Leaves in the Wind

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Birds

Throughout his life as a child, Iruka had heard adults speak of work as being 'living hell', 'hell on earth', and 'the pit of hell'. He understood part of their plight; the long hours they complained about were akin to the same amount of time in spent school, and at his age, school had been its own layer of damnation. In his Academy days, Iruka didn't understand how anything could be worse than school, and when he'd taken a job at that same Academy years later, he still didn't relate with the 'work is pain' mentality.

Rather, he hadn't until now.

"Here." Another report was shoved at him, and he returned the favor, quickly exchanging scroll for scroll with the impatient Jounin.

Where the sudden influx in demands for Konoha ninja originated, no one could pinpoint. It seemed as though suddenly the world had been thrown off balance. Feudal lords were complaining about everything. Townsfolk were starting brawls, and territorial lords were enlisting these brutes as muscle against their opponents. Other problems were rapidly arising, which meant people were calling for ninja to settle things. The difficulty in this situation laid with who was hiring whom. Rival ninja from rival countries were being commissioned, meaning one ninja would be assigned to assassinate person A while another was sent by A to assassinate B, and then both would soon be caught in a life or death struggle against the other, leaving the mission on hiatus and the buyers angered. Angered buyers would then send for more ninja…

It really did feel like hell.

Iruka passed out another five scrolls, filed eight more reports, and finally slumped against his desk, pen in hand, paper sporting an illegible scrawl where the tip of the pen was slowly slipping in a random direction.

"Yo," a familiar voice hit Iruka's ears, forcing him to lift his gaze to see Kakashi staring down at him. The Jounin looked around the Missions Office with a skeptical eye. There were people everywhere, appearing and disappearing like frantic roaches. "What is going on here?" He slid a mission report across the desk to Iruka. It was short and scribbled as if he'd forced himself to do it five seconds before entering the room, or possibly AS he entered the room. Kakashi, after much pleading from Iruka, had been taking a few lower level missions to help clear up a bit of the work load. He would have done more, but the Jounin had to stay within Konoha because Team Seven still needed supervision. "I'll take another one if you need it."

"I've gotten rid of my last mission within Konoha. You can check with Harumi-chan or Sanso-san."

"No, I'll let them handle it." Kakashi shook his head, pocketing his hands. Someone bumped into the Jounin as they darted past, papers flying in the air. Kakashi glanced over his shoulder, but the unfortunate soul was quickly lost in the hectic crowd. "Hey," his attention slid smoothly back to Iruka. "Step outside with me. I need to know what's happening."

---

"It seems that, for the last two weeks, all of the territories in fire country and rock country have been suffering from internal tensions that we've apparently overlooked. Just last night, a brawl was started in a Rock village bar. Some visiting citizens were hurt, and it seems that that was enough for a few local lords to act and obviously…" Iruka sighed, forehead in his hands. "We have to deal with their problems."

Kakashi lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head. "Mm, I see." He folded his arms across his chest, looking down at Iruka as he thought over the situation. A brush of dry air ran between the two of them, causing branches to sway in the nearby trees. "How thin are we spread? Can't we push some of this off to the other villages?"

The Chuunin fixed him with a very harassed look. "We have."

"It's that bad? Why didn't we know about the tension before hand? There was literally no one requesting our service not so long ago, and suddenly this? I find it hard to believe that Konoha would have been left out of the ring of chaos and not have a clue."

"I believe the Harogami brothers were involved." Iruka shifted uneasily. "A few of the messengers that came in complained about the local birds. And those that came from Rock complained about hostile avian activity there as well."

Concern fluttered through Kakashi's expression. "They're wearing out our forces, Iruka. If it keeps up at this rate, we eventually won't have anyone here except for the teachers, stationed forces, and the tired or injured."

"There's not much we can do about it." The Chuunin shut his eyes tightly, throwing his head back. "We have to take the missions…. I don't want to even imagine what would politically happen if we started to refuse the commissions."

"The Kuro brothers will be coming back soon," Kakashi muttered dangerously.

"I'm aware of that…" Iruka glanced at the Jounin. "Honestly, we can only wait until they choose to strike."

Kakashi shook his head, placing a finger in the air. "Not if I find them first."

