Warning: OOC, weirdness, sexual references and foul language. Any misspellings or wrong grammar is unintentional. I am my own beta. I could have missed some stuff.

Please read Roommate first before proceeding any further. Nothing will make sense here. Read at your own risk.

Enjoy people!

OFFICEMATE

The building before him was ten stories tall, no garage and had four large apartments per floor. He was assigned a new flat on the sixth floor which had a perfect view of the building right across the street. The neighborhood was a decent one having most of its people single or married couples with no children working for the company itself. The block was almost as if it was owned by the company (but was not of course). All his belongings were packed and sent to his new apartment earlier by the company (he didn't have to worry about extra expenditures or withdrawing cash from the bank). He spent the past two days in a five-star hotel (again, courtesy of the company) while they set up and got his new space ready for his next assignment.

Sighing and running his hand through his thick mass of messy silver hair, Kakashi picked up his small duffel bag and headed for the lobby of the apartment. It was as he expected it to be; clean and shiny marble floorings and walls, yellow lights, glass sliding doors and two elevators with crappy music. He gave a small nod to the security sitting behind his table in the corner of the lobby with a set of monitors in front of him as he made his way to the elevator.

As the doors slid shut, Kakashi leaned heavily against the elevator wall, shoulders slumping in exhaustion as he waited for the elevator to stop in his floor. He was ticking off the amount of time he was going to need to unpack and how he was going to have to go and pick up his new car the next morning. Personally, he wasn't the type to drive cars and still preferred motorbikes (his blue one to be more precise; it was the only bike that lasted so long with him and he was quite fond of it) over the bulky and large machines. He had picked a platinum gray sports car (because it was the only one that looked decent amongst the selection he was provided by the company and he wanted something fast and something low to the ground). While some of his colleagues whistled at the pictures of the new sport scar that was delivered to the company's private garage in the suburbs, he was completely appalled by its sight. He didn't even want to think of parking spaces or the amount of petrol the car would be consuming. His bike was currently in a smaller garage (again owned by the company) for people like him who had to undergo several undercover assignments where their current life's preferences and habits were a big no-no.

The more he thought about the fact that he wouldn't be driving a motorbike for heavens know how long, the more Kakashi sighed with irritation. The elevator door slid open and he was glad to step out of the little box (the stupid elevator music was starting to really, really piss him off), digging his hand in to one of the side pockets of his black business suit jacket that he wore over dark maroon untucked dress shirt and a pair of low riding jeans. As he jingled for the new key in his key ring, Kakashi hoped that the company had it in their right mind to actually bless him with a bathtub as well. He knew that the person handling the accounts department wasn't very fond of him ever since he punched the guy's nose when he was sixteen and always made sure that his accommodations during his undercover assignments had one single flaw (like the lack of a bathtub or say, a cooking stove) just to smite him.

He really, really hoped that there was a bathtub. The more he thought about soaking as he turned the lock of his apartment door, the more he relished on the idea of getting drunk and missing tomorrow's appointments.

Grumbling under his breath, Kakashi pushed the door open and felt for the light switch on the wall. The room flooded with light as soon as the click sounded off and he was greeted by several popping noises and flying confetti, a few helium filled balloons and two of his colleagues blowing party-flutes in front of his face. Bits and pieces of the confetti landed on his hair just as some of the balloons started hovering lazily against the ceiling. Down the hall and in to the wide living room, Kakashi saw a poorly made yellow banner with green paint that said, 'Welcome To Your Temporary New Home, Kakashi'. The more he stared at the banner, the more he wondered if the small odd shapes in the corners were either lizards or daisies (in a very ugly shade of orange too). He also started wondering if those were indeed potato chips or potato skins sitting in a bowl on his living room's center table along with a smaller bowl of what looked like green goop (he was trying to convince himself that it was yoghurt dip for the chips-skins thing). The poor choice of confetti colors along with the balloons was a horrible contrast to his apartment's white walls and dark blue-gray marble floors.

"You people really shouldn't have." He said quietly, glancing at the faces of the people he knew for years.

Genma blew the party-flute again, the rolling paper hitting his pale cheek. "Well, you didn't think we'd leave you alone to wallow in this boring house the first day did you? Let me toss that in to the room."

The weight of the duffel bag disappeared from his shoulders along with Genma who rounded the corner to dispose of the bag. A heavy hairy arm replaced the weight on his shoulder and Kakashi was greeted with the smell of cigarettes and aftershave and a grinning face framed by a dirty beard. "Genma sent me pictures of the car. It's a sexy piece of thing."

