"I'm not going to hurt her. We call in the DPA, they'll deal with her. The body upstairs will be evidence, so she won't get away," Naruto said, trying to defuse the situation.

"You don't get it do you? What do you think the DPA will say to this?" Red threw her arm out, gesticulating to the teeth spread around them.

"Then we pick up the teeth, hide them. They won't need to know about that, we'll make a cover story." Naruto thought he'd found a good compromise. He could always call it in to Kakashi himself later, he could look into this then. The teeth weren't urgent business, but stopping Red from killing the witch certainly was.

"Shit, I didn't think the drugs made you this impotent," the girl spat, and the next thing Naruto knew she had flicked open the small tin and thrown the content in the witch's face.

Bits of powder sprayed over Naruto's exposed hands, and even though he shook it off immediately he could see his skin reddening and blistering from the split-second of contact. He had no idea what was in the powder, had never learned much about dark magic, and as the witch's screams rang out, shrill in the stairwell, loud enough to stir any neighbours—neighbours that would not investigate, because why would you in a place like this where screams were nothing out of the ordinary—and Naruto knew there was nothing he could do for her.

Her screams died as her lungs gave out, and she convulsed sharply and then stilled. Red foam had gathered in the corners of her mouth, the capillaries in her eyes had burst, and her face were covered with sore blisters. Red looked wholly unaffected by the situation, caring no more than a cat would looking at the mouse it had just killed.

"Gather up the teeth, and then we leave," she said, brushing off her hands, small blisters forming on the tips of her fingers where the powder had hit her.

Naruto did as she said, not knowing what else to do. He wanted to leave, wanted to run and make his way back to the city where Sasuke would welcome him home, no questions asked. It wouldn't last for long though, his beast would be back, and he would never be able to feel safe around Sasuke, always afraid what he might do. No, he needed to find a better way.

If there was any chance Danzo wasn't a crook Naruto was having a hard time believing it any more. Danzo had sent them out here to fetch the teeth, and Naruto wasn't sure why he didn't seem concerned with hiding the fact that he was dealing with shit he really shouldn't' be dealing with. So far Danzo had seemed intent portray himself as a good man, had given no inclinations to show any other sides even as Naruto spent time guarding him. Had that been a test? To see if Naruto was loyal?

it was becoming clear that he needed to talk to Danzo as soon as possible. He needed to get him to spill what he knew about what he was, and get him to tell what he planned to do. Did he intend for Naruto to live in that cabin forever, his personal lapdog in exchange for suppressants, or had he planned to let him go when they perfected the dosage?

He was starting to think he might have to find a way to get his hands on a few vials of suppressants and take them back to the DPA in the hope that they might be able to manufacture it there, because there was a steadily growing part of him that told him that he was in deep shit and it would only get worse if he stayed. If Danzo really was a bad guy he wasn't going to let Naruto leave, not with the knowledge he had.

The battered box looked inconspicuous when he carried it down the stairs, the thought that he was leaving two corpses behind making him feel sick. No one would be able to tell what he was carrying, how many lives had probably been spilled to fill it, and he most definitely was ignoring the fact that Red stayed behind after he started walking downstairs, only to catch up to him as he waited outside the car. She let a handful of teeth fall into the box, blood still clinging to the roots of them, and Naruto very nearly lost his breakfast then and there as she smiled at him, looking immensely pleased with herself.


Iruka was letting his hair hang loose to air dry as he stood in front of his suitcase, debating what to wear. He hadn't actually unpacked any of his clothes, seeing how the drawers were still full of Naruto's clothes and he got a bit emotional every time he saw them. Instead he was still living out of the suitcase and bags he had brought when he left. Most of his belongings were still in his apartment back home, but without a job he wouldn't be able to pay for that for long, so he would have to think about gathering it all up and letting the lease go. He could probably get a storage unit for the furniture until he could figure out what to do. He'd need to get a new job, and an apartment when Naruto came back. because Naruto was going to come back, Iruka wasn't going to allow anything else. He'd come back, and Iruka would scold him, and then they'd make ramen and eat at the kitchen counter as they had done before.

