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A Rose By Any Other Name by Yumi

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Chapter notes: Disclaimer in the summary!!!!!! GAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! XD

A/N: And here is your small, but fillinf, main course. You still have two more courses, and don't worry! Your cheese and dessert courses are very, VERY good!!

Enjoy your meal! Please rate and review!!! ^____^
Two: The First Rose



Studying and training for the exam had gone exceptionally well with the two. Mizuki was a good fighter while Iruka was good with tactics from all his book-study. Each day they would wake up, fight over who made breakfast, study various books and scrolls, eat lunch, then train outside until the sun went down. Both would be too tired to cook by that time, and they usually went out to a cheap ramen shop or convenience store to eat dinner (1). This went on until the day of the combat exam, which had an unexpected turn.

“Hey, Iruka?” Mizuki asked. Since the two had been growing closer to one another, they had stopped using last names to address the other. “Wanna do something after the exam?”

“If we’re not too banged up, I suppose so.” Iruka said, smiling. It had been relatively nice to have someone else to live with, especially when it came to injuries and house cleaning. “Pomi’s bar?”

“Actually, I had something else in mind.”

“Something else?” Iruka asked. “Like what?”

“It’s secret for now.” Mizuki said, smirking at his companion. “Well, gambatte, ne!”

“Same to you.” Iruka said as they entered the dark arena.


**-**-**


“I totally saved your ass.” Mizuki said, laughing as they patched up their wounds from the exam. “That kunai was about this close!!” Iruka rolled his eyes as Mizuki gauged the distance with his fingers.

“It wasn’t THAT close.” Iruka said, putting a bandage across his shoulder. “You done?”

“Yeah, it just hurts like hell.” Mizuki said. “Will you kiss it and make it better?” Iruka’s eyebrow twitched.

“I’ll get some pain killers.” he said, getting up to grab a bottle.

“Aw, I wanted a kiss.” Mizuki said, putting on a pouty face. Iruka just sighed and threw the pills at the other man. “So, are we still on for tonight?”

“You mean dinner?” Iruka asked. “We’re both pretty scratched up.”

“It’s not going to make a difference.” Mizuki said. “It’s just dinner.”

“Where?” the brunette inquired. It had been bothering him exactly where this place that they were going out to eat was.

“Yume no Kumo.”

“THERE?!?!?” Iruka shouted, wondering why in the world Mizuki picked that place when he knew they were going to be all worn out and beaten up that day. Yume no Kumo was one of the best restaurants in Konoha, which served very expensive food and wine. The dress was formal, and they only had one sitting per night. Reservations had to be made months ahead of time in order to get a table for two. “It’s so expensive. . .”

“I’ve been saving up for a while, and I pulled a favor from a friend.”

“A friend?”

“Well, a friend of a friend. I heard Kakashi works at Yume no Kumo for extra money, and Kurenai owed me a favor.”

“So, Kakashi is slipping us in under the radar?”

“Sorta. There’s definitely a table set up for us, but we’re getting the best seat at the restaurant.”

“Oh really.” Iruka asked, not really believing Mizuki. That “best seat” might as well have been in the kitchen. . . next to the trash cans. . . that hadn’t been taken out in a week. “You sure?”

“Positive. I’d bring a coat, though. It might get chilly outside.” he said, smiling and walking out of the house. Iruka didn’t ask where he was going, but raised a questioning eyebrow at what Mizuki’s motives were. . . and where they were going to be sitting. . . and how in the world they were going to pay for such an expensive dinner. . .



“Welcome to the Yume no Kumo,” the silver haired Jounin said, bowing at the two men as they walked up to the entrance. “Saa, Mizuki-san,”

“Everything’s ready?”

“Yes, but you’ll have to come around the back.” Kakashi said, looking at Iruka. Iruka felt a slight blush creep up on his face. “This is your friend?”

“Yes, Kakashi, this is Umino Iruka.” Mizuki said, introducing the two. Kakashi and Iruka shook hands.

“Nice to meet you, finally.” Kakashi said. “Mizuki has been looking forward to this dinner for a while.”

“I see.” Iruka said, looking at Mizuki. The other man just shrugged. “Thank you for this favor.”

“Thank Kurenai, she’s the one who pulled the strings.” the Jounin said. “If you two could go around the back, I’ll meet you to open the door.” The two men nodded and left to make their way to the back door.

