Fanning the Flames

Chapter Forty-Eight

Ibiki shifted impatiently on the lumpy couch. He'd been waiting for over an hour for his things to be delivered and his stomach was loudly protesting the delay. After a heated internal debate he decided they would just have to come back, and he quickly penned a note for the door and headed to the market for a quick bite.

He slipped onto a stool at the first soba stand he came to and placed his order. While he waited for his meal, the interrogator turned to watch the activity with cold unreadable eyes. He was shocked to see Kakashi's little entourage meandering down the crowded street. A single eyebrow lifted in disbelief at the sight of the copy-nin, dressed in casual clothes and sans mask, strolling casually next to Gai.

Ibiki instantly revised his earlier opinion. The copy-nin appeared as fit as ever, with the exception of what looked like a basketball hidden under his shirt. If I didn't know better I'd think he was pregnant, the interrogator decided. He certainly seems to have a lot of children.

He dismissed Gai immediately as unimportant, focusing instead on the elusive sharingan no Kakashi and his choice of women. Kurenai and Hinata were walking side by side chatting
as each pushed a stroller, while Gai maneuvered a third. He understood the jounin's relationship with Kurenai. She was a strong jounin in her own right with a good bloodline. Hinata was another matter. The Hyuuga heiress was one of the weakest of her clan. Then Ibiki remembered meeting her in the hospital. A jounin of Kakashi's level would certainly spend his fair share of time in the hospital. That must be where they met, he decided. It must certainly come in handy to have your own private healer.

The ragtag party drew to a halt opposite the soba stand while the copy nin scooped a crying infant out of Gai's stroller. Even at a distance the color of the child's hair made determining paternity a foregone conclusion. What had the normally stoic interrogator shaking his head, however, was the surge of possessive resentment he felt at the thought.

* ^ * ^ *

Ebisu had been waiting patiently ever since he'd first seen the DVD's in one of the black market sex shops in the pleasure district. Hell, he'd been waiting ever since his censure and punishment. Finally all his patience was about to pay off. “Look, look,” he jostled his companions. “Isn't that Hatake?”

“Looks like him, why?” Iwashi decided after a quick glance.

“Nothing. Just wanted to have a chat with him.” Ebisu brushed the imaginary dirt off his clothes, squared his shoulders and headed for the copy-nin. “Hey, Hatake. Wait up a minute,” he yelled as he hurried to catch up.

“Ebisu-Sensei,” Gai boomed. “What Can We Do For You This Fine Morning?”

“My business is with Hatake, not you. Stay out of this, Gai-sensei,” the tutor demanded.

“What possible business do you have with me?” Kakashi asked coldly.

“I wanted to talk to you about a DVD I bought a few weeks ago. It certainly looked to me like the high and mighty Hatake Kakashi has been moonlighting as a porn star. No matter how well connected you are, they can't excuse that.” The smile on the prissy tutor's face stretched ear to ear and the copy-nin wondered sourly what sort of punishment he'd get for decorating the pavement with all those shiny white teeth.

“What Is He Talking About, Rival?” Gai asked innocently, and the copy-nin's heart fell at the thought of explaining to the rather naïve man. Before he could open his mouth, however, Ebisu jumped in with an answer.

“I came across a DVD of our resident pervert here having sex with a whole roomful of men. Not so very noble, now, is he? Who would have thought he likes to bend over and take it in the ass? And that wasn't the worst of it by far. As I recall you were a pretty good cocksucker, Hatake. Care to give me a personal demonstration?”

Kakashi tried to decided what the best course of action was, but his brain didn't want to stay on track. Obviously the DVDs that had driven him out of Suna had surfaced here as well. He automatically moved between Obito's stroller and the angry tutor as he rapidly reviewed and discarded options. Before he had a chance to react the street exploded into a flurry of activity.

Kurenai, Hinata and Gai all rounded on a startled Ebisu. “How dare you,” Kurenai hissed as she began making the signs to cast a genjutsu. Before she was finished Hinata slid past her and delivered a series of crippling strikes that had the teacher cowering. Before Gai could even open his mouth Kakashi's ninken made an appearance, protectively separating the copy-nin and the children from the fracas behind a growling, bristling perimeter of teeth and claws.

Before the situation could descend into utter madness Ibiki bolted off his stool and across the street, wading into the fracas and dragging Hinata off a rapidly bruising Ebisu. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he bellowed, stopping everyone in their tracks. “You're high-ranked shinobi, start acting with a little decorum.”

