To the Winner Goes...

Gai was almost to his apartment when Kakashi suddenly teleported in front of him, giving him a smile and wave. “Yo. Heard you were at the academy.” Actually, he’d just followed him from said building, but he wasn’t about to tell Gai that. He was glad he’d decided that observing Iruka would be a good means to figuring out what to do to get the date. Otherwise, he’d not know that Gai had made his first move.

“I spoke with Iruka-sensei.” Gai nodded. He wanted to announce his completion of the challenge, but oddly, he felt that would cheapen the date. Even if it was only a means to an end for both men involved. He stepped around his rival and kept walking. Kakashi would figure things out on his own, unless he pushed the issue now.

“So,” Kakashi fell into step with the fuzzy-browed friend, “turned you down, did he?” He was surmising since the usually eager to claim victory jounin wasn’t. No grin, no gleaming teeth, no thumbs up . . . And come to think of it, the other man hadn’t made one of his promises about what he’d do if (when, Kakashi thought) he lost. Not that Kakashi had given him time before popping off to try to get a date with Iruka.

“No,” Gai responded, eyes straight ahead. He had to admit, he liked the feeling stringing along Kakashi was giving him. Some sort of justice for making a man’s feelings the reward, and possibly the victim, of their challenge.

“Wha?!” To say Kakashi sounded surprised was an understatement. Gai had gotten the date?! Why wasn’t he claiming victory? Where was the Gai he knew so well? Why was he acting so . . . oddly?

Gai paused and turned to look at the man who had stopped walking. “I am meeting Iruka-sensei and nineteen thirty for dinner,” he reiterated. He himself wondered why he did not feel the need to boast about his victory. Though, he wasn’t sure it was a real victory. He’d gotten the date but only because he was, to Iruka at least, the better of the choices.

“How?” Kakashi demanded. He was simply dumbstruck. Gai was going out with Iruka. After one try! That just wasn’t right! Iruka had shot him down faster than he could even imply he was wanting to go out. What on earth did the ‘Green Beast’ know that he didn’t?

Gai grinned and winked, at least putting something back to rightness in the world for Kakashi. “Youthful honesty!”

“Can the youthful bullshit,” Kakashi growled, even though it was, in some way, relieving to hear the word youth leave the man’s mouth. He knew how that this Gai was not some genjutsu, though he was sorely tempted to bare the Sharingan and make sure something weird wasn’t going on. He seriously wanted, needed, to know how Gai had done it. “How could you get him to go out with you, when he shot me down in flames faster than I could ask?”

“After you got such a reaction, I went with my original plan.” He grinned again. “I told him why I needed the date.” As Kakashi had just pointed out, Iruka did seem able to say no fast enough. It was obvious the man did not wish to be part of one of their games, or any of Kakashi’s schemes. Most people didn’t realize what a schemer the copy-nin was, how he toyed with lives sometimes. It wasn’t always for his own benefit. Sometimes he did it to help others, teach lessons, but a lot of times, it was for a good laugh.

“WHAT!?!” And Iruka hadn’t been pissed? Hadn’t wanted both sets of their balls in any manner of painful situations? He’d just walked up to him, told him that he was challenged to get him on a date, and Iruka had gone along with it! There was something not right with that.

Gai grinned again. “Yes.” And there came the thumbs up and the glint to the teeth. “Now, I must prepare for my date with Iruka-sensei!” He turned and walked away. “I’m up another point, my Eternal Rival!” He turned back to Kakashi suddenly and struck his famous pose, teeth glinting and a thumb raised. With a final wink, he was gone with a pop and swirl of smoke.

Kakashi stood in the middle of the street, this person or that staring at him oddly as they passed by. He was still dumbfounded. The only thing he could think to do was verify the information. And the only place to do that was at the source.

*****************************************

Iruka had returned to grading papers as soon as Gai had left. He had two and half hours to finish them, go home and shower, then return to meet Gai. He wasn’t sure why, but he was feeling more and more giddy. He couldn’t focus on his work as thoughts of where this simple dinner could lead, even if it wasn’t a real date. He wasn’t going to get any work done at this rate.

And then he heard the pop. Glancing up, he sighed. No. He would not be getting the grading done this evening. He’d have to come in early in the morning. “Kakashi-sensei.” He sat up straight, away from the desk, and eyed the silver-haired man.

