Title: A Caged Bird
Series: Naruto
Pairing: Kakashi/Iruka
Warnings: Rating M; Violence, language, sex, non-con, m-preg (sort of), angst
Authors Note:
So, this is sort of my first Naruto fanfic, and the first one I've ever put online. Yay, me~
Alright, so I thought I should mention this but I don't want to give too much away to the plot of the story. While I warned there's m-preg, the story does not revolve around the happiness of having a child. I've seen a lot of stories like that, where a guy suddenly finds himself pregnant, falls in love with "daddy" (if he isn't already), and then they live a happy life expecting their child. This story isn't really like that. And I've said it's m-preg, but it isn't exactly. I don't know how to put it without giving a lot away, but just know that if you have a problem with a "henged-female" guy or if you want a super happy sappy romance, this story just might not be what you're looking for. But if it is, and you love angst as much as I do, then I hope you can enjoy it.
(oh, and also, there will be OC's in this, but I'll try not to elaborate on them too much and keep the attention on Kakashi and Iruka. I know some people don't like OC's, but they're sort of necessary at the moment…)
Disclaimer: I forgot to add this the first time. I don't own it.
A forest bird never wants a cage.
- Henrik Ibsen
Chapter 1: A Forest Bird
"And that is how to do the greatest jutsu move of all time!"
A chorus of claps filled the air along with the high-pitched, happy chatter of three highly impressed children.
"Wow, boss, that was way cool! Teach me that move!" Konohamaru chirped, bouncing on the heels of his feet. Moegi and Udon enthusiastically nodded their heads in agreement, broad smiles spread across their young faces.
Naruto let out a loud bark of laughter and scratched wildly at the back of his blonde hair, grinning smugly. "I think the Rasengan is a little too advanced for little kids like you! Only awesome grown-ups like me can manage to do anything this cool. And even being as awesome as I am it took a lot of hard work!"
At the looks of disappointment, Naruto quickly glanced around and pointed at a small boulder to his right. He shot another cheeky grin at the kids. "How 'bout I blow some more stuff up with my Rasengan, then I'll show you some moves Pervy-Sage taught me?" He was answered with loud, excited cheers and the happy group ran to blast holes into more unsuspecting objects.
This was way better than going to class. A million times better. Sure, Iruka-sensei would be really angry and would yell at them for it, but they really wanted to spend time with Naruto and it wasn't like they didn't skip class all the time anyway. Their favorite prankster left a few months ago to train with Jiraiya-sama and was only in the village visiting for a few days. Between all the time he spent with his old friends and old team and Iruka-sensei, he barely had time to play with them anymore. They weren't going to waste precious time sitting in a boring classroom listening to their sensei's boring lectures when they could follow Naruto around instead. Besides, Naruto was showing them tons of cool stuff, so they were probably learning more with him anyway.
Naruto even took them outside of the village and showed them the best way to sneak past the gate guards. None of them had ever been outside the village before –the grown up's probably thought they were too little or something, the jerks – and it was so totally fun and adventurous and new. They were perfectly safe with someone as cool and strong as Naruto and Iruka-sensei would spend all his time looking for them inside the village walls rather than outside of them. Going outside of the village walls turned out to be a great idea.
It was a good hour more of Naruto's showing off when they were finally found by the one person they were trying to avoid.
Instead of the expected loud, booming voice and angry stomps in their direction, all four of them shrieked and nearly jumped out of their skin at the sudden appearance of Iruka-sensei, who had snuck up on them without making even a single sound. Even without the usual deafening bellow, the unadulterated rage could be clearly read on his face and in his stance. He was more than a little pissed.
"Why are you outside of the village walls?" Iruka-sensei's voice came out in a nearly quiet hiss, glaring at each of the children for several terrifying seconds before setting his eyes on Naruto for answers. In response the blonde teen let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed at the back of his head, his facial expression a little guilty.
"Well, I wanted to show these guys some cool stuff and thought it would be cooler out here," Naruto said, his eyes squinted shut in thought. "I'm here to keep them safe and I've been out here before so it isn't a big deal."
Iruka-sensei repeated "isn't a big deal" several times under his breath in exasperation and indignation, as if he was trying to wrap his head around how ridiculous that statement was. The sound of their sensei grinding his teeth together in frustration was unreasonably loud as they waited for the explosion. They watched him shut his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose in the way he often did when he was trying to calm himself down. From the sporadic twitch of his left eyebrow, it didn't seem to be working. Naruto was fidgeting where he stood, trying to act like he wasn't nervous even though it was obvious he was. Konohamaru was, like Naruto, trying to act 'cool' and unbothered by Iruka-sensei's appearance but his quivering legs gave away his nerves. Moegi and Udon were cowering together behind the other two, fearing whatever hell they brought upon themselves by skipping class today. A quiet Iruka-sensei was a million times more threatening than a yelling one.
