Iruka's POV
It's my birthday. One more year of having no soulmate mark. If I didn't know that there are people who only get their marks when they're adults, I would have thought that there was something wrong with me. Even if it isn't, it's still a bit depressing.
Year after year I've seen so many people finding their soulmates, even friends. First, it was Kotetsu and Izumo, then Asuma and Kurenai. More recently it has been Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya, followed by Genma and Shizune. I'm trully happy for them, but it's really difficult to hang out with them for long periods of time without feeling depressed and somewhat lonely.
At this point I've accepted (or at least tried to accept) the fact that maybe I'm meant to be alone, even if it pains me. And for some reason, I also feel like I'm being constantly followed by the topic of soulmates. For example, yesterday, I was trying to give the class an explanation about the goddamn topic and had Konohamaru asking a million questions, inclunding some that were clearly meant to be a little snooping about my situation.
As I'm walking back home, I can see two distinct silhouettes. What do those two want now?
"Kotetsu, Izumo, what are you doing here?"
"We're going out with the rest of the crew... and you're coming with us."
"Look I apreciate the invitation, but I'm not going."
"Why not?"
"Izumo, I literally have classes to give, papers to grade and lesson plans to make. And we're literally going to be starting the exams in the next two weeks to see who's going to become a genin, which basically means more work, without counting the part that we need senseis ready to take a team of genins, which isn't that easy to find. As much as I want to, I really can't go this time."
"It's okay, but next time you're really coming with us. No excuses."
"Fine. See you around."
"See ya."
As I closed the door, I could feel my heart shattering into thousands of little pieces. I'm thankful that they thought of inviting me, but being around lovey dovey couples isn't gonna help my mental state and I really need to get my work into order before the exams.
***************
Meanwhile at the bar...
Asuma, Kurenai, Guy, Kakashi and Anko were waiting in a booth for the other three to come... then got slightly disapointed when only Kotetsu and Izumo appeared. Asuma inquired:
"Where's Iruka? The point of us being here was to celebrate his birthday..."
Izumo and Kotetsu looked at each other and sighed, before Izumo answered:
"We did try to convince him to come, but he shot it down really quick due to work. Besides, he looked beyond exausted."
Kotetsu continued: "And I have a slight feeling he's avoiding us..."
"You're right" - said Kurenai - "everytime we hang out as group, he always tries to avoid coming, and when he does come he looks like he just wants to go home."
Guy added: "He only seems more youthful when he's around the kids at the academy or with Naruto."
"But why would he do that?" thought Kakashi, very worried. The main reason for his concern was because his soulmate mark was the silhouette of a dolphin with a few wave designs around it. And there was only one person in the entire village that could be related to that. Which happened to be the missing birthday boy.
Cutting his train of thought, Anko spoke: "I think I know why..."
Asuma interrupted: "Then spill it out!"
"Jeez, no need to be so rude... I think that the reason why he's avoiding us is because some of us are mated."
"What makes you think that?" asked Kakashi.
"When there's new children at the academy, Iruka always gives a few classes where he can evaluate whether the kids are able to swim or not, in case they need it to survive, and to also teach those who can't. There was one time where I offered to help, since he always asks for someone else to be present in order to keep an eye on the kids. And I noticed that he didn't have a mate mark, which means he was probably born without one."
"Now that I think of it, he always looks a bit sad whenever he sees a mated couple." - added Kurenai - "and it also makes sense that he avoids us sometimes, he probably feels that being around mated couples is like a slap in the face".
"You're right..." - mencioned Kotetsu - "but we can't just leave him completely alone, otherwise he might spiral..."
"What do you mean?" - asked Anko.
"When his parents died, he was suddenly completely alone. The so called friends he had simply left him behind. Eventhough Lord Third tried to help him out as much as he could, I'm a hundred percent sure that he starved" - started Izumo - "the only friend he had was Mizuki, and we all know how that turned out. The thing is, after the Mizuki incident Iruka completely shut down for an entire month. Me and Kotetsu tried our hardest to not leave him alone because we were very afraid he might have tried something to harm himself. Sometimes we even convinced him to go with us to the hot baths to try to discretly search for new scars."
"I remember my father talking about that, but I've never imagined it had been that bad." - continued Asuma.
Silence fell on the table. Everyone thinking of ways on how to help Iruka. Upon the new information being released, Kakashi couldn't help but feel bad, thinking he could have helped Iruka.
"Kakashi, you couldn't have done anything" - said Guy, taking a more serious approach.
"What do you mean?"
"I know that you're thinking that maybe you could have helped him out, but you can't forget that you were going through your own trauma..." Guy didn't finish the sentence but Kakashi knew exactly what he meant.
After a few more silent minutes, Anko suggested "Well, we might as well consume something before the owners get mad at us. And perhaps we could give Iruka his gifts tomorrow after his class."
