Again, thank you all for your reviews, especially those who kept sticking around.

Rated K+, no spoilers.

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The Right Way

by nayru-kleinefee


Chapter 9 – Sorts Of Rivalry

“Again.”

“Again?!”

“Again.” Kakashi nodded.

“But- but it was almost right this time”, Naruto argued.

“It wasn’t”, his sensei told him. “You mixed up your feet, Sakura was too early at the punch, and Sasuke didn’t jump high enough at the dodge.”

“But why do we have to do this anyway?”, Sakura asked and rubbed her back she’d fallen on before. “We already did this weeding mission for the old lady today, so why are we doing this now?”

“Yeah”, Naruto added. “It’s not that we would ever have to fight synchronised.”

“You have to do it because I tell you so.” Kakashi shook his head, then took out his Icha Icha Paradise Volume 7 from his pouch. How will you ever become a team if you don’t even manage to do ten little fighting moves together properly?

“That’s no real answer”, Naruto started. “You always say that and-”

“Then it has to be true, don’t you think?” Kakashi groaned inwardly. Ever thought about learning how to follow orders, no matter how stupid they seem? And is it so hard to look underneath the underneath from what I’m telling you?

“Just because you repeat it?”, Sasuke asked.

“I wouldn’t have to repeat it if you would listen to me at least once.” Heeey! Me big, yes-sir leader, you little, no-questions-allowed soldiers, understand?

“You’re just still angry about the names”, Naruto accused the Copy-nin. “It was five weeks ago, you should have finished sulking by now.”

“‘Sulking’?!”, Kakashi asked, his calm, low tone causing Sasuke to take a defensive position and Sakura to flinch but not affecting Naruto at all.

“Erm, Naruto…”, Sakura started. “Maybe you should-”

“And you did something to Iruka-sensei!”, the boy interrupted her and glared at his sensei.

“To Iruka-sensei?” The Jounin hid his surprise behind a snarl in the last moment. That boy doesn’t know, or does he? I never thought Naruto would be able to notice something, not to think of connecting things.

“Yes!” Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. “Ever since you ate ramen with him that night, he’s acting really weird.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”, Kakashi asked, faking indifference.

“Iruka-sensei never has time for me anymore since we came back from Wave three weeks ago! And he hasn’t invited me to ramen in six days!”

Oh. “That’s all?”

“What?! What do you mean, ‘that’s all’?! That’s very much!”, Naruto shouted, his eyes open wide in disbelief and indignation.

“Naruto…”, Sakura tried to soothe the enraged boy. “I don’t think Kakashi-sensei has anything to do with that.”

Wrong. Kakashi suppressed a grin.

“She’s right, dope”, Sasuke threw in. “Kakashi-sensei couldn’t do anything to stop Iruka-sensei from feeding you.”

Double-wrong. I did a lot of things to… distract him. The Copy-nin grinned. Like kissing and more kissing and teasing and stroking and cuddling and much, much more cuddling and groping and being scolded for groping and then being groped back and-

“Don’t call me that, Sasuke-teme”, Naruto yelled. “And I bet Bakashi-sensei cast a jutsu on Iruka-sensei!”

Maa, you just earned yourself and your team-mates another unforgettable day for calling me names, Naruto. Congratulations. But I guess I have to give a ‘half-right’ for the rest. I’m quite fond of my make-Iruka-blush ‘jutsus’ by now…

“Naruto!”, Sakura hissed. “Don’t call him that! Do you want to go and search those nasty mushrooms again?”

Again? That would be boring, right? I’ll think of something else. Or no! Kakashi grinned devilishly, unnoticed by his students. Better: I will let Iruka think of something else…

“That’s it!” The blond boy pointed with an accusing index finger at his sensei. “It isn’t Iruka-sensei at all!”

“Could you repeat that?”, Kakashi asked, now grinning lecherously under his mask. Well, the last time I saw him – which was this morning in his classroom, pressing me against the wall near the door and happily kissing the last of my senses out of me, to be precise – he seemed to be Iruka. Looked, felt, sounded and smelled like him… and definitely tasted like him.

“It’s not Iruka-sensei, it’s one of your clones!”, Naruto shouted. “You captured Iruka-sensei! That’s why he didn’t buy me ramen after we had to collect those mushrooms! That’s why he seemed to be fine with what you made us do then!”

