Leaves in the Wind

Chapter Eight: Snap, Crackle, Pop

Amaya's blue eyes flickered open to a newborn evening light. Iruka had left her to get his new scroll only an hour and a half ago. She shifted on Iruka's futon and yawned, quite content with the atmosphere. The sensei's bedroom lent a casual and uneventful feeling to the air, something that was often considered a treat to Ninja like her. She'd once again woken up prematurely for no apparent reason. The girl sat up, letting the blanket fall away from her shoulders.

Her hand reached over and grabbed the ribbon she used to pull back her hair. She set it into a bun and then crawled out of the bed. Amaya yawned and stretched, then changed into her uniform. Still, something wasn't quite right, but she couldn't place her finger on what it was. This, of course, merited a kunai in hand.

This time it wasn't noise that had awoken her. Nor was it a shift in the lighting. It was just… an odd sensation of sudden paranoia. Perhaps she'd dreamt something up and couldn't quite remember what the dream was. Amaya pushed open the bedroom door and walked down the short hall, glancing in the bathroom as she went. It was just as they had left it. She peered into the living room, nothing there, and then in the kitchen.

"Huh…" She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Amaya felt stronger now. Her chakara was building up to normal levels, what with the food and the rest, so it wasn't a fluctuation in her own power that had awoken her. Amaya walked into the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator, taking out a bottle of water and untwisting the cap. She paused with the liquid at her lips, and then drank it.

A sigh. Iruka wasn't back yet. It didn't take that long to buy something, but perhaps he ran into some other errand. Her ear pricked up and she glanced towards the door. Someone was coming back. Amaya sensed that it was Iruka.

The handle jiggled as the key was slipped into the lock and the door handle turned. Amaya's eyes widened and with a gasp, she threw herself at the door, pinning it in place. "Iruka-kun! Don't open the door!" She flipped the kunai into her right hand and held it up defensively.

"Amaya-chan? What's-"

"There's an explosive tag pasted across the door and the frame." Her finger edged at the corner of the piece of paper, but it had been securely glued down in place. "It won't come off."

Iruka was staring at his door as though it'd been possessed by a legendary demon. "….Why?"

"I didn't put it there!" Amaya snapped, knowing full well what his tone meant. "That's the problem."

"Alright, uh. Hold on."

"Iruka-kun?" Amaya called through the door. No response. "Iruka-kun, what are you doing?"

A muffled cry of irritation issued from the living room window, and Amaya's head whipped around to see Iruka at the ledge. Fingers worked at the frame-

"Iruka- Wait!"

-and he ripped the window upwards. Glass was shattered by fire as an explosive tag was detonated, propelling with significant force through the apartment. Pictures and scrolls leapt into flame with roaring heat.

"Suiton Suijinheki!" A blast of water parried the explosion and smoke, immediately suffocating the flames. Amaya lowered her hand from her mouth. The tag had knocked out a fair chunk of Iruka's wall, along with all of his possessions in that area. The rest of the room was three inches under water, but at least it wasn't on fire. She ran over to the hole in the wall, water splashing at her feet as she did so. They were on the fourth level of the building. "Iruka-kun!" She stuck her head out into the open to see the Chuunin clinging to the side of the building using his chakara. A fairly large audience was gathered in the street below them, looking up with wide eyes. "Iruka-kun, are you ok? Did you get burned?!"

Luckily for Iruka, he was used to dealing with pranks. A bit of his ponytail had been singed off and his right cheek was blackened. "Well…not as bad as I could have been…" He flipped, landing behind Amaya and choking on air as he beheld what had once been his living room. "No…"

Amaya's brows furrowed and her arms fell to her sides. "Oh god, I'm so sorry…" Well, at least the water jutsu had managed to save half of it. "Iruka-kun… We need to inform the other Shinobi that a missing nin has entered Konoha."

---

"So you say the bastard infiltrated your apartment and placed exploding tags all over the windows and the door?" Iruka nodded and Asuma flicked the ashes of his cigarette at Genma. "Well shit, that sucks."

"Than-"

"Hey, Asuma, take it easy on him, yeah? It's not his fault his defenses are crap."

"Thank you, Genma-san," Iruka muttered flatly.

Ebisu eyed all the gathered Shinobi with raised brows. "This won't go over well with the Hokage."

"We know." Kurenai plucked the stick from Genma's mouth, brandishing it at Ebisu who huffed and looked away.