Finally Iruka-sensei let out an irritated breath and planted his hands on his hips, opening his eyes to glower at the young blonde. "You know the rules, Naruto, and you deliberately broke them. Pre-genin are not, under any circumstance, allowed to leave the village without proper supervision. Genin are not allowed to leave the village without proper supervision. There is a reason the training grounds are within the village walls and if you wanted to show off, you should have went there. I'm taking you back. Now. You can explain why you were out here to the Hokage."
Naruto finally snapped out of his nervous twitching and shot Iruka-sensei an irritated look before stubbornly turning his head away with a pout. "I'm not afraid of that old granny."
Iruka-sensei didn't respond. He ushered the children to walk in front of him as he guided them back to the village. Naruto reluctantly followed, shooting a glance at his former sensei. "How did you find us, anyway? I thought we were far enough you wouldn't be able to."
Iruka-sensei's teeth were still clenched tight in obvious agitation. "I could hear you a mile away."
Naruto sniffed loudly and muttered something under his breath. His eyes lit up after a few seconds and he grinned at Iruka-sensei. "Hey, guess what? We found this really cool thing earlier. I don't know what it was, but it was slimy and sticky and –"
"No talking," Iruka-sensei ground out in a hard voice. Naruto gave him a slightly hurt look and opened his mouth to reply, but Iruka-sensei harshly interrupted him. "We're walking in silence until we reach the village. Not another word." Naruto scowled and ground his teeth together. When would Iruka-sensei start treating him like an equal and stop treating him like a child? He crossed his arms moodily over his chest and started stomping his feet as he walked, his irritation increasing as Iruka-sensei quickly berated him for that as well.
The small group walked in silence. Every time someone tried to start a conversation Iruka-sensei would instantly shush them. The three boys would grumble quietly to themselves (more like Naruto would grumble, Konohamaru would follow his lead, and Udon would make small noises of agreement), claiming it was just Iruka-sensei being a mean, old, stuck-up teacher.
'Mean' wasn't exactly what Moegi thought of to describe her teacher at the moment, but she didn't know what word would be more appropriate. Moegi, unlike her friends, noticed the oddness in her sensei's behavior. Most people wouldn't have pegged her as a perceptive individual because of the unsubtle and extreme behavior of her best friends, but she was rather good at picking up details when she felt the need to pay attention to them. Plus, Iruka-sensei wasn't very good at hiding his emotions anyway, so it wasn't hard to see the changes if you were looking.
She could see the slight tension in his muscles. His posture was always good, but at the moment it was almost unnaturally rigid. His pace was slightly quicker than it usually was. His hands were discreetly closer to his weapons pouch. He wouldn't allow the children to wander away from his vision and if they tried he herded them back in place directly in front of him. His eyes never strayed from them but the expression on his face was one of intense concentration, as if his attention was focused entirely on something else. Like a spring in a trap, his body was tensed and ready to snap into action if need be. He seemed anxious, as if waiting for something. It was similar to how he acted when the village was attacked. Did he think they were going to be attacked out here?
Suddenly, leaving the safety of the village seemed to have been a very bad idea.
Moegi's fingers curled into his green flak vest, clinging to him for a sense of security. The thought that Iruka-sensei was worried terrified her.
He blinked down at her, his concentration momentarily broken from whatever it was he was concentrating on, and gave her a reassuring smile, laying a hand gently on her head. It was a look that said 'don't worry, I'll protect you' and it calmed her immensely. Iruka-sensei was here. He would never let anything happen to them. Even though she felt safer, Moegi continued to keep a hand gripped onto his vest. Iruka-sensei continued to remain slightly stiff but the further they walked in the direction of the village, the more he started to relax.
Everything changed so quickly several minutes later.
Iruka-sensei tensed like an agitated cat, the hairs on the back of his neck rising and his hands already gripping at kunai in his weapons pouch before Moegi had a chance to register the abrupt change. Her hand was suddenly no longer clinging to his vest and she was now behind him. The three young children found themselves instantly positioned between their sensei and a confused Naruto, who was staring at Iruka-sensei's back but unable to comprehend the meaning behind the sudden change.
Naruto took a step forward and cocked his head to the side curiously. "What's wrong, Sensei?"
Iruka-sensei remained silent for several seconds before speaking in an authoritative tone, his eyes never straying from the thick forest in front of him. "Naruto, listen to me very closely. No matter what happens, our number one priority is the safety of the children. Your job is to get them to the village as quickly as possible. Alright?"