“He didn’t buy you ramen because you stank, dope”, Sasuke stated dryly.

“And why should I capture Iruka-sensei?”, Kakashi asked and looked expectantly at his blond student. Apart from to have him all to myself and make him blush and smile and then sigh and maybe soon moan and writhe and- Now that I think of it, I really should capture Iruka and replace him with a clone…

“Because… because…” Naruto frowned.

“There you have it”, Sakura told him. “Kakashi-sensei did nothing to Iruka-sensei.”

It’s more like ‘nothing Iruka didn’t want’…

“And how should he have managed to hold the clone here in Konoha while we were in Wave?”, Sasuke asked.

If I knew for sure I could hold a clone from that distance, I would have been tempted to send it with you three brats and stay here with Iruka… Well, I wouldn’t have done it… but I would have been tempted…

“Hrmph.” Naruto crossed his arms again and kept glaring at his sensei.

“Just go and visit Iruka-sensei after we’re done with the training”, Sakura suggested. “Then you’ll see that everything’s fine. Maybe he’s just having much to do at the Academy.”

“What about we go now to the mission room, hand in our report and at the same time look for Iruka-sensei there?”, Kakashi offered innocently. “I don’t know, maybe he’s on duty right now?” He is. Another thirty-three minutes, that is. And then he’ll go home and I’ll visit him for dinner and cuddling and whatever else he’s up to. That would be in… thirty-two and a half minutes.

“That’s a good idea!”, Naruto shouted and jumped up. “And then Iruka-sensei will invite me to ramen!”

I highly doubt that, sorry, boy. “Then let’s go.” Kakashi stuffed away his book again and slowly started walking over the training grounds towards the exit leading to the Hokage Tower.

“That’s very kind of you, Kakashi-sensei”, Sakura said slowly.

“I know.” That and I get to see Iruka sooner. And maybe today he’ll let me take off our pants, I bet he looks gorgeous in just his underpants… especially his butt… and the way he gasped yesterday when I licked the scar on his back sure sounded promising… and the way he looked at me then… The Jounin grinned lewdly under his mask. Promising indeed…

“That’s very unlike you”, Sasuke told him, interrupting his daydreams.

“Thank you very much.” Kakashi shook his head. Nice as always…

“Who cares?”, Naruto told them. “I will get ramen tonight!”

Definitely won’t be nice to see the disappointment in his face when Iruka declines… Thirty-one minutes.

They walked in silence for some time, apart from Naruto’s endless rant about what flavour of ramen he would eat first.

Poor little brat… But I got invited for tonight first. Twenty-eight minutes.

“There’s the Tower! Hurry up, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto fell into a sprint and ran up the stairs leading to the mission room.

“Maa, no need to hurry, Naruto. Be a little more patient.” Twenty-seve- No, twenty-six and a half minutes.

“Iruka-sensei’s here!”, Naruto announced the moment he entered the mission room. “And he’s free, we can give him our report now!”

Kakashi glanced over to the mission desk and saw the Chuunin sit on his place with nobody waiting. He was talking to Genma and Hayate, but-

What are they talking about? Iruka doesn’t look comfortable right now… That Genma’s better not doing something… something… something only I may do with Iruka. Like making him blush. Or making him smile. Or making him laugh. Or-

“Why don’t you tell us?”, the Copy-nin heard the Special Jounin ask when he approached Iruka with his students.

“Because there’s nothing to tell”, Iruka answered, sounding a little nervous.

“Iruka-sensei…”, Genma purred. “You’re fibbing… fibbing-fibbing-fibbing-fib-”

“Genma”, Hayate spoke up, coughing softly. “You shouldn’t press Iruka-sensei. You can see clearly that he doesn’t want to-”

“But I wanna know”, Genma interrupted him. “You’ve been different, Iruka-sensei. Since about three weeks ago you act… unusual, that is.”

“Unusual?” Iruka frowned. “What do you mean with ‘unusual’?”

“Different. It started about… four or five weeks ago and got worse in the last three weeks. You… you seem spaced out sometimes. And you’ve been lost in thoughts quite often lately.” The Special Jounin grinned lecherously around his senbon. “And I didn’t have the impression that those were unpleasant thoughts…”

“Wh- I… I really don’t know what you’re talking about, Genma-san”, Iruka told him and blushed.