A handful of Jounin who hadn't been called out on solo or team missions were gathered together in the Missions Office. There were the usual slackers, one or two Jutsu Specialists, a few more obscure Jounin and one Chuunin, Iruka. Most of the Jounin hovered around a polished, dark wood desk, while the specialists lingered against the walls.

"So why isn't ANBU taking care of this?" Kurenai eyed Kakashi, running a hand through her ebony hair.

"If you would remember, Kurenai-san," Kakashi pocketed his hands. "I was once an ANBU myself. The Hokage had full confidence in our ability to complete the mission."

Amaya looked over to the red-eyed sensei. "He was underestimated," she summed up simply. "My deepest apologies. Suien out-maneuvered us. He's probably been planning to strike in Konoha the entire time, I'm not sure. He was just…underestimated."

"Seems like there's more to it than that," Genma pointed out, trying to secure his stolen stick from Kurenai. Failing that, he pulled another out of thin air.

"Speaking of, when is the old man going to get here?" Asuma chuckled, watching Kurenai try to confiscate Genma's replacement.

"Asuma-san!" Iruka scolded. "The Hokage is-!"

"An old man. He's old. He's a man."

"Asuma-san!" Both Ebisu and Iruka glared at the offending Jounin who merely shrugged and puffed out smoke.

"ANBU is taking care of things, actually." A young, female Jounin, who a few remembered as 'Nakura', literally popped into the room, waving smoke away from her. "I just spoke to the Hokage, and he's sent squad four."

"So why are we here?" Kurenai sighed, shoving Genma's hands away from yet another confiscated stick.

Genma growled at her, feigning movement and snatching back his stick. "Yeah, I've got some Genin that need to be disciplined."

"That's a lie." Asuma inhaled deeply. "Although, I did challenge Shikamaru to another game of Go today."

"Well…" Nakura started, ignoring the immature acts of her elders. "He was a little vague. You three," she pointed to Kakashi, Amaya and Iruka. "Kakashi-san, you will be housing Iruka-sensei and Amaya-san in your apartment until the missing nin has been detained. As of now, your team mission has been terminated. The most important thing right now is to keep Amaya-chan, who is acting delegate of Takigakure, alive." Nakura gestured to the Jutsu specialists. "You two, you'll act as the second patrol squad. You're to be stationed in the Northern forest area and you'll periodically meet up with ANBU members reporting anything you've seen. Ebisu-san, you are to take the place of Iruka-sensei's substitute and continue teaching in his stead."

Iruka tensed. "What?!"

"What?" The man readjusted his glasses.

"And the rest of you are squad one. You'll be patrolling. If you see this Kekemoro Suien, don't try to terminate him, apprehend him. We'd prefer to capture him alive."

"I can't agree to this." Amaya said, crossing her arms. "He's my target, and he is supposed to be dead. I didn't come to Konoha to be protected from him."

Nakura's emerald eyes pierced into her blue. "Amaya-chan, your missing nin has infiltrated Konoha. He is a danger to our people. You are a representative from the Waterfall village and we haven't had anyone from that area come to Konoha in many years."

Iruka raised a brow. "She's a hunter-nin, not a diplomat. She was sent with assassination in mind and therefore, her village was aware that she might fail."

"I'd suggest you take it up with the Hokage, but he's busy at the moment. I'm a messenger, that's all. Just follow your orders." Nakura nodded to all of them, winked at Iruka, and vanished.

The Takigakure nin looked as if she was about to say something rather rude, but Kakashi cut her off. "We'll speak to the Hokage later, Amaya-chan, but you have to remember that he is in our village at this moment. There is only so much one person can do, ne? Isn't that why you came to us?" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Think of it as helping."

"Damn it." Amaya knocked Kakashi's arm away. "It wasn't supposed to go like this."

"When has anything ever gone the way it's supposed to?" The copy-nin pocketed his hands.

"It isn't right, though." Amaya stepped back, shaking her head. "He isn't supposed to be this smart. He isn't supposed to be this strong and conniving. Kakashi, those tags were on the inside of Iruka's apartment. He'd snuck in, set traps, and left without being detected or triggering any exits."

"He is a Jounin, correct?"

"Yes, yes. But you don't know him like I know him. Suien is more upfront than that. He enjoys games, but he… He just doesn't operate like this. There's someone more than just Suien involved in this."

"Maybe." Iruka agreed. "But what would he be after? He doesn't seem like the type who'd become someone's subordinate for their ambitions."

