So, it's been about... three years since I've updated this story. I wonder if anyone is still here from when I first began? If you are, welcome back. I've finally kicked myself into finishing this story, and I'll work so hard to get it done. We're coming close to the final stretch of this story, and I hope that you'll stick around. If you're new here, welcome!

When I first began this story, I was a new university student. Four years later, and I have two degrees under my belt and I've learned a lot when it comes to story-writing and the like.

I hope that, whoever you are, you enjoy my story and will continue with me until the bitter end. I've considered coming back to this fic so many times prior, but never felt the drive or the motivation to do so. That's all changing now, and I will write to the bitter end. I would love for you to join me.

Iruka's eyes scanned the dance floor looking for any sign of Kotetsu. When he had left with Genma, an uneasy feeling began to bubble uneasily in the pit of his stomach, and he was finding it hard to concentrate on what Kakashi had to say.

'Iruka, is there something troubling you?' Kakashi asked, his lone eye seeming to bore into the brunette's soul.

'I'm just...trying to...find Kotetsu.' Iruka admitted quietly, his eyes still darting around the room desperately as the unease built and overflowed inside of him.

'Iruka, I'm surprised at you.' Kakashi drawled mockingly, swirling his sake in his bottle lightly. 'Surely you would have known by now that he left here at least twenty minutes ago.'

Iruka's eyes widened and his mouth dropped before he could stop it. He smacked his forehead with his palm before looking at Kakashi with shame.

'How did I not notice this?' Iruka groaned, sinking into a nearby bar stool in defeat, shaking his head in his hands.

'It's not too late to go get him.' Kakashi said, putting his hand on Iruka's shoulder and rocking it lightly. 'Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on our young Hokage. He seems to be happy enough. But you must remember what I told you before. Unless you can find someone to take your place, you have to leave in the morning for an S-rank mission. Surely you understand what that means?'

The brunette looked up and swallowed deeply, fully aware what was at stake. But he needed to look after Kotetsu and to be the shoulder that he so desperately needed to keep him stable. He was caught between loyalty to the village, and loyalty to his friend.

'Kakashi, would you do me a favour?' Iruka whispered, his eyes fixated on a small section of the wall where paint was peeling in small flakes.

'I can do my best.'

'Whatever happens...look after him. Look after Kotetsu, he needs someone to trust. Can you be that one?'

'I can't reciprocate what you have done for him, but I promise to do what you ask to the best of my abilities.'

With a small smile, Iruka picked himself up off the stool and bowed his head to the fluffy haired nin, and fled through the bustling crowd, shaking off the wall of noise that beat down on him as he retreated from the protective bubble of the henge. Naruto caught a glimpse of his teacher fleeing out of the club, but was much too preoccupied with a young lady caressing his chest to think more of it.

When Iruka stepped out of the club, he found Genma lying in the street, not even bothering to pick himself up after his spat with Kotetsu. A lot of it had to do with him being a little shaken at almost having his testicles sliced open, but he wasn't about to admit that. Iruka almost stepped on him as he looked up and down the street for any sign of his friend.

'He went north.' Genma said, answering Iruka's silent question.

'North? Why?' Iruka questioned.

'How should I know? That's just the direction he went.' Genma said bitterly. 'All I wanted to do was talk to him.'

'You can't exactly blame him for not wanting to listen to you.' Iruka retorted, arms folded and looking down his nose at Genma.

'I get it, I was an ass. I wanted to apologise.' Genma admitted, letting his arms flop out to his sides with a huff.

'You? Apologise? That's new.'

'Iruka, I don't need the third degree from you as well. I've already had enough for tonight.'

'Fair enough. How long ago did he leave?'

'About fifteen minutes ago, but he's not exactly in the best mood. You're not going to tell him any bad news are you?'

'Depends on what you define as bad. I have to go...and for god's sake Genma, get up. There's a cockroach trying to get into your ear.'

