Leaves in the Wind

Chapter Ten: Two Birds, One Stone

Upon word of Suien's demise and Iruka's hospitalization, relief and anxiety managed to negate each other, leaving the Shinobi of Konoha feeling relatively dazed but oddly unaffected. They mourned their fallen comrades, they wished Iruka health, and when they found time, they cursed Suien's name over a glass of sake. The Missions Office experienced a sudden influx of requests which left the ninjas of Konoha working overtime. Shinobi went on with their commissions, and the citizens of Konoha continued to live unaware of the struggle that had taken place forty-eight hours ago.

For the past fifty-six hours, Iruka had been held hostage in the critical condition wing. He felt no relief in the hospital because as soon as he'd close his eyes to nap, Tekki was there with some sarcastic comment that triggered Iruka's gag reflex. Overall, the experience had not been pleasant. Iruka was in pain, yet he felt partly numb, and by now, the sensei had grown quite sick of wise-cracks.

"Hey, Iruka-san. You look like shit." Kakashi's voice made Iruka twitch dangerously.

"Kakashi-san!" He turned his head towards the Jounin and grinned brightly. "Could you come here so I can strangle you?"

"My pleasure." Kakashi strolled across the room. Naturally, Iruka's hands shot towards Kakashi's neck, but it was quickly deflected by Icha Icha Paradise. "How are you feeling today, Iruka?"

"Eh…fine." He huffed and glared at the ceiling, pointedly ignoring Kakashi. Or, at the very least, he tried to. His friend's lack of honorifics tinted his cheeks red.

The Jounin grinned. "Oh, that's wonderful news." Kakashi had a seat in the visitor's chair, ignoring the Chuunin's suspicious glance. "Naruto-kun, he says he's fine. You can come in."

"Wai-"

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Wait, Naruto-kun! Don't hug me!"

But once again, Iruka spoke too late. Naruto pelted through the door and launched at Iruka, hugging him tightly. Iruka flinched and squirmed as he became much sorer. He swore his ribs had been cracked again. "Waaaah! Iruka-sensei! They wouldn't let me in yesterday. So I tried to sneak in and it almost worked too, but see, I could get past the doctors easily. But the nurses wouldn't fall for my jutsu…"

"Naruto-kun… you didn't use-"

"Sexy no jutsu!"

Iruka sensed the boy was about to demonstrate and he quickly reached out, thwapping Naruto upside the head. "Stop!"

Kakashi laughed, looking over to the blushing Iruka. "Anyway," Kakashi said as he began to read his book. "I came to tell you that Kozue Amaya plans on leaving for Takigakure soon. Either tonight or tomorrow."

"Amaya-chan's leaving?" The Chuunin paused in ruffling Naruto's hair.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. She says that she really feels like she needs to get home. She'll stop by the hospital before she leaves." He paused as he looked up from his book. "I tried convincing her to stay until you're released, but she's very adamant about leaving as soon as possible."

"Amaya…"

"What?!" The Genin exclaimed. "That ultra cool, ultra hot hunter-nin from Takigakure is leaving already?" Naruto pouted, absently prodding Iruka's cheek.

Naruto's current sensei nodded reflectively. "She is good looking, isn't she?"

"Naruto-kun, Kakashi-san, please…" Iruka sighed.

"Well, Naruto-kun, unless you can convince her otherwise, she'll be packing up."

The boy gained that familiar glint in his eyes, and his face lit up, the usual Uzumaki determination setting in. "Okay! I'm going to find something to keep Amaya-sama in Konoha! Good bye, Iruka-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!"

"N-Naruto-kun, wait!" Iruka sighed as Naruto disappeared out the door. "Kakashi-san…It's absurd, but I can't help thinking you did that on purpose."

"What a strange accusation, Iruka-san." Kakashi looked back to his reading. After fifteen minutes of silence and page flipping, there was a small tap on the door. The sitting man perked up, and without looking to Iruka for confirmation, he said, "Come in!"

