Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I am merely borrowing the characters for my own sadistic pleasure.

Summary: Gravely injured and trapped in the woods just beyond Konoha's border, Iruka patiently awaits his death by pursuing enemy ninja. It isn't until an ANBU member saves him does this story truly begin.

Warnings: Violence and injuries abound, some minor cussing.

Notes: I do not have a beta-reader, the mistakes are my own, I hope they aren't too bothersome. And I love the pairing IrukaXKakashi, and there just aren't enough stories in this category, so I thought I'd lend a hand. Please enjoy, and I'd love to hear what you thought! ^_^

Chapter One:

Take Me Home

The sky above was dark, clouds hanging closely to the ground in a continually successful effort to lighten their load upon the vividly green forest. The chilly drops of clear fat raindrops unrelenting in their descent from the gray puffiness that loomed overhead; making light pattering noises, like a symphony of splashes that echoed so clearly in what could have been an otherwise silent forest.

Wind blew through the trees; lifting the lighter branches and making them dance an incredibly entrancing dance. Leaves furled and crinkled, adding to the cacophonous noise that ensconced the wooded area. Mist was beginning to cling closely to the earth creating an eerie appearance of mystique and forewarning.

This kind of weather was always his favorite.

Iruka Umino was lying on his back contemplating the curious weather and the beauty you had to squint at to see through the chaos and harshness it tended to unleash. His honey eyes rolled around in his head, and he vaguely realized the insanity of thinking such things while he was flat on his back, bleeding to death a mere several miles from Konoha's border.

The young academy teacher had been on a classified mission, retrieving a sacred scroll he was not even supposed to know existed. The seemingly harmless piece of parchment, wrapped around a wooden spool apparently held something incredibly powerful, and incredibly dangerous.

It was going to be destroyed once returned to its original creators. The people of Konoha.

Hokage-sama had sworn him to a secrecy of the uttermost importance, and had explained that his ability to disarm people with his compassion and kind aura were what lead to his involvement in obtaining this particular scroll. She had told him in the most polite way she was capable, that he was plain and wouldn't be suspected like most other ninja.

With a deep breath and a concealed hesitance, he'd agreed.

He was traveling solo.

Iruka received some quick training from a couple of high level Jounin, made sure his classes at the academy were covered, and he had been sent on his way to uncover the dangerous scroll. But before he left, the Jounin that trained him were curious as to why a young man with such ability never became a Jounin.

The Chuunin had merely smiled and shrugged. It was fear that kept him from telling them of how when he was a young man, he had been seen as too compassionate and kind to take someone's life without it destroying him. He had done it before, but apparently not with the vigor and harshness that was expected. Iruka had made the mistake of praying for an enemy ninja, and his rank of Chuunin became permanent.

Years ago, he had been bitter for having the weakness stamped on his forehead. But as years passed and the bitterness faded, he witnessed very clearly how that kind of duty could destroy so many good men. How the blood on their hands could never truly be cleaned from their pores, and they knew this themselves every time they glanced at their open palms for too long.

It was not difficult to infiltrate the scroll holder's border without being seen. His kind and genuine smile had disarmed the villagers just like Hokage-sama had assured him it would. Iruka had been discrete, but was still able to help a few of the villager's children with their studies. It made the betrayal and thievery much harder to stomach when they'd freely invited him into their homes and had fed him.

Iruka realized his mistakes much too late. The guilt was probably what slowed him down in the end, and helped put him in his current predicament. He'd hesitated and thought of the faces of the children and their people, he was too slow, and it cost him dearly. He'd broken one of the biggest nin rules of all time; never get attached to your targets. What a fool he was.

The scroll had been heavily guarded, and some lives were lost in his battle to obtain the sacred documents. The young man was fortunate enough to make it beyond the village's borders before the scrolls surviving guardians had caught up to him.

It was a fierce battle, and Iruka had managed to kill a few more guard ninjas but sustained grievous injuries and lost an alarming amount of chakra fighting them off. He'd had no choice but to run, there was no other way he would survive against them.

His priority was the scroll.

For days Iruka was on the run, a sense of relief washing over him when he finally reached Fire Country. But by then his body was betraying him, becoming excessively weak and unforgiving as he forced his legs to move swiftly forward. He would complete this mission as he promised the two names on the memorial stone he would.

Iruka knew that if he stopped for too long, the enemy ninja would catch up to him and would be merciless in taking his life and retrieving their scroll. Betrayal was nothing to be taken lightly; he knew that from living in Konoha for most of his life. It was abhorred and punished most certainly by death.

It was the only absolution the accused could provide.

The journey was painful and littered with little rest and pressure bandages that soaked through with crimson far too quickly. Iruka knew that he was in grave danger and that his life force was draining out of him with his blood and chakra.

