With This Ring... (ch.5) A Wager
Title: With This Ring…
Summery: Iruka reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage in order to save his adopted family from financial ruin...and is horrified when Hatake Kakashi rises to the offer.
Rating: PG-13, rating my go up
Genre: AU/Canon, Humor, eventual romance.
Notes: Special thanks and dedication goes to Anon for finding my Prompt on kakairu_kink
Chapter notes: This chapter gave me a lot more trouble than I'd thought ^^; Thank you everyone who has followed this story!
Ch. 5
A Wager
Iruka was painfully aware to keep his eyes open. It was taking all of his self control to stay awake. Across the table Yukari tapped her cane over names scrawled over a diagram depicting the wedding floor plans. Truth be told, Iruka's attention was more fixed on the bare spot on the table where his tea cup had once rested.
The sky outside the conference room had turned from the rosy hues of twilight to the deep indigo of night. The three day time limit before the wedding did not allow for a rehearsal, and as a result Iruka's entire day had been spent enduring lessons of formal procedure and etiquette.
He had to learn fast. Over a hundred of the Fire Nation's elite had confirmed to attend the wedding. The roster included shinobi clan leaders and nobility, and Iruka had to memorize the full house names and titles of every single one. Iruka had dealt with enough uppity nobles to understand the political value of flowery titles and exaggerated house names, but he could not fathom as to why Yukari chose this time to lecture--of all things, the hierarchy of the guests' seating arrangements.
Yukari's cane flicked between three names on the diagram. Iruka was conscious enough to make an agreeing sound or nod whenever he registered a break in her tone, and he idly wondered if his own students fell into a similar trance during his lectures.
Iruka yelped as he was rudely brought back to reality by a none-too-gentle rap on the head.
"Are you not paying attention?" Yukari demanded with a menacing wave of her cane. "The spouse to the Hatake clan leader must know these things! Otherwise you may insult potential clients inside your own home. Do you not wish for both the Sarutobi and Hatake clans to prosper?"
"Err--sorry, Yukari-san." Iruka mumbled as he ruefully massaged his head. He eyed the mahogany cane. It was not the first time Yukari had used it. The one time Iruka had tried to wrestle the cane out from her grasp had nearly resulted with a dagger between his ribs by her Hyuuga bodyguard. The ordeal had earned Iruka a few more lumps on the head for his troubles. His one consolation was that Yukari was courteous enough not to hit him on the same spot twice.
Yukari's pale eyes bored into Iruka as she waved a hand over the seating diagram. "You are to be wed the day after tomorrow. I will no longer suffer such impudence…" She directed a disdainful snort at the empty chair next to Iruka "From either of you! Such blatant disrespect would not go unpunished in my youth--"
Iruka massaged his temples as the Nadoko continued with her rant. It did not surprise him that Kakashi had yet to return from the 'errand' that had called his fiancé away shortly after lunch. He could hardly blame Kakashi, but Iruka could not forgive the fact that in doing so had left him to deal with Yukari alone.
Yukari's tirade was abruptly cut off as the space behind Iruka's chair exploded in a cloud of teleportation's smoke. Iruka's eyes narrowed when he felt a familiar chakra presence and he turned to properly direct a scowl.
"Maa, you wouldn’t believe what happened today. I got stuck rescuing a kitten from some rabid raccoons--" Kakashi blinked through the smoke at the dark expressions focused on him. "Did I miss much?"
"You're LATE!" Iruka and Yukari cried.
Kakashi glanced from one to the other as if he had just stepped on hill full of angry ants. He wordlessly slipped into the chair next to Iruka and pulled a green bound Icha Icha from his vest.
Yukari swelled indignantly but deigned to allow the book. She regarded Kakashi with a jaundiced eye. "I will be brief in what I must review, as the hour is late and I am in need for my bed. We shall start with the opening ceremony--"
"I've attended weddings before." Kakashi said behind the book. He tapped a finger against the Hitai-ate concealing the Sharingan. "And believe me, there's no need to review the entire ceremony."
Iruka glanced at the cane quivering in the Hyuuga matron's fist. Yukari sniffed, then pointed at the scrolls spread across the table. "I suspect 'homework' is not an unfamiliar concept to you. Nearly all of Konoha's shinobi elite are to attend along with a fair number of the Damiyo's--"
"I've worked with the clan leaders at one time or another." Kakashi flipped a page. "There's no need to review their names, and the same goes for the nobility."
