Beloved Betas: Thea Blackthorn and Meygal

Written for this prompt the LJ community KakaIru_fest and this prompt:

Genre: AU,Angst

Three things that can be included: katana, ANBU mask, a handkerchief

Scenario: Iruka is secretly an ANBU posing as a school teacher. As ANBU, he has a more serious personality. He goes on a mission gone awry and Kakashi catches him. Bonus Genma/Raidou on the side.

Summary: Someone broke in one of the Nara laboratories and stole sensible data. Tsunade sent Crow and his ANBU team after them, to get the data back. Who would be interested in the data? On the way they are ambushed, was it all just a trap? Minor AU, KakaIru, GenRai, much violence and blood, no lemons

Warnings: violence, homosexual relationship

Disclaimer: All characters and background don't belong to me and there was no profit made from this!

Author's Notes: Thanks so much to my betas and tellytubby101 for the support! There is no way I could have done this without their help.

Dear reader, please review! If you read this and liked it review, tell me what was good and what wasn't - that's the only way for me to improve!

Red And White

It was early afternoon; the leaves were restless in the breeze that already held a chill. The sun hid behind fast, low moving clouds, the first storms would come soon. But the leaves were still green here; a few starting to turn yellow, but it would take more than four weeks before the green had to truly give way to the bright yellows and orange and browns of the autumn foliage. The air was filled with misty rain, the little dripping noises of water falling from the dark green and glistening leaves to the ground below.

Three ANBU moved through the forest almost soundlessly, their bodies hidden by billowing black cloaks, their faces by white porcelain masks. Their speed blurred their forms in the dappled light and shadow of the trees. The white porcelain almost glowed in the twilight of the rainy day; the bright red and blue markings displayed the stoic faces of the animals they were named after, there was an eerie contrast between those bright masks and the dull, dripping forest under a leaden sky. The aura surrounding them was solemn and heavy, and their movements had a strange purposeful quality.

The leader of the group eyed his companions; he could see the growing tension in them. They had noticed it too. He closed the distance between himself and Lizard, flashing carefully hidden hand signs,

"Two - at five o'clock."

Lizard didn't even pause for a split second in his strides, offering a silent nod in acknowledgement. Crow fell back on his original position between the other two. His gaze met Sparrow's for a second. The younger ANBU was just waiting for him to give an order.

Crow smiled beneath his mask and increased their speed again. This detour would bring them further away from the target they had carefully monitored for the last three days, but they couldn't allow anyone to get at their backs, when the enemy already outnumbered them.

It was too early for back up. They had sent the messenger that would inform Tsunade about the plot barely ten hours ago.

The bird with the message wouldn't have reached the Hokage yet.

That meant that the chance that their pursuers were friendly was pretty slim. He would give it another five minutes and try to shake them of their tail, if that didn't work he would have no other choice than to deal with them. This could cost them the whole mission, especially if they had to waste too much chakra or were not quiet enough, giving their position away to their targets.

Crow grew tired of wasting both time and chakra. It was time to make a decision. He ordered his team to gather around him, stopping on the broad branch of an ancient beech. He didn't waste any time, closing his eyes in concentration. He was not as sensitive as a trained chakra sensor would be, but he had developed a certain skill with it. He felt his teammates, their chakra felt calm and soothingly familiar to him. He expanded his range to its maximum, but couldn't feel any other developed chakra systems, just a few deer deeper in the thicket. That didn't mean that there were no other shinobi here, but it required a certain skill to hide chakra completely. He opened his eyes again.

Lizard had landed next to him, crouching low and nodding briefly, while Sparrow had landed just above them in the shadow of a few branches. Looking down Sparrow nodded too. They didn't see anyone either, that was good. He relaxed a little, offering a confirming nod too. Crow opened his cloak and motioned with agile fingers.

"Sparrow, create a shadow clone and send it back. We can't keep running any longer. This is taking too much time and resources already. We will set up an ambush for them."

Sparrow nodded and stood up on his branch. Lizard stood up, his eyes still roaming over the damp forest, checking for possible places for them to lie in wait. Crow looked back in the direction they had come from but could only see the dark, thick green foliage of late summer. The constant drizzle made tracking difficult, so whoever was after them had to be an expert. He looked up and saw two Sparrows observing their surroundings carefully too. One of them turned to face him now. Crow's gloved hand signalled again.

"Be careful, they must not see you. Good luck."

The clone saluted and teleported away silently.

"Lizard, you take the lead, Sparrow you follow, I'll provide the rear cover. Go!"

They both gave a sharp nod. Lizards gaze lingered for a moment, before he took off, doing as he was ordered. Crow smiled behind his mask; as much as he hated working with his lover, it was comforting and with Sparrow they were one hell of a team.

