Something Wicked comes this Way

Something Wicked comes this Way

Author: Ryuosen
Chapters: 3/30
Words: ~ 37000+
Rating: M for violence, death and sexual implications
Characters: Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto
Pairing: Kakairu or Irukaka claimed at 30_kisses, others not decided
Theme: # 04 our distance and that person
Warnings: spoilers for entire series just to be safe, violence and blood
Disclaimer: Since Kakairu is still not canon, it’s unlikely that I own it!!

Summary:
As Naruto discovers his abilities and himself, Iruka plunges deeper and deeper into a tangled web of lies and conspiracies that threaten the peace and safety of every person the chuunin ever cared about. Will they prevail or inevitably loose themselves in the maelstrom of turns.


"talking"
thoughts, letters..

Final annoying author's note
This story is a birthday present for my friend Noir and she enjoyed it so far, even though it’s far from finished and her birthday’s passed.
So the complete chapter is finally finished, later than I wanted but earlier than I expected. Finals are messing with my schedule, damn them.
Thanks to those, who reviewed: geetac, Cannibalistic Confections, jazzy2may, evil genus and twilightserius
The number of reviews has more than tripled as have the favs.... it makes me very happy and I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it so far. Hopefully it will get even better. ^^

Also thanks to the ones, who didn’t review but still read it.

I think that it all, I hope you will enjoy the story...

Ryuosen

Word explanation
hime - jpn. princess
Kaze no Kuni - Wind country
Hi no Kuni – Fire country
Juuken – jap. gentle fist style
Gouken – jap. iron fist style
Nindo – a motto a shinobi follows, I think Viz translated it to “way of the ninja”
Usuratonkachi – Sasuke’s insult for Naruto, I think it’s translated to “dead last”
Tadaima – jap. “I’m home”
Okaeri nasai – jap. “Welcome back/home”
Sabaku – jap. desert


~~~last time ~~~

Glancing around he noticed that his leader had drawn his own weapon about to end this mission. He knew the bitch, that was acting as the ambassador of the Kazekage, would be no problem once the whole thing was over. But it still struck him as odd, that she had not tried to flee during the commotion. The tents, who had persons inside, were still untouched and the horses stood almost unnaturally rigid, having made no move to shy away and escape.

Something was definitely wrong, but it was too late to warn his leader as he lifted the axe and swung it down at the trapped woman child.

Chapter 2 Hasshin! Iruka VS. Kakashi

~~~Hokage’s Tower, the mission room, one week after Mizuki’s betrayal~~~

Umino Iruka hated summer holidays, he could admit it now. Those six weeks when the academy would close to prepare for the new students, were always hellish for him. Most people would think that the holidays meant that he got to relax, yeah right. How wrong they were. In those six weeks he took missions in addition to working fulltime at the mission desk and preparing for his new classes.

Moments like this made him pity the chuunin, who were responsible for running the administration the remaining time of the year. Working there the full 52 weeks and he would probably be dubbed a missing-nin two months into the job. Part-time was taxing enough as it was and most of the time he had to restrain himself from murdering more than a few jounin and fellow chuunin in a decidedly brutal manner. And it wouldn’t be good for the Hokage to loose so many shinobi in such a short span of time.

Gritting his teeth Iruka forced a strained smile on his face while he accepted another mission report. At least this one was perfect. With a more honest smile he thanked the spandex clad jounin. While being eccentric as hell, Maito Gai never turned a less than perfect report in. Why couldn’t all jounin be this dictated? It was probably too much to ask for. Suppressing a sigh the chuunin scratched his scar briefly before offering the man another scroll for his team.

Team 9 always got the most exhausting missions available as per silent agreement with his former students Tenten and Hyuuga Neji. While he wasn’t particularly close to most of the jounin, Sarutobi Asuma being the exception, he knew just how hard Maito Gai pushed his students during their training sessions. Rock Lee was just as bad, striving to surpass the limits his own body imposed on him. He even imitated his sensei, which still crept Iruka out.

The chuunin could barely reconcile Lee, the genin, with the one he remembered from the academy. The lack of ability to mould chakra successfully had been a setback, that he seemed unable to overcome. Opposite to Naruto Lee was truly unable to do jutsu and therefore couldn’t be graded on that alone, instead they had put more weight on his written tests, only average, as well as his taijutsu, slightly better than average. He had barely graduated and only because they had shown lenience. Still he had been the dead-last of the class and was placed along with Hyuuga Neji, class best, as well as one of the most promising kunoichi to leave the academy in recent years, Tenten.

It had caused him and the Hokage quite a problem as they had discussed the sensei for team 9. Names had come up only to be dismissed again, from Hatake Kakashi to Morino Ibiki, who still refused to take a genin team again. The requirements had to be met, someone who could teach a Hyuuga as well as inspire Lee to do his best despite his own shortcomings. In the end their choice had been Maito Gai, a senior jounin, who had already seen three genin teams successfully claim their jounin rank without losing a team-mate once. He specialised in taijutsu and rarely relied on ninjutsu or genujutsu despite being quite capable of it.

He had been the best choice they could have made, because under his tutelage Lee bloomed to the best taijutsu user in their genin ranks, not even his fellow male team-mate could rival him in that. Being a Hyuuga he had been taught all his life on how to use the juuken, while Lee had started learning the gouken under his jounin sensei only a year ago.

Unfortunately for Tenten and Neji both, sensei and student were so enthusiastic about training, that it left his former students on the brink of exhaustion. Thus they had approached him, offered something in exchange for the most exhausting missions and after thinking the whole thing over for few minutes had accepted. While it was not against the rules to reserve missions for someone, it was frowned upon since there was something of a general rule that stated that all genin should have the same chances and the most variety of mission available. Most of the time he followed the rules, in this case though he disregarded them.

Getting genin to speak in front of the pre-genin classes was more difficult than any dentist visit as Iruka had come to discover, but he still thought it necessary. The experience coming from fresh genin, who had been shinobi for a while but not yet promoted served to open the eyes of the younger ones. With the benefit that they could relate themselves easier to them than seasoned ninja, who served for years.

So far his plan was working brilliantly. The flawless paperwork of Gai was only an additional bonus.

Sadly not all shinobi seemed to see the importance of the reports they turned in. Nothing but a bothersome task, so why should they do it properly?

Grumbling he finished filling the mission away before looking up. The mission room was blessedly empty and Iruka sighed in relief. Perhaps he could rest for a few minutes. Without acknowledging his colleagues he stood and went into the achieves, carrying his stack of already approved files.

Channelling a bit of chakra into his fingertips he touched the actual bookcase and waited as the seal glowed brightly. The drawer clicked open and Iruka quickly put the already sorted reports away. With a click the drawer closed again and the locking seal activated.

