Leaves in the Wind
Chapter Five: Hitae-Hate
"Where did it go?" Kozue Amaya muttered softly to herself. Her bouncy umber curls dangled around her face as she shifted through her bag. The Jounin never misplaced her Hitae-ate. She distinctly remembered setting it down on the nightstand next to her kunai pouch.
The girl's cobalt eyes lifted from her bag to Iruka's room. She twitched. Last night, when she'd heard Iruka shouting in his nightmare, she'd taken a kunai with her. Was her hitae-ate next to it like it should have been? Her eyes closed in an attempt to call back the fuzzy memory. No, it wasn't. Someone did something with it.
"Good mooorning, Amaya-san," a voice said from the bedroom doorway.
Amaya glanced over her shoulder. "Morning, Kakashi-san." Now, back to what she was doing. The girl let out an exasperated sigh, muttering darkly to herself. Someone hid her Hitae-ate? What a childish thing to even think another would do.
Kakashi walked over and peered over her shoulder into her bag. "What? Looking for something?"
"My hitae-ate," the Jounin admitted with a low growl. She stood up straight, fixing her uniform vest once before turning to Kakashi. "You didn't see it, did you?"
Kakashi blinked. "No."
Amaya crossed her arms, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she thought through the situation.
"Perhaps Iruka-san accidentally moved it when he was cleaning?" Kakashi suggested, looking to the doorway once.
Cleaning couldn't have been chronologically logical unless Iruka had stepped into the room while she was still asleep. It wasn't likely, but Amaya wasn't about to doubt anything. "Where would he have put it?"
Kakashi glanced around the room, eyes landing on the dresser. "The drawers, perhaps?"
This time, it was Amaya's turn to check the doorway. "Kakashi-san, could you…"
Kakashi shut the door quietly and turned the lock.
"Thanks." The girl walked over to Iruka's dresser and pulled open the first few drawers.
She didn't find her hitae-ate in the first drawer of Iruka's dresser. Time dictated she check the second, and while she didn't find it there either, she did manage to unearth photographs instead of pressed white and black shirts. Iruka normally kept things he wanted hidden under locks that would do the Hokage proud, unfortunately for him, he gave grown Jounin too much credit. He had assumed anyone he invited into his home would have the dignity and respect not to root through his personal belongings.
Well, they didn't lack respect for Iruka; they were just looking for something that was lost. Could they help that incriminating items were found in the process? Of course not. Kakashi stepped forward and leaned over her shoulder to see the photos she had picked up. "What's that you've got there?"
Amaya tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Oh, how adorable. These look like family photos. Why would he keep them stored away like that?"
The first of the pile was an older snapshot, one slightly crumpled, though it didn't alter the almost obnoxiously warm mood within it. A rather plain man and woman, both clad in Jounin gear, were kneeling next to a little boy who was undoubtedly Iruka. Iruka was clad in a yukata, dark hair wet and covering his eyes, scar-free and grinning at the camera. In the picture, he leaned against his father's knee while his mother used his head as a balance, propping her chin on her wrist.
She flipped past a few more with the same general feeling of warmth. Scar-free Irukas and his mother and father were on each paper. Then she came upon the first photo of Iruka with his scar. It was a profile taken when the boy hadn't been paying attention. He was staring up at something during sunset, golden light haloing his form. The gash across his face was beginning to scab.
Here was a photo of Iruka's father, grim faced and ashen, holding a scroll in one hand, a kunai in the other. His uniform was soaked in blood. There, a photo of some unknown ninja, grinning at the camera and waving ecstatically. Two more nameless men and women introduced themselves. One picture had a man with blush in his cheeks and a sly grin, hanging off a younger Iruka -who was probably about sixteen by this time. Another had the same man and a golden haired woman this time, both playfully attempting to drag Iruka to the ground.
Amaya stared down at the last picture, attempting to decipher the story it told. "Do you know them, Kakashi-san?"
The silver-haired Jounin shook his head slowly. "Foster parents, perhaps."
"Foster? What happened?" the younger Jounin looked up.
He was silent for a time and then placed his hands in his pockets, regaining his lazy composure. "Lost them both in a battle."