The door opened and Amaya peered in, eyes flickering around the room. "Naruto-kun is hard to elude…"

"He's also extremely fast." Iruka sent her a grin, waving her inside. "G'afternoon, Amaya-chan!"

She grinned back at him and shut the door behind her. "I must say, I've never seen Kage Bunshin no Jutsu before. He's quite determined to keep me here, I understand."

"Well," Iruka offered, "he admires you."

Kakashi chuckled, shaking his head slowly.

Amaya noticed this, but didn't interpret it. "I, uh, came to say good-bye, actually, Iruka-kun."

The sensei's grin wavered. "Yes, Kakashi-san told me. You've completed your mission and it needs to be reported back to your village. It's a ninja's way."

She nodded, pocketing her hands and shifting from foot to foot. Apparently her pack was still at Kakashi's apartment, so she would at least be in Konoha for a little while longer. "Mm. I never expected leaving would be the hardest part."

Iruka held out a hand. "It always is. But they say that a quick goodbye is less painful than a drawn out farewell. So good bye, Amaya."

Amaya walked forward and looked at his hand. Instead, she hugged him. Amaya let go of him and then looked to Kakashi.

Kakashi waited until he reached the end of the page before closing the book and glancing upwards. "See you around!" She wasn't going anywhere too quickly, so he wouldn't bother with a drawn out good bye. However, "Do I get a hug too?"

There was a soft knocking on the door before Amaya could respond and a quiet, wispy voice called through. "Iruka-san," it began, "would you like some lunch now?" He'd refused food previously and the med nins were hesitant to force it on him. You just didn't force things on Umino Iruka.

"Ahh, yeah. Come in…"

A white clothed ninja entered, bowing his head to both Jounin visitors. His lengthy white hair was streaming down into Iruka's bowl of soup yet he didn't seem to notice this. The man had a hesitance to his movement as he shuffled over to the bedside, setting down the items balancing on his tray. He was an unusual addition to the medical team that neither of the Konoha Shinobi present recognized very well, though he seemed the type to know. His white hair attracted the most attention but as one's eye swept, the white cloth that hung over the right side of his face caught the rest of the attention. The nin's eyes were pale, glazed hazel and his lips were pale blue. "Good afternoon, Iruka-san. Are you feeling well today?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you, Kuro-san."

Amaya stiffened. That voice… Soft and defined, words said in such a way that made it feel as though they were being whispered in your ear from behind. "K…" Her gaze slowly became unfrozen from Iruka and her breath quickened by a beat. "Kuro…. Kuro-san? That is your name, correct?"

Had she gone mad?

"Yes. I am Harogami Kuro." The man smiled, half of it hidden. Kuro was about to add something when he spotted an ivory strand floating around in Iruka's food. He instead began apologizing profusely and vanished out the door with the gloop in hand.

Iruka laughed. "He's odd, but he's been good company."

Amaya's attention was fixed on the door as if it had threatened her in some manor. "Company?" Amaya had been careful not to disclose the encounter she'd had with two ninja the night she'd disposed of Suien's body. Was that a mistake? The decision to leave Konoha was based upon the desire to draw them away from the people she'd grown to love, but apparently their plans were already in motion. "I want to pet her, Nii-san." "No, Kuro-kun. Maybe later." Her hand began to tremble, and she quickly pocketed it away.

"Something wrong, Amaya-chan?" Kakashi glanced her up and down.

"Eh-? What?" Amaya blinked owlishly and looked back to them. "Oh, oh. No, nothing." She shook her head, starting for the door. "I forgot something, but I'll be back quick." The door shut behind her. Amaya needed to splash water on her face, find room to breathe in the restroom or something.

Iruka frowned, eyeing the door skeptically. "Strange…"

Kuro popped in once again, this time carrying two bowls. He set both down on the bedside table, motioning to the second bowl and glancing at Kakashi. "For you." The man half bowed.

"Kuro-san," Iruka's attention was quickly diverted. "This is Hakate Kakashi."

"Of course, no one could forget such a, ahh…a face?" The med nin's brow furrowed with worried contemplation. He tried again. "Name. Person."

