tani_recs

Fandom: Naruto
Pairings/Characters: Kakashi/Iruka
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: ~155,000
Warnings: some side character deaths
Author: checkerbloom
Website: checkerbloom on Ff.net
Summary: Someone wants to hurt Kakashi, and where better to aim for than his heart?
Why: One thing I hate about Naruto fandom is the tendency to make Iruka into the helpless character who always has to be saved, so whenever I find a story with a capable Iruka, I always get excited. That's what first really drew me into this story, despite some persistent grammatical errors and the occasional spelling mistake. The next thing to draw me in and keep was reading was the author's Kakashi, who manages to tread the line between believeably flawed and overly angsty. The thing that really kept me reading was the adorably awkward relationship that develops between the two of them. Add in an admirable amount of action and a nicely 3D villain who I ended up feeling sorry for despite everything, and this is a highly enjoyable story. I do wish it had a beta reader to eliminate some of the mistakes that I already mentioned, but as long as you can get past that, this is definitely worth the time it takes to read.

The Heart of a Ninja by checkerbloom