Umi No Koi

Iruka woke up in his bed in Konoha. His entire body ached and he struggled to sit up. Panic took him as he looked around.

Had it all been a dream? A nightmare? He passed a hand over his face and looked around.

“Don’t move…” He heard the deadly warning tone of the ANBU black ops. His eye’s widened as he froze. So it hadn’t been a dream.

Cool relief mixed with slight fear flushed over him. He was cared for, even perhaps loved by someone, more than the mere admiration of a child.

The Black Ops escorted him to the Hokage’s building where he was interrogated gently. Once what little information he had was extracted, which wasn’t much, Tsunade looked him over.

“I’ve never seen medical jutsu this good…” Tsunade remarked as she examined his healed injuries. She sat down in front of him.

“Iruka-san, what exactly happened while you were prisoner?” She asked, smoothing out the lines in her pants. Iruka looked down.

“Nothing, really…”

Tsunade crossed her arms and looked at him skeptically. “Iruka, don’t lie to me.” She snapped, dropping the honorific. Iruka sighed.

“Tsunade-sama…I don’t know how to say this…”

“I know, Iruka-san…I’m perfectly aware of what happened to you. I just needed you to confirm…you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Iruka sat in stunned silence. That wasn’t what he was going to say, but it gave him the opportunity to not spill his beans, so he took it.

The days passed and Iruka was re-established as the academy teacher, once again. It was a dull, monotonous life, the only perk was the reverence of the children. Naruto harassed him almost daily, but it was not entirely a bad thing. It helped to forget the pain.

Iruka was never one to let people know what was wrong, so he didn’t let anyone know that he paced almost nightly. As much as Hidan had hurt him, as much danger as he had been, It had, he felt, been worth it to be with Kisame. He would have traded nearly anything to go back. It was maddening, and the worst part, he had apparently become forgotten by his lover.

He sighed, and ceased his pacing, and sitting down in the chair with his back to the window. It wasn’t long before he was back up again, walking about aimlessly.

He sighed, looking out the window. He had to get to sleep, he had class tomorrow. He laid down on the bed, curling up beneath the thick blankets and falling into a light, fitful sleep. He woke at about five a.m. to an open window. Groggily, he got up, shivering in the cool night air, and shut it.

He sighed and sat back down on the bed, rubbing his eyes and casting a weary glance around the room.

There was no one there…He sighed heavily and laid back down, drifting back into his broken sleep.

When he awoke the next morning, he found a metal dolphin charm laying on the pillow next to him. It was beautifully lacquered and jointed so when it was moved, it appeared to be swimming in midair. Iruka picked it up, frowning at it.

“Where did this come from?” he wondered out loud, looking down at the charm. He didn’t have time to ponder this before he realized that if he didn’t hurry, he’d be late for work. He wrapped the dolphin in a handkerchief and placed it into his pocket. Maybe he would ask Naruto if he knew anything about it.

Later that afternoon, Iruka sat at Ichakaru’s ramen stand with Naruto. He pulled the charm out of his pocket.

“Naruto, do you know anything about this?”

Naruto eyed the charm reproachfully.

“Looks familiar, why, Iruka-sensei?” His cerulean blue eyes taking in the details.

“Oh, no reason…I found it the other day, in a rather unusual spot, and I was wondering if you had anything to do with it.”

“What would I be doing with a charm from the Stone Country?” Naruto said casually, slurping his ramen. Iruka dropped his chopsticks in surprise. His hands shook as he reached to retrieve them. The thirteen year old eyed him from beneath his blonde mane. He seemed to be doing a lot of eyeing today.

“What’s wrong, Iruka-sensei? Ever since you got back, you’ve been acting really weird.”

“Oh, like what?” Iruka asked with a nervous laugh.

“Like you jump easy, and you don’t look like you’ve gotten much sleep…”

Damn, Naruto was in a perceptive mood.

“I’ve just had a lot to think about lately…” He said quietly. He paid Ichakaru-san and left. To his dismay, Naruto followed him.

“I mean, you don’t respond when people talk to you, you’ve been really short tempered lately, and…”

“It’s like I said, Naruto, I’ve had a lot to think about…”

Naruto’s absent-looking face fell, and he made that quacking sound he made when he was irritated. Iruka knew at any moment now, he would commence whining. Iruka had to think, and fast. Fortunately, he was saved by Kakashi.

“Yo, Naruto…” he asked, his voice deathly calm. “Why weren’t you training with us today, hmm? You need to work on your chakra concentration…”

“Aww, Kakashi sensei…”

Kakashi gave Naruto a look reminiscent of Tenzou’s flashlight face. Naruto gave a small squeak and hurried away towards the training grounds. Kakashi chuckled, scratching his mop of silver hair.

