Pick Up The Pieces

Fantasy

When Iruka heard the clatter of the door shut, he thought nothing of it until he sense more than one chakra presence. He kept his guard up but waited on his couch, eyes skipping off the words in Icha Icha Paradise until he could distinguish who was in his place. Kotetsu's pattern was easy to recognise

"The second...hmm, a medical ninja... Oh Sakura! She's probably here for a check-up on Kotetsu...

"But the third...such an odd one...wait...it's kind of...evil? No, hateful...but now it's pure, kind..."

Naruto!"

He dropped the orange book with a thump and kicked it hurriedly under the chair. There was no way that he was going to let his former pupil know that he had been reading smut. He had too much pride in himself to let him be caught with it.

'Kotetsu, how was your-'

'Iruka-sensei!' The blonde yelled vigorously and threw his arms around the chūnin. Despite being the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, he was only sixteen, and held enormous respect for the brunette.

'Hello Hokage-sama.' Iruka chuckled, patting Naruto's hair affectionately and returning his hug with a tight squeeze.

'Sensei, I told you to call me by my name.' Naruto whined.

'And I told you that you needn't refer to me as "sensei" anymore.'

'I'm still going to, you know-'

Kotetsu watched the two of them banter so easily between each other before Sakura tugged on his hand lightly.

'Let's give them some time alone.' She said quietly with a small smile.

'Sakura-chan-' Kotetsu started, following her to the kitchen and sitting across from her.

'You don't need to add the honorific.' Sakura interjected, blushing a little.

'I only give them to girls I like.' Kotetsu counted with a lofty smile.
'I just want to ask: why does Hakage-sama address Iruka as "sensei" still? Doesn't he know that he doesn't need to anymore?'

'Well, of course he does.' Sakura answered, leaning on her elbows. 'But Iruka-sensei was the first one to notice him for who he was, and for that, Naruto is eternally grateful to him. He feels like it's disrespectful to him if he doesn't.'

'Hmm. Who'd have thought it.' Kotetsu mused, stretching with a wince as his skin stretched taut against burns.

'Are you okay Kotetsu-kun?' Sakura asked dolefully, her beryl eyes scanning over his skin.

'Yeah, yeah I'm fine. A little sore, but I'm fine.'

'How's your nose?' She probed gently.

'Oh...yeah, it's fine. Itchy sometimes.'

Sakura reached over the table to him, fingertips grazing the fleshy bandage and waiting for a response. Kotetsu's breath caught lightly, but he didn't push her away. Gently, her fingers pulled the material down and her fingers traced the deep scars lightly. Her mouth twitched into a sad line.

'What was he to you?' She asked in a soft whisper, pressing her green aura of healing over the incisions. They, however, would not heal anymore than what they were.

'Everything.' Kotetsu whispered back, quite uncomfortably. Something about this situation wasn't pleasant, and suddenly he felt quite invaded. Perhaps he wasn't as up to returning to society as he thought.

'I'm sorry Sakura-chan, but I need to go.'

And with that, he scraped back the chair and pulled up his coverings briskly. He had one destination on his mind.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-x

Being followed by ANBU Black Ops was unnerving enough as it was, but being followed to Izumo's grave was very irksome. Kotetsu understood why they were there, but he would have appreciated some privacy considering where they were.

The cemetery was quite tranquil at this time of day. Birds twittered incessantly and the sun provided a relaxing warmth with its rays. The slightest breeze tickled Kotetsu's face and blew through his inky spikes with gentle fingers. The grass welcomed his aching body with a cushiony green as he sat before Izumo's grave and placed a thick pot of syrup in front of it.

Words teetered on the edge of his tongue, but something stopped him from talking aloud. The oppressive feeling of constantly being watched lingered over him and made butterflies erupt in the pit of his stomach. He sat in silence for an uncomfortable minute before twitching his fingers through a various series of hand signs and closing his eyes.

'Demonic Illusion: False Illusion.' He whispered under his breath.

His charcoal eyes saw something new. The waves of the sea roared and crashed upon the cliff side with a foamy slap. The salty spray tumbled around in the wind and embedded itself onto his skin. The ocean spread out before him in a sapphire blue canvas and shimmered with the white sun. There were no clouds above; just an endless length of aquamarine.

'Look out!'

A pair of hands clapped over Kotetsu's shoulders and roughly pushed him forward. His stomach plummeted as his face stopped inches before the point of tipping over. Just as surprisingly, the hands snatched him away from the cliff's edge and a cheerful laugh floated around him.

'Your face is priceless!'

Kotetsu's jaw had dropped and fear was prominent in his eyes. The blood had drained from his ivory face. His heart was hammering furiously against his ribcage and his palms had begun to break out in a sweat. A shiver ran down his spine before he threw himself into the strong arms.

'Woah, what's up with you?!'

'Please...' Kotetsu mumbled into the toned shoulder, almost at breaking point.
'Please don't let go of me.'

'Stop being such a wuss, Tets.' Izumo grinned and hugged back with a bear hug and lifted the raven-haired off of his feet. A genuine laugh fell out of Kotetsu's mouth and caught him off-guard. The laugh was so alien to him, as it made him laugh even more.

'Put me down, Baka!' He laughed with a manly squeal.

'Oh geez, are you crying?!'

'Maybe.' Kotetsu sniffled and wiped the tears in his eyes. The colour in his cheeks returned, along with a lovely shade of crimson. His muscles stretched into a broad grin that it almost hurt.

Izumo had never looked so incredible. The sunlight made his ivory chest almost glow and his physique was healthy and toned. His smile hadn't changed and beamed at Kotetsu, making the corners of his eye turn upwards simultaneously. His fringe still covered his right eye, but the bandanna was gone and his muddy hair blew freely into the wind in wispy strands. Too long had it been since Kotetsu laid eyes on that marbled body; god-like in his eyes, and how he longed for those arms to envelope around him again.