Questionable Loyalty

A/N: Thank you for the art, Yuki. It's very pretty! :D



CHAPTER 54







If Kakashi’s students found him to be unusually quiet and serious on their way back from the farm, they didn’t dare to say a word. They walked next to him, barely talking as well, too tired and dirty to be in any mood for chatting.



For his part, Kakashi was sweaty, exhausted and worried. How was he to remove Naruto from the village without anyone getting suspicious? Admittedly, he was, after all, the famous Copy Nin, rumoured to become the next Hokage, but still… ANBU’s eye was constantly trained on Naruto and the elders and Danzo were paranoid. He couldn’t just walk up to the young man and tell him to follow him – even if Naruto would do just that, no questions asked. He swallowed past the lump in his throat.



Kakashi knew what would happen – Naruto would look up at him with those soulful baby-blues of his, the same as his father’s, he’d grin and nod and bounce on his feet, impatient to leave, to follow Kakashi to his death. It took a conscious effort on Kakashi’s part not to wrap his arms around himself, knowing that such body-language would be noticed even by relative amateurs like a group of Genin.



Finally, they reached Konoha and his students bid him goodbye, eager to go home and rest. Kakashi too walked back to the flat he shared with Iruka, unlocked the door and quietly slipped into the corridor.



His lover was already home, curled on the sofa and reading a book. Iruka looked up at him over the pages and smiled.



“Hi.”



“Hi.” Kakashi said tiredly and pulled away his mask.



The Chuunin left the book on the coffee table and walked up to him, giving his a gentle kiss.



“I’ll draw you a bath. You must be sore.”



“I hate rats.” Kakashi agreed.



Ten minutes later he removed his sticky, sweaty clothes and dumped them in the hamper, then slid into the warm water with a sigh. Iruka walked up to him by the tub, wrapped in a bathrobe and sat on the edge.



“Long day?” He asked softly.



Kakashi nodded without opening his eyes. He heard the rustle of clothes and then another warm, strong body slid next to him – Iruka had joined him in the bathtub. Kakashi instinctively wrapped his arms around him and laid his head on his shoulder. Iruka’s fingers threaded through his wet hair.



“What’s wrong?” his lover asked gently.



“I’m tired.” He said softly.



“Long day?”



Kakashi shook his head but didn’t respond. He cupped a handful of water and let it flow over Iruka’s muscled chest, rubbing his palm over the wet flesh afterwards, slowly looking up at him and meeting confused chocolate eyes. Ever since their conversation in the training grounds, Iruka hadn’t touched him sexually and Kakashi hadn’t initiated anything – the Chuunin was beginning to think that he was still angry at him, or just too hurt by his actions to want him, and that thought was very painful to bear.



“Kakashi?”



“You’re a good man, Iruka.” Kakashi stated.



“Um… ok?”



Kakashi rubbed his lips against Iruka’s jaw.



“Make love to me?” he asked softly.



The words ignited his passion once again. He hungrily ran his hands up Kakashi’s muscled back but his lover stiffened.



“Please, be gentle?” Kakashi whispered in his ear, his wet lips barely touching the skin.



This time guilt mixed with the passion at those words. The hungrily questing hands stilled and gently embraced his lover’s pale form.



“Yes.” Iruka answered. “I’ll be gentle.”



The Chuunin reached under them and pulled the plug, draining the bathtub before getting up and easily lifting his lover out of it, holding him close as he carried him to the bedroom. Once inside, he deposited him on the bed and climbed up after him, straddling his hips and leaning to give Kakashi a loving kiss, sighing when he felt the Jounin’s fingers on his waist and then caressing his ribs.

They were both sopping wet and drenching the sheets but neither of them really cared. Kakashi was as pliant as usual, but there was a desperate, needy edge to the way he kissed and held Iruka when his lover ran his hands over his slick body.