Amaya turned back to the pictures. "That's a shame. He was so young."
"Is that all of them?"
"Yes." The waterfall shinobi set the pictures back where she found them and gently shut the drawer. She'd found something nice but not what she was looking for. "You're Iruka-kun's friend. Where would he place a hitae-ate?"
Kakashi faltered for a moment, and then blinked, looking to her. "When did you two get so familiar?" He raised an eyebrow.
The girl stuttered and blushed. "Kakashi-san, please…. We just had a chance to talk is all, and he just…" A sigh and she turned towards the closet, opening it up. The clothing was very orderly, and there were an extra set of sandals at the bottom. Her eyes traveled to the side and she found a box. Uniform, sandals, hitae-ate right? Amaya kneeled down and lifted the top.
Kakashi was suddenly over her shoulder again. "What is it…Amaya-chan?" He snickered.
"Look for yourself, Kakashi-kun."
They'd finally discovered Amaya's hitae-ate and a wealth of surprising items along with it. A majority of the box contained objects featuring dolphins. There was one very strange statuette of one dolphin flat on top of the other with the inscription 'Try it sometime, dolphin-boy' on its bottom. Various letters were neatly filed away, most addressed to 'dolphin-boy'. A little statue of a fat man smoking a cigar was found; neither ninja knew what to make of that. An old bottle of sake lay discarded at the bottom of the box with the note 'Iruka's medicine: five times daily until drunk' scrawled in a foreign hand. The bottle was half empty.
The very last article unearthed within the small box was a tiny, abused paper bag.
The two Jounin exchanged glances, shot a look towards the door, and proceeded to unroll the top of the bag. She peered in. "Oh my," she laughed lightly, bringing a hand to her lips. "Lots of feathers."
The other Jounin snorted, taking the bag from her and pulling out a feather. He twirled it. "I wonder what he uses these for. He's certainly going through enough trouble storing them away."
Amaya laughed brightly, pulling a second silky black feather from the bag. She stood up and ran it across Kakashi's masked face. "Ne?"
Kakashi pushed her hand away and ran his own feather across her face. "Yes, Iruka-kun must have plenty of fun with these." He batted at Amaya's face again.
"Hey, stop that!" She grinned, bringing a hand up. The girl appeared behind Kakashi, whipping the feather across the back of his neck, "Hiiya!"
Kakashi whirled around, swiping at her as she dodged. His foot stuck out and the waterfall nin tripped over him and landed on the ground. "Oh my. Did I do that?"
"Foul play!"
"No such thing." Kakashi stood over her with a smile and dropped the feather. It fluttered down towards her, and she blew upwards, huffing frantically before it landed on her.
Amaya paused and there was another loud THUD as Kakashi was flipped to the ground. She planted her knee in his chest and stuck the feather under his chin. "Idiot." A grin.
Disregarding the fact that the door had been locked, Iruka nonetheless opened it at the very moment 'Idiot' was ushered. He appeared extremely disheveled -as one would after having been woken up suddenly. His hair was pulled in a quickly done tail, strands sticking out every which way. Hollow eyes flashed when they landed on the feather behind at Kakashi's neck, and both Jounin very nearly died as he shot them his 'Sensei-death glare'. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"I-Iruka-kun!" Amaya scrambled off of Kakashi and quickly stood up. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"
Kakashi sat up, plucking the feather from his hair and studying it. "Morning, Iruka-san. I let myself in."
"I can damn well see that, Kakashi!" An Iruka-sensei this livid was not something Konoha had the misfortune to witness often, thankfully. While he often got 'angry' he wouldn't often show it, unless, of course, it was to punish students. No one had yet seen him 'wrathful' but this may have been it. "Drop the feather. NOW."
The Jounin let go of the feather and it somersaulted to the ground. Kakashi stared blankly at Iruka.
"What else?" He demanded, voice lowering to a dead calm. "What else did you find?"
Kakashi pocketed his hands, looking up as if trying to sift through a batch of memories. "Oh, some pictures and dolphins, nothing of any significance."
Amaya shot Kakashi a look.
