Iruka's heart was almost about to pound out of his chest as he handed his forged mission scroll to the gatekeeper. He had left a shadow clone behind with Kakashi while he was ordered to flee the scene of the duel. Iruka nervously waited as the gatekeeper examined the scroll with disinterest before signing the paper of who was leaving the village on a mission. The gatekeeper was different from the duo they met when they arrived a few days ago. Iruka swiftly caught the scroll as it was tossed to him before he turned to leave. He had taken the form of a random Chunin he had met at the rally where Kakashi had fought Kato. Iruka had also stolen a dark-colored cloak from a store, which he immediately regretted, but it was either war or a stolen cloak. Iruka slowly pocketed the scroll and ambled out the gates, slow and steady, not to alert the gatekeeper.
Once out of sight, Iruka dropped the disguise and ran for the trees, he had to get as far as he could. Kakashi had left the message to make a shadow clone and leave the village while everyone was distracted by the fight. Iruka felt uncomfortable leaving his partner behind, especially in such dangerous circumstances. However, the urgency of the message from someone like Kakashi made his feet move away from the fight. He looked at the orange-colored sky where the sun was about to set. Now, he was alone in enemy territory, at night, with none of the supplies he brought, which he unfortunately had to abandon. Iruka gasped as he absorbed the information from his shadow clone about the fight and what Kakashi had told him.
"Tonight, they are going to attempt to assassinate me and possibly keep you alive for a very different reason than information. Do not take a passenger boat; take a fishing boat to escape the island. Make sure no one knows you're a leaf ninja at all costs, report to the Third Hokage as soon as possible, and I will follow shortly behind."
Kakashi had whispered the message hurriedly before he dismissed the clone. Iruka slowly made his way through the treacherous mist that hadn't been as prevalent when they first arrived. The Land of Water had a mainland surrounded by several sub-islands and water that stretched for miles. He gradually navigated his way through the shrouding mist to the harbor they had arrived at once before, only they had run across the water the first time. The Mist Nin would expect that, and most likely not bother to check around the harbor until later. Iruka put his forehead protector in his weapons pouch beneath his cloak and let his hair down before he covered his head with the hood of the cloak.
Iruka inspected the boats at the dock carefully. Thankfully, he always had the habit of making sure he always had a small emergency money bag in his weapons pouch for these types of situations. Finally, he decided on the boat with the frail-looking man. Iruka cautiously stepped into the small boat before clearing his throat to falsely lower his voice. The old man eyed the money pouch in his hands but said nothing.
"To the border," he said with a hoarseness that didn't suit him. Iruka tossed the money bag full of coins at the old man before he sat down. The old man simply nodded and untied the rope harboring the boat to the dock. Before long, the motor started up slowly, and Iruka was watching the island disappear behind them in the mist. There was an uncomfortable, but not unappreciated, silence for about two hours as they slowly crossed the sea.
As soon as they landed on the shore, Iruka swiftly punched the old man in the stomach to knock him out for his safety. He would be killed if the Mist Nin found him responsible for the escape of the enemy willingly. Iruka picked up the money bag and put it back in his weapons pouch before he tied the old man's hands behind his back. The guilt left a sour taste in his mouth as he turned his back on the scene. Luckily, they hadn't exactly stopped at the Harbor for everyone to see, but seemingly at the Old Man's own little version of a dock several miles away. Iruka ran into the trees, he was at least thirty miles away from the border of the Land of Fire, and then he would be safe, hopefully.
…
Kakashi sat with his back against the wall, watching his clone of Iruka sleep, snoring softly every so often. He nonchalantly put his hands behind his head in the most vulnerable stance he could think of and closed his eyes, waiting. Razor-edged swords pierced his chest from the front and from behind, the skin easily giving passage to the sharpened steel. Static filled the air. The assassins screamed as they were electrocuted at the same time.
Kakashi disappeared into the mist as he finished observing the scene from his place on the roof of the building opposite the mansion. He had not heard any commotion about Iruka during the fight except for the actions of the clone, which meant he had successfully managed to leave the village earlier. If he had to guess, Iruka would probably be arriving at the island bordering the Land of Fire. Kakashi took a soldier pill and lightly ran on the rooftops of the buildings and houses to his planned escape route.