Kakashi blinked. "My bike is a sexy piece of thing."

Asuma threw his head back and laughed. "You never change. Oi, Tenzou! Start pouring the drinks! This guy needs to loosen up!" Tenzou - who released the balloons to the ceiling earlier - grinned and made a small salute towards Kakashi. Kakashi couldn't help but somehow twitch an odd smile at the sight of the young man lugging around a large cooler filled with different kinds of beer. "My wife made pasta and the cake." Asuma grinned some more before dragging Kakashi towards the living room and pushing him down the couch where the said pasta dish and cake (along with the potato skins - Kakashi was pretty sure of it by now - and the green goop).

"How's the kid, Asuma?"

"Oh he's fine. Growing up so fast! Look here, look here!" Asuma pulled a picture of his son from his wallet and shoved it up Kakashi's nose in his excitement. "Isn't he gorgeous?"

It was a very chubby baby with cherub-like cheeks and a tuft of dark hair on its otherwise rather bald-ish head. "Uh, yeah grown up. In good health too." Genma reappeared in the room with a stack of paper plates with Raidou in tow with a small bucket of ice. "Gimme' some pasta, Genma."

The night pretty much went on with them getting full on Asuma's wife (Kurenai's) pasta and cake (the potato thing were actually potato skins - Kakashi's guess was right - and yoghurt dip dyed green courtesy of Gai who couldn't stay for the party because he was called in for an emergency meeting) and later on getting drunk on beer and some of the wine that Tenzou brought with him from his most recent business trip in the Earth City. Kakashi watched with amusement - and familiarity - at how Genma started singing off tuned with Asuma as his backup and Tenzou snoozing on the floor with Asuma's shoes as his pillow. Raidou was quiet as always, staring at the window and taking large gulps of his beer every few minutes or so.

It was past midnight when Genma and Asuma finally keeled over the couch and slumped on the floor amidst the litter of their own empty beer cans and paper cups dead to the world, their snores joining Tenzou's soft ones. Kakashi started laughing till his sides ached and tears trickled down both his eyes at the hilarity of it all. A drunk and passed out Asuma and Genma (and an alcohol-induced sleep Tenzou) never failed to kill his brain and lungs.

"You know, it's not that funny." Raidou mumbled, setting his can down and arranging Tenzou's head on one of the throw pillows while he nudged Asuma's shoes away with his foot. Kakashi rubbed at his eyes, feeling a bit woozy from the alcohol as he watched Raidou put a pillow under Asuma's head and then Genma's. It was the gentleness in Raidou's gesture when he lifted Genma's head off the ground that somehow brought a pang to Kakashi's chest (even when he knew he was dead drunk).

"Did you tell him?"

"Tell who what exactly?" Raidou asked, playing stupid.

Kakashi frowned. He knew that Raidou's heart crumbled bit by bit just by watching Genma fool around with lots of people (men and women alike) for it showed on the tired looking scarred face. Raidou was the older brother he never had (they were all brothers in some twisted way - Tenzou being the youngest of the lot) and just like anyone in a family would, Kakashi somewhat worried over Raidou's mental health. He never saw the guy date anyone let alone try to move on past his secret-crush-love-thing for Genma. The two friends argued more than a cat would with a dog (or vice versa).

"This has been going on for eight years, Raidou. When are you going to tell this oaf what you really think about him?" Kakashi sighed, scratching an itchy spot in his scalp and somehow through his alcohol induced stupor and sudden seriousness, he wondered if he was getting dandruff.

"When the time is right, Kakashi. He's still hung up from what happened to Hayate." Raidou answered in a low almost pained voice as he picked up a new beer can from the cooler and took a large swig from it.

"You and I know perfectly well that there was nothing between Genma and Hayate. Hayate was a trainee under Genma's command."

"And that his death was due to a leak in our network. Yes, I know, Kakashi, I know."

"You're pathetic." Kakashi grumbled, feeling his temper rise.

"And you're not?" Raidou fired back.

Kakashi reached up towards the back of his head and started pulling at his hair, a habit he recently developed when the animalistic anger reared its head back and howled inside him; the pain in his scalp gave him something else to focus on instead of the anger itself. "I just don't see why you keep stalling when you've got chances right in front of you."

"This isn't about me." Raidou said, after a moment of silence, truth and realization dawning in his eyes.

