Hope it wasn't too bad of a wait ^^;

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi paced back and forth behind the bars of their cell like a caged tiger, while Iruka remained still and silent as a statue, seated on the edge of the bench, his cuffed hands folded together and resting between his knees.

Despite the fact that he'd turned himself in, they still hadn't released Kakashi. Iruka wanted to ask why, but that would likely backfire. If he went to the trouble to ask, they might think he'd turned himself in simply to get the jounin released.

It was, of course, exactly what he'd done, but he saw no reason to bring attention to it.

So he simply closed his eyes and focused inward – he was well aware of what was coming and was slowly building a wall between mind and body.

Not that it matters. His inner voice stated matter-of-factly. They can torture you all they want; it's not like you actually have anything to tell them.

"Get up!" A deep voice barked from just out of sight of the cell door. As the door swung open, Kakashi stepped directly between the opening and Iruka, stumbling as his muscles refused to respond normally.

"Don't be stupid." Iruka muttered as the guard snapped the exact same thing at the jounin.

The guard grabbed hold of Kakashi's bound wrists, twisted the cuffs violently, and threw him to the floor. Still partially drugged and with his chakra blocked, Kakashi didn't have a chance to try and catch himself.

The man stopped in front of Iruka. "Get up."

Kakashi struggled to get his feet under him as Iruka rose, and the guard pulled him out.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi shouted several choice phrases at the lackeys as they dragged Iruka back to the cell. The chuunin was unconscious, likely from the same injury that caused the nasty green bruise spreading high across his cheekbone, and his back was patterned in slowly oozing cuts. Kakashi eased the chuunin to the floor, rolling him to rest on his stomach and turning his face so that the bruise wasn't pressed against the stone floor.

"That's an awful lot of care for a child kidnapper." Kakashi spun as fast as he could manage and watched the all-too-familiar guard fold his arms. "You seem so worried about him being hurt."

Kakashi barely kept himself from snapping "He would NEVER kidnap a child!" and settled on simply glaring at the odious man.

"Your papers have been processed." He yanked the door open and pushed Kakashi ahead of him down the hall and up the stairs to the main entryway of the jail. Kakashi rubbed at his wrists as the cuffs fell away, subconsciously trying to dispel the crawling sensation the chakra-deadening substance always caused. "You're being released." The guard pushed him out onto the front steps. "Leave this place."

The crowd surrounding the door completely ignored him save for a few sideways glances as he pushed through. They were focused completely on the guard who had freed him, shouting questions about what information they'd managed to get out of the criminal.

OOOOOOOOO

Hands gripped him roughly under the arms and lifted him to his feet the second he started stirring. Iruka's head lolled back as they started to drag him, and he got a complete view of the cell. "Ka…ka…shi….sa…"

"Your friend's gone. There's no one left to help you, so you might as well just tell us what we want to know."

Iruka let his head fall limply to his chest. Thank god. He should be headed back to Konoha by now.

OOOOOOOOO

Iruka clenched his teeth together to keep from groaning as the stone floor slowly swam into focus. He rolled over onto his back, only to wince in pain as the fourth set of cuts across his shoulder blades opened up. The wounds stung violently as they came in contact with the mold coating the flat stones.

"He's awake. Go tell Taro-san."

Oh, is that his name? The guard that had hounded them since the beginning of this incident had also overseen Iruka's 'questioning.' I'll have to remember that.

A pair of raucous clatters echoed in the enclosed space, and Iruka struggled to sit up as the lock on his cell rattled and the door creaked open. "Dear me, don't you look a sight."

"Naoto…sensei?"

OOOOOOOOO

The two guards who had been dragging him back and forth between the interrogation room and his cell were slumped across the lowest step, and something prickled at the back of his skull. The situation was somehow familiar, but Naoto wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him and pulled him up towards the open doorway and freedom, and he filed the strange feeling away for later investigation.

As they reached the upper hallway, Naoto flattened himself against the wall and glanced towards the main doorway before moving silently in the other direction. Iruka quickly gave up on keeping track of the turns as they wound their way through a warren of corridors. They rounded a final corner into a cul-de-sac, and Iruka almost slid into Naoto as the other teacher came to a complete halt. His back screamed in protest as he dug his heels into the well-worn floor.

Naoto ducked sideways behind a floor-to-ceiling set of metal racks that held piles upon piles of paper that hid a narrow doorway marked with a hand-scrawled sign that read 'Emergency Exit Only.' Naoto set his shoulder against it and eased it open, grinning over his shoulder at Iruka. "Phew. Thank god some of the guards don't want to go around the long way. This is the only other exit from this building."

