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Iruka should have realised something was wrong the third time he tried to have sex with someone and it went absolutely nowhere (for him). Compared to the two times before, he couldn't blame the alcohol, his companion being a shinobi and in his space, or even the fact that he wasn't attracted to his partner. She was fine, he found her very attractive in the past (and present), yet he still couldn't come.

"I don't suppose me saying it happens to everyone at some point is going to make you feel any better?" Mariko said where he collapsed on the bed. She looked very satisfied (Iruka had at least made sure she had come at least twice) but also a little concerned.

"Three separate times with three separate people," Iruka said bitterly to the ceiling. "Lots of build up, nothing coming of it." Mariko snickered helplessly at the pun and Iruka cracked a smile.

"I'm glad it's not me," she said. "But Iruka, all jokes aside, maybe you need to go to the hospital? It could be a sign of something more serious."

"That is going to be so mortifying." Iruka knew far too many people at the hospital, especially since he was the designated teacher to take any students who managed to injure themselves beyond the Academy teachers' capabilities (less often than people would assume, but more than Iruka would like).

"Well, you could just never have an orgasm with someone else again," Mariko pointed out, far too reasonably.

"I can come on my own, so it can't be that serious," Iruka said. Mariko looked curious, but thankfully not offended. "When I'm on my own, I can get off fine. They're not satisfying orgasms but they do happen."

"I still think you should go to the hospital though," Mariko said after a moment's thought. "Maybe one of your students got you with a jutsu that had some accidental side effects?"

"Fuck, I hope not." Iruka would prefer to announce his problem to the entire jounin population of Konoha before he learned that one of his students accidentally interfered with his sex life.

"Or maybe it's a psychological thing," Mariko suggested. She sighed when Iruka gave her a look. "Hey, I'm just going on what you tell me. Look, you go to the hospital and you rule out it's a physical thing. Then you start looking at other factors. Think of it as a mission." Iruka made a face.

"Just because I'm a shinobi doesn't mean I need to think of every difficult thing as a mission," he said dryly.

"Who knows with you shinobi," Mariko said, waving her hand dismissively. Iruka couldn't help but smile as he shook his head at her. Mariko neither feared nor revered him for being a shinobi. She appreciated that Konoha came first for him, in a way that it just didn't for civilians, but considering their relationship bordered more on the casual side of things, they didn't really delve into his job more than they had to. Mariko would kiss his scars when they were in bed together, but she wouldn't understand why Iruka was more proud of some scars than others. "You know I'm right."

"Yeah I know." And Iruka really hated it. But he also hated the possibility of never being able to come with another person again. He liked sex, the closeness with another person, the release of it, and it just wasn't the same on his own. "Can I say I was visiting you for lunch if someone asks why I'm in the hospital?"

"Your friends won't let it go otherwise?" Mariko asked. Iruka made a face and decided not to go into the shinobi's awareness of privacy, especially in relation to the people they care about. Iruka knew things about Mariko that he was fairly certain she didn't want him to know, but at least he only stuck to the most cursory examination of her home after he was invited in. A lot of shinobi went far beyond that, especially for their friends.

"Not really," he said in the blandest way possible. Mariko was observant for a civilian but sometimes it was hard to tell what she didn't pick up and what she just wrote as 'ninja nonsense'.

"Then yes, you may use me as an excuse. I'm there tomorrow for an eight til six shift." She smiled and Iruka knew he wasn't getting out of this. "I'll see you at one for lunch."

"Ugh, fine." Iruka tried not to think about how much he sounded like Konohamaru then. It looked like he had an appointment at the hospital tomorrow.

Having to give the explanation to the medic-nin was just as embarrassing as Iruka thought it would be and he wasn't sure whether it was better or worse thanks to the medic's blasé attitude to the whole thing.

"At least you don't have a kunai up your ass and telling us you fell on it," they said when Iruka tried to delicately ask whether they had seen something like this before.

"A kunai?" Iruka knew he had gone a funny green colour judging by the medic's sympathetic glance.

"It had gone in hilt first," they reassured him, as if that made any of it better. Iruka decided that no, he didn't need to know any more and went gratefully to the waiting room to wait for the test results. Half of the waiting room had every seat filled, and the only seat available was next to a shinobi sprawled across four of the built-in chairs.

"Kakashi-san," Iruka said as he approached the familiar figure. "Any particular reason why you are taking a nap on some of the most uncomfortable chairs that ever existed?"

"I'm reading," Kakashi said, though the orange book had been definitely hanging lax in his hand when Iruka approached.

"I would ask you to prove it but I'm pretty sure you have that book memorised," Iruka said. He sat down on the spare seat by Kakashi's head, slowly enough that Kakashi could object if he wanted to. All he got was an amused glint in Kakashi's eye and Iruka had the urge to snap that mask on his face. "Still haven't answered the question though." Kakashi hummed and sighed and seemed to realise that Iruka was bored, had time to kill and generally found annoying Kakashi an amusing pastime.

"Momo-chan says that they have given my bed away," Kakashi said, as mournfully as he possibly could.

"Oh really?" Iruka raised one eyebrow. "Did she say something about how if you don't want to sleep in a bed, you can sleep on the chairs instead?"

"How did you guess?" There was genuine surprise in Kakashi's eye and Iruka hated to burst that bubble.

"I heard her say it to one of the other nurses. I think you've got another hour before they're done punishing you for trying to leave." Iruka gave Kakashi a once-over. "Normally you at least make it out of the building on your escape attempts."

"I normally make it home," Kakashi said, unusually grumpy for him. "Make sure you teach your kiddies, Iruka-sensei, don't get poisoned."

"That is generally best avoided," Iruka said dryly. "But I'll make a note of it for my next lesson." He looked at Kakashi again. "Do you want a hand sitting up or are you more comfortable horizontal?" He should have expected the leer he got for that and he flicked Kakashi on the forehead near his exposed temple, his fingertip tingling when it brushed bare skin "You are the actual worst."

Kakashi was still sniggering when Iruka's name was called and he made sure the man could see his eyes roll as he said goodbye. He got a wave of that book in return, leaving him feeling a little lighter when he was called through for his results. That feeling remained until he actually got the results.

"Soulmate-seeking syndrome?" he repeated back to the medic. "What does that even-- soulmates?" At least half the people Iruka knew had a soulbond of some description, or a possible soulmate out there, but he had no birthmarks, no words tattooed on his body, no changes in any of his senses, so he had always assumed that he was part of the eighteen percent who had no discernible soulmate.

"I hope you know what soulmates are," the medic, Hifumi, said calmly. Iruka nodded and took a deep breath. Pissing off medics never ended well.

"I thought I didn't have a soulmate," he said calmly. "Are you saying I definitely do?"