"There has to be something he's gaining from it. He'd tried to steal the Hero Water before he ran away. Maybe it's some power of sorts. Political, physical, mental, he'd have any of it." Amaya looked at the ground as she thought through everything. "We don't have enough clues." And the thought of sitting in Kakashi's apartment as Konoha went about their business wasn't too appealing to her.

"Ahhh…Kakashi-san, Amaya-cha- Amaya-san, I believe relocating might be wise now." Iruka pointed at the Jounin openly watching them.

Amaya looked up to the group. "Can I at least coordinate my Trackers with your ANBU squad? They should still be out near the east gate." If Suien hadn't found them out already…

Kurenai walked up to her, nodding in the direction of the door. "Come on. I'll get you to the Hokage. Don't bother with Nakura; how she became a Jounin, I'm still left wondering."

"Kurenai-san-!"

"Iruka-sensei, I know you mean well but it's true. Don't defend someone who doesn't deserve it just because she has a pretty face." Kurenai laughed lightly as Iruka blushed. "Come on, Amaya-san, off we go."

"Thank you."

---

Kakashi stared at his reflection in the sake glass. It wiggled and rippled with the subtle twitches of his hand. Iruka had been on the verge of a nervous break down by the time they reached Kakashi's apartment; so naturally, the copy-nin offered him a ninja's best friend: alcohol. "Hey, Iruka-kun…" He laughed lightly at the honorific he had accidentally used. "Aiya, I've been spending too much time around Amaya-chan…. How long has it been since she ran off to the Hokage?"

Iruka was lying face down on the table. He muttered incoherently before looking up at Kakashi through his clear, empty glass. "Dunno…been a while. Probably got what she wanted…"

The Jounin's eyes crossed his own apartment. It looked…untouched. "Mmmmm…" He blinked heavily. Perhaps they had indulged in sake a bit more than originally intended. Iruka had just been so depressed, one thing led to another and here they were, in Kakashi's space, at the kitchen table, two empty bottles of sake before them and a third one almost gone. "Yeah."

"Mm, Kakashi?" The Chuunin blinked through the warped cup.

"Eh?"

"Your hair…it looks different when you look at it through a glass of sake. It moves…" Iruka squinted through the clear cup. "Mm, Kakashi?"

Strangely enough, Kakashi didn't find this one-sided conversation odd. "Yeah?"

"You look like Makoto-san. That book vendor. I mean, if you squint. But then, if you look at yourself from this angle-"

Kakashi's sake cup pelted across the room and bounced off Iruka's head. He watched the Chuunin blink and look around questioningly. "I'm not that old yet."

"Sorry, sorry!" Iruka sang, falling over and laughing. "Hah! You look taller when I'm on the ground. Kakashi…I miss my apartment."

The silver-haired man stared down at him.

"You know," Iruka's lips popped thoughtfully, "I dunno. Maybe I have some kind of lingering guilt, but I think I perhaps had too much again."

Now, Kakashi was fully aware that he hadn't consumed half as much as Iruka did. Drunk-off-his-ass was not his style, though he had allowed himself to gather a heavy enough buzz to ensure pleasant sleep that night. It had been so long since he'd failed a mission, it almost caught him off guard. Having to take care of the Genin softened him up a bit, he was afraid to say. "Maybe," Kakashi agreed, standing up and rocking to the side once. He stabilized himself with the kitchen table and walked over to the couch, flopping down on it. How long had it been since he last stayed in his apartment? Two or three weeks, he concluded.

"Oi, Kakashi?"

"Mm?" Kakashi closed his eye. Amaya would be there soon, probably escorted by some other Jounin. She'd be fine if they turned up asleep when she returned. "What?"

"You remind me of Yukio. When we used to drink together." Iruka sighed and prodded the chair leg.

"Who's Yukio?" He asked, feeling himself begin to doze off.

"Close…close friend." The Chuunin was currently trying to get off the floor. "He…something or other…did something…"

"Quite a guy."

Iruka nodded enthusiastically and found this upset his unstable balance, thus he fell back again. "Mm, Kakashi?"

These questions were starting to irritate Kakashi. "Yeah?"

"I can't get up…haha…"

The Jounin laughed.

"Hey! Hey, Kakkashii-kun…no…Kakshi, ka- dammit, why is your name so hard to say?" He had to ponder on it a little longer before finally figuring it out. "Kakashi! Hey, Kakashi! Help me off your floor."