“I’m tal-”

“But that’s true, Iruka-sensei!”, Naruto shouted suddenly, thus making the Chuunin and both other men give a surprised start.

“Naruto!”, Iruka murmured, one hand clutching his chest over his heart. “What are you doing here?” He looked up and his eyes met Kakashi’s, causing the Chuunin to blush a little deeper.

“Hey, Hatake!”, Genma greeted the Copy-nin without noticing Iruka’s condition while Hayate waved at him.

“Yo.” Kakashi nodded. Better be careful, Shiranui. Iruka’s mine and mine alone to make him blush.

“Kakashi-sensei”, Iruka greeted, smiled and the blush faded from his face. “Sakura, Sasuke, nice to see you.”

“Iruka-sensei.” The Copy-nin nodded and smiled brightly under his mask. Nice to see you, Iruka! Did you miss me? I missed you. Are you happy to see me again? I am. And I bet you are, too. I am so much better company than that Genma, don’t you think?

“Nice to see you, too, Iruka-sensei”, both Genin said, Sakura smiling and Sasuke looking less unfriendly than usual.

“Do you want to hand in your mission report?”, the Chuunin asked.

“Right.” Kakashi took a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and held it out to him. He let his hand brush slightly over the Chuunin’s when Iruka took it and thus caused another blush. My blush. More in… twenty-three minutes.

“Seems alright to me.” Iruka scanned the paper quickly, then nodded and stamped it. “Thank you all for your hard work.”

“Hey, kid”, Genma said, looking at Naruto. “What did you say earlier?”

“I said you’re right”, the boy answered. “Iruka-sensei’s acting weird since about five weeks ago.” He nodded eagerly.

“What do you mean?”, Hayate asked.

“He’s always busy. And he doesn’t buy me ramen anymore.”

Kakashi saw Iruka’s eyes widen at that. “Oh, Naruto”, the Chuunin murmured and looked miserably at the boy, then at the Copy-nin.

Please don’t look like that, Iruka. Kakashi felt his chest tighten in guilt. I don’t want you to be sad.

“Always busy, hu?” Genma frowned, oblivious to the exchanged looks beside him. “What do you think, Hatake?”

“I think that you should leave Iruka-sensei alone if he doesn’t want to talk about it”, Kakashi gave back, anger at the Special Jounin momentarily displacing his concern for Iruka. And even better: Leave him alone at all. I don’t like the way you’re looking at him. Iruka’s mine.

“Hn?” The Special Jounin looked at him in surprise. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t wanna know?”

“Why should I want to know?”, the Copy-nin asked back. “It’s not that I don’t have my own life.” And that’s involving Iruka in his apartment in twenty-one minutes, so leave him alone now.

“Aaaw, Hatake…” Genma inched closer while Naruto and his team-mates started to tell Iruka and Hayate about their latest missions. “Don’t tell me you aren’t interested?”

“I. Am. Not.” Because. I. Know.

“Now come on… You want to tell me you don’t wanna know what makes our cute Chuunin-sensei so…”, Genma smirked, “…so flustered and blushing and utterly sexy?”

“No”, Kakashi forced out. And stop looking at him. He’s not blushing and being sexy for you, understand?

“I mean…”, Genma whispered and smirked again. “I can really imagine him blush further down his body… all the way…” He let one of his hands trail down his chest slowly and grinned suggestively.

“Genma…”, Kakashi growled warningly. “It’s enough now…” Stop imagining that RIGHT NOW! Else I’ll crush your head against the nearest wall and force you to!

“And there’s quite a lot to blush… I mean, I never knew teaching little kids gave you such shoulder muscles… very yummy, indeed…” The Special Jounin grinned lecherously.

“What do you mean with that?!”, the Copy-nin snarled. How do you know that?! Did you see him?! Did you spy on Iruka?! On my Iruka?! How could you do that?! I’m the only one allowed to stalk him!

“I mean that I had the pleasure to see quite a lot of yummy Iruka-sensei at the hotsprings a couple of months ago…”, Genma drawled. “Pity he wore a towel around his waist though, but what I saw was definitely worth a look, too…”

“You… you…” Kakashi had to force himself not to strangle-stab-break-kill-kill-kill the man. You LOOKED at him?! At my Iruka?! When he was half naked?! Before I even had a chance to do that?! How could you dare to do that?! He was already meant to be mine back then! Iruka’s mine mine mine mine mine!