They could hear the growl rumble deep in Iruka's throat as he swiftly scooped feathers into his hands, stuffing them into his pants pockets. He swept out of the room as quickly as he'd come in, footsteps loud and hard as he shifted from the living room to bathroom, door slamming and rushing water following.
"Is he normally like this?" The girl whispered.
"Nope."
"Thought so…" Amaya raised a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh. Perhaps she could make it up to him by preparing a breakfast? "Excuse me," the hunter nin slipped past Kakashi to get out the door.
Kakashi followed idlely, noting the sound of running water hitting tan skin and splashing to the tile flooring. He slipped around the corner into the kitchen to find the girl taking out eggs. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to scramble them."
"Wha-?"
She began to crack the brown shells and drop the egg into a bowl. "It's a Takigakure dish that I'm sure you two will like." Or she hoped… Amaya usually cooked to apologize for things at her own home. Perhaps it would lighten Iruka's spirits. What with her going through his things (quite despite herself, she might add) and in combination with the bad dream last night, Iruka-kun was not starting off on the right foot. Not to mention she had a mission to complete.
Amaya pulled the yellow, fluffy eggs off of the stove at the same time she heard the water turn off. With some extra preparation of salt and pepper, then set and served with dishes, the Jounins could hear their Chuunin friend scuffling down the hallway to see what they were up to.
Iruka glared at both through his long brown bangs. His sodden hair was straight and framed his face. Locks brushed against his shoulders. He raised a brow critically at the food. "Thank you, Amaya-san. Please forgive my outburst." The sensei bowed his head and a polite smile was there as he straightened. "It was my fault for being careless. I should have expressed my wishes to you regarding personal belongings earlier."
That smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
Amaya pointed at Kakashi. "It was his idea."
"Oh, that was professional, Amaya-chan."
Iruka's laughter chilled Amaya and slightly unnerved Kakashi. He sat down on his couch, plate in the lame hand, fork in the other. "It's ok, Amaya-chan." There was a pause he then an added, "Itadakimasu."
Iruka and Amaya ate in silence. Kakashi had politely passed up the offer, proclaiming that he'd already gotten something to eat. However, as the meal continued, Iruka seemed to relax a bit more, and Amaya deemed her plan a success. A way to a man's heart, naturally, was through his stomach. The Jounin smiled at him and cleared the plates, trying to be as helpful and polite as she could be. Despite this newfound comfort, Amaya remained silent, waiting for her host to open up the conversation on his own terms.
"It was an interesting dish," Iruka finally offered. "Would you mind parting with the recipe?"
"Oh, of course, it's very simple." The Jounin nodded and pulled out a slip of paper and charcoal stick from her pouch. She quickly jotted down a little list of instructions and pocketed her mark, then slid the paper to the Chuunin. "But it's a secret between you and me, yes Iruka-kun?" she winked, pointing to an ingredient and then sitting back in her chair.
He nodded, tucking the paper away in his Chuunin vest. "Of course." The man offered her a weak smile. "Again, Amaya-san, please disregard my outburst. I've been feeling ill as of late." And ill tempered.
"It's fine," Amaya waved a dismissive hand, thankful for the speech that now graced the room. Now she could get on to business. "Iruka-kun, what do you know about my target?"
A light blush graced Iruka's cheeks. "Nothing." Neither Jounin had divulged any information to him, only the order that he was to be part of their team. "I would suggest I be taken off this mission before you speak any more, but what's done is done, unfortunately, and as this was directly from the Hokage," which he doubted that there wasn't some influence on the old man's decision, "there can be no changes." Iruka met her gaze.
She nodded, glancing to Kakashi who offered no response but his usual lazy gaze. Her blue eyes flickered back. "His name is Kekemoro Suien, a very powerful master of water jutsu." She looked down at her hands and twiddled her thumbs as she spoke. "He attempted an assassination of our leader and tried to steal the Hero water. We were able to stop him but not before he escaped. We've determined that he's run south to somewhere near this area under the disguise of a common merchant. I have reason to believe he is working with or for someone even more powerful than himself, but I'm not sure who. My village pooled their resources, trained, and supplied me for his pursuit."
