Warning: violence, foul language, possible bad grammar and spelling,

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine.

Revealing the Curse: Chapter 1

A sunbeam slipped through the drapes and into the eyes of the sleeping man, he rolled over not yet ready to face the day and the rest of his journey home. Last night's assassination had gone well; quick, quiet and without witnesses, he was already half way home when he decided to rest in this small, but lively city. Even with his rest stop, he would be home early. He contemplated going back to sleep, the woman in the room next door had been quite loud; he felt his cheeks get warm at the memory, someone was giving it too her good and he had been very tempted to peek.

If Jiraiya had been here not only would he have peeked, he would've been taking notes. I wonder how he's dealing with Naruto?

A small smile crossed his face as he thought about the blond boy which lead to thoughts of another boy, this one with black hair that had almost killed the blond, but he wasn't going to think about that, then his mind wandered to a pink haired girl and he wondered how her training with Tsunade was going; he missed them, not that he'd ever admit it.

Another team I failed.

His dark thoughts were interrupted by his growling stomach.

I wonder what this place has to eat.

He picked up his vest from the other side of the bed and shrugged it on; he stood up, he raised his arms and stretched backward until he was rewarded with several satisfying pops; after a few more stretches he grabbed his pack and headed for the door.

If I head out right after breakfast, I can be back in the village before nightfall.

He pulled out a well worn orange paperback from his vest as he entered the empty hall of the small inn, taking in every thing from the ugly floral wall paper to the brown carpet, he did a quick scan of the area and was surprised to find a familiar sent hanging in the air, but couldn't place who it belonged to; he paused, curious as the door to the room next door, the one that woman was having so much fun in, opened; he felt his uncovered eye widen as he took in the slightly shorter man with shoulder length brown hair, he seemed so familiar with his deep black eyes and that scar across his nose. With his hair loose and those tight black pants paired with a form fitting blue tank, Kakashi almost didn't recognize him.

That scar, it's Umino Iruka. What's he doing so far from Konoha?

He felt himself blush at the thought, for some reason the idea that quiet, polite Iruka sensei could make a woman sound like that was alien to him.

Is that it, a lovers tryst?Or is it a mission? Does he even do missions?

He felt himself frown at the thought of that noisy woman being Iruka's lover. If he was honest with himself he'd admit he'd been attracted to the younger man for awhile. Before the chunin exam nominations he made sure to tell Iruka about Naruto's progress whenever he saw him in the mission room and as he talked to and got to know the man he became attracted to the cute, kindhearted teacher, but now they hardly spoke and Kakashi knew it was his fault.

Why did I say those things to him? I knew it would hurt him, but I was caught off guard when he protested so I did what came natural, I attacked. I still can't believe he apologized to me after the second phase of the exam.

He watched as Iruka closed the door, he seemed a little unsteady on his feet as he turned and leaned against the door, Kakashi watched as his grip on the small pack he carried tightened slightly; Iruka's flat lifeless eyes watching him

Those eyes, what's wrong with him?

In all the times he's seen the academy teacher he'd never seen his eyes so dull and he seemed off somehow.

Something's not right here. If he is on a mission he should be more alert, if I were an enemy I could have killed him several times by now.

The stood in silence for another moment; Iruka looked uncertain like he didn't know how to react to the other man's presence.

Maybe he's hoping I don't recognize him.

"So what brings you here, Iruka sensei?"

If he was surprised Iruka didn't show it, but he looked hesitant to answer.

What's wrong?

"Kakashi sensei, I … "

Kakashi felt Iruka tense as the heard someone coming up the stairs, he looks to Kakashi and then to the direction of the stairs.

"Shit. Which room's yours?"

Kakashi gestured to the door behind him and Iruka nodded; Kakashi quickly opened the door and they both slipped inside.

"Iruka sensei, what's going on?"

Iruka sat heavily on the bed his elbows rested on his knees; between his hunched form and empty eyes the man really wasn't looking right, this wasn't the Iruka he knew.