Glancing behind himself he checked the door before stepping deeper into the archives. Pulling a small dark brown coloured stone from his pocket, he formed a few seals and waited for the stone to glow brightly. It did and a small beam shot from the stone, hitting a bookcase in the left corner. Iruka frowned.

What would he need with those?

Checking the seal on the stone he noted that it functioned correctly and had made no mistake, as he quickly repeated the jutsu. The beam still hit the bookcase in the left corner. After making sure that the archives where still empty besides himself he went over to the case. Bookcase number 6 contained the missions D - B from two years prior.

Mizuki’s been taken off the mission roster for more than three years now..

His fingers were about to touch the security seal as he heard footsteps coming closer. Letting his arm fall down he lazily walked towards the room’s entrance. The door opened before he passed the last bookcase. It was Satoshi, one of the chuunin, who also worked part-time. His face pulled into a somewhat pained expression. He spoke before Iruka could open his mouth.

“Iruka-san, would you help Katase-kun?”

Iruka raised an eyebrow. Katase was the senior co-worker of the mission desk. He had held the job for years, Iruka even remembered him from his own short time doing missions with his team-mates, back then a freshly promoted chuunin with a ridiculous haircut. What problems could he have?

“What is it Satoshi-san?”

“It’s Hatake-sama, he has brought his report for the first D-rank mission of his team. It’s quite one of the most horrible written reports I’ve seen so far. Former ANBU, you know how they are. When they suddenly have to write reports instead of giving them verbally. Katase-kun is at his wits end. Would you…?”

The man trailed off, sneaking glances at Iruka, while pretending to be nonchalant. Apparently trying to get the dark haired chuunin’s help without raising his ire. The teacher was after all infamous for his explosives temper and vocal cords. Not to mention his vicious thirst for revenge, which was ironically the very reason, why Iruka was best suited to deal with the jounins and teaching them how to fill a proper report. If goodwill didn’t work, than persuasion would be used and Iruka was nothing if not persuasive.

The brunet watched him for a few seconds before nodding. Without another words he left the room and went back to his behind the mission desk. The mission report was shoved into his hands before his backside even touched the chair. Gesturing or the jounin to come over Iruka studied the man briefly from the corner of his eyes.

Hatake Kakashi wasn’t exactly an unknown person, be it in Konoha or the remaining countries. His position as a former ANBU, which was supposed to be a secret; the skill and the Sharingan, which earned him the nickname “Sharingan Kakashi” had instilled fear in most persons, though Iruka didn’t consider himself to be one of them. But then again, he didn’t fear the Hokage, who was the strongest shinobi in the village, someone who could kill him in a blink of an eye. The chuunin wondered what that said about his sanity before continuing his evaluation.

The jounin was tall, an inch or two more on his own height, Iruka guessed. Though it may have just been the silver coloured hair, which tilted over the headband in a gravity defying manner. Hidden beneath the fabric was the Sharingan, with the rest of the face covered by a mask, which was probably attached to the shirt he wore. The mask being nearly as much of a trademark as the Sharingan. He knew there were few to have seen the famed ninja’s face and even fewer were still alive. It made Iruka wonder, what the older man would look like. Curiosity being a character trait many shinobi had.

While he was aware of the history and events surrounding Sakumo Hatake’s fall from grace, he had difficulties associating the events with the reason for the mask. Hatake Kakashi’s nindo essentially entailed the very reason why his father had been disgraced, though Iruka would never approve of the method the silver fang had used to escape the shame. Leaving his only child, while already a chuunin, alone was a coward’s way out. Though it made him suspect, that the jounin resembled his father in more than just the hair colour.

Pushing his curiosity aside, he met the stare of the only visible eye. The older man, Iruka knew him to be two years his senior, regarded him lazily or with what he assumed was an air of boredom, which the chuunin ignored. Instead tearing his eyes away and studying the supposedly terrible report before stopping. Blinking he stared at the paper. Never in his life had he seen such a crappy report and considering that he had seen the ones of his own sensei, that said something.

No jounin can be this stupid…

Iruka gazed at Kakashi with something akin to disbelief.

“Hatake-sa…”

“Kakashi-sensei!”

“Hatake-sens…”

“Kakashi-sensei!”

“..Kakashi-sensei.. what is this?!”

The man smiled or at least Iruka suspected that he did, as the only visible eye crinkled and turned upwards.

“The mission report Iruka-sensei.”

For a moment Iruka was floored that the jounin knew his name and occupation before guessing that Sasuke or Sakura might have told the jounin about him. Why though he didn’t know and it didn’t really matter. Scowling at the other shinobi, he placed the report on the table. Calmly he took a blank report sheet from the stack to his left and held it out to the silver haired man.

“The report is unacceptable. Please redo it properly without food stains, sketches or additional commentary, which doesn’t pertain the mission.”

The chuunin gave the stained paper a disdainful look before turning his attention back onto Hata.. Kakashi-sensei. Iruka noted that he wasn’t smiling anymore and that his colleagues, who had gone pale as he ordered the redo of the report, were slowly inching away from the two of them. Now the jounin looked annoyed or what Iruka interpreted as annoyed. He couldn’t really tell.

“It’s only a D-rank.”

The dark haired man repressed the urge to grind his teeth. What was it with those jounin and mission reports? Perhaps it was some kind of weird tradition, that every time a jounin took on his or her first genin, they got lazy with writing their reports?

“That is irrelevant. Ha.. Kakashi-sensei a report is a report, no matter what rank. So please, do it properly.”

“And if I don’t?”

Raising an eyebrow Iruka studied the jounin, yet again. He didn’t like the tone the other man’s voice had adopted, but ignored it for once. It had probably been a long time since Sharingan Kakashi had to file a report at all. Most S- and A-ranks were highly confidential and the details for the Hokage’s eyes only, therefore the reports were done verbally and their leader wrote down the most important facts, before sealing the file and having it sorted.

“The official procession would entail that I report you for insubordination.”

Ignoring the dark look in the lone eye he continued. Iruka was very much aware, that if he chose to report the shinobi, it would be ignored. The older man might get a slap on the wrist, but otherwise would be left alone while Iruka would be chastised for bothering the council with such trivialities. Though he doubted that the jounin-sensei knew this. Hatake Kakashi belonged to the best Konoha had to offer. Iruka knew it all too well and he knew how hard the Hokage had fought his team-mates as they refused to relieve him of his duty in ANBU, even as the man had showed signs of mental instability.

“Filling a report is part of your duty to this village and rejecting to write a report, regardless of the rank, is a refusal to do your duty. And therefore grounds for a report to the council.”

“I wrote a report!”