The younger man could sense his need, his passion, but at the same he knew that he had to take his time now, play with his lover until he was incoherent with passion and then take him gently. He had thought that he could let go, that he could do whatever he wanted and he had ended up hurting his lover – even if at the time he had been angry for a good reason that was no excuse. Now he was determined to show Kakashi that he could be gentle, and caring, and loving, because his lover deserved it.



He played with Kakashi, using his fingers and mouth and tongue, exploring every crevice of his body, paying special attention to the places he knew drove Kakashi mad – the soft spot behind his ear, his nipples, the soft underside of his knees, the tips of his fingers. After a while, Kakashi suddenly grew bold as well, began to touch him back, acting as if he was discovering his body for the first time even if he already knew all of his weaknesses.



They ended up rolled over, Iruka on his back with Kakashi straddling his hips and slowly rocking back and forth, rubbing their arousals together, their precome mixing and making them both slick. Kakashi sighed – a sound somewhere between relief and need – when Iruka’s lube-covered finger slid inside of him and began to patiently stretch him. The speed at which the Jounin was rocking on top of him didn’t change – he just added a tilt to his hips to be able to impale himself further on the questing fingers with each sweet movement.



By the time Iruka had added a third finger his lover was moaning sweetly in his ear, his entire body resting on top of his, his face settled in the crook between neck and shoulder, strong chests rubbing together as Kakashi kept rocking.



“Are you ready, baby?” Iruka asked softly and Kakashi nodded in his neck, then slowly raised himself back up to his knees and reached behind himself to grasp Iruka’s hard length, running his fingers over its warm, slick surface before gently guiding the tip to his stretched entrance – and then slowly sank down onto it, head thrown back, the luscious lips open in a silent moan of pleasure.



Iruka felt the warm, tight entrance constricting around him as he slid deeper and deeper in Kakashi until the man was sitting on his lap once again, his cock fully seated inside of him. They both moaned and Iruka’s tanned hands came to Kakashi’s hips to keep him steady, making a conscious effort not to grip too harshly lest the lily-white flesh bruise.



Slowly, torturously, Kakashi lifted himself gracefully and then sank back down onto the hard cock, a look of bliss on his face. He began to rock on top of Iruka again, exquisitely graceful, one hand on the Chuunin’s muscled chest for leverage and the other playing with his own nipples with abandon.



Iruka felt like he would explode – the sensation of his lover’s channel gripping him so tightly, the slick walls rippling around his throbbing organ, the look on Kakashi’s face as he played with himself – it was all almost too much. He wanted nothing more but to throw the man face first onto the mattress and then fuck him, hard and fast, take him from behind so roughly that he wouldn’t be able to walk tomorrow. Iruka stubbornly reigned in that urge, reminding himself that he wasn’t an animal, that Kakashi was too precious to be treated in such a way.

Iruka didn’t want this to end, he really didn’t, but the stimulation was proving to be too much, he knew he couldn’t last much longer and he desperately needed to satisfy his lover. He reached and took his erection in his hand, rubbing it in time with his thrusts as his hips began to snap up faster and harder than before. Kakashi cried out and rocked back just as fast, bowing down until both his arms were on the sheets on both sides of Iruka’s head, hungrily meeting each thrust, giving him a passionate kiss when he spilled in his hand.



Iruka drank in Kakashi’s cries of pleasure, bucked up several more times into the constricting passage and found his release as well, digging in his fingers in his lover’s slender hip.



They fell asleep together afterwards, Kakashi spooned in his arms, head on his shoulder, his breath tickling his nipple.



It was still dark outside when Iruka blearily opened his eyes at sound of the pounding on the front door, accompanied with the distinctly familiar chakra signature of one of his colleagues in Tsunade’s office.. Kakashi was already awake and moving, grabbing his pants and hastily pulling them on before walking out of the bedroom to open the front door. Somewhat more clumsily, the Iruka followed his example.



Kakashi grabbed the door-handle and swung the door open, coming face to face with a familiar Nin, his fist raised to pound on the door once again. The man blinked, took in Kakashi’s and Iruka’s semi-naked appearance, blinked again, cleaned his throat and croaked:



“Tsunade-sama wants you both in her office. Now.” And then he disappeared into a puff of smoke.