"Good idea, Anko" - praised Kurenai, while the guys nodded their approval.
*******************
The next day... (Iruka's POV)
Today I've decided to do sparring in the class. Everything was going fine, until I had the "brilliant" idea of pairing Konohamaru Sarutobi and Hanabi Hyuga. These two completely hate each other and are constantly at each others throats. They're even worse compared to Naruto and Sasuke, those two could at least agree to disagree. At least I was smart enough to make them the last sparring match. What could go wrong?
EVERYTHING!!!!!
At first, it was only kicks and punchs, which is expected... but then they started to get too violent. I was ready to interfere... and then Hanabi breaks the number one rule of academy sparring matchs "We do not use elemental jutsus unless it's a class where we have to use them"
She signed a Fire Style Jutsu so fast, that I only had enough time to put myself in front of Konohamaru and use a Water Style Jutsu to prevent the Academy from being lit on fire. And the best part (note the sarcasm): Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi, Guy, Kotetsu, Izumo and Anko running towards us.
Safe to say, I was beyond pissed. I can tolerate mischiefs and funny pranks. But violation of rules and almost putting a class full of kids in danger is the last straw. So I said in a very serious tone:
"Class dismissed. Except Konohamaru and Hanabi, who are going to the classroom and wait for me there, and I don't want to hear a single sound from the both of you."
Asuma looked like he realised something really bad had happened before they arrive. I didn't even have enough energy to ask what they were doing here. I just went to the nurse's office to get my arm bandaged because Hanabi managed to give me a burn, while the two students did what I said without reply.
Once I reached the classroom, they sat in a desk located in front of mine. I leaned on my desk and asked:
"Do you understand the gravity of what happened today?"
"We went too far on the match..." - said Konohamaru while Hanabi kept quiet.
"How I wish it had been just that. What happened today was incredibly dangerous, not only could you have ended up getting severely injured, you could have also harmed the rest of the class irresponsibly. These last few weeks, your behaviour has been completely out of line. The genin exams are next week..."
They kept their heads low, so I continued: "With the stunt you pulled today, along with your behaviour, I could refuse to put you for the exam." They got shocked and visibly scared. "While I understand you're kids and you don't have to like each other, you also can't keep fighting like this, because if you end up in the same team, I highly doubt you would survive. Besides, many jounin senseis refuse to deal with kids who display your behaviour, or they simply get them removed and substituted in the teams."
They looked like they were about to cry, but I couldn't be soft now. They have to realise that actions have consequences.
"You have until the end of this week to show me that you're capable of proper behaviour if you want to go further in your ninja career. Otherwise, you already know the outcome. The both of you are dismissed."
They walked out of the classroom, with their heads still low and without a single sound. I walked around my desk and sat in the chair. I couldn't help but sigh from exaustion. I just want to go home and sleep. A few minutes after, someone knocked on the door:
"Come in..." Only Asuma got inside and he had a worried look.
"Iruka, are you okay? You look tired..."
"Well, I am tired. And today was the cherry on top..."
"I'm gonna be honest with you, I saw what happened but I want you to tell me everything from the beginning."
So I told Asuma everything: class interruptions, big fights, etc... "Today was the last straw, Asuma. Not only could they have gotten severely injured, they could have also injured the rest of the class, or set the Academy on fire. Because of their behaviour, I threatened to remove them from the genin exam list unless they can show me proper behavior and actually repent their actions."
"I think the punishment you chose is more than enough. Being faced with the possibility of not becoming a ninja may be the rude wake up call they clearly need. I won't tell my father but I will have a talk with Konohamaru. This can't pass."
"Thanks..."
"Iruka, don't get me wrong, but why are you thanking me? I'm doing my job as one of Konohamaru's guardians to discipline him..."
"A lot of parents now refuse to do that, the level of entitlement from kids and adults nowadays is astonishing."
"And now I respect you even more for dealing with these brats."
"Thanks."
After a few minutes, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in" after I said that, there came the rest of the guys, whom I had noticed when the pirotecnic disaster happened.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked completely out of curiosity (and because the only visits I have after classes are usually from idiotic parents).
"Well, since we couldn't be with you on your birthday, we decided to bring your gifts today" answered Anko.
I could see that the couples had actually got one gift each, which I was thankful because I don't have much space at home. Kotetsu and Izumo got me the book I really wanted, Asuma and Kurenai gave me a new set of kunais (since mine were in a really bad shape), Guy got me some cupons for the hot baths, Anko decided to follow the same line of thinking and got me some spa cupons, and last but not least Kakashi gave me a small box and inside was the cutest small dolphin plushie (that I felt was much cuter than the gigantic ones).
"Thank you guys. This really made my day!"
