Kakashi/Iruka Fic 8/9
Quick author's note: For those of you that have noticed my other couple is named after two badass dudes in another great anime, please be aware that this is not a crossover. These two characters are BASED on those other two. In this story, they may resemble those dudes physically, and there are facets of their relationship that are similar, but I cannot stress enough that they are just regular people.
And with that, please enjoy.
Extra Note: I don't own Naruto, obviously.
Title: What Doesn't Kill You
Paring: Kakashi/Iruka
Rating: Big fat NC-17
Warnings: Angst, manpain, language, BDSM, slight non-con warning.
Summary: Kakashi and Iruka are sent on a dangerous and enlightening mission. Unfortunately, this mission could have serious emotional as well as physical ramifications.
<< part 7
Part Eight: Escape
Kakashi’s stance changed almost instantly. Iruka was on the defensive almost as fast. The two stood at the door, calculating escape routes and cataloguing potential weapons throughout the room.
Fai however, merely smiled, and Kuro made a noise in the back of his throat and folded. The sub lowered himself into seiza, curling his fingers into the carpet.
“What is this?” Kakashi asked.
Fai set his glass on the stand next to his chair and raised his hands in surrender.
“Please give us a moment to explain. We are not your enemies.”
Kakashi wanted to believe that, he really did, but they had come too far and had gone through too much to be foiled now.
“Please don’t take it personally if I don’t believe you.”
Fai nodded at that. “If you two have been working at this for as long as we think you have, it’s understandable that you don’t trust us.” He lowered a hand and touched Kuro’s back. “Kuro, love, stand.”
The sub did as he was told. He straightened and got to his feet, but his eyes stayed on the floor. He looked genuinely distressed.
“I don’t feel anything from them,” Iruka said softly.
Kakashi nodded. If they were shinobi as well, they hid it better than anyone The Copy Nin had ever encountered.
“How did you know?” Kakashi asked, there was no point in dancing around it.
“We have worked with-taught enough shinobi to see the subtle differences between you and normal people.” Fai’s hand had lifted from the chair and was running a finger gently down Kuro’s thigh. “There are… ways you move, ways that you watch others, that make it quite obvious when you know what you are looking for. And, gentlemen, I am confident when I say that I am an expert in body language.”
There was truth in his words, Kakashi could hear it. Apparently, so did Iruka. The sensei had dropped his offensive stance somewhat and had moved to stand at Kakashi’s side.
“What do you want from us?” the sensei asked.
Fai seemed to struggle for a moment, as if he was trying to move but could not. Kuro answered for him, his eyes still on the floor, his shoulders slumped.
“Master cannot answer you. They’ve done something to us.”
Kakashi felt a hand on his arm and he turned to find Iruka watching Kuro intently. “You’ve been sealed?”
Kuro seemed confused for a moment, but then he forced a nod. His body was strained, as if he was being held by invisible bonds. Small beads of sweat had formed on his temple and the skin at his collar bones shone.
“We cannot speak of what is happening, or how we are involved… but it seems I can if… if…”
The sub trailed off, his eyes wide. He looked at his Master for help and Fai reached out his hand to take Kuro’s.
“It seems Kuro’s training is ingrained enough that it overrides…” he stopped to think for a moment, “…whatever this is. I cannot… Don’t ask me, ask Kuro. But it has to be…” he stopped again. A mixture of anger and fear crossed his features for a moment before it was gone again.
“A scene,” Kuro said, and he looked up at Iruka pleadingly. “It has to be an intense or painful scene.”
Kakashi looked at Iruka and the sensei met his eyes.
“I think I get it,” Kakashi said.
Iruka nodded. “They’re sealed. Fai can’t speak about anything that’s being done to them, but Kuro…”
“Kuro can if he’s under,” Kakashi finished. “He can answer direct questions if they’re commands. Part of a scene.”
Iruka let out a breath. “That’s why he answered my questions so readily in the banquet hall.”
Kakashi nodded. “We’ll need to do this quickly, there’s no doubt about them being watched now, but if we make it look like a playdate, there’ll be less suspicion.”
Iruka turned and spoke to Kuro. “All right, let’s find out what’s going on.”
Both Fai and Kuro sighed in relief.
* * *
The room was luxurious, to say the least. Fai and Kuro were either regular patrons of this particular club, or they had enough money to spare in splurging for the accommodations. Kakashi figured it could be either.
The walls were a deep burgundy, the sparse furniture was a mixture of browns and greys. Everything was coordinated but the bed, which was black with white sheets. Across the room was a cabinet and several chests, open, and holding various toys, crops, and whips. Spreader bars and slings hung from the walls, and several bar systems were collapsed and sat leaning against the opposite wall.
Aside from the devices for play, there was also a full kitchen, bathroom, and a few bookshelves. Iruka had busied himself with looking over every bound cover, his shoulders loose and his hands sitting easily in the pockets of his jeans.
“Haru?” Kakashi asked. They had silently agreed that they would keep calling themselves by their pseudonyms, just in case this was an elaborate trap. As unlikely as that seemed.
“I’m almost ready,” Iruka answered.
Kuro had requested that it be Haru questioning him. Pleaded might be a better word for it. It was a fair request, the two had already bonded earlier that night. What was Kakashi supposed to say? No?
Iruka had walked the room, inspecting the various devices, rifled through the cabinet and chests, sat on the bed and tested its bounce. He seemed to have a feel for what he wanted, he had just needed a moment to collect himself. Kakashi understood, this would be his first time in a scene as the Dominant.
Kuro stood waiting patiently in the center of the room, naked, hands folded, back straight. He seemed excited. Well, as excited as that stoic face could get anyway.
Kakashi had taken a seat beside Fai, and had taken the drink when Fai had offered him a glass. The Copy Nin felt a little helpless, lost. He trusted Iruka, he knew the sensei would be fine, but that did not stop him from wishing there was something he could do to help.
Finally, Iruka turned around. He motioned for Kuro with his hand.
“Come here, Kuro-chan,” he said softly.
The tall sub made a soft noise and moved to stand in Iruka’s space. The sensei ran a hand down Kuro’s cheek and touched his lips.
“What are your safe words?”
“‘Heartbeat’ to stop what is happening,” Kuro said softly, “‘feather’ to stop everything.”
Iruka nodded. “Are you strictly a top?”
Kuro shook his head. “No.”
“All right,” Iruka nodded again. “Please help me with this bar system.”
“Yes, Haru-san.”
“Just Haru, please.”
“Yes, Haru.”
Kakashi watched the two of them work, putting the bar system together. It was a simple setup, two bars, parallel to each other, one that sat at the level of Kuro’s waist, and the other far above his head. After wrist cuffs were connected to the higher bar, Iruka motioned towards the bookshelves.
“Kuro-chan, please bring me ten books. The smaller encyclopedias should work, they’re all the same size.”
“Yes, Haru.”
Kakashi found himself wanting to squirm in the chair. He itched to be a part of what was happening. He would not, however, interfere no matter how much he wanted to. He knew Iruka could do this. He believed in the sensei.
“He is wonderful,” Fai said quietly. “Has he always been a switch, or did you two learn to do that together?”
Kakashi made a noise that he hoped did not sound anything like he felt, and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. “He’s not really a submissive.” That wasn’t a lie, but it was not the complete truth either.
“Hm,” Fai hummed, “that makes sense, given that this is a mission. How interesting. Had you two been together before this?”
Kakashi shook his head, “No.”
“Amazing…” Fai murmured.
Kakashi’s heart ached.
Their attention returned to the subs. Iruka had stacked the books into two piles below the bars. He had also blindfolded Kuro and was now helping him climb up onto the stacks. Standing on a stool, the sensei strapped the larger man into the cuffs hanging from the higher bar.
Fai made a soft noise. “Excellent choice.”
“Hm?” Kakashi asked.
Fai motioned to the bar system. “The lower bar has an attachment peg. Kuro loves this kind of thing, the slow and steady torture.”
Kakashi’s attention returned to Iruka, who had fished a very large dildo from one of the chests. He moved to the lower bar and slid the dildo into the attachment peg. He tightened the clamps and moved away to survey his handiwork.
Blindfolded, Kuro stood on the two stacks of books, they were spread far enough apart to be just slightly awkward. His wrists were cuffed to the high bar, and the dildo sat clamped to the bar behind him. The length of that huge, silicone cock rubbed perfectly against the clef just above his anus.