"Yes. There are certain levels in your blood which when they are raised to certain degrees relative to each other--" Hifumi paused when Iruka's blank incomprehension seemed to penetrate their medical fervor. "With your symptoms and your blood results, there is a ninety-nine percent chance that you have a soulmate. It seems that you're in the twenty-one percent of people who have to complete the bond in some way. Your body is fed up waiting for you so it's taking control."

"Great. Perfect. Exactly what I want to hear." Iruka rubbed a hand over his face. "And any idea of how to identify this soulmate of mine?" Not that Iruka would be able to say for sure that he would complete the bond, but he would at least like to know who he would be reaching for.

"Unfortunately medical science has not progressed that far. Orochimaru had been working on some kind of test when he was still in the village before he got distracted..."

"Kidnapping and experimenting on babies," Iruka said. Hifumi grimaced and nodded.

"Such a shame." Iruka hoped that they were speaking about children’s deaths and not the fact that Orochimaru's genius was now focused on immortality above everything else including any dubious morals he may once have had.

"So what you're saying is that I won't be able to orgasm with anyone else except my soulmate," Iruka said and received a nod in return, "but there is no telling who my soulmate is or where they are."

"You likely have already interacted with them," Hifumi said, somewhat reassuringly. "It's how the syndrome is triggered in the first place. Your body will probably escalate things the longer you leave it."

"Escalate?" Iruka echoed, horror creeping into his voice. "How would it escalate?" In response, Hifumi handed him a pamphlet with a list of symptoms.

"The longer you leave it, the more symptoms you'll start to develop," Hifumi said helpfully. "It's to help you and your soulmate find each other."

"Taste what the other is eating?" Iruka read out from the pamphlet. "Dreamsharing? Sharing each other's pain? Phantom pregnancy?" Hifumi hastily shut the pamphlet, folded it and stuck it in Iruka's flak jacket.

"Maybe read that at home," they said with an awkward smile. "Anyway, it's best to manage the symptoms while searching for your soulmate, but if they start to severely impact your life, come back here."

"And then what? I put out an advert in the Konoha Daily for soulmate searching?" Iruka had seen some of those adverts. They were cute, sure, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the people who were desperate enough to need to do them. And he just knew his students would hear about it and the questions.

"You could do that," Hifumi said. "I mean there is medication to help manage some of the symptoms but the longer you're on it, the more severe the side effects get." They could see Iruka's query on his face. "Lack of appetite, insomnia, muscle aches, loss of your sense of smell, vertigo, hearing voices, mood swings, rectal bleeding--" Iruka put one hand up.

"I get the picture." Yes, a soulmate would definitely be preferable to that. "Okay, I'll start searching." If only the Chunin exams weren't just around the corner and Konoha hadn't started to be flooded with foreign shinobi and civilians.

"Unless your soulmate is ANBU or they have special dispensation, all soulmates have to be registered with the Births and Deaths office," Hifumi said cheerfully. "Failure to comply results in two years' imprisonment and possible bond dissolvement. Good luck on your search!"

"Thank you, Hifumi-san." Iruka left Hifumi's office and wished more than anything he could just go home. Mariko was going to want an update and he didn't know what to say.

Soulmate-Seeking Syndrome. Well, at least he didn't have to go to Psych as well.

It had to be said that Iruka didn't try very hard to find his soulmate. He missed how sex used to be but Mariko and him had hooked up a few times and Iruka found new satisfaction in getting her off and then leaving in order to get himself off. Okay, it wasn't a lot of satisfaction (he really did like having his orgasm with his partner) but it was something. And between working at the Academy, working at the Mission Desk, actually seeing his friends when they were back in the village and the general upkeep of living in a place that wasn't a dump, he barely had time to cook for himself, let alone pick someone else up and explain the whole 'I have a soulmate so won't be able to come with you, but I'm sure we'll have a good time getting you off'.

And then there was the whole thing where he found out Mizuki was a total piece of shit and Naruto became a genin (albeit in an unconventional way). That was distracting.

But Hifumi was right. The pamphlet of stranger and more terrifying symptoms lurked in Iruka's subconscious and his body was certainly not going to let this rest. When he felt a shock of pain up his arm one morning while he was shaving, his arm gave a spasm and dropped the razor in the sink. The pain didn't stop, it only settled into a dull throb. Iruka could see no discernible reason why it had suddenly started hurting and he had a creeping suspicion that he wouldn't.

He went on with his day, very conscious of the slight ache in his forearm. When it was joined with a pinprick of pain at his temple, he wasn't surprised when there was nothing there when he checked in the mirror. It all disappeared when he went to sleep, no phantom pain when he woke up the next day. And he assumed it would be like the 'couldn't orgasm with other people' thing, something to be noted but only minor changes needed to be made to his life.

But then he was marking at his desk in the Academy after dismissing his students for the day when a searing pain spread across his chest. He clutched it right over the wound and looked down, half-expecting to see blood seeping through his fingers. Nothing. It was a soul pain, invisible to himself and to others.

Maybe this was it, maybe Iruka was feeling his soulmate's death wound while he was sitting at his desk at the Academy. Soon enough he wouldn't have to worry about seeking his soulmate because there wouldn't be a soulmate to seek. Iruka ducked his head to hide the sheen of tears in his eyes, despite the fact that the room was empty. He breathed deeply and focused on the pain. If this was the last thing he received from his soulmate, then he would make sure he felt it properly. The waves of pain were constant, almost sending him to the floor, but he kept on breathing and let the gentle noises of Konoha wash over him. He was safe; his soulmate was not.

The pain started to subside but Iruka kept on breathing, almost clinging onto the sensation as if he could feel his soulmate's last breaths. Eventually not even his own mind could pretend that he was still feeling the soul pain. Iruka felt strangely empty afterwards, like after his parents had died and it felt like he cried all the tears he could. He went back to his marking, too used to working through any kind of pain to stop now, but it all felt distant. He went home, smiling and saying goodbye as he went, and pretended like everything was just like it had been that morning.

The only relief came when he lay down in bed and sleep overtook him.

A blow to the ribs woke him up, making him gasp and clutch his chest. He looked around his darkened bedroom frantically, only to find it empty of any intruder. His ribs still throbbed but there was no increase in pain when Iruka put pressure in various places.

"A soul pain?" he whispered to himself. "They survived?" The pain in his ribs was unmistakeable. "They survived!" Iruka grinned to himself as he lay back down, only to grimace and grab at his ribs again. "Must be one bad mission." At least Iruka knew that his soulmate was almost certainly a shinobi (either that or a criminal but Iruka thought surviving a chest wound indicated some kind of chakra usage for sure). Of course now he knew they had survived their wounds from before, he only had to worry about them surviving long enough to get home.

