Author's Note: I hope you liked the last chapter, I know I did! This chapter isn't going to be happy (like any of this story has been happy); yes, I'm warning you before the warning. I'm serious, read the warning and take it seriously. Remember chapter 4, it's going to be like that, but probably even worse. This chapter isn't edited, again, but it will be soon. Promise! (The last couple chapters have been edited, I just forgot to change the authors note )
Warning: Beware non-consensual sex and drug use, torture and over all mind fucking. Not trying to spoil, but it's going to be bad guys. Ps. this is kinda a warning for a few chapters… it's all going to be the same kind of stuff.
Disclaimer: Naruto is not this graphic; it's a happy story most of the time.
Fair Trade
Chapter 10
Rain.
Kakashi had really come to hate it. When it fell it was endless. While it fell it was disarming. After it fell it was gloomy. Before it fell it was ominous. During the rain, the world refused to be happy. The rain paused happiness inside cozy houses and around warm fires. Where the rain touched, the land cooled. When there was rain people stopped living, they decided instead to sit. Waiting out the rain. The thunder and the lightning, the forces of unseen gods, fighting unknown battles in an unidentifiable realm, rain disturbed the peace.
Humans, in an attempt to delude themselves and rewrite undeniable history have symbolized it. Rain is growth. Rain is renewal. Rain is life.
Rain is none of these things.
Water is growth; renewal; life.
Rain is the sadness of the world imposing on the lives of those who share her home. Watching rain is watching the world cry. Rain is misery. Rain is uncertainty in physical form.
Matted hair half covered Iruka's emaciated face. His checks were sunken, his skin pale, a combination of malnourishment, torment and the rain. The soft muddy ground coated what little of him had been clean. Slowly the weight of his body pushed him into the earth, with time maybe the man would disappear entirely.
The jonin was unsure of what to do next. To say the former Academe teacher had shocked him would have been an understatement. The famous Copy-nin was frozen to the spot, even his infallible training unable to coax him into response.
Poor man.
Wounded man.
Devastating.
The barely recognizable brunet head had hit the ground for a second time, now he didn't try to raise his head, he simply lay still. Iruka's legs sprawled, one arm bent at an awkward angle, one arm tucked beneath his torso. The sharingan eye saw that the defeated man's eyes were open. That same eye revealed to Kakashi that Iruka was no longer seeing the world around him. The man stared blankly, unblinkingly, his mind very far away.
Reaching for the limp arm beside the body of the man, Kakashi half expected another outburst, but there was none. Iruka didn't so much as flinch, blink or give any indication he knew what happened to him.
Mud splattered the silver haired man as he hoisted the brunet off the ground and threw him across his own back. Iruka ought to have weighed more, but understandably he didn't. Kakashi was only just beginning to catch glimpses of the hell in which Iruka had lived.
Maybe later he would understand; maybe later he could talk to Iruka. But first things first, both men needed out of the rain, both needed dry clothes and both needed to be back in the Fire country sooner rather than later. Kakashi didn't want ninja coming after him or Iruka. So, the man took to the trees, his counterpart balanced securely on his shoulders.
The sun was beginning to rise, the tip cresting the horizon and flooding the forest's clearings with light. Stopping in one such clearing Kakashi laid the brunet against a tree. If he hadn't known better he may have thought Iruka was only sleeping.
No, not even then. The man looked haunted, even in exhausted sleep. The clearing where they had stopped was only feet from the bank of a small stream. Undressing both himself and the doll like body of the once vibrant teacher, Kakashi threw Iruka's arm over his shoulders and dragged the man to the edge of the water.
The cold water shocked a response from the teacher, his eyes cleared and he washed the dirt from his body habitually without even glancing at the silver haired man or his surroundings. Then, with the same abruptness the light in the man's eyes flickered out and Iruka collapsed, sinking to the rocky shore. His body was once again as lifeless as his eyes.
Without saying a word, the jonin washed both their clothes after once again propping Iruka against a tree.
Kakashi pretended to not notice the old and new bruises, the fresh and scabbing cuts and the very visible ribs. Poor man. Still he kept his mouth closed. Dressed in his own newly clean and wet clothes Kakashi mover from the bank to the grassy clearing where the brunet waited. He redressed Iruka in his no-longer-so-filthy clothing, knowing that the sunlight would dry him out soon enough.
The teacher hadn't moved even an inch, which wasn't unexpected, the man just continued to stare blankly. Sighing Kakashi dropped to his haunches before the teacher.
Their faces were only a few inches apart; Iruka flinched at the sudden proximity, the clarity flaring and again dying in his eyes. A gloved hand patted the brunet head and but he received no flinch, nothing. Shaking his head Kakashi moved away. After a few minutes spent stretching and resting he walked back to the sitting man.
