Title: A Fine Line Between
Author: Sarcastic.Shinobi
Fandom: Naruto
Genre(s): Suspense, friendship, humor, angst (hope your head isn't exploding…)
Rating: M (violence, themes)
Pairing: Possible eventual Iruka x Kakashi (Don't like, don't read. You've been warned)
Distribution: Please do not archive or repost w/o permission
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, don't make any $ writing about Naruto. T.T
Summary: By now, dear readers, you could tell ME the summary.
Author Notes: Original characters in this chapter.
Thanks for all the reviews & watches, guys! It's very encouraging! A few people asked me to get this next chapter out ASAP, so here it is!!
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Chapter 3 – Spies & Prisoners
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"But that still boils down to what do we do with them?"
Five ninjas and one civilian sat tensely around a small table. The table, adorned with cups of tea, a pot, and several maps, scrolls, and pieces of armor, looked like it might break under the weight. A cheerful lamp swung overhead, highlighting the dour expressions on the faces of the shinobi. Mocking them.
One ninja, a middle-aged woman with lined, pale eyes and dark skin, sighed. "Why now, anyway? Everything was going so well…"
A tall man—so tall he had difficulty tucking his long legs under the table, especially with his geta sandals—looked to a red-haired man on his right. "It seems that all the other options have been exhausted."
An exceedingly old ninja nodded. "Yes. Ran, you are the only one yet to voice an opinion."
The red-haired man looked up, eyes sooty underneath his spiky bangs. "I see no other option than to keep them here until we can fully assess the threat their presence brings."
"We'll need to build a prison, then," the old man said.
The middle-aged woman sighed again.
The civilian drummed her fingertips on the table nervously. "Are we sure we shouldn't kill them outright and be done with it?"
The five sat silently for a moment, reconsidering.
"No, not yet," a small voice said. The other five looked at the sixth member of the group, a young boy. He stared back through pensive blue eyes. "It is possible… that they will join us."
.
"Kakashi."
Iruka.
Kakashi involuntarily fluttered his eyelids. Stars flashed; a dull pain throbbed from the back of his skull. Too much effort to look… He kept his eyes closed.
"Ugh… Whoever hit me… had a hammer for a fist."
"Are you all right?" the teacher sounded concerned.
Kakashi reached up to touch the back of his head. Rather, he tried to. He cracked his eyes open, waited for his vision to stop swimming, and tried to assess the situation. He was afraid he knew already…
He was lying flat on his back. His wrists were bound close together in what looked like stone handcuffs. They were resting on his stomach… and while thin, they felt heavy. Ornate symbols were carved into the smooth surface.Chakra absorbing, he noted gloomily. His fingers had been shoved into very small half-gloves, and the fingers of the gloves had then been sewn together. No hand-signs, he noted even more gloomily, finding that he could flex his fingers very little with the whole contraption.
The sky was gray overhead. It had stopped raining some time ago; his clothes were only slightly damp.
"We're… outside?" He looked over.
Iruka, white-faced, kneeled next to him, stripped of everything except his pants. He too wore chakra-absorbing cuffs. Iron bands wrapped around his ankles, connected by a short chain; another band circled his neck. A chain extended from the back of this last band to a post a few feet next to them. Kakashi noted a second chain—a much shorter chain—extending to his direction and groaned.
We're chained to a post outside like dogs…
He forced himself upright with extreme difficulty. Unlike Iruka, he remained fully clothed, and his ankles were bound with chakra-absorbing cuffs. They were soldered together; there was no chain between to enable movement.
Iruka shivered. "I can understand the differences in our bonds… Obviously they know who you are… hence the extra precautions… but why did they take my clothes? And my hitai-ite?"
"It's all about control," Kakashi answered thickly. "They're giving you more freedom than me, but they want you to know your place. They want you to feel vulnerable. It's probably only be a matter of time before they take mine, too… Unless they decide to kill us."
Iruka's eyes glimmered, but he said nothing.
Kakashi blinked again and looked around. Tents and wooden huts were constructed in a ring under the trees, camouflaged effectively. They were in the center, in a relatively clear area. Most of the grasses and plants had been flattened or pulled away in a 4-foot diameter circle around the post.So the ninjas here can see us more clearly, Kakashi thought.
"Well, I think it's safe to say we found what we were looking for," he said aloud.
"No, they found us," Iruka whispered. A cold, damp wind blew threw the clearing, and he shivered again.
Kakashi looked at him. "Have you seen anyone yet?"
Iruka shook his head and flushed, angry and embarrassed. "No. I've been out cold since they attacked us… I didn't even wake up when they took my clothes. No one has moved out from the tents or huts yet."
Kakashi shifted his position so that he was facing the wind. "Let's sit back to back… We can keep watch…"
Iruka nodded and moved with agility despite his chains. The older ninja felt the man's shoulder blades press into his and hoped the dampness of his clothes wouldn't make him more uncomfortable than he already was.
Iruka pulled his knees up and set his arms over them, watching the homes intently. How embarrassing, he thought. Which I guess is exactly how they want me to feel. He wondered if Kakashi had ever been a prisoner before. If he had ever been treated this way. Probably not; not the famous copy-ninja… He felt his face burn. Neither of them had sensed anything. How did these ninja sneak up on them?
"I burned up all of my chakra," Kakashi whispered, as if he were reading Iruka's mind. "I was extending my chakra miles out, until the last moment. They… must have been deflecting it… Or… they were at the very tree-tops, barely trailing us the whole time… farther than I can reach."