"You're welcome... you look tired, are you okay?" asked Anko with a bit of concerned.
"I'm fine, but the genin exams are next week and I'm sure you almost saw the academy being lit on fire..."
"I admire you for having the patience to deal with kids. Especially the rebel ones" said Izumo.
"What are you going to do regarding Konohamaru and Hanabi, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Kotetsu.
I could see that Kakashi seemed especially interested in my reply. I don't know why though (...but the teenage crush I have on him is loving every second of attention I get from him). The others looked at me with curiosity too, except Asuma, who was already aware of what was going on, and nodded for me to tell.
"Well, if this was an isolated incident, I could have been more soft on them, but what happened was exactly the opposite. While I get the fact that no one has to like everybody, the least they could do is be minimally civil with each other. One thing is playing an innocent prank, I might play along with it, but today one of the most important rules I have for sparring matchs was broken..."
"What is the rule?" asked Kakashi, with curiosity.
"Do not use any elemental Jutsu unless the teacher or the class requires it" I answered, trying not to blush.
"I clearly saw a Fireball Jutsu" said Guy, looking slightly concerned.
"Hanabi broke the rule, Konohamaru froze and the rest of the kids were about to panic. I had to step in before the academy was lit on fire."
"Did you get hurt?" asked Kakashi, who clearly looked worried, which is strange because he doesn't show a lot of emotion.
"I got a burn in my left arm, but I already went to the nurse's office so I should be better in a week or two, if it gets worse, I'll probably go to the hospital."
Everybody nodded and started to say their goodbyes. Except Kakashi, who still remained in the classroom. I zoned out a bit, thinking about the amount of stuff I still had to do, when I heard Kakashi asking something.
"Sorry, I didn't hear what you said. Could you repeat, please?"
"What are these papers for?" he said while picking up a piece of paper from one of the desks and gave it to me. I knew exactly what it was.
"It's actually a specific assignment that I do every month, though it doesn't count for grading purposes. I ask the kids to write down how they've been feeling lately to see if there's something wrong and to try and give some support if needed."
"So basically you evaluate them psychologically every month, masking it as an assignment that doesn't count for grading..."
"Exactly."
"It's actually really clever!"
"Thank you". After that, he helped collect all the papers from the classroom and walked me home. We said our goodbyes and I braced myself for a night full of work.
**************
Kakashi's POV
When I thought Iruka couldn't get anymore cuter, he managed to prove me wrong. The fact that he did something none of the other teachers did clearly showed his level of investment on the kids... and I get even more mushy than before.
"Hey boss" said Pakkun, scaring the living lights out of me.
"Hey Pakkun... please, don't scare me again, and is everything okay?"
"Were you thinking about a certain dolphin boy, who you happen to be soulmates with?"
"Maybe" I said feeling my face change expressions for a more serious one.
"What's wrong?"
"Remember when I told you about the fact that it seemed Iruka was avoiding hangouts with our friends?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, turns out that he, apparently, was born without a mating mark..."
"Considering the fact that the majority of the group is mated, I would say that the avoidance makes sense" interrupted Pakkun.
"The problem is that things are gonna get more difficult from here..."
"How so?"
"You can only make a mate bond permanent if both the parts involved have the marks. In this case, Iruka doesn't have his..."
"You're forgetting a very important point!" he exclaimed, getting frustrated.
"What do you mean?"
"Either your teacher in the academy didn't explain this to you or you probably missed this class... if you have a mark, Iruka will have one as well and while you were born with the mark already, his mark will have to be triggered. The only time someone doesn't get a mark is if they have no one with a mark that can relate to them."
"Thanks for the explanation, I really don't remember any of that. I have a question though... how is the mark triggered in this context?"
"It's hard to tell since it's different from person to person. The most common way is to suffer an injury, even a small cut can do the trick, but this will only work if the other mate already has a mark."
"Well, today Iruka had to step in during a sparring match and got a burn on his left arm... do you think that could work?"
"Only time will tell, and it could also help if you try to spend more time with him. That way he would get more used to you..."
"And potentially mad at me for not telling him about my mate mark..."
"Kakashi, you will have to explain things from your point of view, especially the point of how afraid you are when it comes to people you love. You said it yourself, he judges no one before knowing their side of the story, so I'm very sure he won't try to straight up judge you."
"Thanks, that was the wake up call I needed. And I'll follow your advice."
"Now go to sleep, I'm sure you don't want your dark circles to scare him off."
"Ha ha ha, you're so funny..." I said, rolling my eyes, but nonetheless turning off the lights and going to sleep.
************
Iruka's POV
I guess that the punishment actually worked, since Konohamaru and Hanabi started to ignore each other and keep out of each others way, including no class interruptions (except the few to ask questions about something they didn't understand). But the true test was to put them in a sparring match again, to which they both respected the rules. At the end of the week, I called them both to the classroom again. The poor kids looked beyond scared.
