A/N: And I guess I managed to get the first chapter up finally. Sorry it took a while.

To the following people who review Safe Haven (but I wasn't able to reply via messaging):

lilylove: Thank you for supporting this series! I hope you will enjoy this story as you did for the first two and the two companion pieces.

sara: Thank you for the reviews. Here's the sequel, which I hope you will enjoy reading too!

anonymous guest: I'm not sure who you are, but I need to thank you for your review and to answer your question too. Yes, there's an official sequel for Drifting Affections. Here it is. As for whether there are plans for Do You Still, I can't promise anything yet. But I will keep that in mind and if the right inspiration strikes, I will write it.

Chapter 1: The Warning

Three shadows flitted through the trees, moving at a speed that even trained eyes had difficulties pinpointing their exact locations. Their movements were slick and steps precise, as they landed on tree branches and almost immediately, pushed off again to land on the next one – continuing without faltering as they headed towards their destination with an urgency that was clear. They kept up with each other – shoulder to shoulder and paces meeting paces, in a quiet systemic rhythm that did nothing to disrupt the surrounding, uncanny silence.

It wasn't too soon before they reached the giant gates that loomed over them, looking even more daunting in the dead of the night. And it was only when they were right in front of the wide-open entrance, did the shadows finally stop, materialising into three shinobi – who at a glance, could immediately be recognised as elites, simply from the aura they exuded. They stepped up to the guard post for a brief moment to allow the guards to identify them and once the guards gave the clearance, the three shinobi took off again, blending into the shadows, as they moved towards the tower in the centre of the village.

The light in the room right at the top of the tower was bright and illuminating the darkness surrounding it with a faint glow. The three shadows moved towards the light, and when they were near enough, they dropped down to the ground, hidden once again by the darkness where the light failed to brighten.

The Hokage sat in his office, flipping through the report he had received earlier that day, and tapping a finger against the top of his wooden desk. He frowned, glancing up every once in a while to regard the time and then the double door that led into his room, before he turned his attention back to the report.

A knock came onto the door after the sixth time he had repeated the sequence of looking at it and returning to the file in his hands. Glancing up, the old man closed the folder and put it down on his desk, as he folded his arms over it.

"Come in."

The door opened with a silent creak and three shinobi stepped into the room, walked up to the desk and stopped a respectful three steps away from it.

"Report."

"We didn't find anyone at the research facilities that had been previously reported. They were mostly abandoned. But we found this in one of the underground labs."

Hiruzen took the bottle from the silver-haired shinobi and scrutinised it carefully. With a frown, he set the bottle down and turned to regard the three men before him.

"Good job, Kakashi, Asuma and Hayate. I will send this to be examined by the labs and hopefully we will get some results soon. I had read through the reports you sent back earlier and it does provide some clues as to how we should proceed from here. There are some places that we would need to investigate and I had sent some ANBU teams ahead to scout them out."

The three shinobi nodded. Hiruzen leaned back in this seat and shook his head tiredly.

"Orochimaru is up to something. I just wished we had at least some ideas as to what he is plotting. If we do, we could have some form of a strategy to defend against it."

"We are sorry that we couldn't find anything more, Sandaime-sama." Kakashi bowed apologetically. But Hiruzen shook his head and offered a smile.

"No. You three did well. Like I said, the information you sent back was enough to get us started on another investigation path. Orochimaru is elusive. There's no way anyone can trace him down and find out what he is up to almost immediately." The old man shook his head in disappointment at how his former student had turned out to be. "Not even me."

The three shinobi stayed in their spots, making no attempt to say anything as they left their superior to his own musings. Finally, after what seemed like a long moment, Hiruzen finally looked up and regarded his three jounin.

"All right, this had been a long mission and I'm sure you are all tired. Go back and get some rest and take the next three days off. But be on standby, in case I would need to send you out on another urgent mission."

"Yes, Sandaime-sama." The three bowed politely and turned around at almost the same time, heading towards the door.

"Oh wait, Kakashi." The low, gruff voice called out from behind the desk, just before the Copy Nin could put out his hand to push the door.

The silver-haired jounin turned and regarded his superior and was greeted by a knowing smile from the older man, though, it was the worried frown and the seriousness in the Hokage's eyes that instantly put Kakashi on edge.

