*Author's notes: This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction of any sort, so any reviews/tips will be encouraged and appreciated. I will try very hard to stay in the realm of reality that is presented in the anime and manga, and if I make any changes or am unsure of something, I will make a note of it before the start of each chapter. The characters ages will not be consistent with the information on the wiki pages, but I will try to keep everything else the same. This will be eventual KakaIru. I do not own any of the storylines or characters from Naruto; all credit goes to Masashi.

Hands ghosted over bare flesh, leaving the skin shivering after every touch. Voices snarled and laughed as the body in question weakly tried to twist away from the physical contact, away from the hungry, piercing eyes. Look, he's shy, one of the voices rumbled in amusement. The others laughed. Such a pretty little Leaf, another murmured, his hands roaming over high cheekbones and brushing against quivering lips. Fingers tangled in brown hair and jerked, pulling the Leaf nin's head back and exposing his neck and face to every other person in the room. It's hardly any fun if he doesn't fight back, the only woman in the group commented. Oh, he's just smarter than the last few, another murmured, his lips close to the captured shinobi's ear. The young Leaf nin shivered and squirmed, but had no strength left in his body to fight back. He felt feminine fingers trail up his spine as huge hands gripped and pulled at his thighs. He closed his eyes and bit hard on his tongue. He couldn't do much of anything, but he refused to make a sound. Don't cry Iruka, he told himself over and over. Sensei would be so disappointed if he found out you cried. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

Iruka awoke with a jolt, drenched in sweat and the muscles in his back and legs coiled tight. His eyes scanned the room as he went over his checklist. Doors closed and traps set. Windows locked and traps set. Bedroom, living room, bathroom, and kitchen lights off. Hall light on. Naruto snoring in the living room. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"It was just a dream, Umino," he told himself as he forced his body to relax against the headboard, but even so he felt around under his pillow for his kunai. It was still dark outside and the wind whistled, seeming to be just as restless as the tired sensei felt. After a few deep breaths Iruka got up from the bed and disabled the traps around his window, throwing it open wide. The wind rustled the last few papers Iruka had tried to mark before falling asleep. The hair on the back of his neck rose, and he tried to tell himself it was just from the cold. He leaned against the window sill and stared out into his village. Sometimes, late on nights like these, Iruka could convince himself that he lived in a village that wasn't full of shinobi. The streets were quiet, no one was running along rooftops, there was no hint of blood in the air. But tonight, Iruka knew better. He knew that it was only quiet because there were Leaf nin out on missions, killing and trying not to be killed. He knew that the other shinobi that were currently village bound would all be in their homes, some not even bothering to pretend to sleep, trying to convince themselves that they were okay. All fighting off nightmares, just as he was.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Naruto stop snoring in the other room. He didn't notice the footsteps coming down the hall, or the fact that Naruto now stood on the other side of his bedroom door. Iruka was so preoccupied that he lost track of how long he stood at the window, dressed in only a pair of loose sweat pants. It was the third time that week that he'd been woken by dreams of the events that took place so long ago, the third night that he'd stood at the window for hours without realizing that he was so cold his fingers and toes were turning blue. But Iruka wouldn't have been able to tell you that, because he genuinely wasn't aware. It was the third time that month that Naruto stood outside his bedroom door in the dark, masking his chakra, waiting for his self appointed nii-san to go back to bed. But Iruka wouldn't have been able to tell you that either, because he genuinely didn't know.

Naruto sat at the bar with Sasuke and Kakashi, a drink in his hand that he'd hardly touched. Sasuke and Kakashi had just returned from a week long mission to Rain Country, and the three of them now were out for their customary post mission get together. It was a tradition Kakashi had started for the three of them immediately after his two former students had been promoted to Jonin.

The mission hadn't been difficult, and both he and Sasuke were uninjured, but Naruto was being uncharacteristically quiet and Kakashi was worried. He watched Naruto out of the corner of his uncovered eye, and knew Sasuke was doing the same. Naruto was never this quiet around them unless the mission they were returning from had been tough.

"Okay Dobe, what's up with you?" Sasuke finally grumbled.

Naruto swirled the alcohol around in his glass before finally lifting his head and looking at his friends. "I'm fine," he said quietly, "but Iruka-nii isn't. And I don't know why. And I'm worried."

There was a long pause before Sasuke spoke again. "He seemed fine the last time I saw him."

Their blond companion shook his head and stared down into his drink. "He hardly sleeps anymore, and he's eating less. And I didn't think it was possible, but he's working more now, too. He hasn't said anything about it, but something is really bothering him."

A knot of nervous energy had tied itself in Kakashi's stomach. He and the Chunin in question weren't friends, even after all these years of sharing Naruto's company, but it wasn't due to lack of interest on Kakashi's part. He'd wanted to start conversations with the man that Naruto adored and Sasuke silently held great respect for, but the words never came out right. Over the years though, even though they never became anything more than acquaintances, Kakashi had grown a strange sort of fondness for the pre-Genin sensei.

"Why don't you just ask him what's wrong?" Kakashi tried to keep his voice that bored drawl he was known for, but he wasn't convinced he'd succeeded.

Naruto stared at him as if he'd grown a third arm and Sasuke shook his head slowly. "No one would guess it," the Raven haired Jonin said, "but Iruka-sensei is a very private person."

"We still don't know how he got that scar on his face," Naruto added.

"Or even how long he's been working at the Academy," Sasuke finished. "If something really is bothering him, there's no way he'd tell us."

Kakashi swirled the drink in his glass before finishing it in one final gulp. He turned to his young companions and just looked at them for a long moment before sliding out of his seat and heading towards the door. Naruto shot a look at Sasuke before grabbing him by the arm and following the scarecrow into the street. "So what's the plan?"

"You say there's no way he'll talk to you. Probably because you're his former students and he is used to sugarcoating and protecting you from things. But he'll talk to me. I'll get to the bottom of this." Kakashi's voice was its usual uninterested drawl, and he walked with his customary slouch, but Sasuke saw the hidden tension in his former sensei's body.

"Baka, did you not listen to anything we said?" Naruto growled. "He's private! He's not going to tell you anything; he hardly knows you! You're going to make him feel uncomfortable!"

"Would you rather I break into the records room and snoop through his file? We would probably figure out the mystery of the scar, definitely figure out how long he's been at the academy, and potentially figure out what is currently bothering him."

"Are you crazy! He'd kill us if he found out!" Naruto's voice was rising with every sentence, but not due to his usual enthusiasm. The whole conversation seemed to be sending the young Jonin into a bit of a panic.

"No one would find out, especially not him," Kakashi stated calmly. "Do you want to know what's up with him, or not?"

Naruto chewed on his lower lip, apprehension clear on his face. He ceased his footsteps and stood in the street, his hands in fists and his lip caught between his teeth. His eyes darted from Kakashi, to the Hokage tower, to the direction of Iruka's home, to Sasuke, and back again. Kakashi had paused but had not turned to face the young men behind him. Sasuke bit back a sigh and fought the urge to rub his temple. "You two do what you want. I'm just going to go talk to his friends." And with that, the raven haired teen quickly formed a few hand signs and poofed away.

Kakashi turned his head and looked at Naruto, his visible eyebrow cocked up in a question. Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "We probably should have thought of that first, ne?"