If you feel so filthy,
So dirty, so screwed up,
If you feel so walked on,
So painful, so ticked off-Riot-Three Day's Grace

Iruka ate raw fish for breakfast, and hoped the Kyuubi's chakra hadn't poisoned the fish (it was said to be badly effecting some of the other forest animals). The fish had looked all right, and tasted fine (for raw fish). He was very pleased to find he was still a good bare-handed fisher.

For a man who was probably eating his last meal Iruka felt rather happy. He felt better than he had in a long time, even with all his injuries throbbing and burning when he moved. His chakra was still low, and he would be chased today. He was likely to be dead or, much less likely, captured by noon, but he was now humming a rather cheerful child's song.

It seemed absurd to feel cheerful given the circumstances, but Iruka had never claimed to be a very sane individual. He sat with his bare feet in the shallow creek that had supplied his breakfast, and listened to the almost silent forest. Most of the birds had fled the forest on the Kyuubi's arrival, and there was a lack of other creatures as well. The stream, however, had a healthy supply of fish.

Of course, the Kyuubi could have been eating the other creatures of the forest. That would make a lot of sense. It wouldn't explain why there were so many fish, though. Certainly the Kyuubi could catch fish. Naruto could even catch fish bare handed, of course Iruka had spent the better part of two days teaching the boy how.

Iruka tensed as he heard something rustle in the leaves. He slowly relaxed and concentrated on the noise. Something was shuffling towards him. It didn't sound like someone trying to sneak up on him, but he still slowly reached for a kunai under the guise of tugging his flak jacket straight. He whipped around, gathering himself up into a ready position.

The rabbit flicked it ears up and bounced rapidly away into the forest. Iruka smiled wryly as he watched it leave. He replaced his kunai and stood up, pulling his shoes back on. He looked around the forest. Nothing else was stirring, and the air still smelled faintly of the Kyuubi.

Iruka sighed. He needed a plan. A plan that extended past 'don't get killed and save Naruto' would be good. While those were good goals he needed a plan to get to them. His mother had always been fond of saying one had to go back to the cookie jar to find out who ate all the cookies. Applied to Iruka's situation it meant he needed to go back to where the Kyuubi had been released. That meant going back to Konoha.

"Which would be much easier if you hadn't blown up yesterday," Iruka grumbled to himself. He didn't regret his actions yesterday, however. He'd been lied to, and he didn't think he could trust Konoha anymore. Maybe if Sandaime was still alive he would have reacted differently. If Sandaime was still alive Iruka had the feeling everything about the mission would have been explained to him. If Sandaime was still alive maybe...

"There is no use crying over spilt blood," Iruka muttered softly his mother's favorite saying, and grinned. His mother's sayings were very fresh in his mind today. Perhaps the fact he had shown off the temper he'd inherited from her had something to do with it. That wasn't to say his father hadn't possessed a temper, but Iruka's mother had been far more volatile than her husband had ever been.

Iruka sat back down with his back against a tree. There was no way he could get into Konoha as he was, unless he was captured. Iruka quickly discarded the idea of willingly being captured. He'd probably get killed as a traitor before he had a chance to do anything.

He needed to heal and replenish his chakra before he even tried to infiltrate Konoha. His scar would be a big problem to hide. Iruka didn't want to risk a genjutsu to hide the scar. There were too many shinobi who could easily see through genjutsu. He'd have to sneak in without being seen or completely disguise his appearance by physical means. Given that he didn't have anything to disguise himself with, he'd have to sneak in without being seen, but, before he did any of that, he needed to survive long enough to heal without getting himself beaten up again or using up all his chakra.

Iruka had the sinking suspicion he wasn't going to live out the week.

Asuma and Kurenai started spending more time together when they got Genin teams. Kurenai found somehow, even though Asuma didn't really have a team anymore, they were still spending time together. Now, as the morning settled into afternoon, they sat watching Asuma's and Kurenai's old teams alternately sparring and goofing off.