Kakashi took a breath. Iruka was very… inventive.
“Kuro-chan,” Iruka said, and his voice was like smoke over water, “I’m going to put this dildo in you. If it hurts too much, I want you to tell me.”
Kuro’s breath was already ragged. “Yes, Haru.”
Popping a cap of lube, Iruka poured some into his hand and stroked the dildo once to spread it around. He then tossed the bottle aside and reached for Kuro’s hips.
“Get up on your toes,” he directed. “Good boy.”
Kuro moaned as the large dildo slipped past that first ring of muscle, but he stayed on his toes, keeping it from going any further.
“Is it okay?” Iruka asked.
“Yes.” Kuro groaned above him.
Iruka backed away and wiped his hands on his jeans. He turned to look at Fai with a content, knowing expression. Fai smiled over the rim of his glass at the sensei and nodded.
Kakashi willed himself not to make any noise. This was so hot, so intense, and it was all Iruka. His cock strained in his jeans, throbbing at the idea of Iruka doing this to him. It was frightening. This was the first time Kakashi had ever even considered the thought of letting someone dominate him in a scene like that. He had been in the submissive position once or twice, but it had been more of a learning experience, not because he had wanted to.
Now, he wanted to.
Iruka had moved to stand in front of Kuro. He folded his arms over his chest and was now watching the larger man struggle sweetly.
“Kuro-chan,” he said.
“Yes, Haru.”
“I’m going to ask you some questions. If I’m satisfied with your answers, I’ll reward you. Do you understand?”
Kuro’s back arched a little further, and the cuffs clinked against the bar.
“Yes.”
“Good.” Iruka moved close and ran a hand down Kuro’s chest. He touched one of the nipple piercings gently with his fingers and Kuro made a small noise in the back of his throat.
“Did your Master pierce you?” Iruka asked.
Kuro nodded. “Yes.”
The sensei’s eyes seemed far away for a moment, lost in thought as he ran his hand over hard pecks and tightly packed abs. “Your tattoos are amazing. What do they mean?”
Shaking, Kuro spoke in a low voice, clear, and brimming with affection.
“They are places we have been that have moved us, or sayings we have heard on our travels that we embraced. Favorite things, expressions of love. We spend our anniversary every year adding something small.”
Iruka looked up at the larger man, eyes wide. “You did this yourselves?”
“Yes.”
Gaze lowering back to that decorated body, the sensei’s eyes turned from surprised, back to thoughtful, and then sad.
“That’s beautiful…” he said softly.
“Haru…” Kuro’s breath was coming a little harder now. He controlled it, but it was harsh from between his clenched teeth. “Are you satisfied with my answer?”
Kakashi shivered as Iruka’s lips turned up into a smile.
“Almost,” the sensei said. “Earlier, you said something about you and your master being mules. Is that true?”
Kuro arched and nodded. “Yes.”
“What are you transporting?”
“Drugs.”
With that, Iruka knelt and tapped on the bottom of Kuro’s left foot. The tattooed sub lifted his leg and Iruka removed the top book from the stack. Then he moved to the other foot and did the same thing.
Kuro moaned again, and made a soft ah! noise as his bodyweight pushed him down onto the dildo. He stayed on his toes, muscles shaking, as he tried to keep it from going too deep.
The Copy Nin felt Fai tremble next to him.
“Very good, Kuro-chan,” Iruka said softly. “What kind of drugs?”
“A special formula,” Kuro’s arms were already showing signs of strain. “I don’t really understand it. It’s synthesized it in a warehouse about three day’s journey from here.”
“Remarkable,” Fai murmured.
Kakashi was uncertain if he had meant Kuro, Iruka, or the scene in general, so he merely nodded in reply. He still could not speak, or at least he wouldn’t, not with the looming threat that he could fall apart at any moment hanging over his head.
The sensei knelt and removed another layer of books, Kuro keened softly as the dildo slid further into him.
“Kuro-chan, you’re doing very well,” Iruka’s voice had become less demanding, more gentle, coaxing. He straightened and ran both his hands down a tattooed chest. “How do you transport it?”
Kuro’s body was glistening with sweat. It poured from beneath the blindfold, down his neck, back, and thighs. It dripped onto the floor at Iruka’s feet. His cock was hard, straining above his shaven skin, precum beading at the tip.
“Ah… They inject it,” he panted. “It’s… specific places. Eight places. Over my heart, above my eyes… a line down my chest. The tattoos cover up the needle marks.”
Iruka frowned and glanced at Kakashi. The Copy Nin understood his confusion. That sounded like the eight tenketsu nodes that made up the eight gates. Did the drug have something to do with chakra?
As an idea came together in Kakashi’s head, Iruka stooped to tap Kuro’s foot and remove the next book from each side. Kuro gasped and went still as the dildo slid further up into him. The large man pointed his feet, put all of his strength into his toes, trying to keep the intrusion at bay, but his weight worked against him. The dildo stretched him wide, and he whimpered sweetly.
“Ah… Haru… Haru…”
“Yes, Kuro-chan?” Iruka’s voice had gone even softer, and Kakashi sat forward a little in his seat. He strained to listen, ached to hear the sensei’s words.
“Haru…” Kuro gasped, “Please… please, it hurts…”
Iruka must have understood Kuro’s penchant for pain, because he moved in close and slid his hand over the man’s erection. Throwing his head back, Kuro made a sound almost like a wail, a sobbing growl that seemed to vibrate every fiber of Fai’s body.
“Gods in heaven…” Fai whispered, smiling.
Stroking slowly, Iruka raised his other hand and slid it up one of Kuro’s shaking arms.
“Two more,” the sensei said, “can you do it, Kuro-chan?”
“Yes,” Kuro sobbed. “Yes… please.”
“How do they take the drug out of you?”
“I don’t know,” Kuro moaned. “I’m on my stomach. There’s… green light… There’s a little pain, but… not like the pain I’m used to.”
Leaving Kuro’s cock for a moment, Iruka knelt once again and removed yet another layer of books. Kuro cried out, keening and gasping as he was stretched still further. Tears started running from underneath the sodden blindfold, one caught on his upper lip and Iruka took it with his middle finger.
“Very good, Kuro-chan,” the sensei murmured, slipping his middle finger into his mouth. Seeing that, everything in Kakashi’s body melted all at once. The power, the restraint, the fucking mischief. The Copy Nin couldn’t handle it anymore.
“Now, tell me Kuro-chan, are there others like you and your master? Are there other mules?”
The tears continued to flow and Kuro’s body had started to sag with fatigue.
“No…” he whimpered, “not anymore. There was another couple like us, friends of ours… but they died.”
“Died?”
“Yes… there was a complication and the procedure went… wrong… Ah… Haru… please….”
Iruka moved in close again, but this time, instead of stroking Kuro to relieve the pressure, he lifted his hands and pulled both of Kuro’s nipple piercings. Not hard, just a gentle tug to each.
Kuro almost screamed.
“Haru! Y-yes… shit shit…”
“One last book, Kuro-chan,” Iruka said.
Kuro started to babble, plead in short, broken words for Haru to do it, do it do it please! And so the sensei lowered himself one last time and tapped the sub’s feet before pulling the last of the books away.
The dildo filled Kuro completely, and the man cried out again. “Ah! Haru… Haru-san I need to cum. Tell me to cum, please!”
“One more question.”
“Okay… o-okay…”
Iruka came close, ghosted a breath underneath Kuro’s jaw. “What do you want me and Endo-san to do?”
Something happened then, something inside Kuro seemed to break apart, shatter completely. His body sagged against the bonds, all resistance faded away. His feet came down flat on the floor, his head drooped. Deep, wracking sobs bubbled up from his chest as he cried into Iruka’s hair.
“Please help us…” he whispered, “Please take us away from here. My Master’s body cannot take this much longer and if I lose him… I can’t… please… please…”
A pang of sympathy jolted Kakashi’s heart. Fai sat next to him, still a pillar of control and poise, but his eyes were cloudy, misty with unshed tears. These men just wanted out. They wanted to go home, or go far away, whatever they could manage. They were terrified of being mishandled like the other couple had been, and then dying for nothing.