"It's fine," Kakashi raised a hand with a slight grin. The med-nins were interesting people. "And I'm not partial to hospital food."

Kuro found this funny and allowed himself a short, quiet laugh. "I'll take this back then."

"No, I'll take it."

"Both of them, Iruka-san?"

"Yeah. Amaya-chan might want something when she returns." The Chuunin smiled.

This, the med nin also found amusing, and he laughed again. "Want this? This poison? Haha, well, if that's what you want."

"Thank you, Kuro-san."

"Please, call me Kuro-kun." Kuro grinned, nodding to both of them and exiting.

Iruka lay back down and closed his eyes. "Kuro-kun has been helping me with my…paranoia…" The sensei gestured to the window. "I can see and hear a bird and nothing happens."

Kakashi laughed, leaning forward. "Is that so, Iruka-san? Well, then, we should just celebrate, ne?"

"Kakashi-san…" The man half-heartedly glared before shrugging and submitting to the urge to laugh.

---

The hospital halls were usually buzzing with activity between all of the nurses and doctors and patients that passed from one room to another. However, in this close observation wing, motion and noise was kept to a minimum. That is why when Kuro moved, no matter how small he might have seemed, the action was significant. Harogami Kuro swept down the hall, empty tray in hand. Ahead of him, a duplicate of himself swept down the opposite direction.

"Good afternoon, Kuro-kun." He called.

"Good afternoon, Kuro-kun." He called.

Both men continued on their way, but a door swinging open in the middle of the hallway stopped them. Both turned in unison and said, "Good afternoon, Amaya-chan."

Amaya let the restroom door swing shut behind her. Blue eyes flickered between the two, unsure of what to think or how to respond. "Uh… good… afternoon, Kuro-kuns...."

"Kuro-kun," the second Kuro spoke, turning to his twin. "Did you visit Iruka-sensei yet?"

"Of course. Did you?"

"Nope. I'm going now."

"Oh, well! Tell him not to skip dinner this time."

"Naturally, Nii-san."

Both grinned over at the Taki shinobi. "See you, Amaya-chan!"

"Wait!" The hunter-nin stopped them both. A chill ran up her spine when both stopped and turned simultaneously. Her heart rate jumped with her next words. "If it's me you're after, leave them out of it. I'm going tonight, so you won't have to bother with them anymore."

"What?" They blinked.

"I know it's you." She pointed at each one in turn. "The other night, with Suien."

One of the Kuros smiled politely. Though his lips seemed to move, his words were inexplicably delayed by a few seconds, tickling the insides of her ears. "We are not after you, so you may save your life if you wish. Leave now, and we won't pluck your feathers."

"Wait, and we will chop off your head."

"We seek but one."

"Maybe two."

Amaya gasped and her eyes narrowed. She took the opportunity to sling a shuriken at the closest Kuro. "You sons of a bitch!"

The shuriken vanished. It simply ceased to exist in space. "Bye, Amaya-chan!" One Kuro watched as his brother left.

Amaya's fists clenched and she dashed towards Iruka's room. A white blur came up behind her and Kuro's eyes locked with hers. The moment quickly vanished and momentum carried him through the doorway. He was a demon… "Afternoon, Iruka-san!" Kuro shut the door behind him.

Amaya wrenched it open and entered. The Shinobi stared at her; Iruka, with his bowl pressed to his lips, Kakashi glancing up from his book and Kuro sitting on the edge of the hospital bed.

"I'm not leaving Konoha," she stated firmly. For some reason unbeknownst to Kakashi and Iruka, it seemed directed towards the med nin.

"Really?" Iruka's head tilted away from the bowl. "Why the sudden change? What about your mission, Amaya?"

She pointed at Kuro, glare rising into her expression. "Get out."

Iruka set his bowl down and raised a brow. "Amaya-chan, he's come to change my bandages…"

"Get- out- now." She struggled to keep her words steady. The girl seemed flustered and irritated.

