Truth: Shades of Gray

Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than the strange ideas that pop out of my brain when it's poked with a stick, and one extremely tasty pie, oh and a large amount of yaoi... So in conclusion; we come in peace, we mean you no harm, and Naruto belongs to someone else.

Main pairing: IbikiXOC (others include KashiNaru and GaaHina, but these are probably only going to be mentioned in passing.)

Ibiki Morino was Konoha's best interrogator, he's considered one of the scariest shinobi to walk the earth. He had few friends, and less family. He's slowly losing himself each day; how long would he last? When would someone finally see the man behind the monster?

She's been betrayed, is alone, hurt, and has no idea where she is. What should she make of the man that saved her?

Thoughts

Flashback

Normal action

"Normal speech"

So let's begin the fic shall we?

The Beginning of Something...?

It hurts, god it hurts. Why does it hurt so much when I knew he was an asshole? Why did I stay? And what the hell prompted the sudden attack? He knew I had to work late, I told him... It doesn't matter any more, just have to get away. Have to get to the hospital, or the police. Damn it! I'm losing too much blood, but I can't stop. If I stop he'll catch up. I have to keep going, I have to keep going. Shit my vision is starting to blur... I can't pass out. I have to... keep...go...

Ibiki Morino was not having a good day. In fact, had he had to specify he was having a rather lousy one indeed. He had had a trying day at work with the fifteen prisoners to be interrogated. Four of them had proved to be stubborn, forcing him to work harder than usual. This of course made him feel like he was going soft. I have to do some extra research, find something new to breathe a little more life into my torture routine... It's getting old, and that won't do. Then just as his shift was supposed to end some asshole is brought in for attacking Naruto Uzumaki again. Now generally Ibiki didn't go over the top on prisoners, but this one had truly pissed him off. After the exams Ibiki had gotten to know the young fox carrier and had come to like the energetic boy. As an ANBU operative he had always known who he was, of course, but now that he actually knew the boy the attacks on him had gotten a little more... personal. The poor kid didn't deserve the lot he was handed, so Ibiki took a sadistic kind of pleasure in making sure that this particular attacker learned that the boy was to be respected.

Then as he finally get's to leave that damn drill just had to be run, making him stay an additional two hours. This resulted in him having to get take out. What's so bad about take out? Being treated like your going to rip off the heads of everybody in the restaurants with no provocation. Normally this didn't bother him, but for some reason tonight it grated on his conscious mind like steel nails on a chalkboard. He knew that there were many who were afraid of him, and that some had reason to be. But that didn't mean he was going to attack little children and innocent people!

All he wanted was to go home, eat his dinner, maybe read a little and then go to sleep. That was all, he didn't want anything else. He just wanted to relax in his own home, knowing that there, he was safe to be himself. So he started walking toward his home. Passing through most of the town and into a forested part of the village. Once he reached the road leading to his property he began to relax, only to tense moments later at a small sound. He stilled, listening for another warning sound, and heard a pained groan. Following the small whimpers and panting breaths he found the source, and for a moment he stood in shock wondering what kind of monster had caused such damage.

Before him on the ground was a woman lying in a pool blood, and more was dripping out of her. He shook himself out of his shock and immediately grabbed the woman as gently as possible. He started toward the hospital as fast as his legs could carry him. Enhancing his speed with chakra as he ran. All the while wondering what could have happened to the woman in his arms. As he felt blood seeping into his shirt he tried to push himself a little bit faster, knowing that she wouldn't last very long with such extensive blood loss. He knew in the back of his mind that this could be some elaborate set up, but he could not leave the woman to die. He would interrogate her later, but for that moment his only thought was to get her to a healer.

He arrived at the hospital and burst through the doors, instantly catching everyone's attention. An instant later nurses and doctors rushed over and relieved him of his burden, asking what had happened. After explaining that he had found her in that condition he sat down in one of the waiting room chairs to collect his thoughts. After a few minutes he stood and reported to the hokage's office. There he left a detailed report of what had happened that evening, knowing that he was saving himself work for tomorrow. Once finished he returned to the hospital to wait. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had to be there, to know what had happened. He had to make sure that she would live. These feelings puzzled him, and he couldn't figure out what it was that motivated him to feel that way. He had never met her, or he was pretty sure he hadn't. His mind replayed what he could remember of her appearance; Long golden brown hair (a rare shade around there,) round face, small arched brows, and full lips. No he was sure he'd never met her.