Kakashi stiffened, knowing that he said too much. Alcohol did wonders to the emotional side of his brain; it allowed the normally suppressed emotions to flow free and Kakashi had no control over it (although he had control over it when he was sober and for someone as emotionally broken as he, that was saying something). "It's Genma-related. It is about you."

Raidou set his beer can down and looked at Kakashi steadily. "Why did you accept this assignment?"

"What assignment?" Kakashi played stupid.

He didn't want to talk or even remember why he accepted the post of being the new teacher for the apprenticeship-program that was being sponsored by Konoha High School in co-operation with Uzumaki Corps. It was basically a strategic teaching program to selected students (who were to be grouped in to three) and assigned two instructors; one was the classroom instructor (or C.I - because classes were held indoors) in which they'd be teaching politics, formal speech, telephone conversation practice with clients, lettering and basically all sorts of filing and office-type of paperwork that was a standard in all working fields of the globe. The second instructor, called team instructor (or T.I) was to handle all practical works, including city routes and touring techniques, meeting and studying progress in other firms and companies, self defense, the various arts of striking deals and bargains and basically how to handle clients outside the office. Some people dubbed it the dirty work; Kakashi called it reality.

The only thing different in his assignment was that he wasn't just a normal T.I; he was going to be a bodyguard to the heir of the company as well.

Raidou wasn't convinced and pressed on without pity or consideration. "It's been almost a year, Kakashi. Why are you even bothering?"

"There was no one else." Kakashi shrugged, averting his eyes towards the window and tapping his thumb against the beer can he was holding. "Tenzou was busy with another assignment."

"Stop making excuses, Kakashi."

"Oh what do you want to hear me say?" Kakashi said quietly, the temper in him rising and fuming like a wild and hungry beast. He watched as Raidou blinked in surprise at the horribly twisted expression he had on his face. Despite his quiet and flat tone, his eyes glowed with the intensity of hell's fire, the enraging animal within him banging against the bars of the cage that is the remnants of his control and restraint over his emotions. "That this is all about getting closer to him? He filed a restraining order on me. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

"I warned you from the beginning, Kakashi. A year ago, when we were assigned the assignment of assessing Iruka to see if he was indeed fit to be given the position of C.I for this year's batch and to make sure he didn't have anything funny planned for the heir considering his history, I fucking warned you against your tactics! But you and Genma wouldn't listen!"

"Hey -"

"Let's do something fun, he said. And you agreed! Treat him like trash and then court him and make him fall in love with you in three months. Congratulations! You managed to pull that off along with a messy break up, painful betrayal and getting two other people involved and hurt in the whole mess. Not to mention the expenses. Tell me, Kakashi, how does it feel to have your fucking oh so good plan backfire on you and your fucking cold heart ripped out of your chest? Does it hurt?"

The can in Kakashi's hand made a resounding clank against the wall behind Raidou's head before landing on the marble floor with a louder clatter. Kakashi felt his chest heave and ache from the blows of Raidou's verbal assault. His heart felt like red hot iron coils were squeezing it.

"What would you know about anything?" Kakashi hissed, glaring with an intensity that made his red eye flash dangerously.

"And you call me pathetic?" Raidou said bitterly and with disgust. "I don't fall for my mission subjects and I don't hurt them either, unless I'm told to."

"You dare accuse me of things you've never felt or been through?" Kakashi asked hotly. "You're afraid of a dead man that didn't even mean anything other than perhaps a younger brother who Genma liked to tease constantly. You've never even tried and it's pissing me off because he's fucking in front of you and you're doing nothing!" Kakashi spat, turning his head away. "At least you don't have a restraining order. At least you'd get a chance to apologize if something went wrong, or to even beg on your knees if it comes to that." It wasn't his habit to whine or lose his temper so quickly, but around Raidou, it was as if it was normal.

Kakashi thought of the restraining order from the higher courts tucked in a manila envelope in one of the boxes that were brought in earlier by the moving trucks. He remembered the shock he went through upon seeing the court order and how his chest constricted so tight that he couldn't breathe. The amount of hatred radiated from the single folder containing simple and formal words from the court was choking. It was all he needed to see and know at how Iruka will never forgive him nor does he own that small place that he managed to earn somewhat in Iruka's heart in the middle of what should have been his assignment.

"You didn't answer my question. Why did you accept this assignment? Anyone could have been T.I and bodyguard. It didn't have to be you." Raidou asked again after a long moment of silence, voice soft and seeking for a way to understand.