Kakashi's slightly taller frame effectively blocked the wind; Iruka only shivered now at how defeated his partner sounded. With as much bravery as he could muster, he said, "These ninja… they'll be a challenge, but I know that we'll figure this out, Kakashi."
Iruka felt Kakashi dip his head down. "This is my fault, Iruka-san."
"Kakashi," he started.
"You're right, we will figure it out." The lifted his head again. "I promised Naruto that I would bring you back safely..."
Iruka let out a low laugh. "Forget the promise for now. We still have a mission to complete."
Kakashi tried to look at him over his shoulder. "What?"
"Tsunade-sama assigned this mission to us, Kakashi. It won't take them long to figure out what we are here for. No one else will be able to get this close after us. Besides, doesn't being within enemy lines provide the best circumstances to gather information?"
"Heh. I suppose you're right."
Though both knew it would be useless, they decided to test their bonds first. Kakashi, with his wrists and ankles welded together and devoid of strength, could manage very little, so he kept watch as Iruka tried to free himself.
Iruka flipped himself on his back and began a series of contortions. Kakashi watched him with one wide eye as the younger man angled his hips and arched his back to manipulate a chain. "You better not ever let Jiraiya know that you can move like that, or he may ask to interview you as the hero for his next Icha Icha book."
"Pervert," Iruka grunted, but Kakashi wasn't sure whether he was referring to him or Jiraiya.
The younger ninja eventually managed to wrap the chain binding his ankles around the bands on his wrists. He pulled and tugged with his legs as forcefully as he could, but only succeeded in rubbing his ankles raw. The chain connected to his neck was even thicker and would not break. Kakashi and Iruka both pushed on the pole itself, but it was inserted deeply into the ground and would not tip.
Tired, and in Iruka's case, sweaty and dirty with his efforts, they sat back to back again, leaning against each other, and watched the shanties and the tents carefully. Since breaking out had proved futile, they decided they could only wait... And observe, just as they were instructed… They mentally recorded any sign of movement, any significant detail. But there was nothing. No symbols anywhere, no articles of clothing or daily living left lying out…
Several hours went by. The sun finally came out from behind the gray clouds, spilling clear, pale light on the encampment.
Iruka said, "I'm thirsty."
"Me too," Kakashi admitted.
"At least the sun is out," Iruka said cheerfully. "It's much warmer now."
There were still no signs of movement outside the huts, but they occasionally glimpsed movement from within a window, or heard a sound. Iruka thought he heard a child cry briefly.
They enjoyed the sunlight for another half hour. Then a thick, black cloud appeared in the sky.
"Oh, no," Iruka groaned.
Kakashi sighed.
The rain pounded down on them again. With neither man protected by rain gear or jutsu, they were almost instantaneously drenched.
"At least you're getting a shower out of this," Kakashi said.
"Oh, be quiet," snapped Iruka.
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"So," the old ninja said, wiping a hand down his tired face, "we're decided then?"
"Yes," the boy said, dark eyes flashing.
The middle-aged ninja nodded. "They deserve a chance. Everyone deserves a chance."
"Yes, if you all are sure it's safe…" the civilian said. "Personally, I think it's like keeping two wild dogs on a leash in your own home… If anything goes wrong, my vote will change in a heartbeat."
The tall man shrugged.
"I'll talk with them," the red-haired man offered. "If I can't find anything out, then…"
The old ninja nodded approvingly.
"I'll go with you, Ran…" The tall man disentangled himself from the cluttered table and stood up.
The red-haired ninja smiled. He and the tall man turned to the rest of the group and gave a little bow. The group bowed back. Then they left the hut.
.
The rain became a drizzle and the sun shone alternately through the clouds. The forest was positively glowing.
"I'm hungry," Iruka said.
"Me too," Kakashi replied.
"Wait," Iruka straightened.
Kakashi looked over to see what had gotten the teacher's attention.
Two men had emerged from the largest hut.
One was extremely tall with straight black hair that fell like a curtain around his angular face. He carried a black umbrella and wore a loose (and rather exposing, Iruka thought) gray yukata tucked into a pair of equally loose hakama pants.
The other man walked under the umbrella. He was slightly shorter than Iruka, with wild red hair and such heavily lashed eyes that he appeared to be wearing kohl. He was dressed in more traditional ninja gear, though it was entirely black. His hitai-ite, worn as a headband, was scratched so badly that the symbol of his village was unreadable.
No, not scratched, Iruka realized, purposely defaced.
The two walked up to the Leaf village ninjas, stopping just short of their little circle.
The two pairs sized each other up.
"Yo," Kakashi said coolly.
"Hello," the black-haired man said, his solemn expression unwavering.
The red-haired ninja smiled softly, surprising both Iruka and Kakashi. "I'm Ran. This is Jin. Now, who are you?"
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A/N's: Not quite the direction I wanted to go initially, having the guys outdoors for so long, but it seemed unusual and it made more sense. Why would a simple encampment have a pre-built jail, after all?
Hopefully the sudden appearance of OC's isn't too alarming either… Usually I don't like OC's, because they tend to take over a fanfiction. These guys will become more involved as the story goes on, but fear not, Kakashi and Iruka will remain the stars!
Speaking of, do we like Iruka as a contortionist? I know I do. :3
As always, thanks for reading!