Chapter 35: Side Story: Initiation

Kakashi did not look at the clock. He didn’t need to, he knew exactly what time it was practically down to the second. Besides, to glance at the clock would be to admit he was worried about Iruka. The teacher had been training for a month now, being dragged off twice a week for a few hours of ANBU games. Kakashi had gone with him only once, knowing it would be easier all around if he wasn’t there. It would only teach Iruka bad habits, relying on Kakashi when things were beyond him and Kakashi was far too intelligent to think he could train beside the man and not do everything in his power to protect him.

The side effect of this, however, was that when Kakashi wasn’t away on a mission, he was left to sit in their home, waiting for the teacher’s return and not looking at the clock. It always varied, of course, depending on what game had been selected for that day of training. An evening of racing would have Iruka home in time for a late dinner while a game of hide and seek could last significantly longer. Kakashi remembered one of those games that lasted clear through the night and well into the next morning before it had been called off so the ANBU that had other jobs to do could go do them. Kakashi had an advantage, however, in that he always found out what training game was going to be played and so usually had some vague idea of when his lover would return.

He was late.

Not that Kakashi was looking at the clock. Not that he was counting the seconds away silently in his head. But Iruka was, in fact, late. Sixty-seven minutes late. It had only been obstacle courses tonight, long and tiring, but usually over and done around ten o’clock. Not that Kakashi was worried.

The copy ninja was out of his chair and halfway to the door before the person on the other side had even knocked once. He could hear slightly grumpy, but very familiar grumbling coming from the doorstep and it made his heart calm slightly. “I do have a key, you know. And if he’s home it won’t be locked!”

Kakashi made a point of slouching, unconcerned, as he pulled open the front door. Iruka was leaning heavily against Sato, his left foot kicked up slightly behind him so there was no weight at all on the limb. Sato had one arm wrapped around the teacher’s chest, under his arms and obviously holding a good deal of his weight. Iruka looked extremely unhappy about this fact. “What happened?” Kakashi’s voice was light, but both men knew him well enough to detect the quiet threat in his cheery demeanor.

Iruka tried to straighten, then paused to punch at Sato’s chest and tried again once he was released. “I’m fine,” he muttered, limping through the doorway.

He barely took two steps before Kakashi had taken up the position Sato had been in and quietly helped Iruka to the couch. Iruka glared at him the whole time, but gave no protest, arranging himself more comfortably and reaching for the small dinner Kakashi ran to fetch from their kitchen. When the masked ninja returned to the doorway he just looked at Sato, silently repeating his question.

Sato offered the other a little smile and spoke quietly to prevent Iruka hearing from his position in the house. “It’s just a twisted ankle, if he keeps off of it he’ll be fine in a day or two. From what I can tell, he actually sprained it two weeks ago, but he’s been going on like nothing happened and today he must have stepped wrong. He’s pushing himself too hard, Kakashi.”

“I can hear you, you know. I work with children, eavesdropping is a vital skill for a teacher.”

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder, shooting a smile at his lover. Turning back to Sato, the smile didn’t fade. “Thanks for helping him home. And there’s nothing I can do about stubborn senseis who attend their classes even when they’re so wiped out they destroy their alarm every other day.” This was said a bit louder, another glance thrown over his shoulder.

Sato chuckled at his friend’s words as well as the look Iruka shot them both. “Exhausted or not, he’s getting better. Even Ibiki has said so. He’s stronger and faster and smarter than most of them realized and his skills are improving. Given enough time, I don’t doubt he could make ANBU himself in a couple years. Not that he wants it, but you know what I mean.”

Kakashi nodded, feeling sort of warm at the thought. He was proud of the teacher, and had a sort of ‘told you so’ attitude about it. Dropping his voice again, Kakashi leaned towards his friend. “Are you the only one who thinks that?”

Sato shook his head no, smiling much wider this time. “We’re planning a game of capture the flag this Friday. You want to join us?”

Kakashi positively beamed at the man. So they were planning it for Friday then. “Make sure Ibiki knows I’m going to be on Iruka’s team.” Sato laughed and nodded before throwing a cheery farewell over his shoulder and leaving. Kakashi turned back to Iruka, trying to wipe the grin from his face, but found it was pointless. Iruka was sound asleep, chopsticks still positioned in one hand. He darted forward to stop the bowl of rice from falling from the teacher’s other hand. Grabbing a quilt, Kakashi covered the sleeping man and leaned forward to give him a gentle kiss. “Goodnight love. I’ll see you in the morning.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

Iruka looked perfectly relaxed. Actually, Kakashi amended, he seemed to be doing a fantastic impersonation of the masked ninja, hands in his pockets, slouching, showing the world a lazy smile. Kakashi could feel the tension radiating off him. He doubted it was unusual, Iruka always left for training nervous and tense, what was surprising was the mask he’d adopted to show the world. I’m a bad influence on him Kakashi thought with a grin.