“Not so anxious to claim him now, are you Ibiki?” Ebisu spat triumphantly. “Too bad you can't erase the taint on your reputation so easily. Everyone knows you married this piece of filth. Neither one of you is fit to wear the Leaf hitai-ate.”

“You, shut the fuck up,” the interrogator ordered. “Will someone please explain what is going on here?”

“Hatake here,” Ebisu began, only to be cut short.

“Someone OTHER than Ebisu, explain. NOW,” Ibiki demanded.

“Look, Beta-boy,” Pakkun growled. “You're the one who wanted to join the pack. Start living up to your end of the bargain.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” The interrogator was beginning to get a slightly glazed look in his eyes. Akiko broke out of the roiling mass of canines and made a bee-line for the torture master. She skidded to a halt at his heel and turned to bare sharp fangs at Pakkun, an impressive growl rolling out of her tiny frame.

“Enough,” Kakashi barked. “Please accept my apologies for the disturbance, Morino-san.” He gave a low bow before rounding on his companions. “Can we please just go. This is exactly what I was hoping to avoid.”

“Not so fast,” Ibiki ordered. “I think you all need to come to my office so we can get this straightened out.”

“Sure, your office. Of course, I should have known. That way you can sweep it all under the rug,” Ebisu had to add.

“Just what is your problem, anyway?” The interrogator peered at the tutor distrustfully. “You sound a bit unhinged.”

“I'm not the one who married a common whore,” the tutor snapped back.

“That's it.” Ibiki's patience was legendary. However, when it snapped the result was nothing short of spectacular. Within moments the street was flooded with masked ANBU. The entire group was swiftly taken into custody and, with a few hand signs, disappeared from sight, leaving the street almost too silent in their wake.

When the group reappeared in one of the interrogation chambers, Bull refused to stay silent. “Touch one hair on their heads and I'll tear your other ball off,” he rumbled menacingly. “I can't believe you just did that. You, of all people, know how dangerous it is for Boss to teleport.”

Ibiki peered at the copy-nin. True, he did seem a touch paler than usual, but that could be due to his presence in the famed torture chambers of Konoha. He was unprepared, therefore, when the usually unflappable jounin began to slowly tilt to one side before crumpling into a heap on the stone floor.

Hinata moved to check the shockingly still form, reaching out with her chakra to check the health of the baby he was carrying. “We need to move Hatake-san to the hospital right away,” she insisted. “The baby's heartbeat is too slow.”

“What baby? What are you babbling about?” the interrogator muttered crossly. He rubbed a hand over his head, willing away the headache that was beginning to pound behind his temples. He had enough going on right now without this mess to sort out on top of it all. “I'm sorry to disappoint all of you, but I have more important things to do than waste time dealing with your petty brawl. I'm going back to work. When someone wants to explain all this in a rational way, the guard knows how to find me.”

Hinata, Kurenai and Gai didn't even notice his departure, too engrossed in pushing chakra into the failing copy-nin and the tiny life inside him. Pakkun decided to take matters into his own hands, teleporting directly into the Hokage's office. “The brat needs to get to the hospital right now,” he barked. “That idiot mate of his has them locked in the cells downstairs.”

“He what?” Iruka dropped the pile of papers he was holding and raced towards the stairs.

Once he located the cell the ANBU at his heels unlocked it. The Rokudaime watched wih sad eyes as the ANBU carefully lifted the unconscious copy-nin and set off for the hospital with Hinata and Gai in tow. He grabbed Kurenai's arm as she moved to follow. “What happened?”

“We were all going to the market. 'shi-kun didn't want to be home when they came to pick up Ibiki's things. Unfortunately, we ran into Ebisu. He started a big scene, something about pornographic DVDs that Kakashi supposedly made. Things got a little heated and Ibiki stepped in.”

“What happened to Hatake-san?” Iruka pressed, uneasiness bubbling up in the pit of his stomach.

“Ibiki had the ANBU teleport us all here so he could figure out what was going on. When Kakashi collapsed he just walked out and told us to call the guard when we were ready to talk,” the kunoichi explained. “The baby's heartbeat was very slow. I need to get over to the hospital and see what's going on.”

“Go,” the Hokage urged. “I'll be there as soon as I get things under control here.”