Unlike Iruka, Kakashi would not be able to simply leave through the front door. Hidden in the mist, Kakashi jumped over the wall of the gate on the east side. He had already planted tracks that headed for the west side, however, there was no doubt in his mind that some of the mist ninjas wouldn't be tricked by such a trap. Kakashi looked around, finding no one in sight. Everything around the village had been quiet for some time, too quiet.
There was no genjutsu, no traps, nothing. It was almost too easy to escape, and that just didn't sit well with Kakashi. A top-tier village full of nothing except formidable ninjas would never be so careless. Kakashi had barely been able to dodge the ambush of paper bombs as soon as he landed. A kunai lodged itself in Iruka's thick backpack that Kakashi had brought along.
Kakashi swiftly used the kunai to incapacitate his attacker as the knife lodged itself deep into the enemy's foot. He dropped the mist ninja disguise and ran as fast as he could towards the trees. The mist had become so devastatingly thick that Kakashi almost wondered if he would have even had a chance of survival without the Sharingan. If this kept up, there would be a deadly war between the Mist and Leaf Villages yet again. Kakashi's eye widened, shit, Iruka had most likely been followed the entire time. His legs carried him faster than they had ever before as he uncovered his other eye before he put his hands together to use a jutsu he hadn't used in years.
…
Iruka was mentally prepared for the moment he was attacked. He had noticed their presence behind him as soon as he left the shore. There were only two followers, as far as he could tell. They were jounin in rank, if their chakra level was anything to judge by. Iruka hastened his pace slightly, though not to the extent that it would alert the others that he was aware of their presence. The chunin cautiously set up as many traps as he could before he ran out of materials in his weapons pouch.
He had hoped that at least one of them would work, and that is exactly what happened. Iruka changed direction quickly as an explosion occurred behind him. The chunin just barely made it out of the range of the explosion. Iruka had underestimated the strength of his trap. He carefully hid behind a tree and glanced over his left shoulder to see if his attackers had perished.
"I'm impressed." Iruka tensed as soon as he saw the two ninjas in front of him. Fuck, they deliberately set off the trap. Iruka mentally counted his weapons: four shuriken, six kunai, and the summoning paper Kakashi had left him, along with the message in the bag from the grocery store. He got into a defensive stance as he gauged his opponent's strength. They were arrogant, not worried at all about the enemy they faced. One of the unknown mist ninjas stepped forward, triggering a trip wire that sent a barrage of kunai from behind.
The other jounin managed to catch the trap in time to escape with minimal injuries, while the other hadn't fared so well and received the full force of a barrage of kunai. Even if he were alive, his injuries were too severe for him to be of any help to the other jounin. Iruka jumped from the tree as the other mist ninja laughed sinisterly behind him. He hastily unfastened the cloak he had stolen, attached a paper bomb to the inside, and hurled it at the enemy. It was no surprise the jounin had easily dodged, but it had at least been worth a try. Iruka mainly specialized in defensive jutsu, such as barriers and sealing jutsu. Unlike Kakashi, he wasn't the master of a thousand jutsu that could help him take on any ninja he could think of.
The jounin threw several kunai at Iruka, which forced him from the trees to the ground, clearly growing more and more irritated with the cat and mouse game they were playing. He put his hands together for an unknown binding jutsu that Iruka stepped right in the middle of. Iruka mentally cursed himself as his feet were bound to the ground by rocks due to some sort of earth jutsu. There was no way he could afford to remain trapped any longer than he already was. All his barrier jutsu took time that he didn't have. In desperation, he attacked the rock with his kunai in hopes of loosening the binds enough so that he could escape.
"Try all you want, you'll never escape." Iruka prepared himself for whatever attack was about to happen. Fortunately for Iruka, the mist jounin seemed like the typical kind of guy who seemed to drone on and on about how powerful and almighty he was and all that gibberish. He felt ashamed that he would have to rely on Kakashi again so soon. However, at this point, he was out of options. Iruka silently retrieved the summoning paper he had almost mistaken for a paper bomb previously. He slashed his hand behind his back before he put his hands together, hoping to whatever gods were out there that this would work even if he wasn't Kakashi.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Iruka's eyes widened as eight dogs appeared and tore his enemy apart in mere seconds. Once it was very, very, obvious the enemy jounin had been taken care of, the pack turned towards Iruka, who had been too stunned to even free himself. Hound's pack of ninken had easily taken out the enemy he had been having trouble with, in the blink of an eye. He managed to shake himself from his stupor before he lost too much time gawking. The chunin attacked the rocks binding his feet repeatedly with such force that they eventually cracked. Iruka's mind was briefly swimming in confusion about the entire situation before he quickly filed such thoughts away for later, when they were all safe. Pakkun simply looked at him lazily from his resting place on top of Bull, "Well, are you gonna get a move on or what? Time is of the essence here, you know."