"They still haven't caught the Chuunin?" Kurenai asked as she watched Shino flip Kiba through the air. The Aburame was immediately attacked by Akamaru.

Asuma breathed out a long plume of smoke. "Nope, Kakashi's dogs lost the scent because of the Kyuubi's smell, and he avoided the ANBU. There's a Chuunin team out looking for him now."

"If he avoided ANBU, why send some Chuunin after him?" Kurenai asked.

"He's wounded, low on chakra, and tired. He probably hasn't eaten since he left Konoha yesterday, and there's a chance he might just give up." Asuma rolled his eyes a little. "I think he's snapped, and if that's the case he won't be reasonable at all."

Kurenai looked over to Asuma. "He was teaching the future shinobi of Konoha. He had to be trusted and level headed."

"But not trusted enough to be out running missions, huh? He was lucky yesterday, but he wasn't made a teacher because he couldn't fight. There was another reason, and I want to know what it was." Asuma flicked ash off his cigarette. "Have you ever run into this Umino before?"

"I spoke with him when I first got my cell. He seemed nice enough back then," Kurenai said. "I think that's the only time we ever spoke to each other, but I do remember his outburst when we nominated our cells for the Chuunin exam."

Asuma grunted. "Right, I'd forgotten about that. Hayate said something after it happened. I think it was Kakashi was lucky not to have a broken nose, or maybe he meant Iruka was lucky not to have a broken nose."

"If he were still alive we might ask him," Kurenai sighed. "We've lost too many shinobi, Asuma." Kurenai looked back to the young ones, who had broken off into pairs and were sparring with amazing ferocity. Even Shikamaru was putting out obvious effort against Kiba. Kurenai felt slightly nostalgic.

Asuma's face said he was following her line of thought. "Kurenai, do you feel like you're throwing them to the wolves?"

Kurenai nodded. "But we'll have to trust them to watch out for trouble. If they stay on the borders of the forest then they're less likely to be attacked." She didn't sound happy, but Asuma wasn't happy either. He didn't like that their former cells were being used as border patrols on a forest containing a creature that could easily kill a team of ANBU. If it attacked them they wouldn't have a chance. That was probably the reason the Genin were being posted there. If the Kyuubi could kill ANBU then Konoha might as well throw less useful shinobi at it.

Asuma stubbed out his cigarette, and Kurenai shook her bangs out of her face. The sparring was winding down. Shikamaru looked up at them, and both Jounin could see the frown on his face. Asuma waved a hand at him, but the young Chuunin's frown just deepened. Asuma knew Shikamaru had figured out the most likely reason he and his year mates were being posted on the forests borders. Shikamaru seemed to like the idea even worse than Asuma and Kurenai did.

A wild punch from Ino smashed into Shikamaru's cheek, and something very close to a brawl erupted on the green field. Kurenai shook her head, Asuma smiled, and the two jumped forward to break up the fight.

Iruka had avoided all six Chuunin until mid afternoon, and then he'd been seen. He'd managed to nick a smoke bomb off one to make a fast get away, but he was in trouble. This was worse than yesterday. He had less than half his chakra back, and his left arm was slow to react.

If Iruka could separate the Chuunin he would have a chance, and the best way to do that was...

Two clones popped into existence with Iruka to their left. The three Irukas leapt off in different directions. Iruka was dimly aware of his clones running away. He was using the smallest amount of chakra he could to jump through the trees, making small quick leaps from branch to branch. He had two of the Chuunin after him, which, Iruka hoped, meant they had split up equally to chase him.

Iruka hit a branch and flipped around. He jumped back towards the Chuunin and hit one in the solar plexus. The Chuunin doubled over Iruka's fist. Iruka landed neatly landed on a branch several feet below, and watched the uninjured Chuunin, who had a scar across his neck, grab his comrade before he hit the ground. Iruka leapt back towards the scarred Chuunin.