They stepped down into the dank alley beyond, and Naoto gripped Iruka's arm, pointing a single finger towards the sky. "Up."

Iruka nodded silently and vaulted to the rooftops, tailing Naoto towards the village limits.

They skidded to a halt deep within the tangled forest that surrounded the village. "This is insane. You're going to be held responsible, you know." Iruka turned to face Naoto who'd stopped a few feet behind him.

"Oh, I don't doubt it." Naoto flicked his hand sharply, and Iruka slapped the side of his neck in an attempt to quell the sudden, lancing pain.

"Wha…?" A waft of an all-to-familiar almond scent drifted suddenly past his nose. "You!" He reached for his kunai, brows drawing down in confusion when he didn't feel any cloth under his fingers.

"Your hand hasn't moved." The mist shinobi smirked at him, and the expression was so foreign on the kindly teacher's face that Iruka couldn't think of anything to say. "Here, let me show you." Naoto grabbed his chin roughly and forced his head down. "This paralyzer will work slowly on you; it's a fair bit different from what I gave your partner. You can't move your limbs, and in a few minutes you won't be able to speak anymore. And then," A hand pushed up against his sternum. "Your lungs won't even be able to expand anymore, and you'll suffocate while you're just standing here."

"Why? Why are you doing this? Why would you take those children?" Iruka desperately wanted to shove the other man away from him, but his extremities refused to respond.

"Do you know the fastest way for a shinobi village to make money? Do you know how much the surrounding villages will pay in order to be safe? You've seen our village. We're not getting enough revenue simply by taking the odd missions that come in. But a war with Konoha, now that," Iruka grunted in pain as Naoto ripped the senbon that he'd used to administer the paralyzer out of the side of his neck, "That will bring in all the funds we could ever hope for. But only if we seem like we're on the right side. I mean, going over and picking a fight with you; that would be stupid. But if we invite some Konoha shinobi to help us with the noble cause of better educating our children, and they kidnap our young." Naoto spread his hands, "Why, the people would be clamoring for war."

"That's your job? Frame us and start a war that will only lead to hundreds of casualties on both sides just to get some money?"

"Don't your ANBU murder people for money. Is there that much of a difference between killing one person and killing a hundred for money?"

Iruka hoped that the muscles in his face were still working, because he wasn't entirely sure he could put his disgust into words.

"When we discovered that two of you were coming, we weren't sure that we were going to be able to carry out this mission. But you can't even imagine my thrill when I saw that display between you two in the classroom." Naoto clapped his hands together. "Everything seemed to be so perfect, but you're just too loyal for your own good, aren't you? I never expected you to vouch for each other, and I certainly never expected you to stop and help him."

"So you're going to kill me?" Iruka was finding it harder and harder to breathe. "Don't you think that Konoha will find that a little bit suspicious?"

"That's why I'm not going to kill you."

"Could have fooled me." Iruka gasped.

"You are going to tragically die in a misguided escape attempt. I was trying to stop you so that we could learn the location of the missing children and paralyzed you to keep you from either attacking me or getting away, but unfortunately, you were moving too quickly, and before I could reach you…" Naoto put his hand in the center of Iruka's chest again and pushed.

Iruka felt the scrub brush behind him give way under his dead weight, and he rapidly passed the point where he should of connected with the ground and continued to fall. He flipped over from the sheer momentum and glimpsed his impending doom – a flat black sheet of water nearly one hundred feet below him. The sheer cliff raced by barely inches from his face. If he could only make contact with the wall, he'd be able to use chakra to slow his fall, but he couldn't even wiggle his little finger.

I'm going to die….

Naoto leaned over the edge and watched the tiny ripples arc out far below. "Well, that should do it." He pulled at his hair, tangling the ponytail and plastering a few strands to his forehead. He turned and tore through the woods, crying for help as soon as he was close enough to the gate.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi crouched high above the gate on a tree limb that hung heavy over the wall surrounding Mist Village. He'd dispatched his dogs to Konoha seconds after being freed from the jail, but remained to monitor the situation. Iruka clearly hadn't been killed yet, but he also hadn't given them any information about the children's where-abouts.

Which wasn't surprising, considering that he didn't have any information.

However, he was worried that their lack of success in motivating Iruka might lead to more drastic measures. They certainly had trackers in this village and were probably already looking for the children. They might just kill him to satisfy the demands of the villagers, who had been calling for Iruka's blood since the night he'd turned himself in.

A commotion directly below him drew his attention, and he turned in time to see Naoto stagger into the clearing around the gate, shouting, "Escape!" He seized the guard's lapels and hauled him forward. "The prisoner….escaped…dead…" He gasped out.