Amaya glanced up at the Konoha nins, attempting to redeem herself with her next words. "I wouldn't normally ask for assistance with my mission, but… Kekemoro Suien is my former sensei, and I am unable to defeat him on my own."
"I understand." A thoughtful pause was given before Iruka continued. "I'm afraid all I can offer is my knowledge and a limited reserve of jutsu. I specialize in Henge no jutsu and Bunshin no jutsu but-"
"Perfect," Kakashi interrupted, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "We can leave on the trail by cover of night. The moon is nearly full, but we should be fine."
Amaya smiled. "Thank you."
Iruka automatically opened his mouth to counter Kakashi's comment but he closed it at Amaya's thanks. He hadn't been on a real mission in a while but that didn't overshadow his status as a Chuunin.
Chuunin were ninja. Ninjas killed.
---
Leaving Konoha went relatively smoothly. Their supplies were packed for seven days, though they expected this would only take five. The Konoha shinobi wore their uniforms as they usually did, however, the waterfall hunter nin had put on the black cloak and mask, flipping up the hood in the traditional manor. Upon attempting to exit through the front gates, there was an instance where the blonde boy, Uzumaki Naruto, appeared to scold both of his senseis for leaving without a proper good-bye. It took much urging and threatening to get Naruto to behave and go back into the village.
Their general direction was to the southwest towards the southern region of the country of wind. Amaya had kept in contact with a team of Jounin trackers from Taki right up until the time she entered Konoha village. Her information was accurate enough to provide a direction and an awareness of what was to come.
It wasn't far into their travel, however, before they discovered they were on the right trail. "Oh, god…" Amaya's eyes widened a fraction. In an effort to save time, they took a shortcut through open woods to a merchants trail. The moonlight revealed a clearing ahead of them, and now here they stood, looking upon absolute devastation. Trees were uprooted from the ground and cast to the side. Mud slicked the entire area, making it hard to walk, and at the end of the long trail of disaster, there was a merchant caravan, goods strewn in its wake.
The three ninjas took in the surroundings and proceeded with caution. "Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu," Kakashi said softly. "But it can't be performed without a large body of water around." Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu, or otherwise known as Water Explosion Technique, was a very powerful jutsu that created a powerful and devastating wave of water and propelled it towards the enemy. The only problem was that there was no significant body of water close enough to create the wave. The trail did follow the general curve of a river, but it was too far off for the jutsu to be performed.
"No." Amaya said, gazing down the slope of mud that had been created by the attack. "In combination with Suishouha it can be done. It takes a tremendous reserve of chakara, but Suien-sensei is capable of it." Amaya slid easily down a mud-slicked slope, blue eyes centered on something specific. "There's…something ahead. Come on."
The moonlight outstretched its silver fingers as the three shinobi approached the unidentifiable forms. They stopped their trek before a set of three bodies, contorted and tangled with one another -two males, one female, and all merchants from Konoha judging by their clothing. Amaya stooped down by them and reached out, touching the nearest body. "Rigor mortis. Stiff as stone," she informed, pulling back her hand and letting out a deep sigh.
Kakashi gazed around. "Yeah, this attack is fresh. It must have occurred just this morning."
"Damn," Amaya stood up straight. "He knows we've made our move," which could only mean her Takigakure Jounin comrades had made a mistake. Did Suien find them or did he merely pick up a hint? This wasn't good.
After searching the area for more clues that did not exist, they continued their journey for hours more at a quickened pace, Amaya at the lead, then Kakashi, then Iruka. The night began to wane, and they finally decided to stop their rigorous hunt just long enough to eat food and catch a few hours of sleep before the sun peeked too far over the horizon. They would continue their pursuit through the day time, rest in the evening, and hopefully by then they would have covered enough ground to set themselves up for a night strike; if, that is, everything went smoothly. It never did.
The three sat down on the spongy grass, panting for breath. "Hey," Kakashi raised a hand to catch their attention. "I'll look out, you two catch some rest." He shrugged off his pack and pulled out two blankets, tossing them to his companions. His eye glanced to Iruka once. It had been a long time since the Chuunin was sent on a mission, and it was apparent to experienced Jounin. Kakashi smiled at him when he collected a short glare for his staring. Iruka seemed to be doing well enough. He shifted forward, placing his elbows on his knees.