They reached the training area and Iruka paused a moment to fix his mask in place. He didn’t like wearing it, hence the delay, but it was required for training with the psychotic children known as ANBU. It was a stylized cat’s face done in ivory that looked white from a distance. Compared to a real mask, however, there was no mistaking it for the standard pristine white. The stripes, like streaks of still wet blood, were also different, a much darker shade then normal. When he’d first been shown the piece, Iruka hadn’t been able to tell the difference, only noticing the skewed colors when he’d put it beside Kakashi’s old mask.

Kakashi pulled his mask on as well, slipping it around to the side of his head in that distinct Kakashi style he had. Within seconds, the clearing was filled with other masked ninja, many of them tossing bright greetings at the couple that had just arrived. One large ninja stepped forward, mask hiding any expression on his face. “I’m one of the team captains. Since you’re finally here,” as he said this, the mask tilted to focus on Kakashi and the slight growl was audible in his voice, “we can get the teams sorted out.”

Iruka rolled his eyes, aware the other couldn’t see it. “You put yourself in charge?” The large man cocked his head in question and Iruka gave a little sigh. “Please, Ibiki. I may not know all the faces under these masks, but I’ve been talking with all of them for weeks now. Besides, only other ANBU as big as you are is Jin and I know he’s away on a mission.” Beside him, Kakashi beamed. Iruka was passing tests without even realizing he was taking them! The teacher sighed again and looked around the group. “Who’s the other captain?”

Ibiki was smiling as he spoke, the emotion clearly audible. “You are, actually. And to prevent any undue aggression, you can pick first.”

“Kakashi,” Iruka said immediately and the taller man grinned again, shifting his mask to properly cover his face.

Ibiki just nodded. “Thought so.”

Teams were picked quickly and the flags were immediately taken away to be hidden. Iruka differed leadership at once, making it a group effort to form their plan and then his team split, quickly going about their jobs. Iruka leapt through the trees until he reached a nice high point to observe the rest of the forest from. Kakashi landed beside him and pulled the teacher’s mask away as well as his own. “You ready for this?”

Iruka nodded, taking the mask from Kakashi’s hands. “So long as you watch my back. This is going to wear me out you realize.”

Kakashi nodded and covered his face again. “Hey, you’re the one that agreed to this plan. Come on.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

Ibiki shifted, silent, through the brush around his team’s chosen base. He’d volunteered to stay and guard the flag, confident that Iruka would be at least one of the ones to come trying to steal it. Watching the man train over the past weeks was a truly fascinating hobby, but it didn’t compare to challenging him directly. The game had started more than three hours ago, but he wasn’t surprised at the wait. The other team, after all, would have to first find his base and while they were looking they’d have to deal with defenders attacking and they’d have to try and stop any of Ibiki’s team they ran across. All leading to them being tired out when they finally did reach the enemy flag while Ibiki had done little beyond stretching his senses and patrolling a small perimeter, still fresh for a fight.

There was someone approaching and it snapped Ibiki’s mind back to the task at hand. He couldn’t tell who the small chakra flare belonged to, but they’d gotten much closer than he was happy about before he’d noticed. Ibiki slipped into the shadows, presenting a clear path to the flag and lying in wait for his victim.

The man was cautious, not taking such an obvious opening. As he came into view, Ibiki could see the slightly off tone of the mask and he smiled triumphantly. So it was Iruka after all! Sweaty, muddy and breathing hard, but the teacher had made it all the way here without being stopped. His mask was slipping back and forth, scanning the woods closely, and after a moment it stopped, looking right at Ibiki. “There you are,” he muttered, not even trying to keep his voice down.

Ibiki was impressed the teacher had been able to spot him at all, but if that was the way he wanted to play it, that was fine. The larger man stood, crossing to bar Iruka’s path. “Anyone else would have tried for the flag,” he said, dropping into a ready stance.

“And they’d have been brought down without even knowing who was guarding it,” the teacher replied, shifting into a defensive crouch.

Ibiki frowned at the words. Did that mean he was only a scout? Reconnaissance before someone more skilled came for the flag itself? The interrogator pushed the thoughts from his mind. If he was just a scout, he still had to get away, and that wouldn’t happen if Ibiki had any say in the matter. He leapt at Iruka, forcing him back into the trees.

Their battle was brief, but intense. Ibiki was fairly rested and ready for this encounter while his opponent was more worn out. Still a capable fighter, however, and it took much longer than Ibiki had thought before he was able to catch the man in a throw and bring him to the ground. Ibiki smiled widely, reaching for the mask to remove it and mark this player as killed and out of the game.

Behind the ivory mask, the fallen man chuckled, making the other hesitate. “Not bad at all, Ibiki-san. But you’re slipping in your skills, I’m surprised you haven’t realized yet.”

Ibiki hesitated a moment longer, the battle replaying quickly in his mind. Suddenly his eyes snapped wide. “Iruka’s still limping!” The man beneath him chuckled again and a puff of smoke changed the visible hair from brown to silver. The mask didn’t change, Ibiki noticed, they’d actually traded to enhance the disguise. He spun quickly, looking back at where his flag was, completely unprotected while he’d been distracted.

