Hey, sorry for the late update! I've had a massive amount of work to complete recently and I can't afford to not do it so..yeah. Hopefully it won't take too long for the next one! ^_^

Also, thank you to those that have reviewed this story. You guys actually spur me on to write, and considering that this was meant to finish after five chapters, it's become something completely different than what I first imagined it to be. So, thank you very much for it all. Please, read and review if you would be so kind. It makes all the difference! Xxx

He wasn't sure if it was guilt or remorse that ached his stomach more, but either way, Kotetsu felt ashamed of that he had done. He couldn't help but feel a little bit troubled at how nonchalant Iruka was being about all this.

'...Iruka-' He started.

'Kotetsu, really, it's fine.' The tanned chūnin smiled carefree at him.

'These things happen.'

'But not when-'

'But nothing!' Iruka interjected, placing a steaming cup of tea in front of the raven-haired.

'Honestly, you're making a bigger deal out of this than you should. It was a little making out. That's it.'

'That's not the point in trying to make.'

'Then what are you trying to say?'

'I-I...hmm.' Kotetsu faltered.

'I guess I don't want you to think that I've taken advantage of you.'

He blinked as Iruka scoffed and then collapsed into small giggles.

'Honestly, that wasn't taking advantage of me.' Iruka concluded, ceasing his laughter at Kotetsu's impassive face.

'Look, alcohol and loneliness are a bad mix. Things like this always happen when you don't want them to. Just laugh it off and move forward with it. Trust me, there's more important things in life to worry about, you know.'

Iruka sipped his tea and sighed.

'Kotetsu, it's not going to be anything more than what it was. I'm...I'm sorry but as I said last night, if you remember, I love someone else...And I can't see myself ever being in another relationship. And I know that last night we were caught up in the moment-.'

'So why'd you kiss me back?'

Iruka shrugged.

'I just roll with things. It seemed like a good idea at the time.'

'Oh.'

'I think that, hypothetically, if something were to happen...I would only be your rebound...geez, that sounds so harsh.'

'No no, I get it...you never did tell me who you were with.'

'Hmm? Didn't I?'

'Nope.'

'Hmm, I'm sure I did.'

Iruka scratched his scar and retreated to the sitting room, leaving a befuddled Kotetsu at the dining table. He sipped his tea to test the temperature before downing the entire mug in record time.

'I'm going for a run!' He called to the open air.

'Some of your clothes are still drying from the wash.' Iruka chanted back to him.

'Can I borrow a top then?'

'Yeah, there's a hoodie on my desk. Borrow that. Have you got pants?'

'Yes Ruru. They're on me.'

'...Want me to go with you?'

'No...I'm actually feeling...alright.'

'...Okay. Come straight back here afterwards.'

'Yes "dear".' Kotetsu laughed and pulled on the fleecy top, his mouth twitching slightly at how the top of his navel peeked out every time he moved. Geez Iruka was short. And a mother hen.

"Attractive." He thought, and stepped out into the bitter wind.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-x

Sharp, icy air forced itself to inflate his lungs as his feet pounded heavily through the undergrowth. The forests surrounding Konoha were a beautiful colour palette of moss, lime and emerald greens that blended so precariously by nature that it almost seemed impossible. Streaks of pale light gleaned across crisp leaves and foliage and beamed onto the earth underfoot. A scent of woody oak and grass danced on the breeze and with every intake of breathe filled his sinuses and cleared the grime and heaviness in his brain. It felt so good to be out in the fresh air, instead of being cooped up indoors.

Kotetsu amped up his speed and easily bounded up into the canopy of the wilderness, gulping in the air and relishing in the burn of his muscles. He extended his legs and felt the tendons stretch gratifyingly. Why he hadn't thought of going for a run to feel better, he had no idea, but right now he felt free, flipping and leaping from bough to bough; apple-cheeked from the harsh wind nipping at his bare face and the strip of his navel.

