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Chapter One

It had been two days since Naruto became separated from Iruka during their mission. He didn't think, with his experience, that this would have happened. but it had. Events had turned rather quickly, leaving them separated.

From a reconnaissance mission for enemy battle plans. Iruka had managed to locate the enemy's documents, miraculously memorizing them before he had been caught. It went on a full on fight that had them running through an unknown forest, their only guide dead. Naruto had been left with their Medic and Iruka with their fourth cell member.

The medic had perished after being caught in an advanced gentustu that drove her to slit her wrists. She barely had the time to provide instructions on her summons before she passed. The only thing left was to meet at their designated meeting spot by the third day of arriving to the enemy village.

Even when he waited at their designated meeting spot, it became evident the older man had gotten into major trouble. He was not known to EVER be late. This was only an indicator of two things: 1) He was in a bind and could not get out of it. Or 2) He was dead. It may have helped finding Iruka that two of the enemy ninja decided it was best to gloat about how they killed the other member of their cell. They were of course disposed of quickly, after he got the general idea of the direction they had come from.

When he flared out his chakra in an attempt to find his former Sensei's chakra signature, it proved very difficult, regardless of the knowledge he had gained. The small chakra signature that he managed to sense was so faint, it was difficult to trace.

Finding him came as a short relief, considering the condition he found him in was frightful. His right leg was bent at an awkward position, making it painfully obvious it was broken or fractured. There was a kunai knife lodged deep in his right shoulder blade. Burn marks could be seen on his neck and left arm from where the clothes had burned off. And those were just the physical injuries he could immediately see.

His Sensei had managed to hide himself well among the brush, even Naruto had a difficult time locating him. Granted, this was most likely due to all the years he had spent being a prankster. Hiding was probably the one thing he was expert at.

Naruto was so focused on locating and assessing the injuries on Iruka, he didn't even realize he had been pursued. It wasn't until Iruka unleashed a small hail of attacks in his condition that the enemy ninja caught his attention. But the amount of strain he put in left him at a disadvantage.

Naruto had barely enough time to take out the last enemy ninja before she threw a spear towards Iruka. Luckily, the attack merely grazed his abdomen. But her focus on the injured man left Naruto with the opening he was looking for and he buried a kunai knife deep into her chest, simultaneously conjuring up clones to dispatch the remaining ninja.

Once that last ninja was dead, he wasted no time in removing the kunai from Iruka's shoulder and pulled him onto his back to start their trek towards the nearest safe house. He was truly unsure how long Iruka had been under that brush with his injuries. It could have been a day or it could have been mere hours. All he knew was that some of the wounds needed immediate attention.

Feeling that enough distance was between them and the enemy village, Naruto stopped, putting his Sensei in a resting position, watching him wince from the pain. As he pushed the fabric back, it was easy to see the wound on his shoulder was getting infected. Gently pulling up the shirt, he noted the graze was no longer bleeding. The leg would need a splint for now, after trying to set it right. He placed a hand on Iruka's forehead, feeling its heat.

"Ne, Sensei. You're getting a fever," he stated, worryingly. Iruka nodded, trying his best to keep his eyes glassy open. "We're not too far from the safe house. There will be fever reducer there and bandages. We'll take care of you once we get there."

"Naruto." The word came out with such difficulty, the younger man couldn't help it when he swallowed nervously, but he coaxed him to finish. But looking at Iruka, he noted a smile wide on his pain-filled face. "When did you become so mature? From the stories I heard, you would usually be freaking out by now." It was meant to be a gentle sentence, merely for play.

"Ha! I'm 20 now, Sensei," he laughed, standing again. "I did a lot of growing up. The only thing helping me heal so fast and carry you is the Kyuubi. C'mon, we need to get going. The sooner we're at the safe house, the sooner we can alert the Hokage of our findings." Iruka nodded.

He pulled the older man up and started the run towards the safe house.

Hours were quickly passing. The time it was taking to get there was worrisome. He couldn't help his sigh of relief upon seeing the familiar structure. His pace quickened that much more. They were still a 2 day walk away from their home, but at least Iruka could get some care, even if just a little.

He opened the front door cautiously, kunai ready and first scanning the main hall, then the two adjoining rooms. With the house secure, he settled Iruka in the recovery position in the room furthest from the main door.

He moved swiftly to the supply cabinet, finding everything still in its place. But even as he checked the vials for a fever reducer, he wished his medic hadn't been killed. He only knew basic treatment, not full assessment and care. Shaking his head from his shortcomings, he returned to his teacher.

Carefully, he removed the flank jacket before using a kunai to cut away the the destroyed shirt. He used the same gentle care to pull away the bandages that Iruka often wore. Looking down, he noted the burn moved further down his arm and a bit onto his chest.

"Ne, Iruka-Sense," he uttered, catching his teacher's attention. "How did you get these burns?"

Iruka's glassy eyes focused on Naruto the best he could. "A burning oil. They threw it, then set off some fire tags. It hurt, but Yusuke managed to put out the flame." He closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing.

"Sensei," Naruto said, making him open his eyes again. "This is going to hurt."

Iruka nodded, bracing himself as best he could. When Naruto touched the wet cloth to Iruka's sensitive skin, he gritted his teeth, biting back a cry. Naruto proceeded to clean the wounds, applying a topical ointment for the burned flesh as well as any open wounds, hoping to give him some relief. With the hisses that came, he tried to lighten the mood by giving a type of mock lecture that Sakura may have given. He gave minor laughs when Iruka did, through those glassy eyes.

Finally, he gave was the fever reducer, holding Iruka's head up, coaxing him to drink the medicine. With the treatment completed, Naruto covered him with his flank Jacket. Soon after, he noted his Sensei had fallen asleep.

Retrieving his dead medic's instructions, he walked outside to find the summoning seal she previously created, hidden under the floor board where she indicated it would be. He opened the small vial full of blood she had given him and watched the blood drop fall. As soon as it landed, smoke filled the small area, wrapping itself around his feet. Once settled, he saw a red fox with a black and brown shemagh wrapped around its head. It looked at him with judging eyes, scanning him up and down.

"And who are you?" she finally asked, looking at his hitai-ate. "You are of the leaf?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto from the village of Konoha," he answered, bowing respectfully.

"You have some nerve summoning me here when you are not bound to me. Only Mugiko has the right to do so."

Naruto tried his best not to flinch as he heard his dead medic's name, bowing further. "Miss...Mugiko has died. She left instructions for me to summon you."

The fox's expression fell and just as quickly, elegantly pulled back up. "Tragic. Well, what is your mission, Naruto-Sama?"

"No, no," he smiled unsure with nervous laughter, shaking his hands. "'Naruto' is more than fine. I don't want to taint Mugiko's name." He stopped laughing when he noted the Fox's passive expression, his own turning serious. "I have a message that needs to be delivered to the Hokage," he held out a scroll, which the fox took and somehow hid in her shemagh. "And also, Iruka-Sensei is in dire need of medical help I cannot provide."

The fox looked at him and slowly walked away from her seal, leading the way inside the home. As she walked towards the sleeping man, she noted the distinct smell of a slow releasing poison. It went directly into his blood stream from the kunai. With another sniff, she noted he may hallucinate. She briefly notified Naruto, giving him instructions to ensure he keeps hydrated before taking his request for assistance. With a small pop, she was gone.

Naruto was left watching Iruka, well aware of the fact that they did not have an antidote readily available. And if one was not received soon, he would die.

To Be Continued...

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