“Had to keep myself from running up to him and yanking that towel off…” The Special Jounin grinned. “Wasn’t easy, in fact… And I wonder how the scar on his back looks, for he didn’t have it back then… and what do you think how it feels? Or how it tast-”

“Genma…” Kakashi grabbed him by the collar with a hand shaking of suppressed murdering intent. “Stop. This. Now.” I don’t want to have to kill you in front of Naruto. Iruka wouldn’t like that.

“Ph. You’re no fun today”, Genma told him, freed himself and took a step back. “Who pissed in your coffee?”

“None of your business.” You. And it will be your business if you don’t shut up RIGHT NOW.

“You’re acting weird today, Kakashi-sensei”, Naruto stated, having turned around and frowning.

“He’s a Jounin”, Genma said, shrugging. “Weird is normal for them.” He grinned, then turned towards Iruka and approached him again. “But Chuunin on the other hand…”

“Genma-san”, Iruka started. “I already told you before that there’s nothing wrong with me and-”

“Oh, I didn’t say there’s something wrong with you, Iruka-sensei. I said there’s something unusual.”

“Yes!”, Naruto threw in. “Why don’t you buy me ramen anymore? And you didn’t even get angry when I told you what Kakashi-sensei made us do after we ate ramen with him!”

“That was because you deserved it”, Iruka told him, grinning.

“I didn’t! It wasn’t that bad! Not bad enough to deserve collecting those stinking Inatawitaki-mushrooms!”

“Inatika-mushrooms? What did you do?”, Hayate asked, grinning. “Blow something up?”

“Naruto…” Kakashi’s eyes widened. Oh no! I can’t let the boy tell Genma what he called me! I will never hear the end of it once that senbon-sucking maniac-

“I only told Iruka-sensei what a lazy pervert Bakashi-sensei is!”

Oh, great. Now it’s done.

“‘Bakashi-sensei’?” Genma grinned. Then he grinned wider. Then he-

“One word about it, Shiranui, and I will shove that senbon of yours somewhere it’ll really hurt”, Kakashi growled.

“But Batake”, Genma said and managed to smile as innocently as someone with a senbon in his mouth and an ‘I found that box in your closet, you know the one deep, deep in your closet, yes right, THAT box’-look on his face could. “I would bever do something as bishonest as that to a fellow binobi. Believe me.”

“Genma…” Kakashi glared at him. You definitely shouldn’t walk alone in the dark tonight, Shiranui…

“Bon’t be afraid, Kakashi.” A grin. “Your becret is safe with me. Or not, Bayate?”

“Hey, hey, keep me out of it, Genma.” Hayate held up his hands, took a quick step back and coughed defensively. “There’s no way I’ll risk getting that senbon anywhere near me.”

“Awww, you’re no fun, Bayate.”

“You really shouldn’t make fun of Kakashi-sensei”, Iruka told Genma. “He is-”

“I know what he is.” The Special Jounin looked at the Chuunin, his grin turning lecherously once again. “And that brings me back to my earlier question. What is with you?” He raised his hand and let it trail lightly over Iruka’s upper arm.

He’s- he’s touching my Iruka! MY Iruka! He’s dead! He’s so dead the moment I get my hands on hi-

“Yes, Iruka-sensei!”, Naruto shouted suddenly, then ran forward quickly and squeezed himself between his former teacher and Genma, effectively removing the latter’s hand from the Chuunin’s arm. “Is something wrong with you?”, he asked, glaring at the Special Jounin from the corner of his eye.

Good boy. Kakashi smiled proudly under his mask when he saw Genma glare back at his blond student. That’s right, protect my Iruka from everyone who could corrupt him and- … Everyone except me, that is. I’m not corrupting him. But I’m sure Naruto will understand that perfectly well. … He sighed. I should find a good way to make that clear to Naruto, just in case he finds out. And I should find that way Soon.

“I… I told you there’s nothing with me”, Iruka murmured, looking warily from Naruto to Genma, back to the boy and then to Kakashi.

Make that Very Soon. The Copy-nin grinned sheepishly under his mask and shrugged, trying to appear as relaxed as possible to reassure the Chuunin.