Iruka’s face was flushed, his eyes were wide and sad. Kakashi’s hart panged again at the sight. He hated seeing Iruka sad, or angry. The sensei deserved nothing but the greatest happiness, contentment, love, affection. He deserved everything that Kakashi wanted to give him, but would not. He would get Iruka out of this, he would help save Fai and Kuro, and then he would take the sensei home where he could get his memory erased and the man could go back to being the tender, perfect, most amazing person Kakashi had ever known.
Lost in his thoughts, Kakashi hadn’t noticed Iruka was speaking again, soft and low against Kuro’s lips. When he focused his attention, he realized Iruka was praising the sub, coaxing. One hand was working Kuro’s still-hard erection, the other was pulling off the blindfold, cupping a strong jaw.
“…good, and now you can come. Let go, Kuro-chan, let it out, I’ve got you.”
Kuro came wordlessly, shaking, panting, but controlled. His lips found Iruka’s jaw and neck, and he left desperate, worshipful kisses across the smaller man’s skin.
“Haru…” he said softly, “Haru… you’re so lovely… so wonderful…”
Kakashi didn’t have time to figure out how he felt about that because Fai’s hand came down on his arm and squeezed gently. When Kakashi looked over at the other man, he was smiling, sad, but contented.
“And now you know,” he said.
Kakashi nodded. “And now we know.”
* * *
Kakashi was waiting for Iruka when the sensei emerged from the bathroom. He looked tired, drained, with dark circles under his eyes and there was a slight drag to the steps he took.
“Fai-san has him in the bath,” he said softly, “I think he’ll be all right.”
Kakashi nodded. “Of course he’ll be all right. That was amazing-you were amazing sen-… Haru.”
Iruka’s lip twitched but he shook his head and wrapped his arms around his middle. “I don’t feel amazing. I feel… I don’t know.”
Moving from the counter in the small kitchen, Kakashi made his way towards the sensei. He reached out, meaning to place an arm on the younger man’s shoulder, but to his dismay, Iruka jerked away, as if Kakashi’s hand was hot.
“I’m sorry,” Iruka said softly, “I just… can’t anymore.”
The Copy Nin didn’t think his heart was capable of breaking yet again, but apparently it was.
“I… I know,” Kakashi murmured. “I’m sorry.”
Iruka’s arms wound tighter around himself and he looked away. There was so much sadness, so much loneliness in him and it hurt Kakashi so profoundly he almost broke down right there. In the last few hours, Iruka had been tortured, by his own devices but still tortured, beaten, and then made to torture someone else. That was too much even for someone who was into this lifestyle.
And then there was the fact that Kakashi had forced him. Kakashi had raped Iruka right before this had even started. He had used the sensei for his own pleasure, without a thought to how that could potentially tear Iruka apart.
Something very dark and heavy settled on Kakashi’s shoulders, wove around his chest and crushed his lungs. They had been fine this morning, talking, working together, planning together, and then he had screwed it up. He had screwed Iruka up. There was no going back now. Fuck if he would ever be able to look Iruka in the eyes ever again.
“Let’s finish this,” Iruka murmured.
Kakashi took a breath. The best he could do was to help Iruka save these two men. Get them back home.
He tried to focus on that.
“Here, sit,” he said. “I’ll get you something to drink and we’ll figure this out.”
Iruka nodded and sat carefully on the bed.
Kakashi filled a glass with orange juice from the fridge and brought it to the sensei. He didn’t want to invade the younger man’s space at all so he grabbed a chair and pulled it over to sit in front of the sensei.
The orange juice disappeared in seconds and Iruka made a quiet humming noise. “Thank you,” he said.
The glass was set on the floor and the two men sat across from each other, regarding the floor.
“It has something to do with chakra,” Iruka said, “I’m sure of it.”
Kakashi nodded. “It has to be. They fill them up and then they deliver themselves to the warehouse. They extract whatever it is and then synthesize it. It’s genius, untraceable.”
“Do you think they market it to missing nin?” Iruka asked.
“If it’s a stimulant based in chakra? I’m sure of it.”
“I should have asked if they’re carrying now,” Iruka ran is fingers over his forehead.
“No, it’s fine, it won’t matter. We take them back to Konoha and the Hyuuga can unseal them. Then they can tell the counsel everything.”
“What about a sample?” Iruka asked.
“I’m sure if they know where the warehouse is and where all the trafficking is going down, they’ll get one.”
Iruka nodded at that and was about to say something else when through the open bathroom door, they heard a faint splash and a short gasp. Fai was murmuring something soothing, rhythmic.
The sensei’s cheeks reddened and he rubbed at his scar. “This is… we would be…”
Nodding, Kakashi said softly, “If you needed care after that scene, this is when I would do it.”
Iruka shook his head. “I don’t need it.”
But I do, Kakashi thought, and the realization struck him hard.
“Anyway, we don’t have any reason to wait around. Once Kuro is up to traveling, we should get them and get out.”
“Agreed. I don’t want to be here any longer.”
The broken pieces of Kakashi’s heart stung when he heard those words, but he nodded his head. It was true, they needed to leave.
* * *
An hour later, the four of them were clothed and headed out the front door of the club. Kuro had recovered surprisingly fast, and was shadowing Fai protectively as they made their way down the dimly lit street.
“We’ll get outside the city limits as quick as we can,” Kakashi had given them instructions back in the room at the club. “Stay close to me, Haru will keep behind and above to lookout. The safe house where we have our gear is about six miles.”
“Six miles?” Fai breathed.
“It’s not that far for us,” Kakashi had assured him. “I can carry you if you get tired.”
“When I get tired,” Fai managed to chuckle.
Now, the four of them made their way down another dark ally, passing by people chatting around trash bins and men doing unspeakable things to each other against the dirty, brick walls.
They reached the city limits and came upon the wide, brightly lit bridge.
“It’s too dangerous to cross in this bright light,” Iruka said.
“I know,” Kakashi agreed, “but our only other option is to swim.”
Below them, the river swept by, dark and unforgiving. There was no other way out of the city, unless they went north, but that would add another thirteen miles to their escape. Cars and taxies were out, someone had certainly noticed they were gone by now and it would be too easy to fall into a web of bought people.
“Heads down, move fast,” Kakashi instructed. “Don’t look back.”
It had started to rain. Large droplets bounced off Kakashi’s jacket and caught in his hair. It obscured their view about ten meters out. Glancing up, Kakashi watched as Iruka jumped from support beam to support beam, looking out, watching the bridge on both sides.
They made it almost three quarters of the way across.
“Up ahead!” Iruka called out.
Car headlights, the bark of a dog. They stopped. Kakashi could barely see in the rain, but he sensed eight, maybe ten figures, not including the canines.
“Shit!” Fai exclaimed.
“We’ll be okay, there’s not that many.” Kakashi hoped that wasn’t a lie.
Iruka dropped to the pavement at his side. “Six around the car, two inside, and two at the edge.”
“It’s not that many, we can get past them.”
Iruka nodded and they moved forward. “Stay close,” the sensei said softly.
As they neared the end of the bridge, Kakashi started to make the seals for a Water Dragon Bullet, but stopped when a red dot appeared in the center of his chest.
“Move!” he shouted.
Taking Fai in his arms, Kakashi leapt to one of the supports above. Iruka mirrored his movements on the other side, pulling Kuro onto the metal bar with him.
Kakashi pushed Fai against the vertical support and gripped his shoulders. “Stay here.”
Fai nodded, his eyes wide.
Signaling to Iruka, Kakashi ran along the beams, starting the seals over again. The sensei went right, and flew down, landing on one of the men with rifles. In his peripheral, Kakashi saw Iruka take out the first one with a quick jab to the neck. The second landed on his face after the sensei took his feet out from under him.
The seals were almost complete, Kakashi felt the power in the water beneath them, under the bridge. It built as he neared the men around the car.
He nearly missed the sword.
Steel sang in the air, displacing the chakra Kakashi had released. He lurched back just in time, and the blade missed his jugular by mere centimeters.
“Kakashi-san!” Iruka cried.
“Shinobi!” he replied.
There were three, he could feel them finally. They had been using their energy to hide themselves, but now, it was obvious. Iruka pushed back, assaulted with arrows as he leapt across the cement.
Kakashi twisted and deflected another smooth slice. The man in front of him was small, dark hair, face covered. He carried two katana.
He saw the car door open, a large man climbed out and held an umbrella for the second man.
It was Baron Young. Not a surprise.
“I knew you two were trouble!” he called from the ground. “I’m gonna skin you and make your friends watch!”
“Bastard!” Iruka roared.