The Jounin rolled over on his side. He felt quite content on his couch, thank you very much. "No."

There was silence. An eerie sense of foreboding came upon Hatake Kakashi like a wave crashing down on rocks of a sea wall. Without warning, the enemy pounced. The Jounin found himself beneath a heavy weight with a smug, red faced Chuunin grinning wickedly down at him. "Yes."

The Jounin opened his eye half way, staring up at Iruka. "Hey," he pushed at him half-heartedly. "You're heavy."

"Your point?" Iruka glared at him and stayed seated on Kakashi's stomach. "You wouldn't help a fellow in need…fellow…fellow what? Wait…you bastard, you…IDIOT!" The man twitched. "My apartment!" He lamented and sobbed.

Kakashi stared up at the crying Chuunin. He almost felt sorry for Iruka, but couldn't quite relate, considering the most personal thing he kept in his apartment was a plant Naruto had given to him, so lovingly named Ukki-sama. "They'll fix the wall," he attempted to console his friend.

"It's n-not the same!" Iruka threw his head back and continued sobbing.

"Hey, now, cut that out." Kakashi's hand reached up to the guy who was still sitting on him. He seemed to have forgotten that little detail as he placed his hand on Iruka's shoulder.

Iruka slumped forward, staring at the Jounin. His hands came to rest on Kakashi's chest. "It's all gone, Kakashi…"

Kakashi's heart jumped and he felt his neck grow warm. "I…Iruka." For some reason he felt nervous when his gaze locked with the flushed Chuunin. Kakashi suddenly shoved at the guy, trying to wiggle free from the weight. He finally managed to pull all of limbs back and sit up, feet on the couch between them. "Well, get new pictures. Get a new window and furniture. It's not that bad."

"Insensitive bastard…" Iruka looked up. He didn't appear to have noticed Kakashi's sudden tension. "Mnnn…Kakashi, I think I see another bird outside your window." His eyes drooped shut and Iruka toppled over, snoring lightly with the stupidest grin on his face.

A raven was sitting on Kakashi's windowsill, preening its feathers.

Kakashi frowned at both Iruka and the bird. He stood up and steadily walked over to the window, tapping on the glass. "Hey, bird, fly away. Shoo."

Pruuukk went the raven.

Kakashi sighed and closed his eye for a moment. He drew the curtain shut. The Jounin turned around, thinking through the sleeping arrangements. His bed really only had room for one person. He would be a gentleman and give that to Amaya. The couch was apparently adopted by the resident Chuunin, and so that left no room for the host. Kakashi found it ironic that the one night he was going to stay in his own apartment, he wasn't going to sleep on any furniture.

He walked into his bedroom and opened up the closet, pulling out two blankets and the extra pillow. When he walked back out into the living room, he tossed the blanket on the Chuunin as if he could fix it himself. He sat down next to the couch and placed his elbows on his knees, letting out a sigh. He blinked and shook his head. Alcohol never lasted long for him for some reason.

On the couch, Iruka stirred. "Hm…hah…haha…Kakashi-hehehehe…"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder at the plastered sensei. "What?" He paused, realizing that he really was out of it. He blinked. "Are you dreaming about me?"

The snoring didn't relent but there was a periodic snorting in there with an audible, "Hah," and "Moron."

Kakashi muttered to himself again, crossing his arms across his chest.

"O…old…old man…haha…."

Kakashi stood up and headed for his room. "Screw it, Amaya-chan can sleep in the same room as him."

"…bastard…"

---

Light streamed in as the door to Kakashi's apartment creaked open. The inside was as sickeningly clean as Asuma remembered it, but he couldn't say as much for the squeaky door. "Hey, looks like they're asleep, eh, Amaya-chan?" He reached around on the wall for a switch, flicked it and his gaze was immediately drawn to the sake bottles glistening on the kitchen table. Empty sake bottles, to be more precise. Three of them. "Looks like they were discussing politics." Asuma stepped in, blowing out a few rings of smoke. He froze.

Amaya stepped in after him and shut the door behind her. She made sure it was locked before turning around and bumping into Asuma's back. "What? What's wrong?" She looked around the man. Her eyes landed on Iruka. "Ha…"

"Goddammit, I missed it! Those sons of bitches!" Loud, boisterous laughter erupted from Asuma; the sort of signature belly laugh he was known to give in bars when he watched drunken Shinobi try to throw kunai at each other. "Would you look at that?" He pointed to the sake bottle Iruka had his arms wrapped around.