"Amaya-chan," The sensei's voice was firmer, exasperation tinged his words. "Please, calm dow-"

"He was there the night Suien died," she suddenly cut in. This immediately silenced the shinobi. "He and his brother."

Kuro had rolled up one of Iruka's pant legs, unraveling the old, dirty bandages. He stopped, glanced up, and shook his head. "Excuse me?"

"Amaya-chan…"

Kakashi observed the conversation carefully, but he did not speak up himself.

"Iruka, Kakashi, he was there when I disposed of the body. The med nins came for Iruka and took him away, then I told Kakashi-san I wanted to do it alone." Her voice wavered slightly. "They…." I want the bloody one AND the copy-nin! "They're after you two."

"Amaya, what reason would they have to come after me?" Iruka winced as his leg was shifted. Kuro ushered a soft apology. "Kakashi-san, I could understand. But think about it Amaya; a Chuunin ninja that hasn't participated in an active mission for several years, with little renown. Why would these two so blatantly reveal themselves to you, drop hints as to what they want, and then hide out in the open?"

"To make me look crazy when I tell you so," she ushered a blunt response.

The man sighed. This was disturbingly like standing in the classroom with Konohamaru… "That's one reason. But what do these men have to gain from doing this?"

"Don't ask me Iruka-san!"

He'd give it one more try. "Amaya-chan, wouldn't I be dead by now if they wanted me dead? Kuro-kun- both of them have been taking care of me since my arrival. They've had plenty of opportunities to carry out whatever they needed to do."

Kuro finished and gently patted the sensei's leg.

Amaya turned to Kakashi with hopeful eyes.

Kakashi looked down at his book.

The med nin sighed dejectedly. "I'm sorry?"

"Just say nothing more." Iruka pulled his leg back under the sheet. "I don't want to hear anything about it. I'm tired, and I just want to rest in peace."

Kuro's polite smile returned. "You finished with that soup, Iruka-san? Kuro-kun will be back later with dinner. He'll take care of it then." He had now moved on to helping Iruka remove his shirt to tend to the mass of bandages around the man's torso. Kuro hummed as he worked.

Iruka was staring out the window, doing his best to avoid the med-nin and both Kakashi and Amaya. He sincerely wished they'd leave; it was embarrassing enough not to be able to wash and bandage his own wounds.

The bittersweet tune continued as Kuro moved on to Iruka's arms.

"Kuro-san…could you…please, come back later. I-"

Kuro instantaneously responded by hastily finishing one bandage. He then carefully aided Iruka in redressing. "Yes. Sorry. I'm very sorry."

"Kakashi-san, Amaya-chan. I'm going to rest now."

Amaya's eyes fell to the ground and Kakashi stood up. "I'll check back in on you later tonight then." The Jounin nodded farewell.

---

Kakashi placed a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of Amaya. She thanked him briefly and leaned forward, picking it up and then settling back into the couch. The Konoha Jounin sat down next to her, his own cup in hand.

"I made a scene…"

The Jounin nodded, watching her carefully. "What happened, Amaya-chan?"

Amaya's eyes fell away from Kakashi in an attempt to avoid meeting the analytical gaze. "After you went ahead, I stopped to dispose of Suien's body." She closed her eyes, trying to recall it in the best detail she could. "And just after I did, I heard voices. It was…like someone was whispering in my ear. They said things like 'that's why I never liked hunter-nins' and 'what a silly hunter'. Jests and comments about me."

"How many voices?"

"Two, though they sounded exactly alike. But they called each other…Kuro-kun and Nii-san." Her blue eyes looked up to Kakashi. "I told them that I knew they were there, trying to get them to speak up again. I… I couldn't feel them. I couldn't sense them at all, and they didn't give away their location." She fidgeted as the feeling of that night's frigid air came back in her memory. She had been soaked to the bone and worn out from the fight. It was a mistake to believe that Suien had been alone the entire time. She sipped from her cup, letting out a deep breath.

"What else?" Kakashi asked.

