Okay, this is the part where I apologize for taking so long, and for the shortcomings in this chapter. It is being posted up rough to try and keep the momentum going - writing time is scarce right now but the story is not being abandoned. Hopefully things will calm down enough to get back to a smoother flow soon...

Chapter Nineteen

The going was slow, far too slow. The effect of the poison was becoming too difficult to ignore. Still, Even refused to released the straps that secured his captive. Danzou had been quite clear. There was to be no returning empty-handed. He would either make it back with his payload, or he would not make it back at all.

He'd administered the second shot of generic antidote right into the pulsing vein of his own neck, desperate to get his head clear. Danzou had touted the serum as an effective countermeasure against ninety percent of known poisons; but it seemed to have no effect. The misplaced confidence in its effectiveness had caused him to unwisely delay disengaging from the conflict, and served to further increased the odds against him. The pain and the leadening effect on his muscles was still growing.

His options were down to bad and worse. If he kept on as he was, he would last longer, but make insufficient progress to complete his mission at the specified loocation. He would be forced to send a messenger with his coordinates at the point where travel was no longer possible, and it would be up to Danzou to try and fetch his delivery. By that time Even would be close to his own end. Whether or not the master chose to retrieve him as well at that point, the mission itself was at great risk of failure - but a chance of getting the prisoner close enough was just barely better than nothing.

He pulled the soldier pills from his pack, swaying from the effort of staying upright. This was the other option, and the one he now set his jaw in favor of. This would ramp up his energy, and he should just make it in.

It would also amplify the effect of the poison, and there would be no hope of recovery. As soon as he took them, he would be a swiftly-moving corpse.

He had his directive. This was the only method left to complete his mission.

"Don't! Iruka, just wait."

It spoke volumes that Kakashi had been able to come up so close undetected. It gave Even a jolt of worry that the pills might not be enough. He might die mid-step too far away to make the finish.

Kakashi approached him carefully.

"I know it's you, Iruka. Your blood. I'd know it anywhere."

Even nodded. That, too, was a grim indicator just how far he was sinking. He hadn't even wondered how Kakashi knew who he was.

"Put the pills away. It's suicide. Let me help you."

Suicide was not the issue. Completing the mission was. No longer certain the pills would insure success, he held them out in his gloved palm.

Perhaps if he had a few more…

"You have more?" he rasped.

"Hell no, not for you to kill yourself with. It's the poison, it's affecting your brain. Drop your prisoner and…"

"No. I don't have that option." It was looking worse. He could down the pills, but if Kakashi held him up purposely, he might not be able to die close enough to Konoha for Danzou to reach the captive before the short-lived tranquillizer wore off and their catch went free. It was already time to dart his burden again.

The ground was beginning to pitch a little under his feet. Time was running out. Quite the ignominious end to his glorious career in ROOT. He hadn't accomplished a damned thing.

Kakashi flashed handsigns and he was frozen in place. He hadn't expected that at all. Instead of wasting the energy to break out of it, he submitted to it, to see what the man was up to.

Kakashi brought out his own poisons kit, and prepped a syringe with hands so fast Even couldn't decipher the movements with his deteriorating perception. The needle was plunged into the binding fabric of his armor between the belly and breast plates, straight into his abdominal aorta. The pain was exquisite, and the flash of healing to seal the hole from bleeding hurt almost as much. Kakashi's work had a rare quality of desperation to it; Even was staggered as the world turned red, then purple, and all sound vanished beyond the roar in his ears. Sheer strength of will kept him on his feet in spite of his heavy load.

He felt the damage to his organs as the antidote burned the toxins and took a measure of his body's cells along with it. But he sensed that this was the right formula; the progressive poisoning was being stopped.

Kakashi released the freeze and went to catch him by the arm, already moving a hand up to undo the straps on his prisoner.

But Even still had the soldier pills in his palm; he threw them down his throat and swallowed hard.

