The Trick Is Not Minding

Chapter Twenty-Three

The lovers ordered a late lunch, and when it arrived they carried it out by the hot spring and nibbled while they soaked. As Iruka fed the copy-nin a bite of sushi he once again thanked the gods for giving him this. He marveled at how quickly the jounin had become comfortable going mask-less in his presence . . . so much so that he had to remind him to pull it on before he answered the door.

Such an amazing face, I can’t believe I’m the only one who gets to see it, he thought, although I almost wish everyone could see how handsome ‘kashi is, they’d be so jealous of little old me! His internal monologue was interrupted when pale fingers brought a ripe berry to his lips and pushed it inside. Iruka took the opportunity to suck and lick the digits, capturing them and leaving a trail of nips and kisses across the palm and up the inside of the jounin’s arm, ending with a deeply passionate kiss.

When they broke apart the teacher stroked his thumb against the pale face, tracing the scar through his sharingan and traveling across a prominent cheekbone to end in soft silver strands. “‘Kashi,” he began tentatively, “don’t get me wrong, I want this, more than anything, but are you sure? I’m just a teacher, a chuunin, plain, brown and boring . . . you could do so much better, and I wouldn’t blame you.”

Kakashi never wanted to see that look in the teacher’s eyes, Iruka should always be happy and smiling, not filled with self-loathing as he was now. Well, he thought, I’ll just have to show him he’s wrong. “‘Ruka-love you’re everything I ever hoped for, and I think you’re absolutely adorable. You are a much better person than I could ever hope to be. Besides,” he continued “where would I ever find anyone who could love me as thoroughly as you . . .last night was . . .” he paused for a long moment, wanting to find the right words, “I never imagined it could be pleasurable, hell more than that it was” the jounin fumbled for the words to express feelings he was unfamiliar with, “argg, I’m not good at this, it . . . it felt right, complete, real . . . I don’t know how to say it, I only know that I always want you to love me like that. Am I making any sense at all?” he finally concluded with a sheepish look as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh ‘kashi,” the chuunin exclaimed as he pulled him into a hug “I promise you, it will only get better.” They stayed like that for a long while, wrapped in each other’s arms, both reveling in these new feelings, content with each other.

Shunpei took his takeout and hid around the corner, watching and waiting for the man he had overheard to leave and head back to work so he could follow. Soon enough the man was on his way, with the medic surreptitiously tailing him. When they reached the onsen he headed around the side to see if he could find the copy-nin.

This is harder than I thought, Shunpei mused as he attempted to peek into the hot springs and locate his prey, I should have asked Jiraiya-sama for some tips. He had first come upon the women’s pool but left immediately, it was tempting yes, but he had a reason for coming here and he refused to be sidetracked. He lingered longer at the men’s pool, checking out each patron and waiting to see if the copy-nin or the teacher appeared. When neither man showed after half an hour he continued around to check the private pools, rationalizing that he could always come back if he needed to.

Finally he came to the most lavish of the pools, it even had its own separate cottage so the occupants never had to enter the main building or cross paths with other guests. It took him a while to work his way close enough to see, and when he did he was shocked. There sat his future pet locked in a passionate kiss with the meddling teacher. Shunpei gasped when they broke apart and he got his first glimpse of the copy-nin’s face. Oh hell yes, he thought as he palmed his hardening erection through his pants, eagerly anticipating what was to come.

Kakashi broke the kiss when he felt a spike of chakra nearby. “‘ruka,” he whispered, keeping his face hidden in the chuunin’s neck, “someone’s watching us over there, do you feel it?”

“No, I don’t.” The chuunin sheepishly replied, “I’m not as talented as you, but I don’t doubt you. So, what do you want to do?”

“I want you to get out and go inside, see if it draws them out.” replied the jounin, “Besides, I can protect you better there.”

The teacher bristled, “I’m a shinobi Kakashi, just like you are. I am not weak, nor am I a child. I will not leave you to deal with an attack while I go hide under the bed.” With that he put his hands on his hips and glared at the taller man.

“If I have to make it an order I will.” Iruka swallowed, his ‘kashi was gone, this was the formidable copy-nin and he reluctantly decided to do as he was told. With that the chuunin rose and headed inside. Kakashi appeared to continue to lounge, lazily sprawled with eyes shut, patiently monitoring the foreign chakra and waiting for the hidden watcher to make a move.

He didn’t have to wait long. As soon as the teacher disappeared Shunpei saw his chance and he stealthily headed for his objective. The copy-nin didn’t even bother to open his eyes, lazily drawling “Can I help you?”

“I believe we can help each other.” the medic replied, “I have a proposition I’d like to discuss with you. You see, we have mutual areas of interest.”

“Do we?” the jounin queried, “Well, well, and what might they be pray tell?” Shunpei moved forward and crouched next Kakashi’s head, speaking in a more intimate tone of voice.”

“Scars,” the medic said as he leaned forward to run his hand across the copy-nin’s chest, “Yours are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen . . . I would be honored to continue the work your master started.”

A long fingered hand caught his wrist hard and the coldest voice he’d ever heard replied “Is that so? And you thought I’d be interested in this because?”

“It’s obvious you want it, and that pussy chuunin will never be able to give it to you. You need someone like me who can punish you as you desire. I’ve never seen anything as gorgeous as you when you’re in pain, so hot.” Shunpei lost himself in the memories of that night, “I want to see that in your face, make you cry out for me.” He abruptly stopped and let out a loud shriek of pain when the fine boned hand suddenly crushed his wrist.

The next thing the medic knew, he was dangling by his broken wrist, staring into the incredibly intimidating face of an angry copy-nin. “I see . . . so you like scars do you, well then, why don’t I give you some of your own to admire?” and he lifted his other hand, concentrated his chakra, and proceeded to slice down the front of Shunpei’s shirt, leaving a long bloody gash down his chest and making him scream in agony yet again. “Still think it’s fun?” the jounin coldly inquired before he repeated the gesture on the other side, prompting a fresh round of thrashing and screaming. He raised his hand again, only to have his wrist caught before he could slice into the writhing medic once again.

“‘kashi, stop.” Iruka plead, “You’re better than this, he’s a Konoha nin, you can’t kill him.”

“I’m not killing him, I’m helping him.” the copy-nin grimly replied, “He admires my scars and wanted to help me out by taking Aoshi’s place. He thought I’d be happy with his offer . . . thought I’d enjoy it.” he spat in disgust, “I thought I’d do him a favor and give him some marks of his own to appreciate.”

“Please ‘kashi,” the teacher continued to beseech, “you don’t have to do this.”

“No, I don’t . . . but it certainly feels good.” the jounin replied bitterly, “I’m sure that, with time, I could grow to enjoy it very much.”

“You don’t really mean that, do you?” Iruka gasped, “You can’t.”

“I can . . . and I am.” the copy-nin calmly replied. “You can’t stop me.”

“You’re right, I can’t.” the chuunin sadly replied, “But I won’t stay and watch either, if this is your choice then I’ll be leaving.” He paused for a moment before finishing sadly “I guess I was wrong when I told you that you were better than Aoshi . . . you’re exactly alike.” With that he turned and fled back inside, dropping to the bed and dissolving into heart breaking sobs.

Kakashi watched his lover flee from him and his brain churned. He desperately wanted to hurt the man still dangling from his grip . . . but he even more desperately wanted Iruka and his gentle touch. He felt like he was splitting in two and he dropped the medic into the hot spring and clapped his hands to his head, squeezing it hard as he let out an agonized roar, memories cascading faster and faster until he finally fell limp, lost in the images replaying themselves over and over behind his eyes.