These shinobi were not that powerful, not on his level, but having three of them was a problem. The man with the swords came at him again, but this time, Kakashi was ready. He gathered chakra in his hand, ducked, and sent the small man hurling off the bridge and into the water below.
He trusted Iruka to fend off the other two while he took out the six men with guns. They went down easy, they were trained, but not shinobi. He didn’t hurt the dogs, only knocked them out.
Baron Young glanced around him with wide eyes.
“What the fuck…” he breathed. “What the fuck?”
“Let us go and I’ll let you live,” Kakashi said evenly.
Young’s face twisted up into one of fury. He shoved the big man next to him, spitting and hurling curses.
“Get them! And find the fucking ponies!”
Kakashi dodged the first attack, but was surprised to find that this big man knew a thing or two about footwork. They danced, alternately attacking and parrying back onto the steel of the bridge. The man was not a master, but his knowledge of taijutsu was impressive.
“Look out!” Iruka called from behind him.
The Copy Nin turned just in time to see a purple ball of energy coming at him at incredible speed. He dodged just in time, and the big man got the full force of the attack. He screamed, clutching at his face and eyes, and then fell to the ground, skin charred black and smelling of ozone and sulfur.
“Iruka!” he called as he whirled around.
The sensei was grappling with one of the hired nin. Blood ran from his temple, dripped from his bottom lip. There was a kunai at his throat. Kakashi lost all coherent thought at the sight and sprinted. He needed to get to Iruka, needed to help him. Nothing else mattered.
The arrow in his arm was a surprise, but really, not that much of a surprise. He had been stupid after all. He knew there were three of them.
Kakashi turned and made the seals for a fire ball. He decimated the side of the bridge, and knocked the second hired nin into one of the pillars. He heard bones snap, even over the sound of rubble and steel hitting the concrete.
“Kakashi-san!”
Kakashi whirled around to find Iruka, bloody and panting, but all right. The third of the hired ninja was on the ground, his own kunai in his throat.
“Iruka…” he said softly.
The sensei nearly collided with him and started running his hands through The Copy Nin’s hair, checking his face.
“My God, what happened? Oh shit, your arm!”
It was then Kakashi realized he was covered in blood. Where it had come from and why it was on his face and in his hair was beyond him. It probably wasn’t his. When had that even happened?
Baron Young was screaming at them, waving his arms around in the air.
“You think you can just come here and take away my means of running a business!? I will make sure that the names Endo and Haru are known throughout the fucking world! You’ll be stricken from every book in every city! You’ll never be able to go anywhere again under those aliases! You’re fucking finished! I’ll spend every last dollar I have hunting you two down! I’ll-”
“Enough!”
Kakashi and Iruka both turned at the same time. Son Yang was climbing out of another car, Fai and Kuro right behind him.
“I had an inkling you were doing something nefarious behind my back, brother, but I had no idea you had stooped this low.”
“Shut the fuck up!” the Baron spat, “You go back to your fucking fantasy clubs and your weak excuses for bondage play! This is business! You wouldn’t understand!”
Son Yang sighed and slipped his hands in his pockets.
“Brother, I pity you.”
“Fuck you!”
Yang’s men surrounded the Baron and pushed him screaming and fighting back into the car.
Fai and Kuro were suddenly at Kakashi’s side and Fai was smiling so wide it was almost blinding.
“You are amazing, both of you! That was incredible!”
Kuro was looking at Iruka’s wounds, carefully checking his head and the inside of the sensei’s lips. Kakashi wanted to push him away, do it himself, but Iruka seemed okay with Kuro doing it. Kakashi was sure if he tried, the sensei would probably flinch away again.
There was pain, and he turned to watch Fai pull the arrow from his arm. The small man inspected the wound and quickly tore a strip from his shirt to field dress it. The whole thing took only a manner of seconds and Kakashi found himself quite impressed.
“Endo-san, Haru-san,” Yang’s voice was quiet, awed. When they turned to the man, he was smiling.
“I should have known. The strength I saw in you two is so great. I feel a fool.”
Iruka chuckled, obviously embarrassed. “It’s not… um, thank you, Yang-san.”
Yang dipped his head to the sensei. “I can have transportation ready for you all, if you want. Or I can merely walk away, and forget I saw any of this.”
Kakashi dipped his head as well. “Thank you, Yang-san. We appreciate it greatly, but if you would kindly just… let us fade away, I think that would be best.”
Yang nodded. “I want to say I hope to see you again, but I feel that is… inappropriate.”
Iruka moved out from behind Kuro and bowed. “We understand your meaning, Yang-san. Thank you.”
Son Yang’s lips pulled up into a smile, and then he returned to his car. Within minutes, the bridge was cleaned of bodies, and vacated by all but Kakashi, Iruka, Fai, and Kuro. There were sirens in the distance, it seemed someone had finally notified the authorities.
“Well,” Kakashi said, “that was exceptionally dramatic.”
Fai chuckled, “Yes it was, let’s go.”
They left the bridge and moved into the woods. Kakashi led them through the brush, glancing behind him now and again to check and see how they were doing. Fai seemed relieved, his step was light, and Kuro walked beside him, smiling carefully when his Master’s arm would brush his. All seemed well. They had made it.
However, about an hour into their journey, Kuro made a noise that stopped Kakashi in his tracks. He spun around, just in time to see the tall sub steady Iruka in his arms.
“Sensei!” Kakashi rushed to his side and took him from Kuro’s strong hands.
“I’m… I…” Iruka’s body was hot to the touch and his eyes rolled in his head. “Kakashi-san, I don’t… Something… my leg…”
Kuro dropped to his knees and inspected Iruka’s left thigh, moving meticulously down over the knee and calf. Fai checked his right as Kakashi held him up.
“What is that?” Fai asked.
Kakashi looked where the blond pointed and a cold, hard, ball of dread dropped into his gut.
“Move back, I need to lay him down,” he commanded and Kuro obeyed.
There was something happening to Iruka’s right thigh underneath his jeans. Kakashi ripped them open, and hissed air in between his teeth.
A small patch of skin was charred black, and smelled like that same terrible combination of ozone and sulfur. How had they missed this? How had they not seen?
“That purple light!” Fai breathed. “I saw it flying when you were fighting the one with arrows, but I didn’t think…”
Kuro’s voice was grave. “How did he not realize?”
“Shinobi techniques are complicated,” Kakashi said as he took off his jacket and shirt. “This could be a slow-acting poison with anesthetic, a chakra burn, it’s impossible to tell. I need to get him back home and fast.”
“Go! We’re going to slow you down!” Fai cried.
“No,” Kakashi said as he used his shirt to tie up Iruka’s leg. “We need to get you to the safe house first, it’s not that far now. You can stay there and I’ll send reinforcements back to get you.”
“Okay let’s go!”
Kakashi pulled the sensei up and over his shoulder and they set out into the trees. This time, they moved much quicker.
* * *
Dry branches and paper-thin leaves whipped at Kakashi’s face as he leapt from tree to tree. His heart was pounding, his stomach churned. He prayed he would make it in time.
Iruka was a weight against his back, but not overbearing, not anything that could slow him down significantly. The sensei had woken up twice in the two days that they had been moving. He had asked what had happened, and Kakashi had told him he had been hurt, but knew nothing beyond that. The sensei asked if Fai and Kuro were all right, and Kakashi did his best to reassure him. They were waiting at the safe house. They were fine.
Now, Iruka stirred again, his face turning and rubbing into the collar of Kakashi’s flack vest.
“Kakashi-san?” he murmured.
“We’re almost there, sensei.”
“Kakashi-san,” Iruka whispered, “I’m sorry…”
Again, Kakashi’s heart gave a pang so hard it rocked him to his soul. What did Iruka have to be sorry about? How could he even think he had done something wrong?
“Don’t speak, sensei,” Kakashi whispered, “rest. I’ll get you home.”
* * *
Medical ninja met them at the Northern gates, and Kakashi passed Iruka onto the provided stretcher. He didn’t know what to report, he didn’t know what had happened, or what the injury was. Also, he was so tired, he was beyond exhaustion. He could barely stand. His chakra was depleted, he hadn’t slept in four days, and he had only eaten once or twice and stopped to take a few sips of water every few hours. He was practically dead himself.
“Kakashi!”
Genma was there, eyes wide and worried. “What the hell happened to Iruka-sensei?”
