Broken

Playlist: VNV Nation - Various, Wolfensheim - Various, Depeche Mode - Various, Death Cab For Cutie - Plans

------ Ch. 1 -------

He'd been surprised when Naruto hadn't been home, then curious when he wasn't at any of his usual places. However, it wasn't until he found the usually loud, to the point of being obnoxious, teen that he was actually worried. Naruto was sitting on the top of the Fourth's head of the hokage monument, huddled under a tree that had all but been shredded to toothpicks.

It took several hours for him to piece together the details of what exactly had happened. And, it took another hour before he had calmed Naruto down again. If he understood the situation correctly, it made sense to see the blonde looking like he'd just lost one of his most precious persons.

Kakashi assured him, for probably the hundredth time, that he would fix things. That Naruto had to trust him. He soothed his student and made sure he understood that what he did, while being completely the wrong thing to do, was not entirely his fault, and that he understood why the teen had acted as he had.

Naruto was more protective of Iruka than he was likely to be of anyone. When you combined that with being an overly hormonal teen that did't think things through before acting, there was a possibility that he hadn't considered Iruka reacting the way he had.

He pleaded with the copy-nin over and over again to make things go back to the way they were, anything, as long as Iruka would stop hating him. Stop pretending he didn't exist.

Despite the certainty Naruto felt on the matter, Kakashi was positive Iruka couldn't hate Naruto. If anything, he thought, it was more likely the man hated himself.

------

"I can't put things back the way they were for you, Ibiki-san. But, I might be able to help Iruka-sensei." He leaned against the door frame and watched the man he knew to be the best at controlling his emotions trying to keep from collapsing under the stress. "Is that what you want?"

"I couldn't help him. Couldn't fix it." Ibiki's voice cracked slightly. "I tried, you know."

"Hai. I'm sorry." He left the question out there and waited.

"I know I'm too close to him to be able to and still I thought... I thought I could." Ibiki ran a hand over the scars on his exposed head. "Do you really believe you can save him?" His eyes met Kakashi's then, pleading without words that the copy-nin of over a thousand jutsus had an answer.

So... Kakashi told him. And, when all was said that could be said, Ibiki nodded. The silver-haired nin turned to head out to speak to the last person he needed to speak to before he could act.

"You know, he'll attach himself to you by the time this is over." It wasn't a question. "And, if you reject him, it will be far worse for him than what he's going through now. It will crush him and quite possibly kill what's left of him."

Kakashi turned slightly, only enough to meet the other man's eyes. "I know."

------

Kakashi leaned over the still frame and frowned. He was surprised to find it actually physically hurt to see the usually bright-eyed chunin looking so utterly dejected. Iruka obviously hadn't moved to so much as eat in days, and he obviously wasn't sleeping well if the dark shadows under his eyes were any indication. The man was actually making himself sick. Sighing, the copy-nin crouched and scooped the sleeping man up.

"Wah? Huh? What's going on?" Iruka blinked up at him. "Kakashi-sensei..." His voice was weak, and Kakashi could see the confusion clouding his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"You're coming with me. I've informed the necessary people, so don't worry about your students." He kept the tone flat, but his expression belied the concern he felt. "I spoke to Naruto, Ibiki, and Tsunade. They agree that this is what's best for you."

He was surprised when Iruka made no protest, simply frowned and huddled in on himself more. Kakashi shifted Iruka's weight a bit before ducking out the door and into the pre-dawn light. His intention was to be out of Konoha before anyone was really up, and preferably to the retreat by lunch.

------

Handing the chunin a bowl of miso, Kakashi settled behind him and set a small bag beside him. "You need to eat something, so don't argue, or I'll use a jutsu I learned from Tsunade to make you eat. And, trust me when I say it's not pleasant."

Kakashi opened the bag and pulled out a comb, then proceeded to pull the hair tie out of the ratted brown hair. He took extra care not to pull, occasionally spraying the knots with a mixture he'd found in the man's bathroom. Slowly, they returned to their normal smooth tresses, but still gleamed, oily from not having been washed in well over a week.

He could see the barest shiver of Iruka's shoulder's and knew without looking that, despite the silence, tears were streaming down the other's face. He slid his fingers through the dark hair, lightly massaging the chunin's temples and scalp. Eventually, the shivering subsided and Iruka set his bowl down.

Only then did Kakashi move away. "Can you walk?" Iruka remained silent and unmoving, so he again scooped the man into his arms and carried him. This time to the bath house, where he stripped them both before carrying Iruka into the water.

The chunin made no protest. He simply sat there refusing to respond to the few questions he was asked. It was a little surprising that he actually held himself up instead of simply sliding under the water. Kakashi had a feeling the only reason that the man didn't, was out of some need to punish himself more.

After he had Iruka scrubbed pink, he took care of himself and then carried the chunin back inside. He in a bathrobe and Iruka wrapped only in a towel, he then settled the dark haired man on one of the beds.

"I'm going to give you a massage, Iruka-sensei. Your muscles need the stimulation, and it will help you sleep." He frowned at the lack of response. The man's eyes hadn't even changed. They were still as distant and unfocused as ever.

He started with Iruka's fingers, gently rubbing their tips before working his way down to the palm. The silence bothered him more than it usually did. He supposed it had something to do with the fact he simply did not associate it with the man lying there.

"Hn... The mission that I and Sakura were just on was interesting. Jiraiya would have given his left... hand for one like it. I had to escort this very beautiful princess and Sakura posed as one of her entourage," he said, really talking to himself just to have some noise. Occasionally, he slipped in obvious exaggerations, in hopes to elicit some form of response from the normally fiery chunin.

Kakashi didn't even bother to stop talking when Iruka's eyes slid closed, in either feigned or real sleep. He got up only when he had finished the entire massage.