A/N: Once again this is dedicated to Blackwolf202 and to Maethebellydancer because they keep kicking my ass over actually updating this series. It has been far FAR too long in the writing.
Disclaimer: Iruka, Kakashi and all the guys you recognize belong to Kishimoto, anyone you don't are mine.
Rated M for language, gore and violence and is unbeta'd.
Aftermath.
Iruka tried to reconcile how exactly things had gotten to this point. It wasn't exactly a hard contemplation, the mission had been an utter head fuck from start to finish and really hadn't been helped by his 'partners' (he used the phrase loosely) reluctance to cooperate with him over the slightest thing. It had seemed simple enough go to an outlaying village, retrieve the stolen scroll and get the hell out of there as fast as humanly possible.
But things very often never remained simple.
They had arrived in the small village of Chisana Mura just as the sun had been setting and met up with their contact, an earnest portly young man by the name of Marui. He had instantly been smitten with Midori and the conceited bitch had taken advantage of that ruthlessly, toying with him to get what she wanted while he had painstakingly staked out the target. The compound where the scroll was being kept was relatively small and seemingly under guarded but of course that could have been just a ruse. Iruka wasn't taking any chances and while his partner frolicked around doing nothing, he came up with a plan of attack.
After a few days the Chuunin had scoped out the compound to the best of his ability, the only problem was his erstwhile partner. Who had taken it upon herself to get the job done herself and had plunged in head first without even informing him.
She had managed to get past the guards and into the vault before Iruka had caught up with her. Midori had smirked triumphantly as she reached for the scroll, eyes full of malicious glee. It was at that moment Iruka noticed it, faint and shimmering above the mantle, an alarm trap. He'd called to the Jounin, tried to warn her but she just ignored him disdain rolling off her in waves. She grabbed the scroll, setting off the siren.
Within seconds both shinobi found themselves surrounded by chakra signatures. It appeared that both of them had vastly underestimated just how well the scroll had been guarded, somewhat alarmed Midori did the first this that came to her mind and set off a few explosive tags blasting a hole in the main structural wall and pretty much bringing the roof down on top of them. Iruka had just about made it out unscathed (if you could call a minor concussion unscathed) and had instantly taken off after the Jounin.
That pretty much lead him to when he was now and he growled deeply, cursing the idiot he'd been stuck with for fucking up so royally what should have been an easy retrieval.
Behind him he could feel the chakra signatures of at least twenty shinobi, none of them higher than Chuunin but their greater numbers were certainly a problem. Ahead he could sense Midori slowing down and within a few minutes the brunette had caught up with the woman.
"About time you caught up Chuunin."
"Would have been here a lot faster if someone hadn't decided to drop a house on my head."
There was a nonchalant shrug and a cruel smirk.
"Pity it didn't flatten you like the wicked witch, I can certainly see the resemblance."
Iruka ignored the barb and continued to push forward; Midori just continued to smirk and followed. They flew through the forest in silence, the pair of them constantly alert for the enemy. So far they had made good time and hadn't encountered a soul but they both had known it was too good to last.
A kunai zipped from the right and instinctively Iruka dodged it, landing on the branch and withdrawing his own weapon from his pouch. The single knife was followed up with a barrage of shuriken which he blocked using his own blade. Swearing under his breath he turned and began to fly through the tree's the wind at his heels as he attempted to escape. It was then a rather disconcerting thought hit him.
Where was Midori?
The Jounin had seemingly disappeared from view, had she been captured? Somehow the brunette seriously doubted that if there was one thing that woman was good for it was getting out of sticky situations intact. That left the second and most depressing option.
She had ditched him.
It wasn't unexpected and in all honesty it had been sheer luck he had caught up with her in the first place but it still stung. Iruka knew deep in his heart that if the situation had been reversed he would have come back for the bitch; his conscience wouldn't have allowed him to leave her behind. He laughed sardonically and shook his head not for the first time cursing his 'nice-guy' nature, honestly what kind of Shinobi was he to feel so affected by what was probably the best option. Clearing his mind he focused on the task at hand, he could now clearly sense the multiple chakra signatures starting to surround him. Without hesitation he pulled some tags out from his Chuunin vest and grinned, it was time for the games to begin. He darted from tree to tree occasionally setting one of the various inscribed tags and leaving a faint imprint of chakra. Knowing he was working on borrowed time the brunette put everything he had into his legs to speed up his movement and quickly finish his network of traps. Finally satisfied he came to a halt in one of the many small clearings and set up the final seal, Iruka knew it probably wouldn't last long but it would probably give him enough time to incapacitate his pursuers.
He hid in a nearby bush and suppressed his chakra to the point of non-existence.