With a swift jump, Iruka dashed off into the night as Genma poked the offending roach away from intruding any further into his ear canal.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-x

The wind nipped harshly at Iruka's cheeks as he ran through the maze of houses and buildings through the Konoha, eyes darting around for any sign of his friend. He could barely make out the fresh foot prints of a pair of size fourteen sandals that he knew belonged to Kotetsu; only confirming this fact after playing housekeeper to him for weeks. The more he followed them, the closer he was getting to the village gates. Iruka hoped that they would turn around and turn down another street, but they didn't. On and on the dusty prints stretched onwards, until he had no choice but to stop at the gate-keepers booth and ask Raidoū if he had seen the other nin. Disappointingly, his suspicions were confirmed, and Kotetsu had indeed left the village. Where on earth had he gone?'

As Iruka's eyes scanned the ground, he felt ice plummet into his stomach; like most ninja, it was easier to make up ground by utilising the plethora of overhead branches and jumping off of them. As a result, Kotetsu's footprints looked as if they had disappeared into the ether. Any other day, Iruka would have kept going without hesitation, but time was running out for him to prepare to leave. He had to leave before dawn, and who knows how long it would take before he found his friend.

With a heavy heart, Iruka sighed and turned back into the village. He'd have to leave without saying goodbye, which he was afraid of making the situation worse. In the current state he was in, Kotesu was unstable and prone to lashing out at the drop of a hat. It was only with his tampering that he had managed to begin his healing process, and even then that was being generous. Would Kotetsu be alright without him? Only time would tell.

With a hesitant glance, Iruka looked over his shoulder in a vain attempt to see his spiky-haired friend seemingly appear from thin air. Despite everything though, that wouldn't happen, and Iruka had no choice but to say goodbye to the wind; only the leaves brushing lightly in the wind to wish him farewell.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-x

Kotetsu gulped in the cold air as his body flopped onto the ground with a soft flump. In front of him lay an unfortunate stump that had been on the receiving end of a myriad of slashings and thrusts from Kotetsu's giant kunai blade. His encounter with Genma had brought his blood to a hearty boil, and at the risk of hurting him, he felt it best just to walk away from it all. Sadly, he couldn't spare the same thought about his opponent. After it all, he felt a little better to let off some steam about it all, even if he had opened a few of his burn wounds from over exerting how far his skin could stretch after being caught in the house fire. Small patches of blood were beginning to seep through his grey high-collar clothes, and only now he realised it was all beginning to sting.

Something about what Genma said kept eating away at him, though. What exactly did he mean about being able wiping his slate clean? There were a lot of things in life that Kotetsu didn't understand, but this had thrown him for a loop. Even if he was able to change things for what seemed to be the better, would he even consider it? Erasing the past would mean having to say goodbye to too many things that were near and dear to him. On the one hand, it would give him some reprieve from the seemingly endless string of bad luck and chaos that was dogging him at every turn. The thought gave him some comfort; the idea of being able to breathe again almost made his heart leap with promise.

On the other hand, it would mean removing all sense of what made him the person he is now, and mor importantly, saying goodbye to Izumo. To remove everything from his previous life would mean the end of something both frightening and beautiful. To say goodbye to the one person that made him feel complete his entire life would render all of their struggles moot, and his current feelings would be a waste of time and energy.

A dark part of Kotetsu's brain shouted that he should just do it. After all, it would stop the nightmares he was having on a daily basis and finally, he could sleep in peace without seeing the eyes of his soul mate in every blank space. It was like he was in a living terror that he could never wake from. At every turn, he expected to see Izumo's long fringe and beaming smile but it never came; only disappointment would flood into his heart and he remembered that he wouldn't ever see it again. So many times he had considered suicide again, but he couldn't ever bring himself to go through with it. He saw his face staring up at him with pleading eyes in every reflective surface, but the feeling of being a pariah constantly ate away at him. It made his skin prickle and his head ache with a shooting pain that he never could shake, and it made him so tense that he felt like he'll explode any minute.

Being away from Iruka's jutsu increased his frustration tenfold, and he felt like the air was being pulled out of his lungs with every breathe he tried to take. Kotetsu just wanted everything to stop, just for a minute, but his emotions swirled around his brain like a spinning vortex that pulled stronger with every turn. He gripped his head and clamped his eyes shut and let out a blood-curling shriek. He screamed into the void until it felt like his soul had left with him, and he didn't realise that he had collapsed in the middle of the forest, left alone with nothing but the coverage of the heaven's above; stars twinkling like diamonds studded into the inky velvet of night.