"'I want to pet her, Nii-san.'," she recited. The voice had haunted her dreams. "That's what one of them said." Her hand lifted to the back of her neck. "They were disappointed that Suien hadn't succeeded in killing me, and they were further disappointed when his body had been destroyed. Then…" a deep breath, "They spoke of you two. Mentioning that they wanted Iruka and you…. They were arguing over who would get which of us, it was just so bizarre."

Kakashi nodded slowly. Amaya's abrupt desire to leave with haste suddenly fell into place. "You should have said something…"

"Kakashi, those two med nins caring for Iruka are them. I would recognize those voices anywhere." Amaya looked at him desperately. "You believe me, right?"

Kakashi gazed back silently. "I do."

---

Quiet humming echoed down the halls of the hospital, and a swishing of cloth followed in its wake. Words were occasionally weaved into the melody but it otherwise remained uninterrupted. Kuro walked alone, though, to him, he could never truly be alone. His brother was his shadow who followed spiritually if not physically. His brother would follow him to the pits of hell if he so chose to go, and he would follow his brother. Ah, yes, they were the perfect team.

Suien was a pleasant addition, a welcome change from the redundancy that had thus far been their lives. He was -had been- a little weird, and his constant need to play mind games with everyone had become tiresome after a while… But still, it was depressing he had died so quickly. Kuro had been growing quite fond of his 'teammate'. Oh well, people came and people died. That couldn't be changed. Rather, no. Kuro grinned, running a finger down the wall as he passed. It could. People died, but they could be brought back. You'd have to have the right knowledge and sufficient chakara, but it was entirely possible.

Kuro and Kuro did it all the time.

He mused on what could have happened if Suien's body had been left out in the open just a little longer. Perhaps they could have had fun with the corpse….

The humming ceased, and the medical ninja glanced down at his gloved hands. Oh, he'd forgotten to bring Iruka-san's dinner. Most unfortunate. After a moment's contemplation, Kuro mentally shrugged it off and opened the door to his favorite patient's room. "Good evening, Iruka-san." Hm. He was sleeping.

Kuro stepped inside and shut the door behind him, examining the sleeping Chuunin under the moonlight. No doubt this one would be sleeping peacefully tonight. Kuro-kun had taken care of the Birds. For now. It wouldn't do to interfere with the master's plans for too long. The ninja would get angry and really, Kuro didn't think he could bring himself back to life. He tilted his head to the side, shrugged and sat down on the edge of the hospital bed. As he sensed a high level ninja coming, he slid over to the chair instead, resuming his song.

Kakashi pushed open the door and stood, a silhouette framed by the yellow light from the hallway. "Good evening, Kuro-san." He reached over and flicked a switch. The moon was drowned by artificial light. "He's sleeping this early?"

"Yes. Very weak. He needs a few more days before we can release him." Kuro smiled, standing and offering his chair.

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm fine." He shut the door behind him and walked towards the window, leaning against the wall there. It gave him a good view of both men and the door. "Is he healing well? No infections or other obstacles?"

The med-nin shook his head. "None. If anything, he's been recovering at a fairly steady pace."

"Really." Kakashi's eye switched over to the Chuunin. He was sleeping so peacefully. "You didn't drug him, did you?" He'd never seen Iruka so relaxed.

Kuro's laughter was oddly pleasant. "No, no. Of course not. He refused any sort of drugs upon his arrival here and has continued to refuse them. I merely dispelled the jutsu that had been afflicting him."

This caught Kakashi's attention. "What jutsu was it?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't recognize it; some sort of genjutsu, obviously, but a strange, complicated…" His voice trailed off. "Well, it took my brother and I several hours of attempts, but we managed to get rid of it."

"How did it lift?"

Kuro's gaze slowly drifted over to Kakashi. He'd been staring periodically at Iruka and out at the darkened sky. "By the usual method. However, we found that objects somehow became tied into it. We're still not sure how it works, but Kuro happened to stumble upon this bag of feathers in that drawer-" He cut himself off.

"I see." Kakashi offered. "That would explain the birds, perhaps." To Kuro, the Jounin seemed to slowly loose interest in the topic. "Well then, as long as he's fine."

