Iruka gasped, leaning heavily against the wall. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath.

The stench of blood was all around him. He avoided looking at the bodies, or at the splashes of dark red on the walls. Some of it was his own work; the ANBU had accounted for the rest. It was something he’d become accustomed to, ignoring things like that.

He shivered and tried to push off the wall. But his strength was gone, for the moment, and he gave up. I drained my chakra pretty badly there, he thought dimly. Not good. At least the bastards didn’t get through…

He’d been sent with his team to the outpost to investigate the reports of odd events that the border guards. He and his team had arrived only to find the guards missing, presumed dead, and the border completely open to attack.

There wasn’t much he could do; he’d sent the kids hurrying back to the village while he settled in to stop whatever was coming. It had been hard convincing Naruto to do as he said. He’d hoped they’d get back alright; he’d hoped they’d send help in time. He’d passed his jounin exam, but Iruka knew in his heart that he never should have taken it. But every one is needed, he thought sadly. Especially now.

But he’d done pretty well. He’d held until the ANBU arrived. And they’d not gotten through.

He sighed and reached up wearily to rub the scar across his face. Even that took a lot of effort from him.

One of the ANBU stopped in front of him. “Are you injured?”

The man’s voice was oddly muffled through the mask. Iruka blinked at him a few times, trying to clear his head. “No.” He said finally. “Just wiped out. Blew my chakra.”

The ANBU studied him for a moment, then reached out and gripped his shoulder. Iruka felt an influx of warmth and strength and was able to push off the wall to stand straight. “Thanks.”

The ANBU dropped his arm and waved his hand. “We’ll clean up, but the Hokage wants you to stay until the new guards get here. We’ll be around in case something bad happens.”

Iruka nodded. “Fine.”

Get some sleep.” The ANBU pointed to the sleeping room, mercifully clear of blood and bodies. “We’ll wake you before we leave.”

Iruka didn’t argue. He stumbled to the room, picked a bed at random, and fell down, fully dressed.

...

Iruka woke slowly, aware of several things. First, he was not in his apartment. Not a strange occurrence. Second, there was someone in the room with him.

Iruka reacted without thinking. Slipping a kunai from its sheathe, he exploded from the bed, aiming to incapacitate whoever it was.

The other person moved too fast; Iruka found himself flipped, spun, and laid out on the bed. A warm body slammed down over him. He felt the kunai twist out of his grip.

“Idiot.”

Iruka gasped and relaxed suddenly. The figure, now outlined in the gloom, was wearing an ANBU mask.

“Sorry” Iruka muttered. The ANBU chuckled, and Iruka flushed slightly. He was suddenly, acutely aware that he was being held down on a bed. “Uhhhh…”

The ANBU shifted, and Iruka realized with shock that he was removing his mask. Tossing it into the corner, the figure turned back and started…

Ohgod. He was nuzzling Iruka.

Shit.

Iruka stiffened, and the ANBU stopped. They lay like that for a moment. Then, the figure shifted again, releasing Iruka.

Iruka lay still for a moment, and then sat up. The ANBU was still sitting next to him. Now that he was up, he looked sideways and identified the ANBU. Hatake Kakashi…? Blushing furiously, Iruka rubbed his scar and wondered how the hell he was going to handle this.

“Funny.” Hatake sighed, and Iruka got the impression he was grinning slightly. “Jounin Umino Iruka, leader of team seven, blushes like a little girl.”

Iruka blushed harder. “Uh..well, it was...kind of…uh, a surprise…”

Damn his stutter. Hatake chuckled.

“Hmmm. Sorry, Umino.. I didn’t mean to offend your virgin self.”

There was an edge in Hatake’s voice that sliced Iruka. He didn’t, past the first moment, believe that it had anything to do with him personally. But he wasn’t sure what it meant, or how to handle the situation.

Iruka didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. After a moment, he rose and walked out into the main room.

They’d done a pretty good job. Most of the blood was gone. Iruka wondered, briefly, if what was left was really there, or if it was a figment of his imagination.

The ANBU flowed out the door. Iruka didn’t know which of them was Hatake. It didn’t really matter.