A/N: Thank you, thank you, for all of your interest. Here is the third chapter. I hope that you will like it.

...

The mission was simple. Intercept and eliminate. A trafficking group, working under the name of Dokujya, had established itself near the Northeast border of Fire Country. Their numbers were small, but their presence was disruptive. A contingent of their party was headed northwards, presumably returning from an area in the vicinity of Konoha. It was a poor choice on their part, because it made their interception not only convenient, but necessary. Such black market dealings - and their group expressed no qualms, neither for the nature of their goods, or the manner of acquirement - were impermissible. The proximity to Konoha risked incrimination of the hidden village by their criminal activity. Tsunade hoped that the eradication of this contingent would send the message across: Konoha did not tolerate such lawlessness.

The Godaime Hokage rested her chin on her hands and crossed her legs.

It was only their bad luck that she had one of the greatest trackers in her arsenal.

Hatake Kakashi crouched near to the ground, lowering himself close to the article of clothing. He stood, at the far edge of what a day before had been the camp of their targets, and scrunched his nose.

They had not been particularly careful to mask the remains of their camp. A charred circle sat in the middle of it all. Iruka poked cautiously through the bones of small animals scattered in its pit - dinner, undoubtedly. Despite their carelessness, the targets had in any case made some effort to cover their tracks, and although Iruka knew from his mission statement that they would head Northeast, there were any number of routes they might choose. They would be hard to follow.

He looked up, and noticed Kakashi's activity, watching his reactions closely.

"You can smell them?" questioned Iruka, catching him up. He could not detect anything, despite the physical evidence of their presence. Iruka was impressed - he had not even summoned his dogs. Kakashi had more skills than he could have guessed, skills that were gradually coming to light as they pursued their target. A super-human sense of smell was not one that he had expected; in retrospect, it made perfect sense, and Iruka was well aware of the equivoque. He tried once more to perceive the scent which Kakashi had obviously pinpointed, and could not.

The Jounin shook his head.

"Their scent is all over this place; they did a poor job of hiding it. But they did a much better job of leaving it behind." He paused.

"In other words, they made it easy for you to detect, but difficult to tail." Iruka turned to Kakashi. "Do you think that they know they're being followed?"

Kakashi shook his head again.

"I think that they accounted for the possibility; we are too far behind them to have been detected. But they are being arrogant."

"Then they've got no idea just who's after them, right?" said Iruka with a wink. He meant it as a compliment. Kakashi harrumphed.

"We should get going. I've got the scent."

Iruka sighed as they took off. It was hard to believe that they set out from Konoha a mere six hours ago. Already they had covered significant ground. In order to cross paths with their targets, without cluing them in to the chase, they were traveling through the night. In this way, the contingent was sure to be immobile and the two trackers could play catch-up. Tomorrow would be a long day; they would not stop to rest until sunset.

At some point, Iruka noted, Pakkun had arrived. They followed him swiftly through the dark shapes of the forest.

Shizune stood in front of the Hokage's desk, her arms crossed over the clipboard she held to her chest. It was late, and street lanterns glimmered faintly in the deep blue haze outside the windows.

"I know that Hatake-san is aware of his own limitations. But Tsunade-sama, are you sure that it is acceptable to send him on a mission? Are you sure that you should not have explained things more clearly to him first?" Shizune paused, carefully. "You are not even certain of what the problem is." The Godaime responded with even tone.

"I know exactly what's wrong with him. But me telling him that won't change the fact that there's nothing I can do to fix it."

"You mean -?"

Tsunade nodded critically.

"He's all tangled up. Like something's gone wrong in the wiring," she furrowed her brows, as if visualizing the problem. "So I'm doing the best I can do for him, which is not to bring it up. If Kakashi were the sort of man that would lay down and let me sort things out for him - even if I knew where to start - he would not be half the shinobi that he is. Don't get me wrong, he'd be far easier to deal with. . . But he's faced losses before, of many natures, and he's not the type to back down. There's a lot to more to him, a lot more than anyone sees. " Tsunade gazed out the window.

Shizune bobbed her head, and did not disagree. However, it was apparent that she remained apprehensive about the situation.

"When I said that this mission was nothing that he can't handle, I meant it. As much as I would like to hold him back, I need him out there. And holding him back will only frustrate him more."

"Then why send him with backup?" she asked mildly.

"Because, I'm not an idiot, and neither are the people who know him well." She folded her arms. "Besides, I have reason to believe that his backup knows quite a bit more about the situation than he has let on."

Shizune raised her eyebrows, but did not comment. She knew when a matter was settled. Still, the apprentice could not help but wonder what her master had in mind.

Iruka glanced at the time; it was a minute to eight o'clock. He shifted the small pack higher on his back. Of course, he did not expect the other shinobi to be on time.

So, when at eight o'clock to the second and the minute hand clicked into place, he was understandably surprised to see Kakashi appear before him. Though not quite so surprised as Kakashi himself, when he processed who he had appeared before. The exposed eye narrowed. It asked a handful of questions; 'why are you here?' and 'why are you here?' were among them, though both went unvoiced.

"Iruka-sensei," he said, in a quiet tone which would not have been unfriendly except for the circumstances.

"Kakashi-san. . ."

There was a sort of cool neutrality in the other's stance that Iruka did not know how to gauge. Kakashi threw a nod over his shoulder, indicating the empty road behind him.

"Well, shall we?" he asked.

