Thank you Hiei Jaganshi Urameshi for pointing out my error. I feel rather silly now but anyway, here is chapter four.
Disclaimer: Don't own so please don't sue.
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He felt the kunai puncture the person's lung, as he turned to defend himself against an attack on the right. He was soaked in blood, whether it was his or the enemy's he didn't know. There was no time to check. He had to live… he had to get back to Konoha. He needed to get the scroll to the Hokage; it contained some information on Sound.
The enemies seemed to be backing off a little, but that didn't mean they had given up. Kakashi had killed too many of their comrades for that and undoubtedly they were under orders to bring the scroll back or else if Orochimaru was involved. Allowing himself a minute to breathe, he surveyed the remains of the pursuers. Only four were left… not that he had counted the whole group. Several were lying nearby; lifeless, utterly silent. The others were scattered around the place.
Of the four remaining, two looked to be female. He was low on energy, but hoped that he had enough to deal with them and make it back. His left shoulder hurt like hell as did his ribs. A ripple of movement drew his attention sharply as one of the Sound ninja attempted a jutsu. Without needing to think, he copied it right back at them. Apparently they didn't have a clue about the Sharingan and still hadn't figured it out. Well, that was their problem. It suited him just fine.
Although… it didn't really make sense that they didn't know that the Sharingan allowed him to copy their jutsus. Orochimaru could hardly forget to mention a fact like that if he wanted the scroll back. That and these guys seemed easier than the ones during Sound's attack on Konoha. There were just a whole lot of them. Kakashi didn't get nervous very easily, but he was now. Breaking away from the now three Sound ninja, he quickly summoned one of his ninja dogs. Thankfully the dog understood the silent orders and was off running towards Konoha.
These three weren't a concern… but if Orochimaru had something else planned then back-up was a good idea. It didn't hurt to be cautious, even Tsunade told him to call from help even if he wasn't certain.
Iruka glanced up from his desk as the school bell rang signaling the end of class. "Alright dismissed. And remember to study for the test tomorrow." There was a chorus of groans at the statement but Iruka hardly expected less. "Bye Iruka-sensei!" He waved, smiling at the student.
Compiling two piles of papers, one that needed to be marked, and one that was already marked; he gathered up the one pile and started for home. A lot of people waved to him on the street which he returned as best as he could with the armful that he had. When he reached his apartment, he managed to somehow unlock the door without dropping anything.
He set them down on the small table in the living room before heading to the bathroom to get a shower in before finishing the marking. The hot water always felt good after a day of dealing with "the little monsters", as Kakashi was fond of calling them. The very first time he called them that, Iruka got infuriated until he realized that from Kakashi's POV, they probably were. He didn't think the jounin was used to dealing with people. He seemed too much a loner to have very good, if any, people skills.
Iruka sighed and gave his head a quick shake. His thoughts seemed to be drifting to Kakashi more and more often these days. It was rather… unsettling. He brooded on it a bit. Kakashi was certainly a strange individual. He had an odd and sometimes out of place humor, and at times, Iruka could see pain in the one eye that was exposed.
Shaking his head again, he finished washing his hair and got up off the shower. Toweling himself dry and then his hair, he donned a light yukata and quickly brushed his hair. Settling himself at the table, he began marking.
Kakashi winced as Tsunade mended his shoulder and ribcage. He had been lucky. His dog had managed to bring reinforcements in time to prevent the anything serious from happening. As he had suspected, the group he had been dealing with wasn't the real attempt at getting the scroll back. There had been others waiting, well-concealed. Very well-concealed seeing on how Kakashi hadn't sensed them at all.
Satisfied that the injuries were healed, Tsunade sat back down as Kakashi finished out the scroll and handed it over. "Thank you Kakashi-san, you may go." He didn't hang around, promptly heading for home. Or at least… that had been his intention.
Halfway there, he paused. Iruka was probably home by now. He could drop by for a minute just to let the chunin know that he was back before heading home. He smiled a little. He didn't know why the chunin had decided to take time out of his own mornings to stay with him at the memorial but it made his mornings more meaningful. He knew Iruka didn't know who he was coming to the memorial for but Iruka respected his privacy.
He didn't try and pry into things that Kakashi didn't want to talk about. Things that was still too painful to bring up. He also liked the expressions Iruka made whenever he got angry. It was rather funny.
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A little bit more mature than the other chapters since someone who will remain nameless can't read that this story is rated M for later chapters. Anyway please review and give me feedback.