Now there was anger in that dark voice, another thing he ignored completely. If there was one skill Iruka had, it was would be riling people up and he knew that the critics were something the jounin was apparently not accustomed to. Not that Iruka cared, he fulfilled his duty to the best of his abilities and could only do so, when the others complied.

“A clean proper report, like the ones, I’m certain, you had to write for higher ranked mission. Please save us the hassle and just redo the report.”

The wrong thing to say as the lone eye narrowed and the lean frame tensed. Iruka could just imagine the angry frown on the invisible mouth.

“You have your report! Duty done!!”

With that the silver haired man turned around left the room before anyone could stop him, leaving a flabbergasted chuunin and his colleagues behind. Incredulous Iruka stared after the jounin and the closed door before growling. No one, and with that he meant NO ONE challenged his authority in the mission room. One of his fellow chuunin had actually dived under the desk as he stood, which amused him more than anything else, though he took care to keep the murderous expression on his face.

“Ano.. Iruka-san?”

“What is it, Iharu-san?”

“What are you going to do, Iruka-san?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to report him?”

“Of course…”

“Iruka-san..! With all due respect, Hatake-sama is one of our most skilled jounin. We cannot afford to have him on probation.”

“Iharu-san, all shinobi have to follow the rules. That includes Kakashi-sensei as well as every other ninja of our village, even the Hokage and the council.”

“And we all know, just how well you and the council get along.”

The sarcasm was pronounced enough, that even a dumb person would have understood. And worried the other shinobi even more. Not to forget that it also made them question Iharu’s sanity. Over the years they had all at one point witnessed Iruka’s infamous temper, which equalled a dozen exploding tags. But never it had been directed at one of their own. Even though most of them didn’t know what exactly had transpired between the Hokage’s former team-mates and their youngest co-worker, but it wasn’t really necessary. It was enough to know that it was best not to mention the two advisors in Iruka’s presence.

To their surprise the brunet didn’t combust from a reddening face, neither did he start yelling his head off, instead his grimace softened. Soon a rueful smile graced the tanned features. Scratching the scar on his nose the young man looked somewhat sheepish.

“I guess you are right Iharu-san. We really don’t get along.”

The smile faded again, as quickly as it had come. Lips now pulled in a firm line, the face a serious expression of utter professionalism, the voice deep and the tone one expected of a strict teacher.

“But that doesn’t excuse Kakashi-sensei’s behaviour. My disagreements with the council do not have any influence on my work.”

There was a brief pause and it seemed that the chuunin-sensei searched for the correct words to express himself properly.

“But I agree with you…”

Perplexed by the sudden turnaround of Iruka’s opinion the men could just stare at the brunet. Only Iharu, who had provoked the sensei in the first place, was somewhat coherent. His dark green eyes widened as he realized what exactly Iruka was about to do and suppressed a shudder with the ease of a shinobi, who had been on duty for more than a decade. The chuunin had to be insane! What did he hope to gain from forcing the hand… Tokou, a chuunin in his forties, asked another question and Iharu had to wonder, if the years of peace hadn’t dulled the minds of his fellow chuunin.

“What do you mean Iruka-san..?”

“I agree with you, it would be bad for Konoha as well as Kakashi-sensei’s new genin team. Therefore I won’t report him…”

“Iru..”

“Which he doesn’t need to know and his mission reports are still unacceptable.”

Iruka gestured to the bad form, kanji scratched across the paper like a vulture’s foot prints, still resting on the surface of Iruka’s part of the desk.

“I will not tolerate it.”

The brunet proceeded to gather more papers as the clock chimed, announcing the completion of the sixth hour. Just as he was about to enter the file storage once more he heard Iharu’s voice.

“What are you planning then, Iruka-san?”

Without turning around he opened his mouth, knowing that his next words would stun his colleagues into silence. Pity, that he wouldn’t be able to see their faces…. A real pity.

“The same I do with my misbehaving students Iharu-san. First a slap on the wrist and if he hasn’t learned by then, he’ll get a spanking. Have a nice day!”

With that he entered the room, leaving three stunned co-workers along with a stupefied audience behind. Luckily, none of them were able to see his face, otherwise they might have gotten an inkling as to how much Iruka enjoyed messing with their heads. The brunet just wanted to let go and laugh, while choking on air from the hilarity he felt at the moment.

Hatake Kakashi wouldn’t know what hit him!!!

~~Training ground near the memorial stone~~

Only a few feet away from the memorial stone stood the silver haired jounin, masked nose firmly hidden in his Icha Icha novel. Without forewarning he sneezed. The book fell to the ground and was only saved due to quick reflexes. Looking up, Hatake Kakashi couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding. Something bad was about to happen!!

~~Konohagakure, Uchiha district, two weeks after Mizuki’s betrayal~~

He loved the sound of breaking wood, especially when done by him. For it meant that he finished another training session and with that on his way to become stronger. Strong enough to kill him, to kill his only remaining relative: Uchiha Itachi.

Wiping the sweat of his brow, he glanced at the demolished wooden dummy. Sasuke frowned. It wasn’t enough, it wasn’t nearly enough, not by a long shot. During their trial he had fought against Kakashi-sensei and lost. Lost without the older one breaking a sweat, he was under no illusion concerning the man’s skills, he had to have held back.

Probably not even warmed up….

Gritting his teeth the teen refused to trash the dummy completely. He had yet to close the gap between Itachi and himself. And that was regarding the fact that his ill begotten brother would grow stronger as well. Itachi had never been one for resting preferring to work on his skills instead. A kunai sailed through the air and stuck in the thin wooded stick, that represented the spine, splintering the already damaged dummy. He had to train harder and better, he had to erase the mistakes he still made, he had to… Hopefully without that annoying girl holding him back.

He had done a bit of research on the man that was now their sensei. And, considering that his access to files was severely restricted, he had sorted through the profiles his clan had complied and had found quite a bit of information on the lazy man. Information that he didn’t believe, at first.

According to the acquired data his sensei was 25 years of age, despite the silver grey hair and had been a jounin for near 13 years. To this day he held the record of being the youngest chuunin in all known shinobi villages, having graduated from the academy at the age of five and six months later, after turning six, passed the chuunin exam. He had undertaken countless missions for the village, be it during his ANBU days or as a jounin.

In Konohagakure he belonged to the most respected shinobi. It was the most surprising revelation because in Sasuke’s opinion he was a lazy perverted as well as tardy sadist.

Anyone, who enjoyed watching his students stumble through mud, was. But nevertheless, he was one of the best the whole shinobi world had to offer, a student of the Yondaime Hokage. So he should have the skills to help him close the gap between his ..brother and him. Well as soon as they would start real missions instead of the menial labour they had done so far. Weeding gardens, and walking dogs did nothing good for ninja training, not at all.

