Escape

Chapter 2

The Morning After and The Naming

The child was waking and probably wet. Iruka tugged at the doublet underneath his hands. "We need to stop. He needs attention." He could feel the knight's movements as he nodded in agreement and slowed the horse to a walk.

"Food, sleep, or both? There are several abandoned cottages near here that we can stay at."

"Any place with enough fresh water for all of us." He sighed at the glad prospect of sweet sleep, nerves had kept him awake all last night with desperate plans running through his mind.

It took some time, but the horse was finally stopped underneath the foliage of a wide spread tree. The knight dismounted carefully only to grasp Iruka's hands and tighten his grip around the sweat dampened leather reins. "Stay here until I say it's okay, leave if you have to." He nodded silently and watched as the man left to inspect a small cottage he hadn't seen hidden underneath tree and weedy vines. It was a few nervous minutes later when the knight returned to the open air. He walked over and took the reins from Iruka's chilled hand while offering his own gloved hand as an assist to the boy's dismount. "It's secure, but we'll need to keep quiet. No fire."

Iruka frowned as he slid from the tall horse; the air was chill and only getting colder. The warming adrenaline that had helped so much before had waned long ago, and an entire night without a fire had him worried for his tiny charge. "We need to keep the child warm," he mentioned and saw the knight nod in agreement.

"I have several good blankets and the stable should have some straw. We'll be better inside than out in the open, but I can't allow a fire." He dug into a small saddle pack and pulled out a thick candle stub and flintbox. "That's the only light we have so use it sparingly. Hurry inside out of the breeze, and I'll bring some water." A slim container was untied from behind the saddle and handed over. "There's a small bit of water left in the sack there if you're in need."

Iruka nearly popped the dampened stopper open right then to drink it dry, but his constant thoughts of the baby stopped him. There had been a bright red rash evident on his tiny bottom when he'd changed him before the kidnapping, and a small bit of water might be helpful to ease the cleaning of it. Right now, the child came first. He would wait. Iruka nodded and stepped away from the horse and into the darkened cottage; hearing a strangled sound behind him had him quickly turning in fright, but the knight's hands grabbed his shoulders to turn him away again. He could feel tugging on the knapsack across his back and wondered in fear until he heard a soft chuckle.

"It was a very close escape," was his only explanation before he was freed with a comradely pat on his shoulder as the knight left to care for his horse.

The darkened interior of the cottage was lit only by what little moonlight made it through a single small window and the doorway that Iruka was blocking. A few steps took him into the middle of the room, longer than it was wide. He was able to discern a rough wooden table of good height pushed against the far wall. A few kicks at its legs and top proved it to be of good strength to place his burdens upon without too much fear.

It was with unknowingly shaking hands that he undid the knots of the child's sling and placed the slightly squirming bundle onto the sturdy table top. The small candle was lit and placed a safe distance away from the wakening baby before the knapsack was untied and gave Iruka a fright as everything dropped out unexpectedly to fall on the dirt floor through an uneven slash cut into the cloth.

He immediately recalled the triumphant yell from their last pursuer and almost fell to his knees to cry. He'd been so close to dying so many times tonight, and the child even more before this. Iruka shut his eyes against the threatening tears and focused on his anger. He could feel it frothing up to warm him through again, to once more move him as he needed to. They had tried to kill him; they had tried to kill this innocent child for nothing other than a piece of land, and it wasn't even that nice of a tract. He'd seen much better places set up against the sea with active and bustling ports where birds and cats fought over net loads of fresh fish.

A deep breath brought back his focus. He was here to save the baby that was now deftly doing his best to roll off the table, not rage at the frustration of it all. He laughed weakly and got to work. There hadn't been many supplies available in the nursery, but he had managed to grab a few clean cloths of varying sizes and thickness to use as dirt wipes and diapers. Using the water in the canteen, he wet one thin piece and wiped the child as best he could before placing and pinning another thicker piece over the blazing bottom. He then grabbed the uniquely stoppered skin of milk he had readied from the goats milk they had kept in the nursery, hoping that it hadn't soured yet. Not a single woman had wanted to nurse the child, afraid of what the new lord of the castle would do to them when the order finally came through to kill him. Everyone had taken it as a fact that the child, newborn on the day his honorable parents had been killed, would also die soon.

The little boy was starting to whimper again, warning cries that presaged very loud ones. Iruka grabbed him up and gently rocked side to side before placing the softened leather teat at his mouth feeling oddly happy when the baby grabbed on without a problem and quickly filled himself with the slightly chilled liquid.

