Synchronization
Love Naruto and thought I'd try my hand at a few stories with these amazingly rich and deep characters. I hope you enjoy and will review to let me know your opinions good or bad. I do not have one problem with yaoi, but this story will not contain that genre. I am only stating this for those that do not understand that love is simply love.
I own nothing. Nothing.
Chapter Nine
"And that is how Kotetsu-san beat you by three inches," Kakashi concluded as Iruka gazed at him wide-eyed.
"Yellow jackets?" Iruka repeated, "I always knew there was something else…bugs? Kotetsu beat me because of running from bugs?"
Kakashi watched as Iruka's expressive eyes showed first amazement before the corners crinkled and he began to laugh joyfully. The laughter was delightful to hear and for a moment the Copy-nin forgot about the cold blackness that continued to try and beckon Iruka towards its shadows while he joined in on that laughter.
"So do you believe me now?" Kakashi asked once their laughter turned to snickers.
"I think so," Iruka admitted, looking back down as the mood shifted, "I just don't understand how or why you are here."
"I don't know how either, but surely you know why, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi urged as the chunin pulled in on himself, "I'm here to bring you home."
Iruka sighed and looked away towards the blackness.
"I'm not a mission, Kakashi-san," Iruka voiced as the Copy-nin's heart sank, "You can tell Hokage-sama that I'm still trying to follow her orders, but I don't know if I can fight this pull to leave any longer. I don't really think I have a home to return to anyway."
"You are certainly not a mission," Kakashi snapped as Iruka gazed at him in surprise at the tone, "You are a dear comrade and a friend to us all. I'm here to bring you home because Naruto needs you desperately and so does Konoha."
Iruka held the jonin's gaze for a moment before looking down again. Kakashi blinked as Iruka froze for a second and glancing up sharply to study the one before him closer.
"Why do you look paler than the last time you were here?" Iruka blurted, crawling towards the barrier Kakashi sat beside, "Are you sick?"
Kakashi could have laughed. Same Iruka. The chunin never changed.
"A little worn out, yes," Kakashi admitted, "I've been worried and so has everyone else. Will you do something for me?"
"Depends," Iruka hedged, still looking at the jonin with worried eyes.
"Concentrate on your chakra, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi urged as Iruka closed his eyes, "Would you tell me what you feel?"
"Anko-chan?" Iruka gasped as his eyes flew back open, "I also feel Genma-san and…others and you. Kakashi-san, what is this?"
"Your friends trying to save your life," Kakashi explained as Iruka gaped at him, "All of us who can are sharing chakra with you so that you can heal. Naruto will be here in a week's time. You better be prepared. He'll fill you so full of his chakra that you'll be choking on kyuubi whiskers."
"He would," Iruka whispered, curling up tighter, "Kakashi-san, it hurts all the time. Hurts to breathe, hurts to move, hurts to hear voices whispering that I'm missed. I ruined that mission and the rejection of my friends and comrades hurt so badly that my heart aches every moment that I sit here. Please stop tormenting me. Tell everyone to let me go, Kakashi-san."
"I can't," Kakashi denied, "I won't abandon a comrade and neither will anyone else."
"But I'm not a comrade," Iruka choked, "I'm a liability."
"Not then and not now," Kakashi bit out, feeling anger at himself brewing for allowing Iruka to ever feel this way, "You saved that boy, Iruka. You stopped me and my team from making a horrible mistake. You kept your honor even when we tried to strip you down to the barest bones. Naruto will never move on if you leave us, Izumo and Kotetsu are worried sick and have to be forced to eat, Anko goes off on murderous rampages several times a day, Ibiki stands around growling all the time, and Genma's so tense that he's bit through several senbon which is terrifying Raidou. Poor Raidou keeps begging you to wake up before Genma chokes to death, Lady Tsunade is worried absolutely sick, and I…I…."
"You, what?" Iruka questioned as the Copy-nin grew silent.
"I can't let you go," Kakashi concluded, banging a fist on the invisible barrier, "I won't let you go. I won't for my student and I can't for myself. I can't fail another friend, Iruka."
"Friend?" Iruka repeated, "You and me?"
"You and me," Kakashi insisted, "I don't have much longer with you. I can feel myself fading from your mind. Please listen to what we are all saying to you. We miss you, Iruka-sensei, and you are needed so much. Keep fighting."
"I don't know what to believe," Iruka groaned, looking away for a moment, "I'll listen to everyone that speaks to me and try to fight, but only if you get Zumo and Ko to eat, take Genma's damn senbon away, and fuss at Anko-chan to behave for me."
"Absolutely," Kakashi vowed before feeling himself fading, but gasped when he saw Iruka double over to clutch his chest, "Iruka!"
oOo
"Do you think he is with Iruka-kun?" Yamato asked Asuma as the two watched over their sleeping friend.
"I have a feeling he is," Asuma nodded out as he stood and began to feed his chakra into Kakashi, "I think he only pales like this when he is overextending himself. Thank God that Iruka hasn't needed that ice jutsu this past week or we might have seen Kakashi's heart stop again."
