Escort

IX

Akiko pranced beside Ruka as she and the human wandered through Iiga. Ruka had a few hours before she had to go to the restaurant and begin her shift, so she was wasting time by wandering around. It was probably driving Kakashi nuts. Akiko, however, had figured out that Ruka was wandering on purpose. She’d figured out the little ploy and thought Iruka rather bright for coming up with it. The charm bag that Iruka had tied around his wrist now sealed him within the Oiroke no Jutsu, but it wasn’t permanent and it didn’t change his physical being. In other words, underneath every single thread of chakra that made Iruka look like a woman, he was still a man. She wondered how Iruka had done it. Iruka turned down an alleyway and stopped at the end, dropping to her knees to fiddle with the hem of her kimono. Akiko sat down beside her like the loyal canine she was and waited. There was nothing wrong with Ruka’s kimono, Akiko knew, so why did Iruka -- Ruka, Akiko corrected herself, this was getting difficult -- feel the need to pretend that something was bothering her?

The sudden appearance of the young man from the day before answered Akiko's question. She hadn’t even sensed him approach, hadn’t scented any chakra or ozone that was the telltale sign of a teleportation jutsu. He was just there, staring down at Ruka before he crouched down beside her, as though he was offering help.

“I found her, Shigure,” Ruka whispered. “She’s in the Abeko. I can get her out, but there’s a problem.”

Akiko glanced toward Shigure, the boy who’d suddenly appeared, and watched his face change from its stoic mask to a little frown. “What sort of problem?”

“She’s being drugged.” Ruka replied and she reached inside her kimono to pull out a little vial filled with clear liquid. Shigure took the offered vial and studied it as Ruka continued to speak. “I don’t know what it is and I don’t have the resources right now to test it.”

“It will take me a few days,” Shigure replied. “Can you keep an eye on her until then?”

“I can do my best. She’s not being… used… and I don’t know when they’ll start.”

Shigure rose, tucking the vial into his shirt and tilted his head, looking to the side, away from Ruka, thinking. “Just do your best, Iruka-san. Haomaru-sama is counting on you to keep her alive.”

“But the trauma-“

“Trauma can be forgotten or made better. It depends on the person. Of course, we all hope nothing happens, but one can’t predict the actions of other people.” Shigure turned to Iruka and help him to stand, sighing quietly. “All you can do is your best. If worse comes to worst, she’ll be sent to the countryside to heal. All wounds heal in time, Iruka-san, and time is all we have right now.”

Akiko switched her tail and wondered whom exactly this boy Shigure was. He spoke with wisdom far beyond his years, and he didn’t look older than seventeen or eighteen at the most. Akiko didn’t doubt his intelligence. His green eyes saw much more than they revealed and there was something about him that sang to her as much as Kakashi and Iruka did. He bowed a little bit to Ruka and when Iruka sighed, Akiko pulled her gaze away from Shigure, just for a moment. When she looked back, he was gone, and they were alone in the alley. Ruka turned and began to wander toward her home so Akiko took the opportunity to slip away and go find Kakashi. She found him lurking around Ruka’s apartment building just after Ruka entered the building, and sat by his feet, waiting for her to acknowledge her.

“Well?” Kakashi prompted.

“Ruka is a good girl, Kakashi. You should leave her alone.”

“She knows where Iruka is.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little overprotective?” Akiko winced at the glare she got from Kakashi’s single eye. “Iruka is a strong ninja. He can take care of himself.”

“No he can’t.” Kakashi replied almost adamantly. “He’s not strong at all. He only pretends. Akiko, you know something, don’t you?”

The white husky gave a sigh. “Ruka’s working undercover. She’s working for the rival syndicate against the Abeko, looking for a little girl who went missing a while ago.”

Kakashi’s lips drew into a thin line. “So she could know where Iruka is.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“I know.” Kakashi said. “But if she’s on a mission, she might’ve run into him. For all I know, Iruka was in those back rooms last night.”

You don’t know how right you are, Akiko thought dryly. Only, she knew Kakashi meant his sentence in an entirely different way than Akiko did. Iruka had been in those back rooms last night, only not as one of the girls who gave pleasure to the men. He’d been trying to save one of the girls when Kakashi screwed it all up, at least that was what Akiko gathered from Iruka’s quiet whimpering while he slept and Kakashi’s dumbfounded look when he mentioned some stranger had kissed him. Some stranger, Akiko snorted. Iruka had kissed him. His scent was all over Kakashi and if she didn’t know any better, she’d say that Iruka and Kakashi had taken a roll in the sack. Their scents changed whenever they thought about one another and she, the poor canine, was stuck scenting everything while her two stupid humans danced around the bush. Of course, Kakashi had never asked anyone to share his bed before, let alone admitted he loved anyone, and Iruka probably had never considered inviting someone to his home and sharing intimate moments with that someone. It was as though they were adolescents again.

Akiko snorted. Kakashi looked down at her and tilted his head. She merely fluffed her fur with a few licks and stretched, looking up at her master. Kakashi was looking back at her, eye confused for a few moments before he finally looked away from his husky, back to the building Ruka had disappeared into. She was emerging now, hopping on one foot as she pulled on a geta sandal, hurrying down the street toward the Abeko. Kakashi tilted his head and moved to follow, Akiko taking a leap to keep up. She was hurrying, even passed Kakashi who, for once, wasn’t trying to catch Ruka like a ninja, probably because he knew she’d scream, so he was hanging back. Akiko caught up with no problem, giving a short bark to get Ruka’s attention. The girl whirled and looked down at the dog, crouching to pet her muzzle.