There was some debate about why certain soulmate seeking traits existed. To make it easier to find each other, yes, but Iruka had heard that aspects like changes in senses and the sharing of pain or dreams could help the pair to survive circumstances better than before. If Iruka feeling his pain was helping his soulmate move and escape and survive, then he would take whatever pain he could get from him. It was far better than the whole 'can't orgasm without soulmate' trait which was definitely related to the finding soulmate column, rather than the survival one.

Iruka glanced at his clock and then turned on his side, curling up around his aching ribs. He put his hand on them, feeling his own heart beat, and hoped for his soulmate's survival. Let Iruka take what he could, as long as it meant that his soulmate would survive. Iruka drifted into a doze and, for the first time since this all started, he resolved to actually try to find his soulmate.

Mariko was one of the only people Iruka could tell without the whole thing being spread around his entire friend group (and thus half the shinobi population), but she was absolutely no help.

"Aren't there soulmate-seeking ads in the newspaper?" she asked. Iruka scowled down at his ramen that he was trying to eat with his non-dominant hand. He could throw a kunai equally well with both hands, but holding chopsticks with his left hand was apparently far harder than throwing a weapon accurately. His soulmate's injuries had faded for about a day and then returned in force. Iruka's right hand ached too badly for him to use it at the moment, especially after he had pushed it at the Academy.

"Yes, but any shinobi worth their headband will be able to work out it was me, no matter how I disguise it," Iruka said. "I'm trying to be a little subtle here, Mariko." She gave him a raised eyebrow look and then subtly (by civilian standards) glanced at Teuchi and Ayame. "Teuchi-san and Ayame-san have heard far worse and kept quiet about it all. They can probably be trusted more with secrets than half of the shinobi I know."

"Your bowl's on me for that compliment, Iruka-san," Teuchi said without looking up from his rapid chopping.

"Absolutely not," Iruka said. "But when Naruto comes here next, you can give him a free bowl."

"As if we wouldn't give him a free bowl anyway," Ayame said. She glanced up from where she was washing up the previously used bowls. "Seeking your soulmate, Iruka-san?" Iruka groaned into his half-eaten bowl.

"It's a syndrome. Apparently I've met them and don't know it so my body is getting more and more insistent."

"Sex problems, pain problems - at least you don't have the phantom pregnancy," Mariko said, apparently taking Iruka's vouching for Teuchi and Ayame to mean she could be far too open with them.

"Mariko!" Iruka hissed at her and she looked apologetic, though not enough. Teuchi's eyebrows rose to meet his hairline while Ayame nodded, as if this didn't surprise her. Considering she and Iruka had slept together once (something which neither of them felt like enlightening Teuchi about), the sex stuff probably wouldn't ever phase her.

"A friend of mine had the same thing." Ayame seemed to understand Mariko's suddenly interested stare. "Already met their soulmate, bond snapped into place, no chance of them being Iruka-san's soulmate."

"What do you know so far?" Teuchi asked, now preparing a marinade for the pork he had on the counter.

"They're a shinobi," Iruka said.

"Are you sure that isn't wishful thinking?" Mariko asked bluntly. Iruka felt a flicker of irritation but he dismissed it in order to roll his eyes at Mariko.

"The amount of times they've been injured, and serious ones at that, they would have to have some kind of kekkai genkai to survive without developed chakra coils." Mariko shrugged and accepted this explanation.

"Not a genin then," Ayame said. "They don't go on those kinds of missions, do they?"

"Apart from the one Naruto-kun went on," Teuchi said darkly. Iruka grimaced and sliced his hand through the air.

"Very unusual and definitely shouldn't be happening to genin. I can't rule out adult genin, but it's unlikely to be someone Naruto's age." They may be the same rank but impulsive, teenage genin like Naruto got far different missions than experienced, adult genin like Haruno Kizashi. The latter might not have the fighting skill necessary to pass the Chunin exams, but Iruka had seen him with high-strung merchants. He knew how to keep his temper and judge what was needed for a mission, in a way a new genin just couldn't. "Thank the gods," Iruka muttered and got an understanding nod from Ayame.

"It sounds like they're going to be more high-ranking," Ayame said, moving the conversation on from Naruto's mis-ranked mission. Technically Teuchi shouldn't even know about it, and Iruka may have to give him a heads up that it wasn't common knowledge. Sometimes it was hard to say whether what Naruto talked loudly about was common knowledge he only just learned, or classified knowledge that he definitely shouldn't be talking about in public to a civilian.

"Considering the gut wound they got a few weeks ago, I'm almost certain of it," Iruka said. He shook his head at the curious glances he received. "But I'm certain that no chunin I know has been in hospital with serious injuries like that. There's no way of telling with jounin though, they're squirrelly and suspicious at the best of times."

"Who's squirrely and suspicious?" Kakashi's voice had all four of them turning to look at the entrance to the ramen stand. Iruka wasn't too surprised, he had some mid-level sensor abilities and Kakashi's chakra was familiar enough for him to notice it. The fact that Kakashi was coming into the ramen stand at this time of day was.

"Kakashi-san," Iruka said. "What happened to your students?" Kakashi waved his hand, the other one buried in his pocket.

"I gave them the afternoon off after Naruto tried to kill Sasuke. Again." Iruka groaned and let his head fall back. Kakashi took another step in, letting the cloth barrier fall down behind him. "Who's squirrelly and suspicious?"

"Jounin, something which you aren't disproving right now," Iruka said dryly. Kakashi took a seat at the bar and raised one finger at Teuchi. The man nodded and put the marinating pork away, only to pull out an aubergine.

"Why are you talking about jounin being suspicious?" Kakashi asked, not bothering to argue Iruka's truthful statement about jounin. Kakashi absolutely was the best demonstration of that exact statement.

"Conversation veered that way after talking about mislabelled missions," Iruka said smoothly. Mariko's sideways glance at him wasn't helping and he knew Kakashi had noticed it, despite not taking his eyes off Teuchi's chopping.

"Are you just going to ignore the part about Naruto trying to kill his teammate?" Mariko whispered to Iruka, though he knew Kakashi could also hear it.

"It's fine, it happens in genin teams especially." Iruka paused. "Naruto and Sasuke are maybe a special case." Kakashi took his hand out of his pocket while he was answering Mariko. "Kakashi-san, are you going to the hospital after this? Or have you already been?" He absolutely deserved the flat look he got from Kakashi but he still smirked at him.

"It's fine, it'll heal." Kakashi waved the hand that wasn't swollen and bruised at Iruka. It was hard to see as he was still wearing his armoured gloves but Iruka had definitely seen too many shinobi hiding similar injuries at the mission desk. Then a realisation occurred to him.