There was a slow and tepid breeze; the sky was turbid. Iruka rubbed the back of his neck, realizing suddenly how tense the muscles had become. His whole body was wound with apprehension.

The confrontation, however, was not the conflagration he anticipated.

In fact, it was wordless. The accusation in that gray eye was clear, though it had not been spoken. You sold me out.

And it was on this note that they departed.

The horizon was lined with red, and set afire to the gaps in the endless columns of trees; the weight of the sunset fell upon them, and they slowed their pace. Yet they did not stop until all was black. There was no moon. Five hours ago, they had passed silently through another small and untidy camp. Now they were within two hours of their targets. Tomorrow, in the early hours, they would overtake them.

They could spare four hours to recover and to rest - two hours each. Pakkun sensed his master's decision, and came to a halt. Kakashi slid into a walk. He lifted his chin into the night air, sifting through all that he could sense. The atmosphere was heavy; above the trees, it was hazy. It made him edgy with anticipation.

He heard Iruka's footsteps behind him and turned.

"This is as good of a place to camp, as any," suggested the Chuunin. "What do you say, Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi assented, and they both set down the conservative packs that they carried. Iruka rubbed his thighs; they had run for nearly a day, with only short stints of walking every few hours to relieve their legs. It had been awhile since he had gone so fast, and for such distances. He took a depth breath, and wondered absently how Kakashi felt. Iruka was still unsure of precisely when he had actually been released from the hospital. Even so, he could only assume that it had also been awhile for Kakashi.

"How are you feeling?" Iruka asked impulsively. He knew it was probably inappropriate, and was cautious when he turned to face the other. Kakashi stared back at him with an eyebrow raised. After a moment of close scrutiny, he looked away, shoved his hands into his pockets, and leaned subtly against the tree.

"You can sleep first," he offered. There would have been no arguing with him, even if the schoolteacher had been inclined to do so.

Iruka awoke to a firm, but gentle shake of his shoulder. He hardly remembered closing his eyes, and for a brief second could not understand where he was, why it was night, and why he was wet. He sat up. Kakashi was kneeling at his right. Iruka caught a fleeting glimpse of those slender fingers as they disappeared; the white wrappings seemed to stand out disproportionately, but probably only because he was surprised to see them. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

It was drizzling. Iruka jumped to his feet when he recognized it for what it was.

"The trail!" he said in distress. "How are we going to follow it?"

The Copy-Nin held up a hand.

"I sent the dogs ahead. They've marked the way; but we have to set out now."

Iruka glanced at his wristwatch. It was approaching one in the morning. His brow down-turned as he understood that he had been asleep for more than his allotted two hours. Why had Kakashi not woken him sooner? He looked up at the man; he did not seem to be effected by the depressing drizzle, or by what would normally constitute sleep deprivation. Still, Iruka had to object.

"What about you?"

It did not matter; Kakashi was already on the move, a swift shade in the cool night. There were no stars, hidden as they were by the hurried slate of clouds.

Iruka peered out from behind the coverage of the dripping, black leaves. The rain was falling steadily. He could see four figures, two reposed around the fire, and two others seated.

He leaned in close to whisper. "What exactly do they deal in?"

Kakashi was standing at his side. His eyes darted searchingly past Iruka's shoulder and he hissed a hush. There was something wrong. He glanced back to the wavering firelight. The constant fizzle of the rain in his ears, and the consuming scent of wet dirt and ozone formed a frustrating background which continued to tug at his focus. All were accounted for, and yet. . .

"We could sell you for a good price."

The voice came from behind them, almost in Kakashi's ear. He could not stifle his curse. The wind picked up momentarily, throwing the light of the flame across two dummy sleepers, and Iruka did not have to tell Kakashi what he had seen for him to know what had happened.

The two that had been seated were now nowhere to be seen.

A blade gleamed dangerously in the space just above Iruka's shoulder. In a movement quicker than the eye, Kakashi's arm shot out and grabbed the wrist attached to the blade. Iruka read the cue instantaneously and steadied his shoulder. Kakashi snapped the arm down across him, and the Chuunin could hear the cruel crack of bone in his ear as it was split like a twig. Iruka heard the shout of pain, but it did not stop him from plunging a kunai into the dark at his back and silencing it. There was a thump as a body fell to the ground. He looked up in time to see a silver whirl as Kakashi spun an elbow into his own attacker's nose, and then with equal speed grasp either temple and viciously pull him forward from his stumble into a skull-splintering head butt.

The third assailant flew from the trees in a rage. He went straight for Kakashi before his comrade had fallen to the mud. The pace at which both combatants moved was astonishing. In the scant light, their movements could hardly be distinguished. Iruka gleaned frames from the barrage of fists; Kakashi caught a quick chop across his forearm, bracing against it; he ducked against the following open palm. As it had been at the training ground, his exactness and control was frightful.

They both knew that he was being led away from Iruka; they were being separated. The Chuunin took a calming breath, preparing himself. He concentrated all of his senses, searching for their fourth target.

It became silent. And it was then - too late - that he realized their enemy's plan.

Suddenly, from the distance he saw a white crackle of light, illuminating the forest for only a second before it flickered fitfully out. He heard a strangled yell, of pain, surprise, and utter frustration. Iruka tore towards it.

There was a distant rumble of thunder.

He did not process, as he hurried to gather up Kakashi, that there were three corpses and not four littering the forest floor.

...

Dokujya = poison snake