Chapter 5: Shh! My Secret Reunion with Betrayal, Death and My Other Two BF's!

When you love someone, you'd think you could give up breathing for him/her… But face it, air is needed by everyone. Just like comfort, if you can't find any in the relationship you're in right now, I'd bail any minute. If you revolt a person so much you almost gag at his/her thought, but your dreams say otherwise? I'd say, kiss her/him, either you don't feel anything for him/her… Or this hate-hate fling could turn into one romantic adventure! - ?

Kotetsu lifted the frail girl up from the bed; slowly they made their way to the bathroom. Izumo just entered the room, as he saw this he asked, "What happened to her? Is everything alright?"

Kotetsu struggled with the door, Izumo helped him as he said with a simple tone, "I told her Kakashi-sempai was here and then she fainted."

"I thought she hated him? So, she's still swooning over him…" Izumo said with a relaxed tone in his voice, as Kotetsu placed the half awakened kunoichi near the toilet. The icy tiles felt comforting to her burning skin as it cooled her slightly. Kotetsu knelt besides her to check her temperature,

"What are you talking about? I thought she used to date Iruka?"

She lifted the seat and hung over it slightly, Izumo spoke up, "Nobody told you? She used him as a decoy to make Kakashi jealous, and if I may add it worked like a charm."

"Yeah, but… She broke his heart, didn't she?"

"Right, but that was afterwards. Eventually she broke both their hearts, that's why they can't stand each other, they're still jealous at on another. And angry." Izumo said, Zaku grunted as her voice faltered, "You guys, I'm right over here… I can hear everything you say!"

Both men gulped and shame hung from their heads, she looked disconsolate at the floor as both of the guys started feeling guilty. Kotetsu knelt besides her and hugged her loosely. "You're not ready to see him, are you?" Izumo said as he lent against a wall.

"I broke their hearts, just like you said! I'd understand if he'd never forgive me… I'm such an ignorant, lewd coward!" She was already on her knees as she grabbed her face and shook her head. Tears slipped though her fingers as her cries were loud enough to hear in the Hokage's hospital office.

Six ears perked up, two men faced the door as one's head was too heavy to lift. Kakashi mumbled under his breath as he faced the table, "She hates my guts…"

"I'm still in love with him Izumo… That's the whole problem! I-I, I just can't face him right now…" she struggled to get to her feet, Kotetsu's arms slipped away from her as he still sat on the floor.

"You're both adults now! Get over it!" Izumo yelled at her back.

Kakashi's nerves got him cold feet,

"I can't do this, I got to go." Before he could stand up completely Ibiki's hand shot up and grabbed his vest, "Bail out now, and you'll never see her again."

Kakashi sat down slowly as Ibiki spoke further, "Your heart isn't the only one she broke, she wasn't meant to go on that mission Kakashi."

"S-sorry? What do you mean? She told me she earned it."

The Hokage placed his pipe on the table, "Sonny, she never passed her psych-test. That means she was too emotionally unstable to become an interrogation nin and to prove us she could become one, she stole the mission and infiltrated perfectly into the village." The old man sighed, "Only to get discovered by a nuke-nin, from Konoha."

Ibiki added, "The tables turned on her and she grabbed the wrong end of the rope. When she got interrogated she didn't slip any important information, though we're not worried about that, we're worried more about her own being."

"Did I hit you too hard? I didn't break your nose did I?" Izumo said whilst Kotetsu bent over and held his nose closed,

"I'm fine, weally… Let's just get this ovel with."

Izumo nodded and opened the door, in a flash his calm features changed into a raging storm, "Hokage-sama! Haruno-san escaped, she's gone!"

"What?! Where did she go?!" Ibiki yelled, "We need to find her, quick!"

"Ibiki," the Hokage said as he raised his hand and beckoned him to sit down, "let her be."

"But she's an emotional wreck! Who knows what she's capable of?!" he screamed, the Hokage merely smiled,

"That's exactly why we need to let her go."