Kakashi shrugged, “Oh, you know, the usual. I probably got him killed.”
With that, The Copy Nin succumbed to his fatigue and collapsed.
TBC
All previous chapters here.
:]
And with that, please enjoy.
Extra Note: I don't own Naruto, obviously.
Title: What Doesn't Kill You
Paring: Kakashi/Iruka
Rating: Big fat NC-17
Warnings: Angst, manpain, language, BDSM, slight non-con warning.
Summary: Kakashi and Iruka are sent on a dangerous and enlightening mission. Unfortunately, this mission could have serious emotional as well as physical ramifications.
<< part 7
Part Eight: Escape
Kakashi’s stance changed almost instantly. Iruka was on the defensive almost as fast. The two stood at the door, calculating escape routes and cataloguing potential weapons throughout the room.
Fai however, merely smiled, and Kuro made a noise in the back of his throat and folded. The sub lowered himself into seiza, curling his fingers into the carpet.
“What is this?” Kakashi asked.
Fai set his glass on the stand next to his chair and raised his hands in surrender.
“Please give us a moment to explain. We are not your enemies.”
Kakashi wanted to believe that, he really did, but they had come too far and had gone through too much to be foiled now.
“Please don’t take it personally if I don’t believe you.”
Fai nodded at that. “If you two have been working at this for as long as we think you have, it’s understandable that you don’t trust us.” He lowered a hand and touched Kuro’s back. “Kuro, love, stand.”
The sub did as he was told. He straightened and got to his feet, but his eyes stayed on the floor. He looked genuinely distressed.
“I don’t feel anything from them,” Iruka said softly.
Kakashi nodded. If they were shinobi as well, they hid it better than anyone The Copy Nin had ever encountered.
“How did you know?” Kakashi asked, there was no point in dancing around it.
“We have worked with-taught enough shinobi to see the subtle differences between you and normal people.” Fai’s hand had lifted from the chair and was running a finger gently down Kuro’s thigh. “There are… ways you move, ways that you watch others, that make it quite obvious when you know what you are looking for. And, gentlemen, I am confident when I say that I am an expert in body language.”
There was truth in his words, Kakashi could hear it. Apparently, so did Iruka. The sensei had dropped his offensive stance somewhat and had moved to stand at Kakashi’s side.
“What do you want from us?” the sensei asked.
Fai seemed to struggle for a moment, as if he was trying to move but could not. Kuro answered for him, his eyes still on the floor, his shoulders slumped.
“Master cannot answer you. They’ve done something to us.”
Kakashi felt a hand on his arm and he turned to find Iruka watching Kuro intently. “You’ve been sealed?”
Kuro seemed confused for a moment, but then he forced a nod. His body was strained, as if he was being held by invisible bonds. Small beads of sweat had formed on his temple and the skin at his collar bones shone.
“We cannot speak of what is happening, or how we are involved… but it seems I can if… if…”
The sub trailed off, his eyes wide. He looked at his Master for help and Fai reached out his hand to take Kuro’s.
“It seems Kuro’s training is ingrained enough that it overrides…” he stopped to think for a moment, “…whatever this is. I cannot… Don’t ask me, ask Kuro. But it has to be…” he stopped again. A mixture of anger and fear crossed his features for a moment before it was gone again.
“A scene,” Kuro said, and he looked up at Iruka pleadingly. “It has to be an intense or painful scene.”
Kakashi looked at Iruka and the sensei met his eyes.
“I think I get it,” Kakashi said.
Iruka nodded. “They’re sealed. Fai can’t speak about anything that’s being done to them, but Kuro…”
“Kuro can if he’s under,” Kakashi finished. “He can answer direct questions if they’re commands. Part of a scene.”
Iruka let out a breath. “That’s why he answered my questions so readily in the banquet hall.”
Kakashi nodded. “We’ll need to do this quickly, there’s no doubt about them being watched now, but if we make it look like a playdate, there’ll be less suspicion.”
Iruka turned and spoke to Kuro. “All right, let’s find out what’s going on.”
Both Fai and Kuro sighed in relief.
* * *
The room was luxurious, to say the least. Fai and Kuro were either regular patrons of this particular club, or they had enough money to spare in splurging for the accommodations. Kakashi figured it could be either.
The walls were a deep burgundy, the sparse furniture was a mixture of browns and greys. Everything was coordinated but the bed, which was black with white sheets. Across the room was a cabinet and several chests, open, and holding various toys, crops, and whips. Spreader bars and slings hung from the walls, and several bar systems were collapsed and sat leaning against the opposite wall.
Aside from the devices for play, there was also a full kitchen, bathroom, and a few bookshelves. Iruka had busied himself with looking over every bound cover, his shoulders loose and his hands sitting easily in the pockets of his jeans.
“Haru?” Kakashi asked. They had silently agreed that they would keep calling themselves by their pseudonyms, just in case this was an elaborate trap. As unlikely as that seemed.
“I’m almost ready,” Iruka answered.
Kuro had requested that it be Haru questioning him. Pleaded might be a better word for it. It was a fair request, the two had already bonded earlier that night. What was Kakashi supposed to say? No?
Iruka had walked the room, inspecting the various devices, rifled through the cabinet and chests, sat on the bed and tested its bounce. He seemed to have a feel for what he wanted, he had just needed a moment to collect himself. Kakashi understood, this would be his first time in a scene as the Dominant.
Kuro stood waiting patiently in the center of the room, naked, hands folded, back straight. He seemed excited. Well, as excited as that stoic face could get anyway.
Kakashi had taken a seat beside Fai, and had taken the drink when Fai had offered him a glass. The Copy Nin felt a little helpless, lost. He trusted Iruka, he knew the sensei would be fine, but that did not stop him from wishing there was something he could do to help.
Finally, Iruka turned around. He motioned for Kuro with his hand.
“Come here, Kuro-chan,” he said softly.
The tall sub made a soft noise and moved to stand in Iruka’s space. The sensei ran a hand down Kuro’s cheek and touched his lips.
“What are your safe words?”
“‘Heartbeat’ to stop what is happening,” Kuro said softly, “‘feather’ to stop everything.”
Iruka nodded. “Are you strictly a top?”
Kuro shook his head. “No.”
“All right,” Iruka nodded again. “Please help me with this bar system.”
“Yes, Haru-san.”
“Just Haru, please.”
“Yes, Haru.”
Kakashi watched the two of them work, putting the bar system together. It was a simple setup, two bars, parallel to each other, one that sat at the level of Kuro’s waist, and the other far above his head. After wrist cuffs were connected to the higher bar, Iruka motioned towards the bookshelves.
“Kuro-chan, please bring me ten books. The smaller encyclopedias should work, they’re all the same size.”
“Yes, Haru.”
Kakashi found himself wanting to squirm in the chair. He itched to be a part of what was happening. He would not, however, interfere no matter how much he wanted to. He knew Iruka could do this. He believed in the sensei.
“He is wonderful,” Fai said quietly. “Has he always been a switch, or did you two learn to do that together?”
Kakashi made a noise that he hoped did not sound anything like he felt, and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. “He’s not really a submissive.” That wasn’t a lie, but it was not the complete truth either.
“Hm,” Fai hummed, “that makes sense, given that this is a mission. How interesting. Had you two been together before this?”
Kakashi shook his head, “No.”
“Amazing…” Fai murmured.
Kakashi’s heart ached.
Their attention returned to the subs. Iruka had stacked the books into two piles below the bars. He had also blindfolded Kuro and was now helping him climb up onto the stacks. Standing on a stool, the sensei strapped the larger man into the cuffs hanging from the higher bar.
Fai made a soft noise. “Excellent choice.”
“Hm?” Kakashi asked.
Fai motioned to the bar system. “The lower bar has an attachment peg. Kuro loves this kind of thing, the slow and steady torture.”
Kakashi’s attention returned to Iruka, who had fished a very large dildo from one of the chests. He moved to the lower bar and slid the dildo into the attachment peg. He tightened the clamps and moved away to survey his handiwork.
Blindfolded, Kuro stood on the two stacks of books, they were spread far enough apart to be just slightly awkward. His wrists were cuffed to the high bar, and the dildo sat clamped to the bar behind him. The length of that huge, silicone cock rubbed perfectly against the clef just above his anus.
Kakashi took a breath. Iruka was very… inventive.
“Kuro-chan,” Iruka said, and his voice was like smoke over water, “I’m going to put this dildo in you. If it hurts too much, I want you to tell me.”
