Doppelgänger (4/4)

Kakashi and Iruka finally caught up to one another at the front door of Kakashi's apartment. The copy-nin raised an eyebrow at the steaming bowls of ramen, but today had been too strange to bother with inane questions like 'how did you know to come here' or 'why did you bring food'? The answers weren't likely to clear anything up, so the effort would be wasted.

Once inside, they both toed off their sandals and stepped up onto the wooden entryway. There were lights on further inside, and they could both hear movement. Kakashi considered arming himself, but what was the point of attacking home intruders when one of them was yourself?

"Ojama shimasu," Iruka said politely as they stepped into the main room, and that was where they finally caught back up with their Tajuu Kage Bunshin clones.

The two were sitting together on the sagging couch. However, there was none of the extreme hostility form earlier in their posture. In fact, they seemed quite calm. Kakashi's doppelganger waved lazily. "Yo."

"Where have you been?" Kakashi demanded. "We've been all over the village."

Iruka zeroed in on Ichi. "Seriously, Ichi. The last I saw, you were running away from him."

Ichi scrunched down, wearing a chagrined expression. Its hand hesitated in the air for a long moment before signing, 'Caught me.'

"I see," Iruka said with clear skepticism. "And how exactly did that happen?"

Kakashi's clone answered by rattling a brightly colored box, which Ichi seized eagerly. It pulled out a long, thin biscuit and gnawed on the chocolate end.

"Really?" Iruka demanded, but Ichi just shrugged, fishing another piece of pocky out of the box as he did so.

It was almost funny. Kakashi said, "If I'd known it was that easy to get into your good graces, Sensei, I'd have started plying you with confections a lot earlier."

"Oh, shut up," Iruka said and headed toward the kitchen. "I'm the one who's always providing food. Do you at least have any decent tea?"

"Tonight seems like a night for alcohol," Kakashi said, and his double raised his fist in solidarity. Kakashi scowled. "None for you. It'll double the amount of alcohol, and we'll end up drunk when we get rid of you."

The clone's dark eye made a slow, sarcastic circuit. It seemed to be saying, 'Try and stop us,' or maybe, 'Isn't that the point?'

With a sigh, Kakashi resigned himself to tea.

The clones ate heartily, then abandoned their hosts to explore the house. Ichi snooped in corners and closets without discretion while 'Kakashi' followed at its heels. Probably just to be obnoxious, it picked up a Icha Icha novel and licked its lips. Ichi rolled its eyes.

Kakashi watched them, chopsticks poised in his hand. "I just don't get it."

Iruka snorted. "Don't you?" But before Kakashi could make some kind of answering remark, he propped his chin on his hand and said, "I think they've run through our entire acquaintance in one day. Although it's sad that apparently your only method for inviting someone to have dinner is to chase them down and kidnap them."

"I've been over to your place for dinner," Kakashi retorted.

"You've broken in for dinner, sure."

"Semantics," Kakashi said, but it wasn't, and they both knew it. Shinobi guarded their personal space like those frightening old stories about demons who could only enter when invited were true. Few people were permitted in their private spaces, and now that Kakashi thought about it, he realized that this was the first time Iruka had been here. An uncomfortable weight settled into his stomach. How had he overlooked that?

Iruka was still gazing toward the hallway. A piece of fabric was lying on the floor. "You've lost your mask again."

Kakashi shrugged. "What's the point?" If his clone was so set on being an exhibitionist, at least they were behind closed doors.

"So, are you satisfied with your experiment?" Iruka wondered. "I thought it was just me, but it seems obvious now that Ichi isn't unique. Your clone is just as – as –" He searched for a word to describe it.

"Insane? Willful? Insolent?"

"I was going to say 'transparent'."

Ah. Well, maybe that was the right word, because it was becoming clearer and clearer that the Kage Bunshin clones did reveal traits that their original usually kept hidden, either because they lacked the discipline or the inclination to keep those things concealed. It was like looking into a mirror that could see beneath the skin. It was raw. It was fascinating.

For a shinobi, it was incredibly dangerous.

"Why have we never heard of anything like this?" he wondered. "Forbidden or not, the Tajuu Kage Bunshin isn't extinct. Someone should have noted such a significant defect."

