I am sorry this has taken so long to get out for everyone but I have been utterly exhausted. Between my killer allergies and chronic fatigue and bad sleep I have been running ragged.
Anyways I hope that you enjoy.
It All Started…
Chapter Four
Iruka woke to a bird tapping at his window at two am in the morning. It was the ones used when hunter-nin were being summoned. They didn't have a tattoo to summon them like ANBU it would be too obvious to look for. He groaned and quickly grabbed his gear before heading for the tower. He just hoped that what ever it was wouldn't take to long to take care of. He stopped in the Hunter-nin locker before quickly changing into the uniform he would need.
He puffed into the Hokage's office and stared at an even more than usual aggravated and completely sober Tsunade. This is really bad. He thought as he waited for the bomb shell.
"I know I usually don't do this but none of the other hunter-nin are up for this." Tsunade stated as she rubbed her tired face. "You are our only heavy hitter and you will need more than one for this one, so, I am sending five heavy demolition ANBU to assist you. As well as Ibiki." She motioned Iruka closer to her desk to show him what he was up against.
Iruka stared down at the unfinished map of an old war compound. There were faces of several C and B class missing-nin, and two very dangerous A almost S class missing-nin. This was going to be a tough nut to crack.
"Now I am sending Anko, Genma, Raido, Yamato, and Kourso." Tsunade stated. All hunter-nin knew the faces behind the masks. (AN: At least for me they do.) Tsunade rolled up the map and handed it to Iruka. "You leave immediately. Don't let your parents down."
Iruka nodded. It was a little known fact among the hunter-nin that his family were a rare clan that had a natural talent that resonated off the people they fought making them twenty-five percent more powerful than the one attacking them. It made them being hunter-nin as natural as breathing. The third had known this and had taught Iruka everything he knew about it and let Iruka come up with new jutsu to work with as well. The third had said that he resonated even more powerfully than his father who only resonated the regular twenty-five percent. The third wasn't sure how much he actually did.
Tsunade had been unable to believe this was true till she had challenged him to a spar and he had defeated her in under thirty minutes and won a sizable chunk of change from her.
He sighed and nodded before he shunshined to the gate closest to where they were going.
Ibiki glowered at the team that he was given. They were a bunch of misfits that would normally not work well together but he knew that whatever mission they were going on had to be big. The group was five of the heaviest hitters they had.
Anko stood wearing a snake mask to cover her features while she crouched in wait.
Genma wore his tiger mask while he slouched against the gate.
Raido stood beside him with his arms crossed over his chest wearing a bear mask.
Yamato wore his usual getup and stood at attention waiting for the hunter-nin he had worked with on several occasions to arrive. He had an idea who it would be if they were sending this group.
Kourso wore a crow mask and perched like his mask-sake on some crates wondering what could call them all together.
Ibiki blinked when the hunter-nin appeared before him and handed the mission orders to him. He read it and whistled soundlessly at what they were up against. They were to leave no stone unturned and leave nothing but ashes behind unless it was information that would aid them.
Iruka stood silently and stared at his crush. He was very happy that he was wearing his mask and it was dark. Otherwise the group would have seen his blush.
He brought himself back to attention as they all quickly looked over the map and motioned and signed in ANBU sign to tell what everyone's target would be. He heard the snicker and saw the flash of signs saying that he wouldn't be able to take on the A classes by himself and ignored it. He had never worked with any of them but Ibiki.
"You are all idiots."
Iruka looked up to see a glowering Ibiki. He wondered what had upset him.
"You think that he is a weak nin to need your assistance. The only reason we are along is to take care of the garbage." The head of T&I growled. "He takes care of anyone A or up." Ibiki turned and motioned for everyone to move out.
As they moved through the trees with Iruka in the lead not seeing the signing going on behind his back.
--Ibiki,-- Anko signed hesitantly. --Are you sure we should leave the a classes to him?--
--Yeah what she said.-- Kourso flashed at him.
--Yes.-- Yamato flashed back.
--How would you know old man!?-- Anko's hands seemed to snarl at him. --I was asking Ibiki.--
--I've worked with him before.-- Yamato responded. --I have worked with him before. Don't get in his way and don't interfere or you'll end up dead.--
Raido who had been silent so far nodded his head. --Remember when we lost Hunter's Claw?-- The three who hadn't worked with the hunter-nin before nodded. --He got in the way. Thought that the hunter-nin was weak and stupid. The hunter-nin couldn't pull back in time. He was using a jutsu that none of our team had seen before. Killed Hunter's Claw and three of the targets instantly. All three were lower A class.--
He watched the signing with a smirk. He remembered the mission well. It was when he had learned who Iruka was. He had gone back to see if everything had been taken care of to find him maskless weeping over what he had done to one of his allies. He had found out later that Hunter's Claw was a personal friend of Iruka's.
He looked back ahead and admired the tight ass that was leading them to death and destruction and smiled at the thought of watching him at work again.
Iruka was aware of the tension behind him and made a quick series of hand signs that would leave an invisible trace that only he was aware of so he would be able to tell who was who on the battlefield. He would never let what had happened to Jinko happen to anyone else. He had taken months to come up with this jutsu and practice it.
Ten hours later…
He slowed down as he became aware of the signatures ahead of him. They were only an hour away from their target. He had unknowingly to the team occasionally shunshined them closer by hours to their target. His slowing startled the three he had never worked with before.
The hunter-nin could feel their surprise as he called for them to slow down.