Unfortunately the decision, when he would finally learn something worthwhile, was not up to him but the lazy perverted man Sasuke called sensei. Until that day he had to be patient and bear that annoying pink haired girl. Well at least he had only one team mate, he didn’t want to imagine what would have happened if the usuratonkachi had been placed on his team.

Suppressing a shudder, he collected the trashed dummy and carried the remains to the area where he usually practised ninjutsu.

The wood clattered to the ground and he regarded the broken dummy for a few seconds before turning around to watch the sinking sun. He had dwelled too long on his situation and now he wouldn’t be able to practise ninjutsu. Tilting his head thoughtfully he left the training area. Besides he had already worked pretty hard today and not only his single training, but the menial task he had to do this afternoon. Never before he had thought that babysitting could be a strenuous activity, now he knew better.

Kami, he hated little kids.

Brushing the dust off his clothes, he stepped onto the main street that ran through the whole district. Silence greeted him, just like it had been the case for last three going on four years. The sudden emptiness he felt was like a kunai to his heart, a deep pain he thought he had gotten used to a long time ago, but never had. Behind his eyes he could still see his relatives mingling on the streets, in front of their shops, could hear his aunt’s voice as she inquired about his training while sweeping the steps leading to the restaurant’s entrance.

Closing his eyes, he forced himself to let go of the images he was seeing. It wasn’t real, not anymore, all he remembered were ghosts of the past. A past he couldn’t leave behind, something he could avenge no matter what. Tearing his gaze away from the shop, he nearly ran all the way to the house that had once been the home to a family of four. He would go insane one day, he knew.. but….

Repressing the images that threatened to rise to the forefront of his mind, he entered the two room apartment, where he now lived.. existed… he didn’t know anymore. Tonight would be bad, but he didn’t need the images haunting his days as well.

Time to make dinner.. for one!

..so lonely…
…but it would be worth it, if he just killed his brother!!

~~the other side of Konoha, the civilian district~~

The sun had already set for hours as Iruka made his way home and he was beyond annoyed. Six chuunin alone hadn’t been enough to vent the anger he felt and for once he felt regret. Not necessarily because he liked them or thought that they reports were flawless, no but because they weren’t responsible for the anger, no that would be Mizuki!

Suppressing a dark growl at the thought of the pale haired traitor, the chuunin shook his head, trying desperately to dispel the dark mood. He found it still hard to relate the traitor with the boy from the past, with the family that had lived next to his apartment block. After his parents’ death Sandaime had given him another apartment in another district and he had lost sight of his neighbour. Sometimes they still had spent time with each other, when both of them had the time. Mizuki had graduated far earlier than the brunet himself, being a good deal older.

But that was the past and the only concern Iruka had now, was the present and the time when Mizuki had become a traitor. When had he decided that working for someone else was more rewarding than serving as a loyal tool for the village. Had he still been a teenager or was it a more recent development. At least they could be sure that the older chuunin had never sold secrets of the village, having never gained enough clearance to know them, with the exception of Naruto’s secret, but that wasn’t really a secret if you ignored the younger generation of Konoha. Everyone else knew.

Mizuki had help, that was clear, but who? Who would be in a position to tattle and how would they have made contact? Being a teacher restricted the time that could be gone on missions.. how? It could, of course, been one of his friends, but Iruka found it unlikely. Not unlikely enough to disregard, but he would try to think outside of straight guidelines, this case demanded it.

Additional duties were funny… at least the academy was closed, though he dreaded the day, when it would be reopened. Additional duties and 20 something pre-genin on sugar were not what Iruka envisioned as fun. Besides the time, he spent with his loved ones would even be shorter than it was now. Sadly Naruto had yet to contact him.

I hope you are not in trouble Naruto!

With the final thought he reached his house, noticing that the lights were on. With a smile he opened the door and entered. The smell of a well cooked meal greeted him and while he pulled his sandals off he called out.

“Tadaima!”

“Okaeri nasai!”

His smile only widened as he saw the brunette poking her head through the doorway. Dark eyes sparkling with happiness and joyful smile greeted Iruka. The chuunin knew that his face was glowing with the warmth that pooled beneath his skin. How he hated the blushes!

But.. someone had truly blessed him.

Straightening he approached the young woman, who greeted him with open arms and a kiss. He melted into warmth and security the female offered. How he had missed this. Pulling the body closer, his hands slid over the slim back to comfortable hips. Bumping his nose against hers, he broke the kiss. The smile was still there, he could feel it against his chin. Tilting his head, he rested it against her soft dark hair. Only now, the tension finally left his body. The aroma of a freshly cooked meal assaulted his nose and he couldn’t help but sigh in pleasure.

“Smells really good.”

“I should think so, it’s one of your favourites after all!”

An impish smile flitted over the scared face as the woman tried to free herself from his embrace, sensing that her lover was up to mischief. She had reacted too late, calloused fingertips dug into her sides, tickling her without mercy. A shriek tore from her throat and hands pressed against his shoulders. Though she wasn’t trying too hard to get away, she didn’t even want to.

Iruka stopped as he heard a dark growl, meeting the nearly black eyes he laughed before letting her go. Balancing he barely evaded a half-hearted swipe, raising his arms in a calming gesture.

“I think the food…”

“Don’t even try to distract me, I already took the food off the stove…hey.. cheating!”

He hugged her again, burrowing his nose in the dark traces, breathing in the scent of earth and nature.

“So how about that terrifying smelling teriyaki?”

He could feel the laughter, as her shoulders shook. Stepping back she studied him briefly, before nodding. Taking his hand she led him into the small living room, where a low table had been placed next to Iruka’s fish tank. Dishes and bowls had been set beforehand and all the chuunin had to do, was sit down.

“Sit down! I will bring the food.”

Iruka couldn’t help but shoot his girlfriend’s back a questioning look. It was unlike her to do everything herself, normally she insisted that he helped. But now… his gaze slid lower and lower, coming finally to rest on that beautiful backside. As any capable ninja she, of course, sensed his stare and turned to face him, her eyes alight with amusement. Teasingly her lips formed a seductive smile.

“Like what you see?”

Iruka blushed, but didn’t avert his eyes, instead preferring to meet her stare boldly. They held contact for a few seconds before she vanished into the kitchen. A few moments later however Iruka could hear the sound of clattering pottery. Then the woman he called his lover appeared again, now carrying a tablet with the prepared dishes. Iruka felt his mouth water as the smell intensified. Rising, he assisted her by placing the bowls with teriyaki and rice on the table, effectively serving them both.