"Kakashi, please... If you try to kill them, it's likely they're going to use some cheap tactic, and it's probably going to involve someone completely innocent." He raised a brow. "We both know Shinobi are capable of killing anyone if they have to."

Kakashi gritted his teeth, remembering the little 'meeting' he had had with the Kuro brothers before their disappearance. They had made it very clear to him that that innocent person would be Iruka. "Iruka…" The Jounin's grey eye was suddenly trained on the man in question. "Have you heard anything from the birds lately?"

"No." He watched a leaf float lazily downward.

The Jounin gave an exasperated sigh. "Why are you lying to me about this?"

"I'm not."

"That's a lie."

Iruka glared at Kakashi, determined to win this ocular spar with the man. When the Academy sensei realized defeat was imminent, he turned towards the entrance to the Missions building. "I've been out long enough."

A hand firmly grasped Iruka's elbow and jerked him back. "Iruka, what did it say to you?"

"I didn't hear anything."

"Iruka," Kakashi warned softly, looking him right in the eye. "The birds are talking to you. As insane as it sounds, they are, and to ignore it would be a fool's option."

"The birds are not talking to me, Kakashi."

"Iruka, you're going to be used again if you don't stop lying to yourself."

The Chuunin grimaced, looking away from Kakashi. "Falling," he muttered at last.

"Falling? Just 'falling'?"

"Yes! Falling! The damn thing said 'falling'!"

Kakashi's hand fell away from Iruka, irritated with the news of another riddle to decipher. "Ok." They'd find out the real meaning soon enough.

"Excuse me, Kakashi, I need to get back." The Chuunin turned tail and vanished inside.

---

"And again, I must excuse myself as I have work to do," Tekki grumbled. The medical nin held his clipboard in front of him as though it would act as a Shinobi repelling shield. With his free hand, he pointed a long, sharp syringe at Yasuo.

"Oh, come on," the rejected boy stepped to the side allowing Tekki and the needle passage around him. He tailed afterward down the hospital hallway, ignoring the irritated glances from the passing nurses. "Need help? I'll help out. You're missing two employees, you can't tell me that you don't-"

The white clad back tensed as the man froze in mid step. "We do not have a lack of employees," he ground out. "We are staffed enough to do our jobs, now, if you're intent on staying, might I suggest jumping out a window, hitting yourself with a stick, or cutting yourself with a kunai."

"They'd send me to a ward if I did that." After saying so, the young ninja realized that that was probably the point of Tekki's comment. Yasuo sighed, relentlessly following him. Perhaps if he remained silent long enough, Tekki would start talking on his own. God, he hated Isamu's assignments.

"I detest ninja," Tekki muttered sourly. He would just disregard his own occupational status. The man spun around on his heels, glaring through golden eyes at his stalker. "What. Do. You. WANT!"

Yasuo flinched and recoiled slightly, and blurted out a random question. "Is Isamu-sensei really your cousin?" This might have been a mistake to ask; he quickly covered. "I mean, you've got the same eyes and all, but I swear your temperaments are so different… and body structure and everything, but…"

The med nin's dark brows lowered, his golden eyes darkening significantly. "We sure as hell have different body structures." Tekki's grip tightened on the syringe. After a stiff moment of contemplation, the med nin whirled and started to stalk off down the hallway. "Yes, we're related, however unfortunate it is."

"Oh." Yasuo scampered after Tekki. Ahead of him, the man jerked open a storage room door and quickly began to busy himself by savagely ripping open boxes. Yasuo followed, shutting the door with a soft click behind him. There were three other employees in the large room as well, organizing a few items. They all stared at him, then glanced away. Yasuo's voice lowered so they couldn't hear his questions. "Did you come from Bird Country as well?"

"NO," Tekki snarled, attacking a box of gauzes. This violent response silenced Yasuo. The man ripped into three more containers before letting loose an irritated sigh. He summoned the three employees in the room and gave them a strict order to take the opened boxes to their respective locations. Matsuhara Tekki yanked out another box from the shelves and noisily dropped it on the ground. He was looking it over with a critical eye when Yasuo spoke again.

"Isamu-sensei is practically immune to genjutsu, isn't he?" It was a question that was nagging at Yasuo for a while now. Ever since he so easily used the Mirror Mirror Jutsu on Iruka, he had been suspicious of Isamu's abilities.