"Quite." Kuro beamed at him, sitting down in the chair. "I did forget to bring his dinner, but I suppose he won't need it. Mm." He appeared to withdraw into himself, hazel eyes becoming glazed. They cleared as he said, "Well, no other critical status patients have been admitted, so I'll keep him company." The man laughed. "People like Iruka-san are strange; you can't help but become attracted."

Kakashi openly studied the med nin. "I would have to agree."

Kuro glanced up, nerves quickly growing wracked by the critical eye. "Mm?"

Kakashi shook his head slowly, eyes switching over to Iruka. Kuro had divulged a large sum of information quite on purpose. It was almost perplexing, how this man worked, but he wouldn't let that bother him yet. "I didn't say anything of importance."

"I think," the other man began softly, "that words said to lack importance are often words that hold the most meaning."

The ninja nodded slowly, crossing his arms.

"I wonder…is it that Amaya-sama and yourself- is it that you distrust me and my brother?"

Kakashi smiled at him, almost finding humor in the question. "What shinobi trusts?"

"Ah, that is true. Or, rather, it should be." Kuro gracefully slid onto the edge of the hospital bed. "Some shinobi trust too much."

Kakashi's expression narrowed momentarily. "That is true as well." His eye flickered between Iruka and Kuro once.

A stark white glove hovered over one of Iruka's exposed feet. "Sometimes I think of this and I wonder: does my own brother trust me?"

"Only just as much as he must, I will assure you that."

The man ran his fingers over the sensei's ankle and down to his toes. Iruka shifted and turned over onto his side, back toward both of them. "You may be right. You may not. There's always uncertainty in a ninja's life."

"So it should be." Kakashi shifted away from the window to stand apart from the wall. His hands shifted to his pockets.

"You're an interesting man." He began to pet Iruka's foot like an old woman with her favorite cat.

Kakashi pointed to the man's hand. "I do believe you're disturbing him."

"Ah. No, he'll be sleeping pretty heavily I imagine. Reflex." Kuro shrugged. He made no move to stop.

Kakashi was suddenly standing next to him, hand gripping the white-clad nin's wrist. "I'm sure you've got other patients to attend to now, Harogami-san."

A maddeningly sweet smile graced Kuro's face. "Not at all. The hospital has been relatively empty lately. Iruka-san is one of the only close observation patients we have. Everything else is either broken bone or illness. Influenzas and the like." Kuro glanced down at his trapped wrist. Well that was annoying. He'd been having fun. Hmmm…his brother would be jealous of his exploits though. That was compensation, he supposed.

Kakashi ushered a threatening, "Don't touch him." His sudden defensiveness of the sleeping Iruka had nearly caught Kakashi off guard, but it didn't show.

"I am one of his caretakers, Kakashi-sama."

"That gives you no place to toy with him in his sleep, Kuro-san." The grip tightened dangerously.

Kuro whimpered and uncurled his fingers. "Just offering comfort..." Hazel eyes slowly lifted to Kakashi's. "Unless you'd prefer to do so yourself."

The Jounin's grip slowly lifted, leaving Kuro's wrist bruised. "Iruka-san is fine without it." He backed off slightly, having gotten the point across.

"I should bring that food in case he wakes up," Kuro murmured, swiftly maneuvering around Kakashi and half bowing as he opened the door. Humming wafted into the room as Kuro vanished down the shaded halls. It returned again and the door opened, revealing Kuro standing out in the hall with a tray that had something unidentifiable with thick steam bellowing out from it. As he took a step inside, a shadow flashed past the window, the flapping of wings causing them both to unanimously glance toward it. "Birds are said to be omens."

Kakashi's attention reluctantly left the window in exchange for the nin.

"Night birds like that breed are considered omens of death in the village where I was born." Kuro wiped his hands on his uniform. Something had spilt off the dish. "Well, good night, Kakashi-sama." Kuro bowed his head to the Jounin.

Kakashi stared afterward. "Good night…"