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Kakashi was called to the Hokage's office, where he was assigned an important mission. A royal family from a chain of islands off the coast is coming to create a working contract. It is important, if this goes well, Konoha will have supplies of not only food but various shinobi weapons, sea path, and medical herbs. This needs to be done. Kakashi's job will be to be the prince's guide and bodyguard for the duration of his stay.
Kakashi is expecting a snobbish boy, like the other prince he had to guard in the past. But when he met at the gate, there were only three people, two in white shinobi gear, the middle guy, maybe a couple of years younger than Kakashi was wearing pacific style clothing, a fur coat on his shoulder. his hair held high in a ponytail, skin dark with a thin scar line over his nose.
His eyes were wide as he looked around with wonder and incredible. He saw something behind Kakashi and gasped and was about to sidestep Kakashi to check it out but was stopped by his guard in quick gestures. The two guards grabbed the prince by the arm and lifted him up off the ground so that he wouldn’t disappear again.
Huh...he wasn’t wearing any shoes.
“Iruka-sama,” The woman guard hiss at the prince, “You are here for diplomatic relations, not a vacation. Behave.”
The prince segue.
“Not even a little visit? We're going to be here for a while,” The prince whined.
Kakashi's prediction was coming true. This was going to be difficult.
“I am terribly sorry, shinobi-san. He will be on his best behaviour.”
“Eh, welcome, prince, to Konohagakure,”
The prince turned his gaze at Kakashi and stared at him. Kakashi felt his chakra ping. Kakashi narrowed his eyes and pushed the intruder away. Kakashi looked at the two guards holding the prince, wondering who did this.
“Iruka, please call me Iruka.” The prince said with a smile. The guards let out a breath they were holding and placed him back on the ground. Why was he not wearing shoes?
“Ah, well Iruka-sama, you can call me Kakashi.”
“Are you going to be our guide for this mission?” The prince - Iruka - sweetly asked. He winced and glared at the women guard that just pinched him. She hissed some foreign words at him again.
“Yes, If you would follow me, I can show you where you will be staying and see the Hokage for a bit.”
“Fantastic,” Iruka said dryly with a tight smile, he waved for Kakashi to start moving. Kakashi looked at the prince before turning to show them on the road of the busy town.
Iruka walked to Kakashi's side, leaving the guards behind them.
“What type of food does Konoha sell around here?” Iruka asked, looking at the shops as they passed, smiling at some of the kids playing.
Kakashi was out of his debt. He gave the list of restaurants they have to the prince in a monotone.
The prince hummed.
They passed the academy on the way to the Hokage office, there was some practice outside and kids playing and yelling. Iruka stopped in his way to look at the class. He hummed.
“Your highness?” Kakashi asked when he noticed he wasn’t being followed.
“Iruka-sama?” The lady guard asked, placing a hand on his arm. Iruka jumped in surprise.
“Sorry, “ Iruka looked sheepish before following Kakashi again, looking over his shoulder once more, sighing, shaking his head and continuing on.
The prince behaved, well, he was polite but intensely curious. One time was caught in the aftermath of one of Naruto’s pranks and he burst out laughing.
Kakashi saw one of his guards saying ‘oh boy’ before rubbing their forehead.
Iruka liked Naruto and would tell him various prank stories and told Naruto to study hard, to eat well (and balance diet) to be a great shinobi so that he could request him to come to the islands for a visit someday.
Iruka was kidnapped once. His guard being ambushed and just picking up Iruka before binding his hand behind his back. Carrying over the shoulder for a while until Kakashi caught them.
“Let go of your weapon Hatake, or he dies.” The missing-nin said a kunai at Iruka’s throat.
“How dare you, I am a prince.” The missing-nins laugh at Iruka, Iruka frowned and looks intensely at Kakashi.
“I have a feeling that we have a different perspective of what Prince means,” Iruka said before knocking his head back, hitting the missing-nin, dropping and doing a road kick. Unlocking his bound hand and using the rope to wrap around the other missing-nin arm and pull them on the ground, grabbing the kunai that flew in the air and throwing it in the last missing-nin throat.
Kakashi slowly dropped his offensive stand the more he looked at Iruka’s fight.
Iruka pat his civic clothes and sidestepped the knockout missing-nin to reach Kakashi. He smiled sweetly at him. Kakashi felt his heartbeat flutter like butterfly wings. That was the most beautiful display of deadly pretty skills. And he was STILL not wearing shoes. But at least he finally had a shirt on. Kakashi doesn’t think he would survive if Iruka-sama had been fighting with only the fur around his shoulder. (Kakashi could feel his face burning and turn red at just the THOUGHT of it. Kami-sama give him strength)
“I could go for Ramen, Naruto-kun told me of a great place in Konoha, could you show it to me?” Iruka asked. As if he didn’t just fight off missing-nins with no shoes on and give Kakashi a mid-life crisis at age 23.
ANBU came to a stop, back-up arriving 10 minutes late. Kakashi looked at his comrades with a baffled look.
