Revamp of the 2011 version
Changeling
He stood in the center of a meadow, waiting. Long grass blew in the breeze around him and short silver hair swayed with it.
Soon enough, a small ball of static zipped out of the tree line to the man, pausing by the his ear. He said sadly to himself, "it's done."
At the tap to his shoulder, Iruka spun around to face Genma as his friend sauntered to a stop in front of him, the other man all smirks and play as he asked, "so, you are going to Anko's party tonight?"
"I don't know." Iruka adjusted his backpack and Genma followed him as they continued walking down the school halls.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Genma persisted, giving Iruka narrowed eyes as he looked at Iruka with suspicion.
"Do you have anything else to do tonight?" When Iruka went pale, Genma sighed. "Come on, Iruka. No one's seen you in ages. I know you're busy with all those stories of yours but… Go out, meet someone, and get laid."
"For your information, I don't need to get laid." Iruka huffed at the other brunet and frowned.
"Well, either way, you still need to get out. You haven't even had your first kiss, yet."
"Why do you still bring that up?"
"Because it's sad that you're almost an adult and still haven't even had a kiss. I repeat: you think the old man would let you go?"
"I don't even know if I want to go in the first place. Besides, I wouldn't want to bug Mr Sarutobi." When he didn't get a response, he glanced at his friend to find Genma staring at him with almost angry eyes, making Iruka sigh in frustration. "I guess I would go as something simple."
"Great!" Genma grinned in triumph. He waved to the brunet as he jogged away. "Later, Iruka."
"Later," Iruka gave a small wave, shaking his head. He was now officially screwed.
The three girls surrounding Iruka giggled and grinned to themselves as they cooed and coddled him while fixing his hair. Once Anko heard from Genma that Iruka was coming she immediately pounced on the opportunity and called him over so she and her mates could fawn over the feminine young man. She had been waiting forever for the chance to dress Iruka up like a little doll. It had been one of her many little fantasies she told him about.
So, there he was, decked in black skinny jeans, a matching black tube top and almost every part of his body stripped of hair, sitting on a chair in Anko's room. He had stopped fighting back long before they started (he knew that resistance was futile) and he watched in silent boredom and pain as they made a little bun at the back of his head, leaving some strands fall down to frame his face. They were now moving on to the make-up and Iruka could practically hear them cackling in an evil way amongst themselves. They dumped mascara, eyeliner and shadow on his like there was no tomorrow and his skin was itchy where they drew intricate curves and swirls on him.
When they were done, he looked like one of those gothic faeries you see in magazines, minus the wings. He had to admit to himself that they were pretty good when it came to these sorts of things.
He was still itchy and uncomfortable though.
The party was well underway by the time he and his costumed attendants slipped through the avidly decorated doors of the Mitarashi's summer home. Genma had made an understatement when he said everyone was going to be there. It seemed like everyone and their pizza delivery guy came. It looked like thousands of people were dancing and having the time of their lives in the usually spacious cabin. There was hardly enough space and the music was so loud it was deafening. Wow, Anko knew a lot of people, either that or her invites brought their friends.
Anko, Kurenai and Shizune immediately jumped into the crowd to dance and sing along to the music with the crowd in their snake charmer, genie and naughty secretary costumes, respectively. Iruka, on the other hand, was more reluctant. He stood at the top of the stairs, looking at the crowd uncomfortably. Some people turned to glance at him as he wearily the stairs.
He paused for a minute, unsure of what to do. He wasn't that great of a dancer and he didn't do well with crowds. It made him feel uncomfortable and with the girls going off without him he didn't feel up to the challenge of mingling with bodies wet with sweat from dancing. A lot of the party-goers didn't look too sober either. He guessed alcohol was coming into play early sighed and prepared to squeeze through the crowd to hopefully find a recognizable face.
Fidgeting awkwardly, he bumped and bounced between the bodies of people, trying to not to mess up the make-up but failing hard. A surprise howl came from behind and Iruka found himself pressed against a grinning Shizune's cheek, a fruity cup passed into his hands. Already looking like she'd been partying for most of the night, the Secretary Shizune slapped him on the back and said, "bottoms up, you beautiful twink."
"Hey, Genma." Turning at his name, Genma got a full blast of cigarette smoke to the face as Asuma exhaled.
"What's up, Asuma?" He coughed to his friend as he waved smoke out of his face, a smirk coming into play.
"He's here."
With those words, Genma's word seemed to tilt off balance and his heart stopped immediately. His smile disappeared instantly and he snapped his eyes to Asuma's, slipping his hands into his pockets. "So, he couldn't stay away any longer?"
Iruka had made his way along the wall, passing people laughing their brains out while other sulked against the wall. All the while, his world was tilting drastically to the left for some reason that definitely didn't have to do with all the shots they'd been downing… Maybe. He still needed air because it was way too crowded for comfort inside.
He finally stumbled out into the backyard where there were even more crowds but more space as well. Hiccuping, he pushed his way along the outer wall giving the occasional apology here and there whenever he bumped someone.
Free of the bodies, he slumped against a tree along the edge of the yard as the horde moved in sync with the music, swaying against the bark and feeling soft and wiggly all at once. This was good, the soft lighting was nice on the eyes and he was caught in a daze for a long while simply letting himself feel good. It had been a long time since he'd gone to an event with his friends. In actuality, he didn't really remember a time where he'd gone to a big party like or let himself just…. Be. It was a new and brilliant feeling that had him smiling like a fool. He couldn't help but regret not accepting Genma's invitations before and all the fun times he'd missed out on.
Blinking back to the party, he watched as a couple of girls he knew ran from the patio and down the dock to jump into the water as a guy in a tight fitting mermaid costume was carried to the water and thrown in.
Out of the corner of his eye, something silver glinted in the light of the lanterns; the only thing that did blend in with the crowd since the man wasn't dressed up, which was odd, considering it was a Halloween party but no one else took notice. He was standing at the back door, scanning the crowds as if looking for someone and even drunk Iruka could see he was different, especially when their eyes met and Iruka's breath caught in his throat. The man had one blood red eye while the other was the cold color of steel and when he looked at Iruka, the gaze was sharp and piercing. Iruka felt like he was melting and freezing at the same time while someone gave him a million-watt shock. The man's looked was intense but that wasn't all that bothered Iruka because when the eyes stopped on Iruka they didn't move away; they continued to stare at him until he couldn't take it anymore.
Iruka backed away slowly into the treeline, turning quickly away from the party. The night air was brushing softly against the bare skin of his arms as he walked away from the party and would have given him goose bumps if his skin wasn't already prickling with them. His feet moved automatically if not unsteadily through the trees. He drew in a shaky breath and tried to steady his breathing, looking down on his hands he saw they shook but not from the breeze. His hands trembled and his mind was whirling. Who was that man?
He pressed himself against a nearby tree and slid down to the base, hands coming up to cover his face as he tried to breathe normally.
"Hey,"
The silver-haired man turned to face a toothpick-sucking Genma as he was just about to slink into the mass of people.
"This is a private party," Genma growled at the slightly taller man. "And you weren't invited."
"It doesn't seem so private," the other man mumbled and turned to the backyard. "I could hear it from halfway down the street."
Genma scowled and tightened his fists, getting ready to throw some punches if need be. "You still weren't invited."
"You're too late." The older man glanced back at Genma and his fists before turning back to the party outside again. "He's already seen me so we can't turn back now. Either he'll come to me or I go to him. Take your pick."
Genma shook his head and ran a hand over his face in frustration. All that time he had spent was wasted now and there was nothing he could do. Unless he wanted to get physical but that was out of the question; there were too many bystanders and it was too unlike himself to be violent. "Damn it, Kakashi."
"I would be no use to start a scene," it seemed as though Kakashi was on the same wavelength as Genma. "I've kept my distance up until now, just like I promised. So, just give me tonight. One hour, that's all I'm asking."
Genma seemed unsure at his words. He regarded the taller man suspiciously. "One hour? And you promise you won't harm him, in any way?"
"Of course. May I?" The man said impatiently.
"Why so hurried? I thought the fae had all the time in the world." At the low blow, Genma smirked at the other man but Kakashi's eyes remained cold.
"We do but I'm not the only one who knows he's here tonight." Genma's face turned to one of shock as he watched the man with the silver hair disappear into the crowd saying, "I'll handle it."
Iruka had his head sitting on his knees. His heart rate had gone down considerably but he could still feel his arms shake and he didn't think his legs could manage holding up his weight- not that he was heavy. He sighed and set his head against the tree behind him, inhaling deeply to stop his shaking. He breathed in and his almost threw up when he smelled the bitter stench of alcohol on his breath.
Head slowly bobbing up, he finally saw the outline of a man standing over him and Iruka blinked. How did he not hear the man approach? It must have been when he was concentrating on his breathing. The dark figure was suddenly towering over him with only the glimmering of spit trickling down
Iruka cringed at the drips that were falling on his pants and flinched away when the figure began to close in; a little too close for comfort. He flinched out of his scared stupor when the dark shadow began to caress his cheek. Scrambling away out of reach, he was about to pull himself to his feet when the other man caught his ankle, high pitched whine squealing out, "don't run away, little fay."
Panic swelled inside Iruka and his mind switched into high gear, pushing through the haze of alcohol and kicking out to hit the thing, only to miss and have it cackle loudly at him. As tendrils of black began to seep up his leg, Iruka flailed until he managed to hit it in the face. Bad decision.
A sharp screech filled the air and made Iruka slap hands over his ears in agony, unknowingly leaving himself wide open for the black to take him over.
The weight on top of him was suddenly gone and when Iruka cracked his eyes open he saw someone standing over him. The shadows of the trees obscured his view of his savior's face but when hair caught the light of the moon, silver flashed.
It was the man from earlier. Iruka's breath caught in his throat again. He couldn't see the man's face but just the cold aura around him gave Iruka shivers. He felt eyes on him but their ambiance wasn't intimidating, more peeved than anything. Iruka could almost feel their gaze touching him, gliding over his form sprawled on the grass, making him feel warm inside, maybe even a little safe even though every red alarm in his mind was still going off.
The man spun around and suddenly started walking away. Iruka inhaled sharply and scrambled to his feet, swaying to the right and calling out for the stranger to wait but to no response.
Finding a newfound confidence, he quickly stalked up to the man and grasped the sleeve of the man's white, button-up shirt.
"Wait."
The man stopped at Iruka's touch and turned to face the smaller man. Iruka tried to brace himself but the other man's eye contact still managed to make him gasp slightly. The man raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"T-thank you." Iruka stuttered to him, trying to control his breathing long enough to speak with more confidence. "You stopped that… Thing. Thank you."