"I know it's not the best right now," Iruka found himself whispering in explanation to the curious eyes that looked up at him while the little bow of a mouth was very busy. "But we will make sure to feed you famously when we are at your relative's. They will have someone there all ready to be your mommy, little fellow." He continued to rock back and forth and whisper of the child's fortune filled future until those busy lips released the nipple. The small boy fell into innocent slumber open-mouthed with milky drops clinging to his bottom lip.

Iruka stayed as quiet as he could while laying the baby back on the table in a small nest of blankets and stretched with a quiet groan before looking around to set up a bed for all of them. He was carefully investigating a dark corner when a noise was heard at the doorway. The knight stood there burdened with a broken bucket half full of water, a tight roll of blankets and two large saddlebags slung over his shoulder.

"Lady Tsunade seemed to know we would wind up together; she forced upon me some additional supplies. There's a skin full of milk, fresh this past morning, and a few diapering cloths and such. She also sent a second sleeping draught for later."

Iruka scowled at the idea of another sleeping potion and moved to lay a hand on the child. "He's very weak. I don't think we'll need to worry too much about it. I've been watching how they treat him, sneaking in at night. He's malnourished and small and far too weak to have survived much longer under that treatment." He thought for a moment before taking a second look at the saddlebag. "Did she send anything for his bottom, it looked sore."

The knight left him to explore the contents and placed the bucket near the door. "We'll rest only for a bit. Horse is tied underneath the trees outside since there wasn't any straw in the shed."

"There's a platform and some old straw in the corner." Iruka motioned towards where he'd been exploring when the knight had arrived from his chores.

"Then take the babe and a blanket to wrap yourselves in. We'll only stay here a short time and leave before dawn."

"Will you sleep, too?"

"No, I must keep a watch while you rest. We might be out of their woods, but they know we crossed the ravine and can have men here by dawn." The silver haired knight untied the roll and shook out a wrinkled wool wrap. "Use this; it's kept me plenty warm on the coldest of nights, even in snow."

Iruka nodded and slowly cuddled the child close while getting comfortable on their thin bed. Within moments he was agreeing with the knight, the tightly woven wrap did warm them up very quickly. He closed his eyes and took a breath of baby hair that desperately needed a proper wash. But even as dirty as he was the child smelled sweet to him, and his regular breaths eventually pulled his exhausted rescuer into slumber right along with the precious life he was wrapped around so protectively.

When he woke, it was quickly and with little movement. Iruka's last year of life had taught him some harsh lessons in who you let know where and when you slept. His sleeping situation from earlier had changed and so had the stars outside the small window even though the sky was still night dark. During whatever short time he had been asleep the knight had slid his way onto the bed until Iruka was feeling two heartbeats; beneath his hand, the tiny bird flutters of the child while underneath his ear, the stronger thump of the knight who now had his arms wrapped around them both, protecting even as they all slept.

Iruka smiled softly, but then worried and looked around as best he could. His eyes were immediately drawn to the dim light of a candle left alight on the table illuminating a half emptied bag of provisions that hadn't been there before along with a few unlit tapers stacked on the table. They must have been found by allies which was why the knight had felt safe enough to shut his eyes. Iruka shifted once more to look down at the angelic face curled up and sucking on tiny fists. He wasn't fighting as he let his eyes drift shut again, the adorable image still being seen by his closed eyes, when the knight moved and then spoke.

"You should sleep longer; they took the bait and are after the decoy. My squad has caught up with us."

"I… Thank you," Iruka whispered gratefully. "Thank you, sir knight, so much." To his shame, he felt tears welling up. An ungloved hand rose up and stroked his hair.

"No, thank you, young man. You've given us a gift worth more than any kingdom."

"Iruka," he blurted out softly so as not to wake the child. "My name is Iruka."

The knight laughed low. "So, we finally get to introduce ourselves after all this time, and in the dark of the night. One would think we were thieves of a sort. Kakashi, of the Family Hatake,: he introduced himself with humor in his voice. "You already know I work for Lady Tsunade. Are you from one of the great families? We were made aware that some of the children had been lost in the mire after Orochimaru took power."

"Not so great," Iruka whispered. "My parents claimed the Umino name; my mother was a handmaiden before the attack, my father a knight of Lord Namikaze."

"Well then, Iruka of the Umino family, get some more rest. We have a long day tomorrow, and you will need your wits about you once again."

Iruka obediently closed his eyes and nuzzled the baby. "Thank you again, Sir Hatake."

"Just Kakashi." The hand stroked his head again. "I'm just Kakashi."

He woke next to birdsong and movement as the knight, Kakashi moved away and left them without his warmth. Iruka shivered and peeked around. He could see several knights talking softly by the door, tall and fearsome but respectful as they addressed Kakashi…who was shorter than them? Now that he finally got a chance to see him in the light stripped of his cloak and armor, the man didn't look that much older than Iruka was himself.