Please tell me what's wrong.

"I'm on a mission, what are you doing here?"

"Rest stop on my way home. Iruka sensei ar...."

Kakashi was cut off by a scream from next door, he listened as a woman, probably a maid stumbled out of the the next room screaming about a dead woman; He looked back at Iruka who hadn't moved, but was looking at him with such sadness and what looked like shame? Kakashi watched as Iruka stood up and headed toward the window and slid it open, then turned back to the older man.

"Thanks for the help."

"Where are you going?"

"Out the window, now that they've found her I can't walk out the front door anymore."

Kakashi felt his visible eye widen at Iruka's response.

He teaches this stuff, he knows that you don't walk out the front door after you kill someone, even if they haven't found the body yet, what the hell is he thinking?

"That's not what I meant and you know it, Iruka sensei."

Iruka let out a sigh before climbing out the window.

"I need to complete my mission."

He slipped out the window behind the chunin and watched as he stood on the roof staring into the distance, the city was busy people hustling along or haggling with vendors while children played; the buildings were all a slate brown color and about the same height lining the streets, it was kinda boring compared to home. After a few moments Iruka turned to him and bowed.

"Have a safe trip home."

(Switching from Kakashi to Iruka's POV)

Before Kakashi could reply Iruka dropped off the roof and into an ally; Iruka took a deep breath to relax himself before he started walking, he was still feeling the after effects of his ability, assimilating so much foreign chakra, not to mention the new memories, was painful.

Lucky for me Kakashi was too busy looking down on me to notice my chakra was off, thank goodness it was mostly stabilized before I left the room.

He felt himself tense at the thought, if he had run into anyone else in that hall he could of played it off as a hangover or exhaustion from last night; he was sure the whole place had heard the woman, Riku the wife of a powerful merchant, who would now be yet another face haunting his dreams, another voice reminding him of the monster he was. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

I'm doing my duty to my village and I will continue to do so until I am no longer useful. I'd better get going. I wonder if Kakashi's going to keep following me? Probably.

He felt himself deflate at the thought of the other man, Kakashi like everyone else in the village, except for a few people, thought he was just a paper pusher and a babysitter, practically a civilian and he hated it. His thoughts continued to circle around Kakashi, he had always felt awkward around the jounin and it got worse after their argument over the chunin exams; he knew he'd been wrong and had apologized, but Kakashi had just waved it off like it was nothing and to him it probably was.

Just the words of some pathetic over protective teacher, but he's put me in my place then, didn't he? I never imagined that team 7 could have been different from my genin team, but I'm not going there, not now.

He continued to walk until he came upon his destination, a large mansion on the out skirts if the city, and hid in the trees a good distance away and watched the guards at the gate, like he had for the past week he knew their routine better than they did.

Yeah, he followed me.

Iruka forced himself not to frown as the copynin walked up behind him, he'd hoped he'd been wrong and that Kakashi did respect him enough to leave him to his mission; he sighed and pulled out his mission scroll to check it one more time.

Yeah right and Nartuo will give up ramen and start eating salads.

"Shouldn't you be on your way home, Kakashi sensei?"

"I'm still ahead of schedule and it would ruin my reputation to be early."

Iruka rolled his eyes, he knew that when it came to missions Kakashi was very punctual and as he turned to face the older man he noticed Kakashi watching the guards with interest; there were a lot of them, the merchant was powerful and quite paranoid due to his many illegal dealings, that's why the Hokage had sent Iruka, his abilities would make this much easier for him than it would be for most ninjas.

As much as I hate my blood-limit, it is an asset to the village.

He continued to watch Kakashi, knowing he was thinking, calculating and probably coming up with the idea that Iruka couldn't do it, he slipped his mission scroll back into his pack.

What am I going to do about him?

He closed his eyes a moment feeling the light breeze on his skin and through his loose hair, he preferred it down, but wore it up around the village for the same reason he wore his shirts a size too big and always wore his uniform, even while off duty; so he'd look less attractive, even more plain than he actually was, but he still had his friends trying to get him a girlfriend, despite his constant protests, because they thought he was a workaholic. He knew they meant well and didn't know that he was a monster, but he still wished they'd stop.

