Disclaimer: While the idea of MABU is mine, the characters are not my creation as much as I wish they were. I do not own Naruto
Time Line / Spoilers: This takes place during the time skip and contains spoilers for events pre time skip as well as a few jus slightly post time skip. If the MABU universe does diverge from cannon (Manga) possibility, I will make note of it when it happens.
Warnings: Language, Violence, Sexual situations, Sex of a probably Hentai and Yaoi nature. Same basic warnings as Water Runs Red.
Beta by: HGirl69
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Sand Stained Red – Chapter
Kakashi, Iruka, and Kotetsu met at the gates the next morning as if the night before had never happened. They were prepared to head out to Grass. Kotetsu frowned as they did final preparations for the mission near the main gate. Their destination was familiar to him and Iruka. They had been to that particular city in Grass many times on other undercover missions. It was dirty and seedy and full of the criminal elements that Grass country seemed to harbor and nurture these days.
Kotetsu watched as the pink haired girl walked up to their group. That child had no business being on this mission. That old bat of a Hokage had finally lost her mind. She was crazy to send a child of only fifteen into this. It did not for a second occur to him that he had only been thirteen when he first worked for MABU, no those times were different. That was after the fox attack, the village ranks had been decimated. Any similarity between then and how the village was still decimated by the Sand/Sound attack did not occur to him. Izumo, Iruka and himself had been broken before the ever joined MABU. The three of them had been damaged long before they ever even graduated the academy. This child was still as pure as any shinobi could be.
Her smile as she reached the three men made it hurt even more. Her pink hair was the same color as cherry blossoms in the spring and had no business going where they were going. He frowned as he looked over at Iruka. Kakashi stood close to his husband as they both pulled on their packs. Iruka shook his head at Kotetsu and Kotetsu simply nodded. He had been taking orders from Iruka long enough to realize that when the other man got that look, matters were not open for debate. He would have to accept the young kunoichi going on the mission with them, but he did not have to like it.
Kakashi raised a hand to greet his genin student, and the four-person team departed the village. The day was still very early. The colors of the sunrise still hung in the eastern sky as they headed west towards Grass country. They had plenty of time to get there, but Kakashi kept the pace quick. Quickly making their way through the tree branches, the four shinobi covered distance faster than should be humanly possible. Conversation was not something that Kotetsu wanted, and luckily, Iruka and Kakashi seemed to be of the same opinion. Sakura also seemed to pick up on the 'travel in silence' vibe that passed between the three men and she didn't speak either. The team moved in silence, the quiet only broken by the sounds of nature as the shinobi moved without a sound beyond the unavoidable rush of air.
They paused simply to drink water and eat ration bars before continuing on their journey. They wouldn't have a real meal until they camped for the night. The four had plenty of time, but there was still no reason to waste it. Finally, as the sun was setting, Iruka veered them off towards the side of their path. Kakashi followed Iruka without question. The ex-ANBU might be the leader of the mission, but Iruka was talented at finding camping sites in the forest. They landed in a small clearing without even a sound. The secluded thicket was nearly completely hidden by dense undergrowth. It was barely big enough to fit two tents, but there was a small spring a few feet away and it offered an easily defensible position.
Kakashi nodded as he took in the spot, "We'll set up two tents. Iruka take care of the campfire. Kotetsu, you and Sakura follow the water and see if we can get some fish or find some rabbits or something." Without further instruction from the team leader, Kotetsu walked out of the clearing and went off towards the water with the pink-haired girl close on his heels.
He turned to her as they approached the water, "Fishing or hunting?"
She was looking at him with a frown on her face, "Either. I am capable you know."
He paused, "I never said you weren't." His tone was strangely flat. He didn't want to have an argument. He just wanted to get this mission over with and travel to Suna and see how his Izumo was.
"Why is everyone acting like I don't belong on this mission?" She sounded frustrated. If he had been thinking clearly instead of worrying about his lover, he would have realized that they had been acting exactly how she was indicating. However, he knew she didn't belong on this mission.
He glared at her, "Hunting or fishing." It was no longer a question, but a demand that she answer him.
Her green eyes narrowed and her lips turned into a determined line, "Hunting." Her single word stood as a challenge to him.
Kotetsu simply nodded, "You go that way, and I'll go this way. Do not go more than a mile and meet back here in thirty." He tossed a kunai into the ground to mark the spot as if to emphasize he meant exactly right here. Without another word, he took off in the other direction.
His frustration would be taken out on prey. Channeling chakra to his nose, he let his sense of smell lead him. The Hagane clan had always been trackers. His nose quickly led him to his prey. His arm snaked forward, pinning a rabbit to a tree in mid-hop. He watched it's body twitch once, twice then still. Leaves were drifting towards the ground, loosened by the impact of the blade into the tree trunk. Swinging around he let loose eight more Kunai, each piercing a leaf before landing in another trunk. Standing there in the resulting shower of foliage, Kotetsu caught his breath. He had to keep it together. He just had to – for Izumo.
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Iruka looked to Kakashi as the other two left the campsite. "Am I being too hard on her?"
