The Assassin and the Dolphin

Author: jabotus

Rating: T

Pairings: Kakashi x Iruka, others will be mentioned along the way

Warnings: AU – yaoi (two guys in a relationship)

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Summary: AU. KakaIru. After a failing to kill his target, Kakashi never expected to find himself drowning in the ocean. Nor did he expect to be rescued by a merman…

'…..' – thoughts

Prologue

Kakashi stared at the icy water crashing against the rocks, the sight and sound ensnaring him into a trance-like state. This was where he did his best thinking. Here, all alone on his favorite outcropping of rock. It hung about four feet above the ocean water at low tide, close enough for him to feel the spray of salt water with every wave. During high tide his rock was completely covered.

Nobody ever came out here at this time of year. In fact, very few people came here period. People liked warm sunny beaches, not depressing, rocky cliffs when they went to the ocean. Kakashi preferred it this way though; the fewer people around, the better.

He didn't know why he found comfort in the waves, but he did. With a tired sigh, he glanced down at the white shell in his hand; a gift from his best friend, Obito. His friend had managed to make a small hole in it and by pulling a string through it, made a necklace out of the shell. A simple and ridiculous gift if one really thought about it, but it had been the first gift anybody had given him after his parents were gone. Then again it was also a gift which only served as a reminder of his failure as a teammate…as a friend.

'It's my fault he's dead. I should have been there. I should have stopped him from going back in.'

With this in mind, Kakashi threw the shell into the ocean. It didn't matter how far he threw it. The shell always came back to him. This was the eighth time he'd thrown it into the sea. All previous seven times when he returned to this rock be it the next day or weeks later, the shell would be here, waiting for him. Absolutely impossible, but still it came back to him. Kakashi didn't really want to know how or why it always came back to this spot. He hated to think his best friend would waste his afterlife watching over him.

Kakashi finally stood up and climbed back to the top of the cliff. A tricky climb, but not for him, another reason he chose this particular spot – not many people could make the climb if they did come to this area. He'd spent enough time here. He had to leave for another mission tonight. This one would take him out of town for a while.

Before he turned his back on it, the young man glimpsed once more at the ocean. Just as he did so he caught sight of a tail splashing the water. His last thought before his mind went over mission details was that he'd never seen a dolphin this close to the shore before.