A/N: *smiles happily* My other story - and Life, can't forget that - finally gave me enough of a break to write a chapter of this one. Thanks for being so patient, everyone. And especially thank you to my reviewers: Julieanna333, WhyMustIWrite, Hiya120, vefa, ChibiAliChan, iNsAnE nO bAkA, KakashiKrazed, jazzy, see1like, Swiss Army Knife, Kitkat973, Rangerfan58 and TheWatcherandReader. It makes my day to hear that someone likes something I wrote.

Disclaimer: I'm not rich enough yet to own Naruto. But! I will be someday!


Kakashi regarded the village before him with the utmost suspicion. After the reaction he got at the last place, he wasn't about to approach Kunruya quite so casually. Observing the town from a distance, he watched again until he had streets and common hangouts essentially memorized.

He took a slow breath, letting his old ANBU attitude settle over him like a cloak. The Kakashi who strode into the little town was a far cry from the friendly, slightly scatterbrained man that had entered the last village. This Kakashi was cool. Not intimidating, but professional. Anyone looking at him would know that he had business to do and that he would not be deterred.

This, unfortunately, was the wrong choice for Kunruya.

Even as he observed the faces of the people around him, he felt the air itself seem to grow colder, a distinct hostility rising. Kakashi found himself unconsciously stepping more lightly, keeping his weight on the balls of his feet so that he could move quickly if needed.

He stepped up to a corner shop, calmly buying a postage stamp from the man behind the counter. The man whose lips were pressed in a thin, firm line as he interacted with his silver-haired customer.

Kakashi's eyes caught on the toy truck lying on the floor… with a broken off senbon through its back wheels. "What happened to that?" he asked, mind whirling at the sight of a weapon piercing the toy.

To his surprise, the shopkeeper's lips twitched in what appeared to be the beginnings of a smile. "This ninja kid fixed it for my boy. The axel had broken, so he broke off the sharp part of one of his weapons and used that as a replacement."

"That… sounds like Iruka." Kakashi ventured, making an educated guess based off of Naruto's rambling.

The man smiled then, a little of the hostility bleeding off. "Friend of yours? He seemed like a good kid, not like-" the shopkeeper cut himself off abruptly, brown eyes flicking up to then away from the Jounin.

'Not like who?' Kakashi thought, but he was on a specific mission, so he let it go. For now. He moved on, reading in the man's body language that he wouldn't get anything else from the man without threats. And he found that he really didn't want to do that here.

Truth be told, he was beginning to become concerned. Not for his safety – years of training and combat allowed him to analyze the way the people around him moved, and he had no doubt that none of them were a true threat to him – but…

Everyone here hated him. Every single person who spotted him tensed, lips pressing into that hard line. Mothers sent children running into the house when he passed, and men shifted to put themselves between him and their women, glaring at a point just over the Jounin's shoulder. He was accustomed to a few people – even entire households – hating him, but an entire town? Something was very wrong here, and it needed investigating. 'After your mission' he reminded himself.

The next place he stopped was a small medical clinic, using the excuse of stocking up on another roll or two of gauze for his first aid kit.

As he paid for the roll, the girl behind the counter spoke, her tone flat and her words obviously forced. "If I may ask, what brings you to Kunruya, shinobi-san?"

Kakashi hesitated, but something in him screamed that lying to these people would be a Very Bad Idea. He had learned through the years that his instincts were usually right, so he followed them again. "I'm looking for someone, medic-san." His voice was unusually gentle, noting the sudden fear that flashed in the girl's eyes when he reached into his vest pocket.

He also noted the recognition, even as she relaxed – only a little – when he pulled out a piece of paper, and set the photograph on the counter. Kakashi pushed carefully, ever mindful of the body language of those around him. "It's important that I find this man. Is there any chance that you could help me?"

The girl bit her lip, grey eyes flickering between the photograph and Kakashi himself. "Is… is he in trouble?" she nearly whispered.

Again, Kakashi followed the instincts insisting that lies would not go over well here. "Not yet. But if I can't find him, then he will be."

The girl fidgeted, but glanced towards the back. Kakashi focused his senses, his ears picking up the sound of children's laughter. The girl suddenly nodded firmly, drawing his gaze back to her face. "Iruka-san said he was going north. To… Janga, maybe? Something like that."

Kakashi swallowed his pride for a moment, forcing himself to bow respectfully to the girl. "Thank you, miss. I won't forget that you helped us both."

As he stepped back, he barely heard the girl murmur. "Iruka-san is nice – he even played with the kids. Please, help him get out of whatever trouble he's in."

It wasn't until he had put nearly ten miles between himself and Kunruya that he finally began to relax. That little town had seriously put him on edge, setting off every one of his alarm bells.

He made camp a little earlier than usual that night, as he had some writing to do. 'Hokage-sama, I am still tracking the subject. Nothing so far definitively points either way. However, there is another matter which I believe requires immediate investigation…'