There stood Kakashi, or rather Iruka in the guise of his boyfriend, the flag clutched firmly in one hand. His other held several shuriken, a clear demand that Ibiki let Kakashi go or face another fight. The man smiled behind his mask, climbing off of the prone copy ninja. Bare seconds later, several other masked figures dropped from the trees, however. Iruka’s mask twitched back and forth as he took them in and finally settled on the bit of cloth one of them was carrying. Ibiki just grinned. “Looks like I win anyway.”

Iruka ‘poofed’, dropping his jutsu, and the man visibly sagged. “Game over, then, right?” Ibiki nodded silently and watched the teacher drop to his knees trying to regain his breath. Kakashi pushed off of the ground, still chuckling slightly, and went to his side, unmasking his love and kissing him firmly.

Ibiki removed his own mask, openly grinning at both of them. “That was ingenious, Sensei. I’ll have to remember to pair you two together in the future, you may just be Konoha’s newest secret weapon.”

Still gasping in air, Iruka smiled up at him. He didn’t particularly relish the idea of pairing Kakashi on dangerous S-class missions, but it was sort of nice to know he’d improved enough to earn that right. Kakashi carefully pulled the teacher to his feet again. “Come on, I think you need a drink.”

Iruka glanced at his boyfriend, a little startled. He didn’t drink really, and certainly not heavily. “Ka-kun, I’m fine. I’d rather just head home.”

“Well too bad!” Iruka’s head snapped toward the new voice. Keiko hadn’t removed her mask yet, but Iruka knew her voice very well. She slung one arm around Iruka’s shoulders and proceeded to pull the man along back towards the village with her. “Training’s not over, sweetie, you don’t get a choice in the initiation!”

Iruka blinked owlishly at her and the other ninja surrounding them. A small group had broken off, he realized, just five plus himself. “Initiation?” he asked, a bit unsure if he actually wanted to hear the answer. Kakashi simply beamed at him, not easing Iruka’s nerves in the slightest.

As they entered town again, Keiko still hadn’t released Iruka. She walked a bit slower, letting the others pull a few paces ahead, and leaned close. “It’s gonna be fun, Iru-chan, I promise. But there is going to be alcohol and there are going to be drinking games, maybe a round or two of truth or dare. I want you to know we all lie, okay?”

Iruka looked at her questioningly, not quite comprehending. “You mean Mizuki?”

Keiko nodded. “Everyone here lies about something, everyone has some secret they don’t want to share, even drunk. I just want you to know you’re allowed to do the same, kay? We just ask that you be fair.” She was smiling widely, her mask spun completely around to look out from the back of her head. Iruka still had his doubts, but he smiled too, agreeing.

The bar Iruka found himself led to was a fairly small establishment, well kept and popular among many ninja. As his small group entered, it gained only a few passing looks. A smaller group off to one side vacated their seats and the bartender spotted them and immediately began pulling glasses and bottles out, but other than that, only one pair seemed to take any special notice at all. Genma and Raidou were seated at the bar and as soon as they caught sight of the group they both smiled wide. Then Raidou’s eyes settled on Iruka and he jumped up from his seat. “Iru-chan? Oh, this is going to be fantastic!”

Iruka gave the man a puzzled look. “I take it you’ve seen this before?”

Genma quickly followed his boyfriend, approaching the group with a bright smile. “You kidding? There’s almost nothing more entertaining than an ANBU initiation. And it’s for one of our friends, too! Oh, Ibiki, you gotta let us join in here!”

The scarred man nodded, silently pushing tables together in preparation. Iruka took the few moments he had to examine the little area. There were several tables set up along one wall with a long padded bench to provide seating on one side and chairs on the other. It was situated in the bar in such a way that there were no other seats behind the chairs, nothing except the far wall, in fact, some ten feet away. In such a small place, it seemed odd and Iruka quickly realized it was specially designed for whatever this ‘initiation’ was going to be. Why else would the tables have cleared at just the sight of a group of ANBU?

One of the ninja Iruka was less familiar with clapped a hand onto his back, leading him towards a spot directly opposite the dartboard and as far away from it as possible. The man – Loki – held up a dart and grinned while Kakashi and Keiko took up positions to keep the path clear. “First game of the night! If you miss, you take a shot. Simple!”

Iruka took the projectile and looked at it warily. But it did seem simple enough. From his position, Kakashi called quietly over his shoulder. “You know, Iruka is a teacher. And he’s had both Naruto and Konohamaru as students. That being the case,” Iruka threw the dart, smiling as it hit dead center, “shouldn’t you have at least warned him that a bull’s eye is two shots?”

Iruka’s smile disappeared, but Loki just clapped him on the back again, leading him back towards their table. “Now where’s the fun in that? Here ya go, Sensei!”

