Break the Seal

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters I use or the storyline to the doujinshi that inspired this fic. I know there is a doujinshi that has this story, but I only used it for a setup to my fic. I am well aware of what I’m doing, and I only do it in reverence for the characters and the clever story line of the doujinshi.

Note: Thank all of you that have reviewed! I didn’t think I’d get such a strong response to this, but I’m pleasantly surprised.


// indicates a dream sequence, a memory, or both.


Chapter Two: Unexpected Reunion


//Warmth. A soft breath brushing over his naked skin. Kakashi opened his eyes, the early morning light filtering in through his drawn curtains. He looked down to the body lying in his arms, and saw a spiky fluff of blond hair poking through the sheets. Smiling warmly he drew the covers back, and the body shifted from the exposure. Brilliant cerulean eyes slowly opened, and a contented smile showed as they registered Kakashi’s face.

“Good morning.” said a muffled voice. Kakashi loved the way Yondaime would look in the morning. His hair would be more disheveled looking than usual, and his face would always be wonderfully flushed from the heat shared between them. “Good morning sensei.” Yondaime groaned. “You know I hate it when you call me that when we’re together like this.” A wicked grin spread over Kakashi’s face. “Yes, but I like to do it. It sounds dirty.” Yondaime yawned. “Because it is dirty.” Kakashi chuckled as his teacher snuggled closer, wrapping his long arms around his waist.

Kakashi just wanted to stay like this forever, reveling in the feel of his sensei’s presence and loving demeanor. But he knew it wasn’t meant to be, and it saddened him. The thought that his master was just using him kept nagging him, and he couldn’t take it anymore. “Sensei?” A lazy ‘hmm?’ was his response. “Do... do you love me?” Yondaime’s body went tense, and he lifted his gaze to meet Kakashi’s. “Why do you ask?” Kakashi could feel his face flush, and he suddenly felt ashamed. “Uh, nothing... never mind.” Yondaime gave him his typical ‘I know you have something to say, so just say it,’ look. Kakashi scratched the back of his head, and said softly, “Because I know you have a wife, and you’ve never said you love me once.” Yondaime’s eyes went dark. He hoped his pupil would never ask this question, but he knew he was a fool to ever think so. The pause itself was telling Kakashi what he most dreaded to hear, and his thoughts were reinforced by his sensei’s words. “No Kakashi. I don’t love you like that.” Kakashi tried to hide his disappointment, and turned his face away. Yondaime gently grasped his face, bringing Kakashi’s mismatched eyes to meet his. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. You will find love one day Kakashi, but it won’t be with me. I’m sorry.” A single tear streamed from Kakashi’s Sharingan eye, the only one of his eyes that was truly capable of it. Yondaime kissed the tear away, and kissed Kakashi chastely on the lips. The younger man melded into the kiss, trying to savor the taste of his master and the feel of his lips. Even if Yondaime didn’t love him, he’d remember this moment for as long as he lived. Yondaime gently brought Kakashi down on top of him, and whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry. One day, you’ll find the one you’re meant to be with.” Kakashi nodded as he felt Yondaime pull him closer...//

Kakashi woke with a start. Beads of sweat streamed down his face and chest, and his heart was racing. He was dreaming about the past again. He hoped these dreams would disappear in time, but they continued to haunt him with what he had lost, and what he would never have. He ran a slightly shaking hand over his face, and took a deep breath before rising from his bed. He should visit the memorial tablet today, it had been too long since the last time he visited. That was probably why he had the dream, because his mind was feeling guilty about it.

Taking a look at the clock, he noted that he didn’t have to meet his team of gennin for at least an hour. That meant he had about three hours to get ready. Still a bit shaken from the dream he walked into the bathroom, and took the longest cold shower in his life.

~*~*~*~*


It was another beautiful day in Konoha as Kakashi walked languidly down the busy streets. He had just had an interesting day, making his gennin go through the tried and true ‘bell’ exercise. They definitely surprised him, especially Sasuke. Kakashi was actually excited about teaching them; they seemed to have a lot of potential. Even that Naruto boy. For having a ferocious fox demon sealed in his body he sure was.... innocent. And VERY annoying. But Kakashi was set in trying to unlock his latent power, set him on the path to making him the hero Yondaime wanted him to be....

Kakashi thought fondly of his deceased sensei, and sighed as he continued to walk. Even after all these years he couldn’t forget Yondaime, or any of his old team mates. His dream from earlier had reinforced that. He knew he’d never forget them, but found himself thinking of them less and less. He dreaded the thought of actually forgetting they existed all together, like the rest of the village seemed to. All of them wanted to forget what had happened all those years ago and to banish the horrid memories from their minds. No one save himself visited their graves any more, and he had made it his responsibility to keep them alive in his heart. It was the least he could do for them.

