashi had playfully offered to wipe his nose. And then, Iruka understood being linked to someone that was lost in the past, and how much it could hurt. So, Iruka thought that at least he could try to be a little nicer to the masked man.

Iruka wasn't really sure why, but Kakashi had started spending more time with him after that. He had thought that Kakashi may have been trying to rub it in, in the way Sasuke had said to Naruto; You're weak and you need me. So live with it okay? I'm going to be here for a while.

But after the general uneasiness that a jounin and special ops ANBU member was doing something just shy of stalking him had set in, he began to feel more comfortable in Kakashi's presence. Like the man had become a second shadow. And Iruka didn't mind it at all.

"Yo." The masked man appeared upside down in Iruka's front window, smiley eye in place and everything.

Iruka screamed and jumped, clutching at his heart as he tried to slow his breathing. "Ka-Kakashi-san?!" The chuunin tried desperately to slow the pounding of the muscle in his chest. He chalked the butterflies in his stomach up to that little shock as well.

Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow. "Are you alright, Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes, I'm okay. What do you need? I was just getting ready to make dinner."

Kakashi flipped himself over and landed on his feet in front of Iruka. A perfect 10. "Well, that's the thing you see." Kakashi scratched the back of his head nervously. "I was wondering if I could make dinner for you tonight."

"Dinner? For me?" He didn't mean to squeak, it just happened.

"Yeah." Was it his imagination or was Kakashi looking rather embarrassed. "If you don't want to--"

"No! It sounds great! Just hang on!"

Iruka learned that night that Kakashi was the best cook in probably the entire village of Konoha. Although, how he managed to eat his whole meal without Iruka so much as getting a glance at his face was anybody's guess. He also learned that Kakashi was a humorous man. A man with depth. A man who cared. A man with purpose. A man anyone could easily fall in lo--

'Don't say it Iruka Umino, don't say it. Don't you dare say the "L" word and make a fool of yourself. Don't think it, don't say it, don't think it--'

"Iruka-sensei? Is something the matter?"

"No. Nothing."

Although it was a little embarrassing at first, Iruka couldn't help but admit to himself that he was madly in love with one of Konoha's star jounin. He'd gone from occupying the back of Iruka's mind to living right up front, shouting "Iruka Umino you love me! Iruka Umino loves me!"

Embarrassing. Almost too much. It was once, only once. Just once...

'Oh Gods, Kakashi, what do you do to me?'

Iruka stood with the kitchen knife positioned over his forearm, blood seeping down the tanned skin, desperate to escape the vessel that was his body.

He wasn't cutting himself. He wasn't! He was cooking when he thought of Kakashi and the knife had slipped and then the pain in his arm...

But the blood was a wake up call. Iruka couldn't stand being alone anymore, it was all too much. And even as he thought this, the knife subconsciously slid its way closer to his arm. Almost as if it were eager to draw more blood. Iruka paled and threw the knife to the other end of the kitchen. Not bothering to clean the just-beginning dinner away, Iruka stalked up to his room ready for another sleepless night of thinking of Kakashi happily paired with someone else. Someone that wasn't him.

Depression. It was something that the Umino was familiar with. His parents were gone, and that caused allot of depression for him. Kakashi was quickly becoming the only joy in the lonely chuunin's life.

Rent was their special movie. Their first date, if Iruka dared to call it such. And when the jounin had said the view was beautiful, the chuunin had almost dared to believe that Kakashi had been speaking of him.

Kakashi had started calling him Iruka-kun. He had even bought Rent when it came out, "Just for you Iruka-kun!" Unabashedly, Kakashi had stated that getting the movie was a good excuse to see the dolphin more often.

"C’mon, Iruka-kun, you know you wanna watch it again. Over dinner sounds good, ne?"

"Yes, Kakashi-san, that sounds wonder-- kun?"

A confused glance. "Yes. Iruka-kun. It's a better fitting name now that we're dating, is it not?"

Iruka blushed and puffed up in that indignant way that he does. "Dating?! Did you decide we're dating just now? On the spur of the moment?"

"Yes, actually. I think we should go commemorate with a viewing of a good movie and dinner. Are you in?"

"Well yeah...but dating?"

"Mmm... You have objections?" Iruka had none. Kakashi laughed and linked his arm with the chuunin, leading him home.

According to Kakashi, Iruka had the most beautiful singing voice in the world. Since the time they started dating, Iruka gave more private concerts for Kakashi than he had ever dreamed of giving. It was heaven. Kakashi wasn't all that bad of a singer, although the scarecrow insisted that his voice cracked and squeaked, and that he'd rather listen to Iruka's voice than anyone else's.

Iruka was dyslexic, no matter how much he tried to deny it. It caused so many problems for the young man. More than he cared to admit. But Kakashi was there to make everything okay. He never poked fun at Iruka, nor corrected him. If the chuunin tried to read something to Kakashi, the masked man waited while Iruka took his time reading the words. If need be, he filled in the gaps on his own. Geniuses could do things like that.

Kakashi was possessive. If any man or woman other than the masked jounin himself stepped within the chuunin's personal bubble, they would have a very angry Kakashi to deal with. That's not to say that Iruka himself wasn't possessive. He was, although not as much as his masked lover. And that mask...