The first explosion echoed through the forest with the force of a rocket and sent a powerful gust of wind through the clearing, in his hiding place Iruka grinned. The second wave of much, much smaller explosions brought a string of muffled curses through the air. The second wave of tags were nothing more than firecrackers, more annoying than damaging but that was the point. He wanted his opponents to be angry so that they would see the third layer of his trap, the barrier.
As predicted the group of shinobi landed in the clearing there were only about twelve of them now, it appeared that the explosion had taken out a few more than expected. Well that made things easier for Iruka.
"Where is the little fucker?" One snarled, his face scorched and scrunched in pain.
"Calm down Tetsuo. He has to be around here somewhere, I don't sense any chakra leaving this clearing."
Shit, a sensor that certainly made things a little more difficult.
The shinobi known a Tetsuo humphed indignantly. "Some sensor Kizan, you didn't even spot those fucking tags, we lost Irou and Shinai because of that."
Kizan smirked evilly "They were dead weight anyway. Now stop bitching and help me find the little shit."
This seemed to shut the group up and they began to fan out into the clearing, Iruka waited patiently until they were all dispersed throughout the clearing and then sprung his trap. The barrier sprung up from the numerous tags situated on the floor segregating each of the shinobi into their own separate compartment and sealing their chakra in the process. It was one of his most powerful jutsu and required almost all of his chakra but know he had the advantage. The brunette stepped out into the clearing with a serious look on his face and inside their separate cells the shinobi began to fume screaming obscenities and threats at him. Iruka paid them no heed and quickly withdrew his portable gas-mask and placed it over his face. He then rummaged through his supplies and pulled out what appeared to be several smoke bombs but of course the Chuunin knew better. With a practiced motion he slammed the small balls into the ground right at the centre of the grouping, they exploded filling the whole area with an opaque gas and one by one the sounds of bodies hitting the floor rang through the area.
Taking a deep breath Iruka released it with a sigh and quickly began to cast a small wind jutsu to clear the area. He was about to perform the last hand-sign when a piercing whistle tore through the silence and something solid and sharp impacted with his chest. Brown eyes wide with pain he looked down to find the shaft of an arrow protruding from his chest and even though it hurt like hell the brunette knew he'd been lucky, it had just missed his heart. There was another whistle and Iruka was thrown back by the force of the blow which had this time impacted in his shoulder, he landed heavily snapping the arrow stalks and driving the heads in that little bit further. Shakily Iruka got back to his feet, his head swimming madly due to the shock and his previous concussion and pulled out a kunai.
"Gotta admit he's got spirit hasn't he Yajiri."
This voice was female and held a wicked tone that reminded Iruka of his bitch of a partner, he just about forced down the shudder that wracked his body.
"Have to agree with you there Oheina, I didn't think one little leaf would be able to take down all of that lot."
There was a shrill laugh and Iruka tightened his grip on the kunai, he didn't like the sound of that at all.
"My thoughts exactly Yajiri, shall we show him our gratitude?"
"Yes my love, that sounds like a wonderful idea."
Another few whistles rent the air and Iruka's sluggish body was in no condition to dodge, the arrows hit him square, piercing the tender flesh of his torso and legs. His legs buckled under the onslaught and he fell to his knees, bloodied but still defiant he glared at out into the clearing hoping his assailants would see it. The brunette waited for the next barrage, dulled senses trying to pick up on any source of sound or movement but there was none. That was until the sound of a gale force wind reverberated through the trees and before he realized it the brunette was once again being flung backwards as a concentrated blast of air hit him. The other disadvantage of this was that the jutsu had cleared the area of the potent knockout gas and the two remaining shinobi finally were making the presence known.
The stalked forward, malevolence streaming off them in waves. The man, Yajiri was as his name suggested as sharp as an arrowhead, his body slim, angular and the color of flint. Over one shoulder an ornate longbow was draped over the other was a quiver full of different sized and shaped arrows. The woman though was something else; she was beautiful to the point of what was considered perfection. Long flowing ash blonde hair and startling but cruel blue eyes peered out from the long heart shaped face, her slender body was clothed in a fitted kimono leaving very little to the imagination and like he name suggested there was a haughty air that hung around her.
Oheina stepped toward Iruka and lent over his battered form. Ruby lips quirked in a cruel smile she reached down and twisted one of the arrow butts sharply, widening the wound. The brunette swallowed the scream that ached to erupt from his throat and just narrowed his eyes further into a glare, even though it did cause white spots to appear in front of his eyes. This caused the sadistic woman to laugh and move onto her next target, with a violent twist she removed the arrow that had skewered the brunette's chest causing blood to spurt and leak from the opening. Again Iruka didn't make a sound but it truly was a supreme effort, he would not allow this monster the satisfaction.