“So, you’ve known Kakashi for a while?” Iruka asked.

“Our fathers were kind of close.” Mizuki said. “We don’t know each other that well, but we do talk.”

“I see.” The brunette hugged his coat closer to his body. The wind had kicked up a little bit, and it was getting colder.


When the two were inside, Kakashi took them upstairs, through an attic, and to the rooftop. It wasn’t your average roof, however. Yume no Kumo was built into the side of a mountain, thus the roof top was the top of a green, lush plateau. In the center of the small flat section, there stood a table for two, a candle lighting the table, and small, electric lamps lighting the pathway to the table. Iruka was thoroughly impressed by the setting, but even more so of the view. Above, the stars shone brighter than they ever had below in the village, and the gentle glow from the town lights made everything seem softer than it actually was. Iruka was speechless.

“I’ll be back with your wine shortly,” Kakashi said, letting them go to their seats while he went back down to do his job. Mizuki smiled.

“Do you like it?”

“I. . . yes, yes I love it.” Iruka said, still stunned. “It’s. . . beautiful.”

“Just like someone I know.” Mizuki said, pulling out a fresh, red rose. Iruka’s blush covered his face again.

“Niseno–”

“Iruka, I’ve been thinking about something.” he said, looking Iruka in the eyes. “I’ve always liked you in some way, but I think that our friendship took on a new form for me.” Mizuki handed the rose to his friend. “I think that I may come to love you, if you’d let me.”

“L-love?” Iruka asked, hardly believing what was happening. “How long have you been thinking about this??”

“Since before we took our Teaching Exams.” Mizuki said, smiling. “I’ve had a while to think about this.”

“I. . . I had no idea you. . . I wish I had known. . .”

“I hate to say it, but you are rather oblivious.” the white haired man said. “I’ve been dropping you hits since I resolved to try to win you over.” Iruka scratched his nose.

“I suppose I didn’t pick up on that.” he said.

“So, do you accept?” Mizuki asked, once again showing the rose to Iruka. “I won’t hold it against you if you decline or need time to think.” Iruka panicked for a moment. He knew Mizuki would be true to his word, but. . . everything would be awkward from that point on. They were living together, after all. . . And did he like Mizuki that way? That was the biggest question. . .

“I suppose we could try.” Iruka said, smiling and taking the rose. Mizuki’s eyes lit up and he reached over to kiss Iruka on the lips. . .

Iruka froze as his friend - now lover - kissed him. Mizuki’s hold was strong on his cheek, and so was the kiss. It felt so overwhelming, so wonderful, and Iruka couldn’t help but loose himself in it. The brunette closed his eyes and let whatever feelings were in the kiss be shared. After all, this was the man’s first kiss. Once Iruka forced himself to relax, Mizuki let go and smiled at him.

“I. . . I think that we should sit before Kakashi-san comes back.” Iruka stuttered, his blush practically glowing in the night.

“You’re right,” Mizuki said, taking Iruka’s hand and walking him to his seat, then pulling out the chair for Iruka to sit on.

Kakashi came up a few minutes later, though not by coincidence. The Jounin had seen the whole thing, and decided that it was best that he leave them to their private matters instead of bursting up Mizuki’s carefully planned moment. Still he couldn’t help but eavesdrop and listen to their conversation. To Kakashi, it seemed as though Iruka wasn’t so sure about their relationship, but dove in anyway. . . but who was he to judge? This was a private affair, and he was not part of it. For tonight, he was just their waiter. . .



TBC...


**-**-**

Notes:

(1): When I went to Japan in November of 2005, I was at a home stay in a smaller city. They had a Circle K convenience store, which had hot meals all day. A lot of them had sea food, or some sort of stew, but it was ALWAYS hot and ready to eat. . . they also sold cakes for birthdays and holidays. . .

gambatte, ne!: good luck, okay!

Yume no Kumo: Dream Cloud (or in some dialects, Dream Spider )

Saa: It’s like, “oh” or “ah”


A/N: Hey! Thanks to the five people who reviewed the first chapter! I really appreciate it! Hopefully I’ll have another chapter up soon! I’ve got a lot of updating to do, so I don’t know when I’ll be able to update this next!

PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW!! ^___^
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