La Speranza Ultima

XII. Rescue

Kakashi returned closer to dawn, frowning when he saw Naruto all by himself, watching the boy frantically look for something. No, not something. Someone. Kakashi dropped from his branch and walked as calmly as he could toward the boy. Naruto whirled as soon as he scented something familiar and stared at Kakashi with wide sapphire eyes.

“Where’s Iruka?” Kakashi asked softly.

“I don’t know! He was here when I went to sleep but not when I woke up! And there are so many strange smells and I can’t tell what direction he was taken!”

Kakashi fought down the twitch. “Are you sure he was taken?”

Naruto slashed a glare at the elder demon. “He would never just get up and leave. He loves us too much.”

The admission from the child alone lifted Kakashi’s heart. But he shook his head and moved forward, taking hold of Naruto’s shoulders, falling to one knee to be eye level in front of the young Prince.

“I’ll get Iruka. Naruto, I need you to head north. Do not stop for anything.”

“I can rescue Iruka too!”

“No.” Kakashi said a little forcefully. “I need you to head north. I need you to get to Sasuke. The people that have Iruka are dangerous.”

Naruto pouted a little bit. “Hunters, I smelled them. And someone else.”

Kakashi pet at the blonde strands falling before Naruto’s eyes. “It’s that someone else for which I need you to run.”

“But…”

Kakashi shook his head, standing up, petting the boy’s head. “Not this time. I need you safe. If you got hurt, Iruka would be upset.”

It was those words that gave a measure of understanding to the boy’s electric blue eyes. Kakashi released Naruto and gave the boy directions to where he needed to go. Once the Prince had disappeared from his sight, Kakashi lifted his hand to uncover his Sharingan, blinking as it adjusted to the light of the world. Slowly, Kakashi pivoted on his heel, searching for Iruka’s soul. He found it, surrounded by tainted spirits of humans, and one blackened soul belonging to a demon. That black soul was far too close to Iruka’s pure one, far too close for Kakashi’s liking. Kakashi shook himself, felt electricity crackle against his skin.
If there was any time left to claim Iruka as his, now was the time to do it. The lightning demon tamped his foot down to leap into the branches, becoming a shadow with the need to kill.


Mizuki stroked the bruise on Iruka’s face, snarling when the human jerked his head away. Outside the tent, he could hear the hunters muttering. Of course they were upset. They wanted to kill demons, not wait around while their guide claimed what he wanted. But he couldn’t claim Iruka just yet. Someone else, some other demon, had put a temporary claim on the brunette and Mizuki needed to break through that temporary claim to place his own. Then he could take Iruka, break Iruka, make Iruka his. Mizuki scraped his nails along the expanse of Iruka’s throat, giving him silent warning.

“Why did you run from me, Iruka?” Mizuki whispered against the human’s ear. “All I have ever done was love you.”

“What you did wasn’t out of love,” Iruka spat back, struggling against the ropes binding him to the center post of the tent. “What you did was out of lust.”

“Lust, love. There’s not much of a difference once you get down to it.”

“Get away from me.”

Mizuki just laughed, fingers wrapping hard around Iruka’s throat. The water demon leaned in closer, just enough so that their lips brushed together in faux kisses. “You don’t have a choice, my love.”

Iruka struggled against the ropes, against Mizuki, but there was nothing he could do. The warmth that had spread in his body was quickly being replaced by frigid ice, his blood slowing in his veins. He felt as though he was drowning, dying, suffocating against the fluid filling his lungs. Iruka didn’t want this. He didn’t want to die! He didn’t want to belong to Mizuki! He wanted Kakashi! Hot fire lanced through him, burning away the ice and the water drowning him, encasing him within a warmth that he was sure would kill him quicker than if he were to drown in Mizuki’s water. But that fire simply warmed him enough to keep the ice at bay, to give him air to breathe, and thus fight away Mizuki’s desire that wanted to cloud his mind.