"Do you know why I called you here?" They shook their heads "I have been evaluating your behavior ever since that day. You clearly showed me that you're capable of behaving and for that, you'll both be able to participate in the genin exam." I only saw two kids running to me and hugging the life out of me.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei!" they said at the same time.
"All you have to do now is keeping up with your behaviour. Go home, I'm sure you have people waiting for you."
They both nodded and went their ways. I was zoning out a bit, when an anbu appeared "Lord Hokage requests your presence as soon as possible" I nodded, picked up my paperwork and went straight to the Hokage's office. Once I got there, the secretary immediately let me in.
"You summoned me Lord Hokage?"
"Yes, Iruka. I called you here because I honestly have no idea on how to put the kids in teams, and I wasn't around the academy much this year, so it would be better if you could help out since you've dealt with all this kids for months."
"In that case, I'm more than happy to help."
In the end, we manage to divide my class in teams of three (in case they pass the exam), and I made sure to put Konohamaru and Hanabi in different teams in order to avoid chaos.
"Are you too busy at the moment, Iruka?" asked Lord Third.
"Not really, sir... is something wrong?"
"It's about Konohamaru. Although Asuma didn't tell me anything, the other day I noticed that my grandson was a bit off so I asked him what happened... and he told me all about the fire jutsu and the form of punishment you chose..."
"You think I went too far, isn't it?" I interrupted without even thinking.
"Not at all, in fact I think you were much softer than me, if I were in your place. What I want to know is if they did change their behavior."
"They did, I even put them to work together to see how much they changed. In my opinion, they are ready to do the exam, but I have to admit that the idea of putting them in different teams was on purpose."
"I noticed that, and to be honest it's the best choice. Thank you for your help, Iruka."
"You're welcome, hokage-sama."
"Go home kid, you look like you really need to sleep." I nodded and went home. In the middle of the itinerary, my arm started to hurt a lot. It wasn't that big of a burn, the nurse said it was a tiny one that should heal within the week, but lately I feel like it's getting bigger and hurting a lot. That's it, I'm going to the hospital tomorrow first thing in the morning.
*****************
Still Iruka's POV
Everything hurts... my arm is killing me. Since it was weekend, I didn't go to the academy so I simply went straight to the hospital. I was in the waiting room for a bit, before a doctor came a called my name. After we sat down in her office, she asked:
"So Iruka, what brings you here? The last time you were here was because you got extremely injured after a mission."
"Well, I am here because of an injury..."
"What happened?"
"There was a small altercation at the academy and I got a minor burn. However, this was last week. Now, it feels like the pain of the burn has extended to the entire arm."
"Do you mind take off your shirt to examine the burn?" I agreed and started taking off my vest and the shirt. My arm was bandaged, so the doctor took the bandages off very carefuly.
"Wow, I've never seen a case of a burn that looked like this... Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Were you born without a soulmate mark?"
"Yes... what does it have to do with the burn?"
"I believe that the burn is triggering the appearance of the mark on your body."
"But how? I know that a small wound can trigger a mark, but i don't have that much knowledge about how that works"
"When you suffer an injury, your brain can process it as a threat to your life, even the smallest cut can cause death if it gets too infected. If you have a mate, the said injury will cause the mark to appear forcefully, which is very painful."
"So basically, my body is forcing the mark to appear as a way to keep the bond to my mate?"
"Exactly. A few years ago, I would have told you to wait until the mark fully appeared. What I can do now is give you a shot that will make the mark appear in a minute or two. There is a downside though..."
"What is it?"
"When you wait the mark to appear, it will cause a sort of moderate/severe pain that will remain for a few days. If I give you the shot, you'll feel all the pain in a minute, which will cause you to probably pass out, but after that the pain will be gone."
"So basically I can choose wait until the mark appears on it's own and be in pain for a few days or take the shot and the mark will appear instantly and I'll go through all the pain at once."
"Exactly."
"I'll take the shot. I need to be focused for the genin exams and I won't be able to do that if I'm in pain."
"Very well. I'm going to move you into a room, so you can recover from it privately." I nodded, put on my shirt, and followed the doctor.
We entered a hallway full of free rooms and got assigned a nurse. I sat on the bed while the doctor went to get the injection. In the meantime, I started thinking about what the doctor said. If the mark was triggered by a wound, shouldn't it have appeared when Mizuki dug the giant shuriken in my back?
"Hey Iruka, are you ready?"
"Yeah... I have a question..."
"What is it?"
"Why didn't the mark appeared when I got hurt on my back?"
"There's a lot of theories about that. One possibility is that your mate's mark is on their back, which matches the scar on your back. But I understand where you're coming from."