"Kazahaya is completely immune to genjutsu," Tekki corrected with a scowl. The ninja kept his critical gaze on the box in front of him. It had a dent in one side, and that further pissed him off.

"Completely?" Here Yasuo was struggling to execute the technique on Isamu, and the sensei hadn't even bothered to mention that it wouldn't affect him. Then again, now that he thought about it, it was probably something like strength training. You could try to push a house, and never succeed, but when you step down a level and push a rock, you'll excel. "How is that possible? I've never heard of anything like that."

Dent and Chuunin both bothered Tekki immensely, but he chose to focus on the imperfections of the cardboard instead. "It would seem you're deaf too. I'll give you a slip to get that looked at." After the persisting silence, one during which Yasuo's insistent attention began smothering him, he finally answered with a gruff, "That's nothing you need to know."

"Are you immune to genjutsu as well?" The boy quipped.

"Hell no." Tekki grunted, tossing the box away. He hastily scribbled something on his clipboard, reaching out to swipe the nearest object within range -a carton of bandages. "So what is it? You came here to interrogate me about Kazahaya?"

Yasuo blinked, suddenly realizing how off track he had become. In truth, he was supposed to be prying information about Tekki, not his sensei. Isamu knew he would be distracted by his curiosity. "That bastard, he did it on purpose…" Yasuo muttered aloud.

Hawk eyes suddenly bore into him. "What has he been teaching you?"

This question caught Yasuo off guard, and he shifted uneasily. It was time to go with Shocked Academy Student Response #2. "Nothing…"

"What the hell is that idiot doing?" Tekki pointed at him. "Why are you here?"

Think fast. "Well, I came here to visit Arina-chan, but she's sleeping right now. She's got a bad cough."

Tekki didn't believe it. Any of it. Granted, an Arina had been admitted during the early morning shift, but if Yasuo was involved with Isamu in whatever way, this trip had more than a sick friend behind it. "Then why don't you wait by her bedside?"

"Because it'd scare her. She's very jumpy. I'll just check back in a half hour or so."

"Go eat in the cafeteria."

"Not hungry."

"Go feed the birds."

"There's a sign outside that says-"

"When the hell have shinobi ever paid attention to a sign!"

This was a good question. Then, Yasuo came up with a good answer. "When it's convenient to do so."

"Then go feed the squirrels!"

"Bad experience when I was younger. Wont go near the rodents."

"More reason to do it." Tekki jabbed his finger at the boy.

"I don't think so." Yasuo grinned at the med nin.

The wrath of Tekki slowly boiled. "The Shinobi now days don't seem to do much of that."

"I'm sure they think plenty," Yasuo countered defensively. "They just don't show it." The boy's brown eyes switched to the box in Tekki's hand. He pointed. "You squished it."

The man's eyes held a near homicidal gleam. "I think perhaps I'll just have to use the contents now."

"Bandages?" Yasuo blinked. "But no one here needs bandages."

"True." Tekki's fingers slowly pried open the top flap.

The boy stared and something clicked. "Oh…" He scratched at the back of his neck and smiled nervously. "Haha…"

"Ha ha. Ha ha," Tekki said.

Had to shift the topic. "Ah…." Yasuo had never been good at manipulating personal information out of people. He really didn't have much of a need for it before now. In the Academy, the other children simply followed him, and that was it. Isamu's point had gotten across; charisma only got you so far.

The med nin was gesturing to the door with his free hand. "Now. Go feed the birds or I'll set up a room for you next to your friend's."

Yasuo stared at Tekki, milling over the situation. His look had grown a bit more serious as he thought on it. "You know," he finally began, "You look a bit like a bird yourself."

This granted him a glare and a dangerous mutter, "So I've been told…." The ninja seemed to relent with this comment, returning his attention to the bandages. "I suppose it's the eyes, correct?"

"Yeah," Yasuo nodded. "It's an unusual eye color, gold-" and suddenly, he felt some pieces slide together. Yasuo gained an enlightened expression that caused the med ninja to stare suspiciously. "You don't have kekki genkai or doujutsu, do you?"

Tekki stood, gently placing the open box on a shelf. When he spoke, his tone was disturbingly subdued. "Yes."

