Title: The Broken Jail Bird
Author: Mako
Email: Shastafuji AT mindspring . com
Talk to me if you want it anywhere
Pairing: KakaIru, SasuNaru
Genre: Crazy AU XD Romance...strangeness oO;

WARNINGS: Yaoi. Yeehaw. Don't know what yaoi is, then I suggest you leave :3 Also, beware for a bit of OOC-ness n.n;; please forgive ;

Comments: Yay for first KakaIru fanfiction. Hell, it's the first Naruto fanfiction I've ever written =P But oh well, there's a first time for everything, right? Wish me luck XD Heh, it's been a while since I last posted anything on XD ever since they took down the JRock section it's gotten kind of quiet 'round here for me XD woosha. Lets see if I can remember how to work this place XD

Dedicated to: my bud Carolyn, who got me into Naruto and KakaIru in the first place XD and Lohe, who also got me into Naruto =3 Hope ya all like n.n;

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me but to Masashi Kishimoto, the wonder that he is XD And though Naruto doesn't belong to me, the happenings in this fic do belong to me :P meaning the plot and Hazelwood are mine :P

Remember that this is an AU. These are the same people you know and love, but they are set in a different world, with different twists on their abilities and characteristics =3 Let's say it's set in something like the wilderness of Western America, kind of mixed together with a bit of the Scottish Highlands or something oO;; Imagination. That's what you all need.

' ' = thoughts, " " = speech (obviously)

And now.... On with the fic. Please do enjoy

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"Under that endless sky,
What you called freedom will stay in the cage..."
- "Pink Cloud Assembly" by hide with Spread Beaver
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The forest was eerily quiet as the silver-haired man snuck into them. Behind him, a squad of police guards pounded on, struggling to keep up with his fast pace. Quickly ducking silently behind one of the many giant trees in the forest, Kakashi was able to loose another squad to the gently swaying giants.

A harsh grin spread across his face. Not that anyone would be able to see it, do to the fact that he had been given the luxury of privacy while in the state prison to keep his lower face hidden from the sun, as he had been doing since he was about thirteen years of age. His prison mates had all hazard guesses as to why he wore it, ranging from vanity to ugly scars to fish-lips and horse-teeth to an old pimple the size of knuckle that just wouldn't go away. Kakashi truthfully couldn't remember why (or when, for that matter) he had started wearing it.

At least it was black, compared to the rest of his striped jailbird uniform. So was the crooked blindfold that covered his left eye. When he was very young, he had been in an accident that included his best childhood buddy, a pair of stiletto heals, and the burning rivalry of youth. Needless to say, once the scar had healed, Kakashi's eye was never to be the same. Since then, his new and improved left eye had been extremely sensitive to light; hence he normally kept it covered. Well, except for when he was being the thieving bastard that he made his life job out to be. After the surgery to replace his left eye, the new, deep red, light-sensitive eye was surprisingly good for finding things hidden in the shadows. It totally didn't match with his other, deep dark blue right eye though, but what could ya do?

'Heh, that little pepper got me out of enough fixes to be a thief itself,' he mused to silently himself as he ducked into the shadow of a giant bolder. Too bad the scar that ran across it was so recognizable.

Before he had been sent to jail, Kakashi had been a well known thief, not once caught and said to be able to sneak through a room filled to the gills security systems set to every angle of the room with a bag of goods resting on his back easily with no one noticing a thing. Because of this, Kakashi was more or less filthy rich, but didn't let the information get out. His treasures were hidden in many different places across the forest covered globe, never to be seen by anyone unless he himself showed told them where the treasures were. And why would he do that?

So how had he been caught? Kakashi growled low in his throat, remembering that oh-so fateful night when another thief - some slimy git who reminded him of a snake - had notified the authorities of the mastermind's where-abouts and plans. This had led to a chase down a damp, dark alley, a firefight, two officers put out of commission (because when Kakashi was cornered, he could become quiet nasty), and ultimately, Kakashi's capture. His future was bleakly staring at a life behind the barbed wire fence of a prison.

At least that snake didn't get off scot-free either...Kakashi thought, grinning. His tell-thief had also been taken to jail after the authorities had checked up on his record. He had been found guilty of thievery, just like Kakashi and murder, unlike Kakashi and was quickly taken care of promptly by the severely pissed off Kakashi. That had gotten Kakashi into a bit more trouble with the tight ass guards, but what the hey! What did he care anymore? He already had a reserved cell for the rest of his life.

