Title: Together Forever, Eternally Apart
Author: B.l.k.tyger
E-mail: PG13? Maybe R
Warnings: Language, violence and hints of sadism, implied M/M relationships
Disclaimer: I am a thief…I do not own any characters to the anime series Naruto, by Masashi Kishimoto etc., the plot of Lady Hawke belongs to Richard Donner and Warner Brothers, though I may have tweaked it some. Come now, who thinks Iruka-kun is sooo much sweeter as a snow leopard then an eagle. And technically the idea to even do this was because of FarStrider, who wrote West of the Sun; East of the Moon…I just thought I'd do a Naruto version, because honestly, who doesn't love Kakashi and Iruka?
Author's Notes: I'd like to thank my good good friend Alex. Because without her putting up with who knows how many questions and squeals and hopelessly inane chatter, I undoubtedly would have never got off my procrastinating but to actually write this.

However, none of this was really the pressing matter to Shizune, not only did one comatose Umino Iruka lie on the other side of this door, but also the genius ninja, master of a thousand jutsus, the infamously lazy, perverted jounin Hatake Kakashi. There were many that did not know of the two lovers, only those who did were very close to them, not surprisingly, this included Team 7.

Shizune gave another quiet sigh and slowly pushed open the door. The jounin had been by the academy teacher's side ever since the chuunin had returned, bleeding heavily and supporting his two teammates while barely conscious himself. He only left his lover's side for short breaks or necessary assignments, during which a member of Team 7 was always present. Kakashi had been one of the first to arrive at the hospital, straight from a mission, only coming in second to Naruto, the rest of Team 7 had followed merely seconds later and several of Iruka's former and current students quickly came as soon as he was announced stable for visiting.

Currently, Iruka's room had nearly every square inch of its premises covered in get well cards, flowers, gifts and other things. Many of the gifts were obviously dolphin themed – the dolphin plushies were so numerous, Tsunade herself had ordered Kakashi to move them to Iruka's home - the sensei's favorite flowers, white lilies were the most prominent of items overflowed the tables.

Kakashi turned to give Shizune an eye-curving smile as she entered, head nodding towards his lover, "I was just telling Ruka about my latest mission!" he informed cheerfully, the desperation and sorrow lacing his voice could not be concealed from Shizune's ears, clearly reading underneath the underneath

I've tried everything to reach him. Please tell me he'll wake up.

As Shizune busied herself quickly, checking over the monitors and Iruka's condition, the imperceptible shake of her head seemed to be an undoing for the infallible jounin as he visibly deflated. The great copynin sank slowly into the chair besides his comatose lover, silver hair dulling and lacking its normal gravity defying shape as it covered his lone dark blue eye. The raw power and unbridled skill that once emanated from the man seemed to vanish and all that was left was an empty shell of loss and despair.

A deep sigh left his lips, muffled by the dark mask that clung to the bottom half of his face. Shizune turned a compassionate look towards the elder male and settled a hand on his shoulder sympathetically; "I'm sure…" she paused slightly, unsure whether it was wise of her to speak such hopeful words, "he'll come back to you." She wanted the young sensei back just as much as everyone else who loved the chuunin wanted him to.

Kakashi glanced briefly as the door shut behind Shizune, automatically checking to see whether anyone else was coming around before pulling his mask down. At this point, it wasn't like he cared very much about who saw his face, however, he remembered Iruka telling him that he liked to think he was the only one who got to see it. Which was quite true, Kakashi had only ever shown Yondaime-sensei and Sarutobi-sama his face before he met Iruka.

The jounin sat up straighter at the thought of his sensei and he leaned on the bed beside Iruka, hand gently caressing the side of his lover's face, "You know Ruka-ru? Sensei told me this story once, right after…" Kakashi swallowed hard and shook his head, "after I got the Sharingan." He glanced away abashedly, "I have to say I thought it was cheesy love story, but maybe you'll like it. You seem to like all that romance stuff. Which, as said," Kakashi chortled lightly "I don't see how you can not like Icha Icha."

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi squeezed Iruka's hand tightly and began the story his beloved Yodaime-sensei once told him.

"Once upon a time…"