He continued to saunter, watching the villagers talk and shop in the peaceful calm. It made Kakashi feel uneasy; he had to do something to get his mind off all this. The oblivious townspeople and their happy go lucky lives were starting to annoy him. If they only knew what he had done to keep them safe time and again, what his friends had done to insure their survival. But he knew he couldn’t really blame them. It was just his own bitterness getting the best of him, and his own jealously that he could never experience anything close to being at peace. He had done too much and killed too many people to ever return to the innocent boy he so briefly was.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. He needed to go visit the memorial; he wanted some time to reflect and gather his thoughts. Whenever he got upset he’d always go and talk to Yondaime or Obito, and sometimes Rin. Afterwards he’d feel infinitely better, and return to his normal self. Whatever his normal self was anyway.

Walking towards the shrine Kakashi suddenly felt a hand clamp on his shoulder. He wondered mildly who it could be and hoped they had a good excuse for bothering him. He
turned around slowly to see who it was. He found himself staring into familiar dark eyes, and he had to stifle a gasp as he realized who it was.

“Hello, are you Kakashi-sensei?” If his mask wasn’t holding his mouth shut his jaw would probably be gaping at his surprise. The chuunin he had encountered ten years ago in the forest was smiling politely before him. It took Kakashi a few moments to find his bearings.

“Uh, yeah. I’m Hatake Kakashi.” The chuunin smiled broadly as he said, “Sorry to just come up to you like this, but I’m Umino Iruka. I was your new students previous teacher. I saw you walking, and I just wanted to ask what you think of them, because I know they can be a hand full.” He continued to smile at Kakashi, and he found himself at a loss for words. He never would have imagined meeting the chuunin ever again, and yet here he was looking directly into his soft brown eyes.

Kakashi wanted to get away; he couldn’t deal with this right now. Years ago he had already reconciled his feelings and tried to forget the kind chuunin. Seeing the man again brought his previous buried feelings to the surface. Kakashi never could have expected the reaction his heart and body would have to seeing him again. He felt his face flush at the memories and tried to turn his head to hide it from Iruka.

Iruka cocked an eye at Kakashi’s reaction. He seemed to be deep in thought, and wouldn’t look him in the eye. Iruka wondered if he had disturbed his fellow teacher at a bad moment. He thought that maybe he should turn away and just leave, but his feet refused to move. His gaze couldn’t be drawn away from the strange looking jounin with his ridiculously spiky silver hair and droopy eye. Iruka had heard many rumors surrounding the legendary Copy Nin, but had never seen the man for himself. He wasn’t disappointed. For all of Kakashi’s seemingly indifferent demeanor, Iruka could tell it was all just a facade. Underestimating this man would be a serious mistake, and Iruka was glad he was on their side.

Several moments passed without either saying a word, the uncomfortable atmosphere becoming unbearable. Kakaski tried to find a way to just leave, but then through the silence Iruka said, “I’m sorry Kakashi-sensei, it appears that I’ve disturbed you. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” Kakashi wanted to tell Iruka that he hadn’t been an inconvenience, and that he wanted him to stay longer, but he knew that any prolonged contact could possibly cause the ten-year old seal to shatter. He’d have to push Iruka away, even if it broke his heart to do so.

“You’re right, you shouldn’t have bothered me. I have more important things to do than chit-chat with a chuunin.” Iruka couldn’t help but be taken aback at the cold comment. No one besides his students had been so rude to him, and he honestly didn’t know how to react. “Yes, well, sorry again. Goodbye Kakashi-sensei.” Said Iruka as he bowed and turned to walk away. It pained Kakashi to say something so hurtful to such a kind soul, but he knew it was for both their sakes. But he couldn’t help but regret letting the man slip through his fingers. Kakashi let out a depressed sigh as he continued his previous journey to the shrine, wondering why it was that whenever he found something good in his life, it was taken away almost as suddenly as it had come.

Iruka walked back to the school, mulling over his conversation with Kakashi in his head. Had he said something to offend the Copy Nin? The thought that Kakashi didn’t like him hurt more than he expected. But what would be Kakashi’s reason for disliking him? He’d been nothing but polite and gracious to him, and he was met with nothing but a dull stare and a condescending tone. He’d heard that Kakashi could be like that, so he didn’t know why it had surprised him. He had also heard that Kakashi was very hard to get to know, and had only a handful of friends, and they didn’t even know what went through Kakashi’s head most of the time.
The jounin was surrounded in mystery, and Iruka found himself slightly exhilarated at the prospect of unraveling Kakashi’s secrets. Although it wasn’t like him to pry, and in actuality he hated gossip, he wanted to know everything he could about the man. Iruka didn’t know why he was so obsessed all of a sudden but figured it was his curious nature rising to the surface. He decided to ask around to see what people knew of Kakashi, and he had a couple pretty good ideas of where to start.