Iruka was snoring softly, cheeks flushed -the right side looking more purple in color than red…- and mouth set with half a goofy grin and half a slight frown.

"Aww, Iruka-kun must have been so upset…" Amaya walked over to Iruka and pulled the sake bottle from his arms. The man shifted and muttered. "I wonder if Kakashi-kun had any with him…"

"Mrrrrr…Yukiii…givitback…"

"Sure. He won't be as smashed as this poor soul, though. May the gods forgive this sensei for his sins." Asuma wore a sarcastic grin around his cigarette.

"I should check on him."

The door to Kakashi's room opened up. Kakashi was wearing night clothes, mask and hitae-ate gone, but he yawned before they could catch a glimpse, and to be polite -naturally- he lifted his hand to his face when he did so. "Amaya-chan, you're back finally." He had a very dim pink in his cheeks, but he seemed to operate perfectly fine.

"Yo, Kakashi! You bastard, getting an innocent Chuunin plastered as hell."

"Like you wouldn't have done the same, Asuma-san." The Jounin laughed and leaned his arm against the door frame. His arm happened to be in the perfect position to cover his face. "Oh, Amaya-chan, you can take the bed if you like. I've really only got room for two people maximum in here."

"You can always stay at my place, if you want, Amaya-chan." Asuma winked, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

"Yeah," Kakashi encouraged. "I'm sure he's got enough sake for the both of you there."

Amaya shook her head, blushing slightly. "Cut it out."

Iruka shifted on the couch, hand falling off the edge and touching the floor. "…rd…"

"Eh? Word?" Asuma glanced over his shoulder at the slumbering Iruka. He shrugged, exhaled. "Well, I'll be going now. Got some business over at Itadakimasu."

Kakashi winked, turning back into the room and lowering his arm. "Have a good one, Asuma-san." He lifted a hand.

"Heh, course I will. I'm sure Nakura'd like to hear all about this." He laughed. "She's got her eye on that one. See you later!"

Amaya locked the door behind Asuma. "If you have carpet in there," Amaya said, picking up the pillow and blanket. "Do you mind?"

"No." Kakashi disappeared into the darkness of his room. "And I'll take the floor."

---

For the second time in a week, Iruka woke with a murderous beast wailing and beating at the inside of his skull. Unlike the first occasion, however, the air was a lot draftier. Whatever he was lying on was slick, wet and felt almost like…like tile…

"Wha- EH?!" He shot up, glancing around wildly. How the hell had he gotten on the roof? And whose roof was it? He heard a voice and shifting beneath him. He couldn't quite pick up on what was being said, but it sounded a lot like Amaya. He heard a door open and close, then again.

"Amaya-chan?!"

The shifting stopped and Amaya was silent. After a very, very long period of suspenseful waiting, the window opened and Iruka could see the girl peering downward. "Iruka-kun?" she asked skeptically.

"Ah, yeah, it's me…" The slightly dazed sensei glanced down at her and waved half-heartedly. It was then that he noticed the feathers at his feet. And, upon further inspection, outlining his form, littering his vest and his hair. There were no bodies nor was there blood but these feathers…they hadn't fallen out naturally. A vague worry that Amaya hadn't been able to at least sense his presence on the roof above began prodding at his mind. His headache wouldn't have that.

Iruka slowly, cautiously slipped downward and through the window, landing with a loud, painful thud on Kakashi's floor. "Ah, sorry…"

The girl stared at him with slightly widened eyes. She reached over and timidly plucked a raven feather from his hair. She held it in front of her so that he could see it clearly as well. "Um…. Iruka-kun…."

"Uhh…I don't…I didn't…" The poor man was so exasperated. He self-consciously straightened his vest and tried to brush the feathers off his clothing. "I don't actually…know what happened…"

"…Kakashi-kun is at the stone…." She tried to shift the subject. The feather fluttered to the ground as she absently walked away from the entire situation. The girl opened up the cabinets to find some boxes of dry food meant for long-term storage.

"Was there any progress yesterday?"

"Yes. I'm going to work with my team. We'll coordinate our efforts with the ANBU squad and Team One. Hopefully we'll be able to root him out in the next two days." She pulled out a kettle and began to boil water for tea. "I'll be leaving at nine to meet up at the east gate with my team. They should already be meeting with ANBU at this point. Would you like to come?" Amaya wore a kind grin.