Amaya leaned against the base of a tree, curling up with the brown blanket fit for camouflage. Her two companions heard a soft sigh. Silence lulled through the group. It wasn't an unusual occurrence, given that they were all ninja, but this time, something felt tense about it. Unsettling.
"We're being played." A sudden comment from the Chuunin.
Kakashi suddenly looked up.
Amaya shifted and turned her head to peer at Iruka. "What?"
Iruka plucked a blade of grass, twirling it between his fingers, apparently analyzing the movement. "Look at the way this man is moving; if he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't make his direction so obvious. Naturally he speeds up when we leave Konoha in pursuit. I want to make a point here; he probably has a way of being informed on higher level ninja activities, which confirms Amaya's suspicion that he's aware of us." The Chuunin smiled at her. "Another point I need to make: since he is masquerading as a merchant and only the Takigakure villagers and us know his face, what reason would he have to stay out of a business capital among nations? He'd have no reason for lingering outside of Konoha's forest. Random attacks on passing caravans wouldn't call out the attention he wants. The man obviously has higher motives than merely escaping our pursuit."
The Chuunin plucked another blade of grass and alternated between the two. "I'm going to predict that when we slow, he slows. When we stop, he'll stop. When we speed, he'll speed. He's playing with us. Just waiting to wear us down." Iruka frowned. "Of course, I have nothing to prove any of this. It's speculation. However, if he truly wanted to disappear, he wouldn't be presenting himself like this…unless he wants this confrontation." The sensei paused. "He wants it, but he wants to be amused before he confronts us."
Both blades fell. "What I'm trying to get to is this- at this rate, we won't catch him. He'll lead us as far as Sand Country and beyond for as long as we're willing to move. He'll match our pace evenly and as two parallel lines never intersect, two parallel speeds won't collide." Iruka glanced at both in turn. "That's my assessment."
"I see…" Kakashi sighed and sat back. Gaze lifted to the trees above. "Then he'll double back on his own time and strike while we're resting. Kekemoro Suien will try to make the first move."
Amaya mumbled something incoherently and then shifted uncomfortably. "Should we sit still for a day to throw off his calculations?" She finally sat up, letting the blanket slide off of her shoulders. "Or we can set a trap for him?"
"No…" Iruka's umber gaze was still on the twirling blade of glass. "He's watching us. Somehow. I don't know, I feel it. I know it. And he'll strike us when he wants to, not when we're expecting him. This man is…like a child…he might let us strike first, just to humor him, but he'll run. And he'll keep running." Iruka was running a finger across his scar as he spoke. "Or he might simply strike when we're resting…." The stroking stopped as he lifted his gaze to the skies. "But if a child gets ignored completely…"
"They'll cry for attention," Kakashi finished. "Mm." The Jounin crossed his arms and let out a weary sigh, contemplating over possible strategy and consequences for actions.
The accuracy Iruka had in describing Suien unnerved Amaya. He'd only been following him for one day and had been able to decipher a large part of her sensei's motives. A child? She'd never thought of him in that way, but the similarity was uncanny. A school teacher might have been precisely what they needed for this mission. Amaya's eyes crossed over to Kakashi. Interesting choice he'd made… "Well, how do you capture a prankster, Iruka-kun?" Her attention had shifted again.
"Being a former terror myself, it's easier than it should be. Ignore him. Stop moving. He'll either keep going because he doesn't care, or, he'll eventually get angry and try to provoke us. If provoking doesn't work, he'll eventually try to hit. It's similar to a siege; all we may have to do is wait." Iruka pointed to Kakashi. "Or, trick him. Send one of us out to catch him and use the others as decoy. Leave a doppelganger, hope he doesn't notice. There are many options in dealing with this type of person." How many times had he been unfortunate enough to chase after Naruto? Far too many.
"Let's not use more energy than necessary," Kakashi said, lifting a thumb into the air. "We'll wait patiently for a day, maybe a day and a half. If he doesn't show himself then, we'll use doppelgangers as decoys and back him into a corner. Does that sound fine, Amaya-chan?"