"Stubborn isn't he love?" Oheina chuckled, turning her gaze to her partner.
"Indeed, it'll be fun to break him. I think it's time we stepped it up a notch."
Before the Chuunin knew what was going on he found his vest being stripped from his torso and thrown a short distance away, just out of his reach and him being flipped on his front. He let out a silent grunt and winced mentally as he felt the arrows dig further into his flesh.
"Stretch out his arms Yajiri, I have an idea."
The grey man complied and stretched out both of Iruka's arms, hands palm down. Behind him the brunette heard the woman rummaging through Yajiri's quiver, seemingly looking for something. There was a squeal of joy and the woman danced in front of the prone Chuunin two of the thickest and most wicked looking arrows Iruka had ever seen grasped in her hand. Oheina smiled and if it had been on any other face Iruka would have thought it charming but on her face, at this time, it was terrifying. Kimono fluttering she moved to the brunette's left hand running the arrowhead over the tanned flesh and without hesitation plunged the weapon down right through into the ground, pinning it in place.
This time Iruka couldn't hold back the scream and it tore through the air, startling the local wildlife into taking flight. For a moment he blacked out but a harsh slap to the face brought him back to his senses.
"Now, now we can't have you missing all the fun can we little leaf?"
The brunette wanted to be sick, the pair were fucking monsters and he knew that he was probably going to die here. That thought brought an immense sadness to his chest, there was so much he had hoped to see and do in his time. Watch Naruto become Hokage; teach that bitch Midori a real lesson, maybe even take over as headmaster of the academy when Hideaki-san retired. Tsunade had already been in talks with him about it before the whole mess with Kakashi started…
Kakashi…
He wanted to make up with Kakashi, crazy as it sounded. They had both said harsh things that were probably uncalled for and Iruka felt that the both of them could be good friends if they could stop being pigheaded fools for more than five minutes. He hadn't been lying when he said he enjoyed the copy-nin's company, when he wasn't being a jackass he was a surprisingly sociable person and intelligent conversation, something Iruka found difficult to find sometimes and well… that had been pretty good as well.
Seeing that their prey had zoned out Oheina quickly slammed the other arrow down through the brunette's right hand, eliciting another scream from the man and bringing him back to the here and now. The cold prick of metal scraped down his back, cutting through the material of his shirt and lacerating the skin beneath. Slowly the brunette was divested of his shirt his naked back exposed to the cool night air. Oheina's eyes shone with glee as she watched the expanse of tan skin convulse at the sudden change of temperature.
"So that skin color is natural, what a pleasant surprise."
She moved forward again with the arrow she had used to remove his shirt and dug it down into the sensitive skin of Iruka's back, dragging it down the length of his spine breaking the skin and leaving trails of blood in its wake. The sadistic bitch continued to do so time and time again leaving an array of different marks on the tanned skin; some were straight lines, others intricate designs, all of them were painful and brought tears to the brunette's eyes. Getting bored with her artistic side Oheina started to stab down through the muscles of Iruka's arms as well as his back, grinning like a maniac while she did so before pulling away and saying something to Yajiri.
Iruka grit his teeth as blinding pain surged through his body, he couldn't give up now as tempting as it seemed that would just be proving Midori and her friends right. He gazed around the clearing as best he could from his position, there had to be something of use, some small item that could help him. He was about to give up hope when he spotted his Chuunin vest and a small, weary smile erupted on his features. He had one last trump card up his sleeve, one that may very well kill him but at least he'd be taking these sick fucks down with him. Seeing the two bastards were distracted Iruka summoned the last of his strength and slowly pulled his knees under his torso so he was in a sitting position. Then with one quick, bloody and violent movement he pulled his skewered hands up the arrow shafts to freedom.
Before the duo could react he dove for his Chuunin vest, specifically one of the scrolls that was currently peeking out of the pocket. Fumbling slightly he managed to unfurl the scroll eyes lighting as a complex seal came into view followed by a series of indents. Raising a bloody finger he smeared his blood from the center of the seal to the first two indents before weakly tossing it at the two bastards, who were on the other side of the clearing attempting to free their fellows. Oheina looked confused as she picked up the scroll and looked at its contents, eyes widening as the she saw the blood sizzle and retract back toward the central seal. They realized a second to late as the fuse hit the seal and a small concentrated explosion engulfed the clearing, Iruka shut his eyes as the force of the concentrated blast sent him flying backwards through the trees finally coming to a halt as he impacted with something solid and the world went black.