"Wow." Yasuo felt proud of himself. "What's it do? If you don't mind me asking, that is." Now that he was on to something, he had to phrase his words very carefully.

"The kekki genkai of my family does many things." Tekki's head tilted forward slightly, eyes narrowing. "It's the mark of devils…"

"Mark of devils? That's a pretty harsh thing to say…"

"Not in truth. To carry this blood is a burden, not a gift." A fierce golden eye was turned on him, blazing with some nondescript light. "I have never used mine nor will I ever do so. Pray to the gods you don't encounter it, Yasuo-kun."

Somehow, the use of his name made Yasuo's skin crawl, but the uneasy feeling did not curb his excitement or curiosity. "But what makes it so terrible?"

"That is something you don't need to know. And if you go inquiring to Isamu, if he says anything about it, he has forsaken his clan." Tekki looked away sharply, though Yasuo could see the grim look on his face. "Forget about it."

The boy nodded shortly, discovering that he might have stumbled upon a bit of information Tekki never meant to divulge. Yasuo wanted to know more, but he knew better than to press Tekki further. "Right…" He nervously slipped off the chair. "Ah, I'm going to…go check on Arina-chan now…"

"Next time I see your sorry ass it'd better be when you're bleeding profusely and missing limbs. Got that?"

"Ah, y-yes sir!" Yasuo disappeared behind the door.

---

Yasuo waved at the nurses at the front desk as he turned to walk out the front doors of the hospital. He had, indeed, stopped to say hello to Arina, in the event that Tekki became even more suspicious and felt so inclined to check up on his alibi. The Chuunin was feeling good about himself. He'd taken a big step -being able to put some pieces together and figure out that Tekki, and consequently his own sensei, had a bloodline limit. He wondered what it was; the curiosity was killing him.

The glass doors shut behind him and he ambled forward at his own casual pace. The day was fresh and clean. A blue, nearly cloudless sky paralleled shadow splotched land, a cool breeze pushed the atmosphere, and the grass was lively.

The afternoon was pregnant with the chatter of song birds. Flashes of bright feathers drew Yasuo's attention to a patch of carefully placed trees that lined the wide path. The avians flipped, dived, pecked at, and rested on the branches. Below them, apparently ignorant of the massive flock above, a man leaned against the smooth trunk, eyes closed. His white hair flashed in the brilliance of the young sun above, and dappled light danced over pale skin. He was clad in white mesh and white pants, much of his creamy flesh left visible. Thin blue lips were curled in a serene smile.

As Yasuo came closer and began to pass by completely, the stranger's eyes flickered open. Molten gold gleamed.

Yasuo stopped dead in his tracks, and his senses fine tuned. He had suddenly, instinctively become very alert, but he couldn't quite place why. He looked up to the birds flying over his head. They chirped merrily, bouncing and flying across the path in the same manner birds always did. He pocketed his hands, listening closely to the brush of wind through the tree tops. There was nothing.

The boy turned slightly, looking back to the white haired man still sitting in place at the base of the tree. Yasuo could only see half of the man's back, since the tree obscured most of the view. As a result, the boy found himself backtracking a few yards, and he stopped, starring at the white person before him. His brown eyes locked with frighteningly familiar golden. It wasn't a harsh or competitive stare on either side. It was just observational, potentially curious. The boy blinked.

"Good afternoon." The white-haired man brushed a slip of bangs out of his face to see Yasuo clearly. The voice was soft and pleasant. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah…" Yasuo's mouth remained open as his mind quickly set things in order. Finally, he shook his head. "Oh, no, sorry for staring I just…" His ears pricked up and the young ninja's attention flickered to the flock of birds above. It wasn't a noise he'd heard; it was the lack of noise. Their chirping was muted, and a few were watching him.

The man, perpetually unaware of this, laughed. "Aren't used to seeing someone like myself?" His eyelids lowered halfway over the golden gleam. "Odd even in a village full of Shinobi." He carved a smile with his lips and he looked up at the birds with Yasuo. "They're beautiful aren't they?"

"Oh yes," this comment was successful in lowering Yasuo's unexplained defensiveness. Common ground tended to do that. "I love watching birds fly." Yasuo smiled at the man, relieved that his weary moment had passed. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I'll just be going now."

