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VI.

When Kakashi had stepped off the barge, the first thing he had done was try and locate Iruka’s trail again. He’d summoned one of his other dogs instead of Pakkun because Iruka would recognize the small dog. The husky that waited outside the Abeko wouldn’t be mistaken as anything than another dog, waiting for her master to exit the building. Akiko’s sharp nose had led him straight here to the Abeko, proving Iruka was somewhere inside the building. But as he stood waiting for be seated, he’d scanned the room, and couldn’t locate the chuunin. He couldn’t even sense a genjustu that could be concealing Iruka’s identity, but that didn’t mean Iruka was using one. There were other, less obvious ways to conceal an identity. So that’s why he’d waited and studied the waitresses that were running about, eliminating possible suspects on body type alone. She was too small, she was too tall, and that one was too blonde, that one too dark. He’d eliminated nearly all of his possibilities when the hostess came over to him, flustered since too many people had come in at once today, and more had come in behind Kakashi. So she’d called his prime suspect, one he hadn’t noticed before, to help her.

The girl, Ruka, was every bit as identical to his Iruka. The only missing feature was the scar across her face and the fact she had breasts. Honestly, it was the lack of the scar he noticed first! But she had nice breasts, small and round and probably firm. He gave himself a mental shake. He wasn’t here to be checking out the girls, he was here to find his Iruka. But she set off the same bells Iruka did when the chuunin came around – or rather, when Kakashi went to visit, even during school hours – so he had to make sure she wasn’t just some disguise his Iruka was wearing. So he picked the name that would get a rise out of the chuunin, because he would certainly recognize Kakashi, and by using Naruto’s name, it would be like an insult, almost. But she hadn’t reacted as he’d thought she would. In fact, she merely tilted her head in confusion at his pause because she hadn’t reacted as he thought she would, and showed him to his table.

Ruka was polite, he noticed, and wondered if Iruka had a sister he’d never mentioned. Still, even if she was Iruka’s sister, why would she be working here, in a place like this? So he studied her. She moved easily, with a practiced step that told him she’d been working here for years. Iruka wouldn’t have had time to even fake that step, even if he’d been here a week. But Akiko couldn’t be wrong. She’d told him the scent was very fresh and it hadn’t moved on from here. Which meant Iruka was still here, but what his eye told him contradicted everything his poor husky told him. Akiko was never wrong, either. If he could bring her in here, she’d sniff Iruka out in a second. So he ordered a meal and watched Ruka work, disappearing into the kitchen to put in orders, reappearing to serve, blushing and giggling as several men hit on her, shaking her head and replying that she couldn’t possibly serve them what they wanted because she was a waitress. That alone raised Kakashi’s eyebrow. What was the Abeko then, if not a restaurant? Yes it was right on the outskirts of the red light district, but the disembarking passengers had to walk through some of the red light district just to get into the main part of the city. So the Abeko had been strategically placed to cater to the stomachs of hungry travelers, but then why couldn’t the waitresses cater to their customers needs?

Ruka disappeared from his view for a moment, returning behind a man in a kimono, her eyes downcast in respect. The man settled in a chair at the table and waved Ruka away, and she hurried off to hide in some shadows by the hostess’ desk. The two women clutched hands then and stared out of the corner of their eyes, discussing something Kakashi couldn’t overhear. The other waitresses had similarly scattered and all conversation had gone down to whispers until the man in the kimono laughed and life returned to normal within the restaurant. His suspicions had been aroused by that, most certainly, and Ruka knew what was going on. So maybe he would just have to get close to her. He set some money down on the table when another waitress brought his tab, and stuffed his hands in his pockets to saunter over to Ruka and the hostess, giving a little nod as he made to walk out. He paused though, turning around, as though he had a question.

“Can I help you, Naruto-san?” the hostess asked, her head tilting as Ruka prudently stepped behind her, watching Kakashi from over the other woman’s shoulders. Kakashi smiled a bit and nodded, scratching his head a bit. He took a minute to come up with a story, earning a suspicious glance from the hostess.

“Ah, yeah. I was supposed to meet a friend here. Perhaps you’ve seen him. He looks like Ruka-chan, but he has a scar across his nose.”

“I haven’t seen anyone like that here. What about you, Ruka-chan?”

“I haven’t seen anyone like that either,” Ruka said. “Maybe he just hasn’t arrived yet. The Abeko isn’t really popular amongst those of a high caste, you know. But you could ask Maki-san or Tae-san or Haruka-san. They might have seen him.”

The hostess nodded a bit, half turning to look for the girls named but sighing when she didn’t spot them. Or maybe she did, and she just didn’t want to deal with Kakashi anymore. That tended to happen quite a bit.

“That could be. Perhaps… is your friend a lord? They usually stay in the upper city and wouldn’t bother coming here to dine with the working class.” The hostess said as she turned back to Kakashi. The silver haired jounin watched Ruka almost intently now, making the girl shiver and blush and look away. The hostess stepped in front of Ruka then, shielding her from Kakashi’s gaze.

“I think if you’re finished here, Naruto-san, it would be in your best interest to leave. My girls are very busy.” The hostess told him as he stared at Ruka even more intently than before. Kakashi finally nodded, watching Ruka’s cheeks grow to be the even deeper red of embarrassment, and took his leave of the restaurant. He didn’t go far though, collecting Akiko and sitting with her on the roof of the opposite building, watching the restaurant now. Ruka’s reaction to his staring struck a chord in him, reminding him of a time in the missions office when he’d embarrassed Iruka in front of the other jounin and chuunin in the room. Iruka’s face had grown so red he’d thought the younger man would die of blood loss to his heart before the chuunin had exploded at him and yelled at him to get out.

He’d wisely retreated and then had become the butt of sexually-oriented jokes by the other jounin.

He’d laughed along with the jokes, but secretly wanted to make Iruka blush like that in private for a completely different reason than staring. Oh, he’d stare, but he’d follow up the staring by making sure Iruka knew just exactly who he belonged to and no one else could challenge his claim on the chuunin.

Ruka’s blush though had told him that maybe she knew more than she’d let on. The hostess certainly did, but she would never talk to him. Ruka, though, just might. It wouldn’t be too hard to scare her into doing what he wanted her to do. So he waited, watching the building, and when the last lamp finally went out in the restaurant after the last few patrons exited the building, Ruka stepped out, pulling on a coat and saying good-bye to the hostess, bowing when the man in the kimono appeared, and then taking off running before it got too dark.

Kakashi followed. He’d catch her and get the truth. She wasn’t Iruka, but maybe she knew where he was. No, she most certainly knew where he was, and she’d pay for hiding him from Kakashi. There was always a thin line between pleasure and pain and Kakashi could blend the two quite easily. There wasn’t a woman alive who he couldn’t seduce and Ruka would be his next victim.

When he caught her, of course.