"Damn it! No!" Kakashi moved his hands to clamp them on Iruka's throat, intent on using his chakra to force him to spit them back up. He barely made it in time.

They came back up into Iruka's hand, and he moved to swallow them again.

"Stop it! Why are you so fucking determined to die?"

"This is a terminal mission." Iruka's hands fought to stay at his face. "There exists…no other…option."

That fucking bastard Danzou, Kakashi raged mentally. So it was a comply or die order - forbidden for obvious reasons - and Iruka was committed to it. If he took the prisoner away and forced Iruka back to the village alive, Danzou's order would require that seppuku be performed before sunset. He detected full commitment with no hesitation on the ROOT shinobi's part.

"Them stop it, damn it. I'll help you get back. With your prisoner. But drop the pills, now!"

"Kakashi…"

"Drop them! Or I'll slit his throat and you'll have mission fail and death. No way in hell am I letting you kill yourself to complete your mission. It's a fucking crime to make assignments like that."

The dark eyes behind the mask looked down for a split second, the only trace of concession he'd gotten so far. They were Iruka's rich, deep brown eyes, not gaudy Uzingan implants. In the urgency of the situation, Kakashi hadn't had time to realize it; he relished the brief moment of relief he felt now.

The armored hand fell and the pills dropped to the ground. A wave of convulsions shook the hard plates on the uniform, but the gaze that came back up to meet his was determined.

"Then get us back, Kakashi. We need to hurry."

"He's coming around."

The small dart seemed to come out of nowhere as Iruka twisted back and stuck the tall shinobi dangling from his shoulder, inspiring his cargo to go completely limp once more. "Now he's not. We need to go."

Kakashi jerked his head around and decided Iruka was right. Company was coming at a high rate of speed from the direction of the fight.

"Yeah. Just try to conserve your energy at first. I promise you we'll make it if you do as I say. For the first hour or so, the more you exert yourself, the more damage the antidote does while it's cleaning out the poison. For every minute you don't rest in the first hour, you pay in reduced mobility afterward. In other words, in the end, if you wait now, you'll get to the village faster than if we set out right away."

Even nodded stiffly. Kakashi was over-explaining and over-simplifying, but he gave him the benefit of the doubt that he was making allowances for his poisoned mind and not merely talking down to him out of old habit.

He was too busy trying to clear his head and make sure the copy-nin wasn't lying to give it much thought.

A strong, wiry arm hauled both the ROOT shinobi and his baggage up to the treetops and hid them away. Kakashi masked their presence, and watched as the bald nin passed below, muttering at having lost the trail.

"You need to choose you friends more wisely," Kakashi jibed quietly, motioning to the man below.

"That has always been one of my shortcomings," Even replied pointedly.

"Touché," Kakashi smirked. "Close your eyes. Concentrate on directing the antidote and minimizing the damage."

Here in the tree, with an paralyzed chaperone hanging off his former lover's shoulder, it was still possible to feel something between the two of them after all this time. He supposed that it might be one-sided…but Kakashi felt what he felt, and it didn't really matter if the circumstances were unpredictably bizarre. Nothing in his life really felt as right as it did when he was protecting Iruka. And somehow, in a twisted blessing, he was given the opportunity again.

The shredded silk that used to cover the lower half of Iruka's face was stiffening with blood. Kakashi removed it and examined the deep wound in Iruka's jaw. Aside from the damage from the weapon, the whole lower half of his face looked like a healing blister. He wondered if it was the effect of the poison on the jutsu-fried face. It looked painful as hell, yet there was no flinch, no reaction at all when he peeled away the cloth and a fair share of damaged tissue along with it. He fished in his vest and produced a tube of healing ointment. Iruka's eyes popped back open at the unexpected feel of the cold gel against the nearly-forgotten sting of his face.

So it seemed that, properly manipulated, Kakashi could be influenced into seeing the mission to a successful end. That was the important thing to Even, far more important than pride or preference to see it through alone. Whatever it took, however it played out, he had to deliver a host safe and sound to Danzou. Kakashi would help him as long as he acted as his friend and called upon their old, deeply personal ties.

