ura_no_ura | [IC] Appointments

[It was the middle of the night, the dark and (previously) silent house filled with the soft thump thump thump of footsteps in the hallway as a still half-asleep Naruto made his way to the kitchen. Planning to grab a glass of water before heading back to bed, the sound of something moving in the living room he just passed causes him to stop in his tracks.

It only takes a moment for him to remember that it's just Kakashi sleeping in there, but the initial thought of intruder was at least enough to snap him out of his drowsiness. Man, damn that Kakashi-sensei!

And then it hits him. Kakashi-sensei. Asleep in the living room. Sleeping. Possibly without that stupid mask. It wasn't too likely- he always kept it on during overnight missions or training sessions, but it was worth a check. A mischievous grin spreads across the teenager's face, his trip to the kitchen forgotten for now because a much more important opportunity had presented itself to him. Turning on his heels, tiptoeing in order to not make a sound, he slowly makes his way to the entrance of the living room, peering around the door frame to the sofa which holds his sleeping sensei.

That grin doesn't last for long though. The room is dark and he can't see too much, but Kakashi's breathing is irregular. Those aren't the breaths of someone sleeping soundly, they're harsh and erratic. Combined with the continual little jolts and movements,just the feel of uneasiness surrounding him, it doesn't take a room full or light nor a genius to figure out that he is having a bad dream. No, not even that, it's more like nightmares.

Now standing at the end of the sofa and looking down, all thoughts of dumb mask-stealing are forgotten as Naruto looks down on his Sensei, frowning. Over all their years of having to camp it out for various missions, he'd never seen anything like this before. It was honestly unsettling to witness, Kakashi was usually so calm and collected and okay. He wonders what he's dreaming about. War stuff?

The blond ninja stands there for a good minute, lips pressed together as he just continues to watch. It doesn't seem to be settling down any, and he's concerned. He should probably try to wake him up. Everyone knows that one of the worst things you can do is startle a ninja who's clearly on edge, but he has to.

So... here goes. Stepping around to the side of the sofa and crouching down, Naruto reaches out to lightly shove at Kakashi's shoulder. Hopefully he doesn't wake up and try to Raikiri him or something, that would be totally uncool.]

Oi, Kakashi-sensei...

Edited 2013-07-16 09:08 (UTC)

[Ten minutes was barely enough if he kept his speed up. The entire town separated Community House 1 from the Battle Dome, making it a sizable walk under normal circumstances. The summer heat made the trek uncomfortable, but it was far from being unbearable. But, even with his leather jacket left neatly hanging in his apartment and his thick curls pulled back into a short tail, it was hard to keep an appearance of composure.

It was only his pride that stopped him from using his power.

Instead he set off down the quicker path, across the bridge and through the woods, at a brisk pace. He arrived at the Dome in the timeframe he gave-- barely.

Hey. He was only human.]

[It was later in the evening by the time that Barnaby trudged his way back to the house after a long day spent researching at the library. He was tired. The hours spent reading, scribbling out notes, and practically running from one side of the library to the other in his single-minded dedication to his work had left him with stiff, aching muscles and an attention span that was shorter than his already ragged patience.

All he wanted was a quiet dinner and a long bath before he passed out in the soft bed that he shared with Kakashi. Not... this.

He stopped in the foyer and stared at the living room after he arrived, his mind numbly processing what it was that he saw. Streaks and splatters of mud speckled the walls and stained the carpet, marring the simple charm of the living room. At least the lamps were unbroken, but he wasn't sure about the rest.

Did he even want to know?]

[It was late at night by the time Barnaby decided to trek back to his flat for the first time in weeks, even if it was under the guise of checking on his rooms to make sure that the wildlife hadn't come to reclaim his pristine carpeting and wall-sized posters that adorned his living room. With the proper use of lighting and equipment, Barnaby could pretend that he was at home looking at the skyline of Sternbild's Gold Stage. Although he was coming to realize that the mentality was unhealthy, he still longed for the lights and sounds of his home.

Including the bright eyed, aggravatingly insistent attention from a certain clumsy old man.

...

Had he become a man that was worthy of Tiger's trust?

Was he even worthy of his own?

Barnaby knew that his visit was just a way to distract himself from the delicately tied pastry box that he carried by his side. It was a small, rectangular package that was tied up with a simple length of string.

It was sheer simplicity.

Taking a breath, Barnaby closed the door of his flat behind him and stepped toward the one that was directly across the hall. It was the one that Kakashi had claimed ownership of, and a silent reminder of the ghosts between them.

Memories of that night were hard to forget. He debated even approaching.

All he needed was a few steps. He gently set the package in front of the door and rapped on it with his knuckles three times in quick succession.

He would have stayed, but the image of a foreign city was far more appealing.]

[Once again, Iruka has to commend himself for doing a most excellent job well done. It's been an interesting few days of exploration, witnessing people he recognize doing their daily hum drum from afar, exploring Luceti and whatnot since his arrival. And Iruka has come to one conclusion (and agrees with some of the old and new posts about people liking this place and having no regrets):

Luceti isn't a bad place.

It's really not bad at all.

So much so, that the reality of that thought dawning on Iruka had been enough to give him a mini panic attack (because there is a war back home and none of them can afford to live in comfort here when people are just dying).