Kakashi thought about it deeply. He thought about the young boy who showed great potential to be the best Head of Uzumaki Corps has seen in ages, better than his father (the fourth). He thought of how the Fourth quite literally raised him as his own son when his father fell to his death after a political assignment gone wrong. He remembered the pancakes and the orange kitchen, the smell of home and the comforts of the Fourth's own library, his teaching voice and his unending patience with a shock ridden, quiet and socially challenged skinny little brat that was the only son to Hatake Sakumo. He also remembered the joyous expression of his teacher and mentor (and almost father) when he broke the news to Kakashi that he was going to be a father soon and that he wanted Kakashi to be there for the baby too.

Amidst all the hidden memories of his deceased mentor, somewhere along the middle, he saw the grown up baby and the man that was meant to mean nothing to him eating ramen together under the comforts and shade of a rickety old stand near the school, laughing and acting like a real family. He knew he had no place in the boy's life and probably never will even if he was willing to teach him everything he knew in thanks to his father; he also knew that he had no place in the boy's new C.I either.

"I'm doing it for Naruto." Kakashi said, determined and sure of himself. "I can only repay his father by passing on everything I know and can to his son and push him to be the leader he was meant to be. And to protect him."

Raidou looked at Kakashi with pity and remained silent, not asking further questions. Kakashi didn't blame him.

His own words sounded like a big fat lie to his own ears anyway.

XXX

Kakashi woke up with the headache from hell. The moment he turned from his sheetless bed (the plastic of the new mattress was rather irritating to his ears and back), he came face to face with a goopy looking brown liquid in a large glass. He groaned, knowing that it was one of Tenzou's drinks to cure hangovers. The guy pretty much wouldn't tell anyone what he put in the horrible smelling shit-tasting brown drink but it was magical. Tenzou was just weird when it comes to herbal and old-fashioned remedies (Kakashi was guessing because of his love and affinity towards plants).

Sitting up from the bed, Kakashi groaned and grabbed the glass off the side table. He chugged down the drink without stopping, cursing loudly once the glass was empty and dizziness shot up his head. He fell back against the plastic covered mattress and shut his eyes for a few minutes before he even bothered to think of standing up, let alone speak. It was a full ten minutes before he attempted to stand and putter back in to the living room (which was now clear of all the empty beer cans, plastic cups, empty plates and wine bottles) to find Tenzou talking on the phone while leafing through a thick folder, Raidou speaking to a bunch of engineers while Genma gave directions to workers coming in and out of the apartment with monitors, sound and surveillance equipment along several rolls of electrical cables of varying kinds. Asuma was nowhere to be found amidst all the chaos and busy looking home-turned-workstation.

Kakashi remembered somewhere in his mission briefing that not only will he be keeping an eye on Naruto but he was going to have to keep an eye on Iruka as well. The company did not trust the man who seemingly had a hand in the heir's attempted assassination and simply wanted to ensure that Naruto's full protection was top notch; he was the priority above all other priorities after all.

His apartment was like a busy beehive and the chatter, footsteps, hammering and drilling was starting to get to his head. He was hoping that by the morning he could finally get to unpack but seeing the scene around him, Kakashi figured that it probably wouldn't be good for his health (and to those around him) to linger in such a noisy and busy place especially when he just 'recovered' from a hangover. He stepped aside when a man walked past him with two boxes of flat screen monitors on top of his head. Raidou caught sight of him glaring at everything and anything and approached him.

"Whatever you have planned for today in this house, cancel it." Raidou said quietly, pulling out the large folder he had tucked under his arm. "And these just came in. Details for your assignment."

Kakashi glanced down at the sealed brown envelope with his name printed in the middle. He took the envelope and found himself sighing quietly. "I'm going to step out and run a few errands. I have to go pick up my car."

Raidou nodded. "Leave all this to us. And you reek of beer and crap."

Kakashi smirked and turned towards the room he just came out of. Raidou, Genma and Tenzou were all assigned under him as backup. The only difference this time was that Gai wasn't with him on this assignment since he was an appointed T.I as well (but would be available if he needed an extra hand anytime and vice versa - he and Gai were 'friends' and had a mutual 'understanding' that way).

The first thing he did was to get rid of the smell of alcohol on him and he was grateful that his room had a connecting bathroom (so he didn't have to wander back and forth his room and the smaller bathroom outside in the hall). He took longer than he should have with his shower and came out dripping wet and cold, leaving water-foot-prints on the marble floor. The room was to himself so he walked around in nothing but his skin and started sifting through his unpacked bag on the ground, looking for a pair of clean denim and a button down dress shirt to go with it. As he looked through the contents of his bag, he warily eyed the several brand new dress shirts folded on top of the other with their tags still on them; he thought of how much a headache the assignment was going to be.