"I can't believe I let his slip my mind. I thought I should let you know this. Iruka sustained some injuries in the academy today."

Kakashi turned around fully to face the older man at the piece of information, his visible eye narrowed into a dangerous slit. Even Asuma and Hayate had stopped in their tracks in surprise when their friend was being mentioned.

"It's nothing serious." Hiruzen assured his three subordinates. "The medic nin treated him and gave him the clear to return home to rest. We have put him on sick leave from the academy for the next two days to recover."

"But how…" Kakashi's posture had relaxed a little at the reassurance. But the worry remained.

"We have no idea. Somehow, one of his students got his hand on an exploding tag and set it off. Iruka tried to protect some of his students from the blast and got hit by the debris from part of the wall that had been blown up. He sustained some cuts and a very badly bruised back."

"Exploding tag?" Asuma frowned, as he and Hayate exchanged glances. "How did they get it?"

"It's still under investigation." Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a puff out of it. "The child who set it off was too shaken to speak properly. The only thing we could gather was that he found that tag on his desk."

"Someone left it there?" Hayate punctuated the question with a light cough.

"Could be a possibility. But we won't know for sure until the investigation results are out." Sandaime leaned back in his seat with a heavy sigh. "And while we are at this, there is something else you three need to know about. Especially you, Kakashi."

The jounin watched his superior thoughtfully, giving a curt nod, and mentally prepared himself for what is to come, because, his instincts was telling him that it wasn't something good.

"Mizuki was released from the lock-up last week, and he's been placed on active duty at the academy." Hiruzen's voice was grave and low, as his eyes watched his three jounins' expressions changed from calm to surprise and then to mildly homicidal in a matter of seconds.

"What?" Kakashi almost hissed. "Why is he allowed to walk free after what he had done?"

"He attempted to kill a fellow shinobi." Asuma conceded. "He should have been kept in the correctional facility for the rest of his life."

Hayate frowned. "And the academy of all places?"

"I understand all your concerns. But this is a decision made by the council. Most of them voted for his release, saying that Mizuki should be given another chance. They seemed to think that he has had a change of heart and he had been getting very good reviews from the guards in the facility, commenting on how hard working and cooperative he is. And placing him in the academy, in the words of those who voted for his release, was to make it easier to supervise him." The frown on the Hokage's face had deepened and Kakashi could see that what had been said wasn't the exact sentiments of his superior. The jounin waited, knowing that Hiruzen had something more to say.

The old man sighed heavily, suddenly looking far older than his age. "This is between the four of us here." At the three jounins' nod, Hiruzen continued. "Mizuki's release was mostly pushed for by Danzo. I still have no idea what his agenda is for setting free Mizuki and placing him back into the academy. But I suspect, it may have something to do with Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru again." Asuma muttered under his breath.

"Mizuki is the last known person from the village who had contact with Orochimaru. I believe Danzo may be making use of this lead to try to get back in touch with Orochimaru, though I have no idea why he would want to do that." Hiruzen watched Kakashi carefully. "One of the ANBU team had been sent out to investigate this. I hope we can get some insights as to what is going to transpire. And hopefully, we can gather enough evidence to proof Mizuki's alliance with Orochimaru and throw him back into the correctional facility permanently."

The tension did not leave the Copy Nin as another question invaded his mind.

"Has the incident with the explosion tag today anything to do with Mizuki?"

Hiruzen almost smiled. His prized subordinate never failed to amaze him with his perceptiveness. This had been something he had been contemplating for the whole day too, since the incident had been reported to him.

"We have no idea. But I already have him placed under the supervision of two ANBU, and they will report back the moment they find anything suspicious. The team tasked to investigate the incident will be investigating Mizuki too."

"Will Iruka be in danger? Considering that he is brushing shoulders on a daily basis with the person who almost tried to kill him." Asuma shifted his gaze between the older Sarutobi and his silver-haired friend beside him.

"And how is Iruka taking it? It took him a while to recover from the attack attempt the last time. Would it affect him in any way this time?" Hayate's concern for his friend was evident in his voice.

"He seemed perfectly fine, and from the reports I have heard, he is keeping his distance from Mizuki." Hiruzen shook his head and looked at Kakashi. "Though, I can't say if this is affecting him emotionally. I suppose, you are the only person who has the means to find out, Kakashi."

