26~WAITING~
~Summery~
Iruka knows Kakashi watches him like a hawk all day. He also knows that the silver haired pervert likes him. Iruka also knows that he likes Kakashi back, hell he may even love him, and Iruka is growing tired of Waiting for said pervert.
~Rating~
T for mild cursing.
~Warnings~
Male/Male love also known as Yaoi. If you don't like it then here's a simpler solution than flaming or ranting, just don't read it. Shocking I know. Nothing explicit just pining.
~Disclaimer~
Oh if I only owned Naruto I could make Kakashi and Iruka make out on screen! Since that'll most likely never happen, Its quite obvious I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto, the lucky s.o.b, does own Naruto.
Iruka might not be a jounin. He certainly didn't have the same skill as the elite ninjas. However Iruka was a chunin, a skilled shinobi of konoha, and the day a leaf ninja could not tell they were being watched was they would most likely be killed.
A year and a half ago Iruka knew someone was watching him. He could feel the eyes on him. He knew someone was watching him as he sat in the closed academy grading papers. He could feel the gaze flowing in form the large window to his left. He did not feel a chakra signature, but still he knew someone was there. The feeling should have put him on edge; any shinobi with sense would be weary of someone watching them from the shadows. Yet somehow, the feeling had made Iruka feel safe. The strange gaze made him feel warm almost protected. He happily fell asleep drooling on Konohamaru's mock mission report basking in the warm stare.
Iruka's stalker (by definition) seemed to follow and watch him wherever he went and would only go missing for a few days at a time. The longest time that his stalker was MIA was for two weeks.
For months Iruka silently wondered who the person watching him so intently was. Every time he felt the warm stare he wondered who was on the other end. 'Is it someone with blue eyes? Is it a girl? A guy? Why are they watching me? I wonder what they want. Why do I feel safe when I know someone is watching me?!'
But more than he wondered, he waited.
He waited for the owner of the eyes that constantly watched him to reveal themselves. He waited for a clue to fall out of the sky. He waited for a chakra signature. He waited for a glimpse of his watcher. He waited for a sound, a sight, a feel, a smell, something to identify whoever loitered around the chunin. He simply waited.
Finally, his waiting paid off in the form of a laugh. A simple sound enlightened Iruka to who was watching him so intently.
Iruka had been walking home from the academy, his arms full of reports both from his pregenin and some full fledged ninja whose work looked like pregenins'. (Tsunade thought that grading mission reports and showing where the shinobi kept, for lack of a better term, fucking them up, and making them redo them would make the grown ninja's hand in better reports. Was she ever wrong!)
He had had a terrible feeling he should have teleported home, but he had become accustom to walking home under the warm watchful eye of his 'stalker'.
The wind was whipping outside the academy causing even the mighty oak's branches to bend dangerously in its wake. The small wooden swing that had been attached to the tree was twisting in the winds grasp and weaving around.
Nearing the training field that he always passed on his way home the demonic wind picked up. Before Iruka could readjust the papers against the onslaught of mother nature one single piece of paper had flown out of his tanned grasp. "Crap." He didn't feel like running around after one of his students' papers, however; he realized it may have been a real mission report. "Double crap."
Quickly he placed the other papers on the, thankfully, dry ground and covered them with a good sized rock, and for good measure he bound them with chakra strings. There was no way they could break free now. Then he bounded after the paper that seemed so happy to dance in the wind. He nearly grabbed it once as he leapt head long into he wind. Then fate decided that Iruka should literally eat dirt. He face planted into the grass causing green to smear over his blue pants. It took an hour for the skilled chunin to close his fingers around the free spirited paper. Finally he caught it. Finally his hard work was not in vain.
Iruka's eyes widened and his heart sank, for, "It was blank". He stated it slowly and incredulously. And then he laughed. How could he not? But he stopped when he heard something just above the wind's howl. It was laughter, deep, smooth, some how reminiscent of melted chocolate, laughter. And to Iruka's joy/horror, he knew that laugh, that voice.
Hatake Kakashi.
He now knew who his stalker was. And to make things worse, or better, (Iruka didn't know) it was sharingan Kakashi, the man who Iruka had had a crush on since the chunin exam nominations.
Back to questioning.
'Why is Kakashi following ME? is it a challenge with Gai or something? Why would the guy follow me? Watch ME? Why would I feel safe with HIM watching ME? Maybe he wants revenge for that whole chunin nomination ordeal...'
It took about a month of knowing Kakashi was watching him and him watching Kakashi when they spoke at the missions' desk before he realized why Kakashi was following him.
