#uminosensei

[resolutepath]

"i need to be something more than this." (from Iruka for Kakashi? 👀)

Silence follows the soft words that are breathed from Iruka's lips, a lingering thing that sits heavy in the space between them. It might have been possible to believe that his words were not heard, that the sensei's utterance had been stolen by the wind, yet this was Kakashi and there was little that escaped his perception.

He was simply choosing to avoid answering for the moment.

When the wind picks up he turns, scarecrow hair tousled as his exposed eye settles upon Iruka. His gaze is cold, a shinobi's gaze formed in tragedy and war, any emotion felt locked beneath the surface, hidden away from the moment. They are not something he intends to reveal, has not since he was a child and certainly has long since lost the capacity to think about his own wants and needs beyond books to read and food to eat.

"This is all I can offer." It's blunt, words as sharp as the kunai he wields, not shying away from the grim truth of it all. He does not search for the fairytale happy ending, just to share a presence for a scant time, to have company in the hours he is a sheathed weapon.

"You will have to decide if that is something you can live with."

@uminosensei

[resolutepath]

“  just let me take care of you.  ” (for Kakashi from Iruka / uminosensei)

I do not know how, is the answer that he should give, and yet Kakashi remains motionless, exposed eye focused upon the wall before him whilst the other rests in the darkness his hitai-ate provides. He's been there for some time - an hour, two, half a day... perhaps - he's not sure how long, at some point time simply melded together as it often does when he has stretched himself to his limits, leaving his skin scarred with lightning fissures and the debris of a fight, his body so exhausted that to even lift a finge would be more effort than he can expend.

To show as much to Iruka is a sign that there is trust, if nothing else, for there are few he allows himself to be so exposed with, to see past the perfect weapon of Konoha to the ragged and beaten man beneath when he returns home from his sacrificial journeys. He offes himself again and again because it is all that he has ever learnt, but never has he learnt to accept care from another when he is at his weakest properly.

So when warm hues turn upon him with concern it scalds in the gentleness and he has to shut his eye to stifle the ache that follows. His chest hurts at the sight, and he wonders what he did to have a man who gives so much of his heart willingly, content to share a piece of it with him too.

"Do what you wish, sensei," he manages in the end, title to distance because he has not the strength to admit allowing Iruka within his proximity is an indulgence that he should not afford himself. "But I can't promise to be a good patient."

@uminosensei

[resolutepath]

At first he tries leaning back a little - subtle, almost not noticeable (hopefully) - but it doesn't quite get him where he needs to be. The damn cover is still all Iruka can see, nothing but a handful of detached words at the very top of the open pages peeking at him when he strains his eyes to steal a glance. Incoherent and insufficient. Icha Icha is not the kind of title he'd expect a book to have that someone like Hatake Kakashi reads on a daily basis, which only heightens his curiosity. Eventually he decides to simply reach out - not to take the book from the jonin's hands, but to push it down just enough to be able to read at least a sentence that might reveal its content. "What are you reading anyway?" (uminosensei)

The first indication is the shift of a shadow over the edges of his pages, the second a slight creak at the change of position, though neither are enough to cause alarm. With his experience the difference between a curious individual who meant no threat and an enemy seeking an opportunity was stark, so Kakashi did nothing, merely turned his page and waited to see what the other would try next. When the sensei is bold enough to push down on his book, there's a curve of his lips beneath the mask and he slips the book from beneath the gentle touch to let it close with a resounding snap.

"You shouldn't read a book in the middle of it. Terrible spoilers." Answering the question with a non-answer, Kakashi stores his book within his pouch to be resumed at a later date when he has the peace of the village and the solitude he requires to indulge within the pages. For now he turns upon the chunin who holds charge of educating Konoha's young minds and smiles beneath the mask, letting his exposed eye close to enhance the expression. "Not on the mission desk today? Or are you here to collect my report in person..?" He pauses, letting the horror of what he could possibly have done to the report sink in before he shrugs. "You'll be waiting a while, I think I left it with Naruto."

He is all to aware that his conversation does little to sate the chunin's burning desire to know the contents of his book. Well that's part of the fun of it, if Iruka truly wishes to know, perhaps he should buy a copy of Icha Icha for himself. Admittedly, he'd be quite amused to catch that reaction first hand.

@uminosensei