"Did that happen when you were trying to break up Naruto and Sasuke?" Iruka asked. Kakashi did not answer, which was enough of an answer for Iruka. He groaned and put his head down on his arm. "I am going to make that boy run around Konoha so many times," he said, the words muffled into his arm.

"You're getting broth in your hair, Iruka," Mariko said, which was maybe the only thing that could have gotten Iruka to lift his head right then. Kakashi was watching him, he noticed, him and Mariko both.

"New bowl, Iruka-sensei?" Ayame asked.

"No, thank you. I have to go and hunt down Naruto and the hospital has asked me to help out with a shift at the reception desk." He gave Kakashi a very nice and polite smile. "I'm sure it'll be good to see you there." Kakashi sighed deeply.

"I need sustenance," he said firmly and then thanked Teuchi as a bowl was put down in front of him. Iruka didn't bother trying to catch a glimpse of Kakashi's face; he was pretty sure any attempts only amused Kakashi.

"My shift finishes at seven," Mariko said to Iruka after she tried, and failed, to catch a glimpse of Kakashi's face. "See you before then?"

"Possibly. My shift starts at six." Iruka gave Teuchi and Ayame a wave as he put down the money for his half-eaten bowl, plus a tip. "I'll definitely see you there, Kakashi-san."

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said. "You won't have to hunt me down too." Iruka made sure the man could see the roll of his eyes as he left the stall.

To his surprise, Kakashi did show up at the hospital right around the time Iruka was giving up on him coming at all. He disappeared with one of the medic-nins to get his hand fixed (apparently there was a protocol for runaway jounins which involved getting them seen and fixed as quickly as possible so, when they disappeared, at least the main bulk of their problem was sorted), and then came out to sit on Iruka's desk.

"Considering how much you avoid the hospital, I'm amazed you're hanging around now," Iruka said. He prodded Kakashi's side with his pen. "Get off my desk."

"It's so comfy," Kakashi said and did not move an inch. "I want to know why you were talking about squirrelly, suspicious jounin at the ramen stand earlier." Iruka looked up at his face. Kakashi had pulled out his little orange book as he slouched on the desk, but Iruka knew full well that meant nothing to where his attention was directed. Iruka did not want to talk about his syndrome with Kakashi. He may be sort-of friends with the man but he had no clue how he would react. But if he continued to avoid the question, then Kakashi would become even more determined to find the answer.

Iruka may not be great at outright lying but he was excellent at misdirection. It was part of the reason he had been so good at pranks when he was younger, and he was certain also part of the reason he had made chunin.

"We were talking about ranks and missions. Your mission in Wave came up." Iruka shook his head at Kakashi's questioning glance. "I've talked to Naruto about it already. He shouldn't be shouting about things like that to everyone he meets." To be fair, the only people Naruto would feel comfortable confiding in would be Teuchi, Ayame and Iruka, all of which were trusted more than most. "Teuchi-san brought it up and I was trying to redirect Mariko from asking too much about it." It was better if civilians weren't too aware of the dangers that even genin may face; it might impact whether they sent their children to the Academy or make them think that the leadership of Konoha was lax. Kakashi nodded and Iruka could see he bought it. Misdirection by bringing up another misdirection; that might be a new first for Iruka.

"Mariko-san?" Kakashi asked and Iruka looked at him.

"Is there a question in there somewhere?" he asked dryly.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Kakashi asked. It was more blunt than Iruka would normally get from him. Kakashi teased and poked and prodded, but rarely did he outright ask.

"Ah, no." Iruka shook his head. "Mariko and I are just friends." And they were unlikely to be anything else. The more time Iruka spent with her, the more he valued her as a friend, and it became increasingly obvious that entering a serious relationship with a civilian wasn't on the cards for him. It wasn't just the job itself, Iruka's whole way of thinking about the world was shaped by his shinobi training. He may have been labelled as soft and weak by some of his detractors, as he fought against any early graduation no matter how much of a genius a kid was, but he was still a shinobi. He could not kill as easily as some of his colleagues, one of the many barriers to him obtaining jounin rank, but he had killed before and it didn't keep him up at night. He taught children the vital spots to aim for if you wanted a clean kill and what poisons were best to use in different situations and how to record all of it on their mission reports.

"Civilians, huh," Kakashi said, seeming to read Iruka's thoughts. Iruka sighed.

"It's like her reaction to your report about what happened in training," Iruka said quietly. "Some things I don't realise are strange to civilians until I see her reaction. She's not fearful or dismissive of shinobi, she just doesn't get it." Iruka shrugged. "We're friends. Only friends."

"Does she know that?" Kakashi asked. Iruka wondered if he had seen something that Iruka had missed. Then again, Mariko knew something that Kakashi didn't.

"Oh yes, definitely." Iruka smiled and shook his head. "Is this why you hung around? To quiz me about Mariko?"

"Waiting for numbing injections to wear off. Thought I might as well entertain myself." Kakashi's smile could be seen even through the mask. "And I saw you were so bored with nothing interesting to do. What better way to alleviate your boredom than grace you with my presence?" Kakashi snickered at whatever Iruka's expression was doing.

"It's so nice of you to help me with my paperwork," Iruka said brightly.

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei, my hands are full," Kakashi said in a very apologetic way. Iruka huffed just as someone approached the desk.

"Yo, Kakashi." Genma said. His hands were in his pockets and he seemed uninjured. "Iruka-sensei."

"Just Iruka is fine," Iruka said dryly. He was definitely going to blame Kakashi for all these jounin calling him 'sensei'. "You here to check in or visit someone?"

"I was planning on visiting Anko, but I think she's already done a bunk," Genma said. "But I think I'm having a reaction to one of my poisons as I've got blind in my right eye." He said in the same bland tone he had greeted them with. Iruka and Kakashi stared at him for a moment and then Iruka hurriedly signalled to one of the medic-nins tucked around the corner. She hurried up to the desk, just as Genma swayed and then toppled over like a tree trunk. Kakashi had been fast enough to stop his head from hitting the floor but Iruka had been just behind him to take Genma's weight.

"Stop using your hand, you idiot," he hissed quietly. Two porters came up with a trolley and between Iruka and the two of them, they managed to get Genma onto the trolley. Iruka's hand was throbbing again and he huffed as Genma was rolled into a cubicle, the medic-nin already checking him over. Iruka could see several people in the waiting room decide that this was the time to ask Iruka about something vitally important, just in time to be able to see into the cubicle. They eyed each other, waiting for the first person to break.

"You had better go," he said to Kakashi in a low voice. "Unless you want to be quizzed by half of the people waiting." Kakashi could see the building tension just as much as Iruka could.

"Hope you haven't got long for the rest of your shift, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said quietly.