"I understand, Sandaime-sama." Kakashi suddenly felt the urge to see his younger lover and finding out just how he was holding up.

"I have had Gai, Anko, Genma and Raidou rotating shifts to keep an eye on both Iruka and Mizuki for the whole of last week. Mizuki hadn't made a move yet and I hope it stays that way." Hiruzen took another puff from his pipe. "That being said, my only concern right now is Iruka while he is at home. Let's just hope Mizuki doesn't try to barge into his apartment or something. Not that I don't trust Iruka's ability to protect himself, but Mizuki is far too cunning and manipulative. And if he's still in contact with Orochimaru, Iruka would be at an even greater disadvantage."

"I will watch him." Kakashi said quietly, a steely conviction in his eye. "I will protect him."

"I know you will." The Hokage smiled. "You are dismissed now. Hurry and go check on him."

Kakashi bowed politely and turned to step out of the door. The moment he crossed the threshold, he gave the other two jounin behind him a curt nod, signalling that he will be making a move first. Without even waiting for a response, his fingers had already wove through the hand signs for a teleportation jutsu and a split second later, he was gone in a puff of smoke.

"Do you think everything will be all right?" Hayate asked in a hushed voice.

"I suppose." Asuma sighed as he started down the quiet corridor with the sword master beside him. "Kakashi is here. Iruka himself has gotten much stronger than he was before. The whole bunch of us are here. Between all of us, I'm sure we will be able to stop Mizuki if he does try anything funny."

Hayate nodded quietly as the two made their way out of the administrative section of the tower. He made it a point to speak with Yugao and see if she had heard anything in the midst of her duties in the ANBU.

Kakashi rematerialized in front of Iruka's apartment and he hesitated entering, knowing that it was late at night and the younger man could possibly be already asleep. But the worries about his injured lover were overriding his reservations and he needed to speak with Iruka too to see if Mizuki had been giving him any troubles. If the other chunin did, then he would have to come up with something to nip it in the bud before it evolved into more troublesome matters.

He fished into his pocket for the keys, making a silent decision that if Iruka was asleep, he would just return the next morning to speak with him. But he needed to know the extent of Iruka's injuries. Quietly slipping the key into the keyhole, he unlocked it and stepped into the unlit apartment.

Making his way through the neatly kept home, he walked past the kitchen and towards the bedroom at the end of the hallway. The darkness didn't bother him. He could remember the layout of Iruka's apartment and navigate through it with ease, having been here so many times since he was an adolescent. He put his hand on the knob leading into the bedroom and stretched his chakra to feel the person at the other side of the door.

Sensing the calm, undisrupted chakra flow, Kakashi knew his lover was asleep. He debated silently between entering to satisfy his worries or stay out and let the chunin continue sleeping, undisturbed.

He was about to settle for the latter decision and spend the night on Iruka's couch – considering that he won't be able to get to sleep either way with all the concerns that were piling up – when a soft whimper resounded through the door from the other side of the room.

Kakashi was startled. And his concern rose when the whimpers escalated to soft, incoherent mumblings that might not have sounded off to anyone. But for Kakashi, who had seen Iruka through the tough times of when his parents died, when he had first witnessed someone being killed in front of his eyes and when he had made his own first kill, the jounin was fully aware that the sound that was currently echoing in the dead silence of the night held a hint of fear that had more to do than just a mere nightmare.

Abandoning all thoughts and reservations, the jounin opened the door and stepped into the room. He could make out the drawings pasted on one side of the wall that were given to Iruka by his students. A wardrobe stood in one corner of the room, next to a bookshelf packed with scrolls, papers and books. And there, next to the window was a bed where the chunin was currently fidgeting restlessly in.

Kakashi moved forward and crouched beside the bed where Iruka was facing and eyed his lover with worry. He discarded his gloves and forehead protector on the nightstand, before he reached out pale fingers to sweep aside the long, brown strands of hair plastered to Iruka's sweat-covered face.

"Iruka."

A whimper answered him. Kakashi shifted his gaze down and noticed that the chunin was clenching and unclenching his fists in his sleep. This was bad. Very bad. The jounin knew he had to wake the younger man from this nightmare before it put a further strain on Iruka.