Naruto was instantly alert at that, his head turning left and right quickly. His gaze searched through the trees. "What is it? Is there someone out there? I'll kick their ass!"
"You won't. Your job is to get to the village. Avoid conflict if you can."
Naruto bristled. "No way! I never run from a fight!"
"This isn't up for debate, Naruto," Iruka-sensei snapped. He addressed the three children behind him without turning around. "Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon. You three are not to attempt to fight, at all, do I make myself clear? Your one and only job is to run. Stay close to Naruto; he'll get you there safely."
Now it was Konohamaru's turn to bristle, his face set in the same irritated expression Naruto was wearing. He puffed out his chest and stuck his chin high in the air. "I don't run away, either!"
"Do you think this is some sort of game?" Iruka-sensei roared, outraged at their disobedience. "There is no shame in fleeing if it means you get to keep your life. Forget your pride and stop acting like brats!"
A throaty chuckle drifted over the area from somewhere in the trees directly in front of them, but they were too concealed to find out where exactly. Iruka-sensei crouched further in his defensive stance.
"How cute," said a deep, obviously male voice. "A teacher and his bratty little students. Not much of a challenge, though."
A raspy laugh joined the first voice. "More like a clucking mother hen and her peeping chicks." They both laughed, the sound reverberating through the trees. It made the children uneasy. Konohamaru tried to keep up the courageous façade, but his knees were starting to shake slightly. Moegi had her thin arms curled around the arms of her two friends for comfort and Udon couldn't stop the continuous downpour of nervous snot from dribbling out of his nose, despite his loud sniffling attempts. They subconsciously moved closer together behind Iruka-sensei, who stood like a solid wall separating them from the threat.
Iruka-sensei's grip on his kunai tightened. "We are Konoha ninja and you are on Konoha land. Show yourselves and state your business," he demanded.
A thoughtful hum could be heard before one of the voices let out an amused snort. "I don't think you're in a position to demand, Mother Hen."
Naruto released an enraged yell, stomping several steps forward and snapping a pointed finger accusingly in the direction the voices were coming from. "Yo, jerks! Why don't you come down here and fight like real men, you cowards! Afraid to get your ass handed to you!?"
"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei hissed loudly, a threat clear in his tone of voice.
"I think he's right," said a third voice, almost too quiet to hear. "We should collect what we came for."
A vicious grin spread across Naruto's face, his blue eyes burning with excitement. "Come on down here then, assholes."
"Naruto!" He flinched at the vicious bark, Iruka-sensei's anger unmistakable in the tense air around them. "What the hell did I just say the plan was!?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes and ground his teeth, turning fully to stare at the seething man. His face was a mixture of emotions; outrage and annoyance at the thought of Iruka-sensei thinking he couldn't beat them and the small amount of reluctance because he wanted to do whatever Iruka-sensei asked him to. "When will you stop treating me like a little kid? I can fight! That's what you were gonna do, right? Fight them while we got away? I'm strong, Iruka-sensei. Stop underestimating me and let me help!" His anger and irritation started to diminish at the look of desperation he could see underneath Iruka-sensei's rage.
"I'm giving you the more important job, you idiot! Protecting these children is more important than your ego!" He paused to inhale a deep breath, trying and failing to relax himself. "I trust you to get them back safe. I'll be right behind you. Please, Naruto, don't fight me on this." Naruto stared for several more seconds before nodding reluctantly. He trusted Iruka-sensei. Even though he wanted to fight, to prove himself to these stupid ninja and to his favorite person in the world and his awesome little fan club, prove how strong he'd become…he'd do it Iruka-sensei's way.
A bored yawn was heard from the trees. "That was sweet. Really, it was. But I'm afraid none of you will be making it back anyway, so it was sort of pointless." A bulky man appeared from within the foliage, his team mates deciding to stay hidden for the moment. He looked as if he was utterly bored with the situation already. A pinky finger went up to his mouth, picking at his teeth. "You'd be better off just giving up."
Iruka-sensei quickly dropped his kunai back into his pouch and snapped his hands together, fingers quickly forming seals. Several puffs of smoke later, three shadow clones appeared, moving to further encircle the children. Naruto instantly followed his lead, creating several clones of his own. Iruka-sensei's eyes never left the man the moment he came into view, his face set into a vicious scowl. "I'll never let you lay a single finger on my students."
He shouted a quick "Go!" and they separated, Naruto leading the children towards the village gates with the clones following close behind. Their sensei stayed behind, body position ready for attack and fingers forming seals.
Iruka sped through the trees, the sound of his heart slamming against the confines of his chest loud in his ears. He could see Naruto and the children directly in front of him, running quickly on the forest floor. So far, they were safe.