Iruka figured it out when he saw Kakashi blush, YES, BLUSH! All Iruka said was something about having to teach Kakashi a lesson. Of course Iruka had meant about how to write a proper report. Somehow the phrase must have gotten misconstrued in the theater of the perverts mind. Iruka expected some sex themed comeback but Kakashi just blushed and said, "r…really?" he stuttered. Then he was out the door in a mater of seconds. The scene reminded him of one of his students when they were around their crush.
'Kakashi actually acts like a kid with a crush a lot. Watching them from afar… stuttering, blushing, short conversations then running off… OH KAMI! KAKAHISI HAS A CRUSH ON ME!'
Iruka could have fallen over in complete shock. Okay, he did. Genma didn't even want to know why the chunin was on the ground wearing a blush that could have rivaled a cherry.
Iruka knew Kakashi would follow him but hardly ever spoke a decent conversation. The only thing Kakashi would do in their short conversations would be talk about Naruto or ask Iruka questions or "Hn" at the proper moments. Iruka thought the man was just socially inept, but then the stuttering and blushing combined with the stalking and awkwardness somehow made it seem like a childhood crush.
The thing that truly shocked Iruka though wasn't that the legendary copy nin had a crush on him. He was in shock because it meant that Iruka's own feelings wouldn't be unappreciated. And that made Iruka insanely happy, so happy that for a few days every time he smiled it was a heartfelt smile and not one that he forced himself to wear to ward off the loneliness and pain in his life.
Then his smile began to fall into a look of annoyance. It was obvious the Copy Nin was infatuated, yet he didn't make a move in a freaking year and a half!
So Iruka remained waiting.
He waited for Kakashi to realize that when he turned in his mission reports Iruka always tried to brush his fingers along Kakashi's gloved hand.
He waited for the scarecrow to see him staring back at one of his hiding places.
He waited for the day Kakashi would catch on that when Iruka said "I'm sure your Kunai is really big", he wasn't talking about Kakashi's knife. Though Iruka couldn't really be upset that he didn't understand that, Iruka never did master the art of flirting.
Iruka waited when he knew Kakashi would be gone on a high ranking mission. He waited for the warm safe stare to return. He waited for Kakashi to return safely. He hoped for Kakashi to return safely.
He waited to hear about the great Sharingan Kakashi's death... He waited for tears to fall. He waited, curled up in a ball in his empty bedroom, for a sign that the man he had fallen for may never return. He waited for the pain of never knowing if he and Kakashi could have been anything more than acquaintances.
Iruka waited for when Kakashi did return and had to be sent to the hospital. He waited for him to get better so he could lecture him to be more careful.
He waited for Kakashi, the man who Iruka had grown to love, to show Iruka how he felt.
Iruka would wait for him forever…
Then again that's along time and he was getting a bit…Frustrated.
Sitting at his desk, grading sub-par reports, he sat still waiting, knowing full well Kakashi was up in the oak tree that had a clear view into his classroom. He still waited for Kakashi to make a move or to do something where Iruka could make a move. Waiting for anything that would help quench his rising anger at the copy nin's slowness.
'Why can't he make a move? I swear he has no social skills. All he has to do is ask me out. I'm getting damn tired of waiting for HIM!' Iruka scratched a C- onto his student's report with a little more force than necessary. "That's it! I'm done waiting." Iruka smirked and rose from his desk and quickly teleported to the base of the old oak.
The cool autumn air hit Iruka like a wave. But he could care less about the cold air, for when he looked up into the tree branches he found, like he knew he would, Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei, why are you in that tree?" Iruka asked loudly, though any hint of true anger was completely absent.
Kakashi's blue-ish-grey eye snapped down to capture Iruka's. A faint blush appeared just above the edge of the navy blue mask. The contrast was quite pleasing to Iruka. "Maa, Iruka sensei, I'm just watching…"
~Author's Comments~
There you have the second installment of the Watching trilogy. Yes I'm certain now it will be a trilogy, its just a matter of how long it takes me to write the third installment. The third chapter is going to be the two actually acting on their feelings. So yeah…
I hope you enjoyed this chapter the next will be out shortly if my muse doesn't take another break.
Please review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Flames shall be used for free heating. (It's cold in my house)
Quick question has anyone noticed that there are a lot of Iruka death fics? Don't get me wrong I love a good angst ridden fic and I love one that will make me cry. But seriously It's like Iruka gets picked on to be killed! I even read a Gen/Iru where Iruka dies! And for every 10 Kaka/iru death fics it seems like Iruka is the one who gets killed about 70% of the time! Poor Iruka, poor Kakashi! Is it because we like to see Emo Kakashi? Or is it that people expect Iruka to be the one to die? Either way... They make me cry... and I can't get enough... weird.
Okay enough of my rant.
~Lenea~