The man slipped out of Iruka's grasp and kept walking as if Iruka had said nothing. Iruka clenched his fist and called for the man to wait again, jogging to catch up to the taller man. "There must be some way I can thank you. I could… "
Iruka gulped to a stop when his rescuer turned to him again and studied him with a sharp eye, looking him up and down as if admiring a painting in a museum. The man's eyes met his again and the effect on Iruka was almost instantaneous. He man spoke and his voice was soft and husky, "you want to thank me?"
Iruka hesitated with wide eyes but nodded all the same. The man smirked slightly and continued to speak, "what would you give me?"
"Uh-I-I, maybe I could- uh," Iruka stuttered through his sentence trying to find the right words but another wave of nausea hit his sense. He had nothing to give the man, not even a proper thanks but he felt the strong to repay him.
His rescuer hummed in thought as he studied Iruka, his eyes warm with what appeared to be desire. A pale hand was brought to Iruka's jaw line and stroked downward to a shaking chin.
"There's nothing you can give." The older man said in a rough voice as he moved away. The man was suddenly gone, leaving Iruka swaying on the spot. The young man looked in the direction the other man disappeared to and brought a hand to his tingling face.
Iruka realized after what seemed like hours standing there. He forgot to ask the stranger's name.
As soon as he thought that his lips moved saying the name, "Kakashi."
He knew that was the man's name but… He couldn't remember how he knew that name.
"So?" Asuma asked as he pushed off from the tree he was leaning against. A stranger emerged from the trees onto the road and turned back to where Asuma was standing.
"A wraith."
Asuma nodded and flicked his cigarette into the dirt, grinding it out with the boot of his punk-vampire costume. "I could say you did the right thing but I would be lying. We're thankful you came but… you shouldn't have. He'll be disoriented now."
"I'm hoping we'll be able to come to an agreement by the winter solstice."
"So, you're saying we have almost two months to say our good-byes?"
Kakashi turned and smirked at the human, "exactly."
The silver-haired man suddenly disappeared in a whirl of October-dead leaves.
Iruka sighed and snapped his book shut. He couldn't concentrate.
Snapping his head to his window, he peered through the slit in the curtains over the grand expanse of white snow. The cold coming from the window seemed to bite even harder but the heavy flakes of snow continued to fall slowly. He could've sworn he felt someone watching him.
Paranoia was not a feeling that he was accustomed to. The fear that chilled him to the bone was one that even the weather outside couldn't contest. If it were up to him, he would've ignored it. The dreams that he had every night did not. He always woke up tired and would strain himself to the brink of anxiety throughout the day only able to fall into nightmare-infused sleep thanks to exhaustion. One of the only things that kept him from skipping school was the sense of normalcy he yearned for, regretting saying yes to Genma in the first place.
If only he hadn't gone. If only he had stayed home. Those words rolled around in his mind.
He didn't remember how he got home or much of the fever that set in once he had thrown up all the liquor out of his system but he could remember with vivid tendrils of terror and panic that accompanied the…. Creature.
Everytime he closed his eyes, it was there, clawing at his legs and tearing at his heart. It wasn't even a detailed image in his mind but the feelings that it brought were too sharp, stressful and real. Not a day went by where he wasn't always looking over his shoulder and glancing to the corner of his eye.
There was only a small sense of normality in his life and that came with being at home and spending time with Hiruzen. The man felt steady and had that comforting warmth that came with all his years of being worn smooth but strong by the world.
Despite acting as if everything was fine and feeling slightly more at ease around his friends but more so around his guardian, they knew that something was wrong. It may have been in the way he jumped at slamming doors or double-taked more often than not but it was more so because of the fact that none of the others had seen or heard anything that night; from the chilling screeches of the monster to the stranger that no one had seen at all that night.
Stranger?
No, that guy wasn't a stranger. Iruka felt like he had met him before but when he tried to think back he came up blank. He would have thought one of his friends knew; the way they gossiped and threw parties suggested they knew everyone within a ten mile radius.
He threw his textbook away from him and slid off the bed, quietly heading downstairs to search for something to eat with knuckles white on the banister.
"So?" Sarutobi asked from his place on the couch, laying his newspaper down on his lap. The graying old man took one last breath from his cigarette before crushing it into the crystalline ashtray on the little table next to his seat; a small politeness that never went unnoticed. "Did you get that paper done?"
There was no comment or retort as Iruka turned into the kitchen, opening the fridge in hopes that maybe food will help him concentrate on his work. He paid no attention to the elder man who had followed him and tried to find something of interest. His stomach, though, was not in a food type of mood.
"You've been acting very odd." The old man crossed his arms and leaned against countertop, studying his charge. "Are feeling alright?"
"I'm fine." Iruka grumbled as he shut the fridge. "I just can't concentrate."
"Well," the man said with a push off the counter. "If you need me I'll be in my study."
The brunet watched him leave the room as guilt pooled in his stomach. He had told Sarutobi almost everything since the old man took him in from the orphanage seven years ago.
Iruka had woken up in a hospital alone with not even a penny to his name. He was told that he had been in a terrible accident that had affected his memory; the blood to his brain had been cut off and was legally dead for over ten minutes until a trucker had seen his body in the snow and started cpr. After many weeks of laying in a hospital bed and many meetings with social workers, he was brought to the damp and crumbling home for abandoned children.
The brunet sighed once more as he debated whether to tell the old man or not about the party, what he'd seen. He bit his lip and decided that outright wouldn't get him anywhere but a looney bin, choosing the best way to go about explaining the whole event was to be subtle and proceeding to the study. Sarutobi was at his desk, smoking again instead of going through the neat pile of folders on the desk as if he had been waiting for Iruka. Iruka wouldn't doubt it if that was the case.
The brunet shuffled to the chair facing the desk and lowered his eyes to the floor, refusing to meet Sarutobi's as he waited for Iruka to speak.
He took a deep gulp of breath before murmuring the first seed of his story to himself, "I met someone."
Silence weighed on Iruka's shoulders as he waited for a response. He felt his cheeks come alive as he blushed slightly under the old man's gaze. The man finally spoke and said, "You met someone."
Iruka nodded and Sarutobi's eye went wide before they settled back into their curious look. "Tell me about them."
Feeling the colour drain from his cheeks, Iruka tried to find something to say, anything to maybe lead him towards explaining the creature and maybe find some reassurance. The old man only raised an eyebrow and blew out another puff of smoke. "They're the reason you can't concentrate?"
Iruka's head flew up in surprise only to be met by an encouraging smile. Iruka flushed again and scratched the back of his head, softly saying, "sort of."
"And why is that?" The old man asked with slight tilt of his head.
"He, uh," Iruka thought for a moment about whether he should tell the old man about the close encounter he had with the drunk man but finally decided against it. If he told Sarutobi, the old man would probably overreact and forbid him from ever seeing Anko again since it was her party. "He helped me. There was… "
The old man hummed and breathed in again from his cancer stick. As if he hadn't heard Iruka's last words, "what does he look like?"
"Well, um, he's tall,"
"How tall?" Sarutobi inquired.
"Um, a little taller than me." Iruka motioned with a hand above his head. "And he has silver hair."
Sarutobi's smile fled immediately. "Iruka. How old is he?"
"I… Don't know… I think my age but see he helped me because-" Iruka tried to explain before the old man cut him off with a sharp stare.
"Where did you meet him?"
"Uh, at Anko's party." Iruka shifted uneasily; getting a sudden feeling he said something he shouldn't have. "Is there a problem?"
"Stay away from him."
"What?" Iruka froze in both confusion and frustration.
"You heard me Iruka." the old man closed his eyes and breathed in again calmly.
"B-but… Why?" Iruka demanded as he stood, anger suddenly boiling up inside of him. His hands clenched into fists.
"He is a bad influence."
"You don't even know him! He helped-"
"You don't either." Sarutobi cut in again and turned his chair away from Iruka; as if to say the conversation was over. Iruka bit his lip, eyeing the floor. The old man was right; he didn't even know the mysterious stranger but… He felt as though he did; it was the only memory of that night that wasn't clouded with fear and unease. Regardless, the conversation was over and he felt hurt. The one person he thought he could trust wouldn't even listen to him when he needed someone the most.
"Fine then," Iruka said before he stormed out of the room. His hurt and anger drove him to the front door where he threw on his coat, scarf and boots, slamming the door shut as he stomped away from the house.
As soon as he was outside, he realized what an idiot he'd been and pulled his coat in tighter around him as he stopped to survey the dark yard and rural street. The road was just a few yards away and the streetlamp barely shone bright enough to outline the trees and the light slope on the other side of the road where yard turned into pond. Shuffling through the heavy snow, Iruka climbed into the sludgy street. Deciding to walk along the road with the light, he needed to be alone and he wouldn't get any peace if he stayed inside. This happened every time; he had something important to say but he would just be shrugged off and shot down immediately.
The brunet trudged through the inch-high snow, zipping up his jacket. It was snowing, little patches of white falling to the street around him and instantly becoming one with the rest of the ground. He didn't know where he was going in particular. There seemed to be a haze around him, confusion almost.
He walking until he was able to think clearly again, stepping off the road and into the woods surrounding the pond. He used to walk through this forest whenever he wanted to be alone but as time went on the brunet's schedule made sure he almost never had time to visit this place. Iruka guessed that it was simply instinct that drove him off the path but there was a sharp spike of unease and it drove him into the forest, away from the open area that made him so vulnerable.
The brunet kept going until realization hit him and paused in his walk to view his surroundings. Wait. He didn't recognize this part of the forest. Iruka pulled his hat lower and looked back at his footprints to see that they were fading fast and turned around to follow them until there was nothing left to follow, trekking through snow with only a direction to follow.
A clearing came up ahead and, with no trees for cover, Iruka could now see the wind had picked up and the snow was coming down harder, creating a flurry that was so thick that he could only see through the first twenty feet. Genma's house was less than a mile away after the clearing; it was two to Sarutobi's from the way he'd came. Had he walked that far already?
Iruka slowly pushed against the winds whipping against his frame, halfway through the clearing before the wind almost threw him back into the snow. These winds were so strong. Iruka took a deep gulp of air but choked when his mouth filled with snowflakes. He turned his head away from the wind to cough and blinked snow out of his eyes so he could see. The trees to his right now visible along with…
His heart skipped a beat in fear. It was a figure, looking more like a human with every second and he felt himself relax more. Was that a person?
The brunet squinted. It was a person, a man, a little taller than Iruka was watching him and studying him. With a spark of memory, Iruka's vision cleared enough to make out hair blowing with the wind; hair almost the same colour as evening snow.