Regardless, Iruka Umino trudged onwards, brain on autopilot and wandering to his precious people that included a bouncing orange ball with a blond mop for hair as well as all of the children he schooled and helped raise at their home away from home.

He loved his village, and the many people that occupied it. If he died for this scroll, than it would be a proud way to go. A soldier's death would be honorable and he knew that with the pain that his death would bring to his beloved people, they would also be proud that he died protecting them from the evils that so desperately wanted to see them collapse underneath its strain.

It was on his fourth day of travel that Iruka realized he was bound to fail miserably, and it broke his heart and shamed his soul to realize his efforts were going to be in vain. His legs had crumbled, no longer being able to carry his weight and the rest of his body had followed shortly afterward, committing the biggest mutiny of all.

So here he was, Iruka Umino, beloved academy sensei, lying on his back, now a victim of the harsh elements around him and his severe injuries.

A weak excuse for a ninja, he told himself.

Iruka had managed to drag himself to the trunk of a giant sequoia tree, head nearly touching it as he laid flat. He amusedly realized he'd lost his hair tie somewhere and his once silky brown locks of hair were now blood crusted and plastered against his temples as the rain drenched him. The teacher could only hope that the rain would be strong enough to wash the crimson from his body.

It took several pathetic attempts of him trying to get up and continue his journey to realize that his body would no longer allow it. He knew that if his injuries didn't kill him first, the guard ninjas would surely be catching up. They were after all, only half a day behind him.

He was so screwed.

Iruka drifted for what seemed like hours, blood loss coupled with his chakra depletion and head injury allowed him to be oddly disconnected from his body. He would rouse into full consciousness only when the thunder would boom too loudly. The young man would always grapple at the dark brown leather satchel at his side that contained the precious scroll, assuring himself that it was still beside him. His grip remained white knuckled the entire time.

An unknown amount of time had passed again unnoticed by the drifting Chuunin, rain soaking him to his bones, turning his red clothing a diluted pink. His wounds stung painfully whenever he became aware of them, and he shivered desperately, his body making what seemed a final attempt at keeping him warm even though his blood was dripping out of him and the rains unforgiving coolness had infiltrated his pores.

It was this particular return to consciousness that had Iruka confused. He had no idea what roused him this time around; he blinked dazedly a few times against the rain. Quieting his heaving breaths, and straining his ears beyond the wind, rain, and thunder.

There it was. A very faint and unfamiliar scent followed by a chakra signature he could not place.

The enemy ninja had found him.

Freezing fingers curled around the satchel as tightly as they could, and a paralyzing emotion made his chest seize. His eyes squeezed shut as pain roiled through him at the tiny movement, and he wished distantly for unconsciousness to take him. He didn't want his last memories to be of those ninjas taking the scroll back. But his exhaustion was great, and his body would be more than willing to send him head first into the eternal darkness.

Iruka could feel the presence looming above him now, and he managed to make himself go lax, creating the illusion that he could be dead.

The gloved hand that suddenly pressed against his cheek made his breath catch.

What were they doing?

The academy sensei couldn't quiet his breath any longer, and he decided in that moment to forfeit the charade. Bloodless eyelids crept slowly upwards, revealing pained brown eyes that were being taken over by blown pupils.

Iruka gasped at what he saw, and he couldn't stop the bodily twitch that caused every single one of his nerve endings to awaken and catch fire. He moaned deep and pitiful, jaw clenching against the pain that roiled through his weakened body.

Mere inches above his face loomed a white ANBU mask.

Relief coursed through Iruka's body as he saw the familiar tattoo on a pale shoulder. This person was from Konoha.

The scroll would get where it was intended.

Weakly, Iruka held up his hands in a placating gesture, arms shaking as they were unable to remain still from the chill and blood loss. He was surprised that the gloved hand was still at his cheek, but he ignored it as his shaking hand slipped into the leather satchel and withdrew the scroll.

"Sensei," the voice whispered down to him.

Ah, this ANBU warrior knew who he was. Even better.

Iruka weakly tilted the scroll towards the ANBU, not able to control it as it clanked against the white metal chest plate the ANBU was wearing.

The masked face tilted down and the unoccupied hand wrapped tightly around the scroll.

Iruka sighed in relief, feeling his body become even more boneless; he allowed his eyelids to drift down towards his cheeks. His rest was quickly shattered when a rough hand pressed against the large wound on his abdomen. He couldn't help the ragged scream that tore from his lips. The muscle in his jaw clenched so tightly, he thought it would snap.

The gloved hand slid further back and two fingers pressed against where his jaw connected to his head.

"If you clench your teeth any more tightly, you'll break your teeth," the deep voice informed him.

So the ANBU was a man.

"And I have to stop the bleeding."

