Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto or any of the characters from the original series! Okami Etsu and the Onizuka's are mine however - so please ask nicely before borrowing! Any characters and situations herein are purely fictitious, and any similarity between those and persons living or dead is coincidental.

Confession

'You ready to go Iruka-sensei?'

Iruka turned violently to find Kakashi standing in the doorway to his hospital room. He nodded briefly , before following the jonin out of the hospital. He blinked as the morning sun hit his eyes in the entrance to the hospital.

'Ok to stop at my place first?' Iruka asked as they started off down the street.

'No need. Izumo-san and Kotetsu-san have already moved your stuff over to Etsu-san's house.' Kakashi replied from behind his book.

'Great.' Iruka sighed. He was willing to bet anything that the pair had thoroughly enjoyed that. It seemed Kakashi was disinclined toward conversation for the rest of the trip. Iruka was surprised to find the jonin knew the way to Etsu's house however. It didn't even seem like Kakashi was remembering directions in order to get there. More like, the jonin just knew where it was.

'Yo! Etsu-chan!' Kakashi shouted as they reached the front door. Etsu appeared from the kitchen.

'Hello Umino-san, Hatake-san.' Etsu smiled warmly.

'Etsu-chan...' Iruka shuffled his feet nervously.

'Well, I'll see you two around.' Kakashi waved, then after a few brief hand signs, he vanished with a faint pop and a cloud of smoke.

'Come on in... I fixed you the same room you had last time.' Etsu beckoned for Iruka to follow her.

'Er... Etsu-chan? What is that building next door? And the one by the gate?' Iruka asked as they climbed the stairs.

'Next door is an inn my family used to run, and the building by the gate is the old Okami Clinic... My mother's family were herbalists...' Etsu explained with a shrug. 'Of course neither of them have been used in years... In fact I can't even remember the clinic ever being open!'

'You're the last Okami then?' Iruka asked quietly as they reached the landing.

'Yes...' Etsu ducked her head as they entered the room. It was just as bright and cheery as Iruka remembered it. 'I opened the window to air it out for you... It was a trifle stuffy last time you stayed. I didn't know if you wanted to get some rest?'

Iruka could resist no longer. Following Etsu to the window he slipped his arms round Etsu's broad shoulders as she pulled the window in slightly. Etsu squeaked in surprise.

'Umino-san!?' Every muscle in her body was taut. She's like a wild animal caught in a trap... Iruka mused.

'Thank you.' Iruka spoke quietly. 'Thank you for saving me. And thank you for letting me stay as well.'

'It's ok... Really... Please... Let go of me...' Etsu spluttered nervously. Iruka reluctantly released his hold on her.

'I'm sorry. That was... disrespectful...' Iruka muttered.

'I'm no good for you. Not as a friend, not as anything else. Hell, I'm not even to be trusted as a comrade...' Etsu muttered. 'If you knew the real me, you'd hate me.'

'Then tell me. Tell me who you think you are - why can't your comrades trust you when Lord Sandaime did and Lady Tsunade obviously does? Anko said I should ask about your past - she seemed to think you would talk to me about it...' Iruka's looked steadily at Etsu, willing her to trust him. 'You can trust me... I promise.'

'Umino-san...' Etsu looked away, but not before Iruka had seen the tears welling in her eyes. 'Please don't ask?'

'Trust me. Tell me.' Iruka persisted. Etsu sighed sadly.

'My mother was killed by my father...' Etsu paused.

'Oooookay...' Iruka looked puzzled. Not exactly the answer to the question he'd asked...Nor the answer he was expecting...

'He killed her the night that he defected from Konaha and became a rogue ninja. He was a close ally and confidant of Orochimaru...' Etsu's face was stained with tears. 'My older brothers... and... his wife... went with him.'

'Then your mother and father weren't married?' Iruka frowned. Etsu shook her head slowly.

'He was responsible for keeping Orochimaru supplied with test subjects and corpses. People hate me because I am his daughter... They are terrified I will turn out to be just like him... But I love Konoha! I am loyal! I just have no way to prove it yet!' Etsu sounded upset and yet defiant. Iruka pondered his original perception of her... She wasn't simply gentle... She was independent and strong, a true shinobi - prepared to do whatever it took to protect her village. But there was a gentle streak to her nature that made her care, truly care, for the people around her... Yes, he could see now why the others disliked her so... Yet he could sense her loyalty to Konoha - he could sense it so strongly it was almost overwhelming in its intensity...

'You are a Konoha ninja. My comrade. And the comrade of every other ninja in this village. And one day they will see it, know it, the way I do...' Iruka wrapped his arms around her again. Etsu seemed to panic for a moment before she relaxed quietly into his embrace.

'Why?' Etsu asked softly.

'Having relatives who defected doesn't mean you aren't loyal to Konaha.' Iruka whispered.

