midnightdiddle

I'm having the most difficult time with this story right now. I keep having ideas, and such, but nothing's going in order, and it keeps jumping all over the place. Well, it's still jumping all over. A lot. As in, nothing's going where it should be. I hate it, really hate it. Oh well. I have this brilliant idea for Anko, which is odd, because I usually have an easier time writing for Iruka and Gai. But hey, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"It's getting colder," he said, and Gai pulled out the blanket, patches worn until they were thread-bare, and handed it to Iruka. Iruka pulled it around himself, shifting until he was as wrapped in it as he could get, and leaned back against the tree again. “Gai-san?”

Gai looked up from repacking the medical kit, a rations bar held between his teeth. “Yes?” he mumbled questioningly.

“Aren’t you tired?”

Gai handed another rations bar to Iruka, and the chuunin took it, fingers like ice against Gai’s skin. “Not at all,” the jounin lied cheerfully, ripping the wrapper open with his teeth.

“I envy you,” Iruka said softly, hands retreating back beneath the blanket with the bar. “People like you and Kakashi, you’re so strong. Tireless.” He looked at Gai, face sickly beneath the yellow moonlight. “I’ve been tired since the damn war started.”

Gai swallowed, forced his throat to work. “Sensei,” he said thickly, “how did you meet Kakashi? How did you- how did you two get together?” It sounded lame and he flushed under Iruka’s tired, thoughtful gaze.

“Are you trying to distract me, Gai-san?” Iruka asked mildly. Gai’s smile grew stronger.

“Ah, sensei,” he said, tone a bit lighter, “you must be in the Springtime of your Youth, to see through that.”

"Must I?" Iruka smiled back at Gai, his fingers slowly pulling the wrapper off his bar.

!-!-! Two and a Half Months Before !-!-!

Kakashi dropped to the bottom of the trench with a light tap. He straightened up, looking Asuma over lazily. "Where's Iruka?"

"Iruka?" Asuma was cleaning his trench knives, picking blood off of them carelessly. His cigarette dangled from his lips, threatening to fall with every word he spoke. "He's down at the end, talking to Anko. Hey," he said quickly as Kakashi began walking away, "hey, message-boy, got any smokes?"

Kakashi dug through his pockets, then tossed a pack to Asuma, who scrambled for it. "You're an asshole, Asuma," Kakashi drawled, and Asuma gave him a sharp smile.

"Yeah? Takes one to know one."

"Good one, and how old are we? Three?" Kakashi shot back, ducking when a clod of dirt was hurled at him. "Bastard!" he yelped, turning to run down the trench.

Iruka and Anko looked up at Kakashi when he neared them, shaking dirt out of his hair. Anko made a face and scooted closer to Iruka, away from the clouds of dust Kakashi was kicking up.

"Iruka," he said cheerfully, dropping to sit on Iruka's other side. Iruka smiled hesitantly at him.

"Kakashi." He lifted an eyebrow when Kakashi held out a scroll, and took it from the copy-nin with the hesitancy.

"It's from Shizune," Kakashi assured him. "About one of your men, or something." Iruka nodded, opening it quickly. He read it once, then again, eyes moving across the thin paper. After a few moments he rolled it back up, shoving it into his vest.

"Thanks," he said not unkindly, standing up. "It's good seeing you again." Kakashi watched him walk away, feeling sick.

!-!-! Present !-!-!

When Kotetsu had been hit with the kunai, he'd pulled it out of his shoulder with a yank, tossing it to the side without breaking stride. Anko had run alongside him, had looked at him questionably, and he'd smiled back at her, a quick wink to calm her, but somehow it'd just worried her more. She'd run ahead of him until she'd reached Hana at the front, and then she'd veered off to the side. What was left of her team had followed, slipping through the trees as quietly as possible, slowing from their breathless running when they couldn't feel enemy chakra anymore.