Everyone who cared to wager a guess on how Kakashi looked underneath the mask was dead wrong, as far as Iruka was concerned. Because Iruka had seen him and in his mind there were no words to describe Kakashi's beauty. It was otherworldly.

"Ichidakimasu." Iruka and Kakashi stated at the same time, before the younger of the two dug into the meal in front of him.

Chewing happily, Iruka watched Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. The jounin was eyeing his food in a predatory way. His hands reached up to touch the edges of his mask. When his fingers were carefully hooked in the cloth, he turned his head to look at Iruka. "You're making me uncomfortable, you know."

Iruka jumped. "Sorry, Kakashi," he had long since dropped the 'san', "I guess I'm just..."

"Curious?"

"Yes. Curious."

"Hmm..." Kakashi lowered his hands and smiled beneath the mask. "Now we can't have that, can we? Here, give me your hands, Ruka." He held out his hands to Iruka.

Suddenly overwhelmed with nervousness that he couldn't explain, Iruka placed his hands in Kakashi's. The jounin lifted his hands and placed them at the top of his mask. 'It's... It's soft. Softer than I imagined.'

"Okay, Ruka," Kakashi said softly. "Whenever you're ready, you can pull it down."

Iruka sucked in a deep breath and gently eased the cloth down slowly over the contours of Kakashi’s face. With every centimeter uncovered, pale skin was revealed. After the small nose was revealed, Iruka couldn't take it anymore, and he tugged the mask down over Kakashi's lips. The masked bunched down at the base of his neck, a pool of dark water below a pale heavenly face. Iruka ran his fingers absentmindedly over soft pale lips, muttering the first words that came to his star-struck mind. "Wow... So beautiful."

These memories... They were so wonderful... If any man could live on memories alone, Iruka would be alive for eternity. He could think of allot of things he wished he had said, though, as he adjusted his vest and ran downtown towards where Konoha was being breeched.

I'd die without you

He wished he would've told Naruto how proud he was of his son, how he had never been more proud of any entity in his life.

I'd die without you

He wished he would've told Sasuke that he was going to turn into a fine young man. That he already was one. That his life would most likely end happily and justly with his friends by his side.

Life goes on...

He wished he had told Sakura that she didn't need Sasuke to complete her, and that she was a beautiful and vivacious woman that any man would be lucky to have.

But I'm gone...

And Kakashi-- Oh God, there he was. Fighting for his life with another man in an ANBU mask, a traitor. He was sporting several nasty wounds, and a black eye was developing around his sharingan. His movements were slow and lopsided; had he been poisoned or was he just on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. Without thinking, Iruka rushed towards his lover.

Cause I'd die without you...

The ANBU man whipped out a hidden kunai and flung it at Kakashi with all of his might. 'Oh Gods, he won't make it in time. It's gonna hit him, he'll die--'

I'll die without you.

In one swift movement, Iruka had thrown himself in front of the kunai. He barely had a moment to absorb that there was a sharp object buried in his chest before a stinging sensation invaded his body. 'Poison... damn...'

As if in slow motion, the assassin fled. The colors around Iruka swirled and mixed and he crumpled to the cool ground. He heard a scream then felt a pair of arms wrenching him up.

Suddenly he was face to face with Kakashi. Loving Kakashi. Beautiful Kakashi. He had ripped the mask from his face and was using the cloth as a makeshift rag to attempt to stem the blood that was flowing from Iruka by buckets. But to no avail.

'Kakashi... I don't want to leave you, please.. save me... help..'

Iruka tried to mouth his last words to Kakashi, but Kakashi was having none of it. "Shush," he whispered. "You can tell me when you're better." And with that, he was in Kakashi's arms, the both of them speeding towards the hospital.

'Kakashi, save me so I can be with you... I love you so much...'

"Luh... Love you..." Iruka muttered, a drop of blood flowing from his mouth.

Tears flew freely down his face as Kakashi smiled, his own eyes weeping. "I know. I love you too, my Iruka." Kakashi pulled him closer and Iruka fell unconscious to the comforting sound of his Kakashi's heartbeat.

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"With a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you."

It was that voice.

"Without you, the hand gropes. The ear hears, the pulse beats..."

Changing songs? But the other was so good.

"Life goes on, but I'm gone..."

Wait...

"Cause I'd die without you."

Silence. The singing had stopped, replaced by weeping. A drop of something cool fell on his hand. Iruka's muddled brain told him it was water, presumably from a tear.

His hand twitched of his own accord. He heard a gasp, then a high-pitched panicky voice; "Call the meds! Hurry!!"

He struggled to open his eyes. "Ahhh..." There was someone's name that he had to remember. What was it...

"Just hold on Iruka, they'll be here any second."

Iruka? No, that was his name....

"Thank goodness, you're here! Please, he's awake!! Help him!"

Ka... Ka something...

"Iruka?! Iruka, can you hear me? Please wake up, it's Kakashi!"

Yes, that sounded right... Kakashi. More tears fell onto his hand as Iruka struggled to maintain his consciousness. He could hear machines beeping and whirring in the background, a metallic metronome. Kakashi... He would die without this man. He had to tell him that. If only he had the strength to talk.


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a/n: That's it until my next update. Please review and expect quick updates. Peace out!