"Well well well, if it isn't the ever troublesome Hatake Kakashi," a harsh voice jolted him out of his thoughts, startling him into slipping and falling into the shallows of the river he had been following. "Not so wonderous anymore, are you?" Kakashi narrowed his good eye at the elite prison guard, the only one who was ever able to sneak up on the ever-watchful Kakashi. His name was Sasuke, and he was the youngest son of the head of the prison. The boy, not much older than eighteen (going on eighty, Kakashi thought to himself snippily), had become one of the youngest guards at the state criminal institute when he had turned thirteen. Being the son of the head honcho of the prison and guards had not only sheltered the Uchiha from a normal childhood, but also made him one of the most feared and hated guards in the institute. Kakashi just saw him as a lost pest.

"So now what?" Kakashi's voice was low as he felt a fish swim past his legs, "Aren't you supposed to be calling in the dogs to collect me, shadow-boy?"

"Feh, they're already headed this wa-" a shot rang throughout the forest, startling the sleeping forest birds from their roosts and into the sky with a floury of wings. The youth fell straight into Kakashi, eyes wide with shock at the simple idea that it had been him to be shot, and not the scoundrel he was falling into.

Kakashi found the gunman before he caught the falling Uchiha deftly in his arms. He could hear more pounding through the undergrowth, guns most likely drawn and ready to empty themselves on the two males sitting in the water. 'There must have been some sort of mistake,' Kakashi thought quickly, eyes widening as the gunman took aim once more. But instead of aiming for his target like he should have been (namely, Kakashi), the man had his gun pointed straight at the fallen youth. 'Or maybe it wasn't a mistake. Great. Well, lets get out of here.'

Before the hunter could again shoot his gun, Kakashi was on his feet, unconscious boy under one arm, and running once more through the forest, aware that there were snipers in the trees. Shots sounded behind him, as bullets bounced off rocks and imbedded themselves in the harmless trees. The trees, bushes and boulders that had once been a place to hide, were now grabbing on to Kakashi's already torn uniform, hindering him as he tore through the forest, not caring about keeping quiet, just on getting away. Voices melted together with the gunshots, and Kakashi soon found himself running through the shallow water of the same river he had fallen into earlier. Getting to the deepest (and strongest) part in the river, Kakashi let the hold he had on the floor of the river go, and he and the unconscious teenager set sail, the howling and furious guards left behind, their bullets harmlessly falling too short of the fast paced duo.

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The river was surprisingly fast, but remarkably calm, taking the two men deeper into the forest and past a tiny village. It was a tiring effort to keep two heads above water, though, especially when one of them was unconscious. Sasuke was pretty much dead weight in the thief's arms, and Kakashi had been tempted to just let the cold boy go numerous times. But each time his fingers started to let go of the youth's dark clothing, he stopped himself. He hated feeling guilty, and he knew, for a fact, that he would forever have the guilt of off-handedly killing the boy on his shoulders.

So he didn't.

For some reason, ever since he was a very young boy, he'd found it right hard to kill another without holding a guilty conscience. Steal, break, maul, beat within an inch of one's life, that didn't bother him in the least, but killing someone… taking someone's life against their own will just brushed him wrong. He had been forced to kill people in the past when he was just learning the art of robbery, and he had nearly killed a few of his prison mates, but he kept telling himself that those days were far behind him.

The sun was just touching the horizon, rays of sunshine branching out across the morning sky, when the river's pull slowed, and Kakashi found himself floating into a large, shallow pool. At the other side the river continued to flow, keeping the water fresh and circulated. Figuring that it was a grand time as ever for the two to get off their little joy ride, Kakashi forcefully pushed his legs against the rocky bottom, and bobbed his way to the side, all the while keeping Sasuke's lolling head above water. He knew he would have hell to pay when the boy woke up, but decided that it was best to think of troubling things such as the Uchiha's fury LATER. He also knew that he had water in his boots and river plants festooned in his hair and in his clothes.

Heaving his soaking body (as well as Sasuke's) under the large weeping willows that surrounded the pool, Kakashi carefully checked himself for any wounds. Finding nothing but a large gash on his left leg and random scratches and bruises from his ride down the river, he turned to Sasuke. At least the boy's shoulder had stopped bleeding, but it would need to be looked at sooner or later.

'Damn, what now?' one side of his brain yelled, while the other peacefully pondered, 'Wonder how far we floated?'