'Damn Jounin uniform! I always hated these things, feels like I'm wearing pyjamas!' the girl thought to her self. She straightened out her clothes and mask as she exited the building. She tucked in her hair as she prepared herself for broad daylight, the public. The moment she stepped out of the building and on the streets, the loud voices of happy children sounded like music to her ears. People passing by glanced at her hitae-aite and smiled, she finally felt respected again. Children running around her in circles screaming,

"When I grow up, I wanna be a Jounin too!" Those words made her smile, not that they could see it but her eyes said enough.

"Naruto, how many times have I told you to take exams seriously?"

The boy pouted and looked away, "Pfft, I don't care about exams, I don't need those to become the next Hokage!"

Iruka's frown softened, slowly a smile formed on his lips. He looked at the busy street and said, "One day Naruto, you will become a great ninja. But let's just see about that Hokage thing." His glance wandered towards the ramen booth as a woman, perhaps, in an oversized jounin uniform stepped into the booth. Naruto's eyes caught a glance of the young lady as well for the place she entered was Ichiraku Ramen. His stomach roared as he grabbed his former sensei's hand, "Come on sensei, I'm hungry!"

"Please Naruto! We were here 3 hours ago, and I'm beat and broke!" the man said. Naruto still dragged the man into the booth and placed him on a seat as he took one of his own, "Stop your whining Iruka-sensei!"

"My whining?! I worked a 14-hour shift, you're the lazy one!"

"I didn't say anything about lazy! You're just getting old!" the boy said, a sly smirk decorated his features.

"Naruto, I'm 25, I couldn't be any better!" the young man said as he pointed at his chest. Their loud conversation was interrupted by a simple cough, the male attention was caught by the young lady in the corner, Iruka immediately apologised,

"Oh, I'm sorry. I hope we didn't interrupt your meal…"

"You didn't, as a drink does not count for a meal." She said, still avoiding his gaze by looking straight ahead, she felt the kid's eyes switch between the adults.

"Isn't it quite early to be drinking?" the young man said.

"It's always five o' clock somewhere…" she replied before taking a sip of her sake. Her mask hung loose around her neck as her pale blue hair pulled the man's attention, sticking out from her hood.

As the man observed the child gobbling his soup, his eyes occasionally slipped towards the young woman's hair. His gaze seemed to be noticed not only by the young woman, but also by the child. He looked back and forth between the two adults and one could see him think quite hard. Eventually he turned to the woman and said, "Hey miss, you look familiar! Do I know you from somewhere?!"

Iruka almost fell from his seat, "Naruto, show some respect, could you?" He straightened himself as he turned to the young woman.

"I apologise for his behaviour miss," he tried to speak but his words trailed off as he caught a glance of her aura. Warm and loving yet, somehow dark? It seemed deeply scarred, unfamiliar.

"If you're trying to find out my name, keep fishing." She said unstirred as another sip of sake finished her sentence. Naruto frowned deeply, "I still want to know why you look so familiar!"

Iruka sighed, never will the boy change, he thought. The woman took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "You know me of many, yet you know me best of none…"

As her voice resounded within Iruka's mind, he got one step closer to plucking her name from the tip of his tongue. Was it the tension, or overwhelming sensation that caused him to stammer?

Busy with putting back her mask, her pale blue hair stuck out at various places as she tried to tuck it in.

"Blue hair huh? That's quite rare," Naruto said as the lady just nodded, barely glancing at them. He continued, "just like pink hair…"

Iruka wondered where Naruto was heading with his questions as he was so, laid back… "Tell me, and please be honest," Naruto actually seemed quite cool, well, until he started talking again, "You're Sakura's big sister, right?!"

"Never had I regretted loving her, I regretted the fact that I wasn't there when she needed me. That I didn't take her seriously when she told me her father threatened to kill her, until I saw it with my own eyes. I regretted not reading the letter she left for me, and taking everything for granted. I always thought that she would be in my arms again the moment she came home, but after a few years I started to worry IF she would come home. And if she would come home, would she come to me? Or would she seek refuge elsewhere?"