"Hey!" Iruka called out and took a step closer but the man didn't answer. Another strong gust of wind nearly swept Iruka off his feet, making him squeeze his eyes shut. He opened them again when the snow was no longer beating on his eyes so hard to find the silver-haired man gone. Iruka dropped his hand and called out, "wait!"
In a jolt or courage, Iruka ran after the man as quickly as he could in this weather. Once he passed the treeline, Iruka stopped to brace himself against a tree, panting as he tried to catch his breath; his breath coming out in barely-visible white puffs and the cold night air burning his lungs.
The brunet pushed on, determined to find that man and demand answers. He didn't know what he wanted answered but he was hoping the man would.
He had only walked five feet from that tree before he slipped and fell. He landed with bone-jarring thump against the snow-hidden surface, head smacking against hard ice and sending his world flickering into stars.
The first thing Iruka noticed when he slowly gained consciousness was that the world was tilting drastically to one end. Cracking his eyes open slowly the first thing Iruka saw was one of the most horrifying creatures he had ever seen.
The ugly thing was at least a foot taller than Iruka himself. His hair was a decaying orange and those little red beads stuck in the monster's' face could hardly be called eyes. His skin was a color akin to the one of his hair, only leaning more to a green, and his body was several hundred pounds overweight. The thing was looking down at Iruka curiously.
For a few moments, Iruka couldn't breathe. He simply laid frightened there in the snow, staring up at the hideous beast looking down on him who now saw the brunet was awake and grinned with a mouthful of sharp, rotting teeth. Steam seemed to pour from the deadly mouth and snaked around the spindly body and legs that reached away from the malformed lump of a torso.
Iruka screamed. It cackled loudly and Iruka bolted to his feet as the creature threw its head back. His body started to shake from lying in the snow and he almost lost his footing on the ice beneath him. The ugly thing looked at him with what seemed like curiosity before grinning again and moving towards Iruka with outstretched arms.
Without hesitation, the brunet spun around and ran. Snow whipped at his face and blurred his vision as he tried not to slam into trees. It was another creature. Another nightmare that was too horrifying to bear.
Iruka pushed the thought away and continued running, mindlessly sprinting through the flurry. Home. Or Genma's. To safety. His legs kept going even though the snow was beating against him.
A figure became visible through the blur of snow and the darkness that was creeping, stopping Iruka in his tracks. What if it was the thing? Was it that fast? Hesitantly, Iruka crept forward in an attempt to get a better look, feeling that the shape was more familiar than a creature's. If it was the beast he could easily back away and go in the other direction without being noticed.
As he approached, though, the vision of the figure was enhanced. Standing there was no creature but a man. Contrary to the thing, this man was tall and thin, wearing a long black cloak with the hood drawn that graced the snow flurried floor but the feeling of fear didn't go away. As Iruka approached he could see the man's dark eyes on him though the blizzard from underneath that concealing cloak. No, he could feel them on him, making him shiver under their gaze.
He watched as the man stretched an arm up and motioned for him to come forward with a fluid flick of a pale wrist that dragged Iruka forward as if pulled in. As he got closer the fear grew with every step and he could slowly make out rippling patterns in the cloak through the swirl of dark snow. When he got close enough, the man finally spoke.
The cloaked man hissed out, "If it isn't the one that got away."
Iruka stared at the stranger for a moment, confused. "Have we…met?"
"Yes," the man murmured as he started to circle a muddled Iruka. "Yes, we have and it's a pity you don't remember me. We could have had so much fun."
"Remember? Remember what? What are you talking about?" Iruka demanded as he watched the man turn around him, frightened out of his mind and unsure whether to run or stay still. "Who are you?"
The other man only chuckled to himself. "You poor thing."
"What do you want?" Iruka questioned as he spun around to the man as the man made another turn around Iruka. "How do you know me?"
"It was a very long time ago. It's such a pity. You don't even remember what was precious. Oh well, no matter now." A dreadful grin propelled Iruka back from the man, stumbling somewhat on his shaking legs as the wind tried to push him forward.
"Precious?" Iruka's mind whirled as he tried to comprehend what was going on.
The man stopped circling Iruka and the wind swept over them, ruffling his cloak and making Iruka cringe slightly when it crawled into the open collar of his coat. "Why don't you ask him?"
"Him?" Who did he mean? Mr. Sarutobi? Genma? Ka-? Iruka eyes widened as a name surfaced in his mind; one that he had never heard before but somehow knew. "Kakashi?"
The stranger did not move as if frozen in his tracks with Iruka shifting from one foot to another in preparation to bolt. Suddenly the man turned and walked away, leaving Iruka standing there puzzled as the figure disappeared into the blur of white. There was a very fleeting moment of ease when a spark shot up his back and his heart stopped.
A growl sounded from behind Iruka. Slowly, Iruka turned to the noise and saw the beast with the same grin stretching its vile mouth only inches away from him.
Iruka felt as if he was in slow motion as his heart skipped a beat and his feet automatically scrambled backwards. His body turned on its own will and he found himself running away at top speed. This time he heard pounding following him and he didn't need to glance back to know the beast was running after him. His legs felt like they were being weighed down by lead but he kept running. There was no telling what that beast was and what he wanted. At this point, his life was on the line.
The flurry of snow worsened as Iruka stumbled out of the treeline into foot-deep snow and he had to squint to see what was in front of him; a faint glimmer of light in the distance.
The house. He could see the faint outline of his house in the distance. It was just across this clearing, beyond the lights of the street. Relief flooded Iruka's system as he tried to sprint through the thick layer of snow to the house.
He had only sent a small glance back to see that the thing had stopped at the treeline. He slowed into a stop and realized why.
The pond. Iruka had completely forgotten about the frozen pond. He slowly drew his head down to the snowy floor beneath his feet and hesitantly swept a foot across the floor beneath him, revealing a serene layer of ice below him. Wide brown eyes looked back to the thing as it was creeping back into the trees.
"How forgetful you are." A chuckle sounded and Iruka turned to see the cloaked man blocking his view of the house. Iruka could almost clearly see the man's upturned mouth in the darkness. "What a predicament you're in. Let me help you."
Afraid to move for fear of breaking the ice, the brunet watched helplessly as the man made a motion to Iruka's feet with his hand. White, jagged lines painted the ice beneath Iruka an alarming crack sounded. All Iruka could do was watch in horror, "please."
"Oopsie. Now," the man continued as he moved his hand from left to right. "let's see how much you're still worth."
Without time to contemplate those words, the hand abruptly stopped and snapped its fingers. The ice below Iruka suddenly gave out and he was plunged into freezing water.
Iruka was plunged into the icy waters. He shot his arms out to grasp at the ice but the weight of his wet clothes dragged him down into the water. Coughing out water and shaking fiercely, he bobbed briefly before the cold seeped into his joints and limbs and made them feel rusted, moving at a camel's pace and pulling him beneath the water's surface. His limbs slowed down as the cold seeped into his limbs and through his bones, making his body numb with cold. The waters rocked him gently as he sank deeper into the pond and he felt his eyes drifting shut, the cold quickly overcoming him faster than the need to breathe. The night consumed him but when he closed his eyes, he wasn't overcome by darkness but light.
The glow was soft and felt like it was caressing his skin. It felt the the soft smell of flowers and the tinkling of chimes. He was lying in a meadow of flowers with the slight breeze ruffling his hair and clothes. The air blowing by his ears sounded duller but rustled the flowers closest to his ear, creating soft music. It lulled him and he slowly drifted off with their sweet sounds just as he heard a voice.
It was murmuring softly against his ear and washed over him. The voice sounded so familiar but he couldn't remember who it belonged to. The words it murmured into Iruka's ears floated through the haze; a foreign language. He couldn't understand them but he knew they meant something. They sounded so important and resonated deep inside of him, chanted over and over again into his ear.
"Nolite solliciti, adsum."
Giggles drifted to his ears and he smiled, opening his eyes. The sunshine burned them a little, blinding him for a couple of moments before adjusting and he was able to see the meadow again. The giggles sounded again from somewhere behind him and he turned to see radiant children running towards him. They jumped on him and hugged him. A soft chuckled reached his ears and when he turned to the voice, seeing silver hair gleaming as Kakashi walked towards them.
Iruka smiled even brighter when he saw the taller boy. He called out to the boy and waved, "Kakashi!"
The older boy smiled and came closer. The little kids surrounding Iruka watched in awe for a few moments before scrambling away from Iruka, making the brunet smirk at their timidity. He watched them go before a shadow descended upon him and he looked up to see the sun blocked out by a head of hair. The face looking down at him smiled and Iruka smiled back warmly. A hand was held out for him and he took it, lifting off the ground easily.
Once he was standing, he felt a hand tilting up his chin and sweet lips on his forehead. He looked up at the older boy. Those soft lips were turned up in a smile and his were holding Iruka's own with such warmth, making his chest burn.
"Iruka…" a muffled voice called out as his vision dipped into the numbing black; Kakashi's face and the bright sunshine disappearing.
Who was that?
The voice called out to Iruka once more and he began to slowly regain the feeling of his limbs. They prickled and burned; it was so cold. He couldn't move his arms.
What was going on?
Confused, he tried to open his eyes but they felt as if they were welded shut and it took almost all his strength to pry his lids apart. When he succeeded, he could hardly see anything at all and was briefly confused. It was all darkness; black and blue all over his vision.
What happened?
It came back to Iruka in flashes, flying by as storm until his thoughts fell upon the last thing he could remember: water.
He was underwater… In the pond.
Oh.
It all seemed so unreal. He didn't feel as if he was drowning. Maybe this was how it felt like to die.
His foggy vision cleared and he could see the white of his hands stretched out in front of him as if miles away and he felt so calm until deep in the navy of the water he began to see white coming to meet him. As it got closer, Iruka found himself wondering if this was the end. Was this the light of death?
Iruka became aware of a sadness gripping his heart. He didn't want to die yet. There was so much he wanted to do and so many questions. Sarutobi came to mind and he wondered if the old man would miss him. He felt regret pool in his chest at never regaining his memories and Kakashi.
As the brightness overcame him, it dipped back to black and Iruka fell back into the numbness.
Waking to the feeling of pain, his arms were pulled any which way as he felt his water-soaked coat being tugged off. Hands were on his chest and they pressed hard against upper torso, pushing down and squeezing his lungs. The pushing brought pain before the hands stopped for a few moments and they came down once more, pressing firmly against his chest and compressing him. Water that Iruka didn't remember taking into his system swelled into his mouth, gushed out and leaked into his nose to burn his mind, bringing his consciousness back.