Kakashi just stared at the chuunin for a few minutes, which unnerved the younger man the longer he stared. He finally decided to speak, when he saw the brow of the teacher beginning to twitch. That was the same way the brow twitched just before he blew up at someone at the mission’s desk. “Are you going out with Gai tonight?” He cut straight to the chase. Iruka didn’t seem the type able to be charmed. Probably from working with kids who tried everything to charm their way into getting out of trouble or getting what they wanted.

Iruka arched a brow. How could he know so fast? ... Of course. Gai had to have told him. After all, the date won Gai the challenge. Somewhere along the line, Iruka had forgotten, to a degree, that small detail. More like he had not thought Gai would go claim victory so quickly. Not as soon as he had the yes. He never thought he’d cheapen the date even more than the circumstances did. If he had already won, was there even a point to going?

Kakashi watched different emotions pass through the chuunin’s expressive chocolate eyes. The main one seemed to be disappointment, followed closely by either uncertainty or . . . hurt? Okay, something was going on that the copy-nin was missing, again. Did the damn chuunin have to be so complicated?

Snapping out of his thoughts, Iruka masked his face perfectly. “Yes, I am. He’s won your stupid game. Now, I have work to do if you would please . . . ” He trailed off, knowing the other man would get the point.

“Why do you dislike me so much?” Kakashi asked. The chuunin was so hostile toward him, so defensive. Kakashi wondered if it somehow stemmed from Naruto or Sasuke. He cut that thought off before it went any further. Now as not the time to think about Sasuke or the knucklehead.

“What?” Iruka was caught off guard. He didn’t exactly dislike Kakashi. He was just suspicious of him, of his intent in choosing to interact with him, of all people. It’s not like they ever agreed on anything, at least not in regards to Kakashi’s care of his genin team. It was on par with Iruka’s agreement with Hiashi on his treatment of Hinata, but that was a different matter entirely. He’d not think about that little blow up right now, or how Hiashi had reacted.

“You are always dismissing me and snapping at me. Why don’t you like me?” Kakashi asked again. The question was simple. The answer couldn’t be too complex.

Iruka had to pause again. Was he that bad? Probably. He was always defensive around people trying to get close. Worse now than he had been. After Mizuki . . . Okay, not going there either, he thought. And then losing Sarutobi-san and Hayate . . . He sighed. “You wouldn’t approach me if you weren’t up to something.” Unless they were about to have an argument about the genin . . . again. But that wasn’t an issue anymore, sadly.

“You don’t trust me?” He kept the expression around his eye and his voice both indifferent. He wasn’t sure how the answer to the question would affect him, so he took control of himself now.

“I trust you with my life.” And here comes the but, Kakashi thought. “But, I also trust that you could have anyone in the village, have had several. The only reason for you to approach me is because you’re up to something.” He knew the number of willing people to go out with or bed the jounin was never ending. “Which, imagine that, you were. You’ve lost your game so you no longer need to waste our time.” More like my time, Iruka thought, not caring what Kakashi did with his own.

Kakashi was shocked. Did he seem so shallow or was Iruka that insecure? “Iruka, you shouldn’t think so little of yourself. You’re a handsome, sexy, fiery man. Who wouldn’t want you?” He asked sincerely, if a bit poorly worded.

“Yes, my looks mean the world,” he dead panned. He rolled his eyes, wondering briefly why Kakashi was bothering with this now. He had lost his challenge with Gai. Unless he was being sincere . . . Still, did he not consider maybe Iruka didn’t want to just sleep with someone? Of course not. That’s all the damn jounin thought about with his awful books.
‘I didn’t mean your looks were all there is to you. Kind, generous, caring. You’re a great man. If it wasn’t for this challenge . . . Maybe another time we can get tea or ramen? His eye arched in a smile.

Iruka eyed him. If it wasn’t for this challenge what? Should he take the chance with tea or ramen? What could it harm? But what if he was just proving he could get a date, too? “I’ll think about it.” He gave a small hesitant smile. The matter needed more thought, he decided, but right now he needed to focus on his date with Gai.

“Of course,” Kakashi kept his smile. “I’ll see you around, Iruka-sensei.” He bowed. “Hopefully over that tea or dinner.” And with that, he was gone in a puff of smoke.

Iruka rubbed his scar with a sigh. It seemed losing the challenge had not affect on Kakashi’s persistence. Could it be that he genuinely was interested in Iruka? But if so, was it just for a one night stand or more? Was the challenge just an excuse to ask Iruka out?

There were just too many questions. He would go with the flow and see how things turned out. Maybe it was time to just stop worrying and over analyzing everything. To take a chance with life and whatever it threw at him. First things first, the date with Gai.