The second he had told them to run, he felt the vague flicker of chakra in the trees where the enemy ninja had been. They had vanished, both the one he could see and the other two faceless voices still hidden in the foliage. Iruka had cursed vehemently and trailed after his students, high in the tree tops so he could watch the area for any attacks from a bird's eye view. The ninja were obviously skilled from their ability to conceal any noise made by their movement. Iruka realized this when the ninja had first appeared, despite his intent concentration on listening for any unfamiliar sounds in the area. And he had only caught their arrival before they spoke from the deliberate snap of a branch.
He had had a small hope that the ninja would try and kill him first. He may not be the strongest opponent or even the most interesting to fight, but he had been confident he could at least stall them enough for Naruto to get the small group to the village gates. Now it was more like a game of cat and mouse, his students running frantically from vicious prey hidden within the forest.
Iruka knew that part of the danger they were currently in was his fault, a rather large part of it. He was the adult here, he should have known better. And yet he still had made three vital mistakes.
The first was waiting until lunch to search for his wayward students, believing they were somewhere with Naruto while the boy was in the village. His mistake was assuming they were safe in the village, but knowing Naruto, he should have at least considered that the troublesome boy would break the rules. He just didn't think he would break that rule. Naruto was still so young, still a genin, but Iruka had assumed he at least understood the dangers of any area outside of the village walls. He had been out there himself, fought enemy nin not even an hour's walk from the village according to the infamous "missing-nin from Mist" story the boy constantly bragged about. But, Iruka supposed, the very presence of Naruto's Jounin-sensei was enough to give the boy a sense of constant protection regardless of the situation. It was the very reason Jounin – high-level, experienced Jounin – were placed as genin squad leaders to begin with, and not Chuunin. It was the reason even simple escort missions were placed at minimum C-rank. Protecting yourself was simple; protecting others was much more difficult, especially if you intended to keep them alive and unharmed. It wasn't the same as fighting on a team where everyone could hold their own. Iruka feared Naruto didn't understand the difference.
Iruka's second mistake was not bringing backup as a safety precaution. He was more than a little ashamed of the Chuunin guards who had been duped by Naruto's ridiculous Sexy Jutsu, and the fact that they were so thoroughly distracted that they hadn't even notice children pass them by out of the village. He was even more ashamed of himself for racing out of the village without bothering to inform anyone. In his worry he even momentarily forget to remind himself he still had his "Academy weapon's pouch" on, which had a significantly smaller amount of weapons than he was comfortable with. But he hadn't thought of that at the moment. Ever since the attack during the Chuunin Exams, raids and assaults around Konoha had become more frequent and the security within Konohagakure was more severe than usual. The warning sent back to the village not long ago from an undercover Konoha ninja informing them of abductions by missing nin from Iwagakure, the hidden village by the Rocks, had only increased the paranoia. But the security had been increased inside of the village walls, not out of them. All Iruka had cared about was finding Naruto and those children and making sure they were safe, every other thought and worry being pushed to the back of his mind. He should have thought how much trouble he would be in if there were enemy ninja out there.
His third mistake was not forcing the group into a run back to the village the moment he found them. He had been uneasy and nervous, that feeling of being watched making his skin crawl but unable to pinpoint any threat beyond a vague intuition. He hadn't wanted to frighten them, though, hoping that it was all just in his paranoid mind.
Iruka really should have known better. They wouldn't be in this situation if he hadn't been such a fool.
Suddenly, the emergence of the massive man from earlier appeared to the right of the group below, running at a languid pace several steps behind them. Iruka quickly pulled several kunai from his pouch and landed on a branch several feet lower, closer to his target. At the last second his plan of attack changed, the kunai in his right hand snapping up to defend his face from the downward strike of a katana while the one in his left went sailing into the direction it was meant but missed its target. He caught the sight of one of his clones turning at the sound the weapon made upon impact and instantly shifting into a fighting stance before his attention was drawn back to the ninja in front of him, instinctively jumping back at the second swing of the enemy's blade. He snapped his eyes to the forehead protector, noting the scratched metal covering the sign for Rock. The fear that these were the same missing nin abducting lower-class ninja and civilians from other countries was enough to increase Iruka's desperation in getting his students safely back to the village.
He dodged several more hits, blocked a good number, and retaliated with a few strikes of his own while he thought of a decent plan of attack. The ninja in front of Iruka was staring at him with an almost bored but curious expression on his face, or what could be seen of it underneath the dark curtain of his bangs. His movements, similar to the burly man fighting Iruka's clone somewhere below them, were lazy. The strikes of his katana were precise and consistent, but didn't push past forcing Iruka into defending himself. Like a cat playing with its meal.
