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Whispering Illusions
Final Chapter
Screaming
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I open my eyes
I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light
I can't remember how
I can't remember why
I'm lying here tonight
Iruka cracked open his eyes, breaking the crust that had formed from the drying tears he had shed. Things were so...wrong! He didn't want the rage and fear to come back. He would be happy with the fear only. He knew how to deal with that. It was the all consuming rage that wouldn't be quenched until he had something to sap it from his being.
Running a hand through his messy hair, he brushed the crud away and peered out from his hiding place. Blinking, he stared out across a gently rolling plain. A cool night breeze blew across the grass making it appear as a great green ocean. It was beautiful. He didn't remember much since stopping at the edge of Fire and he didn't want to. It hurt to much to think about it. He wondered if the others were looking for him yet.
Iruka sneered as he thought of himself being declared Missing. He could just see the laughter dancing across so many faces as his picture went into the Bingo book. He would be marked as almost non-threatening. He was weaker than most shinobi from his village, but he was smarter and faster than half of them. Especially since his training with Gai. Sighing heavily, he leaned back on his arms and thought about his next move.
And I can't stand the pain
And I can't make it go away
No, I can't stand the pain
Thoughts raced through his head and memories surfaced. Memories of the night before. Memories of that pale as death face close to his, thier breath mingling, bodies pressed together. Iruka grunted and flopped onto his elbow. It made him warm, but it also made him want to cry. Why had he left him there all alone?Why?
How could this happen to me
I made my mistakes
I've got no where to run
The night goes on
Kakashi stepped from his shower. Grabbing a towel from the shelf, he wrapped it around his waist, barely glancing at his reflection as he passed the mirror. Tomadochi lay beneath the table scratching at an itch. Pakkun was asleep on his bed. Again. He rolled his eyes, but let the nin dog sleep. A smile playing about his lips, he rummaged through the bag of junk food he had bought before coming home and collapsing on his bed in a dead sleep. He pulled some instant noodles out and set about making his dinner.
As he was about to eat the steaming noodles, a knock came at his door. He wondered who it was and why the late visit. It was well after midnight and most of the village was asleep. Shrugging, he slipped a mask over his head and fitted it to his lower face. He would have to keep his Sharingan squeezed shut for the time being. Taking the few steps needed to get the door, he opened it to a worn out looking Asuma.
"I'm so glad you are home, Kakashi. We need to talk," Asuma ground out as he pushed his way into the small apartment.
Kakashi didn't try to keep him out. Something was bothering the Jounin enough for him to invade his private space and it had to be really important. He closed the door and followed him back into the apartment.
"What has you so riled, Asuma?" Tomadochi asked. Both he and Pakkun had smelled the irritation and frustration that was emanating from him.
Asuma lit a cigarette and turned on Kakashi. "What gave you the right to do that to Iruka?" he blasted, smoke escaping at each word.
"Do what to Iruka?" Kakashi asked, a little stunned at the venom behind Asuma's words.
Asuma snorted and took another hit. "You know bloody well what I'm talking about. Iruka came back to camp early yesterday morning and was in a really pissy mood. It looked strange that you didn't come back with him. You can't do that to someone like him, Kakashi. He's not that kind of person. He's too nice."
Kakashi knitted his brows together to try and figure out what was going on. He understood some of what Asuma was telling him, but not why he was so damn pissed at him for. Yes, he had left Iruka alone, but it was for a mission. Had no one told him about his mission? He was getting pretty damn fed up with the accusation in the Sarutobi's eyes.
"Hold on a minute, Asuma. Just what the hell are you so all fire pissed at me for?" He crossed his arms over his naked chest and waited for the answer.
Asuma flipped the butt out a window and replied, "Because of your careless handling of Iruka and not a little of Genma's mouth has made Iruka totally fucking mad at us. He threw Genma across the camp with a jutsu. He's never done that to any of us before. He said he was leaving the camp. Not only that, but we get back this morning to find that he's nowhere to be found and his apartment's empty." Asuma glared at his friend.
Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "What has that got to do with me? I was called away to do a mission. I've been doing that and then I came home for some sleep. What do you want me to say?" Tomadochi glared at him. Pakkun snorted but otherwise kept quiet.
Asuma stalked over to Kakashi and stared into his eyes, not letting the Sharingan scare him. "He will be declared Missing if he's done what I think he's done. And if he has been, then you are going to go after him."
Kakashi smiled. "Iruka would never become a Missing Nin. He loves the village to much to betray her like that. I bet he's just letting the steam off somewhere on the other side of the country."
Growling, Asuma smashed a hand into the wall beside Kakashi's head. "Dammit to hell, Kakashi! He's left the damn country! I've been tracking his movements and it leads to Grass. I can't keep the information secret for more than a day. After that, he's Missing and goes into the Bingo book!" Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he turned away from the rail thin man. "Do you know what will happen when that git's name goes into the book?"
Kakashi stopped smiling. Iruka left the country? He had never thought that Iruka would betray the village. He knew that to leave without letting anyone know was tantamount to declaring independence of Konoha. What had he done! Iruka knew what it meant to leave the village. Why had he done it? It couldn't have been because of him? Could it? Asuma's final words finally sunk in. Iruka was fast, but not by any means was he strong enough to fight off the Hunters that would surely come after him. The idiot!
Kakashi came away from the wall. He needed to get to work. He wasn't quite ready to let this new interest get away from him and he would be damned if it was his actions that caused the young man to be killed. Grabbing a uniform from the wardrobe, he dressed quickly and strapped his equipment on. He turned back to Asuma as he tied the protector onto his head and adjusted it.
"He'll be hunted until he's brought back alive by us or dead by another village. Give me two days, Asuma," Kakashi said in a dead voice.
Asuma nodded. "I'll do my best. From what Genma has been able to gather, if Iruka goes into the book, he will be a threat to any village he comes across." He scratched his head. "I don't understand how that can be possible. He's never done anything to be declared a threat to anyone besides the kids he teaches." He smiled at the last comment.
Kakashi frowned. "A threat? I thought that was only for Jounin level and above? Why a Chunin like Iruka?" He continued to gather the supplies he would need for a four day trip, though he hoped to track the teacher down in less than a day.
Asuma nodded, lighting another cigarette. "I don't understand it either. Genma was told this by Ibiki, but not the reasons why. Something is going on around here and I don't like it."
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me
Finished with the rice balls he had packed, Iruka lay back on the rock outside his cave. It was a lovely night, but he found no solace in it. Nothing was worth anything to him anymore. He had abandoned his village, his life, his friends. What was left for him? By now the Hunters would be out looking for him. He had been gone for a couple of days, more than enough time for his disappearence to be noticed. He wondered if Kakashi cared. Thinking of him made the rage boil up again.
He didn't have to leave me like that! If it was something important, he could have told me and I would have understood. What the hell am I? Was I just a quick fuck? An amusing little toy that he grew tired of so quickly?
Snarling, Iruka threw himself to the grassy meadow. He needed to hit something. Spying a tree a few meters away, he stalked over to it. The first few punches hurt, but after a while he didn't care. It felt good. A while later, the red haze of his rage lifted and he noticed the pain lancing through his arms. He blinked in confusion at the tree. A hole had been bored through it and was stained in blood. Lifting his hands, he stared dumbly at the ruined mess of his knuckles. No wonder it hurt to open my hands. Gathering his chakra, Iruka dulled the pain. He would have to clean his hands before they became infected.
After cleaning his hands, Iruka sat down. What he really needed was to be back in the village. He needed to apologize to Genma and the others. It wasn't thier fault that his temper was getting harder to control. But if he was Missing, it would be pointless to go back to the village. He would have to spend time locked up in the prison and he didn't want to face Mizuki. Just the thought made him shiver. He couldn't expect his old friend to go easy on him.