Iruka hesitantly took one of the shots waiting on the table, but Ibiki stepped forward to stop him. “Whatever else happens tonight, you’re actually still training, Iruka. Are you familiar with the chakra molding that metabolizes drugs and poisons out of your system before they have a chance to do any harm?”

Iruka nodded slowly. “Teachers learn it in case the kids get into anything toxic.”

Ibiki grinned. “Good. Tonight, you’re going to learn a variation that’ll stop you from getting drunk.”

“Works great on hangovers, too, if you ever do want to get drunk,” Kakashi whispered into his ear.

Ibiki continued as if the other hadn’t spoken. “The process is exactly the same, but you have to feed it all through a different chakra gate. Which one do you think you should use?”

Iruka frowned a little. For poisons and drugs, you had to run everything through the heart so that nothing could actually enter the system. It was designed to work on anything, ingested or in the blood stream. But since alcohol was simply drunk . . . “Stomach?”

“Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?” Ibiki said with another nod.

At this, Raidou’s face suddenly clouded and he opened his mouth to say something. Genma leaned into him, however, whispering quickly into his ear and the scarred man fell silent again. Iruka didn’t see any of this as he again lifted the first of his shots. Here goes he thought, already focusing on the route he needed to enforce.

Almost before he’d finished the drinks, Iruka was being guided into a spot on the bench. He smiled up at the woman guiding him, a pretty brunette named Megami. “What’s my next torture?”

She giggled a little and took the seat beside him. “Another training exercise,” she said, and at the words, the bartender suddenly appeared, setting several small beanbags on their tables. Megami took two of them and handed one to Iruka. “Everyone has one of these and we pair up. If you ever have two in your hands, you drink. If you ever miss one, you drink. And no couples allowed,” she added sadly as Loki took the seat opposite Iruka.

The man stood and leaned over the table to give the woman a kiss before sitting back down and looking at Iruka. “I won’t go easy on you.” Genma slid in on Iruka’s other side and Raidou paired Megami. Keiko took the seat across from Genma leaving the end seats for Ibiki and Kakashi. Loki pointed at Ibiki. “Watch them for a minute and you’ll get the idea pretty quick.”

Ibiki was in front of Kakashi, making sure the masked man’s hitai-ate was tied securely in place before taking his seat. Iruka glanced at Loki. “I don’t get it.”

“Oh, that. Those two always pair each other, no one else can stand against Ibiki for long. But the sharingan gives Kakashi an unfair advantage, so he has to start with it covered. That gives Ibiki the advantage, though, and he’ll try and use Kakashi’s blind spot against him. If Kakashi can get his eye uncovered, he can use it, but it’s a lot harder than it sounds.”

“I can see that,” Iruka muttered. The two had begun and their little beanbags were miniature missiles, giving neither man much time to do anything but focus on them. Iruka glanced under the table and saw that they were kicking each other as well, tangling their legs in an attempt to gain the advantage in the game. It actually looked quite fun.

“Got the idea?” Loki asked as Iruka straightened. He threw the ball before the teacher could answer and Iruka quickly jumped into the game, throwing his in return so he wouldn’t lose quite so immediately. “We usually play ‘till one of them loses,” Loki said calmly as he slowly built up the speed they were going at. He tapped Iruka’s legs with his own as well, bringing that aspect into the game. “That’ll still give us lots of time though, trust me. Basically anything goes, but I won’t actually hurt you. Maybe a bruise or two, nothing bad.”

The explanation was becoming a bit clipped as the game progressed faster. After about a minute, however, Loki jumped, missing the ball Iruka had just thrown. He let loose his own, not at the teacher, but at Genma beside him. “That was my leg you ass, you made me miss!” The sphere hit Genma square in the nose and Loki stood, pulling Keiko from her seat and taking the woman’s place.

Keiko was laughing, pointing at both men. “I don’t care what happened, you both have to drink!” Ignoring the glares she received, the woman retrieved the lost beanbag and plopped into the seat across from Iruka. She smiled wide. “Watch out for your neighbors, as you can see, though you can’t deliberately interfere.” In moments, the game was resumed with his new opponent and before long Iruka was smiling, fully enthralled.

The teacher had no idea how long he played, but seven rounds had passed. Iruka had drunk for four of them. Now he was desperately trying to tie the score again. Only an inch from his head, there was a loud thump as a beanbag slipped past Megami. Iruka jumped at the noise and was suddenly aware that he’d caught the beanbag thrown at him without throwing his own. It had gotten steadily more difficult the more times he’d had to drink; the chakra trick didn’t seem to be working. The teacher grinned and shook his head, tossing one of the beanbags back to Keiko and taking another drink.

Keiko didn’t restart the game, however, jerking her head towards Ibiki. “One of them is about to win, you’ll want to see this.” Iruka turned his attention to the pair at the end of the table and he lapsed into silence.