The older man had been bloated with guilt and regrets since that failed rescue so long ago. Here was his opportunity to make things right. Truthfully, it was the only thing left that the copy-nin could have done than was meaningful. This meant the world to Even.

Literally.

"Kakashi," he whispered, voice thin with the effect of the warring drugs in his system. He lifted a hand to touch the masked cheek of his savior. The slight pull of muscles against his fingertips told him that Kakashi had smiled at that.

"It's all right. Just hold on and give it a little more time." The slim fingers were incredibly gentle, applying the healing substance very slowly. Touching Iruka was deeply disrupting, no matter the condition of his flesh or the situation they were in. No matter how long he put the world on hold to trace glistening fingers on this strong jaw line, it couldn't possibly be long enough.

There would be a moment of reckoning, when they hit the Konoha perimeter. He would have to render the prisoner useless as a host for the eyes. And somehow make sure Iruka wasn't made to pay the alternative price. His brain was working overtime on the problem, only stuttering when Iruka's black-gloved fingertips came back to his face and traced his features again. The implied intimacy gave him a surge of regret. No matter if they made peace to some degree here, it would all be thrown over again when he betrayed Iruka by sabotaging his mission.

Time ticked by, and the bald nin passed again going back in the other direction. Giving up, Kakashi guessed.

"Time's about up, Ru," Kakashi said. Iruka stiffened and swung his leg over to dismount from his perch, careful not to let his prisoner hit against anything as they descended. Kakashi was right behind him, ready to spot him if he lost balance. The pain was coming off of him in waves, but he was steady, moving with energy once more.

"Take it easy. You should let me do the carrying."

"Can't. But thanks. You can head out and finish whatever you were doing, Kakashi. I can make it back now." His survival was assured, and no matter the effort, he would make it back.

"You're still in bad shape. You run across any trouble and you're done for. I'll escort you back."

"All right." Even tensed a bit, deciding not to argue, considering the determined tone of that statement. He was in no condition to fight with Kakashi right now. He would have to conserve his strength in order to have enough left to ditch his escort at the village perimeter.

They traveled at a fair rate of speed. Kakashi tried to influence Iruka into slowing down, with no luck.

"So, ROOT suits you after all, I guess."

"It's clean. Precise. Direct. Quiet. Almost perfect."

"And solitary. Seems to be your preference these days."

"True."

"It's good that we can still work together. Different divisions, but we're still on the same team."

"It won't happen again."

Kakashi's goodwill pulled up short on that. "I know."

After their long hours, Iruka ignoring his pain and Kakashi paying too much attention to it, they grew closer to Konoha's perimeter.

Both men knew they were about to turn on the other, for the noble cause given them by their superiors.

Iruka pulled up short.

"Kakashi," he said, slightly out of breath. He swallowed hard, surreptitiously taking the soldier pill he had retained in his sleeve to fuel him at the home stretch. "Wait."

Concerned by the sudden slump in his companion's posture, the copy-nin was at his side at once.

"We probably won't be seeing each other for a long time now. We should take the time to really say goodbye." Iruka's voice was a husky whisper, low and meaningful. It cut straight to Kakashi's heart.

Black-gloved fingertips moved to touch his face slowly, in a sweetly intimate gesture.

Kakashi grabbed Iruka's wrist harshly to stop the movement, scowling. Distracted by the words, he almost missed them: the quickly formed handsigns, concealed off to the side of the brunette's body, that would have made that intimate touch deadly. The jutsu would have arrested his breathing until it was released. Iruka had meant to either incapacitate or kill him.

At this point, he was not sure which.

"Bastard," Kakashi growled. His free hand went to his utility vest and yanked out a tag to slap on the unconscious prisoner. He no longer felt a need for subtlety.