The scarred Chuunin blocked the kick aimed at his stomach. Iruka dodged a punch aimed at his head, and tried to sweep the Chuunin's legs out from under him. The Chuunin dodged and threw handful of shuriken at Iruka. Iruka rolled under them and slammed into the scarred Chuunin's legs. The Chuunin fell. Iruka jumped to his feet and slammed a hand into the back of the scarred Chuunin's head. The scarred Chuunin dropped limp onto the branch.

Iruka grunted as three kunai hit his left arm. The Chuunin he'd hit first was now recovering. Iruka jumped back, tripped over the scarred Chuunin, and fell. He landed hard on a branch nearly three feet down, and quickly rolled to his feet. Three shuriken skimmed his right leg and lodged firmly in tree. The Chuunin followed not three seconds later, and landed almost on top of an exploding tag.

Iruka dropped to the forest floor and ran. He didn't know how much damage the tag had done, but he wasn't sticking around to find out. One of his clones was already gone, and the second wouldn't last much longer. He'd soon have the other four Chuunin after him.

Iruka pulled the kunai out of his arm as he ran. Blood ran freely from the cuts. Iruka finally stopped when the blood dripped onto his fingers and tore off some cloth from his sleeve to bandage the cuts. The last thing he needed to do was leave a blood trail.

He heard something speeding along through the canopy. Iruka quickly jumped up the nearest tree. He did not want to be caught on the ground while the other shinobi were in the trees. He leapt onto a large branch and almost ran into the second pair of Chuunin.

Iruka acted on instinct and, from his frog-like crouch, kicked the closest Chuunin in the ankle. He heard something crunch, and the Chuunin swore as he doubled over. Iruka rose and hit the Chuunin's nose with his elbow. There was another crunching noise.

Iruka swung around the first Chuunin and headed towards the second Chuunin. This one was pale-faced and shocked. Iruka dashed across the branch towards him. He aimed a punch at the Chuunin's gut, only to throw himself to the side and leap to another tree branch when he recognized the Chuunin.

"Shinji," Iruka almost yelped. Shinji had been one of Iruka's first students. Shinji drew a kunai and prepared to throw it with a shaking hand. Had he been told that the rogue Chuunin he was to chase down was his former sensei?

Iruka crouched a little. He remembered Shinji. As a student the boy had always had a weak guard on his left side. If he still did Iruka would have an easy time beating him. He also remembered Shinji had amazing accuracy with anything thrown. If Iruka wanted to beat his former student he'd need to get in close and stay that way.

"Shinji-kun, do you think you can beat me?" Iruka asked slowly as he began inching forward.

Shinij froze, and for a moment Iruka almost expected him to drop his kunai. Shinji, his eyes still wide, threw the kunai. It hit Iruka square in his right shoulder. Iruka gasped, and jumped forward. He almost tackled Shinji to the tree branch and pinned the younger Chuunin to the tree with a kunai thrust through his flak vest.

Iruka leapt higher into the canopy and set off running again. He now knew one thing. He couldn't fight his former students. He was the one who'd taught them, and, if he thought back, he remembered all the ones who'd become Genin. He remembered the little faults they had and what they were good at, but he couldn't use that knowledge against them. He couldn't.

Iruka was getting down to the dregs of his reserves. He hadn't run a mission in six years. For a shinobi he was badly out of shape. He was injured, and three of the Chuunin chasing him were uninjured. He could hope the other three were out of commission, but he couldn't count on it.

Iruka leapt again and was met with a shower of kunai and shuriken. He threw up his hands to protect himself and missed the branch he'd been aiming for. He fell. Iruka thought his heart stopped while he dropped. He was falling fast, and if he hit the ground he'd be dead.

Iruka's right arm caught onto a branch and his heart thudded back into motion. He heard and felt a pop in his right shoulder before his hand slipped off the branch and he fell the last few feet. He hit water instead of ground, and barely managed to avoid getting a mouthful of water. He kicked himself down, away from the surface, and looked up through the mostly clear water.

Ripples danced above him, but he could see no one. He slowly swam backwards, struggling to go smoothly while his right arm no longer responded. The water stung the deeper cuts on his arm and a cut on his forehead Iruka hadn't been aware of. Iruka's back hit a rock, which turned out to be part of a bank. He used the rock to help pop his shoulder back into place, trying hard to not gasp as the pain flared and died. He pulled himself on top of the water using the same rock.