"You didn't disturb me. As it is, I myself have business at the hospital." He stood, brushing at pieces of grass and the occasional feather. "Perhaps we will watch the birds together sometime, ne?"

The boy laughed and nodded. "Yeah, that'd be nice." His voice was friendly, "Perhaps I will see you again sometime soon. We can watch the birds then." Meaningful gazes locked for an instant more, and the boy broke it. Yasuo's weight shifted on his feet as he continued in his original direction.

---

"Come on, Iruka, you should be thanking me for dragging you away from the Missions Office." Kakashi's lazy voice made the sensei twitch. How was it that in this time of distress and urgency, the Jounin always seemed to hold his drawl? "They can handle it. Just a little walk, maybe to the Hero Stone and back. You're working too much."

"Kakashi," Iruka muttered, trudging behind the silver-haired man, "your definition of 'working too much' doesn't constitute 'too much'." The Chuunin was trying to keep his irritation alive, but to his dismay and near relief, it was dwindling into mere indifference.

"I work plenty," Kakashi defended. The sun was strong in the sky above them, signifying four in the afternoon. It had taken an entire half hour of pestering before Iruka had given up and left the busy Missions Office for fresh air. "It's only a fifteen minute break. I'll have to teach you how to relax more."

Unfortunately, the change of scenery did nothing for Iruka's current temperament, and the Chuunin began to rant about Kakashi's inability to behave seriously. The Chuunin passed in front of him, still muttering lowly.

They crossed over the familiar, short bridge and entered the lightly wooded area. Their one-sided conversation continued as they walked towards the Hero Stone Monument. Kakashi had taken to keeping an eye on the sky and trees above him, searching for any suspicious activity. However, it wasn't until they reached the actual clearing when both froze in their tracks. Iruka's mouth snapped shut, and he tensed up at the sight before him.

Yasuo was crouching down near the monument with a slice of bread in his hands. The young ninja tore off a small piece of the food, and tossed it forward a few feet. Three black birds hopped towards it and squabbled over the offering before one of them nabbed it up. A fourth black feathered creature was perched on Yasuo's knee, watching silently. The boy pulled off a larger piece of bread and held it for the bird to take. The raven's head turned and it prukked before nabbing it from between his fingers. Yasuo laughed.

Iruka twitched, stepping forward into the clearing. "Hello, Yasuo-kun…"

The boy and the birds perked up. All eyes turned in his direction. "Oh! G' afternoon, Iruka-sensei. I was just playing with these guys." He held up the bread as if to illustrate. "You want to feed them with me? This one here is really nice." He fed a small piece of bread to the raven on his knee. "It's my favorite."

Kakashi walked over and stared down at the three birds that stood a short distance from Yasuo. He kicked at them and they hopped out of range of the swinging foot. The three fluttered and took off into the trees with loud, irritated caws.

"Hey!" the boy snapped. "What'd you do that for?"

"Birds are vectors of disease," Kakashi muttered, pointing at the bird on Yasuo's knee. "Scram."

The bird leapt into the air and began circling over head. Yasuo's face fell into a cross frown. "They aren't diseased…"

Fluttering behind Iruka made him twitch as he glanced upwards. One of the black birds attempted to land on his head, but the man waved his hand in the air, sending it squawking away in pain. The Academy sensei abruptly looked to Yasuo and sent him an unreadable look. "You should be careful, Yasuo-kun. Kakashi-san's right, they're no good."

The defeated bird fluttered over to Yasuo and perched on the boy's head instead. "I'm not going to get sick from them," Yasuo protested. "They're just birds, what harm can they do?" He stood up and brushed crumbs and grass of his pants. The bird hopped around so that it didn't loose balance. "Besides, I like them."

With that comment, the creature pointedly stared at Kakashi. "Suzume, suzume-"

The bird was suddenly knocked off of Yasuo's head, kunai lodged deep in its chest cavity. Shouting then whirling, Yasuo stared blankly at the carcass. "Kakashi-san! That's so terrible!" He ran over to the bird's body and reached for it.

"Don't touch it," Kakashi demanded. "Yasuo-kun, you are not to be playing with birds any more, understood?"

"Why not!" he snapped back.

The Jounin simply glared, and the boy was immediately wrestled into defeat.

