Author's note: Originally chapters one and two were separate stories. I decided to combine all my Kakairu stories into one. Please excuse the confusion.

Iruka really preferred to run in the morning. It allowed him to wake up, stretch before a long day of teaching, and mentally prepare himself for the day ahead. However, once a week the school's teachers had a mandatory staff meeting an hour and a half before the usual start time and even Iruka wasn't enough of a morning person to wake up as early as he'd need to have a run before the meeting. So on meeting days he ran at night, waiting until it was late enough that most people were at home or asleep, when the village was quiet and he could run without having to greet anyone.

He first noticed the shadow following him midway through his run, on a night when the moon was full and the sky was brilliantly clear. Out of the corner of one eye, a shock of white glinted from the next rooftop over. Ninja training kicked in and he focused all his efforts on sensing—without looking—anything, anyone that might be there. He didn't hear anything except his own quiet breathing, his almost silent footsteps, the beating of his own heart, but he knew there was someone else out there, running a path curiously similar to his own. None of his senses registered the runner as a threat, so he decided it was merely another nin exercising before bed, one whose path had happened to meet with his own.

Iruka forgot about the shadow by the next morning and thought nothing of the runner until the next week's nighttime run. This time the sky was cloudy, hiding the moon. The village was dark and Iruka chose to run a route over the rooftops, practicing his footing, when suddenly he heard another runner's breathing, just a moment behind his, and the memory of the previous week's mysterious glint popped back into his mind. After a long circuit over the sleeping village, the sound faded away just as Iruka was reaching the door to his home.

The next week was the same and the week after that. No matter what path Iruka chose to run, the other runner would be there also. Iruka never saw anything more than a brief glimpse of pale skin, never heard more than a breath or a footfall. Once, running through the forest on a gloriously windy night, he caught a tantalizing whiff of the other runner's scent—a mix of paper, fabric, sweat, and, oddly enough, dog. It was a wild smell and made the other runner seem more real, but less human.

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Iruka knew that having a companion had been pushing him to run faster and longer than he had previously, but he didn't fully appreciate the extra training until six weeks after they began running together. He was able to transform, outrun, and trick Mizuki after taking a shuriken in the back, something he wasn't sure he would have been able to do before. He offered silent thanks to his unseen training partner.

As he lay drowsing in the hospital bed later that night, he heard a soft footfall and smelled the scent of the other runner. Through bleary eyes, he made out a figure standing by his bed. It occurred to him that this was their usual night to run together. "I'm sorry…I'm going to miss our run tonight," he whispered softly. His eyes closed again and he wondered if he was dreaming the hands that were gently brushing over his hair.

The next week Iruka was more than ready to get back to his daily run. His back had healed, though he wasn't sure he wanted to look too hard at the scab Mizuki's betrayal had left on his soul. He started out slow, staying on the streets of the village, not wanting to push himself, but he couldn't seem to get into the rhythm of the run. Something was missing.

As he strained to figure out what was wrong, he realized that he couldn't sense his mysterious companion. Iruka told himself that it wasn't surprising. The other nin was healthy and strong and wouldn't want to stick to an invalid's pace, but his heart ached with loneliness. He ran half the distance he usually did, all that the doctor would let him attempt on his first run back, but when he returned to his house, he wasn't satisfied. It couldn't hurt to do just another mile, could it? Then he would sleep soundly, without another night of Mizuki cackling in his dreams.

He started jogging again, but only made it halfway down his block before realizing that there was a dog standing in the middle of the road, blocking his way. It just stood there watching him and he found that he was reluctant to try to push past it. He turned and headed back the other way, but as soon as he'd gone a half a block past his door, there was another dog, this one also blocking his path. It was obvious that neither dog was going to let him continue running that evening, but why?

Iruka closed his eyes, pushed out slightly with his chakra, and was surprised to sense his mysterious running companion. The man's chakra was one of the most powerful he'd ever sensed outside of the Hokage's and suddenly Iruka felt silly that he hadn't realized before who the shadow runner was.

He turned to the dog on his right, the first one he'd seen, and said, "Okay, I understand. I won't push myself any more tonight. Thank you for watching out for me…Kakashi-sensei." He smiled at the dog.

It vanished in a puff of air and in its place stood a lean man with a shock of white hair. Like Iruka, he wore only basic blacks, not even a hitai-ate, but a mask and a simple eye patch obscured his face. His one visible eye looked at Iruka lazily.

Iruka stared back, remembering a wild scent filling his hospital room and soft fingers soothing him to sleep. He felt heat flush through his cheeks as he came to a decision.

"I've noticed that since my…injury, it's harder to wake up early for my usual run. I believe I'll switch to running in the evenings."

He turned and opened the door to his house without looking back. As he stepped over the doorsill, he heard a soft voice say, "Until tomorrow then, Iruka-sensei. Sleep well."