A/N: Thanks so much for sticking with me! Tell me what you think, if you have a chance. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy!

...

Even as Iruka could feel the Jounin's immediate tenseness returning, he leaned forward with all of his weight directed to his fingertips and into Kakashi's upper back. The other hissed through gritted teeth. He wanted nothing more than to extract himself from the intrusiveness of Iruka's hands, and of his presence. But his body had betrayed him, and would not quit the mixture of pain and soothing.

"What - exactly - do you think you're doing?" he ground out.

"I'm relaxing you," answered the Chuunin, matter-of-factly. "It does feel good, doesn't it?"

"It hurts," Kakashi growled.

Iruka moved lower. Kakashi groaned.

"The sooner you calm down, the sooner I'll be done. Now, let's talk."

He was being drawn further and further from where he last saw Iruka. He knew that they were being separated, and only hoped that the Chuunin could fend for himself; at the moment, he had his hands full, quite literally. His opponent was fast, and it took a great deal of his already taxed concentration to follow his strikes. Still, Kakashi was faster. It was a good exercise in defense, but he did not want to draw out a battle that he could end easily. He sidestepped a calculated punch, collected himself, and timed the final blow.

Without warning, energy exploded at his back, ripping through his latissimus and up the rest of his muscles. His mind whirled in confusion. Then, in anger, he understood. They had double-teamed him. And his opponent's teammate, he realized with an irony like acid, was a lightning user.

Furious, he pushed through the singeing pain to clasp his enemy's throat, closing with all his force to destroy the airway. The other man's energy continued to surge through him; like downing a power line over a circuit breaker - it was unstable. There was a violent flash of light, and a charge which rushed through his body unnaturally, the feel of the other man's chakra biting through his synapses, and his own chakra crackling recklessly in response.

He swung the man around even as he felt his knees give, and crashed the teammates into each other. Both went down.

A mixture of exhaustion and sting overtook him. After that, he remembered the sink of mud, the loud patter of rain, and the dead eyes of his opponent as he collapsed next to him.

Iruka made a hasty check. It was pouring intensely, and water from the river was rising their way. All four chakra signatures were extinguished. He swept the unconscious man onto his back, and made for higher ground.

There was a storm rolling in. The wind was intensified since it had begun to drizzle some hours before. The weather was certainly making every effort to complicate their mission. They had no shelter. Normally, he would have dealt with it as it was; shinobi were accustomed to hardening themselves against any conditions. In this case, however, he preferred to find a safe place to compose himself, and for Kakashi to regain his bearings.

He found it abruptly, a mouth-like overhang of rock. There was little room inside, but its angle cut off the pelting of the rain, and the ground was dry enough. He set the taller man against the wall, huffing in relief and wiping away the turrets of rainwater that dripped down his face. Strands of hair clung to his cheeks, and he shook his head to dry off. Briefly, he considered fire, and scrounged together some scraps of tree, blown down by the winds. Everything was damp, and he abandoned it.

He had already checked Kakashi's pulse, but he did so again as he rung out his clothing, if for no other reason than reassurance.

The blackened marks on the back of his shirt were not lost on him. He sighed and slumped down against the wall. It seemed strange, to be once again next to the reclining form of such a dangerous man. Iruka had not witnessed the Jounin in battle for many years. He would not forget the intensity of it for many more.

Kakashi's face was down-turned, his chin resting on his chest. The silvery grey hair was weighted with water, though it was peculiarly unaffected from its normal tone.

Iruka recalled his visits to the hospital, and shook his head in some bemusement. Kakashi was extremely still when he rested, a testament to the hold of his control. Only the subtle rise and fall of his chest belied any movement.

"There you are, Naruto! I should have known I'd find you here" said Sakura, pushing back a panel of cloth at the Ichiraku ramen stand.

"Sakura-chan!" chirped the energetic young boy through a mouthful of noodles.

"I've been looking for you all day," she griped.

"Looking for me?" he perked up. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I've got a message for you," she said bluntly. "I wanted to tell you earlier, but I couldn't find you anywhere."