"No, thank you," Yamato shuddered out, "Let me, Asuma. I know you've been sharing with Iruka earlier today. I have more than enough chakra at the moment."
"When will this end?" Asuma groaned as Yamato took his place, "How much more can either Iruka or Kakashi take? We broke Iruka and now Kakashi is working hard to break himself."
The two shook their heads at one another sadly, but jumped as the Copy-nin woke with a gasp while Kakashi sat up looking frantic.
"Senpai," Yamato called, catching his friend as Kakashi tried to stand as Asuma stood to help hold the Copy-nin, "Calm down."
"No. Iruka's hurts," Kakashi groaned, fighting against Yamato's and Asuma's grip, "Lady Tsunade needs to know. Iruka's heart…it's his heart. Let go. His heart. I feel it and he can't breathe without pain. Let me go!"
"Shh," Asuma soothed, pushing Kakashi back to his pillow, "I'll tell her now, but you stay put. Stop fighting, Kakashi. Stay still. Yamato, keep him still. He's lost more color. I'm going now, Kakashi. I'll get Iruka help."
Asuma sped off while Yamato reached to try and calm the Copy-nin. Hands reached to help and Yamato nodded at Kurenai in thanks as she stroked Kakashi's hair back to soothe him enough to lie still. Slowly, the weakened jonin relaxed until he drifted back to sleep.
"I heard him from outside," Kurenai whispered, pulling Kakashi's blankets back over him, "What was that about?"
"I think Kakashi was speaking with Iruka again," Yamato sighed, "Iruka's heart must be straining and Kakashi is feeling it. Asuma went to go tell Lady Tsunade."
The two settled to watch over the Copy-nin with feelings of despair. For once there was little they could do to help their friends. The Hokage showed up about an hour later with Asuma in tow.
"The brat was right," Lady Tsunade began before anyone questioned her, "Iruka's oxygen levels were low which was straining his heart worse. The fluid in his lungs had to be drained again and I've upped the amount of oxygen he is getting which will help with the pain levels Kakashi was sensing. Let me examine the brat."
"Lady Tsunade!"
Everyone looked up to see Koharu-san and Homura-san glaring into the room. The Hokage glanced at the Konoha councilors and then returned to checking over Kakashi.
"What can I do for you two?" Tsunade barked, continuing her medical jutsu, "I have my hands full right now."
"I can't believe what I am seeing," Homura-san retorted, walking stiffly into the room to glare at the Hokage, "So the rumors are true. One of our best shinobi has been downed."
"Kakashi is a bit ill right now, but he is being cared for," Tsunade stated with narrowed eyes, "That is no concern of yours."
"It is when Hatake-san is downed due to supporting a chunin that is obviously a lost cause," Koharu-san spat as Kurenai choked in outrage, "Face facts, Tsunade-san. Iruka Umino does not come above the welfare of this village."
"Meaning?" Tsunade demanded.
"Meaning that it is time to turn off Umino-san's life support so that Hatake-san is not being drained dry," Koharu-san continued as the Hokage stiffened in anger, "Umino-san's sacrifice is for the good of the village."
Hissing and cursing could be heard as Ibiki dragged Anko from the doorway with Genma's help.
"I will not turn off Iruka's life support," Tsunade snarled, "Furthermore, doing so might very well kill Kakashi too. Your spies has surely revealed the truth to you about what Kakashi has done. He and I both do not know how he anchored himself to Iruka-kun. The best course of action is to help Iruka-kun heal so that Konoha does not lose either man."
Homura-san and Koharu-san glanced at one another before gazing at Tsunade with contempt in their eyes.
"We'll give you two weeks to solve this situation or Umino-san's and Hatake-san's medical care will be assigned to someone of our choosing," Homura-san declared as Tsunade growled, "Fix this, Hokage-sama."
"Calm down," Genma gritted out, holding tight to Anko as she tried to crawl towards the councilors while Ibiki held a hand to a newly bloodied nose, "Not helping, Anko."
"Touch my Ru-chan's life support and they'll never find your bodies," Anko threatened, reaching for the two with killing intent.
The councilors only sniffed and side stepped the struggling pair to leave the room.
"Anko, stop this at once," Lady Tsunade snapped, "Ibiki!"
"Here, Hokage-sama," Ibiki answered, stepping into the room.
"I want Anbu guards on rotation over both Iruka-kun and the brat here," Tsuande ordered as Anko calmed and sprang up excitedly, "Neither is to be left unguarded at any given time, understood?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Ibiki agreed quickly and exited with Anko following.
"I've been flattened a bit," Genma whined as Raidou came into the room to help him up, "Geez, Kakashi looks nearly as pale as Iruka."
"There is no denying that he is growing ill," Tsunade admitted, "Kakashi is starting to show some signs that he is even beginning to share some of Iruka's symptoms minus the pneumonia. In fact…Yamato, help me push Kakashi's hospital bed to Iruka's room. I think Anbu will be able to guard the two better if they are together. Plus, I think the brat will do better being closer to Iruka."