Iruka shot Kakashi a sour look. 'Why am I not surprised?'
Yukari's mouth twisted as if she were holding back a vile curse. Iruka looked between the fuming Nadoko and Kakashi hiding behind porn, and prepared to leap out of the way.
Yukari cleared her throat. The action helped to reign her temper back to a dignified simmer. "Since there is nothing more to discuss, I have no further need of you to waste my time." The pale Hyuuga eyes slid to Iruka. "We shall continue our lessons in the morning after you've attended the seamstress to make adjustments to the kimono."
"What!?" Iruka cried with a start. "But I'm scheduled for class--" he glared at the impassive Hyuuga Matron. "And you've just now decided to tell me!?" He paused when her words sunk in. "And when did I get a kimono?"
"It was a gift from your kin." Yukari summoned her willowy attendant as she stood. The servant dutifully replaced the chair as Yukari fixed Iruka with her eerie Hyuuga gaze. "What you do outside your obligations to the wedding is none of my concern." She scowled at Kakashi who continued to read his porn. "Is there any point in asking if you need an appointment as well?"
"I fit my father's Montsuki kimono just fine." Kakashi said from behind his book.
Yukari's finger tapped the pommel of her cane as if she were itching for an excuse to use it. "And the obi?" The obi for a groom of Kakashi's rank had to include his clan colors. As a male bride, Iruka would wear the custom white obi with a thin red cord to symbolize the Sarutobi clan.
"The Hatake obi was passed along with the kimono," Kakashi turned the Icha Icha sideways to better appreciate the fold-out illustration. Yukari's jaw dropped at the jounin's audacity. "Is there anything else, Yukari-san?" Kakashi asked with a happy arch of his single eye. "I thought you've decided that I was wasting your time."
Iruka paled as chakra flared dangerously from the elderly woman. Yukari's face had turned an interesting shade of pink, the effect was further heightened by her silver hair and lavender kimono. In the background Yukari's two attendants fell into a defensive stance, the grizzled bodyguard going so far as to unsheathe his dagger halfway. Kakashi appeared unconcerned at rankling the Hyuuga so.
"Very well." Yukari said, and her words diffused the tension in the room. Her attention narrowed on Iruka, who was the easier target between the two. Iruka jumped when the point of the mahogany cane shot across the table to jab into his chest. "As for you," Her cane jabbed to emphasis her point. "Your first priority should be to your clan--and not to a petty chuunin job." Yukari gave a dismissive sniff then turned away. Iruka gritted his teeth as the proud Nadoko glided out of the room, the attendants flanking their mistress like protectie guard dogs.
"The--that--" Iruka bristled with righteous fury as the door clicked shut behind the Hyuuga. "The nerve of that woman!"
"Yukari must have taken a shine to you." Kakashi hummed as he folded the illustration into the book. "I don't think I've ever seen her happier." Iruka's glower caused the jounin to suddenly develop a keen interest in the number of cracks in the ceiling.
Iruka sank against his seat and rubbed the prominent scar on his nose. He had barely slept since the whole mess with Kakashi had started. What was he to do? He had to follow the Nadoko's orders. He will be getting a lot less sleep tonight if he had hunt down a substitute instructor for the morning.
In a moment of compulsive decisiveness, he Iruka rapped the table to catch Kakashi's attention. "You will cover my class."
"Hm?" Kakashi flat stare was accompanied by an arched eyebrow. "I don't think so."
"Why not?"
Kakashi shrugged as he unhurriedly tucked the Icha Icha back into his vest. "I'm no good with kids."
"You taught Team Seven." Iruka drummed his finger impatiently on the table, his eyes narrowing. "And I know for a fact that you don't have any plans tomorrow."
"Maa, and one that does not involve screaming children."
"That's bullshit, and you know it!" Iruka's pretense at civility had finally snapped. His fingers curled into a fist. "You abandoned me to that crazy old bat--" His eyes flickered to the door as if fearful that the insult would summon the Nadoko. "You OWE me!" His agitation had not gone unnoticed by Kakashi. The jounin's eye curved with amusement, and Iruka flushed at getting caught.