"Two hours," Iruka said. "Go and get some sleep. Stop using your hand to catch other idiot jounin." Iruka sat down at his desk as Kakashi left through one of the large windows in the waiting room (put there for particular jounin who didn't like doors) and the first person broke ranks to come up to Iruka's desk. Two more hours to go.

**

The soulmate pains faded some as time went on. They reduced down to mostly the quick, glancing blows Iruka expected from a shinobi during training spars. He welcomed the shorter, smaller pains, a way of knowing his soulmate was still alive without being distracted from his own job. Mariko met someone she wanted to date so they went back to completely platonic meet ups. Iruka was perfectly happy with how things were going and only briefly wondered about his soulmate and how he was going to find them.

Then the Academy broke up for a week when a viral illness, possibly one related to measles judging by the symptoms, swept through the student population. In order to protect the remaining children, as well as the fact that with over half their classes gone, the whole of the Academy shut down for a week. Iruka and the teachers grumbled, especially when they found out that the week would be paid for with the lowest basic pay, but it did mean Iruka had a chance to take one of the rare out of village missions he could do.

"Iruka-sensei, are you coming with us?" Naruto's voice at the gates had Iruka turning his head to see a flash of orange approach him at his top speed.

"Naruto," he said with a smile. He looked at Sasuke and Sakura, including them in his smile. Sakura smiled back and Sasuke nodded. Better than most teachers got. "Coming with you where?" he asked, looking at Kakashi as he did so.

"Mission out of the village. Something very, very boring with absolutely no missing-nin," Kakashi said. Naruto made a face.

"That's so boring, Kakashi-sensei!" Despite his words, Naruto was almost bouncing with excitement. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"That's what he said, idiot," Sasuke said, his tone only mildly acidic like he did to the people he halfway liked. Iruka raised an eyebrow at him and Sasuke ducked his head, his cheeks turning pink behind the dark hair that fell down to screen his face. Sakura looked uncertain but Iruka gave a minute shake of his head. Sasuke would not appreciate her defense right then.

"It's still a mission out of the village," Sakura said. "And there's no demon cat." The expressions on the three genin were identical, Sakura's words snapping Sasuke out of his embarrassment at their joint disgust at the prospect. Iruka laughed.

"I know you didn't like the Tora mission but it couldn't be that bad?" Iruka asked.

"It was the worst D-rank ever!" Naruto said, the volume of his voice about three times bigger than it needed to be. "Even if it is a boring mission, going out of the village is so much more exciting."

"I agree with Kakashi-sensei. Almost dying is not exciting," Sakura said, her little nose in the air. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances that said they disagreed and Iruka turned to Kakashi with a smile.

"Why is it every time I talk to your team, I'm more impressed with your ability to keep them alive?" Iruka asked dryly. Kakashi grinned, the curve of his mouth obvious behind his mask.

"I have hidden talents," Kakashi said. "One is apparently stopping clueless genin from getting themselves killed."

"Hey!" Naruto protested. Iruka ruffled his hair and Kakashi lifted his orange book higher.

"You heading our way, Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi asked.

"On the way to Tea?" Iruka said, habit making him give a roundabout direction, rather than an actual destination. He couldn't think of a shinobi more loyal to Konoha than Kakashi but it was still best practice. Kakashi nodded. "Guess I could accompany you guys, if you don't mind."

"It'll be fun!" Naruto said, only to deflate as Iruka continued,

"I'm looking forward to seeing how much you are learning outside of not dying. I hope you've been impressing Kakashi-sensei with the skills I taught you." All three of them looked shifty.

"Naruto didn't know what chakra was," Sakura blurted out. Sasuke inched away as Naruto exploded into a shout that almost certainly cracked some glass somewhere.

"Naruto, people enjoy being able to hear things," Kakashi scolded him. He bopped both Naruto and Sakura on the head with his book. Both of them yowled and rubbed their heads but Iruka could tell from the sound that it had barely been a glancing blow.

"Naruto, you know what chakra is, right?" Iruka had to have something to sustain him as he went home and cried into his instant ramen.

"Of course, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said, very sincerely. "I just didn't know what it was called." Iruka just knew Kakashi was laughing at him right now.

"I knew I should have booked you in for weekend sessions after you missed so many lessons," he muttered. Naruto made a face and Iruka put his hands on his hips to glare at him.

"At least you're on a team with Sakura and Sasuke," he said. "As teammates they should be helping you. Like you help them." Iruka's sharp glance at Sakura and Sasuke stopped any snide comment that either of them wanted to make.

"Very impressive, Iruka-sensei, they seem positively cowed," Kakashi murmured, a little too close to Iruka's ear for his peace of mind. He waved the genin onto the gate, leaving Iruka and himself to follow along at a slower pace.

"Let me guess, you stand back and let them work it out for themselves," Iruka said, not judgmentally but he knew there was still a small sting to the words. He knew he couldn't criticise a jounin-sensei's management of his team, not unless there were some serious concerns, but this was Naruto. Iruka would risk being out of line for him.

"They have to do it at some point," Kakashi said with a shrug, apparently unbothered by Iruka's slight rebuke. "They will have to work with people they don't get on all the time, and trust them to have their back."

"Kakashi, they've only been genin for two months," Iruka pointed out. "I know you're all about teamwork, and that is what the three of them need the most, but you do have to show them how to be a team when it's not life or death. You get it?" Kakashi's eye was fixed on his book but it wasn't moving over the page.

"I understand," Kakashi said quietly, just as they reached the gate.

Iruka spent a day with Team 7 as they moved at a genin slow pace through the forests. It was amusing seeing the three of them work together, getting into the correct formation and remaining on alert even as they travelled and held a conversation. Iruka did not flatter himself and think it was because they wanted to show their old teacher what they had learned; he was sure that they would have liked to have shown off to anyone who would humour them. But it was good to see how they had grown and how they followed Kakashi's instructions with the kind of instinctive trust in a leader. Naruto still argued when he had what he thought was a 'boring' job when they made camp but otherwise they listened and paid attention.

"They really respect you as a teacher," Iruka said to Kakashi when the three genin were definitely asleep (Sakura had tried to fake sleep but Iruka could always tell when someone was doing that from their chakra -- Shikamaru had taught him well).

"Alright, sensei, no need to bring out the jokes," Kakashi said. Naruto's hand flopped out from his tight ball, landing perilously close to the fire. Kakashi reached over and tucked it back into Naruto's side without missing a beat.

"I'm not joking." Iruka stared at the fire instead of Kakashi. "It was good to see them like this, with you, before I carry on. Thanks for letting me travel with you, Kakashi."

"No, thank you," Kakashi said with emphasis. "That was one of the most peaceful travel days I've ever had with them. Naruto gets bored loudly and Sasuke gets bored quietly and together they just explode."

"And Sakura gets bored and frustrated with the whole thing and just adds to the noise." Kakashi tilted his head at Iruka's comment and nodded slowly.