Iruka's appearance on the water was met with another shower of kunai. Iruka dodged, rolling across the water's surface. He needed to get off the water and onto firm ground where he could conserve chakra. Another shower of kunai sent him farther out onto the water.

A Chuunin dropped down from the trees, and set out across the water towards Iruka. Iruka recognized him as he dashed across the water, but Iruka hadn't fought him yet, meaning the man was uninjured. Iruka jumped back.

The Chuunin, Kisuke, was on him in seconds. Iruka struggled to block the flurry of blows. His feet kept sinking into the water, though walking on water had been one of the first things he'd ever been taught. Iruka received a glancing blow to his temple, which sent him staggering and made his head spin. Kisuke didn't let up. Iruka received a blow to his right shoulder, stomach, and left leg.

Iruka scrambled away, his feet sinking farther into the water. One more shinobi, a kunochi, had dropped onto the surface of the water, but she was hanging back. Iruka barely dodged another blow to his head. His hands were desperately forming signs. He wasn't sure what jutsu he was trying to do, but he had to do something.

Iruka jumped back from Kisuke, and the water underneath them lurched. Iruka's hands were clumsily working their way through signs Iruka only half remembered. His father's voice was talking calmly in his mind, but Iruka couldn't concentrate on the words. The water rippled again, and Iruka heard a roaring in his ears.

The water in front of Iruka suddenly leapt to life. It reared up suddenly, blocking the two other Chuunin from Iruka's sight. Iruka's hands slipped into one more seal, and the wall of water crashed down. For a moment he was blinded by the spray and deafened by the sound of the crashing water, then there was silence and no more shinobi.

Iruka floundered his way to the shore. He dragged himself out of the water, and managed to make it five steps before he collapsed. Blood was streaming into his eyes from the cut on his forehead, his entire body felt covered in small cuts and gashes, but he was still alive. He couldn't move, but he was alive. For now.

Iruka struggled to stand, but he only managed to roll over a few times. His legs were past the point where 'burning' could describe how they felt. His heart was pounding hard, and his lungs burning. His arms were useless. If any of the Chuunin found him now he was...

"Dead."

"Good, if anyone saw us--"

"Hey, there's the one they were chasing. Why would Konoha shinobi be chasing him? He's Konoha too, isn't he?"

"Well the hitai-ate says so, but that doesn't mean he really is."

"Heh, think someone else is after it too?"

"That's doubtful."

Iruka opened his eyes a slit and saw the legs of two people standing near him. He didn't recognize their voices. One sounded familiar, but one definitely wasn't. One voice, the familiar one, had a Konoha accent, and the other didn't. The accent was...

"It's still alive," the unfamiliar voice said as it drew closer. "Maybe we should--"

Iruka, on adrenaline alone, whipped his legs up and caught a leg. He jerked with one of his legs, pushed with the other and received a very satisfying 'crack' for his efforts. There was a 'thump' and a bout of swearing that finally identified the voice's accent. He was from Kirigakurage.

Something sharp was suddenly pressed against Iruka's neck. "If you want to live you'd best not move again and answer my questions." The familiar voice was speaking. "Now, are you really from Konoha?" Iruka opened his eyes and met a pair of narrowed red ones.

Iruka coughed and felt a wry smile break out on his face. "You should know the answer to that without asking me, Itachi. You should probably put your friend's knee back in joint before it swells..." The red eyes narrowed, and Iruka's world went black.

A/N:Didn't see that coming, now did ya?

Where I come from catching fish bare handed is called 'noodling', but The thought of Iruka' noodling' made me laugh too much, and I wasn't sure anyone else would now what 'noodling' was. So yeah.

Gee, five pages seems long when you have to type it, but it makes for a short read. Oh well. Thanks to all the lovely people who've reviewed so far, and please continue to do so!

Jaa ne