Kakashi propped one hand under his chin as if to consider the chuunin's predicament. "Hm, I suppose that's true…" he drawled. "However, the balance between the situations are off. Pre-genins are a lot to handle, and Yukari-san is just one person in comparison…"
Catching on to the implication, Iruka folded his arms across his chest with a withering glare. "Whatever it is that you want, I refuse to be involved with anything immoral or perverted."
"Why do people always expect the worst out of me?" Kakashi said with a dramatic sigh, though Iruka caught mischief in his eye. "I was only hoping to collect on that daily kiss."
Iruka gave the jounin a flat look. "You will have to earn it first."
Kakashi blinked. The response was one that he had not expected. "Do I?" He grinned. "Iruka-sensei, I think I could really fall for you."
Iruka felt a damnable flush beginning to creep across his face. The remark had lacked Kakashi's usual tone of indifference, and Iruka could almost believe the warmth behind it. "Don't say such ridiculous things" Iruka scowled, struggling to maintain a hold on his irritation. "Can I count on you to be on time tomorrow?"
"I'm one of Konoha's elite." Kakashi winked. "I can handle a few brats."
Iruka rolled his eyes. 'We'll see about that.'
***********
Aside from the skeleton crew and overworked shinobi, the Administration Building was virtually deserted. The lower levels containing the storage and locker rooms were more so, and Iruka's footsteps echoed hollowly in the silent halls.
Iruka quickened his pace to the locker rooms. He worried his bottom lip, his thoughts dreading the morning. Kakashi was probably not the wisest choice for a substitute, but Iruka could not think of anyone better to keep the volatile pre-genins in line. Iruka did not want to ponder on the worst that could happen (losing his job being the least of all) so he limited his imagination to whether or not Kakashi would keep his word. 'I just hope he can be reliable,' Iruka thought 'at least for me''
He was reaching for the door when his ears caught the murmur of voices inside the room.
"--Why should he settle for one slice when he can have the whole cake?" A voice belonging to Kotetsu said over the rattle of a locker opening. "Mark my words, he will get bored before you know it!"
"Is that so?" Genma slyly drawled. "Would bet your paycheck on that?" The jounin's words slurred over the ever-present senbon.
"Are you kidding?" Kotetsu chuckled. "It would be the easiest money that I'd ever make!"
Something inside Iruka's gut warned him to remain behind the door. He suppressed his chakra and pressed his ear against the wood.
"If you're serious…" Genma's voice lowered conspiratorially. "There's an wager going around on how long they'll last. Aiobe's taking charge of the bets, and right now the pot's over 200,000 ryo--and I wouldn't be surprised if it doubles by this time tomorrow!"
"That much?" Kotetsu whistled. "Sheesh, I'd better get in line before all the slots for this month are taken."
"Some are betting as far ahead as six months," Genma continued, and Iruka could easily envision the jounin's grin. "But I wouldn't bet my last senbon on those odds. Hatake Kakashi, married? It will be over soon, and with one lucky bastard richer from it!"
"Hey now, don't look in the mirror just yet!" Kotetsu laughed as the two headed for the door.
Iruka retreated into an empty office before the jounin emerged. He waited for the chattering to recede before retrieving his satchel. Iruka marched stiffly down the halls, his thoughts echoing Kotetsu's words.
"He will get bored before you know it."
A sour sensation welled in Iruka's gut. He expected to overhear gossip at some point. Iruka and Kakashi were enough of an odd pair to set loose tongues wagging, but it hurt that their comrades were making a game of their union…and that the odds were in favor for it to fail.
'No.' Iruka thought with a firm shake of his head. He had too much on his plate. He would not waste time on trivial problems, and he did not need to deal with more stress. Kakashi had provided Iruka with more than enough.
"Iruka-sensei, I think I could really fall for you."
Iruka paused in the hallway and lifted a hand to touch where Kakashi's lips had brushed the other day. His finger hovered over his cheek, and the spot faintly tingled.
A new found sense of determination bolstered Iruka's resolve. Squaring his shoulders, he walked with a more confident stride. He got himself into this mess, and he will not fail in his duty to the Sarutobi clan.
TBC
Previous Chapters
Prologue & Ch. I: A Battle of Wills
Ch. II: The Burden of Duty
Ch. III: Cold Feet
Ch. IV: The Fine Print
Next Chapter
Ch. VI: A Matter of Convenience
Summery: Iruka reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage in order to save his adopted family from financial ruin...and is horrified when Hatake Kakashi rises to the offer.