"She hides it much better than the others," Kakashi said. "Her boredom."

"She always has been," Iruka said. "She was a bit like Shikamaru in that she knew she could complete any task I set her and how much time it would take her, so she would end up gossiping with Ino and picking fights with Naruto and yet still end up with the task done." The trouble was that Sakura wouldn't go any further than the task given her. She wanted to know things but lacked the initiative to find out herself, and she wasn't enough of a genius like Shikamaru or had the backing of a well-known shinobi clan behind her to make up for that. It was something Iruka hoped Sakura would learn when she became a genin. "I hope she's pushing herself harder than she did in the Academy."

"Harder? Maybe," Kakashi said, his eyes on the genin. "But she could definitely be working more." Iruka snorted.

"Almost certainly, it's only finding the motivation. Isn't the whole thing of becoming a genin in peacetime? They have the time to grow and learn before facing death." Iruka laughed awkwardly and scratched his scar with one finger. "Unless you stumble across a misranked C-rank, I suppose."

"I'm sure I can find some way of giving her the motivation." There was a look in Kakashi's eye that said he had an idea and Iruka almost felt sorry for Sakura. All the genin really, but he had a feeling Sakura was going to hate Kakashi's idea the most.

"Try not to make them hate you too much," Iruka said dryly. Kakashi laughed, a small sound that seemed to surprise him almost as much as Iruka. Something inside of Iruka's chest grew warm.

The next morning, he waved goodbye to Team 7 and tried to ignore the sense of foreboding he got as he watched them disappear. His mind kept wandering to Team 7 even as he completed his own mission. The client was satisfied with the delivery Iruka made and had rewarded him with several green pastries that Iruka didn't catch the name of, though they were delicious. He headed back towards Konoha at a steady pace and arrived back right on time for the predicted time.

"Hey, Iruka," Kotetsu greeted him as he approached the gate. "Good mission?"

"All fine," Iruka answered as he handed his paperwork to Izumo.

"Tempted to take more out of village missions?" Izumo asked. Iruka snorted and shook his head.

"I'll stick to Academy breaks, thanks," Iruka said. "Have you heard how the Academy has been? Is it reopen?" Izumo grimaced.

"They're predicting at least another week. The hospital is getting overrun with the infection. You'll be called up soon, the Hokage is ordering every shinobi to get the booster vaccine." Iruka nodded and sighed. It made sense, considering they had the Chunin exams in a few short months. "We've already had ours and they're getting all the genin and the ones who have young children at home."

"Enjoy your time off I'd say," Kotetsu said. "Avoid doing anything that needs the hospital." Iruka rolled his eyes and waved goodbye to them, taking back his half of his paperwork before heading home. He had a mission report to complete.

Barely a day later, Iruka was woken up by a piercing, wrenching pain across his chest and abdomen. He recognised the soul pain, even though it was worse than it had ever been. Iruka pressed his face into his pillow and sobbed, even as he curled up into a ball to try to alleviate some of the pain.

"Please stay alive," he begged someone he may never know now.

The next day Iruka was called up for his booster vaccine. A pop up booth was set up outside the hospital for people to have the booster vaccine and Iruka joined the line of other civilians and shinobi. He rubbed his stomach; the pain having been near constant since it had woken him up last night. He had tried to make sure he wasn't pushing the pain away, back on his soulmate, but it was difficult when he didn't know whether it was even working.

He barely felt the vaccine, too distracted by the pain in his abdomen, and he only just remembered to thank the nurse as he gave Iruka half of the slip that verified he had the booster. The other half would be kept with his records. Unable to help himself, Iruka wandered over to the hospital doors. He knew he should keep his distance, especially when the hospital was so obviously overrun, but he could only hope. The bright orange wasn't something he had been looking for but years of being primed to keep an eye on Naruto escaping from his classroom had him snapping to attention.

"Naruto," Iruka said, hurriedly entering the hospital unlike the more hesitant walk up until then. "Naruto, what happened? Are you hurt?" He glanced at Sasuke and Sakura next to Naruto. The three of them looked exhausted and panicked, worn to a thread. "Kakashi," Iruka said slowly.

"Kakashi-sensei wa hurt really bad and they won't let us see him!" Naruto said, his voice harsh with his upset. Iruka rubbed his arms to try and soothe him. "I could've handled it! He didn't need to step in!" Tears were leaking out of Naruto's eyes and he dashed them away with a sharp, angry gesture. 

"A missing-nin, jounin level, attacked us. Kakashi-sensei was handling it well but then the missing-nin started targeting us," Sakura explained quickly. Sasuke nodded, backing up her words. "Kakashi got in the way of a blow meant for Naruto. There was a lot of blood." Sakura was pale but resolute. "Iruka-sensei, can you go see him? Just to let us know how he's doing. They might be more okay with it if it's not us." Whether it was because they were genin, children, or Naruto being disliked by a large portion of the hospital staff, Iruka didn't know the reason. It was something he could do and he desperately needed something to do.

"I'll go in and check," Iruka swore to the three of them. He ruffled Naruto's hair, the boy already looking more and more uplifted with every passing moment. It was amazing how quickly he bounced back.

Something pulled Iruka forward, out of the waiting room and down a side corridor on the same level. He did not question why he knew where Kakashi was, he just followed where his body wanted to go. The door was unguarded, partially open, and so Iruka walked in. Kakashi was propped up on a trolley too small for him and looked like he was only conscious through his formidable will, fending off any intervention as best he could. A medic was there, pawing at Kakashi's arm in a way which Iruka would find unpleasant on a normal day, and downright unbearable today, especially as she was ignoring Kakashi's struggles. Another two medics were next to the dressing trolley, preparing some kind of medication.

"'ruka," Kakashi murmured, noticing the intruder before the medic, Iruka's name garbled thanks to nearly all of Kakashi's energy going to other things. 

"I'm here, Kakashi," Iruka said, the words far away to him but knowing that they made sense. He barely let the medic let out a word of protest before he crossed the room and took hold of Kakashi's arm.

Something in Iruka's head sparked to life as soon as his fingers brushed against the bare skin above Kakashi's glove. He blinked and found that his hand was now gripping Kakashi tightly. He pulled the man closer, dead weight though he was, and narrowed his eyes at the medic who was using Kakashi's distraction to move forwards, her hands growing green. She had enough sense to freeze in place, just as another medic joined them.

"Umino-san," she said quietly. "I need to get to Hatake-san in order to heal him." Iruka knew this, logically. It made perfect sense. But he couldn't allow it to happen.

"No, you can't," Iruka said quietly. He could feel every single injury that Kakashi had received pounding in his body and it felt like fireworks were going off in his head.