"Haha, well, I would but I thought I'd try salvaging my living room while I can. They need it cleaned out before repairs can be done and…" He'd prefer it done as soon as possible. "I…fine, alright."

She laughed. "Thank you, Iruka-kun. I'm technically supposed to have a Konoha escort from here on out." The girl shook her head slowly. "Since I know the most about Suien, I'll be able to decipher him, but still…this entire situation is irritating." The kettle whistled and she pulled it off, adding in a package with the water. "Tea?"

"No. I'd rather…I'd rather not have anything." Oddly enough, his headache was beginning to fade. And as far as he could tell, the roof had been clean of any signs of nausea. "I'll wait for you to finish."

She poured a cup for herself and then poured another for Iruka anyway. "I would have figured you'd wake up with a massive hangover, judging by the condition Asuma-sama and I found you in last night…"

Iruka stilled, frozen in a comical position that left him looking like a preening bird. A molting preening bird. "A-su-ma-san? Amaya-chan you-? Asuma-san?"

"Yes, Asuma-sama. He escorted me from the meeting with the Hokage. Kakashi's apartment is rather hard to find, actually. I'm glad he came." She laughed, looking down at her tea as she spoke. "He opened the door and just froze. It was rather funny, I was startled at first because he was so tense, but it was only you on the couch with a sake bottle."

"Sake…bottle…" Iruka repeated weakly.

Amaya shrugged off the strange reactions to everything. "Uh… Right." She set her own tea down, suddenly loosing appetite. "Let's go ahead now."

---

The two shinobi headed out the east gate of Konoha village, just as they had planned. "I was told that ANBU successfully communicated with Taki, but apparently they aren't here yet." She looked around at the designated meeting area. That was strange. She didn't think that ANBU was the type to be late. Her own company, yes, but Konoha's nins?

"They might have been detained." Iruka called from above. He was carefully scanning the forest around them, optically probing the trees, searching for a disturbance. He couldn't sense anyone nearby either. The Chuunin had almost been expecting the crow to pop out of nowhere. Again, he involuntarily shuddered but at least he wasn't…afraid. His eyes followed a bird drifting on a wind current. Was it holding...was it holding a scrap of cloth? "Amaya-chan…"

"What is it?" She flipped up into the tree and stood by Iruka. She looked up. "It's got a hitae-ate in its beak…" A flock of birds suddenly leapt out of the trees, following the first one. Each creature was carrying something in its talons or beak. The two ninja shuddered. "Come on; let's check the area they came from."

Iruka blurred before her, darting into the underbrush. There was a pained scream a moment later that dissolved into short bursts of frantic shouts.

Amaya dashed after him. Her eyes widened and she gasped, hands flying to her face with shock and terror. She didn't scream like the Chuunin had, but instead stumbled backward, gagging and looking away. Amaya dropped to her knees and hugged her stomach, fighting the urge to be sick.

Blood seeped towards Iruka's feet, dribbling over dirt and between blades of grass. Dismembered, drenched bodies were before them, placed in an intricate and precise design. The smell of blood hung thick about their heads in such density, their heads began to swim. No one limb was attached to a body. The Chuunin quickly counted eight different uniforms, four exactly like Amaya's, four ANBU. The ANBU masks were placed around the massacre, marking four corners of the design. Iruka heard Amaya wretch and shudder.

"Iruka-kun!" She exclaimed, currently on the verge of hyper-ventilating. Never in her life had her eyes fallen upon such a scene of gore. "Where are their heads, Iruka-kun?! Where's the rest of their bodies?!"

"I-" Iruka nearly gagged himself. "Hggh- taken maybe?" He forced himself to breathe, backing up against a tree. It was too much…too much for either of them to handle…

"W-w-we've got to tell Team One." Amaya looked back at the body parts, hands clamped over her mouth and nose as she did so. "It…" She stepped backwards as the blood continued slithering towards them. "It's kanji." She pointed. "Tobasu. To fly, but why?" Amaya's heart pounded in her head. "WHY?" She looked away again.

"To-tobasu?" Iruka let his gaze linger over the corpses before it snapped back to Amaya. "Tobasu?" He repeated. "To-"

"…fly. And to fly, to gain this freedom, you must-"

"-basu…tobasu…" The Chuunin's fists clenched at his sides.

"Does it mean something to you?" Amaya asked. She felt like she was going to be sick again.