They ran for another five minutes, before they found a good spot for an ambush. The presence of their pursuers drew even closer. They had to be very skilled, not only to just keep up with them, but to actually close in. Sparrow and Lizard immediately began to prepare traps, whilst Crow was guarding them. They had hardly begun when Sparrow twitched visibly and looked up. Crow furrowed his brow. If they had found Sparrow's clone, they might be in trouble.

"Your clone?"

"Yes… it released itself. Our pursuers are Hound and Racoon."

Crow closed his mouth behind his mask and Sparrow just shrugged. If he stated it like that, his clone had indeed confirmed their identity. A low groan escaped Crow.

"Oh joy… what a waste."

Lizard chuckled and jumped up, leaning into him for a second.

Crow leaned close as well and whispered, "I'll kill Kakashi for that one… "

"No, you won't. At least, not for something as trivial as wasting our time."

The amusement in Lizard's voice was obvious and Crow considered throwing him off the branch.

"Why didn't they send a message?" Crow grumbled.

"Maybe they have… so you should ask, why didn't we get a message."

Lizard was serious again. Sparrow joined them on the pine-branch they had settled into. Crow regarded him carefully; the tension was evident in his shoulders.

"Are you okay with that, Sparrow? You've tried hard to avoid Hound for the last two weeks."

The bird mask turned towards Crow. He couldn't really see the brown eyes beneath it and the cold blue lines painting the sparrows face swallowed any resemblance to the warm presence the man usually had. Even the shading of his voice seemed to change when he put on the mask.

"There is no problem, taichō. I can handle myself."

Crow nodded but held Sparrow's gaze and, as expected, the other felt obliged to add something. Crow had to know what had happened and if he could safely team them up if needed. Sparrow was well aware of that. They were friends, and he knew that Iruka had had the hot's for the silver-haired Copy Nin for ages, and they had been getting along quite nicely for some time. And then everything seemed to change over night. Iruka had refused to say anything about his reasons for avoiding Kakashi all of a sudden, and that was okay, since it wasn't Genma's business. But the tables had turned and now Crow needed an answer. Sparrow looked away and all but fidgeted under Crow's scrutiny.

"There was no argument, and there is no bad blood between us. I just needed some distance before I fell completely."

Sparrow sighed. His voice had changed into a normal, more familiar tone. He looked at Crow again as he whispered, "Genma, I promise I'll tell you guys when we get back, but it's nothing – at least nothing important. Moreover, he doesn't know who I am and I want it to stay that way."

Crow nodded; that was all he needed to know, and he would feel bad later if he pushed too hard. Beside him he felt Lizard shifting a little, the uneasy feeling had spread.

"Okay, then let's go and meet up with them. We have lost enough time already."

Crow bent his legs and pushed himself of with all he had, hurrying towards the others as fast as they could.

Hound and Racoon had been hurrying after the other ANBU team for almost four hours now, guided by Pakkun, who was familiar with the scent of the team they followed. Iruka's smell was especially fresh in his nose, since he had been teamed up with him and Naruto just three weeks ago, when they followed Mizuki. The pug was quite confident about his sense of smell, even if the conditions were difficult. Added to that, Crow's squad, whom they followed, had been one of the most successful recently, which meant catching up with them easily would have been a surprise.

Pakkun didn't mention to Kakashi that the scent of the third member was fresh in his nose; he was a ninja after all and he was not inclined on breaking crucial ANBU regulations. He kept his mouth shut.

This chase was ridiculous, and Kakashi knew that Crow wouldn't wait much longer before he set up an ambush. He was confident that the others wouldn't blindly kill them, it would be a waste of effort. A low growl escaped him when he saw someone stir in a nearby branch. Pakkun and Racoon reacted immediately, taking higher positions to the left and right of Hound, ready to fight.

A cloaked figure stepped into the open, wearing a mask with sparrow markings. Racoon and Hound relaxed and greeted the other with a short nod. Following protocol Sparrow offered the first part of the sequence in an identification phrase:

"It is the wind in the trees which is only seen by the effect and yet we know the wind is there..."

Kakashi was surprised that the voice of this ANBU sounded familiar. He was sure he had never worked with him before. He was ready to answer, when Racoon beat him to it and recited the second part of the poem.

"...it is the breeze which rustles the leaves that gives me hope."

Kakashi watched the figure closely; the wet cloak clung to the other ANBU. He was of average height and build, and there were no distinct traits that might have been revealing.

Sparrow came closer and settled on the branch they occupied. Kakashi took the initiative this time and spoke up.

"I'm glad you found us, Sparrow. We were sent as back up. Inoichi-san was able to get some information from the `victim`. Where is the rest of your team?"