Unlike his previous assignment at the university where he got to dress casually as much as he liked (and preferred), this new assignment required him to be rather 'dressy'. He placed several suit orders at the place he got his clothing from (most ANBUs get their stuff from the 'Joint' - he reminded himself that he was going to have to go pick them up later) and was not looking forward in to walking around all day with a shirt and tie. He would rather wear denim and a shirt with a tie to go with it since he felt hindered in slacks and felt silly fighting in them.

Pulling on his jeans and leaving it unbuttoned, he grabbed the comb and started running it through his unevenly cut hair (he cuts it himself), trying to remember the list of things he had to do for the day other than to pick up his car. He thought about his dogs who were in a private pound waiting for him and thought that he can probably drop by and check on them later in the evening with a few snacks to pamper them with before shipping them all off to their new home. Pulling on one of the dress shirts he took out earlier, he stuffed his pockets with his wallet and keys, checked his appearance once more and picked up the folded bandana on his dresser, tying it around his head and pulling it over his scarred eye. He was ruffling his hair up a bit, wanting to look as casual as he can while he stepped out of his room with the folder tucked under his arm only to come face to face with Tenzou who was rewiring something within the small drill machine in his hand, screws held between his lips.

Kakashi didn't even bother wondering why Tenzou was messing around with the drill. He walked out of his jungle of an 'apartment' and in to the quieter and empty corridor. He looked back at the open doorway to his apartment and listened to the heavy footsteps and ruckus emitting from within. He knew that getting his surveillance equipment set up was going to take a lot of time and he knew he wasn't going to get much sleep.

Kakashi sighed and pressed the call button of the elevator a little too harshly than he normally would. It was going to be a long tiring day.

XXX

The bus ride to the private garage in the city suburbs did nothing to elevate the remnants of Kakashi's hangover. It anything, Kakashi felt that the mixture Tenzou left on his nightstand was starting to wear out. By the time his bus reached the stop, he was starting to feel Kurenai's pasta wanting to pop out of his throat. He tried to suppress his suddenly overactive imagination that the beer in his gut was fermenting (again) and that he was going to be blowing out toxic fumes (along with Kurenai's pasta of course) if the flipping sensation in his gut refused to settle down.

Judging by how lady luck was on his side, his stomach flipped even more and he barely avoided tripping on the stone step that lead to what looked more like a hangar rather than an automobile garage. Kakashi was not surprised to find a few private jets lined up within his viewing range along with several handsome looking motorbikes.

"Fuckin' lucky assholes." He grumbled, visible eye lingering on one of the shiny red bikes with chrome rims that was just screaming 'I'm a bloody fortune, ha!' at anyone who even laid eyes on it.

Turning his head before he actually did bother to walk (there was slight sway - very slight - in his step) over towards the bike and manage to get some of his vomit in that expensive leather chair and paint job, Kakashi grumbled as he made his way towards the small office the far corner of the garage. Several guards were positioned in various places, armed with a rifle and keeping an eye out on the place (even though they looked like they were ready to keel over and fall asleep). Kakashi nodded to one of them as he passed by the young looking guard before stepping in to the office.

There sat a stubby man smoking a cigar with a face that Kakashi could only describe as stupid. The man was bald, save for the thin patch of light hair at the back of his skull that he smartly combed upwards so that he had some hair on top of his shiny bald head. He had eyes far too big for a face so round and small accompanied by a pair of eyebrows that was quite close to what Gai donned and a nose that reminded Kakashi of a horse's nostrils. The mustache didn't do much improvement either; Kakashi tilted his head to one side and was tempted to pull his makeshift eye patch up to make sure that it wasn't a festival mask. The stupid face remained a stupid face.

"Yar' the man who wants that silver baby, yes?"

Kakashi nearly - nearly - winced at the squeaky chipmunk like voice. It somehow managed to increase his headache ten fold and the smell of the cheap cigar (which Kakashi suspiciously thought looked like chunk off a wooden log) was not helping his current situation of hurling Kurenai's food.

"Yes. I won't take much of your time." Kakashi managed to say and blinked when the man hopped off his chair and headed for the door. It was only then did Kakashi catch sight of the large scar running over the flabby neck; he figured the scar was the cause of the man's squeaky voice.