"Yes, it is! This way!" Iruka was so close to getting back onto Leaf Village territory, and now with a pack of eight ridiculously fearsome ninken, he was guarded at every angle. He made a note to never doubt a single one of Kakashi's abilities ever again. Pakkun sniffed the air curiously, picking up on another scent before relaxing his head again down on Iruka's shoulders. Soon after they started moving, Pakkun seemingly decided the best place to be was resting on Iruka's shoulders. Iruka didn't mind the small dog, though it was a little weird to hear him murmuring about the softness of his paws. Whatever it was that he had picked up on, he didn't seem to mind, but Iruka was curious.
"What was it? A rabbit?"
Pakkun scoffed, "Pfft, I'm not some uncivilized mutt. No, I just sensed the brat a little way behind us. He'll be here soon." Iruka nodded, he had so many questions swarming around in his head about what everything meant. He was also physically exhausted by everything that happened, he struggled to keep up with the harsh pace the ninken set.
Iruka was almost out of the danger zone for now, and from what Pakkun mentioned, Kakashi seemed to be not far behind by some miracle. Kakashi appeared before them in a puff of smoke, and Pakkun just huffed, "Show off," under his breath. The chunin was beyond impressed, especially because he had several hours of a head start and somehow Kakashi still managed to get ahead. Kakashi grabbed his hand, and then they were both miles further than they had been before. The silver-haired jounin continued to transport them until they were within several miles of the village. Finally, they were fully out of any imminent danger, where they could rest for a short while without having to worry about death.
As they entered the Leaf Village, Iruka began to think as he lagged slightly behind the famous jounin. He took in everything that Kakashi Hatake was, and everything Hound was, his mind still reeling as he tried to connect them. The chunin couldn't manage to fit the puzzle pieces together in time before Kakashi moved ahead again without a word. He sighed and guessed they would talk later after they finished settling everything with the Village Hidden in the Mist. They arrived at the gates very early in the morning, only several hours before the sun came up. Iruka slouched over, touching his knees as he caught his breath. Kakashi yawned lazily and turned to Iruka leisurely, "I suggest we report what happened, now." Iruka could only nod as he gazed at the masked man and finally accepted that Hound and Kakashi were the same person.
"Do you have multiple personalities?" Iruka blurted out before he could stop himself. Kakashi's eye widened a fraction in surprise before he slowly smiled underneath his mask. Iruka was unnerved by that smile that didn't reach his eyes, it made it seem like it would be the last time they would ever see each other. Kakashi's arm pulsed with a throbbing sensation, and he frowned briefly before smiling that fake smile again, "Ah, forgive me, Iruka-sensei, it seems like I'll have to leave the report to you this time," Kakashi poofed away leaving Iruka behind.
Just like that, he was gone, as he disappeared into thin air in front of Iruka's very eyes. The poor chunin didn't know how to feel. He had grown quite fond of the masked ANBU, and if he was quite honest, even Kakashi. His brows furrowed, did he like Kakashi, like that? Iruka blushed as he pictured them together, and he found that he wasn't as averse to it as any normal man would be. Iruka mentally berated himself, to have a crush on amanat his age was just so pointless, and yet he couldn't deny that the feelings were there.
Iruka filed all thoughts of Kakashi, for later, he had to rush to inform the Hokage of what had happened with the Mist village. Iruka rushed as quickly as he could to the mission's office, where he had a feeling the Hokage would already be. As exhausted as he was, he made incredible time considering the soreness of his muscles from all the running he had done over the past several days. Iruka paused to catch his breath before he politely knocked on the door, though this time he did not wait for someone to respond. As soon as he opened the doors, "Lord Hokage, there's troubl-," his eyes widened as he came face to face with not only the Hokage but presumably all the ANBU members of the Leaf Village. The Third Hokage let out a puff of smoke as Hound turned to face Iruka, along with all of the other ANBU members.
