Broken Mask

Haru had placed Iruka in the spare bedroom, he hadn't wanted to drug the man who was becoming a friend but he really had no other choice. He didn't want Iruka to know where he lived, only two people did and that was his Tousan and Danzo his uncle, he doubted that Danzo would approve of the fact that he had allowed someone to follow him to the apartment. So Haru had knocked the man out and now he felt guilty for it, Haru was used to feeling guilt but never over something like this, the war had left scars on him, and scars that Haru doubted would heal. Shaking his head Haru began to make a rather large breakfast, knowing that Iruka would be hungry when he awoke.

Iruka awoke with a groan his head hurt him, looking around the room Iruka didn't recognize where he was. He panicked for a moment before all of yesterday came back and hit him, falling back into the bed Iruka groaned before righteous fury took its wake. Throwing the covers off him Iruka stormed into the main living area and looked around mentally snarling Iruka spotted Haru in the kitchen, walking to the kitchen Iruka growled out. "You drugged me!"

Haru jumped and dropped the knife that he was using, placing a hand on his heart he spoke. "Iruka don't do that!" While internally he was berating himself for having let his guard down so much. Even if he did like Iruka that didn't mean he could let himself relax to the point he didn't even notice the pissed shinobi right behind him. Iruka was after all a trained killer.

Iruka bared his teeth, his genial mask was nowhere to be seen as he snarled out. "What gives you the right to drug me?"

Haru looked over at Iruka before sighing. "I couldn't allow you to see where I lived." He already felt bad enough about drugging Iruka but he knew that in this situation he would have reacted even worse, so Haru let Iruka have his say.

Iruka arched an eyebrow before snidely saying. "So you drugged me, instead. Why not just blindfold me?"

Haru blinked several times before murmuring. "I didn't have a blindfold on me." and next time I totally will. Haru added mentally. It would lessen the whole freakage problem once his guest awakened. Iruka was a genius!

Iruka bared his teeth, here was a man that he thought he could trust, and now it was being thrown back into his face. Mentally Iruka snorted, and people wondered why he didn't trust anyone?

Haru had bent down to pick up the knife, standing up he looked at Iruka before saying. "While my methods were questionable, I promised you answers and answers you shall have." Besides it was probably best to get off of the topic of Iruka abduction.

Now that threw Iruka for a loop, he hadn't truly expected the other man to answer his question in any way shape or form. As his fury simmered down, shame and embracement took its place. How could he have dropped his mask like that? He had worked for so long perfecting it for some reason this one man could tear it down so easily. It was frustrating, frightening, and slightly exciting.

Haru sat down while Iruka was having an internal debate, he would wait for the man. After all he owed him that much, Haru hadn't wanted to drug Iruka but he had no other items to use. So he had used the only weapon he had available, his needle. Looking back on it now perhaps it wasn't the best choice to use, after all Haru didn't like the fact that Iruka was angry with him.

Iruka sat down and watched as Haru took sips from his steaming cup of tea, Iruka looked at the second cup on the table and sighed and took a leap of faith. Sipping the tea Iruka found it to be ginger and lemon, not his normal drink of choice but still a good one. He was also rather relieved that there was no drug in it. Maybe Haru was still worthy of his trust after all. Taking a few more sips both of them allowed silence to fill the room, neither one willing to break it.

After a few moments of silence Iruka finally spoke. "How long have you been able to do that electricity thing with your hair?"

Haru looked up from his cup of tea, looking at Iruka he pondered over what to say. He hadn't realized that Iruka had noticed his small loss of control. Opening his mouth Haru began to speak. "I have had these abilities all my life, when I was younger I turned on of my teachers wigs blue." Haru still loved remembering that moment. It was definitely worth the beating he had received afterwards.

Iruka snorted into his cup and grinned at the other man before asking. "Have you always been like this?" Before silently berating himself, the man had just said that he had had these...abilities all his life.

Haru set down his cup, his lips were set in a hard line, and his eyes were like steel as he responded. "You will find that I am the only one like this, once there was more than just me. But due to a war we all died out, I was left alone and wandering. The war itself started when I was fifteen, but before that there were encounters with the other leader that I faced when I was eleven, twelve, and fourteen. I finally killed him when I was seventeen only to be betrayed by a so called 'friend' after I had been left for dead I began to hear rumors that we had all been killed, that someone had killed the rest of my clan off and there was nothing I could do to stop it."

