AUTHOR'S NOTE: SORRY IF IT STARTS OFF SLOWLY...MORE ACTION WILL COME SOON AND I'LL BE TAKING IDEAS FROM MY OTHER RATHER WEIRD STORY!
SUMMARY OF LAST CHAPTER - THE PREVIEW OF WHAT WAS TO COME
Nowadays he spent his waking life wondering whether he was dreaming, for the reality of his life and the horrible images in his dreams merged becoming one and the same and yet they weren't. He was confused. He was tired of being confused, but nothing compared to the façade of Umino Iruka, always smiling in times of great distress, always acting the opposite of how he felt, always suppressing his emotions and locking it away in a place deep inside. It was interesting how people dealt with things differently, Kakashi on the other hand would let his emotions run free, but it'd show itself in his visible eye which tended to be engrossed in his perverted book. The reason for this was to hide his thoughts which flowed like a rapid current in his mind.
And there Kakashi stood pondering how in some ways more than not how he was like an open book than Iruka.
BORN INTO DARKNESS
Iruka's point of view
Standing by the memorial stone, Iruka knelt down on his knees feeling the dew drops from the grass seep through his trousers. It had been raining before he noted and so it was again. There was now a light drizzle coming his way. Just as well, he smiled thoughtfully. The drizzle would hide his tears.
Taking time to trace the engraved names that he held most dear, he cherished the pressure of the grooves on his finger tips and the irregularity of the stone. Although it scratched his sensitive skin, he didn't care, nor did he mind, he just wanted to feel their presence beside him once more, to hear their voices and see their smiles that would lift his heavy heart once again.
Smiling sadly, he prided himself on memorizing each minute curve on the stone. He always did have an excellent memory and an eye for detail. It was his only secret weapons besides his gift for the shadows (note: explained later on in the chapter), for he didn't have endurance, strength nor speed. Nor did he have a special bloodline like the Uchiha's. He was as untalented as you could get, limiting him to a Chuunin level.
Frowning now he felt another's presence. There was only a small amount being released and he wouldn't have detected it if he didn't specialize in chakra controlling and detecting. Although he was a teacher, he'd had to have skills in these areas in order to teach his Genin's, after all, a Genin was only as good as their Sensei. Meaning the knowledge and skills of chakra control relied solely on the Sensei's ability to explain very simply what he knew and pass it down to them, or course it also relied on the Genin's eagerness to learn. Thinking of Naruto now, his eye twitched. That ungrateful brat!
Sighing he separated himself from those godforsaken days and concealed the chakra he used to single out the person's position. He...was not too far off and who ever it was, they were watching him in the dead of the night. What sort of sick person would watch him cry amongst the graves stones? Making a few minor seals, he made sure that they didn't catch the movement of his arms.
Little did they know he too detected them, following him around the village day after day, night after night...when would this person give up?
On so many occasions the presence of the other freaked him out. Usually after school he'd feel them walking along side him invisibly. He was scared because they had caught him at a vulnerable time, a time where he couldn't defend himself with all the test papers in hand, so he stumbled home as quickly as his tired legs would take him, feigning ignorance just to save his pitiful life, but not anymore.
Umino Iruka was not one to be tampered with.
Drawing from the anger from within his heart, he unlocked the cage that confined it and set it free. He always had a temper but never had he released the monster that possessed him now. For those who could see his eyes, a new found light replaced the dull and uninteresting ones before. Finally Iruka felt strong, cocky even, but never had he felt so alive than at that moment. The possibility of facing death in the face was just so inviting.
With eyes glittering he stood with hands dipping into his kunai pouch. The person behind him was already shifting, which meant he'd have to do the same.
Moving into an attacking stance, legs apart the brunette whirled around and sliced the air before him sending three kunais in the stranger's direction. With deadly precision they hit their target in the chest, but soon after, the shadow had sent smoke rising into the air and was replaced by a log, Karawami no Jutsu? Iruka exclaimed. Crying out in frustration he sent another kunai in the direction of the stranger but missed. Iruka was too slow.
From then on the battle was a blur of silver and brown with the clashing of metal sounding loudly through out the night and though Iruka was able to keep up with the Jounin, he didn't know how much longer he could last as it was rather obvious the Jounin wasn't going as fast as he could.
He's making me dodge his attacks, Iruka mused. He knew the other man's tactics but still couldn't avoid falling into the trap laid out for him. He's too fast, we've only been in battle for less than 5 minutes and I'm tiring out. I can't keep up! Dodging the next attack he stumbled behind a tree gasping for breath. Whoever the other man was, he sure wasn't going easy.
From experience the enemy played with their opponent before slaying them and like so many times before, this tactic had saved Iruka's life. Being seen as a lowly Chuunin they had given him time to run away before they acted. Run weakling. Let's see how fast you can run. Then once we catch you...the torture will begin! They had laughed kicking him and pushing him forwards in the direction they had picked out for him to go. Hearing similar taunts before, Iruka locked them away in his mind with deadly calm and did the only thing he could and ran.
Knowing he would not be able to take revenge this night he planned to do the same here (i.e. run). He was very good at running, especially from the enemy.
With muscles aching from the lack of training, his knees caved in. Once on the moist grass, he knelt down at the enemy's feet, body locked in place...he couldn't fight anymore, the strain on his body was too much to bear, and the chakra in his system was almost spent save for a minor reserve left for that one...last...move...
Kakashi's point of view
Upon seeing the Chuunin drop before him, Kakashi decided to end the battle there by throwing out an almighty punch which connected with the brunette's jaw. Hearing a grunt from the younger man, the Jounin laid an open palm against Iruka's chest, knocking him backwards, lastly grasping the man's neck, pushing him up and back, pinning him to the tree behind.
The brunette was planning something, he could tell by the chills he was getting. It was better not to drag the battle for too long. Punching the man in the torso for good measure he watched as the brunette convulsed. He was now fighting for air after the last of it left his lips.
Then something totally unexpected happened.
Iruka's shadow (created by the moonlight behind them) shifted, first to the left than right of the man repeating the motion for quite some time until after what seemed like a struggle, the dark figure broke free, seeping through the man's chest, they collected themselves to form Iruka's 'twin,' rising to face Kakashi. And with no face or any distinguishable features the shadow struck at lightning speed, pounding Kakashi in the face, then once more on the chest forcing him to let go.
Falling back the Jounin quickly recovered as they made their way past him. Striking back with a kunai though, he looked on as Iruka stood his ground and turned, letting the shadow move to defend his master. Falling back through the brunette's back, half its body extended itself from the brunette's own before it bent backwards to see the world upside down, catching the kunai before harmlessly dropping it to the ground.
-
Iruka's point of view
Walking away he felt faint, until a warm blanket wrapped itself around him, comforting him as a series of thoughts swam in his mind. Kakashi...was following me all this while? Why? Ending them there he hugged himself as he fell backwards into the darkness beneath him. With eyes still opened Iruka watched as his tanned hand was engulfed in shadows, transforming it into darkened air, this being a mere reflection of what was happening to his whole body.
Welcoming the lightness that came along with the transformation he smiled for the second time that night before letting the his 'twin' bring him home, then tucking him in. And just as he was born into darkness, he would die there too, night after night as pieces of him broke away leaving a lesser being filling the empty shell known as Umino Iruka.