Kakashi awoke and shot upright in bed, his whole body shaking and sweating. He couldn't remember what his dream had been about but it had clearly not been a pleasant one. Shaking his head the Jounin quickly rose and headed for the shower, hoping that the water would warm his frozen body. Ten minutes later he at least felt a little more like his normal self but he couldn't shake the feeling that something very bad had or was about to happen. Deciding he need something to take his mind off his paranoia he decided to go for a run around the village, physical exercise was always a good way to take his mind off things.
The sun was barely peeking above the horizon and the village was slowly beginning to wake from its slumber, this was the time Kakashi loved the most it allowed him his solitude and the freedom to go where he liked without being accosted. The thought had barely left his mind when he ran into someone a frown creasing his brow as he recognized who he had bumped into.
"Kamizuki-san."
"Hatake-san."
The female Jounin looked a little antsy and practically fled from Kakashi's sight, confused Kakashi shrugged.
"Well that was certainly odd." He muttered to no one in particular.
"She's been like that since she walked through the gate."
Kakashi turned to face two Chuunin he recognized as Izumo and Kotetsu, Iruka's friends. He fought down a grin as he reasoned why the other Jounin had acted like she had, Midori had just finished a mission with Iruka and Kakashi was pretty certain the brunette had not gone easy on her, if that reaction was anything to go by.
"I'm not surprised; she's just finished a mission with Iruka-sensei. You know how much they like one another."
Both of the Chuunin's faces seemed to freeze at that statement and the very bad feeling returned with a vengeance, causing Kakashi's heart to momentarily stop.
"What is it?" The Jounin asked very quietly.
"Midori-san came back alone and made no mention of any team-member being missing or killed."
All the blood in Kakashi's body froze as those words tumbled from Kotetsu's mouth, he couldn't be telling the truth could he. He searched the Chuunin's eyes and found no word of a lie reflected in the dark depths. Guilt rose up in Kakashi's chest, this was all his fault, if he hadn't provoked Iruka during the day he probably would have ignored Midori like he usually did and wouldn't have been sent out on a mission with her. Oh god, this was all his fault. Forcing down the emotions he put himself into shinobi mode and began to hand out orders.
"Izumo, Kotetsu go inform Tsunade and make sure she knows her talents may be required."
"Where are you going Hatake-san?"
"I'm going to find him."
The other two shinobi nodded and quickly ran in the direction of the Hokage tower, Kakashi however bit his thumb and quickly summoned his pack.
"Guys we have a mission. We need to find Iruka-Sensei."
The nin-ken didn't even question, the tone of their bosses voice suggested that this was urgent and they quickly scattered throughout the forest. And besides they liked the academy teacher, he'd been very kind to them when Kakashi had used them for a demonstration during his punishment.
Kakashi sighed deeply waiting for any sign and he was not disappointed, within half an hour a howl went up and Kakashi was quickly out on the move. He barely registered the forest flying by; his mind was far too troubled and worried about the brunette. Slowly the howl was getting closer and the rest of the pack had joined up with him as he had ran, the only member missing was Bull who was howling for all he was worth, the hint of desperation not going unmissed by his brothers or Kakashi.
The silver haired jounin dropped down into a small patch of bushes that barely covered the large nin-ken sat on his hindquarters howling his lungs up. Upon sensing his masters arrival Bull stood instantly and took point, anxiously searching the area for enemies. Kakashi raced forward his heart in his throat and stopped dead when Iruka came into view.
The man was an utter mess.
The entirety of his torso and arms were covered in small burns, lacerations and puncture marks, bleeding heavily all over the forest floor, one of his legs was skewed at an odd angle obviously broken in several places. But the most worrying injury was the large deep gash that went from the brunette's temple almost to the back of his head. How the man was even alive was beyond Kakashi, and he was alive, the short puffs of air hitting his hand signaling that Iruka was breathing. But he knew that there was no safe way of moving the man in this condition without medical help. Kakashi turned to Uhei, the fastest of his nin-ken.
"Go get Tsunade, run like you've never run before girl."
The greyhound nodded and bolted of in the flicker of an eyes. The Jounin then turned to the rest of his pack; he didn't even need to ask. The remaining seven nin-ken instantly took up defensive positions.
Forty minutes later the medical team found Kakashi frantically attempting to resuscitate and pouring his chakra into the brunette, screaming at him to hold on. After the brief moment of shock they stepped in, bringing the barely alive man back from the brink of death. Tsunade literally had to knock Kakashi out to pull him away, sensing that the silver-haired man was very close to breaking. Sighing as she watched the two men be transported back to Konoha she wondered just what deity she had pissed off this time in order to curse these two good men with such horrible fortune.
~End~
A/N: Eeek… Don't hurt me! Sorry but I needed to put in a bit of drama to set up the next bit. Where I PROMISE Midori is getting her comeuppance ^_^.
Reviewers are awesome and shall get some love.