Everybody's screaming
I try to make a sound but no one hears me
I'm slipping off the edge
I'm hanging by a thread
I wanna start this over again
Catching a noise from above him, Iruka dove out of the way. A split second more and he would have been shishkabob. The veiled man stood and watched as Iruka picked himself off the ground. Covered in a gray and black material, it wasn't hard to guess where the man was from. Glinting in the fading moonlight the scratched through Wave crest winked. Dammit! Why do I have to get this guy? Iruka's eye widened as three more melted from the shadows. I'm in deep shit.
He hadn't worn his protector, so maybe they just thought him some traveler. Or at least he hoped they thought that. It would be bad enough to be working with water and air with these guys around and he had very little chakra left after dulling the pain of his injuries and speeding the healing along. He would have to rely on his speed to keep him from being killed.
"What have we here, boys?" the leader crowed as he watched the young brown skinned man pick himself off the ground. "I think we found us a new plaything." The men with him laughed in pleasure. "What do you say, boy? Want to play with us?" he snickered at his own words.
"No, I do not. I've been traveling all day and night. I just want to rest," Iruka hedged, peering around the rocks to study the three men joining the leader. "What do you want?" He really wasn't in any kind of mood to be pestered.
The leader leapt to the ground and walked around Iruka. He removed his veil and smiled, his sharpened teeth shining dully. "Nothing much. Just a little entertainment and some food. Isn't that right, boys?" The men made sounds of agreement and little laughs filtered through thier rank. "You don't happen to have anything to eat do you?"
Iruka tried to keep calm. He knew what they were after and he wasn't going to provide them with any kind of entertainment. He kept a watchful eye on the smaller of the four. He was snooping around the rocks and would find his cave soon if Iruka didn't do something to keep thier attention on him. He would stand no chance of beating them on his own, but if he could take the leader and the second largest, then he could run. It just depended on the level these men were on. The leader was probably a Jounin and the others were probably Chunin. He had to risk it or otherwise, he would be dead.
Smiling, Iruka rubbed the back of his head. "You caught me at a bad time. I just finished off the last of my supplies and was hoping to reach a town by tomorrow. You wouldn't happen to know of any around these parts would you?" He kept watch for an opening to tackle the leader. It would have to be fast and quick.
The leader raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "Not anywhere close. Two, maybe three days to the north. But that's not what I'm hungry for."
"Oh?" Iruka feined ingnorance.
"What I crave is your blood, little man!" the leader shrieked as he lunged at Iruka.
Stepping to the side, Iruka slipped a hidden kunai from his sleeve and slashed the man's throat as the leader passed him. Knicking him, Iruka knew he was in trouble. The blade hadn't penetrated the jugular vien, but had only skinned over it. Taking a defensive position, he wished he had remembered to bring his sword with him. He felt a fool as the four men bore down on him. What was he going to do now? The wind saved him somewhat. He could smell the trees. Turning, he bolted for the trees. If he could get into them, he could take out at least one of the men before they got him.
Cries of pursuit following close behind, Iruka pulled another kunai from his waist pouch. Things weren't going well at all. Gaining the trees, he felt the brush of a shuriken as it flew by his head. Yelping in surprise, he missed the root coming into his path. Tumbling, he barely gained his feet as one of the other men tackled him. Grunting, they went to the forest floor in a tumble. Not wanting to give away his position to anyone else, Iruka kept as quiet as possible as he wrestled with the Missing Nin. One kunai was knocked from his grip as he fought to keep the other's from his throat. Freeing a hand, Iruka judged the other to be a Chunin by his strength. Reaching up with difficulty, he freed the senbon from his hair and pierced the man's eye, shoving it all the way home. His dying scream echoing through the trees, Iruka pushed him away and took his weapons. Three more were out there and it didn't look good for him. He wiped the blood from his face and leapt to a branch above.
A deadly calm settled over him as the blood dried. It was a welcome calm, but with that calm came the blood rage. A kill had fueled it and it wanted more. There was nothing that could calm that inferno in the pit of his stomach except more blood. But to give into that calm and deadly blood rage would mean to let a part of himself go. He had done it once before and it had nearly killed him. Could he trust himself enough now to bring himself back from the edge of madness? Would he even want to come back.