Then he waited for her to sit, before he followed. With a quiet sound the chopsticks were broken apart and they both dug in. Iruka had been correct in his assumption, the meal was delicious. Licking his lips he served himself second helpings, while the other chuunin had yet to finish her first servings. As he lifted the cup, filled with cold sake to his face, he heard his girlfriend’s voice.

“So I’ve heard that you’re having your wicked way with Kakashi and his poor backside! Should I be worried?”

The academy promptly choked, the porcelain cup slipping from his fingers and nearly crashing onto his plate. That is, hadn’t his instincts reacted immediately and dropped the chopsticks to catch the cup. Coughing he stared at the woman sitting calmly on the other end of the table, then the bewilderment left and embarrassment set in, he blushed. With a smooth motion he placed the cup onto the table, not one drop having been spattered and cleared his throat. The colour had thankfully left his face.

“Where did you hear that?”

An impish grin was playing over her rose coloured lips, as she answered. Iruka could also see amusement dancing in her dark eyes as she regard him. Clearly this was very entertaining for her. If anybody knew how wicked his beloved was, they would never believe him.

“I heard it from one of the jounin. Apparently you and Hatake had words in the mission office, which ended with you threatening to report him and something about BDSM sessions!”

The chuunin sensei was flabbergasted. He blinked once, he blinked twice before sputtering. The tanned face paled, a stark contrast to the reddish colour minutes ago. His brown eyes widened and the mouth open, before the lips formed a thin line and then he growled. But as suddenly as the growl came it was cut off, the chuunin’s narrowed eyes were gone and he smiled.

“Say, who told you that?”

The brunette shuddered, she knew that smile. The innocent expression, which conveyed nothing but friendliness. She knew better though. Someone was going to suffer for spreading the rumour or better the deliberate misunderstanding his lover’s words. Shinobi, by nature, were a curious bunch and there was nearly nothing they liked more than gossip. It brought on a challenge of spying on other comrades and trying to find the root of the rumour without being noticed. It made for good training, which was the reason most ninja tolerated it. Mostly it was all in good fun after all.

However Iruka was different, sometimes he reacted a bit funny when it concerned rumours, not that he had ever explained his behaviour. All she had gotten out of him were nothing more than two sentences, which supposedly explained everything.

“I can’t afford any rumours about myself. I don’t like to draw attention.”

She knew that Iruka had told her the complete truth in those short sentences and yet he had left everything out. It wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy her own curiosity, she was after all a shinobi as well. Not that he would tell her. If she left the matter run its own way, then the female would undoubtedly never know. Maybe he would tell her eventually, but she wouldn’t count on it. Iruka was her future mate and soon it would be official, of that she was sure. And about him she wanted to know everything. Only then she remembered that she still owed Iruka an answer.

“Hmm, I don’t know him personally. He came with a patient and I was more interested in it and the ailments than him. Was from one of the clans I believe, if you want I will look his name up tomorrow. I have it in the files.”

Iruka shook his head, the smile only widening. Yes, someone was definitely going to suffer. But until Iruka had sorted the mess out, she could tease him for all it was worth.

“Alright, but you never answered my question. Do I have to worry?”

The mischievous look vanished abruptly. Instead she was regarded with a seriousness that Iruka normally only applied to missions, she knew. He shook his head before sitting next to her; her hand, calloused like his, held in a strong grip.

“Let’s see.. a seemingly lazy jounin, who reads porn in public and associates with more dead than living people against you, a beautiful woman, who puts up with me and accepts me like I am.”

He leaned forward until their faces nearly touched. A bright blush creeping up his face.

“I don’t think that there is any competition for you at all.”

It was her that closed the distance between them, her slim strong fingers sliding over the broad shoulders as Iruka pulled her closer. He could feel the smile against his mouth. Only as he needed air, did he pull back.

“Dishes tomorrow?”

“Best idea I heard so far!”

