Disclaimer: I own nothing but this exceedingly messed up plot...


"Ready, Iruka-sensei?" asked Genma, his voice a little slurred thanks to the senbon between his teeth. There was a slight condescending tone to his words, but Iruka paid it no mind. He was only half awake.

The sun had yet to rise. To the east, the skyline above the trees gave only the vaguest hints of daylight; to the west the stars were still twinkling.

Iruka buried the heels of his hands in his eyes and yawned. He tried in vain to remember the last time he had woken up so early. Truth be told, he wasn't sure he had ever woken up so early—or been so sleepy.

Of course, staying up half the night trying to make himself understand exactly why he was being sent on the mission in the first place might have something to do with it.

When his question received no reply, Genma smirked. "Guess not. I'm not either, really. Sound's a bitch of a country."

"Really, I didn't notice," Iruka mumbled sarcastically.

The jounin cocked an eyebrow. "Not a morning person, Iruka-sensei?"

"Hardly," Iruka yawned again, shoving his hands into his pockets and assuming a posture reminiscent of Hatake Kakashi. His eyes drooped slightly and he shook his head in an effort to wake himself.

"Where's Raidou?" he asked at length, once he felt his eyes could stay open on their own.

Genma switched his senbon to the other side of his mouth, sucking thoughtfully. "Not sure. Said he'd meet us here."

To this Iruka could only nod. He could also be thankful he hadn't been sent on the mission with Hatake, because then who knew how long he and Genma would have to wait. As it was, Raidou showed up after only ten minutes, muttering something about misplaced shuriken.

"Good morning, Raidou," Iruka said politely, stifling yet another yawn.

Raidou rolled his eyes. "What's good about it? I'd sure as hell rather be asleep right now."

"You and me both," Iruka remarked.

"Might as well get started," said Genma, hoisting his pack to one shoulder. Iruka and Raidou followed suit.

The three shinobi had enough supplies to last over a week, although the trip to the border of Sound was only estimated to take three or four days. Once there, they had been instructed to do one of three things: infiltrate Orochimaru's hideout, capture one of Orochimaru's henchmen, or question any Sand-nin they happened upon. Their least dangerous option was the latter—the Sound-nin, being their enemies, would be more likely to recognize them. If this tactic should fail, the next option was capturing one of Orochimaru's men; more easily said than done, in Iruka's opinion.

What if it's Sasuke we capture? he mused, tilting his head skyward. Darkness was rapidly fading to light. Black became dusky violet, violet became rose, rose became pink, the colors swimming into each other so that there was no telling where one began and the other ended.

Since it could very well be one of the last sunrises Iruka would see, he took a moment to pause by the gate and watch as sunlight finally broke over Konohagakure.

xXx

Only an hour had passed since Iruka left the Hidden Leaf. From the direction opposite the one the chuunin and his companions had taken, the silhouette of a man appeared. Over one shoulder was a limp, lifeless body; supported on the other side was another body, feet stumbling and dragging as the shadow led it toward the gates. Their progress was slow.

Eventually, they emerged from the umbrage of the trees, and the mysterious yet unmistakable face of Hatake Kakashi was illuminated. He held Asuma over his shoulder, his knees trembling under the weight. With the other arm, he was half-leading, half-carrying a hazy-eyed Gai; a fine trickle of blood snaked out of the jounin's bowl-cut hair from somewhere near his temple. The Green Beast of Konoha was missing his vest, and the shirt beneath was soaked through with a putrid mixture of blood and sweat. He sank to his knees the minute the arm beneath his shoulders slipped away.

Slowly, gently, Kakashi set Asuma down. The unconcious man's face was drained of all color, and a faint bluish tinge had appeared on his lips and fingertips. Careful not to move the makeshift bandage around the Asuma's stomach, Kakashi went to take his pulse. He leaned over; his body swayed. With next to no chakra to help him balance, Kakashi tried to sidestep. He flung his arm out wildly, clutching at nothing, and fell hard on his hip. He cursed as he looked up, but it seemed as if the world was moving in slow motion—his vision was swimming, tiny ripples obscuring the lines of his companion's bodies.

Gai, though disoriented, gazed intently at the masked jounin before he murmured, "Eternal Rival..."

Kakashi looked at him curiously, through both eyes—his headband lay broken gods only knew where—and ran a hand through the flopping spikes of his hair, streaking silver with dark red. "What..." he paused as his eyes began to darken. The ground seemed to coming up to meet him...

"Eternal Rival...I am eternally grateful..." Gai finished in a whisper.

Kakashi, bloody, dirty, and weak, never heard him. His body jerked, convulsed, and trembled, then fell with a muffled thump.


A/N: Okay, the whole Sand-siding-with-Sound thing will explain itself eventually. That is, if anyone ever gets interested in this story. Nothing exactly important happened in this chapter--this one and the first one were more of 'setting' chapters I guess. I have an exceeding difficult time sitting still long enough to create and actual decent-length chapter...blame the ADD...