Kakashi and Iruka looked at each other with confusion, then went back inside to get dressed.



A quick shared shower later they teleported before the Hokage tower and quickly raced up the stairs to Tsunade’s office. Kakashi entered without knocking and Iruka followed, even if he flushed a little at it.



The look on Tsunade’s face stopped him in his tracks. She was usually a serious, strict professional, even if she was prone to angry outbursts from time to time. However, you could always read her moods – anger, disappointment, joy, annoyance, playfulness. Today, her expression was completely blank, her golden eyes empty and devoid of emotion, her lips pale and drawn into a thin line, her cheeks sunken and ashen. She looked like a ghost.



“Hokage-sama?” Iruka asked uncertainly.



“Jiraiya is dead.” She said flatly.



Iruka sank down on one of the chairs before the Hokage’s desk.



“How?” he asked hollowly.



“Killed. Murdered. By Akatsuki’s leader.” Tsunade answered, her voice just as hollow. “He went on a reconnaissance mission in Amegakure – what we believe is Akatsuki’s main headquarters. Apparently, the leader realized he was there and killed him.”



Iruka risked a glance at Kakashi standing next to him and saw that the Jounin was looking at his feet, the single visible eye hooded by the long, thick eye-lashes, his arms wrapped around himself protectively. He looked openly dejected and Iruka reached instinctively to touch his elbow, to offer silent support. The muscles under his touch stiffened and he almost removed his hand but Kakashi forced himself to relax.



Tsunade paused, watching the display of silent affection before looking away and swallowing.



“He managed to send one of his frogs with a coded message on its back. It’s being deciphered even as we speak.”



Kakashi nodded but said nothing.



“Does Naruto already know?” Iruka asked. Tsunade shook her head.



“No. I’ll tell him later this morning, when he comes here… That’s why I wanted to tell you as early as possible. I am counting on you to reign him in, once I tell him. I don’t want him to do anything stupid out of grief.”



Iruka nodded sadly.



“I assume I am here because you want the Jounin’s opinion and suggestions about increasing the security of the village?” Kakashi asked.



“Yes. From this point on we need to be very careful. And we need to strike against Akatsuki, soon. I am counting on you, Kakashi. You are the best that I have.”



Kakashi nodded.



“I understand. I will go and notify Gai, Genma and Raidou.”



“Yes. Do that.”



Iruka got up from the chair.



“I’ll remain here…”



“Yes, for Naruto…” Kakashi finished for him. “Good luck.”



Iruka smiled sadly and bid him goodbye. Kakashi bowed to Tsunade and disappeared.



He was already on his way to Gai’s when he passed through a narrow, dirty street, attempting to make a shortcut to his friend’s place, when an elderly man, toothless and dressed in dirty, patched up clothes, ambled towards him, raising his arm to beg for coins. With a sigh Kakashi reached for his pocket – he always felt sorry for these people who lived on the fringes of Konoha’s society – some of them former nins, maimed in the middle of their career, disgraced, useless to a militaristic society, ignored and ridiculed, ending up on the street, forgotten even by their own families who saw them as a burden.



The moment he dropped the coins in the man’s outstretched palm the claw-like hand grabbed his wrist with a lightning speed, the other hand closing over his.



“A message from Pein-sama.” The man whispered and let go of him. “Thank you so much, good sir!” he said louder and ambled away. Kakashi felt a small piece of paper in his hand. He didn’t dare to read it until he was safely alone in Gai’s bathroom, claiming a natural need once his friend let him in.



“Tomorrow, 5 PM .” The note said. “Nezumi’s cove outside of Konoha. Bring the boy.”



Kakashi immediately recognized Nagato’s scribbly, uncertain handwriting. Suddenly, all thoughts of guilt and shame and self-hatred evaporated from his mind. The only thing he could think about was “How the hell am I going to get Naruto out of the village with all the increased security watching his every move?!”