"We'll take the scarecrow's toy away." The remainder of the flock immediately vacated, loose feathers falling. Iruka hadn't heard any of it this time, but his face held fear and anger. Most of it was directed at the vanishing birds, but when they were gone, he gave Yasuo a stern look of warning. "They're not just birds, Yasuo-kun."

Yasuo looked up from his fallen, feathered friend. At the very least, he wanted to pluck the kunai from its body, but he feared Kakashi's wrath. The boy's face portrayed confusion and a little hurt. "Not just birds? Iruka-sensei, what are you talking about? Of course they're birds. They fly and they eat bread and sing songs. That's it."

Iruka's silence gave him nothing; the anxiety on his face, however, spoke volumes.

Yasuo's eyes widened only a fraction as Iruka's expression sowed the seed of fear. "What are they…?" He stood slowly, glancing down at the bird once before looking back.

"Minions," Kakashi answered sternly. "Yasuo-kun, have you been following the events involving the missing medical nins?"

Yasuo nodded slowly. "Yeah. Identical twins. They're the ones who killed Kozue Amaya from Takigakure, along with several ANBU." He noticed Iruka's brows furrow at the mention of her name. "The brothers were associated with Kekemoro Suien, the supposed merchant." The boy grew a bit more uneasy. "Why? What does that have to do with the birds?"

Iruka answered, "Those twins have been controlling Konoha's avian population."

Yasuo blinked, eyes landing on Iruka. "What?"

Kakashi pointed to the dead bird. "They're used as spies."

"That's ridiculous." Yasuo shook his head, stepping away from the dead bird on the ground. The young Chuunin stared at the creature, gaze rolling over its sharp talons, across the soft, oily feathers, and then to golden eyes. The denial slowly gave way to alarm. His heart rate accelerated and his face blanched. Both older shinobi stared at him questioningly. "The…" Golden eyes. "The missing nins, Harogami Kuro and Harogami Kuro, right?"

"Yes." Iruka nodded gravely, concern tainting his words. "What's wrong, Yasuo-kun?"

Yasuo's brows furrowed and he looked away from the bird, shaking his head once before looking back. The avian's golden eyes were blank, devoid of all life. "Do they have…" The man he had met at the hospital had blended in with the flock of birds so perfectly, as if he belonged with them. "Do they have white hair and… golden eyes?"

"Both of them."

Yasuo bit his bottom lip nervously. "I saw one," he whispered. "He was by the hospital. Said he had business there."

Iruka, for the first time in Yasuo's memory, stunned him by cursing aloud. "SHIT! No!"

The boy's body had tensed with the urgency of his words. "This is speculation on my part, but I have good reason to believe they have Kekki Genkai."

"What makes you say that?" Kakashi asked.

"The eyes." The boy said slowly. "I was speaking with Tekki-san earlier about it, and I found out about their bloodline limit. Matsuhara Tekki and Kazahaya Isamu have golden eyes, part of their blood limit. The Harogami brothers share the exact same trait. And I don't mean just coincidentally, they're exactly alike, there's no doubt about it. However, I couldn't find out what the limit was capable of."

"…Tekki related to the Kuro brothers…?" It…was possible but it was so absurd he couldn't keep the skepticism out of his voice.

Yasuo nodded. "Distantly, but absolutely possible. Isamu-sensei's father got around a lot, as Isamu likes to put it. He's had plenty of lovers on his travels from Bird Country. Practically left a trail behind him."

The fact that all four of them could possibly be connected through genetics made Iruka inwardly flinch. "Kuro and Kuro are linked with Tekki and Isamu." He turned to Kakashi. "They were at the hospital with business. Kakashi, do you think Tekki-san-"

"Yes." Kakashi's image blurred and leaves rustled as the Jounin dashed towards the hospital.

---

"I met the nicest young man," Kuro commented absently, swinging his legs back and forth as the gurney screeched forward. Tekki grunted, turning his face away from his unwanted passenger. The soft whisper of his cousin came from in front of him, but he could feel Kuro's breath on the back of his neck. "I would like to watch the birds with him before we make our move, Kuro-kun."

The second Harogami sibling strolled along side them. "Perhaps some other time, Kuro-kun."

Tekki shot both of them glares. "Look you two. I'm trying to work. What the hell are you doing here?"

"We wanted to visit you, cousin."