Iruka focused on Kakashi, focused on the demon’s – no. Man’s – voice, his scent, his own kind of warmth. He concentrated on the tiny sparks of electricity that sometimes fell from Kakashi’s skin and hair, the way his visible blue eye changed emotions when his face refused to betray what he felt. He focused on that Sharingan eye, that strange red and black orb that always gave him the feeling that it was looking into his very soul. He focused on everything that was Kakashi, even as Mizuki’s hands stroked along his skin, baring everything Iruka had tried to hide to his eyes. He ignored the way fingers danced along the skin of his stomach and chest, trailing down, always down. He ignored the way his blood began to burn as Mizuki worked to rile him, focusing on Kakashi’s scent. He imagined he could smell it, that strange, pleasing scent of lightning and fresh rain. He imagined he smelled burning flesh and blood and wished what his brain made him imagine could be true.

He felt Mizuki’s breath hitch against his throat and slowly he opened his eyes.

Relief flooded through Iruka’s body, pure joy at seeing Kakashi standing there, eyes as wild as his hair, electricity jumping from his skin, blood spatter making his skin seem even paler. Mizuki’s fingers froze on Iruka’s skin. His face twisted into a horrible snarl.

“Sharingan no Kakashi, why am I not surprised?” Mizuki hissed, hand moving for Iruka’s throat. Kakashi’s hand shot out, deceptively thin fingers wrapping around the water demon’s wrist in a vice hold. Mizuki snarled. Kakashi snarled louder.

“Get your filthy hands away from him.” Kakashi ordered, his voice brooking no room for argument. Mizuki’s face twisted into a hideous mask as he lunged away from Iruka toward Kakashi, the hand not held in the vice grip leading for the silver-haired demon’s throat. Both went down, the tent collapsing about the three of them. Even blinded, Iruka could sense the demons fighting, could feel the heat of lightning and the frigid water. Then the combative pair pulled the fabric of the tent away from him, letting the brunette see what had taken place outside.

Bodies lay everywhere, some burned to blackened husks, some torn to pieces. Blood pooled in dirt, haloing heads whose eyes stared toward the sky. Iruka shuddered and began to writhe against his bonds, all the while trying to find his rescuer and his opponent.

Thunder cracked loud above his head, heralding the beginnings of a storm. Stinging rain began to fall a moment later, bruising Iruka’s skin. He wanted to scream for Kakashi, but couldn’t find his voice. Lightning illuminated the area surrounding him, and for the briefest moment, he saw the battling demons. Kakashi’s hand was covered in lightning, the silver-haired demon rushing in low for the kill. Mizuki was encased in a shield of water, designed to stagnate the lightning long enough for him to either escape or counterattack. Iruka’s eyes widened in alarm as Kakashi was knocked back, sliding in the mud and fetching up hard against a boulder. Dazed, the lightning demon didn’t see Mizuki’s water shield change to a wicked sword, and by the time he did see, it was far too late for him to dodge.

Iruka screamed.

Thunder crashed, a deafening drum roll.

Earth exploded around the demons, obscuring them from view.

For a long moment everything was still, all sound ceasing as if the world itself was holding its breath. And then a rumble began, a roar escaping from the earth-cloud, pulsing electricity driving the earth out along with the water, Mizuki’s water sword nothing once tainted with mud. Kakashi broke away, only hearing Mizuki slam headlong into the same boulder Kakashi had hit as he ran for Iruka.

Freed, Iruka flung his arms around Kakashi’s shoulders, burying his face in his chest as the silver-haired demon hugged him tight. Not a word was spoken as Kakashi lifted the human into his arms, not bothering to glance back as he bounded off into the woods, nearly flying at the speed Kakashi seemed to be going. It was a frantic pace and Iruka didn’t question it, eyes closed tight. When they stopped, it was in a clearing, shielded from the pounding rain, lit only by quick flashes of lightning. Kakashi set Iruka down against a tree trunk and stared at him, red and blue eyes staring into doe brown. Iruka opened his mouth to speak, to say something, anything, to get Kakashi to stop staring at him. Anything he was about to say was suddenly forgotten when Kakashi’s tongue forced its way into his mouth and heat consumed Iruka’s very soul.