"Could it be that my mate got hurt on their left arm?"
"Possibly, or they could have some sort of mark, like a tattoo which is the case for an Anbu, for example." she answered my question while preparing the syringe. "Iruka, I'm going to give the injection now, brace yourself." with that I could feel the most horrible pain in my arm. The nurse immediately applied medical ninjutsu so that the pain would become more bearable. But still, IT FREAKING HURT!
After a little while, the pain subsided and slowly started to disappear. And I didn't end up passing out.
"Well, now that your mark is fully formed, you'll be able to identify your mate."
"Okay, doc. Thank you."
"You're welcome, let me just take care of your discharge papers and a prescription for painkillers in case of emergency. The mark shouldn't hurt anymore though."
I got out of the hospital with my prescription meds and started to walk home. In the small coffee table in my living room, laid small piles of paperwork. I was definitely not looking forward to it. Since I was not going out anytime soon, I decided to change into more comfortable clothes.
It was then that I took a clear look at my mark: it looked like a dog putting it's nose in a book, and looking closely it was possible to see an Anbu mark in it's paw. So my mate likes dogs, books and has probably been in Anbu. Then I realised, Kakashi was the only person I knew that fit the criteria.
I had started to notice that he was slowly getting closer to me, without trying to invade my space. He probably already knows were mates, but why didn't he say anything? There's something missing in this logic, but I will only try to figure it out after the genin exams. I want the environment to be calmer before doing something about this.
**********Time Skip: Genin Exam**********
Iruka's POV
Today I woke up earlier than usual. It was the day of the genin exam, which was constituted by two phases: in the first one, the kids had to replicate the shadow clone jutsu; on the second one, they would do the bell test with the Jounin assigned to the team.
I started to walk to the Academy in order to prepare the exam room. On the way there, I started to think about how I would talk to Kakashi about the whole mating bond situation. It was clear to me that he had a motive for not saying anything to me about his mark, which I don't even know what it looks like.
I decided to put those thoughts aside and started to get the exam room prepared. At exactly 9 a.m, everything was ready, the representative of the Hokage was there and the students were waiting outside.
"Good morning, kids. You know what today is. This is just as we practiced in class, so there's no need to be nervous and try your best, okay?"
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!" said all kids together.
"I'll call each of you by name in an aleatorie order. The first one is ..." The little boy followed me inside, I nodded for him to start and he made a perfect shadow clone.
"Congratulations, you pass onto the next phase." I said, while giving him a headband.
After that, the exams were relatively quick and all of my students passed. The representative of Lord Third turned to me.
"Congratulations, Iruka. All your students passed and that only reflects your good job as a teacher."
"Thank you, sir. However, I would be proud of them even if they failed."
"What do you mean?"
"I want them to give their best and work to reach new levels, sometimes failing is part of that journey." he immediately understood what I meant.
I started to clean the classroom and putting everything in order for the teacher that would pass the exams in the afternoon. My students would now go to the second phase: testing with a jounin. I was so focused on my thoughts that I didn't notice that I wasn't alone.
******
Kakashi's POV
I went to the academy because I knew that at this point I really had to talk to Iruka. I couldn't keep quiet about my mark any longer. It's actually painful to be away from him.
I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I opened the door and saw Iruka tiding up the classroom, completely oblivious to my presence. After a while, he bent over to the ground to pick up something a kid left behind... giving me the view of the most perfect ass ever created. Not even Jiraiya's books could describe such perfection.
"Is my butt that interesting?" asked him, in an almost angelic voice.
"Clearly carved by the gods..." I mumbled. And my mate got flushed in various shades of red. He looks so innocent.
After a few moments in silence, he asked "Why didn't you tell me?"
I knew exactly what he meant, but his expression only showed curiosity, instead of disappointment.
"You're not disappointed?" I asked a bit warily.
"Disappointed about what? That you're my mate? Of course not. I just want to understand why you didn't say anything before."
The second he said that, I could feel all my worries washing away. I knew he would never judge anyone without knowing the full story, but hearing those words was reassuring.
"Can we talk about that somewhere a bit more private?" He knew immediately what I was talking about.
"It's about your past, isn't it?"
"Yeah..."
"Why don't you come over for dinner tonight? If you're not too busy, of course..."
"I would love to." It warmed my heart even more that he wanted me to be in a safe environment before I laid out my life story to him.
"Can I ask you something?" said the most gorgeous creature walking in the fire country.
"Sure."
"Can you not be late, please?" he looked at me with his big puppy dog eyes, that put any of my ninken to shame. I nodded because the beauty of this man has robbed me of speech. He approached me and pressed a gentle peck on my cheek.