Holding one of the chunin's hand in a gentle grasp to prevent any possible retaliation, Kakashi tried to softly rouse Iruka from his disturbed slumber. He slipped his other hand around Iruka's neck, rubbing at the neck in a soothing gesture, as he whispered softly into the chunin's ears.

"Wake up, Iruka. You are having a nightmare."

A harsh gasp was all the warning that Kakashi got before Iruka came to full consciousness abruptly. The chunin's body tensed the instant he felt someone in the room with him holding his hand, and he reflexively tried to thrash and kick his way out of the grip which had gotten firm to hold him in place.

Kakashi flipped the younger man on his back. Iruka flung his free hand around wildly and it connected with the jounin's side. Kakashi winced lightly at the force of the punch and moved quickly to grab the wildly swinging hand trying to land another hit on him. He pressed Iruka's hands over his head and loomed over him, his knees on either side of Iruka's hips, trapping the chunin's smaller body under his bigger frame.

"Iruka, calm down! It's me!"

It took a moment and a few more assertions from the older man, before Iruka slowly recovered from the after effects of the nightmare to identify his surroundings. His eyes darted quickly around the room before he met the eye of the man above him. He backed down from his defensive mind and swallowed hard past his dry throat, as recognition slowly enveloped his senses.

"Kakashi?"

The jounin nodded and released the wrists in his grasp, grimacing when he spotted the red finger marks he had made with his tight hold on Iruka.

Iruka moved his hands, absently rubbing at his wrists, as he tried to get his harsh breathing under control. His gaze remained fixated on his older lover, who was watching him with worry in the single grey eye, as he tried to comprehend what Kakashi was doing in his room in the middle of the night. Last he knew before he went to bed just a couple of hours ago, the Copy Nin was still away on his long mission.

"Why…" Iruka took in a deep breath to calm himself. "Why are you here? Weren't you away?"

"Came back a while ago." Kakashi lifted himself off and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, as he clasped a hand over Iruka's shaking one. "Sandaime-sama told me you were injured at the academy today."

Iruka watched the jounin wordlessly, as he tried to comprehend what had actually been told to the jounin that had him rushing over instantly, instead of going back home for some rest, after what the chunin assumed, should have been a tough mission. His breathing even out gradually and Kakashi moved forward to help Iruka into a sitting position, propping up pillows behind him.

Kakashi moved back to sit on the edge of the bed, his left foot tucked under his right thigh. Reaching out a hand, he brushed stray hair away from the tanned face and watched his lover, concern clear in the single eye.

"Are you all right?"

Iruka forced a smile to his face and nodded. "I'm fine. It's nothing serious. Just a bruise, nothing I haven't gotten before."

Pale fingers trailed down a stash of bandages on the chunin's arm that were showing under his short-sleeved shirt. Kakashi sighed and exerted a little healing chakra over the wound under the bandages.

"This doesn't look all right."

"I've got worst before." A gentle hand closed over the jounin's one and the blue healing chakra receded. "Don't do that. You just came back from a mission. You must be tired."

The older man frowned, but Iruka merely gave a reassuring smile and shifted forward, wrapping his arms around the masked neck.

"I'm fine really. The medic nin wouldn't have allowed me to come home if I wasn't. And besides, they had already healed much of the injuries." The chunin closed his eyes, resting his forehead against a vest-clad shoulder. "I'm already happy that you care enough to come over, even though you must be worn out by the mission. Don't over-exert your chakra capacity in trying to heal these minor wounds."

Kakashi shifted and wrapped his arms around the lean waist, leaning in and inhaling his lover's distinctive scent. He dragged his fingers languidly along the chunin's back, as he revelled in the feel of the body that he had missed for weeks.

"Of course I do." The jounin let out a soft sigh. "And to have a wound wrapped up in so many layers of bandages, I doubt it's just a minor wound."

"It will heal." Iruka smiled against the jounin's shoulder. Then suddenly remembering that his lover had just returned from an almost month-long mission, he hastily retrieved his hand and tried to move out of the older man's embrace.

Kakashi was mildly surprised by the sudden movement. Iruka gave him an awkward smile and tried to push him off the bed.

"I'm so sorry. I almost forgot you just returned. You must be tired. Go take a shower while I prepare something for you to eat. Then after that, you can get some rest. Are you injured?"

