Genma shifted; something didn't feel right. Suddenly he jerked awake. Just in time; the bullet that was meant for his head slammed into his shoulder instead, making him scream in pain. Raidou, no matter how asleep he was, was instantly awake at that sound; he instinctively threw himself at the attacker, deflecting the shot that would have finished his lover off. He grappled with the shadowy shape, his muscles straining. Finally he managed to get the gun away and flipped it around, sending the butt crashing into the man's head.
"Fuck!" Raidou spun around and grabbed Gen, cradling him to his chest. "Gen…"
"Ruka…" Gen hissed, gripping his shoulder. Rai could see the blood sliding down his arm. "Go…Ruka…"
"Gen…"
"'M fine. Go!" Gen growled. Rai hesitated, then nodded. He flipped the gun again, pressing it into Gen's hands, then dragged Gen into a defensible position between the bed and the closet. Then he slipped from the room, senses alert.
He caught another on the stairs; coming up behind him, Rai grabbed him and pulled him backward, twisting his neck as he did so. Ignoring the thump of the body hitting the stairs, he rushed up, his fear growing.
He burst into Kakashi and Iruka's bedroom. Instantly, the smell of blood made him stagger; it was painted on the fucking walls. He saw Kakashi's hand thrown over the bed and hurried over, trembling, afraid of what he'd see.
To his shock, he saw not only Kakashi, but Iruka. Iruka was crouched over Kakashi's unconscious body, a knife in his hands, a feral, wild look in his eyes. Two men were on the floor, bleeding and probably dead or dying.
"Iruka?" Raidou said softly, not moving. Iruka panted, staring at him without recognition for a long, frozen moment. Then, slowly, Raidou saw the light coming back into his eyes.
"Rai?" He asked shakily.
"I.." Suddenly Raidou grunted and jerked. Looking very, very surprised, he toppled forward onto the bodies.
"Hello, Iruka." Mizuki purred.
…
Ibiki slammed on the breaks, sending his car sliding into the curb. Not caring, he leapt from the car, already pulling his gun. Akenai was a moment behind him; behind them, the other squad cars were already pulling in. He kicked the front door down, rushing into the house.
He headed straight upstairs; this time of night, they'd be asleep…
The first room was empty. He ducked into the second and froze…
Shit. Shitshitshitshit…"Nai! Get an ambulance! There's two in here…bad…" he barked. He checked the rest of the bodies; all dead. Kakashi and Raidou; he'd been staring at their pictures while they attempted to find their address. "There should be another one…find him!" Iruka was gone; when he'd seen the state of both Raidou and Kakashi, he'd expected it.
"Found him! Hurt but alive!" Someone yelled from the other room.
"Akenai!" Ibiki barked. "We have to find him. Fast. He's not going to survive the night if we don't."
Hold on, Iruka. Hold on. We're coming. We'll find you…
…
Iruka blinked hazily. He was tied by the wrists to the ceiling; his shoulders and back ached horribly. His ribs were aching too; Mizuki had beaten him bad after he'd first hung him. His face was swollen; he couldn't open one eye. And he was having trouble breathing.
But he didn't care. All he could see was Rai's surprised face. And Kakashi's blood…
"Stupid asshole bastard!" Mizuki was cursing. HE was pacing, the knife in his hands gleaming dully in the light. "You little shit whore! You were fucking him, weren't you?" He spun around, slicing the tip of the knife through Iruka's chest. Iruka cried out weakly. "You were fucking him! Were you doing the other two as well?" Mizuki viciously stabbed the point into Iruka's arm, twisting it. Iruka cried out again, stronger, his body writhing in pain. "You ungrateful little bitch. I gave you everything. I took care of you. And this is how you repay me?"
Suddenly he stepped away, smiling coldly. "Well, you little bitch, we're going to play some games. And by the end, you'll know who you belong to. And you'll be begging me to forgive you…"
Iruka sobbed, helplessly. They were dead. It was his fault. And no one was going to save him…
…
"Kabuto."
Orochimaru's voice snapped across the room. Kabuto froze, his face turning to his lover.
"They fucked it up." Orochimaru said, his hands clenching. "That bastard got his pet back and slipped their leash. Call the Brothers; I want this taken care of."
"Yes, sir." Kabuto said, smiling. At last…
…
Izumo glanced at his partner Kotetsu, his eyes narrowing as they kitted up. They were called the brothers, although there was no blood between them. And if real brothers did what we did, they'd be locked up, Izumo thought with a flash of grim humor.
He snapped on the armguard, then turned to Kotetsu. "What do you think?"
"Piece of cake." Kotetsu said flatly. "But I don't like his orders regarding the kid…"
"Sounds to me like he's been through enough." Izumo said meditatively. "I wonder how pissed he'd get if we disobeyed him a little…"
"He'll have to deal." Kotetsu said, his black eyes glinting dangerously. "If he wants the Brothers to do his dirty work ever again. We're flush; we can turn down contracts if we feel like it."
Izumo smiled at Kotetsu. "Love you, bro." he said, slightly mockingly. "Let's go skin us a bastard."
…
Iruka hung limply from the chains, too exhausted and weak to do more than whimper as Mizuki stroked his body, his fingers digging into the various cuts he'd inflicted on Iruka in the last three hours. Occasionally, Mizuki would bring his fingers to his mouth and lick the blood away, moaning softly. Iruka realized, dimly, that Mizuki was stroking himself as he further mutilated Iruka's body; it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. He could feel himself growing dimmer and fainter. Pretty soon, he'd be free. Please…I'm sorry. Kakashi, Raidou…Genma…I'm so sorry…please. Be waiting for me. Let me see them one last time…I don't care what happens to me after that, but let me see them…let me tell them I'm sorry…
…
Ibiki stared at the stream of information. He watched Akenai frantically flipping through reports. The rest of the office was a rumbling hive of activity. And the results had been…
Nothing.
He was getting frustrated; frustrated and close to panic. Closer than he'd ever been. Iruka was going to die; he could feel it in his bones. They were running out of time. And they had…nothing.