Fanning the Flames

Chapter Thirty

“We have a problem,” Raidou announced as he strolled into the Kazekage's office. He bent and kissed his husband thoroughly before continuing. “I found this for sale at a kiosk in the square. I confiscated it of course . . . but they're popping up all over town.”

“What is it?” Gaara asked as he eyed the deceptively simple looking disk.

“I'm afraid someone has released video of Hatake-san during one of his assignations.” The scarred man shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “You can watch it if you like. I saw more than enough already.”

“What's the matter Raidou?” the redhead demanded. “What aren't you telling me?”

“I couldn't help but think about the horrible things that were done to you koi,” his husband admitted. “It makes my blood boil.”

The Kazekage slipped the disk into the player, watching in silence for a few minutes before jabbing the button repeatedly until it ejected. “That is unpleasant,” he agreed. “What do you suggest we do?”

“We need to get them out of the stores to start,” Raidou decided. “Then we need to find out where they came from. Otherwise they'll just restock in a day or two.”

“Do you think we should tell Kakashi?” Gaara asked.

“Kami no,” his husband yelped. “He'd have a miscarriage for sure. I guess we could tell Ibiki, but I'd rather wait and let Iruka or Genma know. They aren't as close to the situation. Hopefully they will react more calmly. I'd hate to have Ibiki on the warpath.”

“How do you suggest we find them all?” the redhead asked. “It's not like they'll have them out in plain sight.”

“You'd be surprised. It was playing on a loop when I saw it. Quite a crowd had gathered. I daresay there were more than a couple of sales just in the few minutes I was standing there. I have no idea how long they've been available. It's just a good thing Hatake-san is confined to the hospital. I shudder to think of the crowd he could draw if he were out and about.” Raidou sighed and shuffled his feet, trying to cool his temper and settle his thoughts.

“Do you want me to handle it while you go fill Genma and Iruka in on what's happening?” Gaara asked. “It would be infinitely worse if these showed up in Konoha as well.”

“I never thought of that,” Raidou whispered “I'll leave right now.”


Genma pushed impatiently through the tower doors, ignoring the greeting of the receptionist and heading towards the elevators. “Ru, we have a major problem,” he called.

“Now what?” the Hokage grumbled. “Let me guess, Gai has lost his mind and is running around in fishnet stockings and high heels.”

The senbon-sucker was completely derailed by the image. His jaw went slack and toffee-colored eyes glazed over as his trademark needle teetered precariously on his lower lip. “Gen-chan . . . Genma . . . are you alright?” Iruka asked worriedly.

“Gouge out my eyes if you ever find Gai like that,” the honey-haired man finally managed in a gravelly, uneven, voice. “I don't think I could survive with my mind intact.”

“I didn't mean to upset you. It was supposed to be a joke,” the Rokudaime insisted. “What did you need to tell me?”

“Some asshole thought it would be good idea to sell these,” the tokubetsu muttered as he fumbled a disc into the DVD player. He watched his husband's face expectantly, hoping to anticipate his reaction.

“That is sick,” Iruka declared as he wiped a hand across his face. “It was one thing to read about it . . . seeing it is an entirely different matter. I'm more surprised than ever that Kakashi survived.”

“So what do we do?” Genma asked.

“We confiscate them,” the Hokage gritted out angrily. “Send ANBU to comb the village. I want all the copies on my desk by morning. Call Raidou and give him a heads up on what's happening.”

The words were barely out of his mouth when they were interrupted. “There's a visitor to see you Hokage-sama,” an ANBU informed him.

“Guys, we have a problem,” Raidou informed them as he followed the ANBU in. “There are some questionable DVD's of Hatake turning up in Suna. I wanted to warn you so you could be on the lookout here.”

“You mean like this one,” Iruka muttered as he pushed play on the remote control.

“Same general idea, but I think this is actually a different occasion.” Raidou mumbled as he averted his eyes. “I'm sorry, I don't like seeing Kakashi like that. I have a much different memory of him.”

“As do we Rai,” Genma assured him. “We need to figure out who's behind this and why. If we don't they'll just resupply the stores with new merchandise. Who hates Hatake-san?”