The hands pressed once more and water rose into his mouth again. The little bit of water triggered something at the back of his throat and made him choke as he became hyper aware and he twisted to the side to let the pond water out painfull out of him. Senses regained, he began to shiver weakly; it was so freezing cold. His teeth chattered together and his hands shook as he curled on his side into a little ball.
The hands were back as they pulled Iruka into a sitting position and wrapped a coat around his shoulders. Iruka sensed the world shift suddenly as he was pulled close against a warm surface and he gripped the wet but heated object as he was lifted with ease into the air. Iruka could feel his body try to shiver but he was too numb.
He tried to open his eyes and saw only a blur of white that looked vaguely familiar and looked down to see that the cloth he was clutching at was indeed a shirt; a soaking wet black shirt. He had seen that somewhere. Looking closer, Iruka was able to make out his hands against the black, realizing the tips of his fingers were so blue they were borderline black.
As soon as he noticed, his hands started to shake and the cold hit him hard as he was carried through the snow. It hurt so much and not just his hands; his whole body was aching and it felt like he was too frozen to move even though his mind was screaming to move.
"It's okay," Iruka wanted to look up and see who was carrying him. He could only manage to look out ahead of them and see the snow that was whipping passed; the house not too far off.
"It's okay." The voice repeated and Iruka could hear the fear and panic as those words were repeated again. It was a voice he recognized and felt comfortable with; Kakashi.
Vision starting to get dark again, Iruka was suddenly brought back by the sound of boots on wood and a door slammed into.
Muffled and far away, Kakashi called out again, "Sarutobi!"
Iruka was shifted in Kakashi's arms; the slipping hold readjusted and his face was pulled into the shelter of a warm neck. He could hear the door open and panicked voices hurriedly talking but they quickly faded away. Glimpses of the door closing and the living room were fading in and out of view.
"Shit, shit, shit," Kakashi was muttering as he quickly laid Iruka down in front of the dead fireplace, hands trembling to find the matches on the mantle. It took what felt like minutes to light a match and throw it into the fireplace but his frantic grabbing of newspapers and wood got a fire going just as the old man whisked down the stairs with blankets and towels. When Kakashi final focused on Iruka, frustration started to sink into the fear bubbling up but Kakashi squashed it in favour of ignoring the blue and bright red lips and cheeks.
"I'll get the tea," Kakashi nodded as the old man hurried to the kitchen and left Kakashi to gingerly untangle his coat from around Iruka.
Even with limbs stiff and cold, he was able to maneuver Iruka as delicately as he could out of the half frozen clothes for the ones that had been brought down. Sliding a towel under Iruka, dripping brown hair was pulled up and away and warm blankets were wrapped around him as Sarutobi came back into the room with a steaming mug.
"Hopefully we're not too late," Kakashi took the mug from the old man without saying a word in response as he propped the limp head onto his lap and delicately tried to pour some in Iruka's mouth.
Coughing, Iruka instinctively rolled onto his side and Kakashi hissed as he struggled to keep Iruka from rolling Iruka the fire and from spilling the tea. "Come on, Iruka."
Pulling Iruka up by the armpits, Kakashi braced the younger man against his chest with his knees and an arm crossing from a shoulder to the opposite side. He tipped Iruka's head back just enough to get the tiniest bit of liquid down in the hopes that it wouldn't be spit back up and he ran a hand over Iruka's chest in what he hoped felt soothing. After a long minute of watching and hoping it wouldn't come back up, Kakashi took a sip for himself, set the mug down and watched as glassy eyes opened to look at him.
Iruka struggled to keep his eyes open but Kakashi smiled softly as they slid back closed only to be replaced by shivers that rattled through the both of them, the heat that started in his belly moving through his body all the way to his fingertips and nose.
"He should be fine now," Sarutobi was at his side and Kakashi took the hair dryer that he old man was handing over. "You're lucky I had some left."
"Or what?" Kakashi murmured, laying the wet head down on the floor to work on drying brown lock anxiously. "You're going to kill me?"
"Don't be stupid." Hiruzen sighed and a hand through his thinning hair in exhaustion. "You're right."
Kakashi perked up but his hopes were dashed when Hiruzen got up and shuffled to the kitchen, saying, "but he's not ready."
The light hurt. It was so bright. What…?
Slowly, Iruka pulled his eyes open only to find himself blinded by the light. Once it became bearable, he pulled up onto an elbow and blinked back a haze to see a familiar fireplace staring him in the face. He turned his head and winced at the blinding rays of morning shining through the living room window.
As he sat up wearily, he noticed the new clothes covering him. Unlike his jeans and shirt from last night, he was now in an old pair of fraying jeans he forgot he even owned and plain, white tee. Brushing his hair back, he gained the fact that his ponytail was gone. Pulling his hand away, he saw how steady his hands were and he breathed in deeply against the tight coil that was deep in his chest.
He caught the sound of voices. Sarutobi's wasn't surprising unlike the second voice Iruka heard; a surprisingly familiar one that his body couldn't decide what to do with.
Pushing away the quilt he had been wrapped up in, he weakly pulled himself to his feet and was overcome with a wave of exhaustion and nausea that almost brought him to the ground again; his knees buckling into the couch. Closing his eyes against the blips of light in his vision, he stood slowly and quietly listened to the voices in the kitchen as he approached.
Kakashi tilted the cup from left to right, making the moss colored liquid swish from side to side in its little teacup. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck but the little bit of seelie tea that was left from Iruka's cup had helped. Sarutobi was glaring at the young man from across the table. Kakashi guessed his comment about the normal tea needing more seelie hadn't been taken lightly.
"It's the winter's solstice and I've kept my promise." Kakashi reminded as he neatly took a sip of his tea.
"He isn't ready," the old man stated for what felt like the hundredth time that night.
Kakashi didn't reply at first and instead sipped from the teacup and he tilted his head back to drain the cup of its last drops, placing it delicately on the counter when it was empty. "I'm here to take him home; where he belongs."
Sarutobi crossed his arms. "How can you? You don't have permission from the Seelie King."
"As a matter of fact, I do." Kakashi sat up on the stood and withdrew a dry, white envelope from is damp wallet, handing the magical paper to the older man.
"What?" Sarutobi read over the paper until his eyes reached the bottom and he stopped. He looked at Kakashi, face turning pale as his eyes stopped at the signature inscribed at the bottom of the page. Frowning as he dropped his hand, Sarutobi looked up at Kakashi again with grief in his eyes that knew the answer before they asked, "what happened to the Minato?"
There was a heavy silence that spoke more than words could.
The old man shut his eyes and bent his head down for a moment as a deep pain filled his features. He sighed and said with even more conviction than before, "Iruka's not ready yet. I won't let him end up like my other changelings."
"It's now or never, Sarutobi. He'll forget completely if we wait any longer." Kakashi's face darkened before mumbling, "we might even be too late."
"He won't believe us." The old man shook his head slowly.
"That would surprise me." Kakashi was hunched over his cup, staring at tea leaves sitting at the bottom of the cup with fascination. "You know, I heard say some humans can tell fortunes with these things."
A rumble came from Sarutobi as Kakashi slid out of his chair and went to lean against the wall near the door. "We could wipe his memory before he wakes up."
Shaking his head, Kakashi kept his gaze on the inside of the cup as he said, "too late for that."
Kakashi pulled the door open to a confused Iruka standing in the doorway. The old man's brows narrowed at Kakashi as the young man made his way back to his seat. "You knew he was there, didn't you?"
Kakashi nodded simply as Iruka wavered in the entrance of the room with a frown etching his face. The brunet turned on the old man. "What won't I believe?"
The brunet turned his russet eyes on Kakashi who met his eyes encouragingly. Iruka turned back to his guardian and tried to reign in his frustration. "You better talk to me, for once."
"Sit down." Sarutobi said calmly as Kakashi down in another chair, leaving the once he had been sitting in open and waiting. There was a moment of struggling with his feelings before Iruka moved into the room. Once seated, a warm cup was pushed into Iruka's hands.
"We have a lot to explain. Things that will seem weird and confusing but we would appreciate it if you listened to us before drawing conclusions." Kakashi said gently and Iruka only nodded slowly as unease began to spread throughout his system.
Taking a deep breathe, Sarutobi turned his head to Iruka. "I know that you've been having a hard time lately at school and how the medication hasn't been helping your anxiety."
Kakashi saw how Iruka's brow were beginning to come together and he slid in to smooth out the situation, "Iruka, you may feel like you don't belong here."
"Kakashi," Sarutobi scolded.
"What?" The tallest of them asked in an innocent manner.
"There are other ways of explaining it."
Coughing lightly, Kakashi nodded and started over, "fair point; I'll try to clarify. Iruka, you don't belong here with humans."
Kakashi turned to the brunet who had been sitting there quietly, pale and when two pairs of eyes fell on him, his jaw slid open but no words came out. Closing his mouth quickly, he bowed his head as his eyes went to the floor.
"What do you mean?" The words barely came out as a whisper and wide, frightened eyes were shifting between both of them in confusion.
"I mean… You're not human. We both aren't." Kakashi shifted on his seat.
"What? Then what are… we?" Iruka asked, even more confused.
"Well…" Kakashi pursed his lips and hesitated before saying, "I am what humans would call part of the fae; a… a faerie."
Disbelief crossed Iruka's face and put his face in his hands to rub away the headache that was trying to make the world spin around him. "Am… I one too?"
There was a silent nod from Kakashi and Iruka tried to grasp what he was being told. He wasn't a human even though he looked and felt like one. Kakashi didn't look like one either. Everything felt like one big prank that was being very well acted out and Iruka shook his head against the feeling that maybe they were right. He couldn't help remember Halloween and shivered hard, tensing up and feeling that soft feeling of being safe fade into fear. A vile grin flashed into his mind from the night before and he visibly shivered hard enough to make the others in the room tense up.
"That man… The one that tried to drown me, he was a faerie too, right?"
The room was suddenly filled with an eerie silence that made Iruka's skin crawl and he knew he was asking a hard question. Sarutobi and Kakashi exchanged looks before turning back to Iruka. Sarutobi was the first to speak. "Yes."
Kakashi agreed with a short nod. His face was grim and his eyes went to Iruka's, meeting them in a way that made Iruka suddenly feel an uneasy sense of deja vu. "In my world, we have the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. I belong to the Seelie court that spans all realms of life. The Unseelie court is not as peaceful and seeks to feed off others for power. They are few and far between but very powerful."
"The man you saw at the pond was from the Unseelie court." Sarutobi added. "His name is Orochimaru and he used to be one of the Seelie before he was banished. He hasn't been seen for the past five years."