"Oh, well, I went to visit Shikamaru and he was trying to explain some crazy stuff about deer to me. Did you know he lives with a bunch of deer? I mean, I always knew he had a weird name, but think that's weird. Then I came here, because today is the day Iruka-sensei and I meet for ramen. Except he's not here yet, which is kind of strange, since he's always yelling about being on time to things."

"That's actually what I needed to find you about," said Sakura. "Tsunade-sama says that Iruka-sensei was sent on a mission, and that he won't be back for a few days."

Naruto made a confused face.

"Iruka-sensei has a mission?" He raised an eyebrow, incredulous.

It was not his job to rehabilitate - that was out of bounds, even if it was had been his intention. He was not a medi-nin, he was not a superior, and in this, he was not trusted. Nevertheless, Iruka understood from the start that his own purpose on this mission was not one of assassination. That was Kakashi's objective, and Iruka knew he was personally outmatched - as far as literal backup, Iruka realized that he could provide little more than he already had. They both knew, without being commanded, that he was to serve another purpose.

To monitor, to follow, and to collect the pieces. He was a check, a spy, an intruder. And so he knew why he warranted Kakashi's caginess.

Still, he found it difficult - he found it unfair - to remain impersonal. He remembered the kindness that this man harbored, his arsenal of quirks notwithstanding, and felt his resolve slipping.

"If that's the case," said Teuchi, setting a fresh bowl of steaming ramen onto the counter, "then I guess I'll need someone to get rid of this for me. I made it thinking Iruka would be on his way."

Naruto looked at it, his stomach rumbling regardless of the meal he had just finished. He glanced to Sakura. "Hungry?"

The young kunoichi laughed and held up her hands.

"No, Naruto, it sounds like you should eat it."

The boy gave a wide, white grin, and pulled the bowl closer.

"Well, since I'd be doing old man Teuchi a favor, I guess!" he picked up his chopsticks, and licked his lips. "It's good that I'm here to be so helpful! Bon appetit!"

"Wouldn't want it to go to waste," Teuchi laughed, wiping the counter and beginning to clean up. "It's been a long time since Iruka missed a night of ramen for a mission, though."

"Yeah," said Naruto, in mid bite. "I wonder what grandma Tsunade is thinking. What about the academy?"

"I'm sure Tsunade-sama has it under control. The academy has substitutes for occasions like this."

"I suppose," hummed Naruto, "but you don't think it's strange? I mean, what sort of mission do you think it is?"

Sakura was about to explain that the village was short-handed, after all, and it was not unusual for people's normal duties to be rearranged, when she was interrupted.

"The most important type!" boomed a strange, deep, and overly enthusiastic voice. It was none other than Maito Gai. He leaned beneath the cloth panel, and granted them all an excessive thumbs-up. "But I am sworn to secrecy, and can say nothing of it. That is protocol, after all."

Sakura made a face of annoyance.

"If you can't say anything about it, why say anything about it," she sighed.

"Excellent question, Sakura! In fact, as I was returning from my own mission, I merely overheard such an exuberance of Youthful Inquisitiveness overflowing from this ramen stand that I could not help but comment. And how fortuitous that I should be led straight to the Cute Students of my esteemed rival."

"Esteemed rival?" repeated Naruto as he thought for a moment. "Oh, you mean Kakashi-sensei. Well, he's not around."

"Of course not," said Gai seriously. "He has embarked on a test of Vigor and Courage."

"A test of what?" asked Naruto, dubious. Sakura appeared more concerned.

"He's gone on a mission?"

Gai lowered his head, closing his eyes in a dramatic pause.

"Yes. My dear rival has bested me again in his dedication and sacrifice." He gave a little smile then, which meant nothing to Naruto, but which Sakura understood more concretely as concern for a friend. "But fear not; he has been sent with a very Cunning and very Persistent reinforcement. He has my full endorsement."