“There’s nothing with you, you say?”, Genma parroted but took a step back from Naruto and the Chuunin. “Let’s see… spaced out, often lost in thoughts, no time for the kid…” A broad, triumphant grin appeared on the Special Jounin’s face. “I think I know what’s with you, Iruka-sensei…”

The Chuunin looked back up at Genma, frowning and shaking his head. “I told you-”

“You have a girlfriend.”

“I- I have- I-” Iruka stared at him, wide-eyed. Then the words seemed to sink into his brain, be digested and, from what Kakashi could see, translated until they fitted the actual situation, then the Chuunin blushed brightly.

“I knew it!”, Genma exclaimed triumphantly. “I knew it!”

“Iruka-sensei has a girlfriend?” Naruto frowned. “Oh.”

“Do you really have a girlfriend, Iruka-sensei?”, Sakura asked and smiled brightly. “That’s so great!”

Yes, it is. And it’s a boyfriend, thankyouverymuch. … At least I think I’m Iruka’s boyfriend… Better ask him if he… thinks so, too… I would definitely like that…

“I don’t have a girlfriend!”, Iruka told them.

But you have a boyfriend. … Right?

“You have, sensei”, Genma giggled. “Who is she? Hu?”

“I told you I don’t-”

“Hey, hey, no offence. If you want to keep it quiet, you can do that.” The Special Jounin nodded.

“Genma-san, I-”

“Just give me a hint. The first letter of her name.”

“Genma-san, I really-”

“Pleeeease!”

“I will not tell you!”, Iruka shouted, then blinked, gasped and blushed again when he realised his mistake.

“I knew it”, Genma purred.

“So you really have a girlfriend, Iruka-sensei?”, Naruto asked.

“Naruto, it’s… I…” Iruka sighed, then threw a quick glance in Kakashi’s direction and tensed visibly. “Yes, it’s… like that, in a way…”

‘In a way’? What does he mean, ‘in a way’? In an ‘it’s not a girlfriend but a boyfriend’-way? Or in an ‘it’s not a girlfriend, it’s just somebody’-way?

“‘It’s like that, in a way’?” Naruto frowned. “What do you mean with that, Iruka-sensei?”

“Yes, sensei…”, Genma purred. “What do you mean with that?”

Yes, Iruka… What do you mean with that?

“I… I…” The Chuunin looked from Naruto to Genma, then to Kakashi quickly. “I… I have… somebody…” Iruka blushed deeply, but then looked steadily into the Copy-nin’s single visible eye. “Somebody… somebody important to me”, he finished, looking almost defiantly at the Jounin like daring him to deny.

Oh. Kakashi blinked. It’s an ‘it’s not a girlfriend, it’s somebody important’-way. He blinked again. That’s… That’s good! I like that! He restrained himself from doing a little dance of joy in the middle of the mission room and instead beamed happily at Iruka, seeing the Chuunin relax and smile brightly at that.

“Oh. So you really have a girlfriend… That’s why you don’t have time for me anymore, Iruka-sensei”, Naruto murmured.

“Naruto… I will always have time for you”, Iruka assured him, his eyes full of sadness and guilt again.

“Then can we go for ramen tonight?”, the boy asked hopefully.

No, sorry. Iruka’s having a date in… Kakashi threw a glance at the clock on the wall. In ten minutes. With his important somebody. His important somebody who’s not a girlfriend, thankyouverymuch.

“Naruto, tonight… You know, I already have-”

“I think you should go with Naruto for ramen tonight, Iruka-sensei”, Kakashi suddenly heard somebody say from the general direction of his mouth. And that person was using his voice. Weird…

“Kakashi-sensei?” Iruka frowned.

“Maa, Iruka-sensei. I think your... girlfriend will understand it when you spend the evening with Naruto”, the mysterious, Kakashi’s-mouth-using person said.

“Do… do you really think that, Kakashi-sensei?” The Chuunin smiled warmly.

“I’m not quite sure.” The Copy-nin sighed inwardly. “But I guess it’ll be alright.” I’m willing to share some of your time with Naruto, but only because it makes you happy. He glared at Genma. But with nobody else!

And the smile Iruka gave him after that was almost worth a lost evening, Kakashi told himself.

Almost.


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A/N:
Poor little Jounin. But Kakashi will get something really nice the next time…

Nayru