The feeling of being small and vulnerable. That's how it felt each and every day for Iruka. He'd pull his knees to his chest and held himself tight. Thinking if he held on enough he could stay in one piece but the pressure only shattered him more. He felt the darkness consume him many times. It was so lonely and painful. Shaking the shadows off took so much energy out of him. He wanted to sink, drifting away into the darkness.
Eyes wide open, Iruka gripped his bed sheets. He turned onto his side and curled into a ball. It was just a dream. He sat up and wiped his forehead. Sticky and moist strands of hair clung to the nape of his neck. Iruka felt a dull ache. He was dreaming of his youthful self. All alone and it wasn't any different now. That realization hit him. He clenched at his chest, waiting for the pain to pass over.
He pushed himself out of bed, noticing the 3:17 am displayed on his digital clock. The ticking coming from the kitchen clock was a lonely noise, the only other sound within the house besides himself. A crescent moon seemed to give him a knowing smile of his pain. Iruka rubbed his eyes and poured himself a cup of water. The water was clear and cold, just what he needed. He poured himself a second cup and wandered around his small kitchen. The dish rack held one clean plate, bowl and chopstick. Iruka sighed and gulped down his water.
Heavy minded, Iruka set his cup harshly on the table. He wished Naruto was here. One of his few joys was seeing Naruto around. Now the young man never stops,even to give a small look at Iruka, constantly running off to find Sasuke. Iruka wonder if he had tried harder to reach out for the dark minded kid, would things have been different?
"Iruka Sensei."
Startled, he grabbed the chopsticks, ready to stab the intruder. Iruka froze, "It's you. What are you doing here s-"
A cold hand illuminated by the light from the moon, it quickly covered the man's mouth. It struck like a snake striking for its prey. "I'm home."
Iruka's eyes widen as two red orbs swirled. He shut his eyes and pulled at the hand who gripped his face. With such a strong grip, it was hard to breathe.
"I won't be caught by the idiot, Naruto."
The voice trickled into his right ear. A cold hand slithered up to Iruka's neck while the other one that had clamped his mouth and nose tight, two fingers forced their way between his teeth. Now that he could breathe through his nose the idea to bite didn't sound so bad, maybe a punch to the face. He could handle that.
"Bite and I'll rip your lower jaw." The hand tightened.
Iruka dropped a sweat, not what he had expected. He continued to keep his eyes close. Surely it was all a dream, a guilty dream of not being able to help Sasuke. Sasuke seemed fond of him enough back at the academy. A little know it all but always willing to participate, quietly working. Often giving him no acknowledgement but when turning in an assignment...Iruka realized he never noticed the boy's pain at all.
The two fingers nudged themselves in. Cold and slim, they slowly entered.
Now wasn't a good time to reminisce, he could lose his life if he moved a single inch.
The fingers were cold and tasted, thank god, clean. Iruka gagged as he struggled to pull at both wrists. He assessed the situation. He was backed up against the fridge, possibly going to choke. Naruto would be so heartbroken to find his dead sensei. Iruka felt bad that the only way Naruto would notice him was if he died under the hand of Sasuke. That's right. Sasuke Uchiha.
"Guh-ah-mph!" Iruka opened his eyes. Dream or not he'd better find a way out of this situation. The eyes were red, burning and drilling into him. Why was he here? Was this the end for Iruka Sensei? What would happen to the kids, friends and Naruto?
"Hmph. No one will care. Nobody in this village does. When you're gone, they'll soon forget about you." A slight pause, the tilt of the head to consider Iruka's eyes, "Maybe except Naruto. He'll never forget you. He loves you very much. I know."
Surprised at his words, Iruka wondered if Sasuke still has a heart to notice love. From the current situation, it seemed he might be a bit confused by the idea of love. Iruka was definitely wondering about the fingers. The hand on his neck was more of his concern. Sasuke felt strong, Iruka better weasel his way out of this. Calming down, Iruka gripped on to the wrists and stared right into those blood-red eyes, challenging him to go ahead and kill him. Maybe if he used his Teacher look, it could pull some soft emotion Sasuke had towards him as a mentor, even if it was just a little. Iruka had made sure he applied himself everywhere when his student needed him, if he remembers correctly.
"Do you think that making a face would work on me?" The face pulled in close."Disgusting." Sasuke focused on the soft lips and pearly teeth.
Iruka notices the death eyes looking at his saliva, pooling out. It wasn't his fault, with two fingers in someone's mouth; it's bound to happen. Okay. Those hands really needed to get out. Iruka took the moment of distraction, giving a swift kick to the gut and surprisingly it pained him to kick a former student.
There were no cries of pain, just a small kick across the room. He hoped he hadn't hurt him. Coughing and spitting, Iruka was glad to get out of that awkward situation, if anything, his mouth was the deadly area. Now, he could talk some sense-
"Is that all?"
A figure stood beside Iruka. Eyes widen. It ended quick. It felt fast and slow at the same time. A quick look in those eyes and it went black. He didn't even feel his head hit the ground. The quiet words of forgiveness faded in and out of his mind. Smiling kids and comrades would soon forget him, and Iruka was okay with that. Naruto will be okay, and he'll find a way to cope. Sasuke will continue with his reign of terror.