"Yes." She nodded, thankful that she'd gone to Konoha for help. It would have been impossible to complete this mission by herself. The girl settled down again, now a bit surer of her situation. Her body language gained a bit of confidence.
Iruka laughed, allowing himself to fall backwards and confront the ground. "You're going to owe me for this, Kakashi-san, for all the complaints I'll have to deal with from my classes. They've all taken to calling Ebisu-sensei 'Closet pervert'."
Kakashi laughed lightly, shaking his head. Naruto had a tendency to name things, and unfortunately, it stuck. "Closet pervert, ne? Sounds relatively appropriate."
"I'll tell him you said that."
The Jounin grinned at Iruka, imagining the look on Ebisu's face. Ebisu and Kakashi got along pretty well on the level of respect for one another. Ebisu was a very advanced ninja indeed; however, he was a little… strange on a level that Kakashi couldn't think of their relationship past good acquaintances.
The Jounin's ear pricked up, and he glanced towards Amaya. Her breathing had regulated. "Mm, Iruka-san, how is your arm doing?" This question was not meant in a degrading way, as his prior, teasing actions had been.
"Fine." His Chuunin teammate was running his left hand over the patch of grass at his side, occasionally flicking at individual pieces.
"Good," Kakashi said, letting out a yawn. He stretched languidly and then settled back into his place. The copy-nin opened up his bag and pulled out a canteen, first offering it to Iruka, who took it with silent thanks, taking a deep, but short swig.
Again, Iruka flopped back as the canteen was returned to expectant hands. His intentions to sleep were obvious.
A shifting above their heads made them suddenly alert, heart pounding in their chests. Could it be that Suien had come already? It would have been quite a trick. The Jounin threw a kunai above him and it thwanged as it lodged into a branch. A bird squawked and flapped its wings heatedly as it took off, leaving a black feather pinned in place.
"It's strange, the amount of birds near Konoha this year. They don't normally show before next month." Kakashi stood up, plucking the kunai out of the tree and pocketing it again. The black feather wafted down to Iruka.
Iruka froze, gazing upward as the black feather made a silent decent. It drifted to the right, teetered on a breath of wind, and landed on his chest. Iruka was silent, eyes widening a fraction as he stared. It lay there, just as still as the Chuunin. Iruka's hands twitched at his sides. He wouldn't react…regardless of the pain he was feeling. His heart was beating too fast… "Hggn."
Kakashi appeared standing over the ninja. "What is it? You're face is blanched." He knelt at Iruka's side and plucked the feather from the man's chest. He looked at it once, and then flicked it to the side. "Just a bird."
Iruka inhaled and held it before letting it out in a half-gasp. His breathing transgressed into coughing. "It's nothing."
Kakashi made Iruka sit up as the coughing persisted. He placed a hand on the Chuunin's back and patted lightly. "It doesn't seem like nothing, Iruka-san."
"Still recovering." Iruka muttered hoarsely. He squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to block out the image of the feather…the light, oily sheen of the raven's feather, glinting in the moonlight… Those reflected colors, unnaturally glossed blue, purple, green…
Kakashi sat with his companion, and then finally lowered his hand when the coughing subsided. "Keep your cool," he reminded, "and you'll be fine."
"No need to tell me that, Kakashi." Realizing his error and blushing profusely, Iruka immediately added a 'san'.
"Ha, you're slipping." He pushed Iruka's forehead with his index finger, then relaxed, sitting back in the grass.
"I'm going to blame your insolence for that."
The Jounin chuckled and folded his arms across his chest. "My mistake, Iruka-kun."
Iruka said nothing in response. In fact, regardless of what Kakashi could have said, he wouldn't have retorted. He was asleep.
"He's quick to fall over," Kakashi mused, leaning his head forward and falling into a light doze. He'd let his body rest, but his mind was alert.
A cool breeze brushed through the trees, picking up stray leaves and eventually the feather. It fluttered past Kakashi's head into the darkness, never to be seen nor mentioned again. Night wore on.
---
'-will fly with-'
Rustling leaves and compressed grasses disturbed the silence.