*~*~*~*

Walking into a popular bar later that day, Iruka gazed around the small room. Many ninja were gathered there, all talking and drinking happily as they became even more inebriated. A small smile spread over Iruka’s lips at the somewhat ridiculous sight and he walked to the middle of the room. He was glad to notice Kakashi wasn’t here, because then he wouldn’t be able to thoroughly investigate. Surveying the room Iruka tried to pick out some of his fellow ninja that he knew to be friends of Kakashi. After several moments he noticed Asuma and Kurenai talking in the corner, Asuma’s trade mark cigarette hanging from his mouth. Iruka took a deep breath as the walked over to the two jounin.

Fidgeting somewhat as he approached, he tried to say as polite as he could, “Um, excuse me Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, may I interrupt you for a moment?” The two looked up from their conversation and were surprised to see Iruka standing before them. A slight smile spread over Asuma’s face as he said, “Well, hello Iruka-sensei. What brings you here?” Kurenai’s expression didn’t change, and she just stared blankly at Iruka, making the chuunin nervous. At least Asuma was a little more personable. “I, uh, just wanted to know if I could ask you a few questions about Kakashi-sensei.”

Asuma’s eyebrow lifted. “Why are you interested in Kakashi?” Iruka shifted uncomfortably, and a blush ran over his face. Asuma noticed the coloration, as did Kurenai. They gave each other a look, both wondering what the chuunin was playing at. “Well, I met him today, and he was kind of.... rude, and I wanted to know if I did anything wrong to upset him.” Iruka was proud of coming up with such a legitimate sounding excuse, and waited patiently for either of the two ninja to answer. Kurenai made no move to open her mouth, though a slight smile was playing on her lips. Asuma was also smirking, and said, “Well, there’s not much to tell you. He’s a pretty enigmatic guy. I’ve known him for years and I don’t really know anything about him. Despite the rumors.”

“Like what kind of rumors?” Iruka was fairly certain he had heard all the rumors himself, but wanted to know if Asuma had any new information. “Well, that he’s heartless in battle and won’t hesitate to kill even children if need be. That he’s copied over one thousand techniques with his Sharingan, and that no one has ever seen his face.” For the first time Kurenai piped up, and said, “I bet he’s handsome under the mask.” Asuma gave her a glare, and she shrugged it off as she took another sip of her drink. Iruka sensed that he had interrupted something, and gave a quick thank you and a bow before leaving. He only got a few feet when he heard Asuma yell behind him.

“Hey, Iruka-sensei, if you really want to know more about Kakashi, I know someone who you could ask..” Iruka’s eyes lit up at the prospect, and Kurenai couldn’t stop a laugh from slipping out. She knew what Asuma was going to suggest. “You could always go ask Gai-sensei.” Iruka’s head slumped back down. The last person he wanted to talk to was Gai. He was just too much for the chuunin to handle. Still glowering Iruka looked up at the two jounin and said, “Thank you again for your time Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei.” They both nodded and Iruka left the bar.

Iruka knew going to the bar was going to be a big waste of time. He doubted anyone knew anything about Kakashi, but he was determined to find out at least something. And as much as he hated to admit it, Gai was his only real lead. He finally made up his mind to question Gai, and now all he had to do was find Konoha’s Green Beast. But that could wait until tomorrow. If he tried to deal wit Gai now, he’d probably end up trying to kill him. He was more exasperating than even Naruto, and that was saying a lot. Slumping his shoulders Iruka walked back to his apartment, wondering again about why he seemed so naturally drawn to Kakashi....

A/N: Phew, that was fun to write. I don’t really know where this story is going to go, but I know that it will probably be looong. I don’t know how long, but I’m going to try and drag it out as much as possible. I can’t really decide how I want it to end, and since it’s not a completely angst filled story, I don’t know how to label it either. I guess it’ll be whatever it will be. Pretty vague, ne? I also very much appreciate all the wonderful reviews, especially the one from Raiko/Yurikai Kurosaki. That was the most flattering and cute review I’ve ever received. And like they say, flattery will get you everywhere, and so I dedicate this fic to you. I hope you don’t mind, since you like it so much ^.^ Later!