Kuro’s breath was already ragged. “Yes, Haru.”
Popping a cap of lube, Iruka poured some into his hand and stroked the dildo once to spread it around. He then tossed the bottle aside and reached for Kuro’s hips.
“Get up on your toes,” he directed. “Good boy.”
Kuro moaned as the large dildo slipped past that first ring of muscle, but he stayed on his toes, keeping it from going any further.
“Is it okay?” Iruka asked.
“Yes.” Kuro groaned above him.
Iruka backed away and wiped his hands on his jeans. He turned to look at Fai with a content, knowing expression. Fai smiled over the rim of his glass at the sensei and nodded.
Kakashi willed himself not to make any noise. This was so hot, so intense, and it was all Iruka. His cock strained in his jeans, throbbing at the idea of Iruka doing this to him. It was frightening. This was the first time Kakashi had ever even considered the thought of letting someone dominate him in a scene like that. He had been in the submissive position once or twice, but it had been more of a learning experience, not because he had wanted to.
Now, he wanted to.
Iruka had moved to stand in front of Kuro. He folded his arms over his chest and was now watching the larger man struggle sweetly.
“Kuro-chan,” he said.
“Yes, Haru.”
“I’m going to ask you some questions. If I’m satisfied with your answers, I’ll reward you. Do you understand?”
Kuro’s back arched a little further, and the cuffs clinked against the bar.
“Yes.”
“Good.” Iruka moved close and ran a hand down Kuro’s chest. He touched one of the nipple piercings gently with his fingers and Kuro made a small noise in the back of his throat.
“Did your Master pierce you?” Iruka asked.
Kuro nodded. “Yes.”
The sensei’s eyes seemed far away for a moment, lost in thought as he ran his hand over hard pecks and tightly packed abs. “Your tattoos are amazing. What do they mean?”
Shaking, Kuro spoke in a low voice, clear, and brimming with affection.
“They are places we have been that have moved us, or sayings we have heard on our travels that we embraced. Favorite things, expressions of love. We spend our anniversary every year adding something small.”
Iruka looked up at the larger man, eyes wide. “You did this yourselves?”
“Yes.”
Gaze lowering back to that decorated body, the sensei’s eyes turned from surprised, back to thoughtful, and then sad.
“That’s beautiful…” he said softly.
“Haru…” Kuro’s breath was coming a little harder now. He controlled it, but it was harsh from between his clenched teeth. “Are you satisfied with my answer?”
Kakashi shivered as Iruka’s lips turned up into a smile.
“Almost,” the sensei said. “Earlier, you said something about you and your master being mules. Is that true?”
Kuro arched and nodded. “Yes.”
“What are you transporting?”
“Drugs.”
With that, Iruka knelt and tapped on the bottom of Kuro’s left foot. The tattooed sub lifted his leg and Iruka removed the top book from the stack. Then he moved to the other foot and did the same thing.
Kuro moaned again, and made a soft ah! noise as his bodyweight pushed him down onto the dildo. He stayed on his toes, muscles shaking, as he tried to keep it from going too deep.
The Copy Nin felt Fai tremble next to him.
“Very good, Kuro-chan,” Iruka said softly. “What kind of drugs?”
“A special formula,” Kuro’s arms were already showing signs of strain. “I don’t really understand it. It’s synthesized it in a warehouse about three day’s journey from here.”
“Remarkable,” Fai murmured.
Kakashi was uncertain if he had meant Kuro, Iruka, or the scene in general, so he merely nodded in reply. He still could not speak, or at least he wouldn’t, not with the looming threat that he could fall apart at any moment hanging over his head.
The sensei knelt and removed another layer of books, Kuro keened softly as the dildo slid further into him.
“Kuro-chan, you’re doing very well,” Iruka’s voice had become less demanding, more gentle, coaxing. He straightened and ran both his hands down a tattooed chest. “How do you transport it?”
Kuro’s body was glistening with sweat. It poured from beneath the blindfold, down his neck, back, and thighs. It dripped onto the floor at Iruka’s feet. His cock was hard, straining above his shaven skin, precum beading at the tip.
“Ah… They inject it,” he panted. “It’s… specific places. Eight places. Over my heart, above my eyes… a line down my chest. The tattoos cover up the needle marks.”
Iruka frowned and glanced at Kakashi. The Copy Nin understood his confusion. That sounded like the eight tenketsu nodes that made up the eight gates. Did the drug have something to do with chakra?
As an idea came together in Kakashi’s head, Iruka stooped to tap Kuro’s foot and remove the next book from each side. Kuro gasped and went still as the dildo slid further up into him. The large man pointed his feet, put all of his strength into his toes, trying to keep the intrusion at bay, but his weight worked against him. The dildo stretched him wide, and he whimpered sweetly.
“Ah… Haru… Haru…”
“Yes, Kuro-chan?” Iruka’s voice had gone even softer, and Kakashi sat forward a little in his seat. He strained to listen, ached to hear the sensei’s words.
“Haru…” Kuro gasped, “Please… please, it hurts…”
Iruka must have understood Kuro’s penchant for pain, because he moved in close and slid his hand over the man’s erection. Throwing his head back, Kuro made a sound almost like a wail, a sobbing growl that seemed to vibrate every fiber of Fai’s body.
“Gods in heaven…” Fai whispered, smiling.
Stroking slowly, Iruka raised his other hand and slid it up one of Kuro’s shaking arms.
“Two more,” the sensei said, “can you do it, Kuro-chan?”
“Yes,” Kuro sobbed. “Yes… please.”
“How do they take the drug out of you?”
“I don’t know,” Kuro moaned. “I’m on my stomach. There’s… green light… There’s a little pain, but… not like the pain I’m used to.”
Leaving Kuro’s cock for a moment, Iruka knelt once again and removed yet another layer of books. Kuro cried out, keening and gasping as he was stretched still further. Tears started running from underneath the sodden blindfold, one caught on his upper lip and Iruka took it with his middle finger.
“Very good, Kuro-chan,” the sensei murmured, slipping his middle finger into his mouth. Seeing that, everything in Kakashi’s body melted all at once. The power, the restraint, the fucking mischief. The Copy Nin couldn’t handle it anymore.
“Now, tell me Kuro-chan, are there others like you and your master? Are there other mules?”
The tears continued to flow and Kuro’s body had started to sag with fatigue.
“No…” he whimpered, “not anymore. There was another couple like us, friends of ours… but they died.”
“Died?”
“Yes… there was a complication and the procedure went… wrong… Ah… Haru… please….”
Iruka moved in close again, but this time, instead of stroking Kuro to relieve the pressure, he lifted his hands and pulled both of Kuro’s nipple piercings. Not hard, just a gentle tug to each.
Kuro almost screamed.
“Haru! Y-yes… shit shit…”
“One last book, Kuro-chan,” Iruka said.
Kuro started to babble, plead in short, broken words for Haru to do it, do it do it please! And so the sensei lowered himself one last time and tapped the sub’s feet before pulling the last of the books away.
The dildo filled Kuro completely, and the man cried out again. “Ah! Haru… Haru-san I need to cum. Tell me to cum, please!”
“One more question.”
“Okay… o-okay…”
Iruka came close, ghosted a breath underneath Kuro’s jaw. “What do you want me and Endo-san to do?”
Something happened then, something inside Kuro seemed to break apart, shatter completely. His body sagged against the bonds, all resistance faded away. His feet came down flat on the floor, his head drooped. Deep, wracking sobs bubbled up from his chest as he cried into Iruka’s hair.
“Please help us…” he whispered, “Please take us away from here. My Master’s body cannot take this much longer and if I lose him… I can’t… please… please…”
A pang of sympathy jolted Kakashi’s heart. Fai sat next to him, still a pillar of control and poise, but his eyes were cloudy, misty with unshed tears. These men just wanted out. They wanted to go home, or go far away, whatever they could manage. They were terrified of being mishandled like the other couple had been, and then dying for nothing.
Iruka’s face was flushed, his eyes were wide and sad. Kakashi’s hart panged again at the sight. He hated seeing Iruka sad, or angry. The sensei deserved nothing but the greatest happiness, contentment, love, affection. He deserved everything that Kakashi wanted to give him, but would not. He would get Iruka out of this, he would help save Fai and Kuro, and then he would take the sensei home where he could get his memory erased and the man could go back to being the tender, perfect, most amazing person Kakashi had ever known.