"I'll be waiting for you then." he whispered on my ear, before leaving me in the classroom completely speechless. It should be illegal to make something so innocent sound so filthy. That or I've read so many Icha Icha books that now my brain doesn't process sentences without turning them into something perverted.
I decided that I would change into some more comfortable clothes before going to his house for dinner. After a nice warm shower, I got dressed in a black sleeveless shirt with a mask attached, a black hoodie, a pair of black Anbu pants, the typical sandals and the headband. I started to walk to Iruka's house, since being in my house was making me more nervous than I would like to admit. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realise I was already in front of the door of Iruka's apartment. I knocked. In a few seconds, the door opened.
"Hey! Come in."
I walked inside and directly into his living room where stood a big bookcase full of books, a worn out couch. In the middle, stood a small chabudai, with some food on top. Then, Iruka appeared from the kitchen with two bowls in his hands.
"Do you need some help?"
"Yeah, actually. Can you get the fish from the table?"
"Sure" I went to the kitchen, and low and behold there was a platter of broiled saury with salt. I wonder who told him, it's not very common for people to know what dishes I absolutely love. As requested, I brought the dish to the living room. That's when I finally took in Iruka's appearance. Just like me, he was wearing a sleeveless shirt, although his was blue and allowed me to see his mark. The typical blueish pants that were part of the ninja uniform. But then, came the biggest change... his hair wasn't tied up in it's usual ponytail. It was flowing over his shoulders , like a halo. He looked so pretty.
"Thanks, though I would like to believe I'm handsome, not pretty."
"Did I say that out loud?" I was half amused, half mortified.
"Yep" He said, with a cheeky grin. Now I know where Naruto learned that.
"Gotta admit, you are a very pretty man" I said, trying to mimic a seductive tone, approaching him slowly, without invading his personal space. He immediately blushed deep red, to the point where it spread from his face to his shoulders. Yep, definitely pretty.
"Don't tease me!" he exclaimed, covering his face with his palms.
"But you look even prettier when you blush." I said chuckling, while pulling his hands from his face.
With all the teasing the both of us didn't figure out just how actually close we were. He looked up to me still blushing and lifted his hands to the hem of my mask. I knew what he wanted and honestly, I wanted it too. I craved to feel his lips pressed against mine so I gently grabbed his hands and helped him pulling down the mask, leaving my face bare for him to see. His eyes lighted up when he saw the one thing I hid from everyone, even friends. His hands were gently caressing my cheeks, when he gave another one of his cheeky grins.
"What?"
"You call me pretty, but you're a very pretty man yourself." he said, with a tiny teasing tone in his voice. Without warning, I could feel my face getting hot.
"And I must admit, you're even prettier when you blush." I blushed even harder. His hands were still framing my face. Now the grin had disappeared, but anyone could see the love and desire that his eyes mirrored. Without any thought, we got closer.
At the same time, we started leaning our faces until we sealed out lips together in a sweet kiss. I wrapped my arms around his waist pulling him closer to me, while he wrapped his around my neck. Feeling his soft lips against mine was an out of this world experience. After a while, the need for oxygen forced us to stop.
"That was..." Iruka mumbled, breathless.
"Beyond amazing..." I completed, just as breathless as him. We remained in the hug a bit longer, enjoying the warmth and comfort of each others body. After some time, Iruka broke the silence.
"We should eat, before the food becomes spoiled." I nodded and sat on the floor next to him. We started eating, and I had to admit the food looked great and the taste was even better.
Eventually, we finished eating dinner and decided to cuddle on the couch. I knew we had to talk about everything, but I couldn't help but feel nervous, since I never truly told people what I had been through. Whatever they knew, was based on rumors that the citizens loved to spread.
"Kakashi, you know we have to talk right?" Iruka turned his face to me, looking me in the eyes. I still hadn't put my mask back on and decided it would remain off my face whenever we were in private.
"I know, I just don't know where to start."
"Take your time. I'll be here." He said while cuddling closer into my chest. I was always afraid of what would happen if I ever got a mate, but now I realized that I was afraid for nothing. Though I still felt a bit fearful of the idea of loosing him. I took a deep breath and started to talk.
*WARNING* - the following paragraphs contain mentions of death and suicide. If these topics trigger you, please do not read them, just skip onto the end of the warning.
"My mother died when I was really young, I don't have memories of her and I only know what she looked like because my dad had an old photo of her. My dad raised me on his own on my early years, then I went to the academy, I was around 4. One day he got assigned as the captain of a very important mission. However it got extremely difficult and my father decided to save his comrades instead of completing the mission. The mission was a failure and it brought heavy consequences for the land of Fire, which made everybody vilify him for not following the rules, even the comrades he saved. He couldn't deal with the backlash anymore, so he commited suicide. I was the one who found him." I stopped for a bit feeling the tears dripping down my face. My ever so loving mate wiped them away and comforted me. I felt dumb as I knew I could have had this kind of comfort had I told him we were mates before.
