Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I did hide the Hokage's bottle of sake though.
Edited in 2010: Thank you, Sal m'dear, for your help.
I've Got You
Chapter 3: Fire and Water Collide
Behind him, he could feel shinobi advancing but he had to keep his full attention on the enemy in front. The Mist-nin was attacking with a fast series of intricate blows that were extremely difficult to counter. He was completely on the defensive, not able to perform any counter strikes at all.
The enemy-nin was unrelenting in his attack and forced Iruka backwards towards the shinobi coming from behind. He was trapped. The hunter had become the hunted.
…
The fifth Hokage of Konoha sat at her desk, surrounded by mounds of paperwork taller than her hidden bottle of much desired sake. Tsunade was completely ignoring the great piles of important documents demanding her attention to stare murderously at one small announcement in the newspaper. She had won the grand lottery.
"Tsunade-sama?" The quiet, nervously muttered question came from her ever constant shadow and most trusted friend.
The blond woman sighed and rubbed at her throbbing left temple. Shizune stared at the line of numbers perfectly matching those on the small slip of paper her leader had purchased the previous evening.
"Tsunade-sama, what could it mean?"
"I don't know. This is the biggest win I've ever had." The older woman frowned. There was a moment's silence as both the women mulled the situation over. "Maybe this time it's not bad news."
Tsunade's hopeful brown gaze rose to meet worried black eyes and an unspoken knowledge passed between the two friends. Something very bad was going to happen. Shaking her head and slamming a fist into the desk with forcefully enough to make the wood groan in protest, the Godaime rose and began pacing her office.
"Who's currently out on A to S rank missions? I'll need their files and locations immediately," she ordered.
Shizune snapped to attention and was about to answer when a sound made both their hearts stop and crawl upwards into suddenly constricted throats.
The alarm sounded only seconds before the first wave of boulders hit the village. The warning gong barely gave the shinobi time to react and the civilians only enough time to look around and wonder what there was to be wary of. Those five massive impacts rocked Konoha to its core and shook its buildings like an earthquake. The deafening sound of earth striking earth was confusing and terrifying. Many of the hidden village citizens found themselves disoriented as the shockwave assaulted the delicate inner ear and temporarily muddled the body's equilibrium. Dust clouds from the impact zones rose blindingly thick, particles of sand and shards of glass spread outward like a wave choking anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in its path.
Some homes and businesses collapsed from the powerful shockwaves, windows smashing throughout the village and cracking walls causing chunks of wood, stone, and mortar to fall into the streets. Many people were shaken from their feet and could only huddle into tight balls or try and shield loved ones as destruction rained around them. Silent prayers for survival were uttered to any God listening. Screams of terror and pain were carried by the wind, rising in volume as the dust began to clear enough to take note of surroundings and the horror of the situation. For those in the direct path of the boulders, there were no survivors.
Some people staggered to their feet, screaming for loved ones, crying out names desperately or incoherently, running between streets strewn with rubble or digging frantically into the ruins where they had last seen that precious person. Others ran to help those injured and defenceless, doing whatever they could to preserve a life and comfort those locked in worlds of painful terror. A few couldn't even move, just standing or lying where they'd fallen to watch the horror unfold with wide uncomprehending eyes.
The Leaf shinobi had been trained for such emergencies, their instructions so ingrained in their psyche that they moved without thought or delay. Lower Chuunin and Genin rushed to the aid of civilians and began crisis control. They herded those that could move to the safety of the tunnels beneath the Hokage monument while medical staff tended to the injured and administered life-preserving aid. The higher ranked Chuunin and all Jounin headed straight for the Hokage tower to receive instructions from their leader.
Pops and puffs of chakra smoke began filling the Hokage's office and the door burst open to admit more shinobi, all silently awaiting direction from the powerful woman. Tsunade quickly ordered her shinobi into teams and was about to start issuing commands when there was a shouted warning and she turned to see five more projectiles arching their way through the sky. There was no time to waste!
"ANBU and elite, find the enemy and destroy! The rest of you, stop those boulders!"
…
The blade came far too close to Iruka's neck for comfort as he quickly shifted his balance and bowed his backward to avoid the strike. He swiftly swung his katana across his chest and managed to knock the enemy ninja's weapon wide. Quickly, he dropped his free hand to the ground and – using the momentum from his last move – kicked out with both feet at his attacker's chest. By resting all his weight on his arm and using a chakra boost to push off the ground, Iruka flew through the air with a powerful velocity and connected with his target. The Mist shinobi was sent flying backwards and the Leaf shinobi landed firmly on his feet again with an agile mid-air twist. His triumphant moment was fleeting.