"But now he's back and he seems much more powerful than before." Kakashi darkly added.
Iruka nodded to himself, adding with an empty tone, "now I know who not to put on the guest list."
Kakashi smiled lightly at the comment. "Yes, you should be sure to steer clear of him."
Feeling that warmth of jokes start to seep into him again, Iruka felt his shoulders slide down and chuckled nervously through the numbness in his legs, "faeries, bad guys... What's next? Trolls and ogres?"
An inhuman roar sounded through the air almost immediately after those words and the room froze as the three listened in stunned silence.
Sarutobi broke the silence, "speak of the devil and he shall appear."
The room jumped into action as Sarutobi bolted out of the room and Kakashi's hand snapped to Iruka's elbow roughly pulled out of the kitchen.
"What's that?" Iruka asked as he was brought to the front door where Sarutobi was already locking the door and throwing open the entry closet. His boots were placed in front of his feet and his jacket was pressed into his arms.
"That was an ogre." Kakashi stated as he helped the brunet pull on the coat. "We have to leave."
"Why? What does it want?" Iruka demanded as he stared up at Kakashi who had paused momentarily in zipping up the brunet's coat. He was thoroughly not appreciated being thrown around and being taken care of like a child but another side of him was too scared to argue. Sarutobi glanced to them as he fumbled with his own coat.
"There's no time for that, Kakashi! We need to leave now!" Kakashi snapped into action and zippered the coat as Iruka slipped his feet clumsily into the boots that were presented at his feet; not his and slightly too big.
The monster roared again. The cry was so loud the house shuddered with its vibrations and then pounding against the door started, freezing the three of them in shock for a second before Kakashi disappeared in cloud of black smoke. Sarutobi bolted to the kitchen, leaving a panicking Iruka to stare in horror as the door started to cave in under the pressure of each blow that grew in strength. The brunet stumbled back out of his terrified daze until the wall came up behind him. What the hell was going on?
Iruka jolted when he heard Kakashi voice near the back door, "it's him. There's no clear path out back."
"How many of them?" Was Sarutobi's reply as the two watched assortments of figures trudging and shuffled to the house; most of them thin and spindly like tree branches while other were made of a thick, black fog. They hurried back to the front door where Iruka was frozen watching as the bolts of the hinges were rhythmically popping off the doorframe. Sarutobi turned to Kakashi and said, "You won't be able to transport all three of us. Take Iruka and get as far as you can."
Understanding fell upon Iruka heavily and he turned to the old man. "What? No, we're not leaving you!"
"Iruka, if Kakashi tries to transport all of us it could kill him."
"It could. That doesn't mean it'll happen. We can at least try." One of the door's hinges snapped off, almost hitting them in the process and Kakashi grabbed Iruka's arm but was met with resistance. He looked back at Kakashi pleadingly.
"Please, we'll figure something out." Iruka pleaded.
"Iruka," Kakashi whispered his name imploringly; eyes fraught with anguish as he tugged at his arm but the brunet turned back to Sarutobi when he found Kakashi to be a lost cause. "Please."
Sarutobi nodded at Kakashi who pulled Iruka away from the entry way but Iruka fought as much as he could, straining towards "please, Kakashi!"
"Take care of him. Don't prove me right." Hiruzen's voice followed them and Iruka's head was starting to spin fast. Iruka caught a glimpse of Kakashi's grim face and he looked back to his guardian as Kakashi gripped both Iruka's wrists once they got to the kitchen. As Kakashi close his eyes in concentration, Iruka could only strain over his shoulder to watch as the world around them was suddenly swallowed up by black smoke.
He hit snow-covered ground and his knees buckled as he landed, causing him to roll through the snow until he stopped. As soon as the world stopped spinning, Iruka scrambled up to see Kakashi had rolled farther than him, nearly ten feet away. He glanced around them quickly to find they were nowhere familiar surrounded by snow and trees, looking back at Kakashi who was still sitting in the snow and shaking from exertion. "We have to go back for him!"
The faery finally sat up with his arms stretched out behind him for balance and said between coughs and wheezes, "It would be too late."
"We can at least try!" Iruka scrambled to his feet and trudged his way to the older man, grabbing onto Kakashi's shoulder as he suggested desperately, "you could send me back!"
At those words, Kakashi shrugged off Iruka's hand, sitting up straight and piercing Iruka's gaze with such cold words, "stop it."
It only made Iruka angry and even more desperate. He asked angrily, "why? Why me? Why are they after me? Why is everything happening all of a sudden?"
Kakashi looked away and shakily took to his feet. Iruka looked up at him, waiting for an answer. The silver-haired man refused to meet his eyes, "not now."
"I hate this!" Iruka growled in frustration and Kakashi stopped in his tracks. The brunet stomped after Kakashi, ignoring the spots on his pants where the snow had melted into it. "I hate that everyone's been keeping secrets from me; including you! No one will tell me what happened and I'm pretty sure it has to do with you and Orochimaru and those trolls and ogres and-"
The older man stood in front of Iruka and took his hands, silencing the younger man. "I want to tell you. I would tell you everything if I could, Iruka, but you'd never believe me."
"Kakashi, he was like a father to me." Iruka tried to catch Kakashi's eyes but the taller man wouldn't meet his eyes, training his on the hands. He implored, squeezing the older man's hands. "Please, Kakashi."
Finally, Kakashi looked up and found those big, russet eyes begging him for answers. He sighed, tiredly, opening his mouth to speak but closing it when he found no words. He dropped Iruka's hands and walked away into the woods.
"Kakashi!" Iruka called, running after the tall figure that stopped at the treeline that started to change from prickling pines to writhing camphor trees. Once he reached the taller man, he stopped and recollected himself. He was so confused and the world felt like it was spinning but he found a question to latch onto. "At least tell me who I am, then. You knew me."
"You're not like any other human, Iruka," Was said after a pause. Kakashi's back was to the brunet. "In the Seelie Court, two faeries are bound together by an unbreakable bond by birth and once you find the faery you are bound to, you can never be separated. Sometimes a faery will go their whole life without finding their other half while others are lucky enough to meet them. Once they meet, the bond makes it so that if one dies the other cannot go on living without them."
"What does this have to do with me?"
Kakashi turned back to Iruka and their eyes connected as he said, "you are the Seelie Court King's partner."
"Huh?" Iruka furrowed his brows. "How… How is that possible?"
Kakashi stepped closer to the brunet with his face devoid of trickery or smiles. "It's possible because you're not human. You're just like me, Iruka. You are a faery."
They walked through the dense, snowy forest in silence. The older man had said that the Unseelie Court would be coming after them soon and they were off. Kakashi was leading while Iruka lingered behind, stunned into complacency. He was the King's other half. He was a faery.
Even more questions were circling around his head now. Was Hiruzen dead? Where were they going? He was a faery? This revelation sat light on his shoulders and he couldn't tell if he believed it or not; the rational side working hard while another side of him felt relieved.
"Kakashi?" Iruka waited but got no reply from his guide so he pressed on. "I was wondering… Well, if I am a faery, why can't I… Do what you do?"
"Hmm? Well, that would be because you're not a faery now. You were one." The older man had stopped and was facing Iruka, forcing the brunet to quickly stop. Iruka saw that Kakashi had a sad look in his eyes at the question.
"There's no way to explain it properly but," Kakashi sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. "You were dying. There was no magic that could save you so you were turned into a human and brought to a hospital where Sarutobi was waiting to care for you. You lost your memories, your fae status; everything." Iruka stood there for a few moments, putting the puzzle pieces together. He snapped to when the taller continued walking.
He was about to ask another question when they came to an enormous, twisted camphor whose branches were so numerous and so thick that there was almost a canopy over them. Kakashi snapped his fingers and a slice of the trunk of the tree faded away into black of a tunnel with a small blip of light bouncing off the walls in the distance. He turned to Iruka.
"Things will seem a little odd for you but whatever you do don't let go of my hand, okay?" He held out his hand for Iruka to take and the brunet nodded as he did so. A small mumble coming from Kakashi that sent shivers up Iruka's spine, "welcome home."
They started down the winding path of tree and squishy moss beneath their feet that seemed untouched by winter, reaching the heavy wooden doors that swung open when they neared to reveal a long hall with tall-ceilings where thousands of faeries milling about inside like a market. Some carried bouquets and other assortments to places while others zipped up and down another grand staircase that lead to the second floor; figures that looked human with features that were definitely not a human norm. Sharp cheekbones and different shades and skin tones vastly outnumbered those of humans and everyone seemed to glow softly; not with light but with an aura that bent the air around them. Some were chatting together in little groups scattered around the rooms and doorways that lead to other rooms. But it wasn't any of this Iruka paid attention to.
It was the fact that they seemed to be floating through the air, merely inches off the ground. On top of that, they were speaking in a different language that he couldn't understand. The oddest thing of all was that when they took notice of Iruka and Kakashi they froze completely before snapping into action and separating to let them pass. Kakashi lead Iruka through the path created and Iruka watched as the faeries bowed as they passed. He squeezed Kakashi's hand to get his attention and when he had it he asked, "They're floating… And glowing."
"Yes. The glowing around them is our glamour that cloaks us from the human eye; the same glamour on the court." Iruka furrowed his brows at the answer.
"So, I'm not actually looking at your real forms, am I?" Kakashi smirked.
"Not quite but it's very close; humans tend to see things that are more human than not." Iruka made an 'oh' and they continued on their way, starting down a set of wood stairs that wound down in a dizzying spiral.
Accompanied by a dozen little children who were glowing brightly, a tall and spindly figure made it's way up the stairs and Iruka immediately thought of the word sapling when the tree-like figure met them at the top of the steps. The children went straight to Iruka and pulled his hand out of Kakashi's to hold didn't seem to mind and followed the tree-man Yamato down the steps; the faery-children holding a calmed Iruka's hands as he followed.
Yamato said to Kakashi as they slowly made their way down just loud enough for Iruka to hear, "welcome home, your majesty."
Iruka almost tripped down the steps but caught himself when the youngest to his right squealed in amusement. Your Majesty?
"Thank you, Yamato." The King continued down the steps oblivious to the fact that Iruka was frozen in place.
"I trust that everything went well?"
"Not so. One of our liaisons, Sarutobi, has perished and Orochimaru is on our tail."
"Shall I give the command to start the change process?"
"Please do."
Kakashi had reached the bottom of the stairs when he turned back to look on Iruka. "Coming?"
Iruka nodded in a daze and let the children lead him, Kakashi walking on ahead.