The brunet rose, pulling her along. Smiling he led her to the bedroom, the anger over the rumour and Hatake Kakashi momentarily forgotten.

~~~unknown location, a building~~~

“How is the search going? Have they all been located?”

“Not yet, while not all of them are sealed, most are and that makes it difficult to pin them down. If they do not use their chakra, then..”

“..then you only follow rumours…, correct?”

“We have found most of them already, but one of the located jinchuuriki. The Kyuubi is missing as well.”

A glare demanded a more detailed explanation.

“The nine tails, which has been kept in Konoha after the sealing, is gone. My spy failed to locate him so far.”

“He left? Have our intentions been discovered, has the Hokage brought him to safety?”

“Negative, Konoha doesn’t know of us. While not able to access the personal file, our spy was able to view other lists. The jinchuuriki is neither listed as missing, a missing nin or a genin on a mission, in fact he isn’t listed as a genin at all. The spies only noted the absence because of the lack of.. pranks it is infamous for. As for the Hokage? If he is aware of the absence he has made no move to locate it, maybe he will do so in the future.”

“So we have the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, missing and probably wandering through the world and we don’t know where he is?”

“Yes..”

“Find him, we need to know where he is. If Konoha is stupid enough to let him walk away, we’ll find him before they notice his absence. Recall Itachi and Kisame. The capture of the others will be delayed.”

“As you command.”

“Dismissed.”

With one last glance at the masked one, the man called Pain left silently. His footsteps never making a sound as he climbed over broken debris and scattered remains. At the end of the stairs was Konan. Her hands folded in front of her, she waited for him. He already spoke before she could ask.

“Send a message to Itachi and Kisame. Call them back, I have new orders for them.”

For once he didn’t wait for his partner and long-time companion, there was too much to think about. The changes unsettled him. The Kyuubi child wasn’t supposed to have left the village. Nothing in their previous investigation had indicated that the boy had ties outside of his village. So why had he left. Was the leaving connected to the fact, that the boy wasn’t listed as a genin? He needed to know what has transpired in Konoha since their last check.

“We will meet with Zetsu, I have a new task for him as well.”

“Hai.”

Watching as the female left, he glanced out of the window. With a sense as close as he would come to content, he waited for the rain to intensify. Soon their goals would be realised and nothing would stand in their way.

~~Konohagakure no Sato, Hokage’s Tower~~

“So Iruka, how is your research doing? Did you find anything out about Mizuki from the other sensei at the academy?”

The brunet shook his head, trying desperately not to flinch at the disappointment that flitted over the aged face, but as quickly as it had come it was gone again. Then he assumed a formal stance to report, unofficial mission or not, the Hokage was still treated with respect.

“What have you found then?”

“I questioned my colleagues. According to them Mizuki had a fiancée named Otada Tsubaki, a fellow chuunin. The fact consists with my knowledge, Mizuki celebrated their engagement with us last year. Otada has yet to return from a long-term mission. She was to be home by the time of their wedding date, set three months from now. Mizuki requested over three months off for both of them to go on their honeymoon near the northern coast of Hi no Kuni.”

“What about Mizuki’s communication with his fiancée?”

“Otada-san has been on the long-term mission in Kumo for nearly six months now. As far as our information goes, their correspondence ceased the day she left.”

“What of her state of mind and her loyalty?”

“I requested the last examinations from her medic. Her psychological evaluations show no signs of disloyalty. A good sign, but it might not mean anything.”

“Correct, after all we never questioned Mizuki’s alliance either.”

Iruka only nodded, the Hokage had made a valid point. Clutching the folders to his chest, he considered Mizuki’s betrayal for the sixth, tenth, hundredth’s time and realized something. It still hurt, he hurt because one of his colleagues had decided to betray the village. As children they had been friends and then colleagues as adults and now? Now, they were enemies and Iruka knew that if they would meet again, he would kill the older man. No questions asked..

But before that they needed information, before the traitor died.. not died but was sentenced, they needed to know everything. How long had he upheld that carefully constructed lie, the façade that fooled them all. When had he acquired the menacing nature, or had it always been there?

Had there been signs and nobody had seen them? He had been blind to them, regardless of working next to the man every day. Now the signs seemed obvious, screaming at him and every other person involved in the investigation. It made Iruka wonder why they had been so blind? Foolish self-confidence, that Konoha was free of traitors after Orochimaru had taken off or ignorance? He couldn’t decide. But fact was, that most had dismissed Mizuki’s obvious problems. So what, Mizuki had anger management problems, how bad could that be? He was calm and collected during work, didn’t go on missions and his students learned from him. All in all it was probably just the stress of teaching so many children.

Yeah, right? We were fools, ignorant fools..

Only as the old shinobi started to speak again, did Iruka pull himself from his internal discussion concerning Mizuki. His brown eyes followed the wisps of smoke somewhat hypnotically as he listened.

“One of our ANBU has been dispatched to shadow her during the mission. If she’s involved she will most likely panic and abandon her mission as soon as she realizes that he isn’t showing up at the right time.”

“And if she doesn’t abandon her post?”

“Then it is a point in her favour. As for you, I want you to continue your investigation. Bring me anything you find on his activities, regardless how trivial it seems.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama.”

The dark haired chuunin bowed once more before handing the personal file of Utada Tsubaki over. With a farewell and another bow he left the tower. His work was done for today, but he still had matters to take care of, Hatake Kakashi’s abysmal handwriting, which wasn’t abysmal at all if the jounin didn’t chose it to be, for example. For a chuunin like Iruka it took no effort at all to view older mission reports. It certainly paid to have a high lever clearance and normally he would never abuse his rights for something so trivial, but Hatake Kakashi had raised his ire and he was going to pay for it.

Revenge had been the reason Iruka had looked into the mission files in the first place. And what he had seen had caused him to spent an extra hour on his favourite training ground, trying out various new combinations of kicks and punches. The mission reports written by Hatake Kakashi, starting at age six, had proved without a doubt that the silver haired man was quite capable of writing neat reports. Why he had stopped the chuunin couldn’t fathom, but for now he would keep quiet about it. Of course, that didn’t mean that the jounin wouldn’t regret messing with Umino Iruka, because he would.

Which was the reason he was currently jumping from branch to branch in order to reach training ground 32 near the outskirts of the village. He knew that Maito Gai was currently training his team there. Part of the “operation Hatake Kakashi” was about to start. The jounin would regret the day he tried to cross him.

Making sure that his face was devoid of any expression that could give his intentions away he entered the training ground, but stayed in the shadows the trees offered him. Calmly he observed his former students as they moved through their exercises. Silently the brunet marvelled at the progress he could see in all of them. Neji had always been very good at taijutsu but now he was even better. The influence of his sensei had smoothed out the knacks, which a Hyuuga had overlooked.

Tenten, who had already favoured weapons during her academy days, now almost relied exclusively on them. Her talent in using them was a gift, as Iruka viewed the reliance as a weakness, because opponents like Hyuuga Neji and even Rock Lee would run circles around her. With the genkei kekkei making it next to impossible for her to hit her team-mate or when the speed, Lee had to have gained, left her in the dust. She might have chances against katon and suiton user but fuuton masters would trounce her without her standing a chance. Yet it was not his place to question her choices. He could only hope that she would adapt her fighting style, it was now in her sensei’s hands.

The chuunin suppressed a flinch at the image, he always had trouble letting his students go. Pushing the depressing thoughts away, he entered the training grounds. Lee, in the process of doing sit-ups, merely gave him a exuberant grin, never stopping his motions. Tenten on the other hand, set the kunai down and greeting with cheerful waving.

And Neji, in the process of doing a complex looking kata, held briefly eye contact before focusing once more on his moves. And finally he saw the reason for coming to the grounds in the first place: Maito Gai! The jounin greeted him in his usual carefree manner. Combined with the way he dressed, Iruka was still freaked out. No matter how often he saw it.

“Greetings Iruka-sensei, what brings you here on this wonderful day? Nothing wrong with the report I hope.”

“Ohayo, and no Gai-sensei, the report was perfect as always. Makes me wish, that all jounin would give me such perfect forms. But no, I wanted to speak with your team.”

“My forms, perfect?”

“Of course, otherwise I wouldn’t say it. When I compare them to the forms of the other new jounin-sensei, they are nearly flawless. Yesterday I had to deal with Hatake-san’s .. his kanji..”

Iruka’s voice trailed off, leaving enough time for the other brunet to get the implications. As he had hoped, the jounin pounced on it.

“My eternal rival, don’t worry you will get used to his hip attitude.”

The chuunin just stared at the green Beast of Konoha, he had trouble comprehending that someone would call the lazy behaviour ‘hip’. Perhaps the understanding was a privilege that came with jounin rank and the accompanied loss of sanity.

“Nevertheless, I still prefer your reports. They are far more legible than his. May I have a few minutes with your team? It concerns the date for the visit of the new classes.”

“What a youthful idea! Of course Iruka-sensei, jut wait until Neji has finished his kata.”

The dark haired chuunin nodded distractedly, continuing to study his former students. Their progress was really really marvellous. He told Gai so, foolishly not expecting the teary reaction he got. Settling for smiling awkwardly, he patted the man’s shoulder as the jounin sobbed noisily. The fact that none of his students appeared to be ruffled by the display, told the sensei that this reaction was apparently quite a common occurrence. He didn’t know whether to respect the three or be scared for their sanity.

Only after the emotional man had calmed down, was Iruka able to speak with the three genin. Finalizing the detail took longer than expected, but after finishing, the younger man turned to leave. Only to be stopped by Konoha’s Green Beast.

“Iruka-san..”

The brunet frowned and his brows furrowed, he had rarely heard such a serious tone from the jounin. Keeping quiet, he waited for the older man to continue, while wondering what could have caused such seriousness.

“Iruka-san, I heard something yesterday and I was hoping that maybe you would shed some light onto the issue.”

Suppressing a wince was all he could do, as he listened to the dark timbre of Gai’s voice, blushing instead. But this time it was a controlled blush as deliberate as most of them were. Offering the older jounin a veiled calculated look, he weighed his options on how much to tell Gai. In the end he decided against the whole truth. Despite their friendly relationship, he knew that the taijutsu master wouldn’t take kindly to being manipulated. Especially not, when it concerned the shinobi he called “eternal rival”. So the sensei resolved to simply withhold information.

“That depends on what you have heard, Gai-sensei.”

“I have heard rumours of yourself and my hip eternal rival, they speak of how you reached a very youthful relationship. But Iruka-san I must tell you, my rival’s heart is hard to win so if you break his, I fear you will answer to me…”

During the few sentences Iruka’s eyes had widened.

SHIT!

The rumours either had mutated far more than Iruka had anticipated or Gai was just being very dense. How had that happened? Only as he noticed that the spandex clad man was awaiting his answer the chuunin tried to answer, while blushing. This time the blush was very much unwanted.

“Gai-sensei, you must be mistaken: Kakashi-sensei and I are not.. da.. together in any shape or form.”

Focusing his voice to be calm, lest giving the man a wrong conclusion, the chuunin attempted to explain the rumours. He really should have expected to fail and have his words fall on deaf ears. Stupid jounin!

“Say no more Iruka-sensei. I find it admirable that you intend to protect both yourselves. Fear not, my lips are sealed. And if it slips I shall run 500 laps around Konoha on my hands, while carrying a 1000 pounds.”

It had to be a jounin thing, Iruka decided. Once you were promoted, your mind just snapped and sanity was thrown out of the nearest window. Not to forget that the jounin tended to be eccentric in some sense, be it wearing green spandex and orange leg warmers or reading porn in public. Left speechless, Iruka wondered briefly how often Maito Gai had been dropped on his head as a child as the man spoke again.

“You said my penmanship was good…”

A bit dazed from the sudden changes of subjects, the teacher merely nodded wordlessly, once more trying to explain that the jounin-sensei got it all wrong only to be interrupted again.

“Yosh, then I will challenge my eternal rival right now..”

Where the jounin had hidden the scroll, which apparently contained calligraphy utensils, Iruka would rather not know. But he had a good idea what the older man intended to do with them. It took surprisingly little effort to keep his face free of that smug smile that wanted to make itself known. Hopefully the rumours concerning the rivalry of Gai and Kakashi were mostly accurate.

Silently he watched as the man guided his students through a sequence of moves designed to cool down and keep the muscles from cramping. After making sure that his students got it right, an overbearing action if Neji’s rolled eyes were to believed, he rushed off. Iruka was left with team 9.

“Does that happen often?”

“No, sensei usually challenges Kakashi-san only after they both survived a strenuous mission.”

Tenten, who had answered, smiled slightly. The fondness for her teacher creeping into her voice. He mirrored her smile, if only for the emotions she showed. Despite being a calm collected young woman, Tenten could explode in a flurry of fury and temper, just like Iruka himself. The chuunin appreciated the parents a lot more, when the weren’t as strict with the shinobi code as some were. Fortunately Tenten’s family belonged to the one’s whose ideals were closer to Iruka’s own, than the code the sensei was forced to teach at the academy. The strict image some of the families had, concerning the attributes a shinobi or a kunoichi should have, didn’t agree with the chuunin at all.

Looking at Neji and his calm nearly emotionless face, Iruka wanted to scream and rage with the head of the Hyuuga clan taking the brunt of his anger. In some ways the brunet was worse off than even Sasuke. The last Uchiha had lost his family, but was left with the knowledge that they loved him. Neji had not only lost his father in order to save the head of the clan, he had to live next to blood relatives, who thought him to be less worthy than themselves.

And all that because of some stupid tradition. The chuunin hated tradition, the ones of the Hyuuga only few among many, even though there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was trying to show Neji, that hate wasn’t the only emotion he was allowed to feel. He had gotten mixed results, while the student had kept his emotions, he had only shown the negative ones. The disdain he held for his other team-mates was palpable. It was a mistake made at the academy, which the sensei responsible for the class had neglected to correct. Probably too afraid of the repercussions from the head of the Hyuuga clan.

His team-mates paid for it now, for the fear of their former sensei. At least that was what Iruka believed, having never taught more than a few lessons as substitute. Their progress and teamwork could only attest to Gai’s good teachings and the stubbornness of Tenten and Lee. He hoped that one day they would break through that barrier of hate Neji had erected and tried to encourage them every chance he got.

“Well, that’s all I wanted. I will see you then on the 25th.”

“Bye Iruka-sensei!!”

With one last wave the brunet left the team to themselves. He still had some plotting to do.