Sparrow revealed his gloved hand so he could sign the message. Kakashi was not surprised to see this reaction, it seemed he did know him, and whoever hid behind the mask was concerned he might recognize his voice.

"We ran into a group of Missing Nin once already, it seems someone is willing to pay a generous bounty for living Konoha ANBU. I'll let the others know it's you. Proceed; we will meet you half way."

Kakashi nodded and was not surprised when the clone formed seals and released itself. He looked over to Racoon and nodded, and they were on their way again, hurrying towards the others.

They met on a small hill, Crow already waiting for them under the wide branches of a tree, the other two keeping to the background. Kakashi was glad that it was Crow he would work with. There were few ANBU still on active duty longer than he had been. He appreciated the calm lead Crow always took with his teams.

Kakashi could almost see the confident smirk of the older man when he greeted them. A single gesture was enough to send Sparrow and Lizard back into the trees to secure the area.

"Hound, Racoon."

"Nice chase, Crow. You almost got away… Pakkun had a hard time tracking you." The pug shot Hound a dirty look.

"I'll take my leave then, since you found your playmates, Hound." Both men looked down and smiled at the gruff reply.

"Thanks, Pakkun." The dog nodded before he vanished in a small cloud of smoke.

"Seems we aren't good enough then …" Crow's smile was evident in his voice as was his relief that they had received reinforcements instead of being pursued by some bounty hunters.

Hound seemed to remember his orders at that moment and switched into mission mode. He straightened up.

"Hound and Racoon reporting in. We were sent to pass on information and act as reinforcements under your command. The new objective is to gather information about the whole incident and if possible apprehend one foe for further interrogation. The message that should have announced our arrival didn't reach you, I presume."

"No. And that is what is bothering me. We were led all the way here and then someone intercepts our messages? Our problem might be bigger than we originally thought…"

"I guess so. Ibiki and Inoichi-san convinced Nara Tomoko to tell them about the incident. She was involved in the plan, but was deceived and left behind by her partners. She was approached by some Iwa rogues three weeks ago. Their objective was to create a case that would require ANBU attention. We don't know for what purpose though."

"Ah, we figured as much already." Crow took out a crumpled piece of paper and handed it over to them. It was a flyer that promised a reasonable reward for a living Konoha ANBU.

Hound and Racoon read it twice before they looked back up.

Crow continued, "Near the village at the edge of the forest, we ran into a gang of Nuke-nin. They told us that there was a bounty on our heads. Someone is willing to pay quite a sum for ANBU. Whatever they want - this is dangerous. That group back there were no match for us at all, but there are others."

Kakashi and Tenzō nodded. Crow took back the flyer.

"Their plan, apparently, is to lure some ANBU out for capture, and likely steal anything that would pay off as an added bonus. Considering the effort and the risk they've taken by entering Konoha directly, they seem to be pretty self-confident. We have to expect a good trap at the end of the line. I hope they didn't expect us to come unknowingly."

Crow gave them a moment to contemplate while he looked for Lizard and Sparrow, but they were not to be seen anywhere nearby. He took out a map and showed them to Hound and Racoon.

"In any case, there is a small settlement approximately here. It's just two residences and a third structure which serves as a shed for tools and as warehouse. The residents usually visit the village once every two weeks. They were overdue, and all the other leads have pointed to this area."

The map had good detail on the houses and the surrounding area. There were even spots marked where a look-out could be placed. Kakashi inclined his head. The neat hand writing seemed oddly familiar.

"You were already there?"

"No, Sparrow's summons did the recon."

Kakashi nodded but seemed not to be satisfied with that answer.

"Do you have an idea how many enemies there are?"

"We expect twelve. Most of them are well above Chuunin level."

"Wow, that would be a large group. What do you mean when you say most?"

"We counted at least six of Jounin-level, and considering the reputation of Konoha's ANBU, that seems reasonable."

Hound just nodded and rolled his shoulders. That would be tough, he was glad that Tsunade had sent them as reinforcements now.

"This won't be a picnic," Kakashi stated flatly.

"No, it won't," Crow replied dryly.

Racoon stepped into the conversation again. "How do you want to proceed?"

"We were on our way there, when we noticed you guys coming after us. As you can see we took a detour. I think it will take us about an hour to get there, depending on the terrain. For the finer details we will wait till we are there." He looked up and Hound and Racoon nodded their agreement.

They had worked with Genma and Raidō a lot over the years and not just in ANBU, so they had a good idea of what to expect anyway.

The five ANBU settled into a tree just outside the direct vicinity of the northern look out. Sparrow had summoned a few waxwings that were scouting the area and guiding them through the enemies' traps undetected. The thick black band that reached from their beaks to the back of their delicate heads, reminded Kakashi of a mask covering their faces. It gave them a rather bold appearance.