Iruka found himself in one of the rooms off the staircase dressed in a silky, white robe that brushed passed his feet and went halfway up the back of his neck. The only ones in the room were him and the little faeries entwining flowers into his hair; for good luck they said in English with their soft, little voices.
Everything around him was starting to glow now. It wasn't from glamour but more because of the fuzzy feeling that was beginning to fill him. As calm as he felt though, there was something missing. There was a sting in his chest from having everything he knew ripped out. He still didn't feel like Hiruzen was dead yet. It all felt like a dream and he couldn't tell if he wanted out yet. But he felt safe. For the first time in months, he felt safe and secure.
He lifted his eyes to find Kakashi leaning against the doorway. Once noticed, the King slipped into the room and the little flower children gave a swift bow before gracefully leaving the room. The faery kneeled in front of Iruka and took one of his hands. Iruka couldn't help but shiver and feel warm as if shielded from a cold breeze.
"Iruka." He was cloaked in blood red, bringing out his right eye and Iruka couldn't help but stare at him. He looked so regal that Iruka felt small and insignificant as if he didn't deserve to be next to him. "I know that this may seem so confusing and… Unreal. I'm sorry for everything that's happened. I know you didn't ask for any of this."
Iruka watched as the older man stood up still clasping his hand and gave his forehead a light brush of lips. Suddenly fuzzy and overcome with heat, the dream Iruka had only hours ago floated to the surface; an actual memory. How Kakashi had gave him the same kiss in the meadow and he gasped lightly, gripping Kakashi's hand. Kakashi looked down in confusion and Iruka bit his lip in thought, looking back up at the taller man. His heart was stinging even more and he felt so close to something as if his fingers were brushing grass. "I want my memories. I want to remember everything. I want to remember you."
Kakashi's cheeks flushed red as he gave Iruka's hand a tight squeeze before leaning forward to kiss him lightly, leaving Iruka breathless and dizzy when he pulled back to say, "I promise I'll make everything better."
The world shifted around him and Iruka felt himself dip the black again, slumping against Kakashi's shoulder, numb and weak. A blurry vision of Kakashi set him down on the bed and Iruka vaguely saw another shadow of a person enter. He just started to feel a tingling hand on his chest and head when he fell head first into the darkness of a dream.
It was all black for a moment before light pressed against his eyes like a light was turned on and he opened his eyes. He was sitting in a small, white room. The sounds of whispers and humming snuck up to his ears and he stood. A single step brought him to the door and he opened it to find a small room, barely bigger than the one before but completely different. The walls were covered in bark and moss that climbed up to the ceiling, a great ball of softly glowing light sitting utop an outcrop of wood in the middle of the room. Across from him, the wall jutted out as a seat and snuggled amongst the moss and surrounded by tiny blips of pulsing light was a woman with a baby.
"And so the lionness kissed her baby goodnight and they both dreamed of dolphins jumping out of the water." The woman was whispering softly to her baby. Her eyes glimered softly and the little baby shifted in its sleep. "Someday, I'll show you the ocean."
"Mom," as soon as the soft whisper left his mouth, he was thrown back into the white room again. With a gasp, the pulled his shaking hands up to rub his face from the assault of fuzzy and small memories he suddenly had. His mother looking over her shoulder at him and the grins that he had learned to mimic. The books she left behind.
Swallowing air and gasping for breath, he threw himself out the door again and stumbled into a completely different room; a small cabin with willow trees hanging outside the windows. An old lady was stirring a big pot on a wood-burning stove when a small child ran inside, carrying a huge toad. "Oba-ko! Look what I found."
"Iruka," the old woman scolded as she pulled her spoon outof the pot threateningly as she enunticated, "Bi. Wa. Ko."
"I'm sorry, Biwa."
When his school face came back just as quickly as the others, he bolted through the cottage door and almost tripped down the stairs and into the door at the bottom, slamming it open instead and coming face to face with a graying old man who smiled up at him. "I see you've brought the boy with you this time, Biwako."
"He's just as annoying as you are so I thought it would be a great opportunity to have him learn from the best troublemaker I know." Biwako and a shifty teenager entered behind Iruka and he watched as they stepped inside. Tears filling his eyes, Iruka held them back as he stayed and watched the scene play out even though he knew how it was going to play out. He would act shy and eventually look around as Biwako left for the kitchen. Hiruzen would hand him a special book of trickery spells that Iruka would hide in his backpack.
He wanted to follow them out into the hall for Hiruzen to tell them goodbye but as he stepped out of the office, the was nothing but the white room again. Sliding back into his seat, he wept and shook. He wanted to go home.
Kakashi shifted in unease until he saw Tsunade close Iruka's door behind her. Her face gave nothing away so he stepped up to her, "how is he?"
"Only time will tell. I've done my part. Now, it's just up to him. Keep everyone out of that room and let him find himself." She stated as plainly as possible, shifting the elixirs in her bag. "I'm glad I had enough mummified flesh. Would have had to postpone another five years."
"How will I know when he's back to normal?" Kakashi urged as he followed her to the staircase.
"He'll wake up and come out on his own." She said as she pulled up the hood of her rich navy robes and disappeared up the stairs.
It was a long wait and Kakashi could feel himself drift off into a little nook of the branch-woven walls where he closed his eyes for just a small moment. It was minutes later that he jolted awake, a high-pitched whine coming from down the hall. Quickly standing, he saw a black shape race out of the room that he had just been guarding and Kakashi dashed to the end of the hall to watch it bound violently down the court halls. Hurrying back to the room, he stepped over the shards of wood and glass that made up the door and carefully stepped inside, stepping over to the empty bed and rounding it quickly when he saw Iruka had been thrown off the other side.
"Iruka," Kakashi was about to touch the pale and unmoving body when he remembered Tsunade's words and held himself back, fearing that he would distrub the spell to bring Iruka back. Fighting between the instinct to check him and the need to stay calm, he hurried to the bed and draped the blanket over Iruka and strained to drag Iruka back onto the bed. There was another conflict at hand and he stepped into the hall to wave down a familiar face.
"Watch him." Kakashi ordered before zipping out the room and flashing away.
"Oi!" The little pink-haired girl called after him but whined when she found him gone.
Kakashi reappeared in the main hall next to Yamato who gasped sharply before saying quickly, "Kakashi, we have multiple bodies of Unseelie."
"I know."
"The main source is coming from the lowest tunnels. We think there must be a door they opened somewhere but…" Kakashi cut Yamato off quickly.
"Wake the druids and have them find it. We have a bigger problem; a shadow goblin is prowling around and needs to be taken care of. Tell any civilians to stay in their homes and barr the doors."
Yamato nodded and said as he tree form melded with the wall of the hallway, "yes, sir."
Flitting back to just outside his guest room, he walked in to find green palms pressing against Iruka's chest and Sakura looked up with tear-filled eyes. "S… Sensei… He's not breathing anymore."
Kakashi watched as mourners came to him and said kind words that didn't reach his ears. He had become accustomed to red eyes and blotchy faces over that passed few days; faeries are some of the most emotional creatures out there after all. He, however, bore no hint of tears or mourning. He had cried all too much that first day when they found him in his bed devoid of life.
Another faery took Kakashi's hands and kissed them; a sign of pity or sadness for the loss. Everyone had loved him. He was an amazing politician and was looked up to by more than most. It was a sadness that he had to die in such a pitiful way; suicide was most uncommon among their kind.
The child watched as his father's funeral pyre was lit. The young prince and future king had lost his father a mere week ago and yet most of the kingdom had come just to give their prayers to him and his father's soul.
He left before the banquet even started to hide away in the garden that was the only real source of sun that the fae tended to steer away from: his little sanctuary. Unlike the passageways of intertwined branches throughout the rest of the castle-like camphor tree, a hall on the east side was not interwoven so tightly and permitted the sun to shine through and create new life. Glowing toadstools and ferns led into daylight that fell upon an assortment of plants and life that required sunlight; flowers, peppers and even a few fruits trees at the back including one peach tree.
He was halfway there when he slammed into a bigger body than his. He was on his butt when he looked to see a faery at least twice his three feet. The brunette looked down at his and gasped, "Oh! Young highness! I am so sorry!"
She was beautiful. She was plain but it was in the normal face that Kakashi saw beauty that make him stare. The child was awe at her until he shook out of his daze and hopped to his feet. "No, it's my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm sorry."
She smiled at him. "No harm no foul, your highness."
Kakashi smiled lightly at the pretty lady and noticed she was carrying a small bundle in her arms. She caught him staring and knelt down next to him, giving him a view of her package. "This is my baby, your grace."
Indeed it was. It was the loveliest baby in the world and the prince gazed at the cute little face before him. Eyes were closed lightly and rimmed by thick, dark eyelashes, Kakashi was entranced. The baby boy's skin looked as soft as silk and the top of his head was thick with downy baby hair.
Kakashi smiled serenely as he reached over to touch his seemingly smooth cheek but stopping short to check if it was okay with the mother. She smiled at him and nodded. His face lit up and he brought a finger to rub it over the baby's supple skin. He gasped but not at how soft the cheek was. Lightning zapped his fingers when his fingers came in contact with the baby and he felt fire race through him. The baby must have felt the same because his face scrunched up and his eyes opened and stared at Kakashi with his big, brown eyes.
"You have the most beautiful baby ma'am." Kakashi said in a daze, unable to tear his gaze from the baby's. "What's his name?"
"Thank you, your highness. His name's Iruka." The prince finally looked up to find the lady was giving him an odd look; one of amazement. She looked down at her child and stood up. "Well, we best be going-"
The little one started to whimper and his face scrunched up in anger as he balled his tiny fists. The woman looked down at the baby and started to rock him, humming to calm him down. Kakashi watched for a few moments, asking innocently, "maybe I could take care of him for you while you enjoy the banquet, ma'am?"
She looked up in surprise and gave him a fond smile before saying, "Your grace, this is a banquet for your father. Don't you want to attend?"
Shaken out of his haze, Kakashi glanced at the ground at the grim reminder and shook his head. "I don't want to."
"It must be hard. But don't you want to honor him?" The woman let the silence fall unto both of them as she studied the little king before crouching down again, "I'll let you hold him if you would come with me."
Upon seeing Kakashi's face light up, she carefully handed him the baby and the prince looked upon him in wonder for a few moments before making his way to the grand hall where the banquet was taking place; the idea to eat with everyone seeming more appealing.
Stepping into the hall, he found everyone staring. The prince glanced at them before making his way to the throne where his mentor the fourth King sat, cooing at the little bundle in his arms. King Minato gave a surprised look to Kakashi when he saw Kakashi with a child but the boy paid him no attention as he slipped to his seat next to the throne and sat the baby in his lap.