"Yes, I am well aware of the situation, Iruka-sensei. Kakashi made sure to send a clone to inform us of everything that happened. I met with the Emperor of the Mist this evening to make sure there would be no war. On the condition that there would be no consequences if either of you hadn't made it out of the village alive and that we wouldn't be held responsible if either of you took out any mist nin in self-defense." The Third Hokage let out another puff of smoke as he smiled at Iruka, who immediately relaxed.
There wasn't going to be a war because of him. The relief was so immense that his knees buckled, and suddenly he was on the ground. Iruka blushed so hard that his entire body turned five different shades of red. He mentally cursed himself and his physical exhaustion. How could he make himself look like a fool in front of the most respected people in the village? Iruka laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, hair still messy from all the fighting and running, "I guess I'm a little burned out." The chunin stood up quickly, but all eyes remained on him. Iruka gulped as he grew more nervous at the low whispers he heard around the room. He smiled sheepishly, hoping to break the ice with the Leaf Village's elite ninjas.
The ANBU encircled him so fast he barely had time to register what was happening before he was being touched all over and petted like an animal. His mind hardly registered the fact that the ANBU were swarming around him like a celebrity. Iruka blinked in confusion several times as hands touched him everywhere, and he blushed crimson, not knowing what to do in a situation like this. He heard them whispering the word angel again, and his eyebrows furrowed. What the hell was going on? The chunin yelped as he was abruptly yanked back by his vest into what felt like a brick wall. The ANBU still surrounded him but ceased touching him. Iruka relaxed a little when he saw that Hound was his savior from the horde of masked ninjas. Hound was tense as he held a kunai defensively in order to protect Iruka from the swarm of obsessed ANBU.
"What in the hell is going on?" Iruka stood his ground and crossed his arms, "You can't just suddenly touch people like that without their permission! It's rude! Most people have set boundaries because of insecurities, and to simply disregard such a thing is wildly inappropriate!" Iruka fumed as he scolded the group of masked ninjas much like he would his class of pre-genin. The murmuring began again, and the group of ninjas seemed to get more excited as they edged slightly closer, but not close enough to be within Hound's range.
The Third Hokage chuckled, "Now, now, Iruka-sensei, they didn't mean to offend." Iruka's eye twitched, "Would someone please explain what that was all about?" Hound sighed from behind Iruka, but he continued to remain vigilant in front of the masked group.
"I suppose it's my fault. On the day you saved me, I didn't know your name and referred to you as a tenderhearted angel. Word got around about you, and the nickname stuck. A little while later, you were being targeted by an enemy ninja, from the mist, might I add. I couldn't always be there to watch and protect you. So, I figured that it wouldn't do much harm to let them observe your daily life and protect you while I was gone. However, they started testing you to see how you would react, and depending on those reactions, they would either lose interest or not." Hound sighed as he scratched the back of his head in guilt. "Well, they definitely never lost interest in you, that much is obvious." Iruka rolled his eyes at that.
"So, basically, I've been stalked by the most elite ninja this village has to offer for the past several weeks?" Hound tensed behind him, but nodded slowly. Iruka rubbed his hand over his face, he was way past the point of exhaustion to have to deal with such a thing.
"Stalking is not good. If you wanted to meet me, I would have made tea," he said exasperatedly. The murmuring around them increased as a new level of excitement started to rise. The Third Hokage chuckled, "I can see that you are very physically exhausted from your mission, Iruka-sensei." Iruka could do nothing more than nod tiredly at that. The old man let out a puff of smoke, "Everything is all right now, Iruka-sensei, I will have the ANBU scouting the village this evening in the event that the Mist Village does not adhere to their word. Your written report can be turned in tomorrow, so you may go home now. Hound, would you be so kind as to take Iruka-sensei home?" Hound nodded from behind Iruka and slowly guided him out of the room of ANBU. Once they were in the clear, Hound lowered his weapon. Iruka yawned loudly before slowly turning to Hound, "You have a lot explaining to do, Kakashi."