They’d actually attracted a lot of attention, several people in the bar watching the battle. Kakashi had managed to uncover his eye, the hitai-ate lying on the floor where he’d thrown it, both eyes wide and the sharingan spinning madly. Watching the two, Megami leaned closer to Iruka. “With the sharingan uncovered, Kakashi can tell if he’s about to lose by watching Ibiki’s movements, but it’s actually an advantage. If he sees that he’s going to miss and throws his ball fast enough, Ibiki might miss it first. I’ve seen Kakashi win that way more than once.”

Iruka couldn’t even nod, he was so fascinated by their furious exchange. After another moment, Genma and Loki finished their round as well and focused on the battle beside them. One of Kakashi’s moves went high, nearly far enough that even Ibiki would have had to stand. Kakashi seemed to be trying to win through speed, throwing the beanbag only a millisecond after catching it. Ibiki on the other hand waited until the last moment before throwing his next attack. Ibiki’s hand suddenly shot clear past Genma, catching the beanbag just in front of Iruka’s nose. Then in a sudden change of strategy, he let fly as fast as he could. Kakashi cursed. He was still reaching for the bag that had been thrown far to his right and the very second his hand closed on it he threw it back, diving to the left to catch the suddenly fast attack.

Kakashi’s throw slipped past Ibiki’s guard, nailing him squarely in the forehead, but not until after Kakashi slipped out of his chair. He managed to catch the beanbag, but the second he fell from his chair, he’d lost. Iruka found that he was giggling and when Kakashi’s mismatched eyes reappeared over the edge of the table, he glared at the teacher. This made Iruka laugh harder and Kakashi pulled himself back to his feet, quickly downing the shot of sake that had rested between him and his opponent.

Ibiki was glaring at the beanbag that had struck him, fingering the spot in a way that made Iruka think it would probably bruise. The larger man then looked around and focused up towards the bartender, signaling him. “All right,” he said as bottles of beer were deposited in front of everyone. There was a quick reshuffling so that the couples were beside each other again and Iruka wobbled slightly, leaning against Kakashi. After letting everyone rearrange, Ibiki continued. “Time to move on.”

Iruka shook his head. “Hang on a second. This is going to involve more drinking?”

Kakashi chuckled and stroked his boyfriend’s hair. “Yes, love. More drinking.”

“The rest of you aren’t cheating, right? You’re not using this trick thing to stay sober and just watch me get smashed, right?” Slowly denials went around the table and Iruka sighed, resigned. “All right, what are we playing now?”

Loki grinned widely, but Megami spoke first. “As the nights go on, games like that one are harder and harder for everyone involved.”

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Loki broke in, smile growing even more. “But it also gets harder to remember any secrets you might learn.”

Ibiki smiled outright and lifted his beer as if toasting. “I never taught anyone under the age of twenty.”

Kakashi was suddenly on his feet again, pointing angrily at the scarred man. “That is a lie!”

Ibiki glowered at the silver-haired man. “Uhn, you’re right. How old were you again?” He shook his head. “All right, I’ve never taught anyone younger than fifteen; you still have to drink.”

Kakashi grumbled as he took a mouthful of beer and Iruka had to take his drink between laughter. Beside Ibiki, Keiko grinned smugly. “You know, you shouldn’t say something that can be so easily turned on you, Ibiki-san. I’ve never taught anyone older than fifteen.” Ibiki shot the woman a glare and took a drink.

Mournfully, Iruka looked at his beer. About a year ago, he wouldn’t drink to that, but now . . . Loki set down his beer with a little clink. “I’ve never kissed a man,” he said confidently. Megami smiled and took a drink willingly. The four men on the other side of the table, however, all groaned loudly as they took their drinks.

Megami lowered her beer and laughed a little. “Well I’ve never kissed a woman.”

This time Ibiki groaned a little and Keiko bit out a sarcastic, “Oh sure, pick on the lesbian.”

Kakashi took his drink and leaned angrily across the table. “You’re just trying to piss off the bisexuals, aren’t you?” Genma was also shooting the woman dirty looks while Raidou – who hadn’t taken a drink – was smiling calmly.

Iruka looked at the beer in his hand, trying to think about the statement. He’d liked women in the passed, he’d done other things with women, but as far as he could remember, he’d never kissed one. A little shocked himself, Iruka put his bottle down untouched. Megami raised her eyebrows. “Really? Wouldn’t have thought it of you, Iru-chan!”

Raidou shook his head. “Okay, well that was gonna be my trump. Hmm, I’ve never . . .” he shot a dirty look at his boyfriend. “Had sex with someone just because I couldn’t figure out how to ask someone else out.”

“I told you that in confidence!” Genma snapped and quickly took a drink. He glanced around the table, nodding confidently as Kakashi, Keiko, and Loki all took drinks as well. “At least I’m not alone.”

Iruka stared at his own drink, but firmly did not pick it up. He really should have drunk to that, but he was fairly sure Raidou hadn’t meant it that way. Genma shook his head and shrugged. “Let’s see. I never set the school on fire.”

This time it was Iruka to cry out in indignance. “I was eight! And as I recall it, I was in a fight with an older boy, gee I wonder who that could have been!”

