Questionable Loyalty

A/N: This fic was supposed to be a porny little oneshot. Then plot reared its ugly head and demanded to be written. I know that for the moment Kakashi's actions might appear a tad (read: a lot!) OOC, so I decided to write why and how he became an Akatsuki agent. And Pein's lover, for that matter.



Also, *points to Satterb*: This is all your fault. Your awesome reviews inspire me to elaborating on the plot! T_T XD



CHAPTER 2



Kakashi spent a long time soaking in his bathtub in the morning, working out all the kinks and aches from their activities during the previous night. It was still dark when Pein left quietly after giving him a passionate kiss and a promise to check on him again soon – something which filled the jounin with both joy and trepidation. He missed his new lover terribly during his stay in Konoha, but at the same time he worried about being discovered before his work here was done.



And of course, there was the matter of the nosy chuunin who had spied on them the previous day. He needed to make sure he wouldn’t run his mouth. Even if no one knew who or what Pein was, a rumour about Kakashi’s personal life, especially one involving public sex in dirty alleys was just unacceptable.



With a sigh he drained the tub and wrapped himself in a light robe, then went to get a fresh set of clothes.



Half an hour later, after he had paid his respects to the Monument and had had a little chat with Obito, the jounin headed towards the Academy to speak with the chuunin.



Once he got there he was told that Iruka-sensei was in class at the moment but “We can call him if it something important, sir?” Kakashi shook his head and smiled amiably at the woman in the teacher’s room on the third floor, his eye closing in a good-natured half-moon.



“No need, Miss. I can wait.” he looked at the clock on the wall above her head “The class should be over in 10 minutes or so as it is.”



She nodded and bowed politely, then returned to her work.



Kakashi strolled leisurely down the corridor, finally reaching the classroom where Iruka taught and leaned back against the wall by the door, waiting patiently for the class to end.

In a few minutes the bell rang at the door opened with a crash, the collective student body stampeding out and towards the yard. It was lunchbreak already.



Iruka stuck his head out of the room and shook his fist after the rapidly retreating mass.



“I said no running in the corridors!” He yelled, but it seemed to be more a token effort more than anything else.



“Maa, maa, Sensei. They’ll be ninja one day, exercise is good for them.” Kakashi drawled casually. The chuunin turned to him and finally noticed his presence, his eyes widening comically and his face suddenly heating up in a bright blush. He tried to say something but only a squeak came out of his throat.



Kakashi used his embarrassment to calmly walk in the now empty classroom and lean against one of the students’ desks on the front row. The younger man stared at him with wide eyes but made no attempt to stop him.



“I figured that I needed to have a little chat with you, Sensei.” Kakashi said calmly.



The blush on Iruka’s face darkened, but he managed to find his voice.



“About what, Kakashi-san?”



“Now, please don’t play the fool or insult my abilities, Sensei. I know you were there in the alley yesterday. I was pretty occupied, but I could sense your presence. Did you enjoy the show?”



Iruka coughed again.



“I did not mean to intrude…” he began, but Kakashi interfered.



“Then why did you stay for so long?”



The poor man looked so flustered that he appeared to be about to keel over.



“I am terribly sorry, Kakashi-san.”



“You will be, if any of this ever finds its way to Konoha’s rumour mill.” Kakashi stated.



Iruka stared at him. Had the jounin just threatened him? He took a good look at him again – his pose was still relaxed and perfectly casual, but there was no smile in the single uncovered eye – it was dark and cold and threatening. However, Umino Iruka had never been afraid of that man – he had been angry at him, he had hated him, even, he had admired him – but he wasn’t afraid of him. He pulled himself up to his full height and met the cold glare head on with one of his own.



“I am no gossip, Kakashi-san.” He told him coldly. “And you should be grateful that I am not, because it could’ve been someone else that happened to stroll down that alley while you were having your little encounter with whomever that was. Someone much less discrete and well-mannered than me.” He lifted his hand to stop Kakashi from saying anything. “Your… secret is safe with me. I do not waste my time with idle chitchat about other people’s personal lives. However, I do not appreciate you coming here and threatening me in my own classroom. If that is all, please leave now.”



Clearly impressed by his nerve, Kakashi raised his eyebrow and straightened, leaving the room. At door, he turned and said:



“I WILL hold you to this promise, Sensei. Don’t forget that.”

Once the jounin was out, Iruka let out a long, shuddery breath that he had been holding the whole time and allowed himself to sit down on his desk, tucking his trembling hands between his thighs.



How many faces did this man have? In Konoha, he always acted the absent-minded, haughty and irresponsible airhead, appearing to be half-asleep even when he walked down the street. Yesterday, he had been the very sight of submission before a man he clearly loved… and today Iruka was sure he saw a glimpse of the cold-blooded killer – the face that was the last thing that Konoha’s enemies saw before they died. Kakashi was all of this and probably more, all of it hidden behind that ever-present mask of his. It was most disconcerting.



With nothing else to do, Kakashi returned to his home and took out the pitcher of tea from his fridge. He relaxed back on his sofa and mulled over the conversation he had with the chuunin. It hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped, but it hadn’t been a complete failure. Yesterday Pein had been right – the worst Iruka could do was to begin spreading rumours about his personal life and preferences and while that would be embarrassing it wouldn’t jeopardize his mission. Unless, of course, the rumours focused too much attention on him and made it difficult to move around unnoticed, especially with Naruto in tow. Should he kill the chuunin? He certainly had the skill to either make him disappear or arrange something that would look like an unfortunate accident. Still, regardless of his new allegiance, he was unwilling to harm a Konoha citizen unless absolutely necessary. After all, he had joined Akatsuki to further Pein’s cause which would ultimately help Konoha, and not hurt it. As far as he was concerned, he was still looking after his village in his own way.



Staring at the depths of the cup, Kakashi couldn’t help but remember how it all started…



In the last couple of years he rarely took ANBU missions but when Tsunade personally asked it of him, he had agreed. It was supposed to be an easy hit – sneak in some warlord’s lair in Iwa, find the guy, slit his throat, sneak out. Nice, clean and fast. The last thing he had expected to find there was a pair of unpleasantly familiar faces – the Uchiha and his large Mist Nin partner. His target was already dead, lying in a pool of blood soaking through the mattress of his own bed. For a moment, all three of them had frozen, staring at each other in surprise. Then Kakashi did the only reasonable thing he could do and hightailed out of there – it was common sense not to start a fight in the middle of a hostile military base.



A day later Pakkun had informed him that he was being followed, after the wind had momentarily changed its direction and brought the scent of his pursuers to him. And they were gaining on him fast. It was natural that they followed him, now that he thought of it – Akatsuki had no desire to expose their connections to outsiders, even connections that had just been severed.



He had really given his best to outrun them, well-aware that while he could probably hold his own against the Uchiha alone, now that he had his own Mangekyou, to win a fight against the pair would be impossible. However, probably due to their more extensive knowledge of the area, they had managed to catch up to him. He had gone down fighting, tiringand injuring both until finally exhaustion and Kisame’s fist to his face had knocked him out.



The following days were a blur, as the pair apparently drugged him as they dragged him back to their base of operations.



Finally, he woke up, feeling groggy, nauseated and with a pounding headache in a well-furnished but austere and a very much locked room deep Amegakure no Sato.