Then it hit him. If he stays here, if all of them stays here, hell, if Naruto stays here they can be with people they can grow to love. Naruto can be with his real family.
They are dangerous thoughts, which is why Iruka had gone back to the bar, got himself a nice bottle of... whatever the hell it had been that he had finished too! And now, he is heading back home so he can drink himself stupid and hopefully, the alcohol will erase these dangerous thoughts and he can go back to normal and not wish for things that can't happen.

Because wishing for things like that makes you a very, very bad man. A bad shinobi. A bad human being. A bad citizen of Konoha.

Now if only this door knob can just cooperate, Iruka can sooner lock himself up and drown in his stupid shameful misery. And what a commotion he is making too given the time of night (and Iruka is pretty sure he has counted the doors to his own apartment properly). Iruka shifts the weight of the two bottles in a plastic bag, inserting his wrist into the handle and then begins to vigorously shake the stupid door that would not budge with his key.]

[ Continued from this thread. ]

[ Even if Erwin had somehow misread the signs leading up to this, the way he willingly tips his throat into Erwin's touch would be more than enough to tell him what Kakashi was interested in at this point. And Erwin hadn't misread the signs, anyway. Though Kakashi is a guarded man, masked both literally and figuratively, and Erwin is finding it a welcome challenge to begin unraveling him, he'd made no secret of his flirtations, at least.

There is a heat in Kakashi's visible eye that he recognizes, and as he flexes the fingers around his throat, Erwin feels something he knows to be similar beginning to spread within himself. It's a familiar sensation, a slow burn that starts in the mind and seeps slowly but surely to every nerve.

He's never really found that purple heart next to Kakashi's name very curious. He knows that he finds Kakashi valuable and interesting, and those are perhaps the two most attractive qualities one could possess as far as Erwin is concerned.

But he's always had rules about his sexual partners: only civilians, no one he knows well. Which means no subordinates, and no allies. But that hadn't stopped him from fucking Levi last night (though, in his defense, it had stopped him from fucking Levi for the six-someodd years leading up to last night), and apparently it isn't going to stop him from fucking Kakashi now. Kakashi has made clear that is what he wants, despite his half-hearted struggling, and Erwin is sure that they'll be able to continue to work well together despite any dalliances. While still not advisable, this is far less dangerous on a personal level than his tryst with Levi had been. ]

Do you find this sufficiently compromising, Commander?

[ His voice is deceptively even and his eyes are bright, watching Kakashi with a level of focused intensity that many find unnerving. But this is how Erwin normally looks at the world. It's simply rare that he brings it all to bear on a single person. ]

OI!!! All that crap was a lie, wasn't it?!

I want to know more about your little JORTC group. Does it require a uniform?

[Two hours after their conversation, Yoruichi arrives at the barracks to discuss possibly joining the Joint Forces. Presuming there might be an assessment, she'd dressed comfortably, in slim-fitting pants, soft shoes, and a backless top she'd found in the clothing store. A jacket covers her wings--not exactly comfortable, but better than nothing. All in all, it's remarkably close to the clothes she'd wear at home.]

[It's five minutes or so after the appointed time, but she figures Kakashi wouldn't mind too much.]

[There's anger and venom in her veins as Ginia splashes cold water onto her face, trying to calm herself down from her nightmares. Because nightmares are one things when you're accustomed to their face and shape, when they're memories that have dulled over time. But these ones are fresh, vivid, sharp as the scalpels they stuck and sliced her with and the fear is too fresh in her mind.

And even though she knows she's back in the village and this isn't some elaborate ruse, the idea is still hard to shake from her mind. And even though the walls of her apartment are whole again and the mess left from the struggle cleaned up, it's still hard not seeing the hole in the wall and scattered books and broken furniture.

She's blood and anger and burning venom and she slams her fist into the wall. Dumb, because now there's a hole in the wall and her knuckles are bleeding and it hurts. But pain is focusing and walls will patch up. Ginia washes and wraps her hand and heads back to her bedroom. She sits on the bed and gives Laika a gentle scratch behind the ears before retrieving her journal.

The responsible thing would be to let people know she's back. Apologize for missing meetings and training. She stares at the faces on the list, idly scrolling through, recognizing too many and still unsure of who to talk to.

Finally she decides on Kakashi. She could use a distraction.]

I'm back. Miss me?

((ooc; Continued from Here))

[It's a good time to be a dog as Ginia sets her sausage down for Laika. The dog happily snaps up both pieces, then wanders off to explore a bit more. Ginia tilts her chin up slightly and looks at him. Her eyes linger over his eyes, his lips, his jawline down his neck.

There's no mistaking the look in his eye, the smile, the meaning behind his words. And as there's a slight quickening in her breath, her eyes lingering a bit more over his features, she knows she wants to read and explore his pages just as much. And in truth, it's part out of sexual need; masturbation is good, but it's been ages since she's had sex with anyone and she misses the raw lust and passion. It's not something she expected to find here, not in a village full of people almost half her age, so with the offer before her now...

It would be foolish to pass it up.

She leans in and pauses slightly, briefly making eye contact to make sure she didn't misread the signs, then closes the distance between their lips. It's a slow kiss, cautious and testing, a safe bet to go with.]

Oi kakashi-sensei, are you back yet?

[Hey Sensei, it's your favourite student. He doesn't look quite as lively as he usually would, though.]

Action; backdated to the night of the 14th;

Action; July 15, after conversation on the Luceti Locked post