Iruka's eyes met Kakashi's and what appeared to be sanity returned.
"Kakashi," Iruka raised his hand to Kakashi's face, "it's nice to see you again. You aren't wounded are you? They do so love their punishments." The hand played gently with his mask but made no effort to remove it so Kakashi made no effort to stop him. "How'd we get here? This is another one of their tricks, I know it." Iruka leaned in conspiratorially, "You'd think that they'd stop trying, we've got them all figured out now." Strangely enough, the man was smirking
Kakashi again felt thoroughly perplexed. A gentle smile now graced Iruka's chapped and bleeding lips. "So handsome. When it's you I don't mind so much, you know? It's better than—"Iruka suddenly flipped the jonin's hitai-ate off his face.
Kakashi swiftly moved away, senses moving quickly to high alert despite being in Fire country and being completely alone with Iruka. His sharingan whirred to life and studied the chuunin. The man surprised him again.
Where seconds before, the brunet had been cute and accommodating, now he was adversely hard and watchful. The suspicion rolled off the small frame. A mocking grin spread across his face, "So original. Third times the charm, right?" He chuckled. "It hasn't worked has it? I was sent for a reason, yes?" He muttered to himself, "Looks real, but the fake has one. Trick, trick trick…" He trailed off. Eyes downcast.
His eyes flicked up, "I'm not gonna crack. Kill me or let me go." Iruka sighed, "Not that you will. How long this time?" Time, time, time, time. "Time, time, time. So much time. Never enough time."
Watching this, the jonin could tell only that the man wasn't understanding the present, that whatever had happened to Iruka had affected him mentally more than physically. His uncertainty and indecision stayed his actions.
"Thirsty. So thirsty." Silly 'Ruka. "Always thirsty." Iruka's eyes had lost focus, and then they latched on to Kakashi once more. "You have water for me, don't you? They always send water with you. That's why I like you better than the others."
His brow creased, eyes again turning inward, "All the same, all of them, dead, gone, captured, fake. Not real. All of them, the same….. Thirsty." Pleading eyes looked at Kakashi. "You have water for me right? I need water. Please," he begged. "I NEED water. It's so hot. Isn't it hot?"
Iruka's eyes scanned the clearing, the grass, the flowers, the trees, and he asked again, "Water?"
Ever so slowly Kakashi pointed, "There's a stream there, and the water is clean enough." Moving like a drunk, Iruka lunged through the trees, the jonin followed. Seeing the man's desperation, Kakashi wanted nothing more than to ease his suffering. Maybe the water would return some sanity.
"Water, water, water, water," the litany, however short, became a sing song ditty. Iruka swayed as he said the word again and again. "Water, water…" Without pause Iruka walked straight in. When the water reached mid-calf he knelt and brought his water filled cupped hands to his mouth.
The Copy-nin stood by watching. Without knowing what had happened he couldn't help, he wanted to help; he just didn't know what to do. What do you do with a lunatic, with a man whose mind was addled by torture?
A mouthful of water sprayed across the rocks. Iruka looked irate, "That isn't water. Its poison. I'm not going to drink poison. Why? I thought you liked me?" he yelled, turning on Kakashi with clenched fists and filled eyes. Tears streamed down his face. "I thought we were friends! I HATE YOU!"
Another abrupt change in personality. "Fuck! So thirsty." He paced irritably beside the stream. "They would use you to poison me again. They love their mind games don't they? Well fuck you all! Leave and take that shit with you!" Iruka waved Kakashi away dismissively. The pacing continued, speeding up with each turn. The man was frantic.
"Iruka," the silver haired man attempted to get the other man's attention. "Iruka? Iruka! IRUKA!" The brunet turned at the loud voice. "The water isn't poisoned, drink some."
The passably clean haired head shook back and forth in denial. "Poisoned. But I'm so thirsty. So thirsty." The chuunin's eyes clouded, closed.
Opening his eyes Iruka blinked up at Kakashi, "I like you. You bring me water. Do you have some? I'm so very thirsty. I just… just… need water. That water," he gestured to the stream, "is bad. Don't drink it. Please, please, please!"
Iruka fell to his knees before the once-too-many-times stunned Kakashi. "I'm so thirsty! I'll do anything if you give me water. You have water, right? You have to have water." A quick hand shot out and grabbed Kakashi by the pants for the second time in the last twenty-four hours.
Iruka made quick work of the snap at the front of his pants. Finally returning to reality, Kakashi jerked himself out of Iruka's grasp. Iruka almost stumbled and fell face first again, but he caught himself and then righted himself.
