Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Sins of the Family	By : RyalsShoal Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Kakashi/Iruka Views: 2042 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not have any affiliation with the Naruto Franchise, they belong to their respective owners and companies. This is a personal work for no profit.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Chapter 6. The Path of Loneliness

Hatake Kakashi was not a shinobi who easily lost control of his emotions--no matter what the cause. His reaction to Iruka’s blunder had been justified, though that small spark of ire had steadily grown into a temper that threatened to overwhelm the Jounin as the night progressed. The root of Kakashi’s anger stemmed not only from the Chuunin’s error, but from his whole situation in general. He was now itching for a fight and would have welcomed the chance to battle the enemy face-to-face than focus his pent-up energy on stealth and infiltration. He was ‘Sharingan Kakashi of the Thousand Jutsus’ and one of the youngest shinobi in Konoha to have ever been promoted into ANBU, his abilities were not suited to being confined as a mere spy.

As the first rays of dawn were just beginning to glow over the snow-capped mountain range, Kakashi found that his frustration had only increased despite evidence that the Chuunin’s voice had gone unheard by the enemy. They had been extremely fortunate by their position in the valley, the echo had spread widely enough from the hideout that it made pinpointing the location of the cave difficult to find-- hence why Kakashi had ordered Iruka to stay behind while he scouted for intruders and set up false trails and fortified traps.

‘I should have known better than to give him so much sake to drink’ he thought darkly for the umpteenth time. ‘Then I wouldn’t be stuck out here doing all this pointless bullshit!’ the Jounin’s lips curled into a snarl as he finished securing a thin tripwire on a rotting tree stump. Through the fog of his anger, a small scrutinizing voice abruptly wondered why a shinobi such as himself had allowed his emotions to become rampant, and if it was just a reaction to hide something deeper in his psyche, something like…fear?

Kakashi paused in his trap-setting to consider that particular emotion. Fear was nothing foreign to him, and in the right amount of doses was a very healthy thing to acknowledge on the battlefield. It kept a warrior on his toes for instance, and also helped promote caution during a mission. But what was Kakashi afraid of? Certainly not the ‘Kanzaka Gang’ who terrorized the villagers, or that cowardly invisible enemy who had stooped low enough to use a child to attack Iruka.

At the thought of the Chuunin’s scarred smiling face, the Copy-nin felt his heart skip a beat.

‘Oh.’

The Copy-nin briefly recalled his casual flirtations with Iruka, and how he had permitted himself to enjoy the flustered reactions to his provocations. He cringed inwardly at how easily he had fallen beyond simple lust for his comrade. ‘At the first sign of trouble I ran out here looking for a fight—it was just an excuse to challenge those that are threatening him. This is not good...I have allowed myself to be too open around my client.’ This revelation deeply troubled Kakashi; it was not in his nature to allow anyone--even those he was attracted with—to be the source of such strong emotional turmoil. Such attachment was distractive and counterproductive to his personal code of the shinobi lifestyle.

Kakashi was fully aware that he was hardly considered ‘normal’ compared to the average Leaf-nin, and had stood out his entire life: first by being the son of the infamous disgraced warrior ‘The White Fang’ Hatake Sakumo, then secondly by becoming a Chuunin at age six followed by promotion to the Jounin rank at thirteen, then finally recruitment into the elite ANBU shortly after turning seventeen. Since he was very young, Kakashi had been uncomfortably aware of the countless pairs of eyes that followed him whenever he ventured outside his home. Both shinobi warriors and citizens alike had openly stared at him with varying mixtures of awe, jealousy, or fear. Kakashi preferred to set his own boundaries, and wearing a mask to partially cover his face offered a small amount of protection and privacy against the gaping populace, and it distanced himself comfortably from deceitful people trying to become too familiar with him.