Before Iruka could even fully turn to face his next opponent, he was tackled around the waist by a man wearing a green bandanna, the weight and force driving him to the ground. Pain shot through his left shoulder on impact as it bore the brunt of their combined weight, becoming trapped beneath his body. Letting out a pained hiss, the Chuunin gathered chakra in his right hand and swung for his tackler's head with as much speed as he could from the awkward position. Suddenly, a rope tangled around his wrist, forcing his fist to stop less than an inch from the Mist ninja's ear. Despite Iruka's resistance, his arm was yanked above his head with a painful jolt.
Shit, shit, shit!
Iruka tried desperately to twist his body and free his left arm, but the man on top of him scrabbled up to straddle his chest. A large fist swung down to strike the pre-Gennin sensei solidly across the cheek. Pain exploded behind Iruka's eyes and he saw white for a moment before snapping back to his senses to discover his shoulders pinned to the ground. The academy teacher struggled fiercely, kneeing his enemy in the back repeatedly and trying to pull his right hand free of the accursed rope. Iruka could feel the skin being stripped from his wrist as he twisted his arm to try to loosen the binding, but it was infused with chakra and would not relent. Thumbs dug savagely into pressure points on either side of his collarbones and the pony tailed Chuunin couldn't suppress the grunt of pain that escaped his throat.
"Hurry the fuck up and finish him!" the green bandanna wearing man sitting on his chest snapped at someone standing just beyond Iruka's line of sight.
Trying to find the source of the chakra infused rope, Iruka's eyes were momentarily stilled when they passed over the four powerful Jounin he had been studying earlier. The dark skinned monk and red clad woman hadn't shifted their positions in the slightest, obviously unfazed by the confusion affecting their camp. The leader Rikiryou was glaring right at him murderously; his face bright red while he bellowing orders. The killing intent coming from the massive man was immense and Iruka could feel it was all aimed directly at him.
Another chakra was vying for his attention though and the Chuunin found his eyes drawn to the tattooed man. His hat had been tipped back and he was sitting up, staring at Iruka with beautiful midnight blue eyes. Those dark eyes were watching him with what could only be described as fervent lust. The snakes on his torso seemed to vibrate and squirm as the heat emitting man devoured him with his eyes. Iruka was disgusted and scowled in his direction before looking away to deal with his more immediate enemies. As he turned his head, he swore he saw the tattooed shinobi smile.
Iruka's breath was coming short and shallow, the weight on his chest making it impossible to suck in as much oxygen as he needed. His left arm was rapidly numbing and his right arm, immobilised over his head, was stretched so tightly that he could actually hear the joints in his shoulder groaning. The Leaf Chuunin couldn't help but wonder if it was going to pop off all together. All his discomfort became irrelevant as a shinning silver blade swung to a halt over his face. Looking up, he saw the katana wielding man staring down at him with pure hatred in his eyes. The blade lifted.
"Die you leaf bastard," the enemy shinobi snarled through bared teeth.
Iruka made a last ditch attempt to reach an exploding tag in his pocket, at least that way he could take these two out with him, but it was hopeless. He was completely trapped. The blade swung down and Iruka closed his eyes, turning his face away in the last moments of his life.
The strike never came. Surprised brown eyes snapped open as the rope binding his wrist loosened and the weight on his chest was suddenly removed, allowing life-giving oxygen to rush back into his lungs. In place of the katana wielding shinobi, Iruka gazed up at a familiar bearded face with smoke curling from the cigarette held firmly between lips.
"Time for you to head back, sensei. We'll take it from here." Asuma smiled down at him.
Relief flooded Iruka's system, his body momentarily going limp in relief as he spied familiar figures rushing past and sound of battle began to ring loudly around the clearing.
I'm alive! Oh thank god, the cavalry's arrived.
Asuma gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and disappeared from his sight, going to join the fray. Iruka was just sitting up when arms wrapped around his chest from behind and he was hauled to his feet. A voice spoke softly in his ear.
"I'm impressed, Iruka-sensei. Look at all the chaos you caused before we even got here."
Iruka's heartbeat instantly sped up and a shiver danced its way down his spine as soft breath ghosted across his cheek.
"Kakashi-san?" he gasped and turned his head to see a single dark grey eye focused on his face. The strong arms still hadn't released him and Iruka was momentarily alarmed when the grip tightened briefly before loosening and he found himself being propelled away from the fight. Kakashi manoeuvred the teacher toward the forest leading back to Konoha.
"You've done extremely well but it's time to get clear. This is no place for an unarmed teacher."