These bastards really were just toying with them.
Iruka gritted his teeth and took notice of the movement of his enemy's feet, which were slightly unsure, but not obviously so, in their placement on the branches as they moved through the trees. Maybe…It seemed like…
Iruka felt a light sense of hope. Iwa ninja wouldn't be as adept in the trees as Konoha ninja, it was too different from their own country's landscape. They may be outclassed and outnumbered against these missing nin, but they had the slight advantage in the familiarity of the terrain.
Feigning an attack to the right which was easily countered, Iruka quickly dropped into a crouch and struck out at the ninja's legs. Predictably he dodged the kick, hopping backwards, only for the branch to snap beneath him, weakened by an outpour of chakra by Iruka. As the man plummeted downwards, Iruka quickly released several shuriken, hoping even one hit.
Images flashed behind his eyes; the forest floor beneath him as he ran, turning to see a kunai embedded in the ground and one of the missing nin in front of him. He saw a dozen blonde clones colliding with the colossal man, only to be swatted aside by those massive arms and eliminated like gnats. He could see several clones attempting to form a Rasengan in Naruto's hand, but they weren't given enough time and Naruto only barely managed to dodge a vicious attack that would have been enough to snap his spine. He heard instructions being yelled to Naruto and saw an array of weapons being thrown at the opponent. The fight didn't last long, but the clone of him put up a valiant fight, managing a few slight injuries. The surprised look on the man's face was a clear indication he hadn't expected any challenges in this chase. The last image he saw before his clone was dispelled was another blonde barrage and the orange-clad back of the original taking off in a quick run, the children sprinting along beside him as fast as their short legs could take them.
Iruka was glad that Naruto insisted he teach him that technique, regardless of its forbidden nature. He could check on the status of his students without actively watching their progress through the forest, since he had no doubt his clones would sacrifice themselves before ever letting harm come to any of the children. As long as they didn't do anything stupid and reckless before his clones had a chance. The only downside was, unlike Naruto, that technique left him practically winded and with very little chakra to fall back on.
Not bothering to watch the ninja hit the ground – more than likely with an effortless, perfect landing, from what Iruka could gauge of his skill – he quickly slapped his only exploding tag onto the kunai still in his hand and chucked it down at the nin before rushing off in the direction he saw his clone take in its memories.
Several paces ahead he caught sight of another one of the missing ninja, his form hunched as he stealthily trailed the young children to their left. The only one of the ninja that had bothered racing along the treetops was the dark haired man somewhere behind him, the other two staying on the floor where the children were. Iruka prayed that there really was only the three of them.
As quietly as he possibly could while going the speed he was, Iruka positioned himself above the ninja. The man didn't seem to notice his appearance there. Iruka took several seconds to calculate his approach in his head, calculate the angle needed. He needed exact precision, any mistake and he'd lose the element of surprise.
With a quick twist of his body, Iruka maneuvered himself onto the underside of a thick branch, using his chakra to at first cling to it, then as a boost to propel him down onto the Rock ninja, using his entire weight to slam into a bony leg. The landing knocked the wind out of him and left him gasping for breath, but the satisfying snap of bones and the high-pitched shriek were worth it.
A ninja who couldn't run was a dead ninja, or at least in this case, one who couldn't pursue Iruka's students.
Ignoring the nasty string of curses, Iruka stumbled to his feet, trying to catch his breath. It was sucked from his chest again as a second wave of images were sent into his memories as his second clone died.
He could see from their surroundings they were getting close to the village, but not close enough yet. The missing ninja, the one Iruka labeled as the real threat among the three, was still chasing them, although now with a more determined pace and a scowl on his face. He must have realized how close they were, too. Naruto continued to supply clones upon clones in an attempt to create a buffer between them, anything to slow the man's pace. At some point, Naruto had three clones created to carry the children. As Iruka had ordered, Naruto wasn't trying to take part in the battle himself, but from the frantic look on the blonde boy's face at the near misses to him and the children, he wasn't even considering it an option anymore. The last image he saw before a large fist cracked his clones' skull and dispelled it into nothing but smoke was the absolutely horrified faces of his children, all four of them.
Apparently the game was over.
Iruka came back to himself, barely dodging an array of senbon thrown from the still seething man on the ground, the tip of one barely grazing against his skin. Iruka could care less. He needed to get to the children, fast.
He ran on slightly unsteady legs, barely avoiding slamming into trees in his hurry to get to the position of his clones last location. He blinked rapidly as his last clone faded, but the images weren't as clear as the others had been. Somewhere in the back of his mind was the hissed word poison, probably from that damn senbon, but he couldn't bother to worry about it now.