~~~Kaze no Kuni, Sabaku~~~

Hiroto had barely time to blink as he saw the tiny fanged grin, that flitted over the youthful face before everything exploded in a white shower of heat, sounds and pain. Agony raced along his body and he didn’t notice that he was writhing on the ground, trying to suffocate the chakra induced flames that burned his skin. Fingers, with skin molten and bare flesh, tired desperately to form seals, to no avail.

Had the jounin been free of pain, he would have heard similar cries coming from his comrades. But he felt only his hurt, the agony spreading through his limbs. Every motion resulting in new waves of searing fire, he forced himself to remember his teachings, to concentrate on one thing, to just breathe. With every wisp of air that passed his singed cracked lips, he felt the agony lessen, his concentration and rational thinking returning. Then there was only darkness.

The void had been so comfortable but soon he was roused. The soothing cooling feeling of healing chakra danced over his body, beckoning his mind to wake. Mobilizing what must have been his remaining energy he cracked a bloodshot eye open. Skin tore, having previously been melted together, causing new discomfort with blood trickling over numb skin. At first he could only make out blurs, blurs that moved above him.

Ignoring the metallic tang that filled his mouth, he parted his lips to speak only to sputter. Liquid trailed over his chin and ran down his neck. Which meant that the nerves were not totally damaged, he still could feel.

…who’s there.. what happened?... the girl.. the.. she ..sh.. she’s responsible for this.. How? ..how ..did….

“Stay calm Hiroto, you are starting to hyperventilate… be calm. I will be done in a few minutes.”

Kunihiro…

“Wha..”