Rating: PG-13, rating my go up
Genre: AU/Canon, Humor, eventual romance.
Notes: Special thanks and dedication goes to Anon for finding my Prompt on kakairu_kink
Chapter notes: This chapter gave me a lot more trouble than I'd thought ^^; Thank you everyone who has followed this story!
Ch. 5
A Wager
Iruka was painfully aware to keep his eyes open. It was taking all of his self control to stay awake. Across the table Yukari tapped her cane over names scrawled over a diagram depicting the wedding floor plans. Truth be told, Iruka's attention was more fixed on the bare spot on the table where his tea cup had once rested.
The sky outside the conference room had turned from the rosy hues of twilight to the deep indigo of night. The three day time limit before the wedding did not allow for a rehearsal, and as a result Iruka's entire day had been spent enduring lessons of formal procedure and etiquette.
He had to learn fast. Over a hundred of the Fire Nation's elite had confirmed to attend the wedding. The roster included shinobi clan leaders and nobility, and Iruka had to memorize the full house names and titles of every single one. Iruka had dealt with enough uppity nobles to understand the political value of flowery titles and exaggerated house names, but he could not fathom as to why Yukari chose this time to lecture--of all things, the hierarchy of the guests' seating arrangements.
Yukari's cane flicked between three names on the diagram. Iruka was conscious enough to make an agreeing sound or nod whenever he registered a break in her tone, and he idly wondered if his own students fell into a similar trance during his lectures.
Iruka yelped as he was rudely brought back to reality by a none-too-gentle rap on the head.
"Are you not paying attention?" Yukari demanded with a menacing wave of her cane. "The spouse to the Hatake clan leader must know these things! Otherwise you may insult potential clients inside your own home. Do you not wish for both the Sarutobi and Hatake clans to prosper?"
"Err--sorry, Yukari-san." Iruka mumbled as he ruefully massaged his head. He eyed the mahogany cane. It was not the first time Yukari had used it. The one time Iruka had tried to wrestle the cane out from her grasp had nearly resulted with a dagger between his ribs by her Hyuuga bodyguard. The ordeal had earned Iruka a few more lumps on the head for his troubles. His one consolation was that Yukari was courteous enough not to hit him on the same spot twice.
Yukari's pale eyes bored into Iruka as she waved a hand over the seating diagram. "You are to be wed the day after tomorrow. I will no longer suffer such impudence…" She directed a disdainful snort at the empty chair next to Iruka "From either of you! Such blatant disrespect would not go unpunished in my youth--"
Iruka massaged his temples as the Nadoko continued with her rant. It did not surprise him that Kakashi had yet to return from the 'errand' that had called his fiancé away shortly after lunch. He could hardly blame Kakashi, but Iruka could not forgive the fact that in doing so had left him to deal with Yukari alone.
Yukari's tirade was abruptly cut off as the space behind Iruka's chair exploded in a cloud of teleportation's smoke. Iruka's eyes narrowed when he felt a familiar chakra presence and he turned to properly direct a scowl.
"Maa, you wouldn’t believe what happened today. I got stuck rescuing a kitten from some rabid raccoons--" Kakashi blinked through the smoke at the dark expressions focused on him. "Did I miss much?"
"You're LATE!" Iruka and Yukari cried.
Kakashi glanced from one to the other as if he had just stepped on hill full of angry ants. He wordlessly slipped into the chair next to Iruka and pulled a green bound Icha Icha from his vest.
Yukari swelled indignantly but deigned to allow the book. She regarded Kakashi with a jaundiced eye. "I will be brief in what I must review, as the hour is late and I am in need for my bed. We shall start with the opening ceremony--"
"I've attended weddings before." Kakashi said behind the book. He tapped a finger against the Hitai-ate concealing the Sharingan. "And believe me, there's no need to review the entire ceremony."
Iruka glanced at the cane quivering in the Hyuuga matron's fist. Yukari sniffed, then pointed at the scrolls spread across the table. "I suspect 'homework' is not an unfamiliar concept to you. Nearly all of Konoha's shinobi elite are to attend along with a fair number of the Damiyo's--"
"I've worked with the clan leaders at one time or another." Kakashi flipped a page. "There's no need to review their names, and the same goes for the nobility."