"Are you feeling alright?" I nodded, and took another deep breath.
"I took his death really hard, especially since the villagers not only vilified him, but they also villified me and no one tried to approach me after my father's death... except Guy. I can say he tried everything he could to keep me from a dark path, even when I pushed him away. I became a genin at 5 and a chunnin at 6. In that time, I was assigned in a Team with Minato-sensei, Rin and Obito. Sensei tried really hard to get us to do teamwork, but I was intent on following the rules since my father's death. I became a jounin at 12, and shortly after we were assigned a mission in which Sensei couldn't go, so I was nominated team captain. During the mission, Rin got kidnapped and me and Obito went to save her, though I was still mad we weren't following the rules. It was the first time I broke them. I got the scar on my left eye protecting Obito. We went to save Rin and managed to, but the ninja we went after made the cave where we were to colapse , when we were getting out a stone hit me in the eye injury, which caused me to faint. Obito went back and saved me... but he couldn't save himself, he got crushed by a boulder. He was the one who gave me the sharingan and made me promise to protect Rin." I couldn't help but starting to cry, these memories were extremely painful, and I felt like I was reliving everything I went through. Iruka got me a glass of water and hugged the living hell out of me. It felt so good to truly have comfort, someone who just let me be vulnerable without judging me.
"Take your time, I'm not going anywhere" he whispered gently on my ear. After a few more minutes, I started to feel calmer and decided to continue.
"Later on, me and Rin were assigned a mission and she got kidnapped by Kirigakure. When I managed to rescue her, she revealed that Kiri had the Three-Tails sealed in her, so that she would lose control and destroy Konoha. She was afraid that would happen so she begged me to kill her. I refused, but when I was about to attack an enemy she ran straight onto my Chidori, killing herself. I was so traumatized by what happened with Rin, Obito and my dad that I developed PTSD and depression. Minato became Fourth Hokage around that time and he made the decision of putting me in Anbu."
"Can I ask something?"
"Sure..."
"You were called 'Friend-killer Kakashi' because of what happened to Rin, right?"
"Yeah, the villagers believed I would kill her to prevent her from leaking information... and some of the other Anbus believed I would kill my comrades without hesitation in order to complete the missions."
"That's just downright horrible. If I weren't a peacekeeper, I would want all of their names." said Iruka, pouting. He was definitely angry to know what the village had me go through. I couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. I knew he was strong, but Anbus were a whole different level and he was more than ready to go after anyone who caused me pain.
"The last thing to happen was when my sensei and his wife died during the Nine-Tails attack. The only good thing left behind was their son."
*End of the WARNING*
"Their son?" asked Iruka, a bit confused.
"Yes, Naruto." his eyes were bulging from the shock.
"Naruto is the fourth's son?"
"Yeah, from what the third told me, Minato and Kushina died to save him."
"Poor kid, he doesn't even know that the Hokage he admires the most is actually his dad."
"Yeah... but he still has you." Iruka turned his face to me, a bit shocked.
"He won't outright say it, but it's obvious he sees you as some sort of parental figure." he blushed a little bit and nodded. He took a deep breath and asked the one question I was afraid of.
"Is that why you never told me about us being mates? Because of your trauma?" he wasn't asking in a judging manner, but in a soft tone.
"Yeah, I-I couldn't bear the idea of losing one more person I love. I wouldn't be able to survive it." Iruka pecked my lips softly.
"If it depends on me, you're not gonna get rid of me anytime soon."
"I have a question."
"Good, I can't be the only one with questions, otherwise it would be an interrogation." I chuckled. I have always loved his comebacks that left everyone speechless.
"How did you get your mark? Anko mentioned you didn't have one."
"When did she mention that?" he looked confused.
"On your birthday. We were going to surprise you, but you refused to come with Kotetsu and Izumo. And it was in that time that we realised you were starting to pull away from us and looking depressed whenever you were close to mated couples. And Anko mentioned that one time where she helped you in the swimming lessons and noticed that you didn't have a mark."
"Now I feel bad for ruining the surprise."
"Don't be. We still managed to surprise you the next day in the academy."
"I actually got my mark on the saturday after that." I looked at him with a questioning expression.
"Remember when I got the burn in my arm after Konohamaru and Hanabi's fight. Well, the burn wasn't healing and it had started hurting a lot, so I went to the hospital. The doctor said that the burn triggered the mark to appear, but it was taking too long so she gave an injection to speed up the process."
"Isn't that painful?" I asked, knowing full well how the injection worked.
"It's excrutiating, but for a very small period." we fell into a comfortable silence while I was admiring his mark, it's colors blending so pretilly on his skin. After a few minutes, Iruka broke the silence.