He skidded ungracefully to a halt behind that mammoth of a man, not sure how he found the group but absolutely relieved that he did. He watched the man eliminate another horde of clones and could see the desperation and fear on Naruto's face. Naruto could probably stand a good chance against this guy if he wasn't spending all of his energy and attention protecting the children. Iruka knew that, and Naruto did, too. Iruka's fingers rapidly went through several signs. He wasn't sure which jutsu he was trying to perform, he wasn't even sure if he had the chakra reserves anymore. All he knew was that if he didn't do something, anything, this would all end very badly.
He was surprised when he saw the effects of one of the few earth jutsu he knew – a quicksand jutsu – and even more surprised when he realized he had taken the enemy ninja by surprise, effectively catching him in it. Fingers snapping together again, he hardened the sand as the ninja fell in it to his shoulders.
He looked up and realized Naruto was already gone, several orange blurs high up in the tree tops heading in the direction of the village. Relief poured into Iruka's chest. He had never been as proud of that boy as he was right at this moment. That smart, clever, wonderful boy, finally using his head.
He heard an enraged roar from behind him, barely staggering backwards as the massive ninja removed himself forcibly from the earth trap, the ground crumbling easily under his powerful movements. Iruka frantically dug into his weapons pouch, but found it empty.
He tried to force his sluggish body to move, whether to attack or run he wasn't exactly sure, but it didn't matter anyway since it was dead set on denying him anything more than standing in place. He felt fear curl into the pit of his stomach as the man stood menacingly over him, the tip of Iruka's head coming to about the large man's chest. His body finally started to obey his demands, but he wasn't able to dodge quickly enough to completely avoid the lethal backhand aimed as his skull, Iruka's neck snapping violently to the side.
As Iruka slammed into the ground, face crunching mercilessly into the dirt, he had the most horrifying certainty that his neck was broken.
He could feel the vibrations as the man jumped into the trees to follow the children, his overtly muscled frame awkwardly trying to navigate through the branches. Iruka prayed it was enough of a distraction. He prayed to anyone who would listen that it was enough to get those children safely home.
Iruka twitched his fingers experimentally, trying to detect any nerve damage. There was pain in the movement, but each finger bent and curled on his command. He raised his arms and ran his fingers slowly over the back of his neck. Nothing seemed obviously broken. At the very least, in his sprawled out position on the ground, his foggy mind was starting to clear and the effects of whatever drug was forced into him was starting to fade.
He seriously needed to get up, though, and hurry back to village before someone found him lying here.
He gingerly tried to push himself up onto his hands and knees, only to have a heavy weight placed on the small of his back, keeping him pinned.
"You put up quite a fight," said a low, lethargic voice, Iruka's mind indentifying him as the third ninja to speak, "for someone who looks like you do."
Was that an insult? Bastard. Iruka tried to buck the ninja off of him, but the man was unmovable. He wrenched Iruka's thrashing arms behind his back, easily holding them down with a strong one-handed grip, and unhurriedly bound Iruka's forearms tightly together. Iruka hissed venomously, teeth clenched tightly together. He was in a very bad situation, and he wasn't exactly sure how he'd get out of it. If Naruto made it back to Konoha, surely he'd tell someone and reinforcements would arrive, but there was no guarantee that Iruka would be alive that long.
He needed a plan. He needed to move, to fight. He just needed to escape.
At the very least, he needed to stall.
He tried to turn his head and get a look at the ninja seated on his back, but he could only make out what looked like a sleeve; purple silk with a white floral design. That was an odd outfit to fight in. He realized that in his complete panic in protecting the children, he hadn't bothered to really look at his opponents, the few details he managed to pick up on at the time only determining their size and strength. Which one had been wearing purple silk…?
Well, it wasn't as if it was important right now.
He growled in the direction of the silk, since it was all he could see of the ninja. "What is your reason for doing this? Why attack Konoha ninja so close to their hidden village? You must realize that you won't stand a chance once reinforcements arrive."
A hand ran through the hair trapped in his ponytail. "What makes you think anyone will come for you?" His languid voice didn't sound mocking, only curious. Regardless, the question infuriated Iruka and strengthened his efforts to remove the heavy weight pressing him into the ground.
"Konoha ninja never abandon their comrades," Iruka snapped.
"What conviction…" The missing nin let out a low sigh, his hand still slowly running through Iruka's umber-brown hair. He sounded barely disturbed by Iruka's ineffective struggling. "It's fascinating."