Iruka shook his head to stop himself from falling into old memories that would do nothing good. He would have faith that Naruto came back, and until that point he'd just wait. The one thing he could do for Naruto right now was to be there for him whenever he returned. Iruka was the one utterly normal in a world of extraordinary, he had no way of finding Naruto, he would just rely on Naruto to realise he was an idiot and come home.

He focused back on his clothes. There wasn't any heating on in the bedroom, so it was cold standing there in just the towel around his hips, and Kakashi was about to come soon, and Iruka was pretty sure that greeting him in just a towel was a bad idea.

Actually, he wouldn't mind seeing the look on Kakashi's face if he did, but then again, it was hard to spot any reactions behind his mask and eyepatch, so in the end he pulled out a pair of dark grey sweatpants and a soft knitted sweater in a forest green. He forewent fashion for the night, a little for the comfort, but mostly for the fact that he owned nothing that would be considered stylish in any way. His clothes were a remarkable stack of plain.

He had just shaken his hair loose of the collar of the sweater when the doorbell rang and Iruka hurried towards the front door, looking out the peep-hole before unlatching the door and letting in Kakashi.

He was in his standard dark slacks and white shirt, probably coming straight from work. He had a bag in his hand which he shoved into Iruka's arms as he made his way into the apartment, making himself at home as he sat down on the still busted up couch, throwing his feet up on the small side table that Iruka used for a coffee table in lieu of the one that had been broken.

He wanted to replace the furniture for new ones that were actually whole, but he couldn't really pay for it right now. With no income he needed to stretch his bank account for as long as he could, so there was no openings for splurging on anything but essentials.

"I swear, if you brought 50 Shades I'm tossing it in the blender," Iruka called out over his shoulder as he brought the food to the kitchen counter to plate it.

Kakashi chuckled at that, and Iruka allowed himself to smile, even though Kakashi wouldn't see.

He was glad he had Kakashi. Without him he'd spend all day in this apartment, stewing in his grief; but Kakashi helped keep him company, pull him out of the worst funks, even if it was by doing something as simple as having a movie night. It felt nice to have a bit of normality, to be able to think about something else for once.

Kakashi was a good man, and he was great company, as soon as you got past some of his odder sides. The mask and eye patch hadn't come off once, apart from when he ate, but it was an unspoken agreement that Iruka looked away when Kakashi did so, respecting his boundaries.

He had no idea why Kakashi wore the two, he guessed some sort of accident had taken his eye and maybe left him with scarring across his face he wasn't comfortable showing people, but Iruka hadn't asked, knowing Kakashi would tell him if he ever wanted to.

There was also the fact that Kakashi had a fascination with shitty romance novels that completely contradicted the picture of him as some serious DPA unit leader, but Iruka found that an intriguing oxymoron. Sometimes they would just sit and read together, Iruka going through the classics while Kakashi giggled to himself over some cliched romance. He couldn't find it in himself to think of it as anything other endearing.

Kakashi swung his feet off the table when Iruka came back with two plates laden with Chinese take-out, and soon they were digging their way through noodles and chicken as they watched a movie. They weren't talking, but sitting in silence with Kakashi wasn't uncomfortable at all.

Sated from the food and growing dozy Iruka was curled up on the couch, legs tucked underneath him, Kakashi a comforting presence at his side. Out of the side of his eye he could see Kakashi fidgeting, and he lasted all but two minutes until he reached over to pause the movie, turning towards Kakashi, pulling up his teacher face.

He didn't need to say anything, Kakashi easily interpreting his face as he lifted a hand and dragged it through his hair, clearly stalling. Iruka tried his best not to notice how soft that messy shock of hair looked and how much he wanted to bury his fingers in it.

"Sasuke came by my office today," Kakashi started.

Iruka sat up a little straighter. "Yeah?"

He knew Sasuke had been looking for Naruto, but last he heard there had been no clues. Had Sasuke found something? Why else would Kakashi need to tell Iruka about it?

"He… He found Naruto," Kakashi said, turning away from Iruka, gaze going back towards the TV screen although it was clear he wasn't paying attention to it.