"…the freedom of the birds…"

Iruka quickly produced a kunai knife. The girl near him gasped and backed up quickly as the blade in Iruka's fist lifted, set to strike-

And stuck deeply into his injured arm.

Amaya flinched at his muffled cry and looked back to see blood drip down his arm. He plucked the knife out, wiping it on his vest and slipping it out of sight. Iruka squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't hear the voice anymore, nor could he see the looming shadows… "My appologies, Amaya-chan…"

She looked around and then back at Iruka, a deep confusion and distress settling in her. Amaya shook her head slowly, at a total loss for what to think, what to do about this person. Blue eyes flickered over the kanji symbol, a new kind of sickness twisting deeply in her gut. "Iruka-san…" she began softly, almost breathlessly. The stench of blood hung thickly, "What…what is it that happens?"

Iruka's eyes lingered on the gore strewn about Konoha's forest floor. "We need to report this first, Amaya-chan. I'll tell you later. When it's safe."

"…you're finding the safety of this nest unsatisfactory…"

Iruka took Amaya's hand and began leading her away. "Come on."

---

Amaya and Iruka sat in the center of a stunned Team One, both shaking and nearly dazed. Amaya had silent, shocked tears streaming down her face, realization at hard-hitting loss finally setting in. They had been offered water to help calm their nerves, to try to get a few words out of them, but only Amaya accepted it. She stared down at her reflection in the rippling glass.

"What happened?" Kakashi finally tried to prod some information out of his friends.

"They…" Iruka wasn't going to speak up, so Amaya would force it out of herself. "They're dead." She swallowed hard, attempting to open up her throat to breathe.

"Dead. ANBU, dead. All of them?" Genma clicked his teeth together around his stick. Asuma was doing something similar with his cigarette.

"Yeah, and apparently they got it in a pretty damn bad way these two are shaken up."

Nakura procured a cup of water for Iruka and again he refused.

"Well, squad two's going to have to take care of the bodies." Kurenai offered her glass of sake to Amaya.

Amaya shook her head slowly, pushing away the glass. "And Taki. They were taken on at the same time. Eight of them." The sound of her own voice began to bring her mind around, and she noticed the tears on her face and quickly wiped them up with the back of her hand. "Tobasu…"

The copy-nin raised an eyebrow. "Fly?"

"The… bodies…" She shook her head, water slipping from her hands as she covered her face. Amaya's body resumed quaking. "The limbs. They-they spelled tobasu."

"To fly is to be free. The birds understand. Listen to the birds-"

Iruka's hand shot out and he downed one cup of water, then another in two deep, loud gulps. The assembled Jounin stared at his sudden jerk.

"-Iruka-kun­."

"It's happening again, Kakashi-kun…" Amaya whispered. Her eyes flickered to Iruka. "It's… he's doing it again."

Kakashi shifted uncomfortably. He'd been trying to keep that particular situation under wraps for Iruka's sake.

"Doing what?" Genma was discreetly observing Iruka's movement. Asuma was watching the Chuunin's face. Kurenai avoided looking at him and Nakura merely openly stared.

The Chuunin sensei put on a strained smile. "I'm fine, Amaya-chan."

"-they never LIE."

Kakashi kneeled down and picked up the glass of water Amaya had dropped. He set it on the desk casually, debating over what he should say. "I'll go with Team Two to investigate."

"Probably a go- hey, hey, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka was currently wringing his hands together, staring down at them apprehensively.

Amaya's hand reached out and touched Iruka's. A silent warning of the attention he was drawing to himself.

"Sorry…just remembering…"

"Remember what I've said-"

The Chuunin flinched, politely dismissing himself.

The group watched him go without saying a word, silently musing over this new development.

"I… I'm going to make sure he's ok…" And before anyone could counter her, Amaya ran out the door after him.

"Mmm…" Kakashi pocketed his hands, looking at the glass. He shifted his weight to one side. "Tobasu…"

---

Iruka was nose deep in a book by the time Amaya had caught up to him at Kakashi's. He was lying on the couch, holding the object out over his head. A page was idly flipped with a thumb and he glanced over as he heard her coming. "Amaya-chan."

She stared at him for a moment and closed her eyes. "I'm going to take a shower…" Amaya walked around the couch into the bathroom. The door clicked shut and the sound of water hit his ears.

