La Speranza Ultima
folder
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
14
Views:
1,323
Reviews:
33
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
14
Views:
1,323
Reviews:
33
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Flight
VI. Flight
Iruka looked up from the pot of boiling water to watch the sunset that bathed the kitchen red and orange through the glass of the window. He shivered and hurried to put the noodles in to cook before moving to the door, opening it to call for Naruto. The boy was nowhere to be seen outside the home, not in the yard or behind the house. For a moment, Iruka panicked, thinking something bad might have happened to the child, but he tamped down the fear and simply moved from the house to the edge of the forest, cupping his hands around his mouth.
“Naruto! It’s time to come in! Naruto!”
Silence met his words, like he expected. Then the wind started up, whipping Iruka’s ponytail around into his face. Iruka raised his hand to shield his eyes, peering into the dark of the wood. The wind bore an ill omen that made spiders crawl up and down Iruka’s spine, and the brunette took one step toward the dark line of trees.
Naruto collided with him before he’d even put his foot down, and both tumbled into the grass in a pile of limbs. Naruto rolled as Iruka sat up, prudently hiding behind the elder man, shaking and whimpering as he looked past Iruka into the dark of the forest. The brunette got to his feet, seeing nothing, and turned on Naruto, picking him up and placing him on his feet.
“What’s got you so upset?” Iruka asked, moving to brush away a blade of grass on Naruto’s cheek.
His wrist was caught in a vice grip that hurt.
Doe brown eyes went wide as he saw the owner of that hand, that mop of silver hair, those piercing blue and red eyes. It was the silver hair that made Iruka freeze. When that grip didn’t lessen, everything blanked for the young man. He didn’t hear Naruto’s cries, he didn’t hear the words the man spoke; he just reacted. He threw a hard right hook at the man, catching the surprised stranger on the jaw. He went down hard, but Iruka wasn’t done with him. He picked up his foot to stomp on the man’s skull and suddenly found himself up ended, on his stomach in the grass with his ankle twisted painfully in an inhuman grip.
The demon leaned close to his ear, hissing. “Finished?”
Iruka elbowed him in the cheekbone and rolled to his back, kicking at the silver-haired demon just to get him away. Then Naruto was between them, arms out to his sides as if his small body would shield Iruka from the demon’s wrath. The blonde boy spoke one word and the demon froze, relaxing, nodding. Naruto turned to Iruka, smiling sheepishly.
“Are you all right, Iruka-nii?”
Iruka blinked a few times. “All right? You think bringing him here, scaring me like that, makes me all right?!”
Naruto’s grin lessened. “I’m sorry.”
“Prince,” the silver haired demon said almost impatiently, “say your good-byes. We must be going now.”
Iruka was on his feet in an instant, grabbing Naruto’s shoulder and putting a hand over his mouth to shut him up. “What do you mean, ‘going’?”
“There’s nothing you can do, human.” The silver one sneered. “It’s time for him to lead us now.”
“He’s just a boy!” Iruka said hotly. “Besides, I’m his guardian and I say he stays.”
“He’s already given me his word.”
“Words can be broken.”
The demon’s lips curled into a snarl and he stepped toward Iruka, reaching out to grab his throat. Naruto broke free of Iruka’s grip at that moment and shoved the demon back, fur of his tail standing on end, that small body nearly vibrating with anger.
“Never EVER lay a hand on Iruka!” The small blonde yelled. “I told you I wasn’t going anywhere without Iruka!”
“He’ll never be able to keep up, Prince,” The silver demon stated calmly, hands on his hips. “He’s only human.”
“He’s MY human,” Naruto stated. He looked up toward Iruka, tail twitching back and forth slowly. “Right?”
Iruka slowly let out a breath. “Right.”
“Besides, ramen is for dinner and I don’t wanna waste it.”
Iruka shared the silver-haired demon’s groan of annoyance. The brunette reached out then to ruffle Naruto’s hair, sighing softly, before looking up at the silver-haired demon. There was some silent understanding reached then, some unspoken truce, but Iruka wasn’t too inclined of having another demon – especially a silver-haired demon – anywhere close to him.
“Kakashi,” Naruto began slowly, “why don’t you wait outside?”
The silver-haired demon – Kakashi – just stared at the small boy for a long while before slowly nodding. Naruto led Iruka inside their home then, prancing around the kitchen and working to make Iruka smile. It wasn’t hard, not with Kakashi out of view, and soon Iruka was laughing right along with Naruto, cheerful throughout dinner. Only after Naruto had gone to his room to pack his things did Iruka move to take a bowl out to the sentinel, standing at arm’s length to offer the soup.
Kakashi looked at him, the bowl, and back to him, making a snort of disdain. Iruka flushed bright red. “If you don’t want it, you could just say so!”