Even counterattacked with unexpected strength and speed, spinning and running backwards while sending up a cloud of blinding dust. Kakashi was heavily dependent on his eyes in battle, and the unfriendly effect of the powdery particles forced him to keep skipping over preferred jutsu to come up with something suitable. Even's odd dust screen was so dense and invasive it obliterated all signs of him, including sound and scent. it was his back-up plan if he failed to render the copy-nin unconscious with the breath-stealing jutsu.

By the time Kakashi got free of it, discovering it was wrapped around him like a cocoon as opposed to covering the entire area, Iruka was gone.

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"You made it!" Danzou was in the large training room when Even appeared with his payload. "Give him to me, now!" At a glance, it was clear that Even was in bad shape, far from being useful in the next step.

Even wordlessly obeyed, pulling the release to the strap and letting the body down carefully onto the steel table.

Danzou shoved him back in his haste. "Get out of the way. Wait here and pull yourself together, I may need you. If they trespass here, you know what to do." The old curmudgeon wrapped his arms around the silent form on the table and teleported them both away.

Even stood with both hands braced on the edge of the table. It was a curious experience to complete a successful mission now. It used to be something he sought after, something that gave him a sense of self-worth and that elusive 'good' feeling.

Now it just revived the slightly edgy feeling of being out of service, of being useless, however temporary.

This whole thing would not have been very pleasant if he still had the full compliment of emotions, that was for sure.

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Kakashi had an excellent idea where Iruka had teleported to, but he knew he was not authorized to pursue him there - yet. He did his own teleporting, and ended up in Tsunade's office, pissing her off royally as he startled the ANBU guards into nearly attacking and making her spill her coffee.

"Brat! What the hell? This better be important! Speak!"

"Iruka's back, he has a prisoner, he teleported in."

"Shit! When?"

"Just now. Less than a minute ago. We need to move."

"Right. Why the hell didn't you stop him?"

"I tried. He got away."

"Tell Ibiki's sentry first. He's stationed on the roof of the house in a direct line from the northeast corner of the fence. You can go in alone or wait for backup, but if you wait, don't wait long."

Kakashi's answer was to teleport away.

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Even had lowered himself to the floor, waiting on hands and knees for the dizziness to pass from his extreme exhaustion. The soldier pill's potency had been damaged from being dampened with saliva and then smashed in his sleeve; the power-up effect was spent already. His chakra had been disrupted by the poison and the antidote; both had been amplified by the stimulant, and teleporting with a passenger had still taken tremendous effort.

When Kakashi came barreling in, he lifted his head and adjusted the half-mask that he had been thinking about removing. It was stuck fast in several places.

"Where is he? Where the fuck is he, Iruka?"

"Trespassing doesn't become you," Even said.

"Answer me!"

"Honestly, I don't know. Not that I would tell you if I knew. I would not. But in this case, I simply do not know."

Kakashi's mind rifled through the possibilities, but didn't come up with a likely place to search. "It's over, Iruka. Whether he succeeded in saving the eyes or not, it's over."

Ibiki flashed into the room and shared a unfriendly greeting with the copy-nin.

Even grew far more wary. Kakashi he could handle with the right play of emotional words, but Ibiki…would be far more difficult.

"Iruka. Where is Danzou? Where has he gone with the man you brought here?" Ibiki snarled.

"News travels that fast?" Even asked, voice clear of the abject weariness permeating his soul. "You may have tipped you hand."

"Not hiding it at this point. Where are they, Umino? Where are the eyes?"

"Eyes? Most of the eyes I know of are in the heads that make use of them. You'll have to be more specific. Whose eyes?"

"Don't play stupid with me."

"You wouldn't possibly be referring to disembodied eyes. The ones Danzou has preserved? In the cabinet, I know of a pair there. But no one would have any interest in…"

Ibiki tore open the cabinet doors. Floating with their nerves waving like jellyfish tentacles in the suspension liquid, two eyeballs rested in a corked wide-mouth beaker.