The Copy-nin was a man who rarely gave much thought of the consequences his personal actions had outside the battlefield; he was the sort that cared little of what others considered of him. Whatever quirks Kakashi had were his own to display, and he felt more than justified to express himself however he pleased after sacrificing his entire childhood and most of his adult life to the service of the Fire Country. Other than the Yondaime and his two original teammates, very few people had been permitted to see deeper into Kakashi’s personality beyond his shinobi prowess and eccentricities. The Jounin had only attempted a few romantic relationships in the past, though the majority of his sexual encounters had been purely physical with little or no emotional merit. Kakashi’s experience with sex was not unusual among the elite warrior classes (who typically had little contact with the world outside their missions) for many, sex was just another means for stress release—and a convenient diversion from the steady stream of violence and tragedy that their kind constantly faced; it was just that--a diversion.

But what was the reason behind Kakashi’s sudden sense of anxiety when he thought of being close with the Chuunin like that? Iruka was hardly a person to be afraid of (unless you were one of the unruly students inside his classroom) in fact, he was quite the opposite of any warrior Kakashi had known; Iruka was a Leaf-nin dedicated to nurturing the budding skills of the future protectors of Konoha. He was sincere, likable, patient, kind…and his smile was warm and genuine. His personality was stable and untainted by years enduring the burden of horror and loss encountered in war.

In short, Iruka was everything Kakashi was not.

‘He is too innocent. Iruka cannot possibly understand what I am really like—or what I am capable of, and what I have already done. There is too much blood on my hands to be with a person like him.’

As a battle-hardened warrior, the Copy-nin was no stranger to taking a life. He had fought during the Third Shinobi War with the legendary ‘Yellow Flash’ as his mentor, who had taught his prodigy the finer arts of taking a life. Kakashi respected Iruka as a fellow Konoha shinobi, but knew that the Chuunin was a person who was far more comfortable with instructing children and living alongside the ordinary citizens of Konoha, and had experienced only a handful of serious conflicts during his service... how could he understand what it was like to truly live amongst the shadows and be raised as a living weapon? Most shinobi who had been similarly gifted as the Copy-nin had either gone mad with their own agendas and defected like Orochimaru and the Uchiha brothers, or had died long ago on the battlefield. His was a life devoted to darkness and violence, a secluded Chuunin such as Umino Iruka-- who thrived in the light and laughter of children, could not possibly consider forming a bond with the feared ‘Sharingan Kakashi.’

“I’m being foolish.” Kakashi muttered as he stood motionless in the mossy glade while he tried to sort out his conflicting thoughts and emotions. He could not deny the strong attraction he felt for his companion, but was it a connection that Iruka would welcome and return—and was it a relationship worth attempting for something more than a simple fuck? That notion was almost more frightening than any battle Kakashi had ever faced in his short violent life.

‘Shit, I’m acting like a schoolgirl afraid of being rejected by her first crush!’ Kakashi thought with chagrin. Minato-Sensei’s stern voice echoed in his mind: “A shinobi could not afford to be distracted on a mission; his mind must be clear and certain until the objective has been reached.” It was among the first of many lessons he had received from his former instructor, and one that Kakashi held almost as dear to the ‘leave no comrade behind’ code his former teammate Uchiha Obito had taught him.

‘I will have to distance myself.’ The protection of his client was the main objective of this mission; Kakashi would not allow the Chuunin’s safety to become jeopardized simply because he couldn’t be entirely calm and collected. The Jounin had no intention of visiting ‘Umino Iruka’ chiseled on the memorial stone alongside Obito’s name. No, Kakashi would have to resign himself on abandoning that potential future. When they returned to Konoha they would separate and go about their opposite lives. Iruka would never know the impact he had on the Copy-nin, and it was better that way.

The Jounin turned at the sudden sound of a large animal rushing through the forest, but quickly relaxed after recognizing the familiar footsteps. The bushes on the outskirt of the small clearing rustled and then parted to reveal Urushi slowing his pace to a quick trot. The white nin-dog sneezed a dried leaf from his nose before reaching the Copy-nin, he whined and then pawed at the ground besides the shinobi’s foot.

“Don’t fret, I’m going back.” Kakashi told the nin-dog as he stooped to scratch Urushi’s favorite spot under the chin. The red sun had just started to peek over the ridge of the mountains, heralding the start of a hot summer day. ‘Sharingan Kakashi’ still had a mission-- to protect his client and infiltrate Gizan village for information. No matter what else was going on in his head, that objective was clear. He must root out this elusive enemy and defend Umino Iruka, or die trying.