--Wait…-- Anko signed in distress thinking that Iruka was on the wrong target. --We are still hours away!--
--No we aren't.-- Raido stated. As he readied his gear. --Didn't you feel the displacement?--
Three masked faces flashed their confusion at the statement.
Ibiki's smirk was clearly visible as he was maskless. --He group shunshined us closer.-- He hand stated as he pulled out storage scrolls for use. --You have to be a specialist to feel it happen or have it done to you before to notice. That is how good he is.
Three exclamations of signed shit was followed by a flurry of the three getting ready.
Iruka smirked as he waited for them. --You all know your assignments. Synchronize for attack in an hour and ten minutes.-- he signed. --Now.--
And without a sound one second the clearing they had stopped in was full and then empty.
Anko groaned…she wasn't sure or not whether the others were right but if she saw anything she needed to help the hunter-nin with she would. Whether she got in the way or not. The hunter-nin didn't feel like he was all that great and she wasn't going to take what the other's had said as face value. People always exaggerated these things. She was going to take it for that.
Unknowingly to her two others were thinking the same thing as they set up to start their attack.
Iruka groaned as he picked up the chakra signatures of the two he would have to take care of as well as two more powerful ones. It was going to be an interesting night.
He stood silently in the middle of the compound going unnoticed by the guards that were on duty waiting for all hell to break loose.
He smirked as the explosions filled the night air with sound of terror, debris, rock, earth, and other things. He was aware of the big guns rousing from their obvious slumber and waited for them to begin his work.
Three hours later…
Iruka's first two targets were taken care of but the other two powerhouses that he had felt were proving to be more troublesome as a certain younger ninja who wasn't present would say. He could feel the others as they finished off everyone else as he continued to battle.
The flashy jutsus filled the air as he attacked and countered. He recognized the two for being S classed missing-nin from wind and mist. He was getting more and more aggravated with them by the moment.
"Shit don't do it!" He heard Raido shout as he felt the special sign he had left on Anko approaching and swore silently.
Ibiki, Raido, Yamato, Genma, and Kourso watched in horror as Anko moved in to join the fray that the hunter-nin was in. He had been holding his own for awhile now neither gaining or losing ground when she had decided enough was enough.
She was flying through the air about to attack one of the missing-nin when the hunter appeared below her and pushed her out of the way sending her into the side of a building as he took out her target and left himself open to the other.
Iruka grunted as he took the wound from the katana. It didn't hit anything that would be deadly thankfully. He sent a jutsu down the blade that sent the other nin flying through the air with a loud grunt. I'll have to move quickly to take him out. He thought as he ignored Anko getting up out of the rubble he had sent her into for a softish landing.
He watched and waited as the other nin got up out of the jagged pieces of debris he had been sent into purposely.
"You'll pay for that." The man snarled as he rushed forward to once more attack the dolphin.
Iruka sighed he didn't want to use this jutsu but he needed to end it quickly.
The group watched and winced as a violent flash of light filled the compound. When they could see again Anko was beside the hunter-nin almost completely unscathed and helping him take care of his wound.
Ibiki was the first to move forward and found the heads of all the targets as well as some that were in the bingo book lying in wait ready to be sealed behind the two along with piles of papers to be sifted through once they got back to Konoha.
He motioned got the rest of the team to come aid him as he started to seal away all they had to take back with them.
Iruka grimaced as Anko bandaged him up and set some of the minor healing jutsu that everyone knew on the wound. --DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!-- He signed to the kunoichi.
Anko winced at the wide signs of someone yelling. She hung her head as she continued to work away. The others had not been lying about what this hunter-nin was capable of. In fact it had been an understatement. --Sorry.-- She flashed between winding of bandages. --Thought you needed help.--
--If I need help I ask for it.-- The 'chunin' signed flatly.
The snake mistress hung her head lower. --I know that now.--
Iruka snorted but left knew to leave it alone. He sat quietly waiting for her and the others to finish before they could make their way home. In all the battle had lasted a good six hours. And he was exhausted.
He looked up to see the sweet hunter-nin showing signs of exhaustion. He would slip him a soldier pill before they left. He still hadn't some up with something a gift. He would have to find something else that the man would love to get his hands on.
Back in Konoha
Iruka stood before the Hokage and waited for the mission debrief to be over before getting attention for the wound he had. It had stopped bleeding a little while ago so he thought he could wait.
He sighed happily when everyone was dismissed.
"Ice Hawk wait." Tsunade stated. She waited for the others to leave to get their minor wounds tended to by ANBU medics. "Let me take care of that."
Iruka nodded and pulled off the mask as he settled onto the special exam table that was set off just off the office. The soldier pill had helped but he was at his limits and he needed a bath and much needed rest.
"I'll have Asuma take your class for the week. You need a break." The fifth stated as she went about healing the wound. "I'll say you came down with the flu."
Iruka nodded and thanked her as she finished off her healing before heading home.
I think that he will like this. He thought as he left the apartment. The fifth hokage had given him enough time to set up what he wanted for his little powerful hunter-nin.
Iruka entered his apartment to the smell of food. He stared at the take out from his favorite restaurant. This was just what he needed. He looked up at the bathroom wistfully and saw light flickering from the doorway and moved to see what it was.
The teacher stared in awe at the candle lit room. The tub was full with jasmine petals floating in the water filling the room with their wonderful relaxing fragrance. A note sat on the vanity for him. It simply stated…heard you had a big mission. Knew you would be tired. Enjoy. Thank you for dinner.
Iruka smiled wryly. His stalker was turning out to be the perfect guy.