Title: I'm Sorry
Pairing: Izumo x Kotetsu
Genre(s): Romance/General
Summary: People can be sorry for a lot of things
Rating: PG-15
Warning: It's a light Male Male relationship thing.

AN: I've wanted to do one (Iz x Ko) for ages... and I haven't had time to do anything recently... Hope you guys like!

Chapter 1

"I'm sorry..."

Izumo Kamizuki didn't realise what his best friend Kotetsu Hagane meant when he said those words just before he went to bed. They made no sense when he woke in the morning to find their shared apartment empty, nor when he showed up at Tsunade's office only to find Kotetsu's desk devoid of their customary paperwork.

Izumo stood in the middle of their "office" staring at the empty desk. Something wasn't right.

Kotetsu would not vanish without telling him - they were after all, best friends and would always tell each other when something came up. Even if it was a secret mission, there was always some warning - but then again, they never went on missions without each other as it was recognised by most that they were the perfect team.

"Izumo - come in please..."

It was Shizune's voice that brought his thoughts back to reality. "Sorry...?" He asked not having quite caught what the Shizune had said. "Come." Was all she said as she gave him a soft look before turning on her heals and striding into Tsunade's office.

Sighing Izumo shook his head and followed her. There was something nagging at him but he couldn't pin the feeling.

Upon entering Tsunade's office, the nagging feeling turned into a sinking one as he viewed the other occupants of the room. He viewed the two Anbu standing either side of Tsunade's desk, and the other 2 situated by the window. Shizune had moved to stand in the middle of the room which is where Izumo found himself standing.

Tsunade sat before him, her elbows on the desk, hands clenched - pressed against her chin, hiding her lips. Izumo knew from that stance that whatever was on her mind, or whatever she was going to say was something he knew he did not want to know or hear about. He watched her as the anxious energy within him began to build. He watched her as the fine lines on her face wrinkled, showing her obvious discomfort for whatever she was about to say or do.

Although only a few seconds had passed, but it felt like an eternity to Izumo.

"I'm sorry..."

Those words had Izumo reeling. Tsunade was saying sorry... but for what? He couldn't quite grasp the reasoning.

"Hokage - sama?" He asked - a thousand questions asked in a simple intonation.

He watched as Tsunade lowered her hands from her face and let them fall loosely into her lap.

"I sent Kotetsu on a mission last night and..."

Izumo couldn't hear anything else she said after she delivered her news. He was numb - from the brain down. Everything stopped functioning - his hearing, this thoughts, his sight his breathing... He was crumbling from the inside out.

Kotetsu was... He was....

-Thuthump thuthump - thuthump thuthump - thu-thump -thu - thump - thump - ...... thump..... thum....

He didn't hear the cry of Shizune, or the arms of the Anbu member who caught him as his body failed him and went crashing towards the ground. His world ceased to exist in mear seconds.

Kotetsu had taken a mission meant for him. One which should have been simple, but was an ambush. They said that there was a bloody fight, with only 2 out of 5 survivors. Kotetsu was not one of them. They couldn't sense his chakra nor find his body... Their searches turned out to be fruitless, but were very extensive. They informed Izumo that a funeral would be held the following day, and that they were sorry for his loss.

They told Izumo that they were sorry.