I Don't Think You Understand

I already know what you're going to ask. "Why is the chapter title this?" Well, read on down and you'll find out :-).

Again, I don't normally do this, but as I was scrolling in my reviews, Lanier asked me where I learned my Japanese. Truthfully, it was here, at college. My freshman and sophomore years here (I'm a junior), I took the classes. I don't know how well learning on your own will work, but luck to you!

I do not own Naruto. However, I do own the right to say what's in this fic or not, and that's not something I'm going to ever relinquish!

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The meadow was peaceful. The training posts were up, but no one was beating at them. The gentle scent of flowers and the heavier woody smell of the forest floated up to his nostrils. The slightest breeze made itself felt as a soft brush against his bare arms.

He was alone. The peace he felt as he gazed at this most familiar of places soothed the parts of him he hadn’t known were aching.

As the time went on, though, he started feeling a little edgy. His relief at not having an enemy to fight anymore was slowly replaced by anxiety at not seeing another person around. He liked being alone, but that didn’t mean he liked being lonely. Where was everybody?

A whisper of sound had him going toward it before he’d made the conscious decision to move. The thin thread of sound soon became louder, proof that he was getting closer to the target. Closer, and the sound became something familiar; flesh slapping on flesh.

Closer yet, and he was finally able to get a peek at what was causing this.

He’d half expected to once again see Naruto and Sasuke squaring off against each other again, so he was disappointed when it turned out to not be the case. The disappointment didn’t last long.

The participants were Iruka and Gai.

Both shirtless.

Both sweaty.

Iruka’s hair was down, and strands of it were sticking limply to the sides of his face, but the rest of it was flowing artistically against his concentrating features. With some glee, he noticed that Iruka was sweating so much his pants were stuck to his legs in some places, most obvious around his butt and his thighs.

Very powerful thighs.

Gai...looked much the same as he always did, though he was clearly straining against his opponent’s attacks. To Kakashi’s relief, he was giving as good as he got, but it was clear that Iruka wasn’t being a pushover.

He never thought Gai would have such an impressive ass. He was as sweaty as Iruka was, and his chest gleamed as brightly as the chuunin’s did.

Their muscles were gleaming, and the way they were moving brought to mind the images of a hunting cat that had just discovered its prey. The pull and relaxing of shifting skin was the most...enthralling thing he’d ever seen in his life. He could watch it all day and not be bored by it.

The two combatants must not have felt the same way because, in elegantly precise moves, they were moving toward the finishing blows. A hard punch to Iruka’s chin had the chuunin go into a partial backbend to avoid, but it left an opening to his stomach that Gai quickly took advantage of, dealing the blow and landing Iruka on his back.

Gai straddled Iruka’s thighs and pinned his biceps to the ground.

Kakashi held his breath. He knew they didn’t know he was there, but he didn’t want to give anything away, in the off chance that they were focusing on a broader area than just their arena.

They were panting, both of them, chests rising and falling in clashing tandem, staring at each other fiercely. Then, so quickly that Kakashi wasn’t even sure he’d seen it, they were kissing.

It wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen. Iruka wasn’t fighting it, but neither was he accepting of it. His eyes were open and staring blankly at the top of Gai’s black, bowl-cut head while Gai pressed and pressured the chuunin’s lips with his own.

Kakashi growled, and they broke apart. Gai let Iruka out from under him, and Iruka pranced his way (was the man deliberately walking like that? It wasn’t fair) over to Kakashi, flung his arms around his neck, and kissed him the way Gai had been.

Except that Kakashi gave into it. The taste and feel of Iruka’s lips and mouth against his had him reeling. He put his arms around Iruka’s waist, shivering a little at the feel of bare skin against his hands and a warm chest against his. Iruka’s tongue twisted around his and slid off, and he shuddered, pulling Iruka closer to his chest.

Until a warm body against his back made him abruptly shove Iruka away.

Frantically, he twisted around a little to see who it was, but only marginally relaxed when he realized it was Gai. Gai never looks that serious...

Then lips were against his. Gai’s lips.

Kakashi was so surprised that he couldn’t even return the kiss for a moment, just stand speechless and stare at the wonderful view of Gai’s eyelashes (damn, those things are long) as those lips that had just left Iruka’s found his and teased.

Gai pulled away. Kakashi unconsciously licked his lips and tasted sweat. A soft sensation at his neck had him twisting a little to see Iruka retreat, licking his own lips, the sight of which made Kakashi throb in thrilled confusion. Again Iruka stepped forward, but put his face into the juncture between Kakashi’s neck and shoulder and nibbled.

Kakashi arched his neck and gasped, then gasped again as Gai pressed against his back, hands slipping around to ghost down to his erection---

”GYAAAAAAAH!"

Leaping to the ceiling, throwing shuriken in every direction, and shrieking were not the way Kakashi would have preferred to wake up. Panting, shaking, and scanning in all directions for enemies he wished were present was vastly inferior to a slow return of sensory perceptions after sleep.

A sound caught his attention. “What’s rolling?” He muttered, his tongue feeling thick and gooey with sleep bile. Dropping back onto his bed (after wincing at the squeak that produced) he looked around his apartment, and discovered the source of the noise.

One of his shuriken had caught a scroll that had not been there the previous evening, the evening where he’d received respectful regrets from Iruka via messenger bird about still being caught up in the hell of teacher meetings.

His hands shaking with rage and a little fear (how had that person gotten in without my noticing?), he took out the weapon, and unrolled the parchement.

“Good dreams lately?”

Unceremoniously, Kakashi ripped it up. “When I find this damn person, I’m going to devise a torture for them that’d make what Ibiki does to people look like gentle handshakes!”

And I’m NOT going to answer that question. I’m not sure a dream with Gai in it like that is a good thing...

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I'm going to admit something here. This chapter can be considered a filler. It does have some significance to the story, but was mostly my own desire to both write this scene and to imagine Kakashi freaking out.

Despite that, there are a few points to make about this. It's not easy to find someone you've known for ages attractive all at once. If I were writing a Naru/Sasu fic (and I've been asked, and am considering it), the first ten chapters or so would be dedicated to the mental trauma that would ensue from that particular realization.

I remember a time where a similar thing happened to me. I was at a swim meet, nothing special, and I was done competing for the day, when a male friend of mine walked up, took up a towel, and started talking to me with a smile. At this point, I'd known him for a few years, and we were suffering through puberty at the same time. All of a sudden, I saw him as desirable.

My next reaction was to nearly throw up. I mean, I'd known this guy since before I discovered my interest in men! We used to try to drown each other! We had become friends a while ago, and now I was seeing him like that? Talk about the squick factor!

Given that Kakashi and Gai have known each other for a really long time, and Kakashi (thanks to Iruka) was starting to wake his body up, I can't see him not having this reaction. So, he's dealing with it...through his sadistic subconscious. Sheesh. Acceptance is half the battle.

Your reviews give me the motivation to do my schoolwork! If you could send some of it to me via your reviews, would you please?