The soft sound of the river was sending his mind to dreamland, even though he repeatedly told it to stay awake, keep watch, don't wander. Wandering brain = bad news. They were in unknown territory, and he didn't know how far away the guards were. But it was no use. Leaning back against the closest tree and semi hidden within the scraggly roots, Kakashi slowly closed his eyes, hoping beyond hope that they wouldn't be found.

Of course as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he heard the gentle sound of footsteps nearing, twigs snapping and the sound of footfalls in puddles. He tried to rouse his exhausted body as much as possible, before quickly finding something that could substitute for a weapon if needed. If need be, he could cause some bodily harm with the old narly stick he had found in the muddy underbrush. Through the thin bows of the willow, he spotted a figure nearing the pond.

'Damnit. If they have any brains in their head, they're going to notice the struggling footprints in the mud...' Kakashi quickly cursed his lucky star for not the first time since the night began. And sure enough, the shadow of a person turned, facing directly at where Kakashi was sitting, hiding in the shadow of the willow. 'Damnit, damnit, damnit...'

With his nerves on fire, Kakashi nearly bit his tongue off when a long wooden stick reached past the branches of the willow, and pulled them back, like a curtain. A shadowed face looked cautiously into the tiny haven, before taking a step closer and nearly treading on the still out cold Sasuke. "Helloooo?" a gentle, quiet voice called out, "Is someone there?"

'Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!' Pushing himself up as noiselessly as possible so that he was standing with his back braced against the willow, Kakashi readied himself to knock the intruder out cold with the old branch he had found. He wouldn't kill the other person, just... knock 'm unconscious. Anyone who was a threat to his newly gained freedom was to be taken care of quickly to secure his freedom.

As the figure stepped closer, almost within distance of Kakashi's branch, the newly freed thief lunged at the intruder, bringing his weapon down upon their head.

Or would have, if said intruder hadn't blocked the hit with their own weapon, throwing Kakashi off to the side of the glen. Bounding up (quite a bit slower than usual, due to his leg and exhaustion), Kakashi was able to hit the other person on the arm, forcing them back a few steps, before they ducked their head and rammed the silver-haired man forcefully back into the rocks with their shoulder.

Kakashi could taste blood before he fell; landing hard against the moss covered rocks and roots. Damnit...His vision fading, Kakashi made a last effort to at least cause the other pain by jabbing them cruelly in the ankle with his now broken branch. He smiled bitterly as the other fell with a strangled cry, before his eyes fell closed and he plunged into a cold, dreamless sleep.

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The sun shone brightly upon Kakashi's eyes, waking him up with a start. Sitting up with a jolt, Kakashi was nearly blinded by the morning sunlight that beamed its way cheerfully through the open windows of the tiny room that he was trapped in. Quickly closing his eyes, then trying to pry the right one open he found himself face to face with two bright, curious blue eyes.

Backing quickly up against the headboard of the bed, Kakashi reached for anything that he could use as a weapon, and found none. About to force his body to attack, he stopped when the blue-eyed kid in front of him turned around and called out "Oi! Iruka-sensei! He's awake!"

'Hmph. If he was my kid, I'd teach him to never turn your back on a stranger-!' Kakashi thought bitterly as he pushed the young blondie off his bed, ready to jump out the window and escape from this prison of a room. But the blonde one wasn't so easily taken care of with just a push, and with Kakashi's leg, along with quiet a few more places wounded, Kakashi just wasn't up to marks.

The man nearly howled when the younger one, instead of falling off the bed, grabbed onto his wounded leg, holding onto him fiercely and refusing to let go. The boy was growling low within his throat, his sharp looking canines bared at the in-pain Kakashi, reminding the silver haired man very much of a stubborn fox. Nearly blinded by the pain of an open wound grabbed onto, Kakashi was about to bash the little blond boy across the head with his fist when a new figure rushed in.

"What the hell is going on in here?! Naruto, let him go!" A new voice interrupted the two, and stopped Kakashi from attempting to bash the brains in on this so-called 'Naruto'. Kakashi turned to stare with his one good eye at the new arrival.

"He started it! It's not my fault!" Naruto complained, growling at the silver haired thief who paid him little attention.

The unfamiliar person was a just a little bit shorter than Kakashi, well built and rather tanned, with a head of dark hair that was kept in a high ponytail. With is arms crossed across his chest, the smaller man looked like one very pissed off mother hen. Probably was, too, Kakashi's mind grumbled. Across his nose ran a rough, old scar, light with age.

Kakashi's one eye traveled down the other man's body - he guessed that this was the Iruka that Naruto had called for earlier- and took note of the patched up pants and the small knife tied to his waistband. He also took note of the bandaged ankle.