"Oh, yes. And did I tell you? He likes birds." Kuro tilted his head to the side, eyes glazed over. "I could tell; there was real appreciation there. Not the polite-"

"Enough about the damn birds!" The gurney rolled forward as Tekki let go. The seated Kuro laughed loudly, and flung his arms outward as if he were flying. He grinned back at them before the gurney crashed into the wall.

His younger brother sighed. "Tekki-san, perhaps we could speak in one of the storage rooms? Why not your office? I don't believe your patients are…safe from Kuro-kun. He's a little too energetic today."

"I can see that." Tekki grumbled. "Fine. You know where it is. You're aware that your presence has most likely been detected by now?"

"ANBU isn't a problem." Kuro flashed him an eerie grin. "And Kuro and I, we've been practicing."

Both twins retreated, Tekki glowering at their backs as he moved to set the gurney straight, turning to wheel it into an unoccupied room before rejoining his relatives. Kuro, who was standing by the door inside his organized office, shut it after Tekki, locking it quietly. "How have things been here, Matsuhara-kun?"

"Fine," Tekki grunted.

"Should be. Sensei would be displeased if it wasn't."

The elder Kuro glanced up at his brother's darkening tone. "Nii-san's been getting cranky lately," he explained.

Both men ignored him. "What are you doing here, Kuro?"

"We've gathered the necessary powers," the younger twin returned. "And sensei was worried you were being disloyal."

"I've been doing my part," Tekki retorted stiffly. He stepped away toward his desk, eyes trained on the discharge papers that still needed signing. Finally, he admitted, "The birds are getting out of my control."

"Because you're not tapping into-"

"And I don't plan on it." The med nin whirled, eyes glinting in the dimmed, controlled lighting. Kuro was meeting his glare with one of his own. It sent a cold shiver down the man's spine.

"Well what else have you done?" Kuro hissed, pointing a long, pale finger at Tekki. "You've dealt with the birds, you've infected shinobi. That's all? You could do more."

"I've spread a link. And what I've done with those hell fowl should be good enough for him. If he doesn't fucking like it, tell him to come kill me himself. I'd rather not be murdered by family."

Older Kuro laughed gaily. "We're not here to kill you, Tekki-san. We just wanted to say hello."

"Bullshit." Tekki gestured to his door. "I'm doing what I was told. You've checked on me. You've already condemned me by showing up. Now go. Let me take care of these convalescents."

"It won't matter soon."

Their cousin stiffened, chin held high. "I took an oath. My patients' lives are above my own."

They shook their heads in unison. Older Kuro was now leaning against Tekki's wall, but that quickly changed as he leapt away from it, dancing in place excitedly. "We're going to have company!"

Tekki froze, and younger Kuro chuckled. The medical ninja bowed his head, silently moving around them, unlocking his door and stepping out. He grabbed his clipboard off the nail in the wall and went to check on patient 203. At least for the remainder of his freedom, he could take care of his patients. To hell if ANBU would allow him to continue his work after this….

"Do you think they'll take Tekki-san?" Kuro inquired, watching the man vanish.

"If they've found out he's involved. That's likely."

"Should we kill him?"

"No. We don't kill family."

They resigned themselves to wait.

---

Upon ANBU's arrival, the hospital had been set into lockdown mode. All access to the patient hallways was cut off, all employees were herded into the front lobby, and all exits were blocked by Konoha shinobi. Kakashi and the four ANBU members wasted no time in locating Matsuhara Tekki. The traitorous medical ninja surrendered to them without a fight and was escorted to a holding area outside of the hospital.

The five silently dashed up the stairs to the second level of the hospital with the grace and agility of cats. Once there, they split to cover more ground. The radio buzzed in Kakashi's ear as each elite shinobi cleared a room and reported it to the team. Kakashi had started down a connecting hallway and began to check storage rooms. Each one was clear. Not even chakara traces could be found. The Jounin slipped silently around another corner of the wing, and he froze, eyes landing upon a door. It was the entrance to Matsuhara Tekki's office. He lifted a hand to his head set, issuing a short command. In an instant, the ANBU team had reported, all sensing the Harogami Brothers' unhampered chakara. The brothers apparently wanted to be found.

The lead ANBU stepped forward, standing before the office door. His hand lifted to hold them in place as he assessed the situation, quickly plotting out all possible results of an action. His wrist turned.