Kakashi walked over to his lover and wrapped an arm around him, "You will always see your students as young children and want to protect them." He sighed as he rested his head against the other man's head. "It's just how you are, and I hope you never change."
Iruka nodded, "You're right. I guess that Kurenai was right about that as well." He shot Kakashi a smile, "I guess we'll just have to our best to let our bad jônin selves protect her on this, huh?"
With a roll of his eyes, Kakashi answered, "Yeah, that's it. Get that campfire going while I set the tents."
Iruka smirked, "Yes, sir. You are in charge and all." With a return to the pleasant banter, they quickly readied the campsite. Two tents and a campfire were taken care of. Iruka used the same sealing technique that Kakashi had first seen Izumo use in order to create an odorless, smokeless fire.
Less than an hour later, Kotetsu and Sakura walked back into the thicket. Each of them carryied two field dressed rabbits. Dinner was cooked with very few words and the meat consumed along with some other rations from their packs. The sun was long set by the time the meal was consumed and everything was cleaned up. Iruka had first watch, Sakura second, Kotetsu third, with Kakashi on the final watch.
As Iruka settled in for his first shift at watch, Kakashi kneeled next to him, forehead to forehead to whisper a few words of reassurance before softly kissing his husband goodnight.
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Sakura hid her surprise at the affection between her former teachers. Sure, the entire village knew the two of them were together in some way. They often walked through the village together, drank together, and ate dinner together. And spent time with each other's friends. It was well known the two men shared the same apartment, and only the youngest of academy students believed the two were just friends. Sakura hadn't thought of it much, if it kept Kakashi sane and Iruka happy, what else could she want?
She was woken from her slumber by a brushing outside her tent. She could sense Iruka's chakra on the other side. She quickly slid out of her blankets and let the tent. A quick look around and she knew that Iruka took part of her shift. Instead of two hours before waking Kotetsu, she only had about one. "You didn't have to take part of my shift, sensei."
Iruka just smiled at her, "You need rest." He reminded her so much of back when she was his young student at the academy. The moments the man had been pampering back then were few and far between, but his job had been to prepare them to be shinobi. That could not be accomplished with pampering. This, however, was the same Iruka that had patched up cuts from practice weapons and dried tears.
She smiled at him, "Iruka-sensei, I am a genin and soon I'll be a chuunin, you don't have to treat me like a little child."
"It's an old habit. I will try and stop thinking of you as a little eight year old girl who has cut herself on a shuriken and has tears running down her cheeks though." He smiled softly at her, remembering how innocent all the little children that entered the academy were. It was an innocence they were destined to loose.
"You and Kakashi-sensei?" She asked it as a question as she watched him for a reaction. When he simply looked at her, an eyebrow raised, she continued, "The two of you are very cute together."
"Thank you. I had worried you would think poorly of it." He honestly sounded relieved that she didn't think there was something wrong with her two male former-teachers dating.
Pink hair shifted as she shook her head, "Of course not. I haven't seen either of you this happy before." With a tilt of her head she looked up at him, "Can I ask you something though?"
He nodded, looking at her seriously, "Of course. You can always ask me anything."
She paused for a moment and nibbled at her lip with her teeth before finally asking, "Why is Kotetsu so … angry? He is normally relaxed and teases people."
Iruka nodded as he thought how best too answer that, "You know Kotetsu and Izumo are lovers?" When she nodded, he continued. "They had a fight before Izumo's last mission. Izumo is overdue by two months and we just were notified he was recovered by sand shinobi. He is anxious to conclude this mission so he can see him again." He smiled at the girl. "Wake up Kotetsu a little late, all right? He hasn't been sleeping well for a while. I am going to grab a few hours of sleep with my husband before his shift."
He walked over to his tent not even noticing the surprised look on Sakura's face at the use of the term husband. Sakura watched Iruka's back as the man crawled into the tent. That explained a lot, both how her former sensei were acting around each other and how the normally carefree Kotetsu was acting. She settled into her watch, her mind drifting to wonder about what she found herself embroiled in. Evidently, a lot of things went on in the village that she did not know about.
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Come morning, the four shinobi took off again. They continued to travel at a fast pace, but not anything approaching the type of speed the older members of the team could do if needed. There wasn't a hurry so they allowed the abilities of the young medic nin to dictate their pacing. They would make the border of Fire and Grass shortly after sunset at this rate, which was perfect for what they had planned. Sakura was impressed by the efficiently of the three older members of the team. Seamlessly the switched who was leading and which was guarding the sides of the team. The hand signals were so subtle she nearly missed them several times. They were nothing like the obvious gestures her and her genin teammates had used.
Shortly before sunset, they paused on the Fire side of the border and took off all their items that marked them as Konoha shinobi. Kotetsu and Kakashi switching into dark pants and shirts. Iruka switched into jeans and a too tight T-shirt as he swapped his normal navel piercing for one containing a one-way radio transceiver. He didn't switch it on yet, but being prepared as never a bad thing.