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Kakashi returned to the cave shortly after the sun had fully risen above the mountain line. The Copy-nin was starting to feel the first tendrils of exhaustion tugging at his energy after the rigorous night of patrolling and sorting his innermost thoughts, but he ignored it—as easily as he ignored intense look of concern on Iruka’s face when the younger man walked out of the hideout to greet him.

“We were lucky, there seems to be no one searching this area.” Kakashi stated before his companion started to speak. “We still need to leave; this area is no longer safe.” The Jounin moved into the back of the small cave where the orange chest containing his precious book collection was readied. It disappeared into a puff of smoke after a light tap on the closed lid.

Iruka’s body was a dark silhouette against the bright morning sun as he followed Kakashi uncertainly into the shadowy cave. “Er, I’m very sorry about last--” his apology was cut off by a quick hand motion from the Jounin

“No, it was my fault. I never should have brought alcohol in the first place” Kakashi interjected as he brushed past the Chuunin. Iruka could not help noticing how the Copy-nin refused to make eye contact when he spoke, and was unsettled by his easy-going companion’s sudden icy demeanor.

Kakashi pulled his mask down far enough for his sharp teeth to reopen the small cut on his thumb, and then made the proper motions for a quick summons. All eight nin-dogs puffed into view among a thick cloud of white smoke. “What’s up boss?” Pakkun asked from his perch on the huge bulldog-nin’s head, representing the non-speaking dogs.

“Thank you everyone for all your hard work. We will be traveling silently from now on, so everyone take a rest. I will summon all of you again for guard duty. Pakkun, I need you to remain to sniff out our trail.”

The black bulldog in the pack barked questionably. “Bull-kun want to know if you will get more venison next time, that last buck was quite tasty” Pakkun translated.

“If I can manage” Kakashi promised. “That, or wild boar.”

The nin-dogs licked their chops and growled appreciatively, and then disappeared. Pakkun’s stout body gently plopped to the ground. The pug-nin wrinkled his nose at the Jounin “I hope that there’s a little extra incentive for me staying behind.”

“Of course, I will give you an extra portion of prime-rib steak when we get home. Just don’t tell the rest of the pack.”

“Promises, promises” the pug-nin muttered as he nosed his way into the forest underbrush, his curly tail quickly disappearing from view.

Kakashi turned to glance at Iruka. “Let’s move.”

Iruka nodded and shouldered his pack. Kakashi obviously was still angry with him from the night before, and the Chuunin couldn’t really blame him after all the effort the Copy-nin had put into keeping him safe so far. He would just have to endure the icy treatment until he could regain the Jounin’s respect again.

************************************************************************************

They trekked cautiously into the deep forested valley. Kakashi walked at a brisk steady pace ahead of Iruka with Pakkun leading the way. he hot sun shone brightly through thickly leafed branches to create green tinged shadows that dappled across the two traveler’s paths, but the shade offered little relief against the muggy heat.

Kakashi barely spoke to his companion while they walked, other than to make a brief observation of an easier path to take. Iruka stoically bore the stiff silence and traveled without complaint, he was determined to cause as little trouble as possible for his bodyguard. The awkward silence drew on until the late afternoon hours when their path was blocked by a great frothing river.

“Hmm, this is too dangerous to cross.” Kakashi observed as he studied the white-capped rapids churning in the wide river. “There must be a waterfall around here, judging by how the terrain sharply inclines up ahead.”

“I think you’re right.” Iruka stooped down and pulled his Hiate-ate off to splash cold river water on his face. He was rather glad to have his hair pulled tightly back on hot days such as these, especially since his black undershirt and heavy vest were causing him to sweat. He wondered how the Copy-nin could stand the added material of the black mask covering half his face.

“We will make camp further upstream.” Kakashi watched the fast flowing river with a critical eye. “If we’re lucky we will find an area where the current slows, it would make spearing for fish easier and more plentiful in calmer waters.”