The banquet came and went. By the time the baby's mother came to pick him up, the little prince was hooked by Iruka's eyes, laugh and smile. His mother smiled down on Kakashi in affection and Kakashi gave the baby one last hug before handing him over to his mother. The baby looked back at him in longing and he gave Iruka a sad little wave as they left.
He felt so humiliated.
He hid behind the peach tree that was in full bloom by now and hugged his skinny legs to his chest, letting the tears slip down his cheeks as he tried to muffle his whimpers by hiding his face in his knees.
"My papa used to say that crying was good for the soul," a voice came from above and the child at the tree's base bolted from his spot and looked around for the voice's parent. The source was coming from the tree's branches; a small boy hanging from the lowest branch. The little boy grinned down at Kakashi, "sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
The brunet waved to Kakashi, forgetting for a few moments he was in a tree. He gave a squeak as he flailed his arms before falling flat on his back.
The kid sat up and rubbed his head, giving Kakashi the evil eye. The eight year-old gave him a tired looked before walking back off in the direction of his father's funeral banquet.
"Wait!" The brunet called as he got up. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you wanted to be alone."
"It's okay," Kakashi waved him off and kept walking. The smaller boy bit his lip and followed.
At first, Kakashi didn't mind the boy but after a while he started to get on his nerves. He finally couldn't take it, spinning around and asking exasperatedly, "why are you following me?"
The kid bumped into Kakashi's legs and quickly scrambled backwards, thinking for a few moments. "Uh, well, I-I'm lost."
Kakashi's face softened at the child-like response and sighed, "come with me."
The little one smiled and Kakashi reached for his hand. The kid gave it to him easily and they froze, a bolt of lightning zipping through their fingers and melting their insides. Kakashi was the first to shake away the feeling, setting aside that of nostalgia going through his mind that reminded him of ages ago.
He tugged the astounded kid along down the halls to the main entry where they were greeted with the sight of many onlookers who started to whisper to each other just as they had years ago.
"Hey," Kakashi looked over at the child who had gone quiet and thoughtful. "What's your name?"
"Kakashi."
"Iruka!" Kakashi spun them around to see a woman flit down the hall to their side, kneel next to the younger boy and grasp his small shoulders. "Iruka! I was so worried about you, honey! Don't you ever do that to me again!"
Iruka pouted in shame and shuffled his feet, "sorry, mama."
"I'm just glad you're okay." The brunette hugged her son close and noticed Kakashi standing in shock. Her eyes widened in surprise and she stood up to bow. "Your highness,"
Iruka smiled as his mother noticed the older boy. "He found me, mama."
"Thank you, so much," the woman gushed in happiness and Kakashi nodded, still amazed as he turned his gaze to the little boy who was grinned back at him. The silver-haired boy gave the little boy a tiny smile. Iruka's eyes lit up as he had a thought.
"Mama, can I stay with him?" The question surprised both Kakashi and Iruka's mother. She looked up at Kakashi.
"Honey, I don't think his highness has any time-"
"Actually, ma'am, I'd be honored to play with your son." Iruka's face burst into one of pure joy and Kakashi gave him a small smile.
The duo had been exploring the castle grounds and playing in the garden together for the most part of the day when the sun started to set, telling them to trudge their way to where they were to meet with Iruka's mom.
"Hey, Iruka?" Iruka looked down from his perch on the older boy's shoulders in response to the question. "Where's your dad?"
"My dad?" Iruka furrowed his brows and thought for a few moments. "Well, he's not with us anymore. Mama says he got really sick after I was born."
"So, your mother's raising you all by herself?" Iruka gave a short nod and Kakashi wondered how Iruka's mother had survived all those years without her other half.
Iruka's mother died two months later from what seemed like the same sickness that killed her partner. Her son was adopted by a nice little old faery in the countryside. He came to the castle one last time before parting to his new home.
The duo was sitting under the peach tree. Iruka snuggled against Kakashi's shoulder as Kakashi's cheek pressed against his head. They had been inseparable over the past few weeks and the faery folk of the castle had been getting ideas of why they were spending so much time together even though the two didn't.
"Kakashi, can you tell me the story of the guardians before I go?"
"Sure," the story Kakashi had told was of the great trio of faeries that protected the weak and saved the ladies in distress. Iruka never got tired of hearing it and Kakashi never said no in telling it. "One day, the three guardians were dancing about in their castle when they heard a knock on their door. It was the evil troll; their worst enemy. He challenged their leader to a fight but their captain did not accept for he believed against violence."
"I don't wanna go." Iruka whispered abruptly as he plucked at a stray string on Kakashi's shirt. The prince hummed from where his cheek was resting on Iruka's head.
"I don't want you to go either," Kakashi said softly. "But Ms. Frost said you could come back in a couple of years."
"Still," the boy pouted and hugged the older boy's arm. Kakashi gave the brunet a hug back and kissed his hair. "You'll be there when I come back, right?"
"Of course."
And he was. Six years later, Kakashi received a letter from Iruka saying he was coming for a visit. The whole week was spent planning for Iruka's arrival. It had been no secret that they had kept close contact by letters and messenger sprites and by the time Iruka's last message came, everyone knew that they were bound together.
"He'll be here soon." Kakashi said, standing straight with tension. From his throne, Minato hummed and nodded in acknowledgement as he continued to read his book. Kakashi's shoulders fell slightly and wondered out loud, "What if he says no?"
"He won't say no, Kakashi." The King took a bite out of the apple in his other hand, ignoring the agitated comments.
"But, let's just say for argument's sake, he does."
"He won't."
"But what if he does?"
"Kakashi." Minato said firmly as he snapped his book shut. "If he didn't love you, he wouldn't have written to you all these years. He won't say no."
Kakashi gave a thankful smile, "thank you."
The King grinned at him and gave him a slap on the back. "You're welcome. Now, where are you going to propose?"
Kakashi gave a sinister smile as he left the room. "Not telling because you'll probably send the whole armada."
"Peach tree?" Kakashi gave a hesitant 'no' before bolting out of the room.
The few moments before Iruka entered the castle were pure torture for the whole household. Everyone was hanging off the edge of their seats to see if the prince's Soul mate would be just as they remembered, even the King was just a bit curious. Everyone took a deep breath when the doors opened at slow-motion pace. And there he was; little Iruka was not so little anymore.
Iruka stepped out from the the winding hall and into the main square where Kakashi was waiting. Kakashi quickly stood straight and his eyes fell on Iruka's long, silky hair tied with a white ribbon at the top of his head. The brunet's face had changed. Gone were the chubby cheeks he remembered and replaced with high cheekbones and a slender jaw. The prince felt his heart swell when Iruka met his eyes and smiled.
Iruka couldn't take his eyes of the tall Kakashi he was seeing. It had only been six years but he looked so much different. He was taller and walked with purpose in his stride. His smoky hair seemed lighter on his head and brought out how his eyes. Iruka could hardly recognized him.
Iruka's cheeks flamed as Kakashi looked him over. He wanted so much to throw himself into the other's arms and hug Kakashi but he desperately controlled the urge; he wasn't a kid anymore.
"You've grown." Was the first thing Kakashi said and Iruka felt his face get even hotter. He hoped it wasn't showing
"You've had quite the growth spurt yourself."
"Dinner is about to begin. Would you care to join me?" Kakashi asked as he debated holding out his hand for Iruka to take.
"That sounds amazing," Iruka grinned at him and Kakashi spun around before he could work up the courage to simply hold out his hand.
The sun had reached the horizon by the time they finished eating and made their way through the castle. Kakashi sighed in content at the moment and Iruka raised a brow in silent question.
"I was just thinking how perfect this is." Cheeks flaring again, Kakashi explained as he maneuvered their walk in the direction of the secret garden he held so dear to his heart. "But you know what would make this even better?"
Iruka pretended to think, placing a finger on his chin before asking, "peaches?"
Kakashi chuckled. He couldn't help but think how everything was so perfect; the sunset, the smell of the peaches and even more was how Iruka encouraged his every move.
He slumped against the tree and slid down its trunk until his butt hit the ground, patting the ground next to him. The brunet slid down next to him and there was a long pause before his head hit Kakashi's shoulder, murmuring bravely, "I missed you."
"I did too." Kakashi pressed his cheek to the younger man's hair and was painfully aware of how perfect this moment was to pop the question.
Moments passed and Iruka shifted, sitting up with a gloomy look on his face. "Kakashi, you know I didn't come here to visit, right?"
Kakashi nodded uncertainly and the brunet continued, "I came here because Ms. Frost wants me to start searching for my Soul mate."
"Soul mate?" Kakashi parroted as he furrowed his brows and Iruka looked at the ground between them
"Yes and, well, I was kind of hoping I would find him so I could stay longer." Iruka glanced up at Kakashi, searching for a sign of some kind.
"So, you didn't come here to see me?" Iruka's eyes widened at the statement and he shook his head furiously, standing quickly.
"Of course I came to see you!"
"But you're looking for your Soul mate too." Kakashi's eyes were teasing but Iruka didn't sit back down, too invested to notice the playful tone.
"Because Ms. Frost made me."
"So, you didn't come on your own will?" Iruka hissed in frustration and stood up.
"Yes, of course I did but she wanted me to use that as a cover so I could come and see you!" The prince's jaw fell in surprise at the statement but Iruka didn't see the gesture and continued in a lower, more calm voice as he turned his back to Kakashi in an attempt to hide his flushed face. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning unless I find my Soul mate by then. Goodnight, Kakashi."
Iruka hurried in embarrasment out to his room and left Kakashi stunned and quiet. He sat at the tree for a time longer, shaking from both fear of losing what he loved but the excitement of chase. He loved teasing Iruka but half feared that he might have gone a bit too far. Deciding in that moment, he stood and followed the direction Iruka had went.
Steps echoing deeply, Kakashi's skin crawled when he knocked on his guest door to no response. After knocking again and calling Iruka's name, Kakashi glanced down the hall and when he saw no one, he opened the door with a snap of his fingers. Door creaking open, the found the room to be untouched. Not even Iruka's backpack was in sight.
He felt uneasy.
Hurrying down the hallways, he searched the dining hall, market and even his own room with no success and felt dread build up inside him but had no time to act upon it when he heard a scream. Legs aching and panting, he stopped when a tiny pixie zipped passed him in tears and his knees almost gave in when he saw all the blood. The grass that led into the garden was painted with it and Kakashi heard Iruka's breaths before even seeing his legs. His hands touched chilled skin and Iruka's glazed eyes met his when Kakashi stepped into the garden to find Iruka slumped against the wall just inside. Two long gashes were bleeding profusely from his side and Kakashi immediately placed his hands on them, trying to remember everything he was taught about healing which was very little when it came to iron cuts like these.