The jounin tightened his hold on the younger man, forcing him to remain on the bed. He watched Iruka with exasperated amusement in his eye and leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I just came to see how you are." The jounin paused, and then continued in a more subdued voice. "And to find out how you are holding up in the academy.

Iruka stared into the single grey eye that had an unreadable look in it. He tried to figure out the meaning behind the question, which knowing his lover, he doubted it was simply a question to find out about his well-being. But the masked face before him did not give anything away.

"How am I holding up?" Iruka frowned. "I'm doing well, if that's what you are asking. Well, other than the incident with the exploding tag." He smiled sheepishly.

Kakashi was silent for a minute. Then he pulled back and his single eye scanned his love's face, as he chose his words carefully.

"I mean, is everything all right? I heard Mizuki was released last week and placed back in the academy."

Iruka's smile instantly faltered. He averted his gaze and shifted out of the older man's arms. The jounin watched as Iruka moved out of the bed and walked over to the window, as he wrapped his arms around himself and gazed out onto the empty streets.

"Iruka?" Kakashi tugged down his mask and stood, studying the tensed frame by the window. Iruka apparently, was trying to get his emotions under control. The single eye darkened in anger. "Did Mizuki do something to you?"

The chunin spun around and faced the Copy Nin. He sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. "No, he didn't. He did approach me a couple of times though to ask me out for drinks. Said he wanted to make amends."

Iruka instantly regretted saying that when the older man tensed and the frame radiated anger. He moved forward and wrapped his arms around Kakashi, trying to soothe him. "I turned him down, of course. And I'm keeping my distance from him. So don't worry. Besides, I'm not that helpless. I can fend against him if I need to."

"I know." Kakashi murmured. "But he's manipulative. Stay away from him."

"I am." Iruka managed a smile. "I don't talk to him unless it's work. And besides, with all those people around me, he hardly even get a chance to come near me."

Kakashi arched an eyebrow. Iruka laughed softly. "For the whole of last week, I could feel different chakra at different intervals hovering around my vicinity. Gai-san, Anko, Genma-senpai and Raidou-senpai. And occasionally, I even felt Yugao's chakra around."

"They are just looking out for you." Kakashi finally relaxed himself enough to offer a smile. The Hokage's orders aside, it seemed that their group of friends were still worried that an event of the last time could reoccur. "Though, I have to say I'm impressed. You can even feel Yugao's chakra. And she's ANBU. She's supposed to be good in concealing her chakra signs."

"For all we know, she could be doing that intentionally, just to let me know that she is around." The academy teacher returned the smile with one of his own. But he could feel the strain in it and he was sure, Kakashi could see it.

The jounin reached out a hand to brush lightly against a tanned cheek. "I doubt that. She's watching out for you on her own. And knowing how she works, she wouldn't have wanted you to find out. You are getting good. Stop doubting your own capabilities."

"Thank you." The chunin whispered softly, resting his forehead on Kakashi's shoulder. A familiar arm wrapped around his waist and Iruka tried to relax against the older man.

Kakashi sighed inwardly. He hadn't managed to find out much about how Iruka was feeling about the release of Mizuki, other than the generics. But he was almost certain that the nightmare that the younger man was having earlier had something to do with it. He contemplated asking, but then decided against it, seeing that Iruka was already worn out by the conversation about Mizuki. He pulled back slightly, a calloused thumb trailing the scar across Iruka's nose.

"Well then, you should get your rest. Sorry to wake you up in the middle of the night." Kakashi smiled. "I should get back too. I will come by again in the afternoon if you are up for lunch together."

The jounin turned to retrieve his things from the nightstand, but a hand on his wrist stopped him. Turning around, he met his lover's nervous gaze.

"Can't you stay?" Iruka casted his gaze to his feet, not wanting to meet the jounin's eye. Kakashi turned back to face his lover, and smiled when he spotted the blush spreading across the chunin's cheeks. The younger man missed him, that was for sure. But the jounin could sense there were some other reasons to the request, though if Iruka was uncomfortable saying it, he wasn't about to go probing into it yet.

He tilted the chunin's face upwards to meet his eye and he leaned forward, melding their lips together in a soft, passionate kiss. Pulling back, he smiled affectionately at the man before him.

"Sure."