"I'll take you there myself. Company called. Said you'd be late."

Kakashi rolled his eye even as he passed by the guard (who started to snigger) at the man's words. For the life of him, he couldn't remember what the short man's name was but he did remember that it was something really dumb. He couldn't be bothered to flip open the folder he had tucked under his arm to check. The man didn't need his name and vice versa. He was going to get the goddamn car and find a deserted cafe to wallow over the thick folder and pray that he doesn't puke. He could care less as to what may happen to the car; he just didn't want to get that disgusting aftertaste once he got rid of all the acid bubbling in his stomach.

They crossed the garage and entered another door that lead to another division of the apparently very big garage (for one, he didn't think it was that big). The short man signaled two guards to open the main doors and a few steps later, Kakashi found himself staring at impressive piece machine with black leather upholstery and a sound system to die for. Kakashi gave the car one long look before coming to a conclusion.

It was a fucking useless piece of junk that was going to kill his wallet; he wanted his bike back. Preferably at that very instant.

"That's it?"

"That's it?" The short man wheezed, eyes widening to the point that it reminded Kakashi of a dinner plate. "This, my good sir, is one of the fifty cars ever made, world wide."

"Whatever." Kakashi grumbled, pulling his key out and pressing the unlock button. The driver's door gave a popping noise and Kakashi walked over to it and stared at the tinted glass. He lifted the door over head, tossed the folder carelessly inside (which made the poor short man wheeze even more with disbelief at the maltreatment and lack of affection towards the leather upholstery) before he placed a foot in. "Thanks."

Kakashi slid in without another word, or listening to anything the short man had to say, started the car and recklessly stepped on the gas pedal after releasing the hand break and shifting gears. The car jolted forward, leaving a trail of rubber marks on the ground and deafening screech in its wake.

It didn't take more than a single sharp turn for Kakashi to start swearing to everything holy and great over the piece of shit he got as a replacement for his bike. It didn't stop him from cursing the Head of the company and for his own stupidity for agreeing to the mission in the first place. Driving at over a hundred sixty kilometers an hour, Kakashi headed further in to the suburbs till he found a small diner. He hit the breaks without thinking causing the car to swerve a bit at the sudden stop, shifted the gears on reverse and parked right on top of the sidewalk.

He got out of the car, glared at the silver paintjob and slammed the door with more force than necessary. He made his way to the diner and pulled out a few bills from his wallet.

"Uh, sir, your car, that's not really -"

"Biggest cup of coffee you have. And the strongest. Six spoons of sugar, no cream." Kakashi grumbled, clearly in a very, very sour mood.

Whatever words the cashier had in his throat died the moment Kakashi looked at him straight in to the eye with the money nearly up the poor young man's nose. Kakashi was quite impressed with the cafe because his coffee came exactly three minutes later, with an extra brownie to go with it. He mumbled his thanks, took his coffee and free brownie and left the diner without another back glance.

Surprisingly, his drive towards a 'quiet place' took another two hours before he stopped in a deserted mountain region overlooking the city. He switched off the car, pushed the door open and downed his coffee without stopping. He didn't touch the brownie and left it sitting on the passenger seat on top of the folder that he was supposed to be reading. He couldn't give a damn about work at the moment and didn't want to do anything other than just sit there with the wind his face and enjoy the peace and quiet that never seem to come towards him anymore in the past few months.

How long he stayed there, he wasn't sure, but the queasy feeling in his stomach was somewhat calmer and when he finally took a good look around him, the sun was already starting to vanish from the horizon, tainting his surroundings in light purple. He completely forgot about his dogs and fiddled with his cell phone as he pulled out of his parking spot and started making his way towards the city again. He will have to read the data before he went to sleep that night, after a nice shower, some food and maybe a pillow under his head.

As he drove at a fairly fast speed, he made several phone calls and re-planning all the appointments he made that day for the next day instead, including the pickup arrangements for his dogs. Somewhere in the middle of his phone conversation with the dog pound, his conversation was interrupted by Raidou's call-waiting.

"Uh, yeah, I'll come drop by tomorrow. Yes definitely, I need to get them home anyway. Yes, thank you and I'm sorry for the trouble. Really. All right, thanks." Kakashi glared at his phone, keeping a firm grip on the wheel and pressed the accept call on Raidou's insistent ringing to the point that his thumb ached. "What?"

"Where in god's name are you?" Raidou hissed venomously from the other side of the line.

"I am in the middle of a fucking freeway. What do you want?"