In one smooth motion, faster than Iruka’s eyes could follow, the distance between them was suddenly gone, Kakashi taking the bowl from his hands and staring down into wide doe brown eyes. “What does he see in you? Why does he want to protect you?”
“Who?” Iruka asked hotly. “Naruto?”
“Of course Naruto,” the demon replied in a sarcastic, nasty tone. Iruka wanted to strike him.
“It couldn’t be that I was chosen to raise him, could it?” Iruka asked, feigning an innocent tone to cover up the venom in his words. The way the demon twitched told the brunette that he still heard the poison. “That I and this village is all he’s known for his ten years? Why would he go with you, anyway?”
“The Prince is needed to lead his people on an exodus from these lands. We thought if enough of us died the price would be enough to stay the human’s thirst for blood. But we were wrong.” Kakashi eyed Iruka suspiciously, looking at the human to the bowl and back to Iruka.
“I didn’t poison it,” Iruka said, feeling his cheeks heat from the hurt of the silent accusation.
Kakashi said nothing and slurped it. Took a moment to savour – or test to make sure Iruka wasn’t lying – and finished it off, dropping the bowl to the ground. Iruka winced upon hearing it shatter and fled within the cabin. He found Naruto picking over toys and smiled at the innocence of him. The smile was short-lived though, as Iruka realized the implications of what Kakashi had told him. If Iruka stayed with Naruto, he would just slow them down. He would be that third wheel, the weakest, and he would force the other two to slow their pace to help him. He moved then, almost automatically, and knelt beside Naruto, hugging the boy close.
“I won’t leave you behind, Iruka,” Naruto swore against his brother’s ear. “I promised Grandpa-Sarutobi that I wouldn’t leave you behind.”
“Naruto, I…”
Naruto’s tail bristled suddenly and then he and Iruka were covered by Kakashi’s body, the man forcing them down to the floor as the screams started. Iruka froze; it was instinct. But Naruto’s small hand clutching his own forced him to get out from under Kakashi, pulling Naruto up into his arms as he went, tugging on Kakashi to get the man to move. Obviously too slow for the silver-haired demon’s liking, Iruka suddenly found himself devoid of Naruto and tossed over Kakashi’s shoulders like a sack of grain. Despite his protests, Kakashi just ran with Naruto at his side and disappeared into the dark woods. Iruka’s last sight was of the horizon turning orange with fire.
Iruka looked up from the pot of boiling water to watch the sunset that bathed the kitchen red and orange through the glass of the window. He shivered and hurried to put the noodles in to cook before moving to the door, opening it to call for Naruto. The boy was nowhere to be seen outside the home, not in the yard or behind the house. For a moment, Iruka panicked, thinking something bad might have happened to the child, but he tamped down the fear and simply moved from the house to the edge of the forest, cupping his hands around his mouth.
“Naruto! It’s time to come in! Naruto!”
Silence met his words, like he expected. Then the wind started up, whipping Iruka’s ponytail around into his face. Iruka raised his hand to shield his eyes, peering into the dark of the wood. The wind bore an ill omen that made spiders crawl up and down Iruka’s spine, and the brunette took one step toward the dark line of trees.
Naruto collided with him before he’d even put his foot down, and both tumbled into the grass in a pile of limbs. Naruto rolled as Iruka sat up, prudently hiding behind the elder man, shaking and whimpering as he looked past Iruka into the dark of the forest. The brunette got to his feet, seeing nothing, and turned on Naruto, picking him up and placing him on his feet.
“What’s got you so upset?” Iruka asked, moving to brush away a blade of grass on Naruto’s cheek.
His wrist was caught in a vice grip that hurt.
Doe brown eyes went wide as he saw the owner of that hand, that mop of silver hair, those piercing blue and red eyes. It was the silver hair that made Iruka freeze. When that grip didn’t lessen, everything blanked for the young man. He didn’t hear Naruto’s cries, he didn’t hear the words the man spoke; he just reacted. He threw a hard right hook at the man, catching the surprised stranger on the jaw. He went down hard, but Iruka wasn’t done with him. He picked up his foot to stomp on the man’s skull and suddenly found himself up ended, on his stomach in the grass with his ankle twisted painfully in an inhuman grip.
The demon leaned close to his ear, hissing. “Finished?”
Iruka elbowed him in the cheekbone and rolled to his back, kicking at the silver-haired demon just to get him away. Then Naruto was between them, arms out to his sides as if his small body would shield Iruka from the demon’s wrath. The blonde boy spoke one word and the demon froze, relaxing, nodding. Naruto turned to Iruka, smiling sheepishly.
“Are you all right, Iruka-nii?”