Focus, you have a mission to complete.

He opened his eyes and looked at Kakashi who was still watching the gate, then started to jump down, but before he could Kakashi spoke.

"What are you doing there are too many guards? Let me do it. Tell me what your after."

He bristled at Kakashi's words, but managed to keep his temper in check as he replied.

"I been watching this place for days, plus the info I got from from the merchant's wife. I have a plan."

It was hard to tell with the mask, but if the single viable eye was any indication, Kakashi had his doubts and Iruka fought to keep his irritation from showing.

"A plan?"

The chunin felt his eye twitch.

"Yes. Is so hard to believe that I can do this?"

Kakashi gave his signature eye smile as he raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"I know some jounin who wouldn't be able to get in there and Naruto would never forgive me if I let you get hurt."

Asshole, at least he hasn't pulled rank, yet.

Iruka took a deep breath and slowly released it.

"I'm not them, I can get in and Naruto knows the risks we take, he'd never hold you responsible if I did get hurt, which is not likely to happen because I have a plan."

It would shock you how many times I've done this.

Kakashi stood there his expression, what you could see between his mask and forehead protector, was unreadable, he looked like he was about to say something.

Shit, what if he pulls rank on me.

"Please Kakshi sensei just give me a chance to prove I can do this, If the Hokage didn't think I could do this why did she assign it to me?"

He watched as Kakashi seemed to consider his words or at least Iruka hoped that was what he was doing; he felt himself tense a bit as the copynin appeared to come to a decision.

So far he hasn't pulled rank, I wonder why? I'll worry about that later, if he doesn't do it now.

"Alright."

Iruka felt himself relax as Kakshi said those words and gave a deep bow.

"Thank you Kakashi sensei."

Why am I thanking him? Because he didn't pull rank, but I wonder why? Now's not the time. Focus.

(Switching from Iruka to Kakashi's POV)

Before Kakashi could say anything else Iruka jumped from the tree and headed around the large wall and out of Kakashi's sight, he wondered if he's done the right thing, Iruka was a great teacher, but Kakashi had his doubts about him completing his mission.

I''ll be impressed if he can, but I'll be there to help if he needs it.

Kakashi smiled as he thought about the teacher, he was such a polite person and kind, it made Kakashi want to protect him and the sooner Iruka was back teaching and working the mission office the better. Iruka wasn't cut out for missions, especially a dangerous mission like this one.

What was Tsunade thinking?

Kakashi had seen the mission scroll when Iruka pulled it out before, he just wanted to see if Iruka would tell him if pressed, but he had been serious about doing it for him, he'd almost pulled rank, but Iruka kept giving him that look.

Damn that kicked puppy look, no grown man should be able too look like that.

Kakashi stood lost in his thoughts for a time before dropping from the tree to follow Iruka, as he rounded the wall he wondered which way the chunin went.

Probably over the wall.

Gathering chakra in his hands and feet he began to crawl up the wall, when her got to the top he stretched out his senses, he waited until two guards passed by, then once he was satisfied no one was around he peered over the top; he noticed several traps on the windows as he dropped down into the shadows of a large garden full of cherry trees and exotic flowers, he made his way toward the house. Once there he climbed up to the second floor, on the window was a nasty looking trap that consisted of chakra wire and several small razor sharp blades that Kakashi set to work disarming; once finished he slipped into what appeared to be a guest room, with a large bed draped in fine silks, ornate furniture and an a connected bathroom.

Now to find Iruka.

He slipped out of the room and began to search the area for any sign of the younger man; he caught the sent of blood, but no sign of Iruka, as he slipped into the master bedroom and found a large balding man dressed in an ornate kimono with his throat slashed.

His sent isn't here, so who killed this guy?

Kakashi left the room and continued to make his way through the house avoiding traps and guards as he went, never finding any trace of Iruka.