Genma just laughed. “Drink, Iru-chan.”

Iruka took a swallow, not really liking the way the room swam when he did so. It was his turn now and he leaned against the table. “I want you to know, you all suck. I’ve never taken an S-class mission.” There were a couple of groans, but most everyone at the table laughed as they took their drinks.

Kakashi sighed and reached for Iruka’s bottle. “Gimme yours, I’m out.”

Iruka blinked at him. “You’re out? How big of drinks are you taking?”

The man shrugged. “Not that big, I’ve had to drink every time, you know.” And Iruka knew how low the masked man’s tolerance was; he was slurring his words.

“Wait, you’ve set the school on fire?”

Kakashi thought about it a minute. “Well, not that school. Here, drink this,” he said, pushing the beer back into Iruka’s hand. “I never passed up a promotion.”

Iruka shook his head, smiling, and took another drink as Megami, Keiko, Raidou, and surprisingly enough Ibiki also took swigs. When he looked back at the rest, the world took a moment to catch up and Iruka swayed into Kakashi again.

Ibiki eyed the teacher for a moment before setting his beer aside. “Having trouble, Sensei?” This earned him a dark look and Ibiki just smiled. “I guess we should move on to the last game then, before you fall over completely.”

Keiko pulled several chips from her pocket and set them on the table. She pulled two from the pile and handed them to Iruka. “Blue if you believe it, red if you think it’s a lie. If you’re wrong, you drink.”

Iruka wrinkled his forehead a little. “I don’t think I know this game.”

“That’s because it was made up by ANBU only about a decade ago. It’s called ‘Would You Believe’ and I start. Would you believe that,” Kakashi eyed the table before smiling at Ibiki, “Ibiki sleeps every night with a fluffy pink blankie?”

Iruka nodded, understanding the game instantly. He looked at Ibiki, thinking of the statement. It couldn’t be true. It was the sort of question, though, that people threw out there deliberately to fool people. But, really, pink? Taking his cue from the others gathered around the table Iruka selected his chip and held it out over the table. A moment later, everyone turned over their hands and opened their fists, revealing their choices.

Iruka was suddenly certain that this question was used often and that he’d gotten it wrong, because Keiko, Loki, and Megami all held blue chips while he, Raidou, and Genma, who had never participated until now, all held red. Ibiki shrugged. “For your information, it’s a fuchsia afghan and my great-aunt handmade it.” Iruka shook his head in wonder and took a drink and Ibiki smiled. “Would you believe Kakashi was a virgin until he was twenty?”

Again Iruka blinked, examining his boyfriend closely. It occurred to him that while Kakashi now knew almost everything about Iruka’s past, he knew practically nothing about the masked man’s history. And literally nothing about his sexual history. He knew that he was experienced with both genders, but no specifics. Not at all certain, Iruka held out his choice.

This question was clearly not a favorite, but Iruka was just as sure he’d gotten it wrong. Loki, Megami, and Genma shared Iruka’s red chips while Raidou and Keiko both held blue. Raidou, he couldn’t explain, but Iruka knew Keiko was very close friends with Kakashi and had been for years. Kakashi smiled widely at the gathered shinobi. “It’s not something to be ashamed of. I’m actually quite proud of it!”

Keiko was next in line and she grinned at the white haired man. “Would you believe that Genma is the one Kakashi lost it to?”

Iruka turned wide eyes to Kakashi again before looking back at Keiko. His choice was easy this time, however. While he still had no idea who Kakashi had lost his virginity to, he was beginning to suspect all the questions were true. A moment later he revealed his blue chip, matching Loki, but no one else. With a sigh, Iruka reached for his beer when he saw Kakashi’s red chip. Besides, he was confident that Raidou if no one else, would know.

Clearing his throat a little, Raidou was actually the first to speak. “Kakashi lost his virginity to me. That’s how I know when he lost it.” He was a little pink saying it, but Kakashi shot the man a wide smile.

Genma leaned forward. “Would you believe that Kakashi is the only man Keiko has ever slept with?”

Kakashi barked out a laugh. “What? Is this reveal Kakashi’s secrets night? At least I don’t have to drink for these.” Iruka thought that may have been a good thing, the taller man was already swaying noticeably.

Of course, Iruka was starting to wish he had the same luck as Kakashi. Mentally he tallied the drinks he’d had: two for the dart, five for the training game, and this bar had some top quality sake, it was strong stuff. Now between ‘I Never’ and this, Iruka was almost done with his second beer, he never drank this heavily and why the hell wasn’t the chakra trick working? He was normally good at chakra tricks.

After Iruka revealed his red chip, Keiko pointed at him, Loki, and Megami. “Drink.”

“Wait,” Megami objected. “You didn’t drink before on Loki’s ‘never’. You haven’t kissed any men!”

Kakashi chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t remove this with every lover I’ve ever had,” he said, tapping the black mask he’d replaced.