What?

Kakashi jammed his hand against the branch and summoned Pakkun. Iruka's hitae-ate was stuffed inside his vest – he'd wound up with both after he'd been taken to the jail – and he held it towards the dog. Pakkun dropped to the ground and instantly picked up the trail in the direction Naoto came from.

Pakkun straightened his legs frantically and slid to across the ground. "Cliff." He barked sharply, and Kakashi skidded to a halt behind him.

"The trail?"

Pakkun had his nose to the ground and was moving in rapid circles around the area. "It ends here. But there's something else though. Smells like a paralyzer – real nasty one too." The dog whuffed and sneezed. "Actually, it smells like that chuunin that went by earlier."

Kakashi mentally followed the trail to the point where the paralyzer was administered and to it's inevitable conclusion. "Shit." He shed his weapons pouch and vest and dove over the edge.

The water was murky and seemed to almost cling to his skin. The visibility was so low, he could barely see his hand in front of his face as he stroked towards the bottom. He shoved his hitae-ate up to reveal his sharingan and searched desperately for flickers of chakra in the deep.

There! His fingers closed around the front of the chuunin's vest and he pulled hard, dragging Iruka's limp body into his arms before striking for the surface.

Kakashi hefted the unresponsive body onto the shore, one hand dropping to his pocket to free a combat syringe filled with an ugly green liquid that he jammed into Iruka's thigh. "Iruka?" He pushed the sodden hair from the other man's face. "Come on. Breathe."

He pleaded, shouted, and cursed at the other man as he waited for the antidote to kick in and alternately prayed that Iruka's lungs had stopped working before he'd plunged into the water.

Iruka coughed suddenly, rolling onto his side and vomiting up several lung-fulls of water.

And all Kakashi could do was clutch the chuunin's vest and bury his head in Iruka's shoulder as his body shook with relief. "You're alive."

"Ka…Kakashi-sensei, what…?" Iruka sucked air into his aching lungs, wondering how he was breathing when he was fairly certain that he'd been poisoned and drowned. "Wh…Why aren't you back in Konoha?!" He grabbed hold of Kakashi's shoulders and pushed him away. "Are you a complete idiot?! I turned myself in so that you could get safely away and come to find out that you haven't even left! Where do you get off just hanging around and not taking the opportunity I worked so hard to…" He trailed off as Kakashi let out a gasp of weary chuckles. "What?!" Iruka snarled.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to have you yelling at me." Kakashi could count on one hand the number of times someone had saved his life. Before this mission, he could accomplish it with only one finger, and until his genin team, he'd taken all of his missions solo because of a deep-seated fear of owing his life to the generosity of someone else. He'd been unable to properly thank Obito for what he'd done, and he spent every day in front of the memorial stone asking for forgiveness. Kakashi wrapped a hand around Iruka's chin and pressed covered lips against the chuunin's blue-tinged ones.

When he pulled back, Iruka's eyes were wide with some unfathomable emotion. "You…but...." His mouth worked, but no sound emerged until he finally managed to get his brain in gear, "You hate me."

"I thought you were dead…" He whispered. "I wouldn't even have been here if that chuunin sensei hadn't been screaming bloody murder about your escape."

"Naoto! He's behind this. We have to…" Iruka pushed weakly at Kakashi's shoulder, trying to free himself from the jounin's tight grasp.

"Naoto?" Kakashi questioned sharply. "What the hell does he have to do with this?"

"He kidnapped the kids…tried to frame us…it was…his…job." Iruka's head fell back, and he blinked slowly. "We've got to tell….to tell… Wha…?" He swallowed, his brows knitting in concentration as he saw the syringe still gripped in Kakashi's hand. "What did you give….me?"

"It's an antidote for the drug he used on you." Kakashi cupped his hand around the back of Iruka's head. "The sedation is common side effect."

"Sedation…?" Iruka struggled to get the word out as he fought just as hard to keep his eyes open.

"Don't worry." Kakashi summoned Pakkun with his free hand. "Our back-up team just arrived."

Iruka's eyes slid completely shut as Kakashi exchanged quick words with Pakkun, and the dog turned and vanished on the spot, bringing news of the plot and culprits to the Konoha team.

OOOOOOOOO

Iruka slowly dragged his shirt over his head, gnawing at his lip as the wounds stung.

The official story issued by the Kirikage was that a council member, acting on his own, misguided beliefs, had charged Naoto with luring a Konoha shinobi to Mist, framing them, and starting a war. Whether the order had originated with the full knowledge of Mist's council, they would probably never know.