Under his breath he urged himself onwards. Even though it had been just under a week since he trained last, he felt rusty and out of practice. Still, he was pretty impressive and with every step, he felt like he was regaining some of his old spark. With deep breaths, he flipped over trivial obstacles and blockages with ease, grinning as he ran back into the narrow streets of the village.

His success was short-lived however. As he continued to canter, trot and sprint through the winding streets, the acrid smell of smoke gripped at him and his warning signals flared. Something was very wrong. His sharp eyes flicked over rooftops until a charcoal plume of smoke was rising into the air thick and fast. With a swift sidestep he changed course and ran immediately to the source. What he wasn't prepared for was seeing his apartment condo to be blazing away furiously. The creepiest thing about this was that while there were spectators gasping in horror and pointing, no nin were on the scene.

This was wrong.

Kotetsu's eyes widened as he remembered that a few of the surrounding apartments housed children and his heart plummeted. He cursed under his breath and prayed that there weren't any trapped inside. Without a hesitant thought, he crashed in through a window and rolled with the momentum. Smoke filled his lungs and he coughed harshly, cutting off his precious oxygen. Flames blazed dangerously from every angle and he wished that Iz was around to suppress them with his water jutsu. Sadness gripped his heart at the thought but he had to continue. His eyes clicked into every crevice for a sign of life, but the heat was intense and skewed his eyesight.

Wait. What was that?

A tiny plea for help squeaked through the crackles and pops of the blaze. Kotetsu honed his ears to listen in for the sound, and deduced that it was coming from the next room over. Briskly, he tore through a door as a rafter gave way and crashed a hairline away from where he stood. Embers and ash spurted up at him as the flames licked at his heels. Angrily, he brushed off a piece of timber that grazed his arm and sprinted around debris, constantly listening for that little voice again.

Smoke inhalation was becoming a fast problem and he felt like his lungs would burn up before he could get out. But he pressed on, finally reaching a large robe and threw open the doors. Two children, brother and sister were huddled in fear and sobbing heavily in each others arms. Their tear-stricken faces snapped up at him and they froze in even more fear.

'It'll be alright! I'll get you out!'

The doorframe he came through collapsed in a burning heap, blocking their escape. His head whipped around, looking for a sign of exit. Nothing. At this stage he was going to have to break through the walls to get them to safety.

A small bathroom lay to the left and he jumped in, pulling off the thick fleece and drowning it in water before jumping back to the children and pulling the sopping wet hoodie over the two of them. Even though Iruka was short, it managed to blanket them both just enough.

'Keep this on, it'll help!'

He pulled out a small scroll and whipped it open, rushing a few hand signs and summoning his twin kunai blades that were chained at the hilt and struck them into the closest wall. The blades ripped through as much of the structure as possible before hitting blunt against a foundation support. With an exasperated grunt, he picked his scroll up again and pulled it out further to summon his conch-shell mace. He clicked his blades onto his bare back and gripped the handle of the mace and repeatedly struck the foundation again and again until it gave way and sunlight broke through into the orange house.

The fire was getting stronger now as more and more of the house was collapsing around him. Almost every step was littered with blazing rubble and small fiery splints were falling onto his bare skin, burning intensely. He leaped over to the two still sobbing children and picked them up, cradling them into his chest and covering their heads.

The robe exploded with a fiery bang and threw a charred chunk of wood at Kotetsu's retreating back and impaled him . He let out a yowl of pain but kept running to the opening he made, focusing on getting these children out. They narrowly ducked through the hole before the rest of the room collapsed entirely. He jumped and tried to land as softly as possible but his knees were jelly-legged and he fell to his side, keeping the children as safe as possible.

More explosions erupted from the condo and the structure split in two before giving way and breaking in on top of itself. Parents of the fearful children ran over to him and scooped them out of his chest and thanked him again and again vigorously, and fretted over the large offending piece of wood sticking out of his back. The father, a stringy man with short hair was trying to speak to him but there was too much ringing in his ears to comprehend any sound. His flesh was burned, clothing singed and terrible blisters were beginning to crop up in nasty yellow bulges. A terrible, splitting pain tore through his back as the father pulled out the impaling wood and he screamed deafly.