There was a dawning silence from the other end of the line before Raidou spoke. "Please tell me that you managed to pick one of your formal wear today?"

It sounded almost like a plea to Kakashi's ears. "No. I forgot."

"You were supposed to be here two hours ago! It's the meeting orientation party and the Head is furious! In case you forgot, wise ass, you are an important guest here! I made sure that tonight's formal party was highlighted in your timetable! Are you even listening to me?"

Kakashi stepped on the pedal, increasing his speed that it was almost touching the end of the speedometer, ignoring all the road radars on the way to the city. "I don't have a suit. I don't think I -"

"Just get your crack ass over here! I'll head back and pick up one of your suits or tux, whichever I can get to first. I just hope you didn't puke when you left this morning. She's already chewing my ass and Genma is already running out of excuses in covering up for you!"

"Fine." Kakashi ended the call and somehow managed to dodge all the road patrol officers by flashing his identification card. He stole a glance at the timetable that was indeed inside folder and glanced at the address. It was in the middle of town, in the busiest area where all the posh hotels, casinos and restaurants were located. Kakashi hated that area with a passion.

It took another hour before he finally tossed his keys to the valet parking and found Raidou teetering outside the main entrance of the hotel, suit-bag folded over an arm, shoe bag in another hand, pacing the entrance back and forth. Kakashi managed to keep all the contents of his stomach intact the whole journey and he'll be damned if his stomach acted up now. He was starting to wonder if there was a particular ingredient in any of the food he ate the other night that just did not sit well with beer. His headache was already more than he can manage and to top it off with an entire evening of socializing and information gathering, Kakashi doubted he could stay on his toes for that long.

Raidou stopped mid pace as his whipped around before he latched a firm grip on Kakashi's arm and jerked him in to the hotel, across the lobby and in to the men's room in the far corner just beyond the elevators. "You are the biggest moron I have ever come across in my entire life! What were you thinking?"

Kakashi caught the suit-bag being shoved at his chest and shrugged. "I lost track of time."

"Change!"

Kakashi sighed and entered one of the cubicles and started peeling off his clothes and kicking off his shoes. He unzipped the suit-bag and frowned. "A tux?"

"Don't complain. It was the first in the bulk of clothes you ordered that I grabbed." Raidou grumbled.

Kakashi bit back a curse and pulled on the silk shirt along with the black wool pants. He was secretly grateful that Raidou didn't forget to ask for a belt. He came out of the cubicle half dressed, handed Raidou his previously worn clothes and started fussing over the black silk tie. While he tied the proper tie knot to go well with the look of the tux, Kakashi stole a glance at Raidou's attire.

The elder man was also wearing a black tux, matched with a burgundy contemporary tie and full-back vest, red-stone cufflinks and a pair of shoes that Kakashi knew the company insisted Raidou wear (it looked imported and Kakashi knew just how much Raidou hated those slightly pointy toed leather shoes). Kakashi wasn't surprised to find his own black leather shoes pointy toed as well. The designers at the Joint were given strict orders to make sure that everyone assigned missions that involved dressing formally or semi-formally was dressed properly and to pointedly ignore complaints that came their way. Kakashi long ago gave up putting up a fight against the designers of the Joint because it was a losing battle. Besides, it wasn't like the designers themselves ever let any of the ANBUs down - Kakashi always received compliments on his dress attire whenever there was a function. Eyeing Raidou then, he'd say they did a pretty good job. Raidou looked dashingly handsome (even the scar on his face looked handsome).

"You look good." Kakashi mumbled, tugging at his tie and fixing the collar folds over it before pulling out the platinum vest out of the suit-bag. He didn't really like the backless vest but he pulled it on anyway and caught a glance of Raidou prodding at his gelled hair, cheeks flushed at the compliment. "What's Genma wearing?"

"Tux. Pin striped vest. Black." Raidou answered, placing Kakashi's folded clothes in the suit bag.

"He looking any good?"

Raidou busied himself placing Kakashi previous shoes in to the shoe bag. "Yeah."

Kakashi nearly felt sorry for Raidou at how quietly and shyly he answered the question. He didn't say anything further and instead hurriedly pulled on his leather shoes and started fussing over his messy hair. He took the pocket comb Raidou handed him and got rid of the makeshift eye patch, tossing it in to the open suit bag Raidou held and strategically covered his scarred eye; after all, not everyone was comfy with staring at a person with mismatched eyes, especially if one of them was as red as a ruby. Raidou helped him adjust the beveled black onyx cufflinks and studs before tossing Kakashi a bottle of cologne he pulled out of his pocket.