Oh man...

"So. You repay the ones who pulled you out from under a willow, take you away from the biting gnats and mosquitoes, and bandage you up by starting a fight? What do you have to say for yourself?" the one called Iruka had a tone in his voice that he hadn't heard since he was in school, years ago. Kakashi felt a chill roll down his back.

"I-Iruka-sensei..." Naruto piped up, pulling on the older man's sleeve.

"Not now, Naruto," Iruka kept his eyes leveled on the now weirded-out Kakashi, "Do you not have a single bone of gratitude in your body? From all of the scars, I can make the assumption that you have had numerous run-ins with the law and-"

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto interrupted again, "You-you're using the Voice again…"

Iruka's dark brown eyes flicked to where Naruto was, his face gaining an embarrassed look, "I-I was? Sorry Naruto." He smiled gently at the blond, his demeanor doing a complete one-eighty, and ruffled the youth's hair lazily. He turned his dark gaze back to the thief, pinning him in his spot on the bed, "So? Speak. Who are you? And why were you soaking wet underneath the willow? And with a wounded /child/ as well!"

Kakashi narrowed his eye, glaring right back at the other man, "It's customary to introduce yourself first." 'Child? He must mean Sasuke. Well, at least they found him as well...damn, now I really will have to deal with the shadow-boy's wrath.'

"My name is Iruka," the other man said, his voice gaining a pleasant, nearly gentle tone, much like the one he had used with the blonde kid, "And this is Naruto. You attacked me earlier this morning." Iruka grinned as he hobbled further into the room and settled down into an old stuffed chair next to the window.

"Kakashi. The name is Kakashi. Where am I?" the silver haired one was pleased to find that his cloth mask was still on as his lips brushed against the smooth fabric. Now if only he could find his blindfold....

"We call this valley Hazelwood," Iruka smiled, watching the other man sitting on his bed. "There isn't a town in this valley - no one - just Naruto and I, some guy who lives with a murder of crows down the river, and now you and that other boy that we found. Who's he? And why were you two floating down the river? Or how did you get here?"

"Kid's name is Sasuke."

"Okay," Iruka turned to the blonde boy sitting close to him, "Hey Naruto, why don't you go see how Sasuke is doing, alright?" Naruto grinned, and bounded to do as told.

"It's unusual for us to get visitors even in the good years, so it strikes me as peculiar to find two people hiding under a weeping willow. Bleeding and hurt ones, at that."

"Hmmm. Yes, well... would truly love to stay and talk about it but…" Kakashi moved to put his legs over the side of the bed, when he realized that he was stark naked. The shock evident on his face, he shot a glare at the positively beaming Iruka, "Where are my clothes?" his voice was cold and level.

"Well, you see..." Iruka had the decency to at least look embarrassed and shyly looked away from the naked glory that is Kakashi, "You were soaking wet and would have caught a fever or something worse if you had stayed in those clothes so I..." He made a motion to Kakashi and the bed, 'I also wanted to keep you there, Mr. Mystery,' Iruka added to himself.

"Stripped my naked." Kakashi finished, pulling the blanket closer to him.

"Pretty much. Your clothes are in the other room right now, drying. Plus, it's going to rain soon," Iruka smiled.

Kakashi glanced out the window at the cheerfully blinding sunlight that filtered through the trees, "You don't say."

"Yep. Mackerel sky, it's going to rain," Iruka's grin grew as Kakashi looked back out the window, noticing that the clouds were, indeed, scattered like a flock of little white sheep out to graze. Or the scales of a fish. The mackerel sky.

"That's strange outfit you have, too," Iruka brought the silver-haired thief's attention back to him, "Almost like a uniform from a prison. Ripped and torn, like a broken jailbird."

"Well, you sure do have a good head on your shoulders," Kakashi snorted, running a hand through his silver hair. This wasn't going to go well.

To his surprise, the other man just kept smiling, "A freed jailbird, cooped up in a little shack in the middle of old Hazelwood valley with a town outcast and hunted down teacher. How simply... grand."

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To Be continued

Aha. Comments? Reviews? Criticism? n.n;;

Also, please don't expect the next chapter extremely soon n.n;; i'm positively terrible with multi-chapters, so please be patient with me and my dottering :P also have college comin' up in late august, and i have to pack. Or something -.-; But I shall try my damned hardest to get it out sooner than later n.n heh, not very hopeful sounding, is it XD;;

thank you in advanced n.n;
reviews, critisism/comments are loved very muchly :3
-Mako