It was such a strange experience, this. He was temporarily deaf and not even the sound of his own voice cut through the ringing. He felt his chest heaving as he coughed up a coppery pool of blood before being hauled to his feet by two pairs of arms. He only had enough time to watch what had been his home be doused by masked ninja as he was swept away by two cat and bird masked ANBU soldiers.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-x

'Paper bombs.' Naruto concluded, handing Kotetsu a bottle of Dragonfire to steady his nerves.

'They say that was the source of the fire to begin with. However.'

Naruto sat down on the edge of his desk and sipped his own alcohol, watching the swirling liquid whirlpool inside the bottle.

'The fire was started in your apartment.'

'That doesn't make any sense.' Kotetsu said, his brow furrowed and wincing in pain as Sakura's chakra sewed up the wounds in his back. It turns out that he had been impaled several times in the back, but all in close proximity to each other.

'Please sit still, Kotetsu-kun.' She said patiently, focusing the green aura to heal him as quickly as possible.

'Sorry Sakura-chan.' He apologised, trying to behave despite the excruciating pain he was currently in. She smiled at him kindly and tried to work as fast as possible.

'The reports say that a paper bomb amidst others exploded and it started a chain reaction.' Naruto explained, empathising with the squirming chūnin.

'Before long a fire started and then, well, one thing led to another and the condo was caught on fire.'

'But that's not possible.' Kotetsu said, which made the blonde's eyebrow arc.

'Where were the bombs found?'

'They believe that they were in what was your weapons drawer.'

Kotesu shook his head at the Hokage.

'This sounds ridiculous, Hokage-Sama, but I don't keep my paper bombs in a drawer...I keep them in a particular casing and that lives in my refrigerator...well, they did.'

'Why would you keep them in such a strange place?' Naruto questioned, smiling a little at the thought.

'So heat can't set them off accidentally.' Sakura answered for Kotetsu, moving her fingers to brush against the blisters, which had now grown into terrible welts.

'I...yeah, that's right.' Kotetsu said, stunned at Sakura's assumption.

'I'm not an expert at weapons, but they are my specialty so I didn't want to have them somewhere where they could detonate accidentally.'

'So you think this was premeditated?' Asked Naruto, frowning as he thought.

'It's possible.'

'So that means Kotetsu-kun's a target?' Sakura questioned.

'At this point we can't point the finger at anyone or jump to conclusions. However, given the circumstances, it's not a possibility that we can rule out.'

'Great.' Kotetsu grumbled and dropped his head in defeat.

'Is all this because everyone knows that I'm...?'

Naruto's cerulean eyes hazed over with sadness.

'More than likely.'

'Fantastic.' Kotetsu whispered and sighed.

'Don't worry Kotetsu-kun.' Sakura whispered, and cupped his cheek in her hand.

'We'll find them, okay?'

He couldn't help but smile weakly at the pinkette at her comfort. At least these two weren't afraid of him.

'Wait.' Kotetsu piped up suddenly, panic on his features.

'Does this mean that Iruka will be in danger too?'

'I'll set up a team to keep watch for any suspicious activity around him too.' Naruto said, finishing his drink.

'But for now, you need to go and rest. You're staying at Iruka-sensei's, yeah?'

'Mmm.' Kotetsu nodded, watching his skin return to its former glory as Sakura finished up.

'Thankyou Sakura-chan.'

'I did my best...but you're back is going to have a permanent scar...I'm sorry.'

'Don't be.'

'No...not just about the scar...about everything.'

'Oh.'

He wanted to tell them how thankful he was for their help, but the right words just couldn't find their way out of his head. Instead he just bowed as low as he possibly could at the two of them before exiting.

'Wait.' Naruto's voice called out.

'We'll go with you. I need to see Iruka-sensei again...might as well fill him in on the details at the same time.'

'Appreciated.'

As the three of them walked shoulder to shoulder out of the Hokage's office, he couldn't help but feel like someone had painted an enormous target on his back. The scar was bad enough, but this was different altogether.

Kotetsu was a marked man.