“I haven’t done that since I was a child.” Iruka wiped water from his face with a sleeve. “I hope I haven’t lost my touch.” He looked up to see that the Jounin had already started walking away but was close enough to still be in earshot. Iruka’s jaw tightened with anger at being so blatantly ignored. ‘I could understand his aloofness if he’s still mad, but now he’s just being a jerk’ he thought irritably as he hurried to follow.

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The travelers found the immense waterfall before dusk descended upon the valley and with it a suitable campsite near the base of the crashing waters. Kakashi chose a dry spot on the rocky shore between the sheer cliffs that the water fell from and a natural half-dam made from forest debris that had been swept down the falls and had piled upon itself over the years. The mound of uprooted sun-bleached trees and the cliffs provided ample shelter from unwanted eyes spotting the glow of the nightly campfire, and shelter from both the wind and deafening sound of the crashing waters. The barrier of forest wreckage was large enough to have diverted the strong current to the far left side of the river, and consequently provided deep pools for fish hiding under the debris as they waited for swarms of insects to gather above.

Iruka swatted at a blood-sucking insect that had settled on his thigh. The location of the campsite unfortunately provided a haven for mosquitoes, of which was definitely the ONE part of nature that the Chuunin could certainly do without.

Kakashi looked up from sharpening a twig with his kunai. “Rub a light sheen of wet river clay on your skin” he advised and turned back to his work. Pakkun snored quietly beside his master on the log the Jounin used as a seat, the little pug-nin was unbothered by the mosquitoes due to his thick fur coat.

“Yeah, I know.” Iruka scanned the deep pool beside the campsite, he did not relish the option of adding a layer of clay on his already over-heated body, and he was sorely tempted to go for a swim to cool off--but knew that doing so would just scare off their dinner. He felt a light tap on his shoulder; Iruka turned around to see Kakashi holding a finished fishing spear out for him. “I’m uh, probably not very good at this” the Chuunin admitted as he accepted the spear, it was a long pointed pole with several sharpened twigs bound to the tip to better grab the slippery prey.

“It’s rather easy, but it takes practice to get it right.” Kakashi stood up and unzipped his vest. “You’d better strip in case you fall in.”

The Chuunin nodded and gratefully started to pull off his heavy clothes. Both men were soon down to wearing their black uniform pants, except for the Copy-nin who opted to keep his sleeveless black undershirt on with the mask, his Hiate-ate was removed so the Sharingan could better spot the elusive fish camouflaged against the riverbed.

Iruka leaped over to the cluster of fallen trees, his bare torso prickled at the chill wind that blew across the river. He poured chakra into his feet to better grip the smooth grain of a barkless tree as he perched precariously above the cloudy pool. He could just barely make out the slender shapes of the small brown fish as they cautiously ventured from their hiding spots. ‘There!’ he stabbed directly down, and was shocked to see his spear catch hold of nothing.

“You need to aim a little above your target before striking.” Kakashi seemed to have materialized out from nowhere; strong pale arms encircled Iruka’s to guide the spear to the next target. The Chuunin’s body stiffened against the contact of the Jounin’s warm grasp, and his heart pounded furiously in his chest. “Light in the water refracts, so if you try to hit what you see you will just end up missing.” The Copy-nin leaned further to press his body against the younger man as he watched a particularly fat fish swim lazily by. Iruka could now see Kakashi’s profile out of the corner of his right eye, the Copy-nin’s Sharingan was intently focused on the pool, and his grip on Iruka’s arms was firm and unmoving. Iruka warred with himself between allowing the strange Jounin to continue invading his personal space, or to risk an attempt to throw him off into the pool below.

Kakashi jerked Iruka’s arms down into the water and they were both rewarded with the fat wriggling fish stuck on the spear. “Like that.” The Jounin retreated from the semi-embrace.

“Um, thanks?” Iruka watched in confusion as the Jounin turned away to pick up his own spear and wait for his own meal to swim by. ’What the hell? He treats me like I’m invisible all day and then does something like THAT as if it was no big deal.’ Realizing that Copy-nin would say no more, the Chuunin shook his head and made his way back to the campsite to start a cooking fire, he was a little unsure of how he should feel about Kakashi’s odd behavior.

