The Shepherd's Dog
Author: remthedogsitter
Rating: M
Summary: It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form
Chapter 9: Howling at the Moon
Shinjiru eyed his parents that at the same time were not his parents. He growled low and the two mimicked his actions as they circled him. Their teeth were bared and their fur stood on end, adrenaline was still running through his veins from the fight just minutes ago when he had to take down his kin. The sharingan and the byakugan were were burning and spinning madly but they were of no use in this world where any other ocular jutsu was nullified. He did not feel like his calculating self and wondered just vaguely what would happen if he forced his way through.
Kakashi slung his shotgun over his back and brought out what was once upon a time his shepherd's staff was now a long spear. He dreaded what he would have to do, just how much he had to hurt the man he loved to aggravate the experiment who was throwing a tantrum in the form of a thunderstorm overhead, it scared him. It scared him that his pups were in bear traps, metal teeth cruelly digging into their limbs to keep them from following them to this place that may as well be their grave. It scared him that this might be the mission he wont come back from. It scared him, that maybe, just maybe, he would have to kill him with his own hands.
The shepherd just faced his general direction, he knew the man didn't carry any weapon aside from a multipurpose dagger and his staff which was the equivalent of a deadly weapon with the amount of skills he wields it. The pained look on his face however, the tears and the hurt from the pain his pack must be feeling and he could feel the wolves in the mountain, his friends, were dead, was enough to challenge Kakashi's resolve.
Kakashi spars with him, as much as possible not using the pointed end of his spear. It was déjà vu, the man's movements were those of a shinobi despite the lack of vision, all his instincts were still there as he looked for a way to disable the hunter in some way, his dagger was still hidden somewhere on his person.
The white haired man only managed to catch a glimpse of Shinjiru at the corner of his eye. The large wolf was well covered in drying blood, his paws wet from the snow that melted from the heat and chakra radiating from his body. There was a maddening look in his eye which creepily reminded him of jounin that have completely lost their sense of sanity. He dodged the staff that was aimed for his head and jumped back, it almost felt odd that both his eyes were normal and one wasn't madly swirling and analyzing the most minute details his opponents movements.
Shijiru roared again as he Ixkin got a good hold of his ear with her fangs as Navaho made a leap for his throat. The wolf dodged and clamped down on the wolf leader's leg that earned him a high pitched whine. Blood splattered on the snow and a bolt of lightning hit the middle ground of their battlefield. A high pitched screeching sound could be heard coming from the sky instead of a loud boom of thunder.
He was holding back until now, but finally it was sinking in that there would be no other way, he prepared to kill the first opportunity he got.
"Forgive me, Iruka." Kakashi pulled his mask down, lunging at the man with the sharp end of his spear when he was able to corner the man against the stone. The spear pierced through his ribs and a he let out a cry of pain. Kakashi cried as he watched Iruka's grey eyes slowly turning the color of brown that he had come to know and love. Their bodies pressed so close together they could hear each other's labored breaths. His hands holding the spear were shaking, slowly he places on hand on the sides of Iruka's face. "What have she done to the man I love?" his voice sounded broken and with each moment Iruka's features gained the familiarity they had with him.
"Kakashi?" the man said weakly with a smile. "It's ok…" before slumping his head against his love's shoulder. the white haired man could only comfort himself that the man was still breathing as he slowly lowered him to the ground, spear still sticking out of his body. He was holding to the hope that the blow wasn't fatal and keeping the weapon there would prevent all the blood from rushing out.
Shinjiru was finished as well, standing over the bodies of who were once upon a time supposed to be his parents. He panted heavily, his tongue lolling out of his mouth not from the effort but most likely from the stress.
The sky whirled angrily again with thunder and lightning almost looking like Sasuke's jutsu but this time taking on the deranged form of another beast. Like before, the lightning struck the middle ground of their battle field but in the smoke was rising a creature as thick as sludge and it slowly was gaining features, eyes, a nose and bony bits that looked like sprouting wings. The creature had inklings of Jirai from Iruka's travels (*refer to A/N at the bottom), a creature with the looks to inspire nightmares which most likely was its initial purpose and this whole illusionary world was just an example of the extent of its power. Imagine a weapon like that with the ability to throw whole armies into a world where she was god.
Kakashi and Shinjiru and eyed each other, this was the chance they were waiting for, it was now or never.
"Whaaat have you ddoooneee." The voice reminded him of Orochimaru only much softer and airier but the venom in the tone rang clearer than ever. "To our parents brother… our home."
"Stop fucking with me." Shinjiru growled anger creeping into his voice as he clawed the ground. But the movement looked abnormal to Kakashi though and after a few seconds he realized that the wolf was preparing for a kind of counter attack and the marks on the ground was supposed to give him some idea of how to position himself. "They're dead. Long dead."
"BECAUSE YOU KILLED THEM." She roared, her for mostly just skeleton and black tar like goo. The air was surging with chakra, rippling with her as its epicenter, the world felt like it was slowly turning but their feet remained on the ground.
He inched away slowly, drawing out Iruka's dagger that he managed to take when they were pressed together.
"You have to accept they're gone sister." He growled low and lunged at her, felt he had her in his jaws but blinked in surprise as he chomped on thin air. His target was out of his sight before he had to turn several ways to find her again, Kakashi had already slipped away somewhere.
"No." she hissed low. "No I can bring them back and I wont let you have your fun anymore. Isn't that what big brothers do? Always ruining things for their little sisters." She had blinked away (being the best way to describe it) from his attempt to attack her again and again.
"You're not my sister." Shinjiru straightened himself, steeling his gaze. "I was there, I saw it. I knew. The little thing in that tube in the lab was YOU."
"No. I was born. I was born from Ixkin my mother and Navaho is my father. I was born. I was loved. I was… I was…" the air shimmer again in distress.
"They were dead by that time. Mother brought the last of her pups to Iruka and Kakashi. And Iruka came back for me. I saw his body, my father, mounted on the snake man's wall. Remember? I know you saw it. I saw you first open your eyes to the snake man's laugh, telling you you were perfect, better than me, and if you tried to run." He paused. "The ghosts would chase after you."
The world flashed now, like standing in a movie house with the pictures going on. True enough there was Orochimaru in all his demented glory laughing with Kabuto poking and prodding making her watch with lidless eyes the images of the 'ghosts' that would chase her if ever she left or disobeyed. They were real pictures, pictures of this same mountain littered with the blood of wolves and their bodies hacked open to search for the illusive reason why they could absorb chakra. Images of being prodded and electrocuted and testing her skills on various other subjects. There were so many mirror. And drowning. Drowning in a small metal tub and being revived over and over again. Then it was the image of Navaho, head mounted on the wall with his eyes burning into her soul.
It all stopped when Kakashi had managed to appear behind her and slit her throat with a dagger. He held her close, arms around her with a hand covering her lidless eyes. "I'm sorry." He had managed to avoid Shinjiru's fruitless effort by blindfolding his own eyes. There must have been a reason Iruka was blind in her illusion after all, because he was the only person who never saw her. Never saw the monster she thought she was. Her way of avoiding attacks, similar to Itachi, was to change the opponent's perception of the battle.
Shinjiru sat down heavily, shoulders snagging in an almost human gesture of grief, and he howled. Howled from deep in his chest well into the night.
A/N: just a few revisions here, chapter 10 and an epilogue left!