Iruka tried to force his head away from that hand –quite unsuccessfully – and make some sharp retort when he heard a loud hiss to his right and the sound of feet dragging against the ground. He turned his head and saw an extremely thin middle-aged man hobbling through the trees towards them, his right leg dragging behind him. It was easy to tell who this guy was, and Iruka couldn't be prouder of the fact that he actually managed to do some lasting damage on one of these pricks. The sharp, pointed angles of the man's bony face made the scowl look all the more vicious. He nearly tripped over a shrub, pointing an accusing finger at the incapacitated Konoha ninja lying face-first in the dirt. "That's the fucker that broke my leg."
"You should have been paying attention," said the man sitting on top of Iruka, his voice bored and uncaring. "Idiot."
The emaciated looking man growled and hunched his shoulders in agitation, shooting an angry, accusing glare at the man. "Don't get me started, pansy ass. I knew you were following this guy the whole time. It's your fault I'm hurt."
"It's your own fault you're hurt," he said slowly, pausing before adding a "moron".
As they continued insulting each other –one in what seemed be his normal, slow drawl, the other rasping out a filthy amount of profanities – Iruka discreetly tried to work his arms free of what he assumed was medical gauze tying them together. He barely made any progress when he felt the violent vibrations in the earth, announcing the appearance of the third ninja. He whipped his head around quickly, hoping desperately he was coming back alone. Oh god, if his kids didn't make it…
Iruka had several, wonderful seconds to feel relieved. The ninja was alone, and the pissed off expression on his face gave away the fact he hadn't succeeded. The kids were safe. Every muscle in Iruka's body relaxed before a large foot stomped heavily on his head, smacking his jaw into the ground. He heard an irritated grunt from the man in the purple silk, but it was drowned out by the blood roaring in his ears.
"I couldn't catch them," the man growled, booming voice filled with annoyance. "That little blonde bug kept multiplying, like a damn cockroach. Then this little shit," he stomped on Iruka's head again, making him moan in pain. "And then they were in the trees and I couldn't risk getting too close to the village and…" He shouted in frustration and slammed his foot down again. Iruka could taste blood in his mouth, but he was too dizzy to determine if it was from loose teeth or torn skin.
The middle-aged man let out a raspy, upset grumble. "You mean all we got for our trouble was the old man? I wanted that cute little girl. Fuck, the things I could have done to her…"
Iruka didn't know where the sudden strength in his body came from –probably an adrenaline drive fueled by all of the anger he could feel pulsing through his veins – but his violent movements were finally enough that the man still sitting on him struggled to keep him in place. He wasn't exactly sure what he was yelling, only knew that it was full of profanity and insults and unbridled anger. He hadn't cursed like that since he was an angry teenager, before he became a teacher of young, impressionable students. He wanted nothing more than to buck this guy off of him and break every bone in that guy's face. Even the implication of what that bastard had wanted was too much for Iruka. They would have had to cut off his arms and legs and rip his heart out of his chest before he ever let any of them lay a finger on his kids.
The sleazy bastard let out an unimpressed snort, his mouth twisted into an ugly sneer. "I say we cut off the little bitch's head and leave it for the Konoha ninja to find," he rasped, pulling a dagger from a scabbard on his thigh and wobbling towards the bound man. Iruka was too angry to care, still fuming and thrashing on the ground. A small part of him had already resigned itself to death the moment he was caught anyway, although he hoped no one he knew had the misfortune of finding his body. A knee dug painfully into Iruka's back, finally halting his movements. He heard the sound of metal moving from a sheath above him.
"Try and I'll gut you. I caught him, he's mine," hissed the man in the purple silk, his voice low and deadly.
"You wouldn't have caught him if I hadn't poisoned him, dipshit!" the ninja retorted.
"Shut up!" roared the massive man, his large hands viciously scratching over his bald head in frustration. His face scrunched up, like he was trying to think, before settling into a determined expression. "The boss wants someone; we got Mother Hen. We're taking him back with us."
"But that little shit broke my leg!"
"Get over it and stop whining like a girl."
The bony man grumbled loudly and took another senbon from his pouch, stabbing it into one of Iruka's bound arms. Iruka's vision instantly blurred, his head falling limply to the ground. His entire body felt heavy, like he was sinking into the earth, but he couldn't feel anything at the same time. He couldn't move. Numb. Tired. This was bad – so very, very bad. He would rather die than be taken hostage, but for the life of him he couldn't remember any of the suicide techniques every ninja knew for situations like this. He did know some, right? Not that he could move a single muscle anyway. Even his tongue felt unreasonably heavy in his mouth.
He felt fingers curl around his Konoha headband, pulling it from his forehead. He gurgled a sound that should have been a whine in the back of his throat, despairing over the loss. He was barely able to make out the thunk it made as his headband – his possession, his pride, his love, his life– fell to the ground. "You won't need this anymore." Iruka heard the words, but he couldn't determine which one of the enemy nin was speaking.