************************************************************************************

‘Why the hell did I do that?’ Kakashi’s Sharingan caught a faint flicker of movement under the shade of a dead tree branch and he absentmindedly stabbed down. He was almost certain that the Chuunin had retreated back to the river bank some time ago, but it was difficult to be sure over the sound of water tumbling down the cliff. The Copy-nin did not dare turn around to check. Despite the fact that his mask was securely in place, his pale skin made blushing embarrassingly obvious to the outside world, and he would rather not risk Iruka seeing any part of him looking so flustered.

‘How could I break my own protocol? By the Gods, I’m supposed to be ignoring him…and I practically hugged him!’ He flicked his spear backwards to add the brown river trout to the growing pile of assorted fish. Kakashi’s intention of instructing the younger man on proper spear fishing had been entirely innocent--until he was physically touching Iruka’s warm tanned skin. The Jounin was not exactly upset at himself for giving in to the temptation of pressing a little closer...in fact the he had felt a thrill at the vibration of Iruka’s heart quickening at the contact. It had taken great effort on Kakashi’s part to regulate his own heartbeat from betraying him, and every ounce of his self discipline from acting upon any more impulses beyond a half-embrace.

‘I really must be a genuine pervert if I’m having this much trouble controlling myself’ Kakashi thought with a grimace as he stabbed his spear into the water. ‘Shit, the only way I’m going to get around this problem is if I suddenly become a eunuch...which is definitely NOT going to happen.’

He shook another trout off his spear then stood waiting impatiently for the next unfortunate river dweller to swim by. Kakashi had worked hard on distancing himself from his companion, but had only succeeded in making himself even more frustrated than ever before. The Copy-nin was now engaged in an intense battle: to whole heartedly apply himself to his mission, or give into his personal desires. If only he could find some balance between the two...but then again, maybe all of his self-doubt and deliberations had been for nothing. By now Iruka could have lost all interest in the Jounin (Kakashi had hardly been a gentleman lately) and he really should have known better than to bring up such a sore topic as Chuunin’s former lover the night before.

‘Hmph. Mizuki.’ Kakashi had always thought very little of the man whenever he encountered the former Leaf-nin in the main office building. Mizuki had been an under-achieving Chuunin who was always boasting of one thing or another, and his sexual exploits had been among his bragging-- including those that involved Umino Iruka.

One of the sharpened twigs on Kakashi’s spear snapped off as he missed his target and hit a rock. The Jounin had been away on a mission at the time of Mizuki’s betrayal, and what Kakashi knew of the particulars he learned by reading Naruto’s Genin report and from the usual gossip chains. Mizuki had apparently defected his allegiance to the Fire Country for his own personal gain and attempted to steal forbidden jutsu scrolls by manipulating (at the time) a very naive Naruto, and was foiled by Iruka’s interference. Rather than surrender, Mizuki chose to kill his fellow countrymen and pin the blame on the young Nine Tails Jinchuriki. It was despicable to betray and attack a fellow comrade--but attempting to murder a former lover?

The sight of the deep jagged scar betweem Iruka’s exposed shoulder-blades flitted before Kakashi’s eyes. The wound had been dangerously close to severing the Chuunin’s spine despite the protection of the armored vest. A low growl rumbled in the Jounin’s throat as he purposely stabbed at the soft riverbed. It was really too bad that Mizuki had already been captured; Kakashi would have relished the opportunity to track down the defective Leaf-nin for a little heart-to-heart ‘chat.’

“KAKASHI!”

The Jounin was taken completely off guard by the loud voice directly behind him. He spun around to face Iruka, and in his shock he momentarily lost chakra control in his feet (and his balance.) With a rather undignified squawk Kakashi slipped off the smooth log and tumbled gracelessly into the water.

Iruka cried out and fell to his hands and knees, his brown eyes wide with mortification at causing his surly companion to fall. “I am SO sorry! Are you all right?”

Kakashi floundered in the pool for a moment before he was able twist around to see his flushed-faced companion. “Never better” he drawled then coughed on the water trapped under his mask. He found his balance and stood up in the waist-deep pool to pull the sodden mask off his face. “Hm? What’s wrong?” the Copy-nin asked when he saw Iruka look away with tightly closed eyes.