Keiko smiled widely. “And it is possible to have sex without kissing. And just to clear up any misconclusions, he wasn’t my first, and he didn’t turn me into a lesbian. I was just curious, and now I know what I’m not missing.”

Iruka groaned slightly. This wasn’t really fair. Loki leaned back in his chair. “Would you believe that Keiko has been in a threesome with a man that wasn’t Kakashi?”

The copy ninja raised an eyebrow, suddenly focusing. “Oh? This is something I’ve never heard.”

From what little Iruka knew about Keiko, he believed that one. He was grateful when Keiko smiled at him with a nod, making Raidou, Ibiki, and Kakashi all drink. “But I didn’t actually have sex with you,” she said looking at Loki. “I believe there was a Megami in the way.”

The brunette girl smiled. “And like you said, you don’t have to kiss someone to sleep with them. I didn’t know that was you.”

“It was a long time ago, and I was blonde back then.”

Megami shook her head and looked at Iruka. “Would you believe that Loki has been monogamous since he was fourteen?”

Iruka had to blink a moment before revealing his red chip with everyone else, including Keiko. After all, they had just revealed the man had been a part of a threesome! Loki just smiled at everyone. “Threesomes not withstanding, but even then, I’ve laid nothing more than hands on anyone but Megami since we started going out way back then.”

There was a long pause before everyone took long drinks. Almost at once, Raidou chuckled and leaned forward. “Would you believe that I might be going through this initiation soon?”

Iruka laughed, thrusting his blue chip out, forgetting to hide it. He knew this one, it was the promotion Raidou had passed up only a few months ago and he’d probably try for it come the next test. He lowered his head to the table, knowing he was the only one yet to say anything. He didn’t wait for the others to react to Raidou’s comment before he muttered into the wood. “Would you believe that Genma is a fucking fantastic lay?”

Kakashi chuckled and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. Ibiki stood from the table and patted the teacher’s back. “I think that’s our sign to end the night. Get him home safe, Kakashi.” The silver haired man gave a somewhat goofy smile and Ibiki quickly readjusted his statement. “Genma, Raidou? Can you make sure they both get home safe?”

-o-o-o-o-o-

Iruka woke the next morning with a throbbing headache. He groaned loudly, but that only made the pounding worse. Damnit, this is why he didn’t drink! The teacher slowly became aware of someone rubbing gentle circles on his back and he carefully cracked open an eye to see Kakashi sitting beside him on the bed. “Ka-kun, love, stop. That’s making me want to throw up.”

The other smiled and pulled his hand away, but the nauseous feeling didn’t fade. “Just be grateful I remembered to turn off the alarm last night.” He leaned forward, giving Iruka a kiss that still tasted slightly of booze. The strong mint flavor of toothpaste increased his nausea, however, and he pushed Kakashi away well before either of them wanted to stop kissing. “Want to know a secret?” Kakashi asked after a moment.

Iruka gazed up at him through still mostly closed eyes. “Does it involve what happened after ‘I Never’ last night? ‘Cause I don’t even remember all of the game . . . Why do I suddenly have the image of Ibiki wrapped in a bright pink quilt?”

Kakashi laughed a little and went back to stroking Iruka’s back. “I’ll fill you in later. Well, what I remember, anyway. But no, the secret is about the chakra trick you were supposed to learn.”

Iruka levered himself upright. “Oh? You’re going to tell me why it didn’t do anything?”

Kakashi was still chuckling. “Actually it did quite a lot. If you use the chakra gate in your stomach, it increases absorption and keeps the alcohol in your blood longer.”

Iruka’s eyes widened, heedless of the bright room. They had deliberately conspired against him! Initiation indeed, he took only slight pleasure in the fact that they’d all presumably gone through the same thing.

Kakashi leaned into him again. “I told you last night, though. Done right it’ll take your hangover away in a heartbeat. Just lead everything through the chakra point in your groin.” Iruka blinked at him, but Kakashi just nodded. “I swear it’s true. Not what you’d expect, but really, if you think about it, running poisons through your heart is even more nuts.”

Iruka kept blinking. “And you’re just the type of person that would think about that. Did you come up with this?”

Kakashi smirked proudly. “Ibiki helped. And I got the idea listening to Gai talk about the gates.”

Iruka sighed and shook his head. This made his headache soar to new heights and there was no better motivation for him to try the technique. Almost immediately the pain began to fade and within a minute the streaming sunlight stopped hurting his eyes. Kakashi leaned into him again, fingertips stroking down the teacher’s ribs. Iruka gasped as his member suddenly flared to life, his skin electrifying at the simple touch.

“There is one side effect of using this trick,” Kakashi whispered. The brush of hot breath against his neck made Iruka moan a little and he slipped back onto his back in the middle of their bed. “You are, after all, running a lot of energy through a very sensitive area, the pleasure center of your entire body.” His fingers settled between the teacher’s legs and he gently massaged the raging hard on there. Iruka groaned again, throwing his head back in a little cry. “You know I used this technique twenty minutes ago. You are so lucky I let you sleep in a little. But I know a way to solve both of our problems.”