Chapter 6: Shh! My Secret Identity Is Supposed To Be Secret!

I've been away so long, but even her generation recognised me. Am I safe no where? I never meant to hurt anybody, but sometimes it's better to play pretend. Let's just hope he doesn't love me anymore, that'll safe me so much trouble. I can't imagine spending my life with him, it would be horrific. I'd kill myself if he'd try anything with me.

"You're Sakura's big sister right!" Naruto said as he pointed at her. Her eyes widened in shock, she looked up at the man sitting behind Naruto. Their eyes were the same, shocked and surprised. Time seemed to be slowed down. Iruka's face lit up as he recognised her, it had been six years so it's no surprise she had changed so much, as did he. Naruto was still pointing at her, waiting for an answer. What seemed to be minutes happened at the speed of light, she fixed her mask and hair as she turned around. Not standing up, but almost jumping from her stool, she made her way into the crowd and onto the roof across the street. Iruka followed leaving poor Naruto at the booth to pay the bill.

"Damn you Iruka-sensei! I'll get you for this!", he swung his fist at the long gone man before turning to the man behind the counter.

"Put it on the tab please?" He said with his cheesy trademark smile.

"Hey! Wait up! Please?!" Iruka yelled, "Leave me alone!" Her voice echoed over the rooftops, as her feet barely touched the tiles she ran with great speed. The tiles cracked in five equal parts as contact between them and her feet broke, 'Chakra control in her feet to the precision? Plus blue hair!' Iruka's breathing and heartbeat quickened, not because of the chase itself, but because of who he was chasing. He collected his breath for one last yell, "Yaezakura?!"

The echoes through the air reached her ears, he caught her from behind in a figure of speech. She glanced back at him only once, but even that slightest distraction, was enough. Her foot slipped off the tiles as her chakra got unbalanced, the sky high roof seemed her last path to destiny. Was she to fall down a 7-story-building and let it be her last? She tipped over the edge, whilst grabbing the air, her destiny seemed set. Only, Iruka wasn't ready to accept her death, all over again.

He jumped after her with great determination, as he met her in mid air he grabbed and held her tight. Turning around in mid-air was the difficult part, as he switched sides with her he switched the odds of dying as well. Not only did she face the ground and death coming closer, she faced someone else she had cheated on before as well. A tear escaped from both of her eyes whilst he faintly smiled. Deep from the inside she wished that things didn't have to come this far. Seconds seemed to be hours as they passed, they pulled each other closer praying for the best. She whispered,

"Hold on to me."

His eyes were closed shut as his grip tightened. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a very irregularly shaped kunai. Only two floors left as she threw it at a large billboard at the top of a building. One floor left.

They had stopped moving, or did only he? Flashes returned to him, he slowly felt her slip away from his arms towards the ground. He looked around, he stood upon a rooftop across the building they fell from. Afraid she had fallen to her death, he ran towards the edge of the rooftop. Frantically he looked around searching as he yelled her name,

"Zaku? Zaku?!"

His eyes weren't yet ready to see the scene that displayed in the alley, "Zaku... I can't believe you're gone, again..."

Whilst breaking inside, he looked down upon the alley, clean empty, not a body to be seen.

He turned around, his head hung low as he walked the crowded streets. People bumping into each other as they tried to make their way on the main road, just like him they had to face their setbacks that complicated their miserable lives even more. As he struggled to stay on his own feet he almost got knocked over. He had lost his attention once again as he thought about how she reached inside of him, and ripped his heart out all over. Without even coming closer than 3 feet. He kept walking towards somewhere, halfway he stopped and closed his eyes and imagined her face and her voice once more. He called to her in his mind, his soul yearned for her as it screamed her name. A sudden flash of memories overwhelmed him as 120 lbs pushed him to the ground and pinned him there. He opened his eyes, thinking he was still remembering hers, he whispered her name.

