A.N. hi all! now, this is a story that i have had in the works for a loooong time. i have become enamoured with the Kakashi/Iruka pairing this year, and decided to try my hand at a sorta modern day AU coz i love them. i am actually hopefully starting university in 2 months, so this story may be discontinued, but i decided to put up the first chapter to see if anyone likes it. i am currently writing the third chapter, and i have decided to only put a chapter up if i have written the one after it already.

i really hope you enjoy it!


One

"Yer a fuckin' loser! It's no surprise ye got nowt but those piss-poor clothes! Ye should know yer place and take what's offered with practic'ly nothin' wanted from ye in exchange!"

Thus were the parting words of the driver of Iruka's latest ride, having thrown him out of the large truck after having been turned down after requesting some 'special services' from the younger man.

"You're the one who doesn't have enough morals that you've got to request 'special services' from someone! If you wanted that why don't you go find yourself a bloody hooker! If there are any who'd lower themselves to your standards, which would be a goddamn miracle from where I'm standing!" Iruka yelled back, eyes murderous as he jerked his bag out and jumped from the vehicle, slamming the door shut in the face of the overweight, piggish truck driver.

"I've got no morals? Take a look in the mirror, ye little shit! I ain't the one hitchhiking from place ta place coz I spend all me money on drugs and beer, most like!" the man was blubbering, face red and blotchy from rage.

"Shows what little you know, though from the looks of you I'd say it's even less than that!"

Sputtering with rage, the driver leant forward and glared at the younger man.

"Well I c'n tell ya right now that with that 'pure' attitude o' yers that ya aint gonna meet a good end!" And with that final barb, the driver snarled and put his foot down, the truck groaning and moving off down the road.

Head full of anger and embarrassment, Iruka took a moment to calm down, breathing deeply and forcing his fists to uncurl from the offensive grip he had adopted in the face of the old bastard's views and insults. Where the hell did he get off demanding that I do – do – that – with him! No, stop thinking about it, Iruka. I really need to calm down… Taking a deep breath, Iruka closed his eyes, tightening his grip on the worn straps of his bag as he attempted to force the broiling emotions from his mind. Unable to do so, he opened his eyes and sighed, rubbing his face.

"The gods hate me," Iruka moaned, tilting his head back and eyeing the dark, ominous heavens. Heaving a deep sigh, his shoulders slumped. Iruka watched his latest chance at a ride drive off into the distance, and the annoyance at being completely disrespected was washed away by his fatigue.

I'm so tired… Iruka groaned, pushing back the strands of hair that had escaped his pony tail.

Squaring his shoulders, Iruka shrugged his backpack higher and started walking, staying on the road rather than drifting towards the roadside. In a single glance he could see some sharp, pointy rocks that would have little to no trouble of piercing the bottoms of his shoes. Iruka eyed his sad, worn old sneakers mournfully.

I'll have to get a new pair soon… these wouldn't keep out anything…Iruka concluded. This pair was little more than scraps of fabric and rubber held together by sheer willpower and a stubborn owner.

A thunderous crack erupted from the sky, and Iruka jerked his head up to gaze at the sky, wide eyed. He hadn't been expecting that.

Great, now I have to deal with thunder…he musgroucheded sadly, unable to stop the pout that appeared as he eyed the sky with trepidation. …I really hate storms… he flinched as a particularly loud crack sounded, followed closely by a bright flash in the distance.

And lightning…

A small raindrop fell, landing squarely on Iruka's nose. A sneeze escaped him, and he scowled darkly at the asphalt, continuing to walk. There was no sign of civilization, only road and cliffs, the sheer edges disappearing beneath a thick canopy of trees. Iruka could only guess at the true heights of the cliffs.

"I don't suppose you'd like to hold off the rain for a couple of hours? I'd really appreciate it!" he called, eyeing the sky wryly as he trudged forward. As if in response to his request, the heavens decided to open, and a sudden torrent of rain was released.

"Damn it!" Iruka hissed, hunching over slightly as the icy rain pounded down. He was drenched within moments.