"He… He found Naruto?" Iruka repeated dumbly, feeling his heart clench in his chest, unsure if it was supposed to soar with joy or not. It was good news, wasn't it? It had to be, Iruka wasn't going to accept anything else.

"Yes, he tracked him down, and went to see him last night."

Iruka let out a ragged breath, that had to mean that Naruto was safe, if Sasuke had been able to see him. Iruka hadn't wanted to consider any scenario where Naruto had gotten hurt or worse, but the thought had been festering in the back of his mind.

"Is he… is he safe?" Iruka asked, needing the confirmation.

"It seems like it," Kakashi said, and Iruka couldn't help himself as he threw himself forward, throwing his arms around Kakashi's neck and hugging him tightly. He had been so worried, but as long as Naruto was alive and unharmed he could finally breathe properly again.

He felt Kakashi tense underneath him for a moment before his arms gingerly lifted and wrapped around Iruka as he hugged him back, and for a moment Iruka just allowed himself to relax with relief, letting the soft scent of Kakashi envelop him, forgetting all about what he should and shouldn't do.

Still, there was something wrong. Kakashi should have been happy if they'd found Naruto. Naruto should have come back to them. There was something Kakashi wasn't telling him, so reluctantly Iruka pulled away.

"Kakashi," he said, the rest of the words wilting in his mouth.

"He found someone who has made an experimental drug that kept the part of him that's not human at bay, the part that hurt Sasuke," Kakashi said.

"He… let someone he didn't know give him experimental drugs?" Iruka asked in disbelief.

That idiot. That stupid little brat. He really thought he'd taught him better than that. Filling your body with unknown chemicals was a horrible idea, and he really should have known better. There were other ways, there had to be. Naruto needed to come back, and then they could figure things out.

"Sasuke got the impression that Naruto was wary of the man, but that he didn't see any other options."

"What kind of people have he gotten involved with?" Iruka asked, trying to shake the image of Naruto curled up on a dirty mattress in some crack house from his mind.

"He's a fairly well known politician actually, but something… doesn't seem right. Naruto promised to keep in touch with Sasuke, but he needed to go back there for now. I'm sorry I couldn't bring him back here, but Naruto seems to think he needs to see this through. We will monitor as well as we can."

"I need to see him, Kakashi, I need to know that he is well."

Kakashi sighed. "It's not an ideal situation, we have no idea what the drugs might have done to him, but they do appear to work as intended. We need to trust Naruto in this, I have faith that he can figure things out."

Iruka heard the note of worry in Kakashi's voice.

What did you get yourself mixed up in, he thought, hating how utterly useless he felt, unable to help his son.


The car ride back to the cabin was tense. Naruto had shoved the box into the back seat as soon as he could and spent the entire ride staring out the window, trying not to do something he was going to regret. Red had just laughed when he suggested he drove, swinging the key from her finger tauntingly before getting into the driver's seat. Naruto had no choice but to get in at the passenger seat or risk being left here. Which was tempting, but he couldn't, not without the suppressants.

He was disgusted by the thought of what was in the dingy box right behind him, and with the fact that Red seemed to care so little she had just killed someone as well as seen her partner die in front of her eyes. Naruto hadn't liked Jirōbō much, but it was still an awful way to go, writhing in pain as his face was practically burned away.

As it was Naruto had no idea if he was on his way back to the headquarters of a criminal organisation, or if he should still hold out some hope that it was some sort of misunderstanding and he could still trust Danzo. If the first was true he needed to step carefully or he'd be in deep shit. He wished he could believe the latter, that it was some big mistake, because if Danzo was a bad guy it meant that Naruto was close to being one as well, and the thought was disturbing.

"I thought you worked as an executioner before, wouldn't think you cared this much," Red said, as if they were actually going to be talking about this in a casual manner.

"I wasn't an executioner, I was a DPA agent," Naruto muttered.

"So you didn't kill anyone then?"

"I stopped vampires from hurting people."