Iruka blinked a few times. “All right? You think bringing him here, scaring me like that, makes me all right?!”
Naruto’s grin lessened. “I’m sorry.”
“Prince,” the silver haired demon said almost impatiently, “say your good-byes. We must be going now.”
Iruka was on his feet in an instant, grabbing Naruto’s shoulder and putting a hand over his mouth to shut him up. “What do you mean, ‘going’?”
“There’s nothing you can do, human.” The silver one sneered. “It’s time for him to lead us now.”
“He’s just a boy!” Iruka said hotly. “Besides, I’m his guardian and I say he stays.”
“He’s already given me his word.”
“Words can be broken.”
The demon’s lips curled into a snarl and he stepped toward Iruka, reaching out to grab his throat. Naruto broke free of Iruka’s grip at that moment and shoved the demon back, fur of his tail standing on end, that small body nearly vibrating with anger.
“Never EVER lay a hand on Iruka!” The small blonde yelled. “I told you I wasn’t going anywhere without Iruka!”
“He’ll never be able to keep up, Prince,” The silver demon stated calmly, hands on his hips. “He’s only human.”
“He’s MY human,” Naruto stated. He looked up toward Iruka, tail twitching back and forth slowly. “Right?”
Iruka slowly let out a breath. “Right.”
“Besides, ramen is for dinner and I don’t wanna waste it.”
Iruka shared the silver-haired demon’s groan of annoyance. The brunette reached out then to ruffle Naruto’s hair, sighing softly, before looking up at the silver-haired demon. There was some silent understanding reached then, some unspoken truce, but Iruka wasn’t too inclined of having another demon – especially a silver-haired demon – anywhere close to him.
“Kakashi,” Naruto began slowly, “why don’t you wait outside?”
The silver-haired demon – Kakashi – just stared at the small boy for a long while before slowly nodding. Naruto led Iruka inside their home then, prancing around the kitchen and working to make Iruka smile. It wasn’t hard, not with Kakashi out of view, and soon Iruka was laughing right along with Naruto, cheerful throughout dinner. Only after Naruto had gone to his room to pack his things did Iruka move to take a bowl out to the sentinel, standing at arm’s length to offer the soup.
Kakashi looked at him, the bowl, and back to him, making a snort of disdain. Iruka flushed bright red. “If you don’t want it, you could just say so!”
In one smooth motion, faster than Iruka’s eyes could follow, the distance between them was suddenly gone, Kakashi taking the bowl from his hands and staring down into wide doe brown eyes. “What does he see in you? Why does he want to protect you?”
“Who?” Iruka asked hotly. “Naruto?”
“Of course Naruto,” the demon replied in a sarcastic, nasty tone. Iruka wanted to strike him.
“It couldn’t be that I was chosen to raise him, could it?” Iruka asked, feigning an innocent tone to cover up the venom in his words. The way the demon twitched told the brunette that he still heard the poison. “That I and this village is all he’s known for his ten years? Why would he go with you, anyway?”
“The Prince is needed to lead his people on an exodus from these lands. We thought if enough of us died the price would be enough to stay the human’s thirst for blood. But we were wrong.” Kakashi eyed Iruka suspiciously, looking at the human to the bowl and back to Iruka.
“I didn’t poison it,” Iruka said, feeling his cheeks heat from the hurt of the silent accusation.
Kakashi said nothing and slurped it. Took a moment to savour – or test to make sure Iruka wasn’t lying – and finished it off, dropping the bowl to the ground. Iruka winced upon hearing it shatter and fled within the cabin. He found Naruto picking over toys and smiled at the innocence of him. The smile was short-lived though, as Iruka realized the implications of what Kakashi had told him. If Iruka stayed with Naruto, he would just slow them down. He would be that third wheel, the weakest, and he would force the other two to slow their pace to help him. He moved then, almost automatically, and knelt beside Naruto, hugging the boy close.
“I won’t leave you behind, Iruka,” Naruto swore against his brother’s ear. “I promised Grandpa-Sarutobi that I wouldn’t leave you behind.”
“Naruto, I…”
Naruto’s tail bristled suddenly and then he and Iruka were covered by Kakashi’s body, the man forcing them down to the floor as the screams started. Iruka froze; it was instinct. But Naruto’s small hand clutching his own forced him to get out from under Kakashi, pulling Naruto up into his arms as he went, tugging on Kakashi to get the man to move. Obviously too slow for the silver-haired demon’s liking, Iruka suddenly found himself devoid of Naruto and tossed over Kakashi’s shoulders like a sack of grain. Despite his protests, Kakashi just ran with Naruto at his side and disappeared into the dark woods. Iruka’s last sight was of the horizon turning orange with fire.