“Don’t speak, you were lucky as it is. The distance saved your life. The burns are quite severe but you are alive. Now, hold it. This will hurt, part of your uniform has melted into your skin.. I will cut it out. Brace yourself!”

He had barely time to compose himself before cold metal was skimming along his body, separating fabric from flesh. Screams of pain filled the air as his spine arched, lungs trying desperately to breathe. Then it was over, his body gave out and laid on the ground, with parched lips parted, panting for air.

“There, the worst is over, the rest will be less painful.”

“Wha.. how…?”

“Some kind of clone jutsu I suspect, the bitch wasn’t real and exploded into our faces. No idea how she did it or where she is. Turned out the horses were henged clones as well.. nearly decimated us completely.. that shrew has to have chakra reserves…”

“Others?”

“Here drink this… Akito and Takuto were lucky, stood a few feet away like you.. the others.. not much left of them.”

Hiroto closed his eye as Kunihiro trailed off. It wasn’t necessary to speak further, he could imagine the rest quite well on his own. His team-mates had died due to their own carelessness. None of them had thought the girl to be a threat and that after she had killed a complete team of chuunin without being injured. But how could they have known that she wasn’t real, no injury had touched her?

“Other clones?”

“Kenmaru took care of them. He was securing the perimeter as that thing exploded. Without him the remaining ones would have gotten us, I suspect.”

“The real one…?”

“No idea, probably escaped or was a safe distance away to begin with. All opponents so far were copies of her. I think she merely wanted us to be distracted or she somehow knew we were going to attack and it was a trap.”

“A bloody good trap I would say.”

“Kenmaru…?”

“No worries Hiroto, I am unharmed.”

“You think it was a trap?”

“Of course, look at us, we lost two thirds of our men. None of the enemies were real and the Hime was never here at all. She knew we were coming and prepared accordingly.”

“Do we have an inkling to which village she belongs?”

Hiroto couldn’t help but feel a grudging respect for the girl, it made sense what Kenmaru said. He hated it even more that both his comrades mirrored the respect in their voices. The plan had been flawless he had to admit. The oasis littered with lethal traps. Some of them doing a very good job, crippling and killing his team-mates in seconds, while the hidden clones scattered throughout the area had done the rest after the bait had exploded.

“I didn’t saw a hitai-ate on any of them. Perhaps one of Konoha! The bitch matches colour with that bastard.”

“I don’t think so Kunihiro, remember the Hime represents the Kazekage and that one loathes Konoha as much as we do. Their own daimyo after all hands all the missions to them instead of his own village. No I’m pretty sure she is not of Konoha.”

“A freelancer then or a missing-nin.”

“Possible, but it’s pointless to speculate now.”

Hiroto agreed, he doubted he could keep his eyes open for a longer amount of time. They couldn’t follow her anyway, not now. No, first rest was much needed and then regrouping and a new plan of action. Clearly they had made mistakes, lives had been lost because of it and she would pay for them with her own blood. He would see to it! No one messed with the “Shinigami no Iwa”!

But for now he could do nothing but wait and heal. Kunihiro would see to it. He would be able to move come morning. The brunet was already pulling another jar from one of his numerous pockets, the Iwa shinobi identified it as a burn salve. Moments later calloused fingers spread the crème over his burnt face and skin, the coolness numbing the pain, and fabric wrapped around his wounds.

“Now no moving Hiroto! 20% of your body has been burned!”

“Recovery?”

“A few scars will be left but your abilities shouldn’t be impaired. And now rest! Tomorrow we have much to achieve.”

So he did, knowing that the sedatives would only work for so long. Through half-lidded eyes the dark haired man watched as the medic finished bandaging the damaged hand, which he had used to shield himself. Kunihiro didn’t appear to sport any injuries save for a dark bruise alongside his jaw and neck. The medic’s dark green eyes were currently focused on Kenmaru.

“I will get blankets to built a shelter. Dawn’s not far away and we wont be leaving during the next hours….”

But Hiroto didn’t even hear him anymore, eyes firmly closed he was already out like a light. He never noticed as his body was transferred onto a small bedroll, neither felt he Kunihiro reapply the burn salve few hours later.

The medic spent few minutes further conversing with Kenmaru before he sacked onto a bedroll himself. The swordsman would construct a few shelter for the remains of their quite decimated team before taking first watch and Kunihiro was glad he did. His chakra stores were almost completely diminished and he would need rest for the remaining mission, if he wanted to be of use.

With the death of their captain Aoshi, it was now up to Kenmaru to lead them and their mission to success. He didn’t envy him, it would be tough to accomplish it now. He hadn’t want to tell Hiroto, but the infamous shinobi had been closer to death than he probably wanted to believe. But now the jounin was sleeping peacefully, already on his path of healing. The brunet wouldn’t wake for at least eight hours and the body would need the time to rest and restock the chakra reserves. And now with all team-mates save for Kenmaru asleep he could rest himself.

Quickly his fingers flew through a short sequence of handseals. Moments later the earth around him moved and four slim pillars of hard rock shot from the ground. Touching them briefly he was satisfied with their strength, they would do. Using a spare blanket he tied the edges to the stones, thus creating a shelter to escape the sun, when dawn came. His eyes slid briefly over the remains of the girl’s camp, one of her copies had set it on fire during the explosion, destroying the tents and any protections available.

So they would have to make due with what the oasis offered them as well as their skills. Sadly he wasn’t the only suffering from chakra exhaustion, Kenmaru was just as drained and therefore they couldn’t create a bunker to rest in. Drowsily he watched as their new leader erected similar shelter and covers over their team-mates before his exhaustion caught up with him and he slept. Kenmaru noticed as their remaining medic finally succumbed to sleep. Covered in a dark blanket under the small cover the man looked much younger than he actually was, the face free of worry and anticipation. The bruise though, stood out against his pale skin, which under the moonlight appeared to be transparent.

At least he lived, the others hadn’t been as lucky. The blond sneered hatefully at the thought of his dead team-mates. In years they hadn’t had such a disastrous mission, in a matter of minutes they had lost eight, eight jounin and all due to their own carelessness.

Shaking his head he glanced once more at the sleeping men, tomorrow they would be more careful, tomorrow that damn bitch would pay for what she had done. He couldn’t wait to crush her fragile face with bare hands, the fear that her blue eyes would contain, the knowledge that this was her end. Licking his lips, he sighed in anticipation. The next sunset couldn’t come fast enough, he would look forward to their next encounter. Even on horse, their group needed just as much rest and as long as they rested in the desert they were their prey.

But first he needed to take care of the dead and then resting and then the hunt was open and this time there would be no mistakes. So far he had never let any prey escape.

Yes, tomorrow would be a glorious day!

tbc.....

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