'-birds are-'
A kunai lay glinting among shadows.
'-will fly-'
An outline of a man was thrashing against an unseen presence.
'-freedom-'
Iruka could see it all before darkness rushed to engulf his vision, freezing him in one moment of time and space.
Finally…haunting whispers:
'…freedom…'
Piercing screams.
---
"Iruka-kun!"
"Iruka-san!" The earth below the Chuunin was quaking violently. A roar of blood filled his ears. There was an extreme pain in his chest that made breathing laborious. "IRUKA-SAN!" Someone distant was shouting his name. Someone was after him. Some replication of an ally was hunting him down, tearing his name at the air. The darkness began to consume Iruka. He thrashed, struggling to save his own life. His voice… where was his voice? Iruka opened his mouth to shout, but no sound came forth. Someone else was screaming. Someone else's voice! Iruka tried again, squeezing his eyes tightly against the pain in his chest, throwing his fists at something above him.
"Iruka-kun! Wake up! It's only a nightmare!" A desperate plea. The voices were getting closer to him. Did he know them? There was a sharp smack of pain across his face and his eyes leapt open, crazed and tear-filled. The screams stopped abruptly as he gasped. A swimming image of Kakashi and Amaya met him. Where was he? It was cold and grey. Was it a layer of hell, a purgatory? "Iruka-kun," Amaya pleaded, hand pulling away from the Chuunin. "I'm so sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you."
God made the ground stop quaking and Kakashi lifted his firm hands from shoulders, breathing heavily. "Iruka-san," Kakashi swallowed hard, hands shaking against his will. "Iruka-san, say something."
The air suddenly flooded Iruka's lungs and his heart began to slow. He vaguely noted he was covered in cold sweat. "Hnn-?" His entire body shook.
"Iruka-san…" Kakashi started again, waiting for his friend to come around a bit more before continuing. "You had a nightmare. You nearly woke the dead, thrashing and shouting like that."
He wasn't quite sure how to react to this, so he merely stared at them. The light of self-awareness slowly came back to his eyes.
Kakashi disappeared from Iruka's line of vision. Amaya leaned over him, mask still in place. It'd taken a moment to realize who she was, and the situation slowly sank in when the capacity to comprehend events returned to his mind. "Iruka-kun, are you ok?"
"Y-yeah…" He cringed, vision blurring. "Fly…flying…"
"Flying?" The hunter nin reached out and shifted Iruka's hitae-ate. The back of her hand pressed against his head. "Kakashi-kun, he's burning up. Get me some water."
A short 'ok' came and Iruka felt his head get pulled forward so that the headband could be removed. It was quickly replaced with a cool, damp cloth.
Amaya clicked her tongue and stroked Iruka's hair. "Shh, shh, calm down. You're body is trembling. It must have been real bad this time."
Iruka attempted to knock her hand away, turning his head to the side, cheek pressed against the dry earth. He closed his eyes. "You don't see them flying?"
She shook her head slowly, taking her hand away from him. "No. There wasn't anything flying, Iruka-kun."
"That...is incorrect..." Iruka breathed. "They are flying."
Amaya blinked, and Kakashi came back into his range of vision. The Konoha shinobi glanced up at the sky and back at Iruka. "Who is flying?"
"…rd eyes…"
"Red eyes?" Kakashi asked.
"No, I think he said 'bird eyes'." Amaya reached out and stroked Iruka's hair once more. "Iruka-kun, it was a bad dream. You're ok now."
The Chuunin's eyes rolled up into his head and the man's body slackened. His breathing instantly fell into rhythmic inhaling and exhaling.
"Iruka-kun?" Amaya turned his head towards her and she leaned closer. "Iruka-kun?"
"He's passed out," Kakashi said with a soft sigh, lifting Iruka's eye lid and watching the pupil expand and contract. He let go. "Strange. He's had some interesting run-ins as of late."
"Perhaps it's stress, then…" The girl took her hand back, grabbed his blanket, and draped it over the Chuunin. "He did this last night as well. I nearly slit his throat over it." Quite on accident, she might have added. "Oh, Iruka-kun…"