Iruka was nearly incoherent already, the simple touch of Kakashi’s hand more than enough to shut down higher brain function. Kakashi grinned widely at the moans he was getting and undid the teacher’s pants. The brunette arched, shoving his own pants down in impatience, but Kakashi continued, unhurried. He was already well prepared, lube within easy reach and he quickly coated both hands. Not touching the other’s need, he slipped his first finger into the other man smoothly, sliding it in and out to help loosen him up. Iruka’s eyes were rolled back, still moaning as he reached for himself. Kakashi intercepted his hands, determined to make this last. This technique could never be used if you weren’t somewhere you could jack off before continuing whatever mission you had, even clothing was maddening without a release. The first was nothing though and would come with hardly any work; he wanted to be inside the man before then.

A second finger was added and Kakashi let his other hand glide over Iruka’s erection, slick from excess lubricant. He tried not to give too much pressure, but it was difficult to judge with those noises he kept making. Kakashi was struggling to keep control himself and he couldn’t wait any longer. Iruka gave no complaint as the fingers were drawn back and Kakashi pushed slowly into him. He thrust carefully and Iruka cried out as he grazed the man’s prostate. The teacher’s hands were tangled in the sheets now, eyes screwed shut. Without warning, Kakashi closed his hand around the teacher’s cock, pumping surely, the lube making his fist slip back and forth quickly.

Iruka screamed almost at once, the intense orgasm racking through him. Kakashi’s breath caught as the teacher tightened around him and he leaned forward, seeking out the man’s mouth for a searing kiss. Iruka was panting when Kakashi pulled away, his eyes glazed with pleasure. Kakashi closed his fist again, pumping the teacher, and he shuddered again, not taking long to come back to himself. Quickly he focused on Kakashi, on the ever so slight tension on his face, a look Iruka recognized from their past year together. Iruka flexed.

Kakashi groaned as his cock was squeezed. He pushed up, straightening his arms to support his torso, and grinned down at the other. “So lucky I let you sleep in.” He shifted again, ready to continue, but suddenly Iruka was moving. The copy nin’s eyes widened as the teacher rolled, putting himself on top. Kakashi gave an undignified yelp and threw his hands out for balance, half formed strings of hand seals coming to mind. He’d never use them with Iruka, but the man had startled him, even with the sharingan uncovered.

Iruka’s new position had him kneeling with Kakashi’s legs bent over the edge of the bed to the floor. The new position changed angles as well, Iruka still impaled on the other’s shaft. He barely gave Kakashi time to get his bearings again before he started moving. Sitting upright, he raised himself with his legs before letting gravity help him back down. Kakashi choked on his cry, fingers tangling in the sheets tightly. With every thrust, Iruka adjusted until he found the cluster of nerves that had him crying out as well.

Kakashi’s ragged breath was interrupted with moans but with some effort he focused again on the teacher. One hand reached out, his fingers wrapping around the man’s bobbing penis. Iruka gasped and fell forward, bringing his chest into easy reach. Kakashi eagerly took advantage of it, raking fingernails down the teacher’s pecs, latching onto his nipples and twisting the erect buds.

Iruka whimpered at the feeling and straightened again, closing his fists around Kakashi’s wrists. He guided the man’s hands to his sides and after a moment, the two switched grips so their fingers were intertwined, allowing Iruka more control as he quickened his pace. Kakashi was nearing the edge and finally Iruka pulled his hands back to his body, releasing them to let Kakashi play over the man’s cock and balls.

The copy ninja came first and faltered in his ministrations. Feeling his partner tense, Iruka leaned forward again. Then Kakashi’s hands tightened once more and Iruka groaned as he was assaulted again and kept moving. One of Kakashi’s hands shifted, abandoning the teacher’s sac to wrap around his head and pull him in again. He stole the teacher’s breath, not letting him pull away for more air, and swallowed his cry as the man came.

Iruka was shaking a little and he rolled to the side, lying flat on the bed once more. “Gods,” he gasped, blindly finding Kakashi’s hand with his own. “That was . . .”

“Powerful, eh?” The pale man rolled as well, curling around Iruka’s side and nuzzling into the man’s neck. “No more hangover, though.”

“Tell me you don’t do this at every initiation?”

Kakashi chuckled, kissing the nape of the other’s neck, just below his ear. The touch was still enough to spark along his skin, though not enough to arouse him again after his morning work out. “Not this part. You’re the only person I’ve ever taken home to teach the real trick to.” He kissed the other’s neck again and Iruka turned to meet his lips. When they pulled apart again, Kakashi was smiling at the teacher. “You’re honorary ANBU now, Iru-chan.”

For a moment, the brunette blinked numbly before a smile spread over his own lips. He didn’t answer, but turned onto his side, kissing Kakashi again as he wrapped his limbs around the other. Honorary ANBU indeed.

-o-o-o-owari-o-o-o-

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