Haru paused to take a sip of his tea, Haru grimaced it was cold. Waving his hand Haru watched as steam began to rise from the cup once more, Haru looked down into the cup so he missed the wide eyed look that Iruka gave him. Clearing his throat Haru continued "As I said a so called 'friend' left me for dead, I was left by the lake after a...jutsu that should have killed me was used. No one came to see me and my body, instead of shutting down as it should have, was put into a coma. I am not sure how long I was in the coma for, when I came too I began to wander the forest, for everything around me had been overtaken by foliage and the castle I had lived at was no longer standing. A short while later I came across a group, there was ten of them in total and one was an old man. At first I didn't know who he was, and then there was an attack."

Haru looked at Iruka before Iruka eyes widened, he had heard about the attack nearly everyone did. It was when the Hokage was going to Kiri about an alliance, all anyone had been able to tell him was that some child with strange powers had saved their Hokage. Iruka looked at Haru and slowly put the pieces together. "You were the child, I take it."

Haru nodded his head, pinching the bridge of his nose Haru looked up at Iruka and continued his story. "The attack was quick and short lived; I was still running high off the war, so I had made quick work of them. But the damage was already done, the guards were dead and the old man whom I didn't know was the Hokage was injured. So I dragged his body to the nearby clearing, I used everything I could remember about what I had been taught about healing. When they didn't work I began to pour potions down his throat, for three days and nights I sat and watched over him. I didn't once move, when he was beginning to wake up I made sure that he had easy access to his weapons should he want to defend himself."

Iruka opened his mouth to interrupt, Haru knowing what he was going to do smiled and took a sip of his tea allowing Iruka to blurt out. "What were you thinking? Any ninja worth their salt would have tried to injure you at the least!"

Haru's smile was bittersweet as he replied. "I wanted to die Iruka, and I didn't care how it was done. All I wanted to do was greet death. I had been betrayed by my only living friend and everything I knew, everything I fought for, was gone. There was nothing left for me."

Iruka went quiet, wasn't that how he felt nearly every morning?

Haru looked at Iruka with understanding eyes, as if he knew what Iruka had been through. It was then that Iruka knew, he just knew that Haru had been through things that were far worse than what he had been through. Iruka looked at Haru finally understanding what he had gone through, Haru gave a smile it was barely there yet Iruka caught it.

Iruka looked over at Haru and could tell that the other was beginning to struggle; he could see it in his eyes and in his posture. Iruka didn't want the other to go through such dark times and memories just to have his curiosity settled. However, when he looked at Haru he knew that if Haru didn't finish it now then Iruka most likely would never hear the end of it. Placing a warm hand on Haru's arm Iruka lent Haru the strength that he desperately needed, Haru smiled and covered Iruka's hand with his own as he continued on in a raspy voice.

"When he had woken up, the first thing he did was reach for his weapons. What he didn't expect was a child to be his savior, you should have seen the look on his face when he realized! I nearly laughed! When he had the weapon pointed at me I shocked him so much, I asked him to kill me. Just for him to leave my body dumped in the forest where no one would find it, all the colour had drained out of his face because of my request. Yet as soon as he looked into my eyes he could see how tired and weary I was, he could see how I just longed for death. Then he did the one thing that I never expected he hugged me, all I can remember after that was the smell of tobacco and old paper. Then I remember nothing else after that turns out he had knocked me out cold, not wanting to see the look that I had in my eyes."

Haru stopped speaking and gulped, his eyes had unshed tears in them. Haru scrubbed his hands over his face as he tried not to cry, Iruka stood up and pulled the other into a hug. Iruka never thought he would see the day when Haru would cry but it seemed like that day was today. "He saved my life and gave me a reason to live. He kept me at his house with his wife for almost a full year before he thought I could live on my own again."

Haru began to sob in Iruka's hold, whenever he thought of those dark times he couldn't help but cry. He had never been able to stop it, but when he remembered the hug, that one hug that seemed to make it all better he couldn't help but be grateful to the old Hokage, who had seen something in Haru that was worth saving.

The two were held in each other embrace, Iruka running his hands down Haru's back as Haru cried into his chest. Iruka couldn't help but think that Haru fit perfectly in his arms.