Red snorted at that. "You asked them nicely to stop, is that it? Because as far as I know I'm pretty sure the DPA way of stopping vampires is the good old Red Queen's method. You know, off with their heads."

Naruto's hands fisted by his side as anger coursed through him. It wasn't the first time the DPA had been accused of them same, but what was they supposed to do? Lock them all up? There was no way of redeeming demons, just like there was no way to give zombies their humanity back. Unlike the witch Red had killed the vampires would never be human and good again, no matter how much therapy they were to receive. Demons were inherently evil, and vampires were nothing more than corpses controlled by demons. Locking up the undead would mean keeping them forever. Without sustenance both vampires and zombies would wither away, but that could take a long time, and it had the same result as a swift dead, so if they were to be treated as prisoners that meant people would have to donate blood and the corpses of their loved ones for sustenance, and everyone knew that wasn't about to happen, so all the DPA could offer was a swift death. Evil was vanquished and humanity was safe.

He wanted to tell her this, but he knew she was just taunting him, so getting into an argument wasn't going to lead to anything. Iruka would be so proud if he saw how Naruto was actually keeping his temper in check for once, there was a time when Naruto would have flown in her face for talking down about something he was invested in.

Red seemed to grow tired of him, so she didn't push any more, just turned on the radio, switching to some truly obnoxious flute music that Naruto didn't have the energy to complain about.

He closed his eyes and willed the pictures of the shifter and witch screaming in pain to go away. He wasn't succeeding, the sounds still too clear to him.

When they drove past the gates to the cabin and the witch parked Naruto jumped out of the car and stormed off, ignoring the outraged yell from Red as he left her and the teeth behind. He needed to find Danzo, but he had no idea if he was even here, he rarely was, but if he wasn't he'd track down Sai and get him to find him for him, because Naruto wasn't going to just sit here and do nothing. He needed answers, and he needed them now.

He slammed open the front doors and stalked inside, heading towards Danzo's study, not even bothering knocking, just yanking at the door handle.

It was locked, and Naruto knocked hard on it, only stopping long enough to listen for movement inside. There was none.

He growled in frustration. Apparently Danzo wasn't around. He'd barely been here at all in the weeks Naruto had spent in the cabin, and Sai hadn't had any answers, and Naruto was seriously starting to wonder if he was ever going to get any answers at all.

Naruto punched the door hard enough to crack open his knuckles, leaving a smear of blood on the oak. The badger shifter just walking out of the kitchen turned around and left, seemingly finding it best to leave Naruto alone right now.

Pissed off Naruto shoved away from the door, deciding to head upstairs to hunt down Sai. He'd shake him around until he got the answers he was looking for. This day had been supremely shitty, he didn't have any energy left to be tactful. He didn't want to be here any more, he wanted to go home with Sasuke. He hated that he couldn't do that without the suppressants, it made him feel like some drug addict. He was trapped, and he was feeling the walls close in on him, and he wanted out, now, but at the same time he couldn't. He wouldn't risk Sasuke's life by leaving without the suppressants.

"SAI!" he yelled as he rushed up the stairs, shoving open the door to his room, finding it empty. The bathroom was likewise empty, and Naruto stomped back out, anger growing in him.

Somehow seeing Sasuke had changed everything. He had lived in this little bubble, focusing on himself, trying not to think of Sasuke, because that hurt too much, but then Sasuke had found him, and he was fine and he forgave him and wanted him to come home, and it was everything Naruto could ever want.

He wanted to be back home with Sasuke, to curl up next to him and never let him go. To be happy together and love each other and not worry, but then Naruto had to leave Sasuke again, and it was the hardest thing he had ever done, to walk away from Sasuke a second time. This time not for fear of what he had done, but because he had to, because he was stuck here in this cabin with murderers and black market dealers, and Danzo might be in on it, and Naruto felt that he had screwed up big time.

He had been so desperate he jumped at the first opportunity that came his way, not thinking things through at all, and sure, the suppressants might work, but now he was stuck.

The control the suppressants gave him over the beast was just a mirage. The moment he stopped taking them the beast would be back with a vengeance and Naruto would be back at square one, always afraid of himself and what he would do, but if he stayed here they might make him hurt people, and he would never allow that to happen.