Another knight made impatient noises at the door until he was allowed entrance while carrying a small leather bowl full of something that steamed in artful swirls full of heavy and familiar scent. The man, wrapped in a face-covering scarf and wool cap waved happily at Iruka before leaving.

Kakashi looked back and took a long sip of his own small travel cup. "Stay under the covers for as long as you want, Iruka. There's a thin frost and a hard chill in the air this morning. Someone is collecting extra clothes for you to wear."

"The child will be awake soon," Iruka mentioned as he tucked the blanket around. "Are they able to warm some milk for him?"

"It's on the way," Kakashi said and stepped closer flipping up a small bit of the cover and peering at the pink cheeked face still peacefully lax in sleep. He nodded silently to himself and tucked in the corners Iruka couldn't reach. "We'll be riding hard today. We expect to reach the castle past nightfall."

Iruka could only nod in agreement before he once more closed his eyes to doze for a just a bit longer. He woke up again to Kakashi shaking him and the baby making soft mewling sounds. By the light coming in, it didn't seem to be too much later, and there was even still some steam coming off the cup on the table. Kakashi held out two things. "Which do you want first, diaper or bottle?"

With a sigh, he sat up and grabbed the diaper noticing the air wasn't nearly as chill as it had been. The little boy in his arms now had wide-open eyes and waving arms as he was exposed to the room. Iruka once more cleaned him off with a damp rag and began pinning another diaper on when a hand touched his arm. Kakashi stood to his left and pulled down the thick cloth to peer at the bumpy rash he had told him about. A clucking sound from his right had him startled to see another man watching the process.

"Yeah, looks like the rashes my boy would get. The wife put some special lotion on it, but all I have is some medic cream." The man turned to Iruka. "What do you think?"

"I, I don't know anything about babies," Iruka said hurriedly. "But I know you can't always use adult things on them."

"Well there," the kind looking man smiled wide. "You already know a bit, don't you? Pack him dry, and we'll get him to my wife as soon as we can. She'll fix him right up."

Iruka nodded and finished pinning the diaper shut then once more wrapped him tight in the blanket and cuddled him close. "My mother said babies like to be held tight," he talked more to himself than them as he reached for the bottle and smiled. "And they must drink lots of milk and eat good food, not almost spoiled or overly boiled or heavily spiced." He looked to the pile of soiled linen on the bed, and then expectantly at the two knights. "And that they need lots of clean diapering cloths."

Kakashi looked at the only man in his squad to have a child and smiled. "Have fun," he ordered pointing towards the messy pile. The other man just sighed heavily and grabbed the clean corners to carry the stink out by. Both Iruka and Kakashi laughed together hearing the sounds of the other men getting out of his way.

The ride was quiet, the men surrounding the trio on the tall grey horse were watchful of any disturbances. They ran their horses down hills and walked them up, took shortcuts over streams and meandered through some trails that could hardly be called such. The turrets of a very large castle were evident in the darkening eastern sky just as the sun set.

They had stopped a few times to care for the baby who had babbled a bit and begun touching any face that got close to him, mostly Iruka's. Another soldier had gotten the pleasure of washing out a dirty diaper while they all swore the little boy had the makings of a great man if the smells he expelled were anything to go by.

At their final stop as Iruka watched the tiny thing polish off the last of the milk, he wondered what to call him. "He's always been called just 'boy' or 'the child' by his nurse and anyone else who dared talk about him. Was he ever properly named?"

Kakashi looked sadly at the slight boy holding the baby. "He was to be named after his father as Minato the second, of the Family Namikaze. No ceremony was held, but that was the name he was to be given."

"Minato," Iruka whispered down to the drowsy baby in his lap. "It… doesn't really fit him. Lord Minato was such a grand figure, and for this tiny thing to have his name…"

Kakashi stood and waved for his horse. "He'll grow in to it, Iruka." He smiled and helped him up. "He has a lifetime to do so in, now."

"Yes. Yes he does." Iruka accepted the help standing and looked to the twilight darkened sky where the stars were beginning to show through. "We both have time to get used to it." He smiled wide and playfully rocked back and forth on his way over to their drizzle grey mount causing the baby to gasp in laughter. "Little Minato, huh? You're going to grow as tall as the horse, won't you?" He chuckled at the big yawn the baby gave in answer.

To Be Continued in Chapter 3: Home Safe and The Presentations

A/N: Congratulations on reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I know this offering wasn't nearly as challenging to get through as the first chapter, but I did my best. I'd like to thank ALL THE REVIEWERS!! You guys are great and I love you, I'm just hideous at review replies.

And again, a big thank you to the most fearsome Saelani for her grammar skills as my beta and Darkauroran for her pushings and pleadings and snugglings. May you both enjoy reading the final product as much as I've enjoyed writing it.