Although he could not see them, Kakashi felt Iruka's eyes on him. It made him uncomfortable, but he kept still. Initially, he was suspicious of this man. Suspicious, and unsettled. It should not have been that he found out. Yet it had not taken long to deduce that Iruka was not lying when he said it was an accident. And so, as much as Kakashi wished for an excuse to lash out, he understood pointedly that they were both in situations that they would have gone to lengths to avoid. It was underhanded, but the longer that Iruka believed he was suspect of tattling, the fewer questions he would ask.

He sighed then. It was pointless to pretend he was not awake. He immediately felt Iruka's gaze relent, as if it were hastily redirected. The muscles in his back complained with the slightest movement, and he grunted quietly as he sat up.

"Kakashi-san," said Iruka. "You're awake."

Kakashi nodded shortly.

"You, uh, blacked out."

"Yeah."

He could hear Kakashi reposition himself stiffly. He was sore. If Kakashi kept sitting around in the cold, his muscles would never loosen up.

"How do you feel?" asked Iruka.

"Fine." Kakashi's gaze strolled over the walls of the overhang, taking in the downpour outside. Finally, they returned to the conversation. "Are you unhurt?"

Iruka stayed himself from laughing aloud, but could not forgo raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," he said, respecting the deliberate shift of topic. "It seems that our targets wanted to take us out individually, but they focused their attacks on you. Other than getting a little wet, I'm alright."

Kakashi exhaled softly in relief

"That's good."

Iruka smiled; no matter the circumstance, it was clear that cool veneer aside, Kakashi cared deeply for the well-being of his teammates. Iruka wondered if he felt guilty for collapsing - it could easily have left Iruka without support, and with an extra body to guard.

"We were lucky," he conceded, turning to Kakashi. He couldn't help but finish the thought: "maybe it was not so bad that I was sent along."

Kakashi did not answer - he steadfastly refused to take the bait. Yet neither did he disagree. He knew his own skill, but he was not so arrogant as to see anything but the truth of a matter. And in this matter, Iruka was correct. Still, he was treading on sensitive ground, and Kakashi made it clear in his body language that he found it invasive.

Fortunately, Iruka relented.

They fell into silence. It was pervasive. The sound of the rain could not make up for their lack of interaction. After ten minutes, the tension was unbearable. In that same instant, Iruka recognized their predicament to be utterly ridiculous - two grown men sitting in the dark and trying their best to ignore one another. Iruka had never been one to favor avoidance. Thus, he took a deep breath and abandoned subtleties, aware of the trouble he would garner for it. They were fooling no one by pretending the situation was anything other than what it was.

"I want to look at your back," he said, in the same manner that he would strip off a bandage.

Kakashi blinked, then slitted his eyes. The power of Iruka's observational skills in any other instance he would call impressive - if not somewhat eerie. Now, he found them instead a nuisance. He ran his fingers through his soaked hair. There was something exceedingly direct about Iruka's mien, and something changed from before.

The Copy-Nin did not know what to think of it.

Inside, Iruka was nervous; he was stepping far out of line; he was playing with fire. But for whatever reason, he was prepared to hazard the burn. Out of consideration only, he gentled his tone. "Will you let me?"

Kakashi stared stonily at the other. Then he snorted. In one indignant gesture, he pulled his shirt over his head. His expression read simply: "Search. But you won't find anything."

Iruka scratched his head and inched closer. Despite the bravado, Kakashi flinched in surprise at the suddenness with which cool hands were on his shoulders. Almost immediately, he became spectacularly tense. Then, surprisingly, the fingers began to warm, and the sensation sent a pleasant chill up his spine. Very cautiously, he started to unwind. Kakashi gripped the fabric of his pants legs, biting his lip when the fingers moved lower, and hovered over a sore point.

As Iruka suspected, there was a marred brush of charcoal black on skin that was otherwise pale. It was like a burn, except that there was no outer damage, a mark from impact only. He began to press more forcefully, and always with precision. The muscles were all wound up. Vaguely, Iruka could feel the hardness of bones in places where they were close to the surface. He expended a fraction more chakra, his fingertips heating.

"Kakashi-san," he said, very quietly. "I know that you've lost your spark."

...