Iruka faintly recalled being hoisted off of the ground and a soft voice murmuring into his ear "they really won't come for you, you know," before every sight and sound faded into nothing, being replaced by stark silence.
"Yo, Cyclops."
Kakashi turned his head slightly and nodded in greeting at the red-headed male walking towards him. "Yo."
The man chuckled, a wide grin spread across his face as he placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. He wrapped a threadbare scarf tighter around his neck to keep out the chill of the frigid air, moving to stand beside Kakashi on the balcony.
Kakashi turned back to stare out at the snow covered landscape of Snow Country. He had never missed the warm, pleasant weather of Konoha more than he did right now staring at the slow snowfall blanketing the land. He almost wished he had thought a little more on the location of his current mission before accepting it, and how much he really didn't like cold weather, but that hadn't exactly been important at the time. Not when he was just desperate to get as far from the village and the burn of shame and guilt he felt after the separation of his genin team.
He let out a slow breath and closed the eye not hidden by an eye patch. He shouldn't be thinking of that now, not while he was on an undercover mission alone surrounded by enemies, one of them nonchalantly leaning against the railing beside him. He cracked open the eye and glanced sidelong at the red-head as he coughed hoarsely around the cigarette. "Those things will kill you, Red," he said in a rough, scratchy voice, very unlike his normal smooth baritone.
Red's lips curled upwards, showing the sharp set of teeth currently clamped on the small stick. "I'll die long before these things have a chance to kill me off," he croaked.
Kakashi snorted quietly and they fell into silence again. Several minutes passed before a sharp elbow knocked into his side, Red motioning with a nod of his head at several shadows racing through the snow towards the building. "Looks like they're back. Think they got anything?"
Kakashi "hmm'ed" and turned to walk back into the building, brushing snowflakes out of his black-dyed hair. He honestly hoped they hadn't. The things these bastards did to people were horrible, and he wasn't in a position to stop them without jeopardizing his mission. He hated standing idly by and watching, as if their sick torture was nothing but entertainment, but he also knew how vital his mission was.
Kakashi slouched casually in the corner of a large room, watching idly as the other members of the gang wandered in at the sound of the front door slamming and the loud voices bickering back and forth. He glanced to the side as the leader emerged from a door on his left, coming to stand in the center of the room expectantly. All eyes turned towards the large door at the front of the room as it opened, the massive man everyone called Brute walking in first. Raider, the greasy middle-aged pervert of their group, clung irritably to the large man's back, snapping vicious comments at the third man walking in.
Kakashi discretely clinched his teeth together for a second before forcing himself to relax. Three men had been sent out, four returned. He felt pity for the poor man draped limply over the black haired ninja's shoulder. As they walked closer, Kakashi had to restrain himself when he recognized the Konoha flack vest. Dirty and torn, but unmistakable.
"Only one?" said the leader, a man named "Birdman" for his aquiline nose and spiked blonde hair, resembling a cockatoo. He gave the group a contemplative look.
Brute jutted out his lip slightly in an almost pout, a comical look on his massive frame. "There were a few more, but…" He rubbed a hand over the cold skin on his bald head, brushing off a few snowflakes.
Raider hissed viciously, slapping Brute several times in an unspoken command to let him down. "These assholes let them get away!"
A soft, low sigh came from the man holding onto the Konoha ninja. He didn't socialize much so Kakashi didn't really know him, but he had heard others refer to the man as "Sloth" because of his slow, soft way of speaking. "We underestimated them." Brute nodded his head dejectedly in agreement.
Birdman was silent for several moments before turning away. "At least you didn't come back empty-handed. Lock the ninja away for now, we'll decide what to do with it later."
As Sloth turned to head towards the buildings makeshift "prison", Kakashi locked his eye on the face of the Konoha ninja. He knew he shouldn't have the second he saw a face familiar to him. The usual perky brown ponytail was dirty and tangled, the tan face slack and covered in cuts and bruises, but the old scar across that slender nose was unmistakable. He knew that man and he knew how many people cared about him back in Konoha.
Shit.
Oh boy. I'm sort of nervous; I've never written a battle-type scene before. I hope it didn't come off too weird, please tell me if it did.
Please comment, I appreciate feedback! If you liked it, tell me what you liked about it. If you didn't like it, tell me what you didn't like. Anything you feel I should have expanded on? Anything that seems like too much information? Constructive criticism is always appreciated, so tell me and I'll try my best to improve! I don't have a beta, so if you see any mistakes please feel free to mention them (I probably don't even realize I'm making them).