Iruka shot Kakashi a sour look. 'Why am I not surprised?'
Yukari's mouth twisted as if she were holding back a vile curse. Iruka looked between the fuming Nadoko and Kakashi hiding behind porn, and prepared to leap out of the way.
Yukari cleared her throat. The action helped to reign her temper back to a dignified simmer. "Since there is nothing more to discuss, I have no further need of you to waste my time." The pale Hyuuga eyes slid to Iruka. "We shall continue our lessons in the morning after you've attended the seamstress to make adjustments to the kimono."
"What!?" Iruka cried with a start. "But I'm scheduled for class--" he glared at the impassive Hyuuga Matron. "And you've just now decided to tell me!?" He paused when her words sunk in. "And when did I get a kimono?"
"It was a gift from your kin." Yukari summoned her willowy attendant as she stood. The servant dutifully replaced the chair as Yukari fixed Iruka with her eerie Hyuuga gaze. "What you do outside your obligations to the wedding is none of my concern." She scowled at Kakashi who continued to read his porn. "Is there any point in asking if you need an appointment as well?"
"I fit my father's Montsuki kimono just fine." Kakashi said from behind his book.
Yukari's finger tapped the pommel of her cane as if she were itching for an excuse to use it. "And the obi?" The obi for a groom of Kakashi's rank had to include his clan colors. As a male bride, Iruka would wear the custom white obi with a thin red cord to symbolize the Sarutobi clan.
"The Hatake obi was passed along with the kimono," Kakashi turned the Icha Icha sideways to better appreciate the fold-out illustration. Yukari's jaw dropped at the jounin's audacity. "Is there anything else, Yukari-san?" Kakashi asked with a happy arch of his single eye. "I thought you've decided that I was wasting your time."
Iruka paled as chakra flared dangerously from the elderly woman. Yukari's face had turned an interesting shade of pink, the effect was further heightened by her silver hair and lavender kimono. In the background Yukari's two attendants fell into a defensive stance, the grizzled bodyguard going so far as to unsheathe his dagger halfway. Kakashi appeared unconcerned at rankling the Hyuuga so.
"Very well." Yukari said, and her words diffused the tension in the room. Her attention narrowed on Iruka, who was the easier target between the two. Iruka jumped when the point of the mahogany cane shot across the table to jab into his chest. "As for you," Her cane jabbed to emphasis her point. "Your first priority should be to your clan--and not to a petty chuunin job." Yukari gave a dismissive sniff then turned away. Iruka gritted his teeth as the proud Nadoko glided out of the room, the attendants flanking their mistress like protectie guard dogs.
"The--that--" Iruka bristled with righteous fury as the door clicked shut behind the Hyuuga. "The nerve of that woman!"
"Yukari must have taken a shine to you." Kakashi hummed as he folded the illustration into the book. "I don't think I've ever seen her happier." Iruka's glower caused the jounin to suddenly develop a keen interest in the number of cracks in the ceiling.
Iruka sank against his seat and rubbed the prominent scar on his nose. He had barely slept since the whole mess with Kakashi had started. What was he to do? He had to follow the Nadoko's orders. He will be getting a lot less sleep tonight if he had hunt down a substitute instructor for the morning.
In a moment of compulsive decisiveness, he Iruka rapped the table to catch Kakashi's attention. "You will cover my class."
"Hm?" Kakashi flat stare was accompanied by an arched eyebrow. "I don't think so."
"Why not?"
Kakashi shrugged as he unhurriedly tucked the Icha Icha back into his vest. "I'm no good with kids."
"You taught Team Seven." Iruka drummed his finger impatiently on the table, his eyes narrowing. "And I know for a fact that you don't have any plans tomorrow."
"Maa, and one that does not involve screaming children."
"That's bullshit, and you know it!" Iruka's pretense at civility had finally snapped. His fingers curled into a fist. "You abandoned me to that crazy old bat--" His eyes flickered to the door as if fearful that the insult would summon the Nadoko. "You OWE me!" His agitation had not gone unnoticed by Kakashi. The jounin's eye curved with amusement, and Iruka flushed at getting caught.