He sighed, setting his novel down on the couch, shuffling over to Kakashi's fridge. It was normally completely blank, unlike Iruka's picture-filled refrigerator, which was precisely why his eyes immediately locked on a piece of paper attached to the door with a magnet. That note certainly didn't look like it was Kakashi's. Its edges were frayed and it…. That was blood it was written in. "Amaya-chan!"

The water turned off and the door opened. Her vest was off, hair let down, and gloves discarded, but other than that she was still in uniform. "What is it?" She walked into the kitchen and looked at the letter Iruka was now holding. "That…isn't from Kakashi is it…"

"No. It's from Kekemoro Suien…"

Amaya snatched the letter from him and stared down at it. "Sweetest Pupil of Mine…" Her eyes lifted to Iruka once and then back down to the paper. "It has come to my attention that you are attempting to take my life." She frowned and sat down on the kitchen table, leaning over the paper. "I must say, ANBU was certainly an interesting touch in your plans. As your sensei, I was surprised to find that you were not with them. And here I was thinking you were stronger than that. Fore shame, Amaya-chan."

Her grip on the paper tightened and her voice shook, but Iruka could tell it was out of anger. "Your Chuunin friend's defenses were nil. Apparently, in my absence, you have grown careless, considering you walked right past me in the apartment."

Iruka coughed, clamping a hand over his mouth to keep water from escaping.

"He was… in the apartment when the explosion occurred?" Amaya's face blanched and her grip relaxed slightly. She continued reading, "I must say, Dolphin-boy has quite an interesting store of items in that box in his closet. I grew bored waiting for you to wake up, Amaya-chan, so I had the pleasure of viewing said objects. By the way, dearest, you keep your kunai too open. At any time I could have slit your throat with your own weapons while you were sound asleep in another man's bed." Amaya shuddered.

"That…that…" The poor man's hands were trembling and his face was scarlet.

"After you left in such a careless rush to inform the rest of Konoha of my presence, I also took the opportunity to 'lift' some items that I may use." Amaya couldn't bare to look up at Iruka. How stupid they had been not to investigate the entire house before leaving. "I was rather hoping for another confrontation, sweet-heart, but alas, you were always the slowest learner.

"Perhaps, next time you will remember this letter. Take flight, Amaya-ko. And don't forget the rest of your flock. Oh, and Chuunin-bastard, I've plucked your feathers; you should know what I mean. I have a friend who would like to clip your wings." Amaya's hand trembled as her eyes scrolled down the page. "My, how the hunters have been hunted." A pause. "Signed by Kekemoro Suien."

"He…"

"Perhaps we could fly together, Iruka-kun. You and I."

More and more of the monologue from his dreams began slipping into his conscious mind. The feathers… "He didn't…"

"I think he means those feathers Kakashi-kun and I found earlier…" She ripped the paper in half with frustration. AND he'd infiltrated another of their homesteads. Well, crap. There wasn't a place on earth they could be safe from him. "He has to have more men. 'I have a friend'. I knew it. He's in on someone's plan for a reason."

"And when we're finished, I would love to clip your wings."

Iruka cradled his head in his hands. "I think I hear him…The man Suien is associating with…"

"What?" Amaya's eyes snapped to him. Iruka was starting to shrink into himself. "You hear him?"

"I'm not sure…" Iruka coughed, opening and closing his fists. "It's one voice made of a thousand…"

"Now? Or do you mean in your nightmares?"

"Both."

"You're really starting to scare me, Iruka-kun…" Amaya tossed the pieces of the letter to the side. "Does it feel like genjutsu? We've already tried to dispel it…" Could he be… loosing his mind? Or even working with them? No, no, not Iruka-kun. But she couldn't bring herself to stop her body language. Amaya tensed up.

"I'm sorry…No, I've felt no jutsu of any sort."

"But… it's impossible." She shook her head. "It's just not…right."

Iruka sighed, sinking back down onto the couch. "No….maybe it's…just me…"

"What does he say?"

"Amaya-chan, please…"

"I'm serious." She pointed at Iruka. "What does he say to you, if it's really him who's talking, we should know what he's saying. What is it you're dreaming?"

"Birds. I dream about birds. And he, talks about birds. Flying…freedom. That's all. It's repeated every time I sleep now."

"What makes you think it's him then?" Her voice fell to a cautious whisper. Amaya leaned forward and their eyes locked. "How do you know you're not losing your mind?"

The chuunin looked back at her helplessly. "I don't…"