Lost in his thoughts, Kakashi hadn’t noticed Iruka was speaking again, soft and low against Kuro’s lips. When he focused his attention, he realized Iruka was praising the sub, coaxing. One hand was working Kuro’s still-hard erection, the other was pulling off the blindfold, cupping a strong jaw.
“…good, and now you can come. Let go, Kuro-chan, let it out, I’ve got you.”
Kuro came wordlessly, shaking, panting, but controlled. His lips found Iruka’s jaw and neck, and he left desperate, worshipful kisses across the smaller man’s skin.
“Haru…” he said softly, “Haru… you’re so lovely… so wonderful…”
Kakashi didn’t have time to figure out how he felt about that because Fai’s hand came down on his arm and squeezed gently. When Kakashi looked over at the other man, he was smiling, sad, but contented.
“And now you know,” he said.
Kakashi nodded. “And now we know.”
* * *
Kakashi was waiting for Iruka when the sensei emerged from the bathroom. He looked tired, drained, with dark circles under his eyes and there was a slight drag to the steps he took.
“Fai-san has him in the bath,” he said softly, “I think he’ll be all right.”
Kakashi nodded. “Of course he’ll be all right. That was amazing-you were amazing sen-… Haru.”
Iruka’s lip twitched but he shook his head and wrapped his arms around his middle. “I don’t feel amazing. I feel… I don’t know.”
Moving from the counter in the small kitchen, Kakashi made his way towards the sensei. He reached out, meaning to place an arm on the younger man’s shoulder, but to his dismay, Iruka jerked away, as if Kakashi’s hand was hot.
“I’m sorry,” Iruka said softly, “I just… can’t anymore.”
The Copy Nin didn’t think his heart was capable of breaking yet again, but apparently it was.
“I… I know,” Kakashi murmured. “I’m sorry.”
Iruka’s arms wound tighter around himself and he looked away. There was so much sadness, so much loneliness in him and it hurt Kakashi so profoundly he almost broke down right there. In the last few hours, Iruka had been tortured, by his own devices but still tortured, beaten, and then made to torture someone else. That was too much even for someone who was into this lifestyle.
And then there was the fact that Kakashi had forced him. Kakashi had raped Iruka right before this had even started. He had used the sensei for his own pleasure, without a thought to how that could potentially tear Iruka apart.
Something very dark and heavy settled on Kakashi’s shoulders, wove around his chest and crushed his lungs. They had been fine this morning, talking, working together, planning together, and then he had screwed it up. He had screwed Iruka up. There was no going back now. Fuck if he would ever be able to look Iruka in the eyes ever again.
“Let’s finish this,” Iruka murmured.
Kakashi took a breath. The best he could do was to help Iruka save these two men. Get them back home.
He tried to focus on that.
“Here, sit,” he said. “I’ll get you something to drink and we’ll figure this out.”
Iruka nodded and sat carefully on the bed.
Kakashi filled a glass with orange juice from the fridge and brought it to the sensei. He didn’t want to invade the younger man’s space at all so he grabbed a chair and pulled it over to sit in front of the sensei.
The orange juice disappeared in seconds and Iruka made a quiet humming noise. “Thank you,” he said.
The glass was set on the floor and the two men sat across from each other, regarding the floor.
“It has something to do with chakra,” Iruka said, “I’m sure of it.”
Kakashi nodded. “It has to be. They fill them up and then they deliver themselves to the warehouse. They extract whatever it is and then synthesize it. It’s genius, untraceable.”
“Do you think they market it to missing nin?” Iruka asked.
“If it’s a stimulant based in chakra? I’m sure of it.”
“I should have asked if they’re carrying now,” Iruka ran is fingers over his forehead.
“No, it’s fine, it won’t matter. We take them back to Konoha and the Hyuuga can unseal them. Then they can tell the counsel everything.”
“What about a sample?” Iruka asked.
“I’m sure if they know where the warehouse is and where all the trafficking is going down, they’ll get one.”
Iruka nodded at that and was about to say something else when through the open bathroom door, they heard a faint splash and a short gasp. Fai was murmuring something soothing, rhythmic.
The sensei’s cheeks reddened and he rubbed at his scar. “This is… we would be…”
Nodding, Kakashi said softly, “If you needed care after that scene, this is when I would do it.”
Iruka shook his head. “I don’t need it.”
But I do, Kakashi thought, and the realization struck him hard.
“Anyway, we don’t have any reason to wait around. Once Kuro is up to traveling, we should get them and get out.”
“Agreed. I don’t want to be here any longer.”
The broken pieces of Kakashi’s heart stung when he heard those words, but he nodded his head. It was true, they needed to leave.
* * *
An hour later, the four of them were clothed and headed out the front door of the club. Kuro had recovered surprisingly fast, and was shadowing Fai protectively as they made their way down the dimly lit street.
“We’ll get outside the city limits as quick as we can,” Kakashi had given them instructions back in the room at the club. “Stay close to me, Haru will keep behind and above to lookout. The safe house where we have our gear is about six miles.”
“Six miles?” Fai breathed.
“It’s not that far for us,” Kakashi had assured him. “I can carry you if you get tired.”
“When I get tired,” Fai managed to chuckle.
Now, the four of them made their way down another dark ally, passing by people chatting around trash bins and men doing unspeakable things to each other against the dirty, brick walls.
They reached the city limits and came upon the wide, brightly lit bridge.
“It’s too dangerous to cross in this bright light,” Iruka said.
“I know,” Kakashi agreed, “but our only other option is to swim.”
Below them, the river swept by, dark and unforgiving. There was no other way out of the city, unless they went north, but that would add another thirteen miles to their escape. Cars and taxies were out, someone had certainly noticed they were gone by now and it would be too easy to fall into a web of bought people.
“Heads down, move fast,” Kakashi instructed. “Don’t look back.”
It had started to rain. Large droplets bounced off Kakashi’s jacket and caught in his hair. It obscured their view about ten meters out. Glancing up, Kakashi watched as Iruka jumped from support beam to support beam, looking out, watching the bridge on both sides.
They made it almost three quarters of the way across.
“Up ahead!” Iruka called out.
Car headlights, the bark of a dog. They stopped. Kakashi could barely see in the rain, but he sensed eight, maybe ten figures, not including the canines.
“Shit!” Fai exclaimed.
“We’ll be okay, there’s not that many.” Kakashi hoped that wasn’t a lie.
Iruka dropped to the pavement at his side. “Six around the car, two inside, and two at the edge.”
“It’s not that many, we can get past them.”
Iruka nodded and they moved forward. “Stay close,” the sensei said softly.
As they neared the end of the bridge, Kakashi started to make the seals for a Water Dragon Bullet, but stopped when a red dot appeared in the center of his chest.
“Move!” he shouted.
Taking Fai in his arms, Kakashi leapt to one of the supports above. Iruka mirrored his movements on the other side, pulling Kuro onto the metal bar with him.
Kakashi pushed Fai against the vertical support and gripped his shoulders. “Stay here.”
Fai nodded, his eyes wide.
Signaling to Iruka, Kakashi ran along the beams, starting the seals over again. The sensei went right, and flew down, landing on one of the men with rifles. In his peripheral, Kakashi saw Iruka take out the first one with a quick jab to the neck. The second landed on his face after the sensei took his feet out from under him.
The seals were almost complete, Kakashi felt the power in the water beneath them, under the bridge. It built as he neared the men around the car.
He nearly missed the sword.
Steel sang in the air, displacing the chakra Kakashi had released. He lurched back just in time, and the blade missed his jugular by mere centimeters.
“Kakashi-san!” Iruka cried.
“Shinobi!” he replied.
There were three, he could feel them finally. They had been using their energy to hide themselves, but now, it was obvious. Iruka pushed back, assaulted with arrows as he leapt across the cement.
Kakashi twisted and deflected another smooth slice. The man in front of him was small, dark hair, face covered. He carried two katana.
He saw the car door open, a large man climbed out and held an umbrella for the second man.
It was Baron Young. Not a surprise.
“I knew you two were trouble!” he called from the ground. “I’m gonna skin you and make your friends watch!”
“Bastard!” Iruka roared.
These shinobi were not that powerful, not on his level, but having three of them was a problem. The man with the swords came at him again, but this time, Kakashi was ready. He gathered chakra in his hand, ducked, and sent the small man hurling off the bridge and into the water below.
