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Most of the time the pack took Iruka's side and he appreciated it. It made him feel special. Uuhei in particular tended to back him up when Kakashi was being annoying or even on the rare occasion they actually fought. Pakkun even joking said once that he was 'the Boss's Boss'. Most of the time, around the house, they listened to him.
As much as they loved him though, Iruka new deep down even Uuhei would side with Kakashi if anything ever happened to call their true loyalty into question. If anyone had seriously suggested it was any other way he'd have set them straight. He'd seen the proof enough to know. It was the little things that proved it. Whenever one was left behind to guard him they were anxious and always, always watching for Kakashi's return. When Kakashi was upset they never failed curl up on his lap, press against him, nuzzle his hands... They had such an affinity with the copy-nin that Iruka wondered sometimes how anyone could question who was ultimately in charge.
"Come on Iruka, just sign it." Kakashi pushed the scroll across the table.
Iruka continued to stare open-mouthed and wide-eyed at the scroll for a while longer before finally managing to look back up at Kakashi then around at the dogs. "But..."
"Mah, stop thinking so much." He scratched his head and flushed before grabbing Iruka's hand and pressing a kunai into it. "Like I've said before, they listen to you just as much as they do me, sometimes--" Kakashi shot a look at Uuhei, narrowed eyes and furrowed brow. His unmasked lips were visibly turned up at the corners however which softened the 'glare' considerably. "--even better."
"Are you sure I'm not--" Iruka hesitated to voice the concern that was eating away at him, afraid of what the answer would be if Kakashi actually realized what it would mean. "--intruding on your relationship with them?"
Kakashi's gaze returned to his and his eyes widened slightly. "Iruka--" he squeezed both of his hands over the one of Iruka's that he'd pushed the kunai into. "--listen to me. You are pack and if we didn't all completely agree on that fact I wouldn't have suggested it. If something happened to you it would hurt them as much as it would hurt me and I know if anything happened to any of them you'd feel it just as much as I would. You're not intruding on anything and this is just a formality and well a way to make it easier for them to reach you should something happen. It would make all of us feel better. So please just sign the damn scroll already."
It wasn't until he sniffled that he realized he had tears in his eyes and the moment he did he felt his cheeks warm considerably. Whether it sounded sappy or made him look like an over-emotional idiot or not, Iruka felt... better. The reassurance of Kakashi's words and the way the dogs shifted to press up against him made the reality of what they were asking sink in. He didn't know what to say so he pulled his hand free from Kakashi and cut the tip of his finger.
Iruka set down the blade and studied the drop of blood on his finger. Very deliberately, he began the seals for a summoning jutsu and pressed his hand to the table, beside the scroll Kakashi had shoved towards him.
A puff of smoke and an excited yip, and Moriko bounded out of the smoke, russet tail held high. She leapt into Iruka's lap and delightedly sniffed him and then licked his chin. "Iruka!"
More daintily, Ai stepped out of the smoke, but shoved her sleek silver head under Iruka's outstretched hand with every evidence of affection.
Iruka hated to do it, but he sighed and pushed Moriko out of his lap. "Pay attention, girls. I have something to ask you."
The two vixens lined up expectantly at his knees, watching him with tilted heads and ears canted with curiosity.
Iruka sighed and lifted the scroll so the two of them could see it. "Do you know what this is?"
Ai, who could read some, squinted down her muzzle. "It's a contract scroll. Summoning, but it's not for us." She jabbed her nose aggressively in Kakashi's direction. "It smells like him and his mutts!"
Uuhei rumbled deep in her chest, irritation in her blue eyes.
Iruka sent the red and white ninken a quelling glance. "Yes, it does, because it's a summoning contract for the pack."
His two summons knew what he meant by pack, for they had developed an uneasy truce with the ninken pack over the years. Each of the ninken reacted to them according to their own personality, so some interactions were more strained than others.
Surprisingly, it was Moriko who added up the conclusion before the silver vixen. "You're going to contract them as summons?" Her voice wavered and her amber eyes filled with hurt. "Does that mean you don't like us anymore?"
Iruka's heart twisted agonizingly in his chest. He dropped out of the chair and gathered the tiny red fox to his chest. "Oh, no! Moriko, you and Ai forever hold first place in my heart. Nothing can change that."
Whimpering, Moriko wedged her head up under his chin. Her delicate frame shook.
Iruka held her close and risked a glance at Ai.
The silver vixen's ears were flattened to her skull and her brush of a tail tucked firmly between her legs. Her blue eyes held a look of betrayal that was more heartbreaking than Moriko's quaking.
Iruka reached out and gathered her close too. "No, no, no!" he whispered into their pointed ears, cuddling them close. "I could never replace you."
He looked up at Kakashi, anguished.
Uuhei heaved a long-suffering sigh and padded over, nudging the two vixens to get their attention. "Stop your caterwauling, both of you." She shook her bandaged head at them. "This contract doesn't mean he cares for you any less. It simply means that he can also call upon us at need. It means if he or you two pups need help, we'll be there as back-up."
Pakkun grumbled something that Iruka couldn't make out, ears flattened.
Uuhei glanced back at him and snorted. "Like short and wrinkled over there said, it means that you're pack now too. Did you think we would accept Iruka-sensei as part of the pack without knowing it came as a package deal? It means that we consider the three of you as pack. Iruka-sensei, Ai, and Moriko belong as part of our pack. Right, boss?"
Kakashi smiled and came to crouch next to them, resting one hand on Ai's head and stroking Uuhei's back with the other. "What she said," he said softly, then chuckled. "It's kind of disturbing that she's more eloquent than I am sometimes."
Ai looked up at Iruka and asked, her voice quavering, "You won't abandon us?"
"Never," Iruka told her firmly, holding both of them tighter. "It would take death itself to make me leave you two."
Ai yipped softly and stretched her head out to touch noses with Uuhei. The red ninken huffed and licked the vixen's muzzle. "Settled now? Good."
Moriko had finally stopped shaking and looked at Uuhei. "We're not dogs."
"And I'm not a fox. It doesn't really matter though. Pack, family, is what you make of it."
Kakashi chuckled again and reached up to snatch the contract scroll and kunai from the table. "Now that that's settled, let's make it official, shall we?"
Smiling, Iruka took the blade and reopened the small cut on his finger, signing his name and adding a thumbprint of blood to seal the bond.
Pakkun grunted softly. "Just remember who the alpha is around here, you two."
Uuhei made a disparaging sound in her throat. "Just nod," she advised the two vixens with a wolfish smile. "We'll let him continue to believe that for now."