'That's my mission.' Etsu murmured.

'What is?' Iruka enquired in confusion.

'Finding my family... and bringing them to justice by any means necessary. Sandaime-sama thought I was the only one who could accomplish it. He also believed the village would eventually accept me... But here we are, years on, and I still haven't completed my assignment - or gained the village's trust... It's like trying to catch smoke...' Etsu sighed and pulled out of his arms.

'So what does Lady Tsunade think of this mission? Could you request a team?' Iruka frowned.

'She knows of it, but it's espionage and reconnaissance for the most part. I rarely see the enemy... Even rarer are occasions where a team would be useful and those moments pass quickly. I think Kato-san must know of my identity and mission as well... She has been very forgiving... As for Mitarashi-chan... She guesses, but doesn't know for certain.' Etsu shrugged and looked thoughtfully out of the window.

'A team would still be better though. Surely?' Iruka sat on the bed.

'Nnnnn. There are ANBU teams assigned to tracking Orochimaru... Essentially we find him, we find my family. Hokage-sama keeps me informed of the latest intelligence as it comes in.' Etsu leaned back against the window frame.

'Could I help?' Iruka asked, a determined look set on his face.

'Not at the moment you can't...' Etsu chuckled quietly. 'You need to recover. Besides the latest report from ANBU is that they haven't found anything new. Orochimaru slithered back into whatever hole he came from after the attack on the village during the chunin exams and my father slipped off the radar some time ago...'

'Well, I seem to be healing well - so I may be able to help sooner than you think. I want to help. Anyway, the wounds weren't actually that serious - it was just that they bled badly. Lady Tsunade said it was like the enemy had hit me with some kind of poison that acted as an anti-coagulant... but not even she could detect what it was.'

'What?' Etsu's eyes seemed to burn as her face paled. ' Poison? Bleeding heavily? I thought you'd taken at least one serious hit and potentially been poisoned, but then I couldn't be sure. I thought you'd want to go to the hospital... I thought Godaime-sama would know what it was... Yet you say she couldn't detect it?'

'Well... Yes, the hospital was a good idea... I mean that's where most shinobi go when they're injured - you know we have some of the best medics in the world right?' Iruka looked nervously at Etsu. 'Besides, you were right about the poison - just not about me being serious hit...'

'How could I have been so stupid?! The ninja who injured you - what weapons did they use?' Etsu queried tightly.

'It was only one, though he hit me multiple times... He used a sword... But that's hardly unheard of. Lots of ninja use swords.' Iruka chewed his lip. Etsu was becoming increasingly agitated about something... Though he could not fathom exactly what.

'Umino-san, I need to take a blood sample from you. I cannot believe I've been so blind!' Etsu stated as she clattered out of the room. He waited quietly until Etsu reappeared with a hypodermic needle and a vial.

'May I ask why?' Iruka pouted as he rolled up his sleeve.

'Yeah. My Father and brothers all use swords in combat, but they taint the blades with an almost undetectable form of poison. It's an anti-coagulant - that means they don't need to cause a serious wound to kill you. They just need to cause enough damage that you'll bleed to death before you can get help. I should have realised from the state you were in that they were behind it!' Etsu expertly slid the needle into a vein and connected the vial. 'If it is what I think, I will need to contact Godaime-sama immediately so she can warn any shinobi who are trailing them.'

'That's probably where Kakashi-san was off to.' Iruka replied thoughtfully.

'What?' Etsu looked truly frightened. Ah ha! So she did know Kakashi! And cared for him deeply it would seem. And that would be why Kakashi knew his way here... Iruka felt an unexplainable twist of jealousy at the realisation.

'Kakashi, Asuma and Ibiki were the ones who went out to try and capture the enemy after I got attacked. Unfortunately all the enemy were dead. They tracked the survivors to the border. It would make sense for Lady Tsunade to send them on a follow up mission.' Iruka watched as Etsu removed the needle and applied a small dressing to the wound.

'Come on. Let's see if my theory is correct.' Etsu exited the room and started down the stairs. Iruka followed, slowly pulling down his sleeve.

Etsu's workroom was at the back of the house, along from the kitchen. The walls were lined with shelves of jars and bottles, all neatly labelled. From the ceiling hung bunches of herbs at various stages of the drying process. Iruka sank onto a stall and watched as Etsu busily prepared some sort of solution. Finally she picked up the vial of his blood and added a few drops to the clear liquid solution. Within seconds the entire thing turned a sickly green colour.

'Damn!' Etsu swore.

'It is what you thought then?' Iruka asked sleepily.

'More like what I feared...'

And that's chapter 10...

*Etsu refers to everyone by their surnames... I don't know Shizune's surname - I don't think it's ever mentioned - so for arguments sake I've just used her Uncle's surname for this fanfic. Please forgive this!

Read and review folks! ^_^