Lifeline (Naruto, Kakashi/Iruka)

The Scarlet Lantern was one of the larger establishments of its kind in Otafuku City. It sat just beyond the edge of the pleasure quarter, away from the hustle and bustle of the heart of the city in a relatively quiet neighborhood full of relatively quiet estates. High wooden walls lined the streets, marking the area as one of wealth and privacy. The walls of the Scarlet Lantern were taller than most, designed to keep prying eyes out and its occupants in, with its namesake – an entire row of red paper lanterns – hanging from thin metal hooks extending out from the wall. There was nothing special about the large double doors at the entrance to the compound, no plaque or sign to give away the compound’s function beyond the tell-tale lanterns.

The guard at the front gate was a thick, burly man named Raiden. He was a former special jounin, well past his prime, and he said nothing, only nodded once in silent greeting as he let Kakashi into the compound. The Scarlet Lantern was not officially tied to Konoha but enough of its ninja frequented it to give it a bit of a reputation among the rank and file.

Kakashi had first learned of the Lantern’s existence three months after he’d made jounin rank. He’d been on a mission with an older ninja, a man named Gato, who at the time had held a fancy for one of the ladies at the Lantern. They’d stopped there on their way home and Kakashi remembered sitting awkwardly in one of the private rooms with a buxom young blonde that Gato had insisted on paying for, arguing that if Kakashi was old enough to fight for his village, then he was old enough to enjoy the things he might never live to be of proper age for.

He hadn’t touched the girl and she hadn’t seemed to mind. They’d sat on the edge of the bed, two feet of open air between them, while she prattled on about her home village and he stayed silent. He’d thanked her at the end, when a servant had tapped discreetly at the door to let them know that Gato had finished.