Kakashi propped one hand under his chin as if to consider the chuunin's predicament. "Hm, I suppose that's true…" he drawled. "However, the balance between the situations are off. Pre-genins are a lot to handle, and Yukari-san is just one person in comparison…"
Catching on to the implication, Iruka folded his arms across his chest with a withering glare. "Whatever it is that you want, I refuse to be involved with anything immoral or perverted."
"Why do people always expect the worst out of me?" Kakashi said with a dramatic sigh, though Iruka caught mischief in his eye. "I was only hoping to collect on that daily kiss."
Iruka gave the jounin a flat look. "You will have to earn it first."
Kakashi blinked. The response was one that he had not expected. "Do I?" He grinned. "Iruka-sensei, I think I could really fall for you."
Iruka felt a damnable flush beginning to creep across his face. The remark had lacked Kakashi's usual tone of indifference, and Iruka could almost believe the warmth behind it. "Don't say such ridiculous things" Iruka scowled, struggling to maintain a hold on his irritation. "Can I count on you to be on time tomorrow?"
"I'm one of Konoha's elite." Kakashi winked. "I can handle a few brats."
Iruka rolled his eyes. 'We'll see about that.'
***********
Aside from the skeleton crew and overworked shinobi, the Administration Building was virtually deserted. The lower levels containing the storage and locker rooms were more so, and Iruka's footsteps echoed hollowly in the silent halls.
Iruka quickened his pace to the locker rooms. He worried his bottom lip, his thoughts dreading the morning. Kakashi was probably not the wisest choice for a substitute, but Iruka could not think of anyone better to keep the volatile pre-genins in line. Iruka did not want to ponder on the worst that could happen (losing his job being the least of all) so he limited his imagination to whether or not Kakashi would keep his word. 'I just hope he can be reliable,' Iruka thought 'at least for me''
He was reaching for the door when his ears caught the murmur of voices inside the room.
"--Why should he settle for one slice when he can have the whole cake?" A voice belonging to Kotetsu said over the rattle of a locker opening. "Mark my words, he will get bored before you know it!"
"Is that so?" Genma slyly drawled. "Would bet your paycheck on that?" The jounin's words slurred over the ever-present senbon.
"Are you kidding?" Kotetsu chuckled. "It would be the easiest money that I'd ever make!"
Something inside Iruka's gut warned him to remain behind the door. He suppressed his chakra and pressed his ear against the wood.
"If you're serious…" Genma's voice lowered conspiratorially. "There's an wager going around on how long they'll last. Aiobe's taking charge of the bets, and right now the pot's over 200,000 ryo--and I wouldn't be surprised if it doubles by this time tomorrow!"
"That much?" Kotetsu whistled. "Sheesh, I'd better get in line before all the slots for this month are taken."
"Some are betting as far ahead as six months," Genma continued, and Iruka could easily envision the jounin's grin. "But I wouldn't bet my last senbon on those odds. Hatake Kakashi, married? It will be over soon, and with one lucky bastard richer from it!"
"Hey now, don't look in the mirror just yet!" Kotetsu laughed as the two headed for the door.
Iruka retreated into an empty office before the jounin emerged. He waited for the chattering to recede before retrieving his satchel. Iruka marched stiffly down the halls, his thoughts echoing Kotetsu's words.
"He will get bored before you know it."
A sour sensation welled in Iruka's gut. He expected to overhear gossip at some point. Iruka and Kakashi were enough of an odd pair to set loose tongues wagging, but it hurt that their comrades were making a game of their union…and that the odds were in favor for it to fail.
'No.' Iruka thought with a firm shake of his head. He had too much on his plate. He would not waste time on trivial problems, and he did not need to deal with more stress. Kakashi had provided Iruka with more than enough.
"Iruka-sensei, I think I could really fall for you."
Iruka paused in the hallway and lifted a hand to touch where Kakashi's lips had brushed the other day. His finger hovered over his cheek, and the spot faintly tingled.
A new found sense of determination bolstered Iruka's resolve. Squaring his shoulders, he walked with a more confident stride. He got himself into this mess, and he will not fail in his duty to the Sarutobi clan.
TBC
Previous Chapters
Prologue & Ch. I: A Battle of Wills
Ch. II: The Burden of Duty
Ch. III: Cold Feet
Ch. IV: The Fine Print
Next Chapter
Ch. VI: A Matter of Convenience