“Yeah,” Kakashi breathed out, turning back to the Prince, “yeah, I can, if you will Iruka-sama,” Kakashi said, waving at Iruka to go first as he pocketed the kunai still in his hand.
“My pleasure,” Iruka purred, patting Kakashi’s chest as he passed before jumping up in the trees and shinobi out.
“Kakashi-senpai, isn’t that the prince? He’s a shinobi?”
“Yeah, yes he is Tenzo,” Kakashi said a goofy smile hidden by his mask. Before following the prince, he didn’t want to leave him alone for too long, with no idea what type of mischief the younger man could do alone.
(From his guard horror stories. A lot.)
He guides Iruka to the ramen stand and gets him to talk about the islands, his training as a Shinobi, sailing at the sea.
After the contract was over and everything was done, Iruka invited Kakashi to come to the island for some time to relax. He’ll show him how to really sail.
It's only a year after Kakashi saw Iruka again. Well, he wasn’t conscious the first time. He was at sea with Gai and a team for a mission and they got into a very terrible storm, they didn’t even have time to rest when they were attacked by pirates and then another storm hit. Kakashi was hit by poison and they needed to find an island to rest and heal quickly but the sea wasn’t giving.
They didn’t even see the other ship before they were invaded by more shinobi. Gai was holding Kakashi up when Kakashi got out of his bed wanting to help.
“Kakashi? STOP!” A voice rings over the sea.
“Iruka-sama, they are-”
“They are allies, leaf shinobi, drop your weapons, anchor the ship to ours, contact the medi-nin. NOW” Iruka ordered, shinobi in white armour swiftly moved like a blur.
Kakashi's vision was dropping. He saw Iruka, his hair down looking at him in concern, he heard his name being said over a fuzzy filter like he had cotton in his ears before everything tilted and the black around his vision edge finally surrounded him.
The next time he woke up, he could hear the sea waves, but he didn’t feel like they were on a boat, he wasn’t rocking anymore. His eyes were heavy, his whole body felt heavy. But he could feel the ache of a body healing so he was alive. He opened his eyes, he was on a bed in a small room, he could still hear the ocean wave hit the shore. He turned his head to see a window but he was too low, the only thing he could see was the sky turning red as the sun started to set.
He takes a moment to check his injuries, moving his toes, hands, leg and arm, moving the cover off. But this was the most he could do before his body felt heavy and tired again.
Something moved in the corner of his eye, he turned his head to see Iruka, hair down again. The young man rubbed his eyes like he was waking up too. Asleep on the chair next to Kakashi. Iruka felt someone watching him, turning his head to see Kakashi just softly watching him.
“Hey,” Kakashi let out softly, his eyes closing again. He was just...so tired.
“Hey yourself, welcome back. When I invited you to my home, I didn’t expect you coming in chakra debilitated and poisoned.”
“Team?”
“They are safe, your mission is safe too. I send an urgent bird to your Hokage. I am also really considering keeping Gai-sensei. So you might have to give me a better offer before I send you back.”
Kakashi let out a chuckle, wincing at his side pulling from the healing wound.
Iruka pulled the covers up, “Sleep, I will wake you up tomorrow for breakfast. I’m not letting you leave my island for a very long time.”
Iruka kept his word on that. He sends a boat with some of his shinobi with the rest of Kakashi’s team to safely go back to Konoha. Gai-sensei stayed on Kakashi’s side. When Kakashi had more strength. Iruka was gone back to his Princely duties, but Gai took the time to show the Island to Kakashi. It was bigger than Kakashi was considering, but still small enough that they can go from one end to the other in a day.
Kakashi learned that Iruka had some political duties on the Shinobi side of the islands, he was also a teacher for the next generation of shinobi. Kakashi learned really quickly the no-shoes reason. Too much sand getting in the sandals. It was uncomfortable, scratchy and very annoying.
Kakashi learns why people love Gai so much omg. Gai had followers, worse than Lee. Gai took upon himself to teach a few shinobi his Taijutsu move. Their self-defence was good, but compared to the Leaf? Compared to a master like Gai? The shinobi were in awe.
Kakashi saw so many boats, and even some shinobi just coming and going from the island.
He met more shinobi summons in one place than he ever saw in the war.
Seeing Iruka, feeding a baby future shinobi tiger summon. Kakashi took this moment in his memory forever.
When Kakashi was back on his feet, healthy enough to leave the island. Iruka himself and some shinobi (the lady bodyguard was one) were part of the group on the boat to escort them out.
“I wasn’t going to leave you on the sea like that again, don't know how it will spit you out.” Iruka teased Kakashi.
“Don’t worry Kakashi-san, with Iruka on board, the sea itself will part.”
“Don't listen to her, she is over exaggerating.”
A shinobi widely gestured behind the prince's back, mimicking the water parting in two. Kakashi eyebrow raised as he looked at the prince.
He learned pretty quickly that Iruka is the prince on the islands, that's for sure, but a King on the ocean. His shinobi were not kidding.