“I can’t play today, puppy. I have to go to work.” Ruka said with a smile. “I’ll play with you when I get home okay?” Ruka stood up and moved to run, but paused when she heard a voice call her name. No, not her name. Iruka’s. She looked around at her surroundings, not quite believing her ears until she looked down at the white husky that stared at her with intelligent blue eyes. Ruka swallowed, crouching again, not caring if she’d be late to begin her shift. She reached out to the dog, fighting to keep her hand from shaking.

“What did you say…?”

The canine winced. “I’m sorry, Iruka.”

“You’re one of Kakashi’s aren’t you? I thought so.”

“You suspected the entire time?”

Iruka gave a wan smile. “I figured it out when you kept disappearing and reappearing. The fact that you didn’t snarl at Shigure was helpful too.”

“I’m sorry I deceived you.”

Iruka stood up and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. You know now.”

Yes, Akiko replied silently. But there was someone who didn’t know, and that someone was coming very quickly. Iruka just smiled at her and patted his thigh to get her to follow, which she did, a very obedient dog. She should tell Iruka what Kakashi planned to do, but now, her throat wouldn’t work. Was she nervous, or did Kakashi know she’d just blown her cover, and quite possibly, his own? Iruka already knew Kakashi was here, looking for him, but he wasn’t sure why, and Akiko certainly wouldn’t have told him. There were things about humans she and her brethren didn’t quite understand, but in mating, it was every dog -- or in this case, man -- for himself.

She stood outside the Abeko as Iruka disappeared inside and slowly crept around to an alley where she could sit and watch in case there was trouble. Kakashi’s hand appeared in her scruff and held tight, so she looked up at him, gave a doggy smile of shame, and whimpered mournfully when Kakashi released the jutsu that kept her in the physical plane. Akiko hoped Kakashi knew what the hell he was doing and not just being an emotional wreck because of a little mistake. Kakashi though, thought himself quite clever as he marched into the Abeko, smiling amicably at the hostess and pinpointing Ruka in the room. She was serving a group of transporters tea, chatting happily and blushing as one made a swipe at her rump, politely speaking something to him. Kakashi really needed to brush up on his lip-reading, he decided, and made a note to practice when he brought Iruka back to Konoha. He was shown to a table and watched Ruka dance around the tables, serving meals and drinks. The man from before was present, Kakashi noticed, the man Ruka had gone to fetch the first time he was here, watching the floor like a hawk.

Some men, Kakashi observed, followed the boss to a door in the back, the same door Kakashi had attempted to get through before the alarm had gone off and alerted people to his presence. He touched his fingers to his lips, an idle motion, but it held significance for him. The masked man he’d chased from the Abeko had kissed him, and that kiss had been full of passion and wanting and fear, and Kakashi had been stunned. He hadn’t been expecting the kiss at all, nor had he expected anyone to want to kiss him. He wished the person who’d done that to him had been Iruka, because if it had, he wouldn’t have let the brunette go. No, he’d have dragged Iruka up to the apartment the bitch Ruka owned and claimed his chuunin all over the place. But the man hadn’t been Iruka and so in his surprise he’d allowed the man to get away. He was still kicking himself over that. He stood up after a few moments and began to wander over to the door that led to the back, only to find his way blocked by Ruka. He smiled down at her, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eye. He didn’t want to use the Sharingan on her, but he would if he needed to. Her actions only proved to him that there was something -- or someone -- important hiding in those back rooms.

“Naruto-san, you aren’t allowed back there without permission.” Ruka said, trying to be calm.

“Ruka-chan,” Kakashi said politely and clamped his teeth shut, moving around the girl and moving to push through the door. Ruka grabbed his arm, trying to pull back on him, trying to get him to stop. Kakashi didn’t. They tumbled through the door, a tangle of limbs, Kakashi fighting to get Ruka pinned. She was a lioness! Lips drawn back in a snarl, eyes flashing, it took Kakashi all of five minutes to pin her down. He glared down at her, shifting both her wrists to one hand and moved to pull his patch up to reveal his Sharingan eye.

“Kakashi! Let me go!” Ruka hissed, glaring at him. The silver haired jounin paused, looking down at the woman, as though he didn’t hear her quite right.

“Iruka?”

He got a glare, a glare he knew all too well, so Kakashi got to his feet, quite startled, and watched the girl -- Iruka -- get to her -- his -- feet. Iruka dusted off his kimono and glared at the jounin, hands on his hips. Kakashi reached out to pet Iruka’s cheek, stunned and startled and smiled. Iruka didn’t.

“Kakashi, you need to get out of here. If they catch you back here, they’ll hurt you.”

“Iruka, you need to come with me.”

“I have a job to do.”

“No you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. I’m not going to discuss this with you right now! Get out!” Iruka was met with silence and he realized that Kakashi was staring over his shoulder. Iruka slowly turned around to stare up into the eyes of Yutenji and several customers, and stepped back into Kakashi’s solid frame. The fear in Iruka’s eyes wasn’t all feigned and the perverse glee that appeared in several eyes made him all the more fearful.

“Ruka-chan,” Yutenji said lowly, “You know the rules. Come with me, please.”