He just needed to talk to someone, to get some answers. He still held some sliver of a hope that Danzo was unaware of what was going on, that he'd be appalled and deal with it and then tell Naruto everything he needed, tell him that of course he was free to leave when they had made a stable dosage of the suppressants.

Naruto scoffed at himself as he pressed his back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor, face in his hands, trying to keep his tears at bay.

He wanted Sasuke, and he wanted his dad and he wanted his life back.

He had no idea how long he sat there, trying to keep from breaking down, tears stinging his eyes as he desperately wished he hadn't gotten mixed up with any of this, wished he was home, unable to see any solutions that would get him out both alive and with the suppressants.

He was interrupted in his wallowing by footsteps coming up the staircase, and Naruto looked up, expecting to see one of the assholes who lived here leer at him, but it wasn't one of the usual idiots. It was the one he had met the other day, before he'd had to leave to work for Danzo as a bodyguard, the one that had wanted to talk to him in private. He looked different than the others, less cocky alpha male, and calmer in a way that made Naruto want to trust him. He wasn't sure if it was because the man was actually trustworthy, or just that Naruto was looking for anyone to be on his side.

The man walked over, kneeling in front of him. If he noticed Naruto's teary eyes he didn't say anything about it.

"Follow me, I've been waiting for you," he whispered, before looking around as if to make sure no one was watching them. Then he stood and raised his voice, not even directing it at Naruto any more, as if he was making sure anyone overhearing them would catch what he was saying. "I need help with the wood, come along."

Naruto hesitated as the man started walking down the hallway, and then he remembered the look on the other man's face when he had seen Naruto, as if he'd seen a ghost, and then there had been the warning he'd given Naruto... Most of the other shifters either ignored Naruto or looked at him with contempt, but this man was different, and Naruto wanted to know why, as well as what he knew, so he pushed to his feet and followed after him through the cabin towards the shack out back where they stored firewood.

They didn't speak as they walked outside and then across the grounds, Naruto getting the feeling that what the man had to say wasn't something other people should overhear. He just hoped he hadn't misread the situation and would end his days with an axe through his skull, but right now that was a risk he was willing to take.

With everything that had happened he had forgotten how the man had wanted to talk to him before, but now his mind was swirling with just what it might entail.

The door to the shed creaked close behind them, leaving them in a room filled with the scent of fresh wood and plenty of spiders to keep them company. The only light was through a dirty window, but Naruto didn't need much light to see properly, so it mattered little to him, he could make out the other man just fine. He was dressed just as plainly as the last time, hair a short brown and eyes seeming black in the darkness, big and tapering into almond shapes.

"I am sorry about the suddenness of last time," the man started, staring at Naruto, but this time less in shock and more as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "It's just that you look almost exactly like your father."

"Huh, dad? Not… really?" With Iruka's dark eyes and long brown hair there wasn't much similarity between them. Besides, how did this man know his dad?

The man took a step closer, head tilting a little to the side as he looked at him. "I see a lot of your mother in you too."

"My… mother?"

"You have your father's hair, but there's definitely some of her in you as well."

Naruto lifted a hand to his head, tugging at one of the strands of naturally blond hair that definitely in no way looked like Iruka's brown, realisation starting to dawn on him.

"My… birth parents?"

The man's lip twitched up as if he was trying to smile, but couldn't quite. "I guess you wouldn't know much about them."

Naruto felt his knees grow weak. This man had known his parents? Naruto knew so little himself. He had tried to find out more about them, but none of the records had much information, as if they hadn't really existed at all.

He half-sat half-fell down on a box standing pushed up against the wall, legs not quite up to the task of keeping him standing any more.

"Who are you?" he asked, looking up at the other incredulously.

"I'm Yamato, and I'm a Protos like you, and your father."


A/N: Mystery man is revealed! :D I couldn't decide which of his names to go with, technically he used Kinoe when he was with Danzo in the anime I think? But I've always referred to him as Yamato, and this is AU, so I get to decide lol.