“We can't go at it that way, silly,” Iruka said with a smile. “He was a jounin for over twenty years. The copy-nin is still listed at the top of the Bingo books. No, this is more personal, someone he rejected or hurt somehow.”

“Kakashi was never involved with anyone before Ibiki,” Raidou stated confidently. “It can't be a jilted lover.”

“Maybe one of his old 'clients' then,” Genma suggested.

“Possibly. Maybe someone he ignored who later found out about his activities. After all, Kabuto plotted for years before actually getting his hands on Hatake.” The Rokudaime pursed his lips and tapped his foot as he tried to work out a plan of attack.

“Someone's going to have to tell Ibiki,” Genma pointed out. “If they're already on sale here I'm sure plenty of people have seen them.”

“I think you should tell him Gen,” Raidou suggested hesitantly. “After all, you guys are friends, right?”

“Not when it comes to something like this,” the senbon sucker admitted with a shudder. “He's as likely to kill me as the next guy. I think the Hokage should deliver this news.”

“Thanks a lot,” Iruka muttered.

“I'm sorry koi, but Rai's right. Ibiki is going to go over the top. As Hokage he'll listen to you and not react personally.” At least, that's what Genma was hoping would happen. If he was wrong and his husband survived the encounter he realized it would be a very long time before he was allowed back in their bed.

“Are you coming with me Rai?” the Rokudaime asked.

“Nah, I think I'll stay here and give Genma a hand with all this. Tell Gaara I'll be back in a couple of days.” the scarred tokubetsu decided. “I know what to look for now, you wouldn't believe some of the hiding places these dives have. I'll help get the search started before I head back.”

“I appreciate your efforts to help,” Iruka replied formally.

“I owe Hatake-san my happiness,” Raidou assured him. “I'll do anything in my power to see he has the chance for his own. This whole pregnancy has been very hard on him. He's confined in the hospital after the fiasco the other night.”

“What fiasco?” the Hokage asked icily.

“Apparently Kisame's lover dropped by to taunt Kakashi. Then Jiraiya and Itachi had some kind of disagreement and Hatake ended up in the middle of it. His blood pressure shot through the roof and his heart stopped. Needless to say Ibiki won't even let him get out of bed.”

“Is the baby okay?” Genma asked worriedly.

Iruka smiled at his concern. For all the senbon-sucker's protestations to the contrary, it was obvious how much this unborn child meant to him. Maybe we should consider using a surrogate, he mused.

“As far as they can tell the baby is fine. Hatake almost died though, so Ibiki isn't taking any chances.”

“I can't believe Kakashi would argue with him,” the Hokage murmured. “He loves children more than anyone I know.”

“They're having some problems,” Raidou confided. “No one knows exactly what's going on, but I know Ibiki is at his wits end.”

“Maybe you should take Kakashi's doctor with you. He's been off his medication all this time. I really don't want him to end up back in the hospital.” Genma waited for the slap to the back of his head he knew was coming. It's not like I mean it as an insult, he reminded himself. But he did almost kill Ibiki the last time he broke down. Iruka's week is coming up, if anything happened to him . . .

“You're right. It would be a shame to save his body and sacrifice his mind.” Raidou's words shook the senbon-sucker out of his daze.

“Why are Itachi and Jiraiya in Suna anyway?” Iruka asked.

“From what I've managed to figure out Itachi and the old man had words. Itachi went to talk to Kakashi about it. Ibiki went to fetch Jiraiya in the hopes of keeping Hatake calm and in bed,” Raidou explained. “As with so many plans, it didn't live up to his expectations. One minute Jiraiya and Kakashi were yelling at each other, and then boom, the mighty copy-nin drops like a rock.”

“I expect I'll be back before my week starts. Try not to get in too much trouble while I'm gone,” Iruka said with a smile. He kissed the senbon-sucker and then cast the signs for the teleportation jutsu, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

“Let's go get started rounding those discs up,” Genma suggested. “The sooner we get going, the sooner we can have a stiff drink. Kami knows I could use one.”