"What are you, a store?"

"I just bought that bottle a few minutes ago. You owe me sixty-thousand ryos by the way. It was on sale and discount." Raidou grumbled.

Kakashi stared at the bottle's label and noted that it was his favorite scent. He sprayed a good amount on himself before handing the bottle back to Raidou and pulling on his black wool tux jacket, buttoned up and inhaled deeply. He was as good as ready judging from how decent he looked in the mirror. "Maa, this is better than nothing I guess." Kakashi faced Raidou and pulled his arms slightly apart. "How do I look?"

Raidou smiled at him, giving a short nod. "You look good."

Kakashi managed to smile and clear his throat, his neck heating up at the sincerity of the answer (and compliment) as he followed Raidou out of the men's room. Raidou sweet talked his way to the receptionist of the hotel's lobby and managed to leave the suit and shoe bag with her till the party was over. They all but ran towards the main party hall of the hotel, where classical music was emanating behind the thick oak swinging doors. The attendees pulled the door open for them once they straightened and calmed their breathing down (running down halls was not a very smart thing to do).

"You did read the folder right? You know who you're supposed to be studying right?" Raidou asked, as the doors were pulled open and the party hall greeted them. It was all crystal, glamorous jewelry, fancy dresses and designer suits and tuxedos. At the far corner, a sonata was being played, the conductor standing on a higher platform and guiding his talented musicians. Waiters walked around with silver trays in matching black backless blazers, pants, silk shirts and ties, serving champagne and red wine to anyone who cared for a drink. Light snacks went around before the main course was served and Kakashi could see how much the women and men of high statures and business standings laughed and enjoyed the rather sparkling atmosphere; Kakashi blamed the golden marble floors, carved ceiling and shimmering chandelier glittering above them.

They stepped inside, walking and giving polite nods and greetings to whoever recognized them. Kakashi managed to school his oh-shit expression in to a neutral and business man expression instead while continuing to walk alongside Raidou. "Not really."

Raidou nearly frizzled like an angry cat at Kakashi's reply. "You are so going to regret this later. I'll make sure of that myself."

Kakashi grinned and leered playfully at his friend; it was a bold statement and Kakashi knew very well that Raidou seldom spoke in such a manner unless his feathers were really, really ruffled and plucked. "Oho. What, you're going to rape me?" Kakashi singsonged. Raidou was about to fire an irritated reply, cheeks flushing at what he knew was horrible and wrong choice of words when Kakashi started laughing and walked right in to another person at the party. Kakashi sobered up instantly, habit and years of practice kicking in at that very moment. His face quickly changed to an apologetic one, while his aura still emanating a business-man like attitude. The poor sod who he walked in to was picking up the napkin he dropped on the ground, clad in a formal black tuxedo as well. "I'm terribly sorry. My bad, are you all right?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine thanks. Pardon me, I myself wasn't looking. Are you -"

Kakashi felt more than saw Raidou stiffen beside him and he realized why. The man speaking to him, clad in a smart black tux and navy blue silk vest and tie was already staring at him with a pale and pallid expression that he looked almost sick. Kakashi could hear the sudden loud rush of water in his ears, as all semblance of control drained from his face, his expression falling. For a brief moment, Kakashi thought that his heart grew out fists and was starting to bang at his ribcage insistently to leap out in to that man's slightly trembling hands.

He remembered parting his lips to say his name, to yell at him as to why his hair was so short and to apologize to him then and there. His senses cleared and there was an almost audible mental snap of reality in his mind when a soft voice, almost like silver bells, interrupted the silence.

"Ara, Iruka-kun." A petite lady said, hand curling over Iruka's tanned one and eyeing both Kakashi and Raidou with curiosity and a polite smile on her cute heart-shaped face. "Are they acquaintances of yours?"

If Kakashi was pale earlier, then he resembled a walking corpse just about then.

TBC

Notes and Credits:

- Kakashi's car would be something too fancy like a Lamborghini or something.

- Suit descriptions taken from the many online stores I browsed through. Kakashi outfit in particular was a tuxedo I saw under Calvin Klein's design.

- Yoghurt and chips are yummy.

Uh, I finally got back on my ass and started writing again. I doubt I'd be updating every four days or so like what I first did with Roommate but I promise to try and update as fast as I can (at least once a week).

Anyways, uh, as always, I'd like to know what you think.