Together, Yamato and Tsunade maneuvered the wheeled, hospital bed containing Kakashi out into the hallway. A strange thrumming sound began to grow louder as many shinobi sprang up to defend from whatever was getting closer. Sakura stepped around the corner since the sound was a bit familiar to her.
"IIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRUUUUUKKKKKAAAAAAAAA-SSSSSEEEENNNNNNNNNSSSSSSEEEIII!"
"Oh, no," Sakura gasped as an orange blur shot around a different corner, "Naruto."
"Where is…what the hell?" a filthy Naruto growled as Jiraiya came puffing around the corner next, "What happened to Kakashi-sensei? Why does he look ill? What the hell has been going on while I was away? Where is my Iruka-sensei? Lady Baa-chan?"
"Naruto, you need to clean up before I take you to see Iruka," Tsunade began as Naruto grizzled, "Don't, Brat. You know that your Iruka-sensei is very ill and delicate right now from the letter, right? Surely you don't want to take some germ inside his room and make him worse, right?"
"Um…right," Naruto gulped, looking cowed before gazing at the Copy-nin who hadn't even stirred once since the blonde had first seen him, "Baa-chan, what's wrong with Kakashi-sensei? Was he in a battle?"
"Yes," the Hokage agreed as many eyes turned to her in surprise, "He's been battling for your sensei's life and needs to rest so no more yelling, okay?"
"Okay," Naruto whispered, looking lost and wide-eyed.
"Come on, Naruto," Genma stepped up to pull the genin towards the room where Kakashi and he had been staying, "Come use the shower in here so you can clean up and see Ru-kun."
"I've got this, Yamato-san," Jiraiya insisted, taking the jonin's place at the head of Kakashi's bed, "Start talking, Tsunade. What is the meaning of all of this?"
The Hokage sighed as she worked together with her old teammate to get Kakashi settled in his new room. Jiraiya wasn't going to be very happy with what she had to tell him.
oOo
Jiraiya stood with his arms crossed as he remained tight-lipped watching Naruto sobbing as he hugged Iruka's hand to his chest while Sakura tried to comfort her teammate through the observation window. Tsunade stood beside him and watched the man carefully as she felt his anger.
"I'm sorry," the blonde offered as Jiraiya glanced her way.
"It is not me that needs the apology," Jiraiya snapped, turning his head back to watch his student, "Look, Tsunade. Look at Iruka and Kakashi, unconscious to the world. Look at Naruto's devastation over the hurt of his most special person. He's been silent and worried since he found out about Iruka and I could barely get him to stop to eat or sleep. I hope you know that if Iruka dies, you will certainly lose Naruto if not also Kakashi. This is even worse than what happened to Kakashi's father. I'm appalled."
"As am I that I allowed this to happen right under my nose," Tsunade groaned, "But now it is done and I need to deal with the consequences. You've seen more in your explorations of the world than I have. Have you ever seen anything like what is happening to Kakashi? It is almost as if he is sharing Iruka's experiences."
"I've seen seals that bond individuals that is similar to this, but they are complicated and leave marks," Jiraiya began, looking thoughtful, "I checked Kakashi and Iruka over since you've explained the mess you've caused. There are no marks. I don't know what this is."
"Nor do I," Tsunade groaned, "I guess it is time to face the music."
Jiraiya followed the lady while she stepped into the room as Naruto looked up at her in trepidation.
"He'll be okay, right?" Naruto questioned, scrubbing at his tears while pulling fretfully at the hospital scrubs he was wearing since his clothes were being washed, "Iruka and Kakashi both will be okay again, right?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure," the Hokage admitted as Naruto gaped at her as Sakura lowered her head, "Sakura, let me talk to Naruto alone. Go wait outside with the others."
Sakura nodded and left the two Sannin with her teammate. The pink-haired kunoichi wandered over to sit with Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji.
"He know the whole story yet?" Shikamaru asked before sighing as Sakura shook her head, "This is going to be troublesome once he knows the truth."
"He's going to explode," Kiba guessed, petting Akamaru softly, "Do we try to stop him?"
"You let the adults handle this," Kotetsu instructed as he bent to gaze at the youth, "We are to blame for all of this so we'll do with the repercussions. Naruto has a right to his anger and so will Iruka when he wakes back up."
"If he wakes back up," Shikamaru bit out as Kotetsu flinched, "You'd better not hurt Naruto worse than he is already hurt from finding out about Iruka-sensei."
"We'll all be gentle," Asuma promised, placing a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder, "You four take off. Naruto does not need an audience to his pain. Go on now."
The youths left silently as Asuma helped Kotetsu to stand from his crouch. The two sat with Genma, Gai, Izumo, Kurenai, and Raidou. Anbu stood in selected spots beside the door that housed Iruka and Kakashi.
"WHAT?!"
The yell even made the nearby Anbu flinch before jumping to catch Tsunade as she was shoved out the door while Jiraiya caught Naruto from clawing at her.
To be continued…