"Zaku?" he caressed the cheek in front of him. Pale blue hair sticking out of everywhere.

The eyes were hers, and equally enervated as they bore into his. As she whispered out his name, he thought he heard her whimper.

"What's wrong?" he whispered so damn gently, as if her ears were made of glass so fragile. A tear escaped her eyes, she shook her head and muttered 'no'. Trying to stand, she put her hand on the ground to push herself up but felt herself being held back, held close. She looked down at her hand, gently but firm he had grabbed it. She looked him in the eye, confused. He looked her in the eyes, forsaken.

"I can't do this..." she whispered. Iruka's desperate yells could be heard from the distance, both looked into his direction yet only she jumped to flee. Kakashi felt her slip away once more, not again would he let this happen. 'I'm not letting her escape once more...' his mind spoke to him. He followed her in her steps so precisely, the people on the street made way for the sudden chase. He saw her running so fast, but to where?

"So you finally paid for yourself huh? It's time Iruka-sensei bailed out on you for once…"

Naruto huffed, "Very funny Shikamaru, I was broke!"

As Shikamaru laughed at the pouting Genin, he noticed a green flash running over the rooftop across the street. Only to be followed by two more, "Shikamaru, what are you looking-"

"Shh Naruto, follow me." the genius said as he jumped off.

"Not you too Shika!"

Iruka checked the corner of his eye again, it seems his ex-student caught up with him, "Shikamaru, how nice to see you."

"Hn, what seems to be the problem?"

Iruka couldn't come straight forward in a situation like this, he had to think of something quick.

"We're pursuing a fugitive, she has to be caught and brought in unharmed!"

Shikamaru nodded, "Consider it done, Naruto and I will cut her off short. Try to lead her to the school, it should give both of us enough time."

Iruka nodded, he hoped Kakashi had heard it as well.

"Why won't they stop? Why won't they leave me alone?!" She zigzagged from roof to balcony, the ninja streets. She looked back quickly, "Zaku! I just want to talk!"

Kakashi tried to pick up his pace, but not even then was he coming closer. Slowly but surely Iruka caught up to him, "Kakashi, try to-"

"I heard, lead her to the school."

He tried to dismiss his thoughts about Iruka still not being over Zaku, he also tried to dismiss those thoughts about himself. His attempts were quite futile, painful memories returned, the feelings were unchanged. He shook his head, as he noticed she was making a left turn, he threw a kunai in her direction. It landed straight in the wall in front of her, forcing the kunoichi to stop in her tracks. She looked up in their direction and made a full 180. She was now heading towards the school, right into the trap of the boys.

Naruto was hiding everywhere, he looked at the shrubs in front of the open gate. Shikamaru raised his thumb, shook his hand and took it down. Naruto nodded and listened closely, he heard light footsteps running through the street. They skidded to a halt as the owner saw the roadblock of 30 feet high. They picked up their pace and ran into the schoolyard. Shikamaru saw it was their target, he also saw the frightened look in her eyes. The look that doesn't know what it's doing, improvising along the way. The look, hoping it'll keep her alive, just for now. Her panting was heard throughout the yard, as well as her heartbeat. She pulled back her hoodie and mask, she gasped sharply and fell to her knees. Her panting slowly started to sound like sobs, in which she put no effort to mute.

'She must know we're here.' Shika thought to himself, he picked a berry from the bush and threw it towards her. Naruto nodded and charged in, with all his clones. "Take this you, villain!" he yelled as they jumped in, ready to pound her. Close around the corner Kakashi was followed by Iruka into the schoolyard. They ran into the scene, Yeazakura caught by Shika's shadow manipulation Jutsu while Naruto prepared a Jutsu with his clones.

"We got her sensei! Right where we wanted!" he yelled as he surrounded her, "Naruto Ninpocho; Shihou Hapou Shuriken no Maki!"

Iruka gasped,

"Naruto, yamero!"

Her eyes widened, before they closed shut.