Not having time to answer that burning question, the last two lackeys appearred below him. A bloody smile painting his lips, he waited as they scanned the trees. Nearly losing his patience, Iruka barely breathed as they noticed him sitting above them.
"Lookit what I found," he taunted. "It seems the fishing is good today."
"You killed Kai, you bastard!" the smaller of them shouted up at him.
Iruka laughed, not knowing his own voice as he called back, "All's fair in war, boy!"
Snarling, the small one went through hand seals and formed mist clones. Four clones surrounded him and beared thier teeth at the bloody man laughing at them. Two of them launched toward the taunter. Iruka sneered and let his rage engulf him. He didn't want this, but it was the only way he could survive and he was damned if he would die before he had his revenge on Kakashi. Chakra molded, Iruka threw a great ball of wind into the gathering mist, dispersing it, only to follow it with a leap to the ground. Not giving the men time to gather it around again, he formed an earth jutsu and released it, knocking them off thier feet. He rushed at the larger man, kunai flashing as he slit him from gullet to groin, dancing away from the blood spray, the man's screams floating through the night air.
The smaller man stood and screamed in rage. Two of his partners were dead and the demon that was responsible was smiling through the blood, watching him with a calm that was scary. He would kill the man with his own hands. Screw the jutsus he had been taught. They wouldn't be enough to banish a demon from this world. Screaming again, he lunged at Iruka, shuriken flying. Iruka dodged most of them, one digging into his lower arm. He winced slightly in pain, but stayed focused as the boy charged him.
Iruka took the first punch in the chest, folding forward. The next blow took all his concentration to follow. A swift left uppercut was easily dodged with his new flexability, but the roundhouse kick that followed wasn't. The boy was fast, almost as fast as he was. This fight would be determined by how quickly the other could recover. Iruka went back as the kick connected with his ribs. Grunting, he swung his injured arm out, hitting the boy in the chest. They both grunted, but Iruka pressed forward, rapid punches to the abdomen and chest driving the other back. Coughing the boy charged, jumped into the air, and released three kunai with explosive tags. Cursing, Iruka leapt for the nearest tree, weaving from branch to branch to catch the boy as he ran.
Panting, Iruka found him leaning against a tree also trying to catch his breath. As silently as a shadow, Iruka came up behind him, pinning his arms. He could smell the fear, rage, and hopelessness on him. Not letting his conscience get the better of him, he slid the kunai into the boy's heart. Spotting the leader a few yards away, Iruka carefully aimed and sent the kunai into his throat. The man's dying gurgles fading into the night.
He was tired of the cat and mouse and just wanted to rest. His ribs were on fire and he didn't have enough chakra left to deaden the pain. Before going back to camp, he scavenged the bodies, taking thier weapons, money, and protectors. A camera was hidden in the leader's bag, so Iruka used it to take thier pictures. If anything, the leader was in the Bingo book and would fetch a nice bounty in one of the villages. That is, if he was ever going to be allowed into one. Sighing tiredly, he went back to camp.
Damn, I hurt.
So I try to hold onto a time when nothing mattered
And I can't explain what happened
And I can't erase the things that I've done
No I can't
How could this happen to me
I made my mistakes
Got no where to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me
I made my mistakes
Got no where to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me
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A/N: I've re-written this so many times, I finally gave up and left it alone. Angsty much? Irritation will do that to some people.
This song was perfect for the end of Part One: Whispering Illusions. I listened to it for a couple of hours straight until I went nuts, screamed and tore out of the house. I'm a nut job. XP Anyway, I didn't know how to work this one out and got tired to re-writing it. This is what I came up with. Hopefully, you won't kill me over it. I might revise it later. I don't know yet.
I have already written two chapters of Part Two: Illusion's Folly. I need to proof them and then get them into the computer for your reading enjoyment, but until that time, I have two One Shots to give you. By popular vote it will be Genma/Raidou and Asuma/Kurenai. Until the next part...
Ja!