Hello, everyone! FluffyDolphin here. Well, here it is, my first chaptered fic! I hope you're all as excited as I am! ehem Well, yeah, having never done a chaptered fic before I have no idea how well this will turn out. Well, here goes! Gambarremasu!

Disclaimer: "Naruto" is the intellectual (and actual!) property of Masashi Kishimoto-sama. Not me!


On the Road to Madness

Chapter 1

"You sent for me Hokage-sama?" Iruka bowed to the attractive honey haired ninja leader. She was standing by the window of her office looking out over the village. As he addressed her she turned and regarded him.

"According to the third's records Iruka, you were of great help to him, indispensable he seemed to think. I regret that I have not yet come to use your services to their full capacity," she said with wry amusement in her eyes.

"Sandaime-sama gave me far too much credit Hokage-sama. I merely did what was needed in terms of administration. I-"

"He also mentioned you were modest," Tsunade cut him off, smiling more warmly this time. Did the old man write down everything? Iruka wondered. "I said I had not yet used your abilities as they should be used. I have a mission for you."

Iruka blinked. "A mission Hokage-sama?" Iruka hadn't been on a mission for…how long? He couldn't remember. His job teaching the Konoha's young shinobi had taken far too much time for him to take regular missions which would take him away from class. Besides that, he worked in the mission room and also attended to other administration work that needed doing around the academy. Why was he being given a mission now?

"Please drop the title Iruka-kun, Tsunade will be fine," the Hokage continued. "Yes, a mission. As we are still so short of available ninjas we need to use whoever we can. The number of academy classes has decreased due to rebuilding needs and a genin substitute can be found to take over your mission room duties temporarily. A substitute teacher will be found for the remainder of your classes while you're away."

Away. So this mission would take him away from the village. And for more than a few days was Iruka's guess. He frowned. "Why me Tsunade-sama, if I may be bold enough to ask?"

Tsunade nodded as if she expected the question. "Well, a ninja of at least chunnin rank is needed and you have demonstrated an excellent mastery of the basic jutsu and chakra control over your career as a ninja. The fact that the previous Hokage placed so much trust in you has not gone unnoticed either."

Iruka considered this. "This is not a request is it?" he said, looking in the Hokage's eyes.

"No"

He sighed. He supposed he should have seen this coming. The village was short of capable ninja and though he always only considered himself as a school teacher there was no doubt he had been trained to chunnin level and had been trained well as was to be expected of a Konoha ninja. He straightened. His was not to question orders. That he had done so thus far and not been reprimanded was an indicator of the unusual circumstances. Such questioning would not go ignored again. Besides, Iruka considered, it should be – is – an honour to serve my village. I have been away from mission work for too long. Though one small part of him regretted this departure from the innocence of his teaching no matter how brief.

"What is my mission?" he asked resigned.

Tsunade smiled at his obvious resolve. Iruka was a valued ninja and Tsunade was coming to see what Sarutobi had seen in him. Then her features turned grim and business like.

"A two man team is to travel to the and see how much is known about the Akatsuki there. This is of course, to be done in absolute secret and with the utmost discretion. Any sign that the Akatsuki have that we are trying to gain information at this time would alert them and invalidate any information we do manage to retrieve. Although Orochimaru has proved to be the main threat to our village, I can no longer ignore the involvement of the Akatsuki in incidents relating to the village. Your orders are to keep hidden and observe, nothing more. Is this clear?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good. You leave tomorrow morning with first light. Please make all preparations for departure before this time. Any questions?"

It all seemed clear to Iruka. Just one more thing. "Er, you said this was a two man mission Tsunade-sama. Who am I being partnered with?"

A knock at the door to the Hokage's office made Iruka turn. "Ah," Tsunade said, "This should be him now."

The door opened and in stepped a ninja in the uniform of a jounin. Wild silver hair swept to one side, his forehead protector pulled down over one eye and most distinctively, a dark mask pulled up over his lower features. "Maa, Good morning," he drawled lazily.

Iruka groaned. Kakashi.



Yup, there was no denying; much as Iruka would have liked to try. Of all the jounin in the village, of all the ninja, it just had to have been him. Iruka groaned internally.

"Mm? It doesn't seem like Iruka is very pleased to see me Tsunade-sama," Kakashi remarked with a hint of amusement it his voice and stepping further into the room to the Hokage's desk and turning to regard Iruka more closely. "You have told him about the mission?"

Iruka realised he had followed Kakashi's form as he walked around him with what could only be described as a look of depressed resignation. He straightened his face at once and stood taller if that were possible. "I am not displeased to see you Kakashi-sensei, only mildly surprised. And I have been fully briefed," he remarked swiftly. "If that is all Hokage-sama I had better make preparations for tomorrow." With a nod from his superior he exited the room.

Kakashi leaned casually on the edge of the desk and regarded Iruka's retreating form. "Fully briefed…" his one visible eye seemed to glaze over.

Tsunade leaned forward and poked him hard in the back with a pencil. "You'd better behave yourself on this mission Kakashi. And get off my desk."


Iruka sighed as he slipped slowly into bed and turned out the light. He had spent the remainder of the day making preparations to leave the village. He knew it should not have taken so long and if he has been on active mission service he would have been more proficient at it. He knew some jounin were ready to leave the village with the minimum of notice but having been in a fixed routine for so long he had to make sure he had everything he needed and arrange that things would be taken care of while he was away. He had been complacent enough to start acquiring plants in his house, confident that he would be there to water them – he had had to ask his next-door neighbour but one to do that for him, a sweet middle-aged women with teenage boys. He guessed it was a sign that he had let his training as a ninja diminish slightly. What highly trained assassin who went on regular missions had time to water geraniums?

Having settled down and rolled onto his side, Iruka reflected on his mission details – or rather, detail. Kakashi. It wasn't that he disliked the guy. But really when one goes shouting one's mouth of at people and sounding like a child whose toy his parents had let someone else play with one would like to be able to avoid that person at all costs. That had been difficult seeing as when he wanted to see Naruto he sometimes had no choice but to see the rest of his team as well, including a certain silver-haired jounin. The thing was Iruka realised once he'd calmed down after his outburst that Kakashi was not going to consciously let anything really bad happen to his former students. Not anything permanent anyway. A whole mission with him? Away from the village? Iruka really did groan this time. Ah well, better make the most of it I guess. At least I can gain some new insights into the brains behind team 7. Although, Iruka reflected, this may have been giving Kakashi too much credit. He smirked into his pillow. Yeah, this shouldn't be too bad. He was a capable chuunin trained to take on a horde of chakra-filled, enthusiastic but ultimately skill-less young ninjas at a time. What could happen? With this new and determinedly comforting thought, Iruka slept.


So, chapter one. Yes...chapter one. Rocks on heels So, how'd it go?