“I shouldn’t have snuck up you like that. I tried to call you from the bank but you couldn’t hear me” Iruka replied with his eyes still squeezed shut. “I know you don’t like anyone seeing your whole face uncovered, and I’m sorry about that too. Shit, I can do nothing but screw up lately!”

Kakashi was completely taken aback by the Chuunin’s consideration, and stared dumbstruck at Iruka. In all the times the Jounin had ever exposed his entire face around anyone--either openly or discreetly—he had always received that same gawking reaction similar to those that had haunted him as a child. Rather than take advantage of Kakashi’s temporary weakness, Iruka had voluntarily looked away. Every lover the Copy-nin had ever taken had never failed to leap upon the opportunity to scrutinize his ordinary features, the Chuunin-Sensei was the first person Kakashi had ever met to have done otherwise.

It was in that moment that the last of Kakashi’s stony resolve crumbled, and he finally allowed his over-calculating mind to acknowledge the warmth he felt in his heart as he silently regarded the younger man. ‘I’ll be damned!’ Kakashi thought with wonder. ‘It feels just like a passage from one of my Icha Icha books. Jiraiya really knows what he’s writing about!’

“Can I go now?” Iruka asked without opening his eyes. “I want to get back to the fire before it dies out.”

Kakashi waded through the water until he was close enough to speak directly into Iruka’s ear. “Did you see my face, Sensei?” The Jounin’s voice was soft and dead serious. “I must let you know that if you did, I cannot allow you to live.”

“Huh?” Iruka’s eyes flew open in time to catch a brief glimpse of Kakashi’s grinning face, and then the Jounin grabbed his arms and flung the unfortunate Chuunin into the cold water.

“You are such an asshole!” Iruka sputtered when his head popped back above the surface.

“I’ve been told that I have a particularly nice one” Kakashi replied as he casually strolled around the Chuunin on the pool’s surface, he kept in mind to stay within an arm’s reach of his fuming companion. “And since you’ve managed to scare all the fish away, we will have to make do with what we got.”

“That’s why I was calling you.” Iruka pointed to the log where Kakashi had fished upon, dead fish lay in a sizable mound that could reach the Jounin's thigh. “I don’t think we can eat all of that.”

Both of Kakashi’s eyes widened at the amount of food he had unknowingly acquired while he had been lost his frustrated thoughts. “Well, ah...I caught extra portions for my dogs.”

Iruka made a displeased noise at that, and started to swim towards the rocky bank. “They better like it raw. I’m not staying up all night cooking!”

“Of course they do, sashimi dog food is a particular specialty of mine!” Kakashi lied, knowing full well that his nin-dog pack would become extremely surly and disgruntled if he went back on his promise of wild pig. He wondered what he was going to do with all the fish before it started to stink...

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Iruka chanced a last look at the Jounin before the protruding mass of dead trees obscured the other shinobi from view; Kakashi remained where he stood while he scratched his head in bewilderment at the enormous bounty of raw fish. The Copy-nin’s abrupt mood change from cold detachment to playful familiarity was one that perplexed Iruka, and was made even more puzzling since the sudden shift seemed to have been instigated only after Iruka had unexpectedly startled him into the pool.

‘He’s one of the best trained shinobi Konoha has to offer, and I wasn’t exactly stealthy when I approached him. He should not have been caught off guard like that.’ Iruka stepped over broken twigs and sharp rocks that were barely visible in the darkening water as he carefully made his way to the campfire. ‘Either way, I’m glad that Kakashi doesn’t seem so mad at me anymore.’

His teeth chattered as the warmth of the hot summer day waned and gave way to the cooling purple-pink skies of twilight. Both he and Kakashi had only brought one set of clothes, and they would have to dry their pants out before retiring to bed. ‘I wonder if he’s distracted by something else bothering him.’ Iruka did not like Kakashi’s strange (well, more strange than usual) behavior, especially if a confrontation with the enemy was imminent in the near future. No matter what the Jounin said, he was determined to be more active in the mission, and it would not do either of them any good if the more experienced of the two shinobi’s minds remained unfocused. Whatever it was, Iruka decided to get to the bottom of the matter before Kakashi had a chance to slip away.