He trusted Iruka to fend off the other two while he took out the six men with guns. They went down easy, they were trained, but not shinobi. He didn’t hurt the dogs, only knocked them out.
Baron Young glanced around him with wide eyes.
“What the fuck…” he breathed. “What the fuck?”
“Let us go and I’ll let you live,” Kakashi said evenly.
Young’s face twisted up into one of fury. He shoved the big man next to him, spitting and hurling curses.
“Get them! And find the fucking ponies!”
Kakashi dodged the first attack, but was surprised to find that this big man knew a thing or two about footwork. They danced, alternately attacking and parrying back onto the steel of the bridge. The man was not a master, but his knowledge of taijutsu was impressive.
“Look out!” Iruka called from behind him.
The Copy Nin turned just in time to see a purple ball of energy coming at him at incredible speed. He dodged just in time, and the big man got the full force of the attack. He screamed, clutching at his face and eyes, and then fell to the ground, skin charred black and smelling of ozone and sulfur.
“Iruka!” he called as he whirled around.
The sensei was grappling with one of the hired nin. Blood ran from his temple, dripped from his bottom lip. There was a kunai at his throat. Kakashi lost all coherent thought at the sight and sprinted. He needed to get to Iruka, needed to help him. Nothing else mattered.
The arrow in his arm was a surprise, but really, not that much of a surprise. He had been stupid after all. He knew there were three of them.
Kakashi turned and made the seals for a fire ball. He decimated the side of the bridge, and knocked the second hired nin into one of the pillars. He heard bones snap, even over the sound of rubble and steel hitting the concrete.
“Kakashi-san!”
Kakashi whirled around to find Iruka, bloody and panting, but all right. The third of the hired ninja was on the ground, his own kunai in his throat.
“Iruka…” he said softly.
The sensei nearly collided with him and started running his hands through The Copy Nin’s hair, checking his face.
“My God, what happened? Oh shit, your arm!”
It was then Kakashi realized he was covered in blood. Where it had come from and why it was on his face and in his hair was beyond him. It probably wasn’t his. When had that even happened?
Baron Young was screaming at them, waving his arms around in the air.
“You think you can just come here and take away my means of running a business!? I will make sure that the names Endo and Haru are known throughout the fucking world! You’ll be stricken from every book in every city! You’ll never be able to go anywhere again under those aliases! You’re fucking finished! I’ll spend every last dollar I have hunting you two down! I’ll-”
“Enough!”
Kakashi and Iruka both turned at the same time. Son Yang was climbing out of another car, Fai and Kuro right behind him.
“I had an inkling you were doing something nefarious behind my back, brother, but I had no idea you had stooped this low.”
“Shut the fuck up!” the Baron spat, “You go back to your fucking fantasy clubs and your weak excuses for bondage play! This is business! You wouldn’t understand!”
Son Yang sighed and slipped his hands in his pockets.
“Brother, I pity you.”
“Fuck you!”
Yang’s men surrounded the Baron and pushed him screaming and fighting back into the car.
Fai and Kuro were suddenly at Kakashi’s side and Fai was smiling so wide it was almost blinding.
“You are amazing, both of you! That was incredible!”
Kuro was looking at Iruka’s wounds, carefully checking his head and the inside of the sensei’s lips. Kakashi wanted to push him away, do it himself, but Iruka seemed okay with Kuro doing it. Kakashi was sure if he tried, the sensei would probably flinch away again.
There was pain, and he turned to watch Fai pull the arrow from his arm. The small man inspected the wound and quickly tore a strip from his shirt to field dress it. The whole thing took only a manner of seconds and Kakashi found himself quite impressed.
“Endo-san, Haru-san,” Yang’s voice was quiet, awed. When they turned to the man, he was smiling.
“I should have known. The strength I saw in you two is so great. I feel a fool.”
Iruka chuckled, obviously embarrassed. “It’s not… um, thank you, Yang-san.”
Yang dipped his head to the sensei. “I can have transportation ready for you all, if you want. Or I can merely walk away, and forget I saw any of this.”
Kakashi dipped his head as well. “Thank you, Yang-san. We appreciate it greatly, but if you would kindly just… let us fade away, I think that would be best.”
Yang nodded. “I want to say I hope to see you again, but I feel that is… inappropriate.”
Iruka moved out from behind Kuro and bowed. “We understand your meaning, Yang-san. Thank you.”
Son Yang’s lips pulled up into a smile, and then he returned to his car. Within minutes, the bridge was cleaned of bodies, and vacated by all but Kakashi, Iruka, Fai, and Kuro. There were sirens in the distance, it seemed someone had finally notified the authorities.
“Well,” Kakashi said, “that was exceptionally dramatic.”
Fai chuckled, “Yes it was, let’s go.”
They left the bridge and moved into the woods. Kakashi led them through the brush, glancing behind him now and again to check and see how they were doing. Fai seemed relieved, his step was light, and Kuro walked beside him, smiling carefully when his Master’s arm would brush his. All seemed well. They had made it.
However, about an hour into their journey, Kuro made a noise that stopped Kakashi in his tracks. He spun around, just in time to see the tall sub steady Iruka in his arms.
“Sensei!” Kakashi rushed to his side and took him from Kuro’s strong hands.
“I’m… I…” Iruka’s body was hot to the touch and his eyes rolled in his head. “Kakashi-san, I don’t… Something… my leg…”
Kuro dropped to his knees and inspected Iruka’s left thigh, moving meticulously down over the knee and calf. Fai checked his right as Kakashi held him up.
“What is that?” Fai asked.
Kakashi looked where the blond pointed and a cold, hard, ball of dread dropped into his gut.
“Move back, I need to lay him down,” he commanded and Kuro obeyed.
There was something happening to Iruka’s right thigh underneath his jeans. Kakashi ripped them open, and hissed air in between his teeth.
A small patch of skin was charred black, and smelled like that same terrible combination of ozone and sulfur. How had they missed this? How had they not seen?
“That purple light!” Fai breathed. “I saw it flying when you were fighting the one with arrows, but I didn’t think…”
Kuro’s voice was grave. “How did he not realize?”
“Shinobi techniques are complicated,” Kakashi said as he took off his jacket and shirt. “This could be a slow-acting poison with anesthetic, a chakra burn, it’s impossible to tell. I need to get him back home and fast.”
“Go! We’re going to slow you down!” Fai cried.
“No,” Kakashi said as he used his shirt to tie up Iruka’s leg. “We need to get you to the safe house first, it’s not that far now. You can stay there and I’ll send reinforcements back to get you.”
“Okay let’s go!”
Kakashi pulled the sensei up and over his shoulder and they set out into the trees. This time, they moved much quicker.
* * *
Dry branches and paper-thin leaves whipped at Kakashi’s face as he leapt from tree to tree. His heart was pounding, his stomach churned. He prayed he would make it in time.
Iruka was a weight against his back, but not overbearing, not anything that could slow him down significantly. The sensei had woken up twice in the two days that they had been moving. He had asked what had happened, and Kakashi had told him he had been hurt, but knew nothing beyond that. The sensei asked if Fai and Kuro were all right, and Kakashi did his best to reassure him. They were waiting at the safe house. They were fine.
Now, Iruka stirred again, his face turning and rubbing into the collar of Kakashi’s flack vest.
“Kakashi-san?” he murmured.
“We’re almost there, sensei.”
“Kakashi-san,” Iruka whispered, “I’m sorry…”
Again, Kakashi’s heart gave a pang so hard it rocked him to his soul. What did Iruka have to be sorry about? How could he even think he had done something wrong?
“Don’t speak, sensei,” Kakashi whispered, “rest. I’ll get you home.”
* * *
Medical ninja met them at the Northern gates, and Kakashi passed Iruka onto the provided stretcher. He didn’t know what to report, he didn’t know what had happened, or what the injury was. Also, he was so tired, he was beyond exhaustion. He could barely stand. His chakra was depleted, he hadn’t slept in four days, and he had only eaten once or twice and stopped to take a few sips of water every few hours. He was practically dead himself.
“Kakashi!”
Genma was there, eyes wide and worried. “What the hell happened to Iruka-sensei?”
Kakashi shrugged, “Oh, you know, the usual. I probably got him killed.”
With that, The Copy Nin succumbed to his fatigue and collapsed.
TBC
All previous chapters here.
:]