The locked door burst open and they swarmed in, immediately spotting the brothers sitting on the desktop with twisted grins on their faces. Kunai whizzed towards them, striking with absolute precision.

The twins disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving in their place two bird carcasses trussed up in rusted wire. Kakashi stepped forward, kunai instinctively held at the ready. On each bird was pinned a folded note with a caricature of the brothers sticking their tongues out. Kakashi plucked the paper from each one and opened it slowly. "'Wish we were here'," he read aloud. He let the note flutter to the ground.

ANBU entered the room further, scanning over it quickly. "Here," one of the shinobi pulled out the desk chair. They found a third bird dressed up with a bloodied hitae-ate, another note declaring 'Too slow'.

Kakashi gritted his teeth, keeping his frustration well masked. The brothers had already killed. "Two of you scan all exits. Find out who's missing from their post." They nodded and dashed out the door. Kakashi pointed at the remaining two. "Let's check the rest of the rooms."

"Roger," both nodded and started ahead of him.

Kakashi made a last search of the room, finding no more clues from the Harogami brothers. The Jounin stepped into the hallway.

SCREEEEEEEEEE-AA -crack shh- AAHH

A desperate shout crackled loudly in Kakashi's headphone. He grabbed it, ripping it away from his head before it could damage his hearing. The volume flared, sputtered, and died. An explosion of chakara downstairs instantaneously attracted every searching Shinobi. They nearly leapt down the stairwell, dashing down the second floor hall, and through a secondary hallway door. They were immediately greeted with a storm of glass and feathers. Windows had been shattered by birds. Those that slammed into the glass were dead, littering the hall with their bodies. The rest were streaming into the hospital, attacking anything and anyone they came in contact with.

A bloodied ANBU member dived towards them, slamming the door shut behind him. Loud thudding reverberated throughout that hall as the merciless onslaught continued. "They came in with the Harogami brothers-" he inhaled sharply hand clenching over his chest. The shinobi could hardly hear his shouts over the screeching and slamming of birds. "No, no, I mean, when I tried to apprehend them these birds just burst in- Damn it! The brothers are gone! They escaped while the birds were coming in; and I don't know the state of our men outside."

Kakashi dashed to the window down the hallway and threw it open. His attention was immediately drawn towards a terrifyingly huge mass of black, flying through the air towards the hospital. It was a second wave of avian terrorists. When his attention lowered to the ground from the second floor, a lifeless, mutilated body stared back. "We've got one down! Hurry!" He leapt out the window, twisting once, landing perfectly. Four soft thuds behind him signified ANBU's descent.

A massive flock of birds was still flying through the broken windows just a few yards away. The fowl seemed unconcerned with the Shinobi gathered around the torn, bleeding corpse. At a glance to either side, they saw every outside shinobi had been slaughtered. Some of the birds suddenly shot upwards, venturing to higher windows. As the first scream hit their ears from the patient levels, ANBU members scattered.

Kakashi made move to follow, but a black as night shadow engulfed the area. He gazed upward as the sun was blocked by a swarm of birds so thick, it seemed not a mass of individuals, but a single, throbbing, inky monstrosity. The Jounin ducked to the ground as glass shattered, shards piercing air and clattering to the ground. Bird carcasses followed example, and above the cacophony of fluttering and screeching, was the screams of those trapped inside. Every entrance to the hospital was clogged with soaring creatures before Kakashi had a chance to react. He felt a pang of undying regret as he understood it was probably better that way.

The onslaught of the hospital continued for a total of two minutes. For the full one-hundred-twenty seconds, Kakashi was forced to stand by and watch helplessly. The first wave of birds began a retreat into the atmosphere, and it was quickly followed by a second and third wave of surviving fowl. Feathers fluttered downward, landing around him and sticking out of his silver hair. The sun shone again, and the world was left in heavy silence. Kakashi stood in place, arms limply to his sides, head tilted back in disbelief as he observe red the destruction. He swallowed hard, searching for the breath that was lost somewhere deep in his lungs. His grey eye shifted downward and he stared at the nearest ground floor window, knowing yet denying what lay beyond it. Finally, he stiffly stepped forward and hopped inside; the hopeless search for survivors began.