"I have one last question."
"Yeah?"
"Can I see you mark?"
"Sure, but you're gonna have to get up from my lap."
"Why?"
"I need to take off my shirt. My mark is on my back." Iruka remembered what the doctor had said: he had his mark on his arm because is mate had an Anbu mark, and Kakashi had his mark on his back, because Iruka had injured it before.
I turned around on the couch, turning my back to my mate and pulled my shirt over my head. The air felt a little cold on my back, but then I felt the warmth of my mates hands, tracing my mark. Then, I felt his hands tracing the scars on my back. The moment itself felt intimate, like the world had stopped around us.
I turned around, looking into my mate's eyes. Just like before, his eyes showed every emotion he was feeling: desire, need and love. Iruka straddled my lap, leaned forward and captured my lips with his. This time it wasn't a sweet kiss, but a passionate one. This time it wasn't just our lips moving against each other, our tongues were dancing with each other as well, as if we had been doing this for years. With a little strenght, I pinned Iruka onto the couch while giving a gentle bite on his lower lip. Then, I heard it: the little moan that left Iruka's lips.
Iruka's POV
The second I moaned, Kakashi immediately looked into my eyes. I'll never forget his expression, it looked almost... predatory. I felt his hands running over my torso, until they reached the hem of my shirt.
"Can I take it off?" I nodded, I really needed to feel his hands against my skin.
"Baby, I need a verbal answer." This man is trying to give me a heart attack.
"Yes... please." I moaned at his voice tone. His voice sounded much deeper and it was doing strange things to my body. After hearing my response, he took off my shirt slowly, while teasing the skin on the sides, my body felt so much more sensitive. I knew one thing: I didn't want him to stop.
When he finally passed the shirt over my head, he threw it behind his back, ready to continue his ministrations. He started leaving tiny kisses on my jaw, moving to my neck. I could feel a spot in my neck getting more and more sensitive. Suddenly, it happened. The second Kakashi started to tease that area, I moaned loud. Like really, really loud. I covered my mouth with my hands, my eyes widening. Kakashi gave me one of those very sexy smirks.
"Iruka, no need to feel embarassed. You have absolutely no idea of how fucking sexy you sound. Do you want to go further? Or would you rather stop?"
I kept quiet for a bit, thinking what I wanted to do. I didn't want to stop, but I also had no idea of what I was doing.
"I don't want to stop... but at the same time I'm a bit nervous."
"Nervous?" he asked, confused.
"I've never done this before, I have absolutely no idea of what I'm doing." I said feeling a bit ashamed. I knew that there were people who fooled around before finding their mates, but the thought of that was never appealing to me.
"You mean you're a virgin?" he asked, shocked.
"Uhmmm, yeah? Why is that so surprising?" I was a bit confused. Why would he be shocked of my answer? It's not like I had people falling into my arms from left and right... He picked me up, sat me on his lap, facing him.
"Iruka, honey, everytime we went out with the rest of the group, there were a bunch of people flirting with you, men and women. If you are giving a class outside, there are ninjas that simply stop in their tracks to drool at you. You are fucking gorgeous and I'm not saying that just because I'm your mate." I widened my eyes, I had absolutely no idea that people acted like that towards me.
"I did not expect that." I mumbled, blushing even deeper. Kakashi gave me one of his genuine smiles. Seeing his whole facial expression was much better than seeing just his eye.
"And baby, you don't have to embarassed for being a virgin. I'm a virgin too."
"Wait... YOU ARE?"
"Do you honestly think that someone who reads Jiraiya's books constantly has any sort of significant sexual experience?"
"Touché."
"My question still stands, do you want to keep going or do you want to stop?"
"I think that maybe we could delay the sex part a little bit. There has been enough emotional turmoil for one night."
"Honestly, I feel the same..."
"But..."
"But what?"
"I want you to stay..." I said, blushing. I still couldn't believe that this man was all mine.
"Kisses and cuddles?" he asked, making a cute grin.
I nodded. Kakashi picked me up in bridal style and carried me to my room, while I gave him directions. We both changed into some pajama pants and layed down. Kakashi laid on his back, while I cuddled his chest and felt his arms wrapping around me. The position helped me feeling safe. But then I started to think...
"Uhhmm, how are we gonna tell people about us being mates?"
Kakashi pecked my forehead and said "How about we let them figure it out by themselves?"
"Good idea" I felt my eyes getting heavy and fell asleep.
Kakashi's POV
Iruka looks like an angel sleeping. To think I was scared of revealing my mark, I actually feel a little stupid now. I wonder if the others will figure it out.
***************
Epilogue: their friends only figured it out when they caught them kissing... a month later. Turns out they had a bet going on... sufice to say, Anko got a lot of money that day.