The birds blended in to the scenery perfectly, keeping the guard distracted by chirping and chattering in a nearby tree, fighting loudly over the fruits that were left in the branches. It was a little bit unnerving to see these summonses act just like normal birds did. When Sparrow had called them, they immediately flew up on a branch sitting frighteningly still, their attention fixed on their master, while simultaneously regarding the surroundings with their unmoving bird eyes. Sparrow had a superb spy network on his hands with these little buggers.

Kakashi eyed the man again. At the moment he knelt next to Crow discussing their course of action under their breaths. The waxwing sitting on Sparrow's shoulder talked in a surprisingly low voice, offering details every now and then to the two ANBU.

Crow turned towards them and signalled.

"Sparrow and I will advance and take care of the guard. Follow us as back up. Lizard takes the lead."

Kakashi felt Lizard twitch next to him, but he kept quiet and dutifully nodded just as he and Racoon had. Hound really wanted to see Sparrow in action. He had heard about him. Rumour had it that he was a competent profiler and tactician and had a rather wicked aim, but Kakashi had never had a chance to work with Sparrow before. With these summons he could see why; they filled the same position when it came to reconnaissance.

The departure of the waxwing stirred Kakashi from his train of thought. The bird was taking a clever detour before he joined the flock again. Sparrow followed the progress of the bird with binoculars and gave a signal to them.

Kakashi prepared himself to move out, waiting for Raidō to take the lead. Racoon had also picked up Lizard's reaction and asked him a question:

"Is there anything we should know beforehand?"

"No, I don't think we need to worry, they always pull this stunt and get away with it."

A slender silver eyebrow raised behind the Hound mask. Kakashi's eyes had never left their team mates advancing to their posts.

"You don't seem to consent with whatever they are doing?"

"No. Don't get me wrong here, Racoon, I have confidence in them and their strategy is uncommon and deadly efficient, but I would prefer it if they would resort to less risky tactics. We need to follow now. Spread out, I'll take the centre position - Hound left, Racoon right, keep in line."

They nodded and Lizard gave the command to go. Kakashi took his position and synchronized his moves with the others. They worked together easily and reached a position fifty metres behind Sparrow and Crow, who found cover near the look out.

Crow took out two senbon and positioned himself behind Sparrow. And then they waited. Kakashi didn't really know what they waited for. He couldn't think of any jutsu that would need Crow to threaten Sparrow with his senbon. The whole scene was heavy with tension and Kakashi held his breath.

Crow raised his arms, his black cloak made it look like he had grown wings like his namesake. Kakashi still saw the slightly smaller frame of Sparrow, obviously in deep concentration. Suddenly the senbon sped down into Sparrow's neck. Kakashi's eyes widened, there was no way Crow could stop the motion; it was too fast. Kakashi saw the small halt when the needles pierced flesh and the figure before Crow collapsed. What the hell was that?

His eyes went up and he saw Sparrow now standing in the look out, the waxwings settled around and on him and Crow stepping to the side giving them the signal to regroup.

Kakashi's gaze jerked around to Lizard, the tall man had already jumped down the tree running towards his lover. Racoon on the other hand met his gaze and signalled,

"What the fuck?"

Kakashi just shook his head and shrugged.

Crow searched the body before the others reached him. Racoon didn't waste time.

"What was that?"

Crow looked up from his kneeling position. "What was what?"

"That manoeuvre." Racoon made a vague gesture towards Crow and the body.

"Body switch."

The question loomed among them. Crow obviously didn't bother to elaborate; Lizard sighed and answered in his stead.

.

"Sparrow is a master of Kawarimi. They trained hard to the extent that he can switch his position with people too. It was a lot of hard work, but it paid off."

Kakashi nodded. Replacing living things was hard. Living plants were tricky and it took a lot of effort to replace them, even with a potted petunia, but humans were a whole different level. His respect for Sparrow just went up a notch. He fixed his gaze on Crow again.

"And you stand behind him to strike the enemy down in a surprise attack, before they even know what's happened. The senbon are poisoned I presume?"

"Yes. Most of the times it's flawless, fast and clean."

"Impressive." Kakashi searched for Sparrow who was jogging towards them accompanied by one of his summons again. "Does the target need to be surprised?"

Crow looked in the direction of Sparrow too.

"Not necessarily, but it's easier that way."

Kakashi watched Sparrow come closer. The man didn't give away anything by his gait or habits. His whole demeanour was blank as all ANBU should be, especially the ones that were trained for reconnaissance and infiltration. Sparrow was really good at it.

His mind made a full stop, he was not even meant to think about things like that, but Sparrow just made him curious. Crow's low chuckle drove his attention back.

"You won't find out, Hound. Give it a rest."

Kakashi raised his hand and rubbed the back of his cloaked neck. "Right."