Iruka wanted to laugh, but ended up just furling his brow and frowning. He'd been bleeding for four days; it didn't look like the bleeding would stop until all of the blood had been drained from his body. "Can't," he heaved.

The academy sensei knew that guard ninjas would be upon them soon. This ANBU needed to get moving, at least when he was closer to the border he'd have protection and the guard ninjas would have no choice but to abandon any attempt at retrieving the scroll.

"The scroll," Iruka whispered through cracked lips. "The Lord Hokage…"

"Will get the scroll, Sensei."

Iruka clenched his teeth again, but this time in belligerence, didn't this ANBU understand its importance? It needed to be taken within the walls of Konoha to be protected. "Leave me," he begged breathlessly. "Take the scroll to Konoha."

The ANBU ignored Iruka as the man pulled out field dressings and began feeding healing chakra into his badly wounded body.

"Please." Iruka didn't like begging, it was unbecoming, and it annoyed him very much when his students did it to him. But these were desperate times. "Go."

There was a definite huff in the air, followed by an indignant, "No."

Iruka deflated and remained silent as the stranger tended to his wounds, not saying a word, just breathing with the rain splatters, and the thunder that would shake the wet earth every once in a while. After a while, Iruka realized he had become comfortably numb, and his eyelids began creeping downwards once more.

It was the harsh slap to his already bruised cheek that caused his eyes to snap open.

"Don't fall asleep, or I cannot guarantee you'll ever wake again."

Iruka was about to argue when he felt a new presence, then another, and another. "They've found me," Iruka said with grave horror. And with every ounce of energy he had left in his body, he pushed the ANBU backwards. "Leave," he hissed. "The enemy ninja have caught up."

The ANBU mask tilted to the side as if in contemplation and a finger was suddenly in front of his face. "If you fall asleep and die, I'll drag you back just to kill you again." The warrior stood up and stealthily disappeared; leaving Iruka wondering what the hell was going to happen.

Iruka listened intently and heard the vague sounds of battle, and Iruka prayed silently for the ANBU who for some reason ignored the important scroll and was vigilantly trying to tend to his many wounds.

"You piece of traitor scum!"

Iruka could only lift his heavy eyelids half mast, regarding the angry guard ninja that was wrapping his fingers around Iruka's blood soaked collar and pulling him upwards. He was slammed against the sequoia and was allowed to drop limply to the ground, face first in the wet mud.

A chuckle broke free from Iruka's lips as he rested in the gooey mess. "Traitor, neh? I am no traitor; I was never part of your village. You stole from my people."

"We trusted you, we thought you were one of us," the voice dropped dangerously low and regarded him with a hatred that made Iruka pity him.

"I'm sorry," Iruka admitted dejectedly. "But fair is fair. You stole first, and that scroll belongs to Konoha, it is too dangerous and rightfully ours to protect."

"Why would you tell me this?" the ninja demanded. Certainly any ninja knows never to give that kind of intelligence to an enemy, let alone apologize and confide in one.

"Because you can't be allowed to live," Iruka whispered, closing his eyes as he heard the sound of a kunai swirl through the air before meeting its mark with a sick thud and a shallow gurgle.

Feet approached, sloshing noisily in the mud. Iruka knew that the ANBU wanted him to hear him approaching. "They have been eliminated. The threat is gone."

Iruka sighed and nodded, not having the energy to turn himself onto his back. "The scroll?"

There was a soft chuckle as the ANBU came closer, kneeling down beside the injured Chuunin and rolling him onto his back, tucking a strand of Iruka's clumped hair behind his ear. "Safe and sound."

The scroll was in front of Iruka's eyes now, and he watched as the ANBU tucked the scroll back into his leather satchel. The ANBU then quickly tended to his wounds rather quickly, apparently coming to the conclusion that Iruka was not going to last much longer without medical attention.

Iruka held back the gasp of pain when he was lifted from the ground and into the ANBU's arms. "You're bleeding," Iruka supplied helpfully as he saw a red rivulet drip hastily down a pale shoulder.

There was a snort. "Have you seen yourself Sensei? You look like death warmed over."

"Hmm," Iruka replied, settling against the man.

"Stay awake, Iruka-Sensei."

The academy sensei tried, he really did, but exhaustion rolled through his weakened body and his eyelids closed without his permission. He realized with an alarming certainty that he could no longer feel any part of his body, and he wasn't shaking any longer. It was only vaguely that Iruka could feel the wind whip by him faster; the ANBU was moving very quickly.

"Stay with me, Iruka-Sensei."

Iruka could hear the deep timbered voice yelling at him to stay awake and hold on, but he was tired, and he longed for the sleep that his wounded body so desperately craved.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled as the swirling darkness swallowed him whole and covered him in its inky blackness.

TBC... Reviews are greatly appreciated. Let me know what you thought. ^_^