Iruka looked around, hopelessly searching for shelter of any kind. A small rocky outcrop ahead of him caught his eye, and he started towards it. I just need a bit of shelter… even if it's just enough to keep my bag dry, I'll be glad…

As Iruka rounded the little outcrop, a streak of lightning flashed down and slammed into the road before him. The bright light cut into his eyes, and he let out a yell as he was blinded.

It was all over before Iruka could blink, but the after effects were catastrophic.

"Shit!" he screamed as debris from the strike flew outwards, pieces of rock slicing his raised hands and exposed face with clinical ease. Staggering blindly, he ducked in an attempt to dodge the flying projectiles, but as he took a step backwards to get away from the pain, his foot met air. He lost his precarious balance, and fell backwards, over the edge of the cliff that had most definitely not been that close last time he had looked.

An irrational thought crossed his mind as he fell back through mid air; looks like I won't be needing new shoes after all...

Iruka yelled as his abrupt freefall was stopped when his shoulder collided painfully with the sloping cliff, then continuing his decent in leaps and bounds that had his entire body aching and crying out in pain. The world was spinning and jerking as he rolled, but he could feel his decent increasing in speed as he fell further towards the tree canopy below. Iruka screamed as felt a sudden, sharp crack when his flailing leg smashed against a rock, and threw him off his path to roll sideways, further jolting his throbbing ankle.

A sudden darkness pervaded his confused senses, and he realised he was below the trees. The cliff face was beginning to even out, but he was still going strong, desperately wanting to stop his momentum but not having the chance to reach out without breaking something, whether by landing on the limb or hitting another rock.

His free rolling was abruptly halted by a large tree slamming into him, and Iruka couldn't hold back the scream as fire spread across his lower back and ribs. He was once again knocked off course, this time flying off to one side. His eyes squeezed shut; Iruka gritted his teeth as each new roll caused the fire to intensify, in both his back and strangely muted ankle. And as such, he barely noticed when, once again, he said goodbye to the ground and flew into the air. He did, however, notice when instead of the dreaded ground he was expecting, he fell into a river.

Iruka's lips opened in a yell of shock at the sudden, icy grip of the water, and then started to choke as the filthy water flowed into his open mouth. He was jerked under the surface of the river and spun around, the current dragging him along just as fast as he had fallen down the cliff, if not faster.

His lungs were burning, and spots were appearing before his eyes as his body screamed at him for oxygen. But every time he tried to get to the surface the water crushed him further down.

I'm drowning... was his last thought, and he felt despair fill him at the thought. He didn't want to die, not like this. His lungs gave out, and he opened his mouth, inhaling what felt like a gallon of water. He choked, but rather than expelling the water, he lost what little air he had left.

As he began to lose any coherent thought, and his mind began to turn off, he felt something brush past his outstretched hand. In a moment of desperation he clenched his fist, and was rewarded by a sharp jerk that almost dislocated his shoulder. He was pulled up, hurtling through the water, and could have cried when he felt his head break the surface of the river. He coughed, heaving the contents of his stomach into the rapids as he clung to what he found to be a log, not very large but definitely strong enough to keep him afloat.

Wrapping his arms as tight as he could to the log, Iruka couldn't stop the tears that ran down his face when his entire body screamed at him, and he gasped as something slammed into his bad ankle. He just clung to the log and shivered, hoping to find a shoreline to land on.

Luckily for him, the river had begun to slow, evening out and opening onto small, sandy shores. He had no idea how long he had been clinging to the log, or under the water for that matter, when he finally felt the riverbed take his weight, and he let go of the log, allowing it to drift further down river when he collapsed in the shallows of one of the sandy coves.

Shivering, Iruka tried to move out of the water, but his body had other ideas. With a cry, Iruka fell face first into the water when his arms gave out, and had to roll to the side to stop himself from drowning. Shaking, Iruka painfully dragged his aching body out of the water, forcing his unresponsive limbs to clutch and pull at the sand until only his lower legs and feet were submerged, and he gave up. Collapsing to the sand, Iruka gave in to the darkness that had been lurking at the edges of his vision for hours, and fell into fitful unconsciousness.


A.N. hey! so what did u guys think? i love Iruka so much! please review! coz i want to see if this story will be any good or i wont bother putting anymore chapters up if i do finish it.

now, i'll be putting the rating up to M in later chapters, but i have it at T right now for the swearing and innuendos.