He pulled them out, looking closely, and sent his chakra exploring. These were the eyes of someone who had lived a very long time, still holding cold traces of residual chakra. Unless the Uzingan had expired and died in them, this was not what he was looking for.

"Where did these come from?"

"They belong to Danzou. You should ask him when he returns."

Ibiki stalked over to Iruka and ripped the half-mask from his face, holding the beaker up belligerently with the other. The wet tearing sound of the material ripping away from the malleable flesh made Kakashi wince inside. Outwardly, he stood unmoved, backing up Ibiki without question.

Even's face was tugged sideways from the motion, but his expression remained frozen.

"Look properly. What you seek is in your hands." He touched the glass with his index finger, and Ibiki held it up to look closer.

"You should see it too, Kakashi," he said calmly, drawing himself up to full height in spite of his weary, ravaged condition. "Set your mind at ease. Show him, Morino."

Kakashi stepped forward, watching Iruka for any false moves, and Ibiki held out the container to him with a half turn, nodding.

He went to take it, and as soon as his hand touched the glass, a jolt shot through his body. Now the two men both had hands on the beaker, and the power that pulsed from it confused him momentarily. For a split-second, it seemed to be confirmation that this was the powerful set of objects that they sought.

But the sudden inability to move away gripped him, and when his gaze lifted in dismay, he caught the very same look in Ibiki's dark eyes.

"You'll need to wait here, gentlemen. I can't afford the time for a visit, although I could use the rest. I truthfully do not know where Danzou has gone. I do have some educated guesses, though, and now you've given me the motivation to follow up on them." Even went to the cabinet and opened a black tin, plucking two soldier pills from within and swallowing them down with a glance at Kakashi. The copy-nin was watching him now. He pocketed the tin and strode to Ibiki, plucking his mask back from the frozen fingers. He slapped it back on his face, carelessly adhering it with a shot of chakra in apparent disregard for the effect that would have on his flesh. "Don't go anywhere. Stay as you are."

He turned his back to them before making the handsigns to teleport away to prevent Kakashi from following if he managed to break free, He knew the charmed object wouldn't hold them forever, but it should hold them for a while.

When he appeared in Ugoi's flat, the old man's dead body was there laid out on the kitchen counter to greet him, validating this guess as to where they had gone to complete the procedure undisturbed. His eyes were shut, and Even easily detected that what filled the sockets were the loosely placed discarded orbs from the abducted ninja. They must have had success.

The kitchen table was shoved up at a right angle to the counter, with the sink at the junction point. This second makeshift operating table was empty. Even moved it back to its proper place in the center of the dining area and carefully moved the corpse to the bedroom, settling him on the bed to make the scene appear more natural. There was no reason to advertise the man's part in this. It concerned him that Danzou had not taken these steps. With a flash of chakra he seated the eyes more naturally in the sockets and affixed them so that they would seem to belong there. Certainly, one of the first things anyone coming upon the motionless body would do is lift the lids to check the eyes for signs of reaction.

On impulse, thinking back on Jeninki's eccentricities, he opened the top of the old man's robe. There, on the upper chest, was a slip of paper.

He closed the robe and shook his head as he checked the note. Jeninki was incautious beyond excuse.

The note was in ragged handwriting.

Loyal one: come beyond these walls to our sunset.

It was scarcely cryptic; any pre-genin could figure out their meeting place was located outside the west wall. With swift handsigns, Even shifted by teleport to lurk just outside the old council chamber.

"Iruka, you couldn't wait. I'm touched. This is one marvelous body you've found for me. I must commend you. It will last a good fifty years at least; a hundred if I'm diligent in preventing it from aging. I get a little lazy and forget sometimes. You know, it happens." Jeninki dropped from his perch on the tree-shrouded roof.

He landed and staggered a bit; Even reached out and steadied him automatically.

"Where is Master Danzou?"

"Danz? He's inside, preparing his excuses. We were making a proper doppelganger of this body, set to detonate rather spectacularly when your fellow Konoha nins burst in on it. By then I'll be long gone."