The Chuunin didn’t know what to think of his odd companion, he was still unsettled by the memory of that lean powerful body pressed against his back. Iruka craved the flirtatious attentions Kakashi directed at him but he also wanted to rebuff them at the same time—and more than he previously realized, Iruka wanted to touch and be touched by the Copy-nin. ‘I am a desperate fool’ Iruka thought bitterly as he gathered dry twigs to refuel the dying fire.

He was a little more than wary on making any moves that could upset the fragile truce Kakashi had reestablished between them. Iruka’s traitorous body yearned with the need to give into his lust, though the logical and more cautious side of his mind warned against being with someone unpredictable like Kakashi. The round-about dance of caution and desire was a familiar one to the Chuunin, even after three years he still felt the sting of his last relationship with Mizuki, which had hardly been a healthy one. “I don’t ever want to be used like that again” Iruka whispered to himself, hoping that his spoken words would harden his resolve against the Jounin’s charms.

‘Dammit, now I’m getting distracted!’ Iruka yanked the elastic band from his sodden ponytail for his hair to dry. “Stupid, stupid Kakashi!” he growled as he continued to work on rekindling the campfire.

“Hm?” Pakkun snorted awake on the beached tree where he had fallen asleep. The nin-dog lifted his head to face the Chuunin across the fire pit. “What’s that about the Boss?” he yawned.

“Oh sorry Pakkun, I forgot you were there.” Iruka apologized and walked over to sit besides the pug and affectionately scratched the scruff of his neck.

The stout nin-dog wiggled his tail happily at the attention. “Is the Boss giving you trouble?”

“I’m not sure. Kakashi-san has been rather erratic lately.” Iruka smiled wryly to himself at the thought of confiding to a dog, albeit an extremely intelligent one.

Pakkun eyed the shinobi. “You’ve been giving him a lot of trouble yourself.”

Iruka scowled at the nin-dog, his mood souring again. “It was never my intention to drag him along in this mess.”

“That is not what I meant.” Pakkun sighed happily when Iruka found his favorite spot behind an ear. “Any dog worth his snout can tell that the Boss really likes your scent, and apparently you do too. You both should just mate and get it over with.”

Iruka paused to stare at the tiny nin-dog. Pakkun stared back at the Chuunin, waiting for him to continue with the scratching. “Why’d you stop for?” the pug asked.

“EXCUSE me?” Iruka demanded, his face turning red at the dog’s eerie perceptiveness.

“I think you’re both old enough to know what to do with each other.” Pakkun rolled his droopy eyes. “I should know, I traveled with the two of you all day, and you both reek with the pheromones of two young males in their prime ready to rut.”

“It’s not that simple!” Iruka hissed as he glanced around nervously for any sign of the Copy-nin.

“You humans like to make it complicated” Pakkun snorted and jumped off the log. “All animals become stupid by this sort of tension, it’s better to just listen to your instincts.” The pug-nin trotted over to the blazing campfire and settled himself comfortably before it. “The Boss really likes you” he sighed contently at the warmth. “I’ve never seen him get so worked up this way over a mate before.” The little dog closed his eyes to sleep, ending the conversation with the Chuunin.

Iruka clamped a hand over his bare forehead and stared up at the sky in despair. ‘Great, now the dog knows!’ he inwardly groaned. It suddenly occurred to him that more than ten minutes had passed since he had returned to the campsite, and that it would probably be wise to have his wet clothes off and the more sensitive bits of his naked body hidden before the Jounin made an appearance. ‘Kakashi might try to surprise me again when he returns, and with my luck going as it is lately I’ll end up falling into the fire with my pants down!’ Iruka gave one last suspicious look at his empty surroundings before he hastily pulled a spare blanket out from the pack to cover himself with, and started to undress.

END OF CHAPTER 6

Final word: There’s a lot less action and plot development then I wanted to include in this chapter, but I felt that it was necessary to focus on Kakashi’s and Iruka’s budding relationship at this point of the story. The plot will be a lot more intense and action-packed from now on, so this is the ‘calm before the storm’ so to say (in more ways than one!) Thank you again for reading!
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Sins of the Family