Fujiwara Naoto, as it turned out, was a former Mist ANBU who specialized in senbon-applied poisons. He'd been in ANBU for a little over a year before he'd been injured - a bad stab wound to the lower back had scarcely limited his range of motion hindered him enough to render him unqualified for ANBU.

He was being held in their prison indefinitely. As the children, Kakashi and himself were unharmed, the Kages were willing to forgo a death order.

Taro – the stocky, sour-faced guard – had suspected Naoto from the start and had detained him at the gate when he'd come back screaming about an escape. He'd gruffly apologized to Iruka about the 'questioning' before they'd left.

Luckily, Iruka was still doped on the antidote and couldn't muster the strength to deck the other man. He had managed to mutter 'fuck you' under his breath.

Kakashi'd chuckled, and Iruka'd grinned back at him.

He blamed that on the stupid drug as well.

The bruise on his cheek had faded, but the wounds still ached. Tsunade had given him a jar of salve this morning to dull the pain and help them heal, and as he ran his fingers over one of the fresher cuts, the skin numbed on contact.

Iruka wrenched his arm one way and then the other; he stretched his arm over his shoulder, and up his back, but no matter how he twisted, he just couldn't reach the spot directly between his shoulder blades. It was, unfortunately, where the highest concentration of wounds was located.

After several more minutes of struggling, he groaned and dropped his head. That spot really hurt.

"Can I help?"

Iruka whirled, almost slipping off the couch at the violent movement. "Kakashi-sensei! How…? Why..?"

"I wanted to see if you're okay, and through the door. You really should get better locks." Iruka's eyes darkened dangerously, and Kakashi held up his hands. "I just want to help. You got those wounds helping me; it's the least I can do."

Iruka thought about refusing, but his back just hurt too much. "Fine."

Kakashi took the offered salve and slowly lowered himself onto the couch. They sat in comfortable silence as he spread the ointment over Iruka's wounds. Underlying them all was a wide scar left over from what must have been a fairly deep wound, and Kakashi found himself tracing it with a thumb after he'd finished the treatment. "How'd you get this?"

"It's from saving some fool that I used to hate." Iruka smiled softly, his gaze focused far away, before turning to meet Kakashi look of utter confusion. "Naruto." He explained. "When he stole the scroll…."

"You couldn't think of a better way to stop it?"

"Oh, well, I'm sorry that I'm not quite as talented as you jounin…." The rest of Iruka's statement was muffled when Kakashi pulled his chin around and kissed him. Not a brief touch like the one at the cliff's edge had been – a subject that had not been broached since it occurred – but a more intense gesture intended to convey the things he couldn't possibly put into words.

Iruka pulled back eventually, his brows knitted together over dark eyes. "What's this?"

Kakashi huffed out a laugh. Apparently his non-verbal communication skills needed some dusting off. "Maa, you saved my life; I saved yours. We can't really hate each other anymore, can we?"

One of Iruka's eyebrows went up, "I think there's a fair bit more between hate and…that…" He trailed off blushing furiously.

Kakashi grinned wolfishly. He was working on the assumption that he would have either been hit or thrown out if Iruka was truly opposed to his actions and hoped that he wasn't completely off the mark. "Yes, there is. But, now that I've gotten over seeing you as an annoying, interfering prick…"

"That goes both ways, you know." Iruka interjected.

"Ma, so does that mean that you don't see me as an annoying, interfering prick anymore either?"

Iruka pulled his shirt back on. "Don't push your luck." As he pushed his head through, his hair tie tangled in the neck and pulled free. His hair tumbled down around his face and he snarled at it, digging his fingers into the back of his shirt in an attempt to find it. Kakashi's long fingers wound around his, halting his motion.

"Now that I've gotten over that and….well, given what you did for me. Iruka-sensei," He felt Iruka start under his hands at the proper honorific, "I know very few shinobi who would go that far for their friends, let alone someone they so actively disliked. I was…very wrong about you, and I…." Like so many times where he stood in front of the memorial stone and just stared silently at Obito's name, he couldn't find the right words to express his thoughts.

"That's an excuse for friendship, Kakashi-sensei." And he smiled, grateful that Iruka made his living understanding the unspoken words of his students – though most of those involved identifying the culprits in pranks.

"Maa, yes, but," He pushed Iruka's hair back from his face, tucking chocolate-colored strands behind his ear. "I can't stop thinking about how handsome you looked that night when you took your hair down." His smile stretched into a broad grin, "And you just really shouldn't think of your friends like that."

OOOOOOOOOO

End

OOOOOOOOOO

So, like the ending? Hate it? Thanks so much for reading and hanging in with my total lack of updates!