And it was a defect. Regular clones could be counted on to do as they were told with no emotional entanglements. The independence and – for lack of a better word – 'personality' of these doubles meant they could disobey. Kakashi's still tingling hand was proof enough of that.

"How would we have known?" Iruka asked. "It's not like we can officially reveal we know this technique."

"I've done research. There's nothing. Nothing like this, anyway."

"Do you think," Iruka trailed off, absently rubbing the scar over the bridge of his nose. "Do you think it's because we both learned it from Naruto? He's not the best student, and he only had the scroll for a few hours. Is it possible –"

"That he messed something up? Oh, yeah," Kakashi said. "Have you ever interacted with Naruto's clones?"

"Yes. They just acted like Naruto, but then –"

"Naruto always acts like Naruto," Kakashi finished.

Iruka grinned. "In some ways, he really is a terrible ninja."

Yes, in exactly the same number of ways he was an exceptional one. Kakashi got up and began clearing away the dishes. Meanwhile, Iruka wandered into the passageway that led to the living room, where the two clones had settled back on the couch. Kakashi's double looked up when he entered. If it had possessed a tail, it would have been wagging.

Iruka laughed. "What are we going to do about this? About Ichi and what's-its-name..."

"Kakashi," said Kakashi firmly, coming up behind him.

"I'm not calling you both Kakashi. It's disorienting. How about Gin?"

Kakashi – the original Kakashi – looked affronted, but the clone just have a huffy laugh. "No," said Kakashi. "It's a clone, not a puppy."

Iruka didn't have to voice his skepticism. The comparison was blatant enough even without saying it. "Did you ever consider the possibility that you're part Inuzuka?"

Kakashi sniffed. "The comparison has been made; however, the Inuzuka themselves flatly reject the idea." Iruka hummed, and Kakashi temporized, "A distant cousin, maybe. No one's explored it. Of course, it would muddy both bloodlines."

"Yet it's hard to deny yourself," Iruka suggested, looking toward their clones, whose shoulders were shoved together. It was a declaration of trust, one so blatant that Kakashi was surprised at himself. Yet if his experiment had proven anything, it was that underneath his shields of aloofness and professionalism, he still possessed the capability to show a different side. He could still foster faith and friendship, things he had once thought lost, buried with dead comrades or taken up in the flames of their pyres.

Iruka was looking similarly thoughtful. Finally, he gazed at Kakashi and offered a genuine smile, faint lines threading his eyes, which were full of calm, steady waves. He concluded, "I'm comfortable with you."

Kakashi almost – almost – rolled his eyes. "That's your big realization from all this?"

"You were expecting a declaration of love?" Iruka asked. "Seriously, I don't have many friends, certainly not like this. It matters."

Kakashi went over the couch and gave his clone a shove with his foot. "Budge over. It's been a long day."

Iruka joined them, sighing as he sank down onto the uncomfortable springs. Outside, the stars were hanging low, partially obscured by cloud. It was dark blue, but inside the light from the paper lamps was warm. There was a long, somnolent moment, but it was broken when Iruka suddenly asked, "Kakashi? They're clones. Why didn't we just dismiss them?"

Ichi and Gin snickered. Maa. It was really annoying to be laughed at by shadows. But that was why it hadn't even occurred to them, wasn't it? These two were far too human to think of as mere bodies. Still, it was embarrassing that they had missed something so obvious.

Kakashi's head fell back. "Let's never talk about this, okay?"

Iruka breathed out, eyes falling closed. "Okay." He sank deeper into the couch cushions until their shoulders were touching. And Iruka was right. It was comfortable. Kakashi settled his hands over his stomach and was almost a sleep when a stray thought caused him to crack open an eye.

"Sensei?"

"What?"

"Are we having a sleep over?"

More giggling from those stupid clones.

Iruka said, "Shut up, Kakashi."

Author's Note: The entire inspiration for this story was my desire to mess around with one of Kakashi's Tajuu Kage Bunshin clones. I wanted it to be incredibly bored but perk up around Iruka and have zero sense of personal space and say, "Yo." Oh, and in case it has escaped notice, ichi the Japanese word for the number one, while gin means silver. It is also a common dog name. ;) Thank you so much for your support during the writing of this story.