“Thanks.” Iruka said quietly.

“No problem.” Kakashi said with one of his catlike smiles. He pulled out his book and walked away. Iruka watched him go, breathing a sigh of relief.



Several months passed since the charm incident, but Iruka didn’t forget. He wouldn’t forget. He knew that charm was from Kisame, and there was nothing that would convince him otherwise. He pulled the charm out of his pocket and ran his delicate brown fingers over every detail. The fine craftsmanship was simply breathtaking, every small detail was so perfect… He sighed and put the charm away next to the latest Bingo Book as his students filed into the classroom.

He opened the door to his apartment, throwing his book bag on the couch and slumping in a nearby chair. He had such a headache… It has been a very long day. He swore up and down that Konohamaru existed simply to torture him.

He put his head in his hands and rubbed his temples. After a few moments, he got up and shut the curtains, going to the bathroom and getting some painkillers. He popped in two pills, taking a long drink of water. He looked up in the mirror and froze. He swore he saw movement in his bedroom.

Iruka whipped out a kunai, turning slowly and pretending he hadn’t noticed. He stepped slowly into the room, his brown eyes scanning the room for any sign of life though the curtain of his hand.

He sat down on the bed, continuously rubbing his forehead. He couldn’t see anyone…or hear them for that matter…

“Great…now I’m hallucinating…” He muttered to himself. He closed his eyes and lay back against the pillows, the kunai still clutched in his hand. He couldn’t be too careful. He stared up at the ceiling, suddenly feeling very cold. He sat up. That damn window kept popping open…which means…

Iruka smiled to himself, looking around. The room was empty. His shoulders fell as he ran to the window, leaning out. Still, no one.

He closed the window, laughing at his own ridiculousness. First of all, why would Kisame come around Konoha during the day? He was an S-rank criminal for God’s sake, and he didn’t exactly blend in. Besides, why would Kisame come around after all this time?

Iruka sighed and took off his shirt, folding it neatly and setting it on the hamper. He crawled into bed, wrapping himself in the blankets and closing his eyes.

“Why would he come back for me?” He whispered to himself. Hot tears rolled down his face as he began to sink back into the pit of self-hatred. He fell asleep slowly, facedown in the pillow.



Kisame knelt by Iruka’s bed, wiping the tears from his lovers face. He had to be careful not to wake him…he didn’t want to be a burden…

He had been coming here off and on for the past few months, taking an extra day for missions to stop by at night. He didn’t dare make his presence known to the other man. He didn’t want Iruka to get hurt even more than he already was…

Iruka stirred and grabbed hold of the sleeve of Kisame’s cloak. Kisame tried to suppress his distress.

“Please…” Iruka mumbled, lost in dreams. “Please don’t leave me here…” Kisame froze. Did he know?

Iruka shifted again, releasing his grip on Kisame’s robe. Kisame sighed and sat down, careful not to disrupt his beloved. He touched Iruka’s hair, leaning down and taking in the smell of shampoo.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt…just this once…to hold Iruka close. He slipped his arms around the tanned chunin, pulling him close to his chest and taking in every smell.

He could feel Iruka’s warmth, his gently muscled limbs, every detail of his lovers body.

God, he really did love him…



Iruka awoke in the night to two amber eyes staring calmly into his. His body tensed momentarily before he reminded himself it was only a dream.

“Iruka.” Kisame whispered. Iruka’s eyes widened. This was no dream. For a moment, he was torn between pushing the other man out of bed and screaming at him for making him worry and giving him the kiss of a lifetime. Kisame moved before he could do anything, pressing his lips against Iruka’s, his tongue begging for entrance. Iruka moved his hands to Kisame’s ears, tilting the other man’s head back for easier access. The kiss was unbelievable, having been the one thing that they had both wanted for so long. Kisame was the one who broke the kiss first.

“Iruka…” He moaned, his lips brushing against the other man’s cheek.

“What’s wrong?” Iruka asked, his hands slipping from Kisame’s ears and touching his cheeks.

“I missed you…” He said, kissing Iruka again, tasting every inch of his lovers mouth. He didn’t want to forget this taste, this feel… “I love you, Iruka.”

Iruka froze.

“Really?” He felt tears collecting in his eyes. Kisame leaned back smiling.

“Really.”

“I love you, too…” Iruka whispered, pulling his lover closer to him.



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A/N: In the Japanese language, 'Umi' is the word for ocean, 'no' is a posessive link, and 'koi' is defined (in my school dictionary) as the deepest form of love between man and woman.

I hope you enjoyed my first fanfic!

Rate and review, please!

Arigatou gozamasu!