"Umino-san?" One of the other medics asked, her voice calm and soothing.

"I don't know any of you," Iruka said, a little helplessly. "I can't allow you near him." He pulled Kakashi up and looped an arm around his waist. Kakashi was mostly unconscious now and yet he managed to surface enough to turn his face into Iruka's neck. The urge to hide him away from the world, to make sure that nothing could ever touch him again, almost overwhelmed Iruka. It was by whatever will he had left that kept his feet rooted to the floor.

The first medic looked at her colleagues. The oldest one in the room took a step towards Iruka and Kakashi.

"We need to examine him, Umino-san." This medic did not go for calm or soothing. "He is seriously injured, he is going to die unless you let us do our job." Iruka could feel his body ache with the stress of the injuries Kakashi had received. Maybe if the man didn't have a soulmate to take some of the pain away, to take some of the danger, that would be true. But right now Iruka knew it wasn't.

"No, he won't," Iruka said and then opened his mouth to explain. Unfortunately this particular medic grew impatient and lunged for Iruka, their hands glowing with a chakra scalpel that was far more likely to injure rather than to heal. Iruka may be chunin level and mostly village bound, but he could cross a classroom before a child had even fully formed the bad idea in their own head. Right now, his soulmate was in his arms and every part of the newly formed bond was telling him not to let anyone separate them.

The door flung itself open a short while later just as Iruka was adjusting Kakashi's position in his arms.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto's loud voice was more calming than any amount of soothing noises from the medics could be. Sakura and Sasuke were also there, their little faces peering over Naruto's shoulders.

"Hello, you three." Iruka ignored the googling all three of them were doing to the gagged and tied up medics. "Can one of you get a medic called Hifumi-san up here? They work in admissions." Sakura nodded and disappeared from view. Iruka was thankful because she was the more efficient of the three, but also that left him with Naruto and Sasuke, who were not a duo that was known to work together.

"Why did you tie up the nurses, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto said, approaching one of them before Sasuke yanked him back. "Are they bad guys?"

"Medics, Naruto," Iruka said. "And no, they're not. One of them did try to attack me though so I thought it would be safer for everyone involved if they stayed like that for some time." Sasuke's eyes on him were piercing.

"Something happened," he said. "Between when we saw you outside and here." It was a statement of fact and yet Iruka had taught Sasuke long enough to know there was a question hidden there.

"Kakashi-sensei doesn't look good." Naruto frowned, an expression that looked wrong on his face. "Is this Hifumi-san going to help?"

"I hope so," Iruka said and ignored the muffled protests from one of the medics. "Where are the rest of the medics?"

"Why are you holding Kakashi-sensei like that?" Naruto asked loudly.

"They're dealing with a training accident with two genin teams," Sasuke answered Iruka's question. The way he looked at Kakashi spoke of how he wanted to back up Naruto's question but that went against all his instincts.

"I'll tell you when Hifumi-san gets here," Iruka said tiredly. "I don't want to repeat myself." Also he anticipated Naruto's reaction being extremely loud and his head was pounding. "Can you bring that chair over here?" Naruto and Sasuke both went to grab it, leading to a fight over who would bring the chair over himself. "Naruto, Sasuke," Iruka knew his voice was sharper than usual but he could feel Kakashi shaking against him, "both of you bring the chair over without treading on the medics." Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a look and then each grabbed one arm of the chair and carried it over. Sasuke avoided treading on the medics but in an incredibly disdainful way that amused Iruka in a small part of his mind which wasn't hyperaware of what was going on around him.

They put the chair down next to Iruka and he carefully put Kakashi on it. Sasuke reclined the back without Iruka asking for it and Kakashi looked more comfortable there. Iruka kept his hand on Kakashi's wrist and took a breath.

"Naruto," he said as the boy reached out for Kakashi's shoulder. "I know you mean well, but please don't touch him at the moment." He was sure he would be fine with Naruto but he was barely restraining himself from carrying Kakashi out of the hospital and back to his home, where he could seal it to his heart's content. Naruto froze and withdrew his hand, while Sasuke looked like something had just occurred to him. He glanced at the medics on the floor and then turned his back on them, signing something quickly in the field sign Iruka had taught the class over a year ago now.

Bonding haze? Iruka nodded.

"Hey, what was that," Naruto said loudly.

"Field sign that we learned when you skipped lessons," Sasuke replied immediately. "Shall we take the medics outside?" Iruka really shouldn't but he couldn't deny that he would feel far more comfortable if they were far away from him.

"Yes, thank you." Sasuke hit Naruto when he tried to ask again about what Sasuke had said and then, bickering, the two of them dragged the three of them outside. They came back in with Sakura and Hifumi, the latter looking more curious than disturbed about their colleagues being dragged out of the room.

"Iruka-san," Hifumi said as the door shut behind them. Sakura made her way to Sasuke and Naruto's side, while Hifumi glanced at Iruka, Kakashi and then Iruka's grip on Kakashi's wrist. "Are your blood levels going to become more stable now?" Iruka gave them a flat look.

"How am I supposed to know what my blood levels will do," Iruka said. "Kakashi needs medical help."

"And the reason you tied up my colleagues and left them outside the door?" Hifumi asked.

"I don't know them and one of them rushed me before I could explain why I didn't want them to touch Kakashi." Hifumi held up their hands and Iruka gave a jerky nod, watching Hinkeo closely as they scanned Kakashi. "His stomach is the worst," he said and Hifumi nodded. They were involved in their work now.

"I don't get it, Iruka-sensei, what's going on?" Naruto asked. Iruka did not look away from Hifumi's hands as they touched Kakashi.

"Kakashi and I are soulmates," Iruka said carefully. He wished he could do this differently, carefully break the news to Naruto, but his head was pounding and he could feel Kakashi's heartbeat underneath his fingers. "When I touched him just now, I fell into a bonding haze. I'm not in my right mind."

"Soulmates?" Naruto's voice started off loud but Sakura clamped her hand over his mouth so the rest of the word was muffled.

"Naruto, Iruka-sensei probably doesn't want it screamed through the hospital," Sakura hissed.

"How are you not in your right mind?" Sasuke asked carefully.

"A bonding haze is typically characterised by an intense level of protectiveness over their newly bonded one," Hifumi said as they moved their hands away from Kakashi's stomach, "hypervigilance, aggression, impulsive decision-making, insomnia, lack of appetite and elevated blood levels of--" Kakashi groaned, interrupting Hifumi's spiel. Iruka crouched down and looked at Kakashi's face as he opened his visible eye. There was no gradual wake up, Kakashi was immediately awake and aware of what was going on around him, though Iruka could detect a slight haziness to his gaze.

"Iruka? Medic-san?" he muttered. "My team?"