Normally Iruka would have protested being underestimated like that but under the current circumstances he had to agree it was a fair call. Kakashi had not yet released him and dark eyes once more turned to steel grey in puzzlement. A gloved hand rose in front of his face and the foreign hitai-ate was slipped off his forehead. He couldn't shift his eyes from that intense gaze; despite the war raging around them it command his full attention. Arms momentarily tightened again and Iruka's shortness of breath had nothing to do with the pressure of their embrace.
"Go quickly," the silver haired Jounin whispered. "Get to safety."
Iruka could only nod. The arms released him, gave a gentle push, and Iruka took off for the forest running as fast as he could. Kakashi, already splattered with the blood of the three Mist-nins that had pinned his Chuunin down, turned back to the fight.
…
Iruka hadn't even made it to the first line of trees when he spotted one of his past students, a young man named Kenji that had been in Iruka's class the first year he taught at the academy. He was battling a Mist kuonichi who was far more skilled than the young man. Iruka diverted his course, pulling his last two senbon from his pocket and aiming for her back. He let fly the weapons and as predicted, she turned to deflect the attack giving Kenji the opening he needed for a killing blow. His kunai struck the female-nin dead centre spine and she dropped to the ground with a gut wrenching scream, twitching and bleeding heavily.
Iruka felt a deep sorrow at seeing the sweet young lad who had been truly terrible at math and Iruka had tutored for many evenings drop to his knees and slit her throat with detached ease. Again, he reminded himself that he helped raise future soldiers and the reason why was raging around them. They all did it to protect their home. Kenji lifted surprised eyes to his former teacher and smiled like the little boy he once knew.
"Iruka-sensei! I thought you were another enemy," the young man exclaimed, relief obvious in his voice. "I thought I was done for."
Iruka was quite taken aback. "Why did you think I was the enemy?"
Kenji looked him up and down pointedly and Iruka realised he was still wearing the Mist cloak. Ripping open the buttons and dragging the fabric off, he threw it on the ground with disgust. Kenji was already running back to the fight but called over his shoulder, "Thanks sensei!"
Iruka once more made for the forest and had only taken a few running steps when he was again engaged by an enemy.
Damn it! I just can't get out of here.
Ducking the kick aimed for his head, he dropped to his left knee and pulled out the hidden kunai strapped to his right leg. Swinging up from his crouched position and trying to slice through the Mist ninja's thigh, the Konoha Chuunin leapt backwards and made ready to attack. Before he could dash forward again, huge muscular arms wrapped around his upper body, trapping his upper arms to his sides and lifting him high off his feet in a rib cracking hold. The Mist shinobi he had been fighting stared past his shoulder with wide, frightened eyes before turning and rushing off to find another opponent. All the air was forced from Iruka's lungs as the arms squeezed harder, pain screaming through his body as his ribs bent and threatened to snap. An angry growl came from behind him and that was all the target Iruka required.
Snapping his head back, he felt it connect and a sickening crunch met his ears along with a deep grunt of pain. Even though Iruka was sure he'd met his mark and broken the man's nose, the arms did not release their bone-crushing grip. Spots began to form before his eyes and Iruka knew there was only a few desperate seconds before he blacked out and left completely vulnerable. Quickly forming hand seals, he twisted one hand up and placed his palm on his assailants arm, releasing the full force of his burning jutsu. There was a loud agonised howl and the arms released him. Iruka dropped to the ground gasping for air and staggered away, desperately trying to clear his vision and suppress the nausea threatening to dispel his earlier sandwich. Every breath was painful, his chest bruised and protesting each expansion. The Leaf Chuunin knew he didn't have time to worry about bruising; he'd fought with worse.
Turning to his new enemy, brown eyes lifted and met murderous black. Iruka was facing Rikiryou.
Oh fuck.
AN: It's been bought to my attention that I still write with a mixture of past and present tense. It's one of my flaws, which I'm trying to improve upon. Unfortunately, it means taking longer to write chapters as I'm now over-scrutinising my work. But enough with the excuses.
(Sal: You will continue to use them anyway and none of us are buying them, Kakashi-sensei… and you owe me Dango).
*Scratches head sheepishly* For those of you wondering, Sal calls me Kakashi most of the time because I'm always late and usually have a really poor excuse. She's Anko because she's sadistic but lovable and has crazy hair.
Does anyone actually read the Author's Notes anyway? Seriously, hands up whoever reads authors notes -click on review and put your hand up-
(Sal: I not only read them but I edit them so nyah. Actually I usually don't edit them but decided to be bratty).