Maybe he couldn't get in, if so I should try to find the scroll and get out.

On the other side of the mansion Kakashi found a large door that had been heavily trapped, but someone had disarmed them, someone skilled.

Probably whoever killed the old man.

He palmed a kunai while he slid open the door and entered the room to find a beautiful woman with long black hair dressed in a purple kimono with pink flowers on it, a shocked expression was on her pretty face; he noticed she was holding a scroll.

Is that the one Iruka was sent for?

"What are you doing here?"

That voice? She sounds like Iruka.

Kakshi wasn't sure if he'd heard right and she smelled nothing like the teacher.

"I asked a question Kakashi. I know you've already figured out it's me."

"How?"

This can't be him, but...

He watched a the woman's features began change until they melted into the familiar ones of Iruka, could feel his jaw hanging open, but didn't care, that was no ordinary transformation jutsu.

How the hell did he do that? I wish I'd had my sharingan uncovered.

"Now, ans ... "

They both paused as they heard footsteps coming toward them, Kakashi saw Iruka pale.

"Iruka?"

"Shit, There coming to check the traps, I should have been out of here by now."

Kakashi watched Iruka pull a kunai from the folds of the kimono.

"Is that all you brought?"

"Like I said I wasn't planning on getting caught."

Iruka handed Kakashi the scroll.

"I'll be safer in your vest, it might fall out of my kimono during the fight."

He nodded, putting the scroll away, there were voices outside the door just before the alarm sounded and two guard burst into the room; the first man was short with wild black hair and a sword, the other was about the same height as Kakashi with a long red braid down his back who immediately launched several shuriken at them. Iruka dodged left and his arm was grazed by one of them before he rushed the redhead and attacked with a flurry of slashes and kicks taking him down before he could pull out another weapon, then he turned to see Kakashi dodging the sword wielder's attacks before relieving him of his sword and taking off his opponents head.

Iruka quickly searched his fallen opponent for weapons taking as many shuriken as he could and another kunai while cursing the kimono's lack of pockets; more guards were approaching quickly.

Three more guards entered the room, Kakashi quickly attacked the first one with the sword; Iruka threw two shuriken, then targeted the other two as they dodged to the side of the projectiles and performed a fire jutsu, the screams of both men filled the room along with the stench of burning flesh as they fell.

"Kakashi when we get out of this room head right, then left, down the stairs and into the second room on the right, there's a secret door behind the third bookshelf on the back wall that will take us outside, got it?"

"Yeah, lets go."

The two men ran out of the room and into a hall packed with guards, Kakashi charged with the sword taking out two and Iruka launched three of the shuriken hitting one enemy in the eye, another in the throat and one in the shoulder; he quickly used the kunai to finish the man who had only been hit in the shoulder, then moved to back Kakashi up; he had taken out the rest of the guards as Iruka made it beside him and together they headed for the stairs.

They ran into two more enemies on the stairs, but Kakashi dealt with them using the sword while Iruka distracted them with the last of the shuriken; Kakashi looked back to make sure Iruka was alright and didn't see an enemy throw several senbon at him.

"Kakashi look out."

Iruka pushed him out of they way, but was caught in the attack, taking the painful needles in the shoulder and back; Kakashi quickly finished the bastard with a quick slash of the sword, then grabbed Iruka by the hand,dragging him toward the secret exit, he could already feel Iruka beginning to slow.

Probably poison, fuck.

Once out side they were able to avoid the remaining guards, slipped over the wall and started for home; Iruka was struggling to keep up, his body was aching and he was starting to feel dizzy. Feeling they were far enough away Kakashi turned to Iruka.

Shit, he looks terrible, definitely poison.

Kakashi stretched out his senses, not sensing any pursuers he stopped running; Iruka sunk to his knees trying to catch his breath and began pulling out the senbon still stuck in his skin, his vision was starting to blur and the last thing he heard was Kakashi calling his name before everything went dark.

To be continued.