Quickly re-doing his pants Kakashi, sharingan eye still uncovered, stared intently at Iruka for the hundredth time. Nothing was noticeably different and yet, the man was no longer the man Kakashi had once met. What had happened to him? If nothing else Kakashi knew that the best bet would be to get him to Tsunade.
After bribing Iruka in any way he could to drink the water he was so desperate for and failing, Kakashi finally knocked out the hysterical chuunin, putting his guilt and worry to the side; he began the last leg of his hike home, chuunin firmly in place.
=^.^=
Apparently taking Iruka to Tsunade had been a bad idea, if the yelling, hysterics and breaking ceramic weren't a clue. Kakashi had taken him directly to the hospital where the wounded man had been assigned his own room. Tsunade had been contacted post haste and had arrived almost immediately.
The brunet had roused only moments before Tsunade had entered, mid-plea for water the door had slid open. Iruka screamed. His injured body flung itself sideways away from the Hokage. His flailing arm hit and knocked a potted plant; it crashed to the floor.
The room continued to echo with Iruka's cries. He scrambled across the floor and curled up in a corner, his hands covered his ears, his eyes swinging erratically from side to side, mouth still open and screaming.
Kakashi, seemed the most unfazed by Iruka's odd behavior, Tsunade, though shocked, had the sense to reach into her pocket and pull out a syringe with what Kakashi believed was a tranquilizer. The few other medical-nins in the room were shocked beyond words, completely out of their element.
When the syringe cleared Tsunade's sleeve and came into full view, Iruka's gaze froze on the object. Unblinkingly, he stared. But his screaming stopped. To the surprise of everyone else in the room, the wounded man crawled towards the blonde. The woman he'd been terrified of moments before, now seemed to be a source of hope. The chocolate eyes never left the syringe as he continued forward.
Reaching Tsunade, the deranged man sat up on his haunches, like a begging dog. "You'll give it to me right? I-I need it, please? Thirsty. So thirsty. I won't complain or run away or struggle, I'll be good. Then, then I get some right? And water, then water." The chocolate ones looked imploringly into the hazel ones.
Indecision clouded the blonde's mind, now she wasn't so sure she should sedate him. Something was very wrong and she didn't need to make it any worse.
At her silence, Iruka began to panic, thinking he wouldn't get it. "Need it. NEED it. I'll-i- I will. Ok. Just gotta do it for a little. Its fine, fine, fine." Body rocking slightly, Iruka began undressing, his clothes sliding quickly and familiarly from his skeletal frame.
A medical-nin reached out to help Iruka, trying to re-dress the man, he felt horrible for him, and the man was obviously deranged. Let the man keep some decency at least, retain some pride.
But, Iruka screamed at the man, swung his arm forcefully towards the intruder's face. Pure animalistic rage drew the chuunin's face tight and a low growl escaped through clenched teeth and drawn lips. "Mine! I need it, need it. Go 'way. Leave me. Mine."
The rest of the torn clothing fell to the floor making a puddle around the kneeling man's legs. Kakashi watched as the world narrowed to Iruka's actions and Tsunade's response.
Now completely naked, Iruka's hands slid down his chest. The room became unbearably still. No one breathed. The questing hands continued down until they circled their own member. Cupping himself, Iruka began stroking, slowly, within his hands the flaccid piece grew and hardened.
Again chocolate eyes searched hazel ones. Tsunade couldn't move, didn't know what was going on. The eyes before her begged for the syringe, glancing again and again with increasing urgency toward the full tube. As the panic built inside the man, his strokes became faster, up and down, along the now fully hardened penis.
"Please, please, please," tears once again ran down the cinnamon skin, eyes swimming, he leaned towards the Hokage, "Please, please, please."
The man was desperate.
Her own eyes brimming, Tsunade placed the needle point to Iruka's forearm. Poor tormented man. All Iruka's movement stopped, he held his breathe.
Slowly the liquid entered his blood stream. His eyes fluttered in ecstasy, and then his other hand resumed its motion.
Just as the sedative dragged Iruka under, he came.
Iruka fell forward, unconscious, into his own cum.
Kakashi flinched.
A single tear slid down Tsunade's pale face.
Another Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed! I sure did (of course)! So I have some special thanks, to Rauchster for being an amazing beta. To ActuallyNevis and Dattebayo1013, for being the funniest, bestest people to talk to and bounce ideas off of. Oh, and I have a new story, a really short one-shot, Sasuke's Heartache. If you read it i will love you, if you review, I'll marry you ;) Same goes for this story, pretty please review!