"Gone, but it best not be for long," Danzou growled from the doorway. "Remember that you've vowed to work with me if I made this happen for you."

"Mmm…yes, I did. And I will. But you may have to come to me at first. I need to make sure that my village base is in order before I summon my subjects back." Jeninki was unsteady physically, but quite self-secure otherwise. "And I will be taking Iruka. I'm exercising my jurisdiction in this matter."

"The hell you will. Even, come away from him."

"Take off your mask, Iruka. There's no need. You've proved your worth, and you've proved to yourself that there's no where else you belong. You can come with me now, with a clear conscience. I have that freedom you crave, the limitless life you're primed for. This man has done a fine job turning you into his servant. You've never been in such utter subjugation as you are now. Once I release you, you'll see that."

Even released Jeninki carefully, so as not to make him fall, and went obediently to stand by Danzou.

A gnarled, cold hand clasped the back of his neck in approval. "Excellent, Even. Excellent."

"Means nothing," Jeninki said, unfazed. "I haven't released him from your manipulations yet. It's his knee-jerk reaction now, but not for long."

"It was my duty. You were meant to be an ally of Danzou's, and of Konoha. Resurrecting you per my orders was only to that end," Even said flatly.

"And you picked this exquisitely attractive body accidentally? Not because you planned to reap the benefit of it?"

"It was the first fit male shinobi body I was able to secure unharmed. Nothing else."

"Liar. You're lying to yourself, though. I think you might believe it. But look at me, Iruka, truly look at me. Tell me what you see."

"Stop!" Danzou flung a hand in front of Even's face. "Don't look him directly in the eyes. Ever."

Jeninki snickered. "You're just delaying the inevitable. And may I remind you, that since he came looking, there was a problem? They'll be here soon. Is the doppelganger set-up ready?"

"Of course it is. What is the situation, Even?"

"Kakashi, and then Ibiki, came in to search. I placed them in temporary suspension."

Danzou's amusement leaked out in a short gust of air. "That is impressive. They must be mortified. I am well pleased with your performance, Even. Mission success. And your follow-up with Morino and Hatake was inspired. You've out-shined them all. We're spinning it that way, you know. My excuse. We'll destroy the doppelganger for show as soon as they appear. And we'll have them take us before Tsunade. And we'll tell her it was all an elaborate ruse, to test them and their stodgy skills against the first New ROOT shinobi. And to prove to them that ROOT can once again take its place as the number one black ops force for the village. She will be forced to admit to the defeat of her precious right-hand men. You've beaten them at their own game. Jeninki will hide away and assist us from the shadows. We will rise to dominance and finally keep this village safe in a reasonable, civilized manner."

Even kept Jeninki in his peripheral vision.

"I do have to go. You know where I'll be. You know the way still, don't you , Iruka?"

"I cannot forget."

"Ah, I really like the way you said that." With that, Jeninki leaned back and seemed to dissolve into the shadows, disappearing without a trace.

"Reckless show-off! He shouldn't have enough chakra to walk. But somehow, he managed to leach some off of me while I was preparing the diversion." Danzou stabbed a gnarled finger accusingly in the direction of the departed shinobi.

"Then he wouldn't have had enough to use the eyes on me."

"Don't make that mistake. He is not your Kakashi, a person coping with another's implanted ability. He has full possession of that body, and they are his own eyes and bloodline limit. If he's got the life force for breathing, he's able to use the Uzingan to some degree, and the drain on his chakra is minimal."

"And he has actually agreed to be an ally of Konoha?"

Danzou's face tightened further in wrinkles of dark anger. "Shut up now. It's not your place to question my methods or my motives. You'll know what you need to know when you need to know it. You've no right to hear more."

"I apologize, Danzou-sama," Even lowered his gaze.

"Never mind that now. We'll have company soon. You'll say nothing about Jeninki, understand? Nothing. Let me do all the talking. "

tbc