Sakura changed into a simple short black skirt with a red top and threw her hair up into a ponytail. With simple changes, they all looked significantly different. Kotetsu had his facial bandage off. Without that white stripe across his face, the man looked very different. Iruka had his hair down and in the much tighter clothing looked nothing like the strict teacher he appeared as around the village. The biggest change was Kakashi though. Somewhere in her mind, Sakura knew that Kakashi did not always have that mask on. What she did not expect though, was for him to have changed into dark pants with a thin turtleneck. When he placed a pale grey blue contact over his Sharingan eye though, he didn't seem at all like himself. Her eyes widened as she saw her temporary team suddenly almost unrecognizable. She probably would have walked by any one of them in the street without a second look, and these were men she had known for years,
The continued into grass country, now much more stealthy and on higher alert. It was nearly eleven at night when they reached their destination. She watched as Kakashi suddenly started deferring to Iruka as they went through the shadows of the town. Even though it was late at night, many people were out at the many bars, gambling houses, and prostitution houses. In some cases a place they walked by was some combination of the three. When they approached a hotel, Kakashi and Kotetsu split off carrying Iruka and Sakura's packs while Iruka took her arm and led her in through the front door.
She stayed calm as Iruka paid for a room and received a key. The leering look of the man behind the front desk made it very clear what the room's purpose was assumed to be. Without another word, Iruka led her up the stairs and towards a room. He had only muttered a few words to the desk clerk, and Sakura had not heard them, but she was pretty sure they had confirmed the man's assumptions. In a town like this, that was probably the least suspicious reason to be renting a room.
Once the door was closed, Iruka walked over to the window and opened it. Packs were thrown in through the window and Kakashi and Kotetsu followed. Kotetsu and Iruka instantly set about placing seals and traps at the window and door, while Kakashi started to unpack some of the monitoring equipment. Within just a few minutes, the room was secured and two radio receivers were set up on a nightstand.
Sakura merely nodded when Iruka gently suggested that she should take a shower and get cleaned up. Stepping into the hot shower, Sakura was grateful for the consideration being shown her, but she did not want to be treated as if she couldn't help the team. She made up her mind to talk to Iruka about it as soon as she was clean and presentable again. She did not expect was for him and Kotetsu to be gone by the time she emerged from the bathroom. Kakashi glanced at her; he was sitting on one of the beds, listening to the receivers with an earpiece in each ear. "It's going to be a while before they get back. You should get some rest."
She nodded and dried her damp hair with a towel as she stretched out on the other bed. If Kakashi was sending her to bed, chances were that the others would not come back injured. She wished she knew what was going on, but it was obvious the three did not want her to know more than she needed to. Hopefully this would resolve soon and they would be able to head towards Suna. There was not much she could do, so she simply fell asleep. If anything did go wrong, being fully rested so that she could use all of her chakra to heal the rest of the team was her best option
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Iruka watched the girls back retreat into the bathroom. As soon as the door was closed, Iruka and Kotetsu were verifying their transmitters worked. Vials of poison were spread on the one bed and small containers hidden in tongue and lip piercing were filled. Antidotes to the toxins were added as eyebrow or ear piercing and quick flashes of chakra healed the new holes in the MABU agents' bodies. Iruka gave Kakashi a quick kiss and Iruka and Kotetsu disappeared out the window, leaving Kakashi to monitor their progress.
The two men landed in the alleyway behind the hotel and instantly were hidden in the shadows. They made their way into the city to follow up the information Izumo had found. The first night was just for recon. This was a dangerous place for both men. They had worked information sources in this haven of illegal activity too often to be sure they would be unnoticed. The bar that Orochimaru's agents were said to frequent was one that they had both been in before. Sure a few things had changed since they had last been there, but it was still familiar ground. They split up inside the bar. Both shinobi blending into the press of people in the smoke filled room. Iruka ordered a bottle of beer, but did not really drink it. It was a prop for the night. He would stick out without a drink and this was the most portable. Within minutes each of them were working the room, finding out who was who.
It took two hours, but they had the names of the people they needed as well as vague descriptions. The men they were looking for were not out tonight. However, they had managed to find out a lot of information with relatively little risk. It was not a huge success but considering they had not even planned on being able to patrol their first night in Grass, it was better than they had hoped.
Smelling of smoke and alcohol, both shinobi snuck back into the hotel room. Kakashi had opened the window to let them in. While Iruka put away all the piercing with their poisons and the ones with the antidotes, carefully making sure they would be ready to go again tomorrow, Kotetsu stepped into the bathroom to get cleaned off. When he crawled into bed next to Sakura, he smelt simply of hotel shampoo. Soon after, Iruka and Kakashi fell asleep in the other bed. The information that had been gained that night filled out while still fresh so that it could be analyzed the next morning. Relatively safe in the room with its wards and seals, all four shinobi fell asleep. This was as safe as they could be on a mission.
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Sorry for the short chapter. Next chapter is back in Suna so I couldn't tack on a piece of that to this to even it out. Also there will not be a chapter on the 29th I will be out of town and just will not be able to get it done enough in advance to be able to post it before I leave.
Thank you for reading. As always, I would appreciate if you took a moment to write a review.