"We're here, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said, his volume very welcome right then. Kakashi looked over at Naruto and the other two and his shoulders relaxed a fraction.

"Good. Behave yourselves," he said, the words almost muffled under his mask. Then his gaze went back to Iruka. "Am I to assume that the bonding haze I could hear someone talk about is the reason why I don't feel nearly as terrible as I should?"

"Yep." At any other time Iruka would be concerned, worried about Kakashi's reaction and how their relationship would change from here. But the haze was distorting all his thoughts and the only need he had was to get Kakashi home. "I hear you tried to get yourself cut in half," Iruka said as Hifumi moved their hands down to Kakashi's thigh.

"Add that to the lessons, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said. "Don't get poisoned, don't get cut in half." Iruka had the urge to roll his eyes and did so, making sure Kakashi could see.

"Any more obvious rules I should be teaching my pre-genin?" Iruka asked dryly.

"Soldier pills taste bad," Kakashi retorted. Iruka snorted and then laughed, finally feeling like he could take his eyes off Kakashi for a second, though he still had not let go of his wrist.

"Does this mean we have two senseis now?" Naruto asked his teammates. Kakashi and Iruka exchanged a look that said exactly what both of them were thinking right then. A conversation was needed, for certain, but it could wait until they had a little more privacy than a room with a working medic and three very nosy genin.

"If you did have two senseis, the first thing I would teach you would be the field signs that you apparently skipped," Iruka said and watched as Kakashi's eye curved into a delighted half-moon shape. Naruto let out a long moan of complaint.

"No fair," he muttered.

"We'll help you, Naruto," Sakura said sweetly. Sasuke gave a disagreeable grunt. "As teammates, it's our duty to help you, right Sasuke?" This time the grunt was a bit more affirming.

"You were right," Kakashi whispered to Iruka. "Giving her something to do was a great idea."

"I'm definitely recording this day as one where you actually gave me a compliment," Iruka said. "Hifumi-san, will I be able to take Kakashi home?"

"Ideally he should stay in hospital for at least two nights," Hifumi said. "But considering the chair and the trolley I'm going to say that beds are in short supply right now. I'll give you a list of symptoms to look out for Iruka-san."

"Oh good a babysitter," Kakashi said.

"Only way I can pin you down to have this conversation," Iruka pointed out. "Besides, it's either me or Gai-san." Kakashi thought for a moment and then smiled.

"Hello, my new babysitter."

Wrangling the three genin and an injured Kakashi was not how Iruka envisioned spending his evening but he was a little giddy from his soulmate not being dead and relieved that he had been allowed to bring Kakashi home that he didn't mind nearly as much as he ordinarily would have. He dispatched Sasuke for food, Sakura for medical supplies and Naruto to go and let Gai know where Kakashi was so he didn't worry that he had passed out on his way home from the hospital again.

"You know you could stop escaping from the hospital," Iruka said as Naruto sped off with the message Kakashi had imparted to him.

"I could," Kakashi said genially. He craned his head from where Iruka had put him on his sofa. "Those seals are new."

"New warding ones," Iruka replied absently as he drew the seal on the wall, before biting his thumb and activating it with a small amount of his blood. "It won't hurt anyone who tries to get in, not when your team is likely to bang down the door, but it'll stop them and alert me."

"I like how you say team when you mean Naruto," Kakashi said. "You have fairly good wards already, why do you need more?" Iruka snorted as he went to reinforce his windows.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said dryly and then shot a look over his shoulder. "You know full well what a bonding haze means, Kakashi."

"You seem more coherent than I expected," Kakashi said.

"Thank you." The windows shone as Iruka reinforced the seals already in place. He didn't want a windowless cave of a place but windows were a weak entry point and Iruka knew how to deal with them. "That doesn't mean I am. I've already sent a message to apply for a leave of absence from work. I don't think I could be coherent enough for anything else apart from making sure you don't die." He finished the seal over the small kitchen window and came down to slump on the sofa next to Kakashi.

"It's a shame that being gutted means that sex is off the table then," Kakashi said to the ceiling, his head resting against the back of the sofa.

"Not unless you want to be immobilised in the bed," Iruka replied casually. He deserved the leer he got from Kakashi for that.

"Oooo, kinky. You have hidden depths, sensei."

"Don't call me that," Iruka muttered. He sighed and leaned closer, his arm pressing against Kakashi's. He could feel his heartbeat slowing, as the warmth of Kakashi reassured more than anything else that he was here and alive. "How long have you known?" Kakashi made a questioning sound. "How long have you known that I'm your soulmate?" There was a long silence.

"Since Mizuki stabbed you in the back," Kakashi said. "It was an unusual pain, especially since all I was doing was sitting in a tree wondering how I would fail my next genin team." Iruka snorted.

"How'd that work out for you?"

"Don't get me started," Kakashi muttered. "Teaching is hell. I've apologised to my sensei so many times since I got them." He rolled his head against the back of the sofa and looked at Iruka. "How did you guess?"

"You were taking the whole soulmate thing extremely well," Iruka said. "Am I right if I guess that you didn't take it too well when you realised?"

"That may be an understatement," Kakashi said and Iruka had a feeling that was all he was going to get about that for the moment. "Aren't you going to ask me why I didn't tell you?"

"You thought I was dating Mariko, right?" Iruka asked. He laughed at Kakashi's sideways glance. "Even without us being soulmates, you realise I've known you already. Sometimes you're confusing as hell and other times you are the least subtle person ever. Except for Maito Gai," Iruka added because no one could accuse someone of not being subtle when Gai was wandering around.

"Thank you for adding that." Kakashi leant harder against Iruka. "I didn't realise you were looking for your soulmate."

"I didn't want to advertise it." Iruka shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't looking very hard to be fair, though the amount of serious injuries I felt you got made it more urgent. I didn't want you to die and never know who you were." Iruka thought back over the sentence and then discarded it as irrelevant. "That made more sense in my head." Kakashi chuckled, the sound hoarse.

"It made sense to me."

The wards rang and Iruka sighed.

"Ready for chaos?" He pushed himself off the sofa, no matter how much his body was telling him to stay right where he was. Kakashi needed food, the kids to settle down and Iruka to be useful, not restrictive.

"Always," Kakashi said, shifting more upright on the sofa. "Iruka," he said right before Iruka opened the door. Iruka turned his head to find Kakashi was staring at him, his single grey eye intense on his. "I'm glad it was you."

When Iruka opened the door, the blinding smile was hard to hide.

"I bought ramen!" Naruto announced as he came in, slipping off his shoes like he belonged here. Sasuke and Sakura followed suit and Iruka closed the door, keeping his and Kakashi's precious people safe inside. He and Kakashi had to talk far more, but right now it felt like they were on the same page for the first time since this whole thing started. This was a good place to start.