"K-Kakashi." Iruka gurgled and Kakashi only looked up a moment later when Iruka touched his arm. It was then that he saw the deep hole in Iruka head on the side he couldn't see before and he realized his magic wasn't enough. Eyes meeting Iruka's again, the younger fae smiled and gripped his arms tighter to pull him closer. Kakashi moved into the touch and tried to hold himself together but felt his world stop. "I love you."
A hand was pulling them apart and Kakashi snapped his head up to find a mass of fae and their green glowing palms, Minato at the back. He looked back down at the body they were pulling out of his hands and felt a jerking need to throw up when he saw it lifeless and slack.
"Kakashi," Minato was tugging him up and he tried to blink away the blackout that was oncoming. "We need to be quick."
He nodded and followed the group further into the garden, fae blinking in and out of the room to fetch candles and other fae.
"The iron won't stop unless we do something about it." A woman's voice hit Kakashi's ears and he looked over to see a woman tying back her hair. She looked right back a him and said, "you look like a mess, brat. Come on."
Everyone had started to gather around the body with the blonde woman kneeling near the head, holding her hand out to Kakashi. Letting her take his hand and place it on the stiff chest, she said calmly, "we shall call to our ancestors to restore his life. It will take each and everyone here to help guide our fellow fae back to his body and call out to the spirits."
With a deep breath, she exhaled and let her energy flow just as the other fae touched the body and joined in. Kakashi kept his hand on Iruka's heart and tried to follow as best he could, letting the humming that began take over.
"If you want to save him, you're going to have to sacrifice him." Kakashi opened his eyes when the blonde woman spoke. There were now more fae then before surrounding them; time slipping by around them. He looked back to the woman and she still had her eyes on him. She said softly, "there isn't enough energy to bring him back to us as a fae. As a human, he will be reborn."
Feeling the pit in his stomach lift back up when he saw the hole begin to slowly form over itself, he was too numb to speak but nodded.
Hours later Kakashi stood in the center of the meadow, waiting. The long grass blew with the breeze, as did the man's short silver hair.
Soon enough, a small ball of light zipped out of the tree line to the man, pausing by his ear. The sprite whispered to him that Iruka had woken up and was only slightly disoriented. The prince smirked sadly to himself, "it's done."
Everything around him felt dead; the grass, the plants as well as his beloved peach tree. Kakashi watched the snow fall from where a troll had bust out through the glamour and into the forest with empty eyes void of life.
There was nothing left. Nothing in the world left for him, not even vengeance. A young soldier named Sasuke had taken Orochimaru's head and was being praised for being so quick on his feet. The rest of the palace was in lockdown but his small group of soldiers were slowly scouring the tree for the way this horde could have entered and disposing of the bodies of Unseelie fae and monsters that had made their way into the court.
Iruka was still dead.
He shook his head and wobbled to his feet, staying stationary for a few moments to soak in the nothingness around him. He wanted so much to die at that moment. All the joy in his life was gone. There wasn't even any hope to cling to, thinking that Iruka would come back.
He wanted to die. He wanted for the sky to swallow him whole. He continued to let the tears flow as he thought back to those eyes, that hair, his way of being so optimistic all the time.
His voice.
"Kakashi," the brunet's husky voice blew through Kakashi's mind like a breeze and he shivered.
"Kakashi," it came again even more clear to his mind.
"Kakashi," the King opened his eyes to find the brunet standing there in front of him. Wait, what?
Iruka was standing in front of him in a new set of clothes and his hair tied back, starting to get wet with the rain.
"Kakashi? What are you doing? You could get a cold." The apparition went up to him and felt his shirt. "Oh, you're freezing!"
The King watched as the thing in front of him fumbled over him. The Iruka figure paused and looked up at him. "Kakashi? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Kakashi furrowed his brows and brought a hand up to the apparition's cheek, finding it warm and wet from the rain. How? How could this be? This couldn't be Iruka… He must be hallucinating…
He stroked the cheek and watched as the ghost closed his eyes briefly. He ran his hand up the cheek into the hair and brought his face closer to the figure. He shook his head in disbelief.
But there Iruka was, standing there with him and dripping wet too. He took a deep breath and came back into the figure's personal space, mumbling, "How… Iruka… You're here…"
"In the flesh," Kakashi watched his lover's lips turn up into a smile. There was color back in those cheeks again. He pulled Iruka into a hug, whispering softly, "I thought you were dead."
"Not this time," Iruka grinned at him and hugged back, holding back tears that wanted to boil up when he remembered the last time they were brought together and how Kakashi came to bring him home. "You know, you never did propose to me."
Kakashi's eyes widened and he pulled out of the hug. The brunet simply smiled at him and he chuckled, a hand sliding up to cup his cheek. He whispered softly, "welcome home."
They grinned at each other and slowly head back into the halls of the camphor tree, hand in hand. Their steps echoed lightly against the wood and into the silence that made Iruka uncomfortable. "Kakashi, this isn't right."
With a cough, the older man pushed forward despite Iruka's comment. "I hear voices. Everyone should be in lockdown."
They heard and felt the flames before they even stepped into the market hall where a large sphere of bent metal was burning away at the floor and Kakashi immediately started to push Iruka back down the stairs and away. They hurried down the main hall and were sliding into a tighter passageway when Kakashi coughed and doubled over against the doorway, spitting out blood.
"Kakashi?" Iruka panicked, tugging the older mand up just as he let out another violent cough of blood.
"Rust," Kakashi coughed out as he pressed a hand to his mouth to hold back his coughs, feeling his lungs and chest burning from the inside. Iruka swore and slid an arm under him to pull him up and help him down the stairs, not knowing where to take him.
Loud panting made Iruka pause in their slow journey down the tiny hall and bright eyes made Iruka quickly back pedal kakashi towards the direction they had just came from in fear. "Back, back."
Head lolling to the side, Kakashi's limited movements stopped them just as a loud roar came from in front of them and the creature bounded in their direction. Iruka tried to move but tripped on Kakashi and sent them tumbling backward just as the beast came slashing down on them, tearing its claws into Iruka's front as Kakashi half unconciously teleported them away into black smoke.
Kakashi fell against the tree behind him and Iruka stumbled back into his arms. Sliding down in a heap, they stayed there thorought their panting and coughing as they felt the night was becoming even darker and colder than before as the shivers of death slid into their bones.
"Kakashi," Iruka mumbled through lips that were becoming numb, staining Kakashi's shirt further than it already was.
The King hummed in response and Iruka continued. "Are we going to die? Like, for real this time?"
Kakashi coughed and rested his cheek on the brunet's head as he brought his shaking arms around his lover, murmuring, "probably but at least we're together this time."
Iruka smiled serenely as his eyes dimmed. "Yeah."
"I love you, Iruka." A sputtering chuckle was the last Kakashi heard before going limp.
They stayed like that under the peach tree of their stained, little sanctuary.
"Please, Genma. I really really don't want to. You know what happened last time!" Iruka whined as his friend dragged him to Anko's end of the year party but the stick-sucker wouldn't have it.
"Fine, no keg stands." Genma said optimistically as they entered the beach house Anko rented for the week. It was evening and a bon fire was roaring outside the home as partygoers danced inside and outside to raging loud music. Iruka was pulled throughout the house until they found Anko chatting amongst a group of friends.
"Hey! Iruka! Long-time no see, buddy!" Iruka found an Anko hugging him and hugged back lightly.
"Yeah, it been… Two weeks since your last party?" Iruka chuckled as he sloly pulled himself from her boa constrictor watched over her shoulder as Genma bolted down the stairs to where Raidō was conversing and the brunet shook his head fondly. "for almost two years, Genma, Izumo and Kotetsu have been taking turns dragging me to every single party they hear of."
"Well, now you know everyone who comes to these shindigs." Anko wrapped her arm around his shoulder and made a wide gesture to the people around them with her arm. "Besides, this way you get a wide range of samples."
The brunet laughed loudly as he slid out of her grip to find a drink of his own. "Oh, come on, Anko. You know I don't swing that way!"
"There are guys here too!" She pleaded called out after him but he was long gone.
Sliding up to the makeshift bar on the beach just a ways away from the house, Iruka glanced around at the other people around him and did actually recognize most of the regulars and a few new faces who he did know from work. He bumped into multiple people as he tried to gain his balance until two strong hands stopped his whirlwind. The room seemed to freeze around him as he turned to find a man inches taller than him holding him.
Though, this man was not like any other in the room. His silver hair glistened in the dim light and his double-colored eyes sparkled when they met Iruka's. The man's rough voice reached out to Iruka, saying, "you okay?"
Iruka nodded numbly and licked his lips to try to speak but no words came until he coughed away the embarassment. "Oh, yeah. I mean, thanks, man."
The stranger let his arms drop, letting out a charming smile. "Hope you have a designated driver already."
"Hey, this is my first drink." Iruka chuckled and licked at the little line of liquor dripping down his arm. He said with a cheeky grin, "you offering?"
Iruka watched closely as pale cheeks flushed and noticed a beauty mark. He lifted his eyes back up to the strangers just as the other man said, "I mean, I only take guys home on the second date."
They both laughed when Iruka stuck out his empty hand, "deal."
To his surprise, the stranger shook his hand with a smile, "Kakashi."
Iruka felt his spine tingle as he answered with a smirk, "Iruka."
"You know what's weird?" Iruka asked as he played with his boyfriend's fingers.
"Hmm?" Kakashi brought Iruka's hand up to kiss it, causing the brunet to blush deeply. They were sitting cross-legged next to each other by the ocean outside Iruka's hotel, watching as the sun set beyond the horizon.
"Well, you might find this a little insane but," Iruka started as he looked down at the sand. "Before I met you, I frequently had these dreams where I was lying in a garden with someone but I never saw their face; I only heard a voice that I didn't recognize at the time but…"
"It was me." Iruka looked up, startled at the response. Kakashi's face was thoughtful as he looked down at their hands. "I've had the same dream."
"They were really made for each other," Anko murmured as she, Genma and Asuma looked upon the couple sitting in the sand that had begun to laugh from their point at Anko's beach house. The three of them smiled at the sight of the newly reunited pair.
"Do you think they'll remember one day?" Genma asked and the two others looked at him before spinning around when they heard a distinct woman's voice coming up the stairs of the patio.
"Maybe but the chances are low," Tsunade said as she sat down in the vacant chair. "We were lucky enough to get to them in time but their memories are likely gone by now. It's been two whole years, after all."
Thank you for reading