Now they were all lying on the forest floor, hidden beneath moldy leaves and paltry bushes, and Anko was next to Hana. Hana was shaking, the faintest trembling of her body, just like Kaito, like Hoshi, like Izumo. The team was wearing down. Two straight days of running, and they were beyond tired. Anko could see the exhaustion in their eyes, right behind the desperation and just before the hopelessness. She was about to touch Hana's shoulder when someone grabbed her foot. She rolled over, twisting her head until she was looking at Izumo. He looked back at her, face strained, and moved his lips carefully, mouthing out words.

'Kotetsu,' he mouthed, and she could barely hear him breathe. 'Poison.' He pointed and she turned her gaze to Kotetsu, who was lying next to Kaito. His face was pale, a sickly color, and there was sweat on his face, dripping down his forehead. Anko slithered from under the bush, painstakingly picked her way over to the chuunin. He looked up at her, pupils pin-points in his eyes, and opened his mouth. She leaned her head down until her ear was next to his lips. His breath was hot against her skin, and his lips were dry, scraping across the outside rim of her ear.

"Shit," he whispered. "Shit- Sorry, sorry Anko, sorry-" She covered his mouth, shaking her head. He swallowed, body shuddering. She touched his forehead, wiped the sweat from his brow, then wiped her hand on her clothes distractedly. His eyes had slid shut, clenching for a moment, before they flew open. He jerked in onto himself and she grabbed his shoulders, trying to hold him still. He began vomiting, spittle and vomit going everywhere. She turned him onto his side, holding him up, and his body shook as he threw up.

Izumo was watching them, his eyes burning into Anko's back, and she breathed out of her mouth slowly. Kotetsu's limbs were rigid, taut, muscles twisting beneath his skin. His chakra flared, unstable, and Anko felt the Sound nin catch hold of the flare. She grabbed one of Kotetsu's twitching hands and began to trace scout kanji on it.

'Calm down- shut down. Shut down chakra.' Kotetsu spasmed, clutching at her with a claw-like hand, and she dug the signs into his palm, her fingernail leaving behind red, bloody lines.

'Shut chakra down.' The last kanji stood out, stark red, against pale skin. He was frothing at the mouth now, foamy white tinged with red gathering at the corners of his mouth, slipping down his cheeks, his chin, his neck. His chakra flared again.

'Shut-' It was too late, she could practically feel the Sound nin breathing down her neck. They'd catch her, her and her team, and everyone'd die. They'd follow Kotetsu's errant chakra and kill Izumo, Koito, Hana. Anko grabbed Kotetsu, pulled him tight against her, until his back was pressed against her chest. She fumbled with her holster, pulled a kunai with shaking fingers.

"Shut down," she hissed into Kotetsu's ear. His chakra began to gather again, hot under her fingertips, under his cold skin. She tightened her hand around the kunai, the blade digging into her fingers. She touched the tip to Kotetsu's throat, dug it in and pulled.

The blood came out in a gush, splattering her arms, drenching her clothes, warm and heavy. She gagged on the smell, tightening her arm around Kotetsu's body. He jerked, head slamming into her jaw, and she saw black spots. His fingers scrambled across his neck, slid through blood, slipped into his throat. Anko pulled him closer, wrapping her arms tighter around his body to keep him still. His thrashing slowed, grew weaker, and she lost her hold on him, her hands and arms slick with blood. He fell from her arms, but Izumo caught him before he hit the ground. Kotetsu stared up past him, past Anko, and his eyes dulled, rolled back into his head.

"Hana," Anko called softly, crawling across the leaves, slipping and sliding in the blood. "Hana, are the Sound coming?" Hana sniffed the air once and again, then shook her head.

"They can't find us, not now." She gave a look at Kotetsu's body, limp and blank, in Izumo's lap. Izumo was pulling Kotetsu's dogtags from around the man's neck, slipping the hitai-ate from the man's forehead.

"Good," Anko whispered, wiping her hands on her clothes. They came away bloody. "Good."

Wow. This was bloody. I think I need a break from this. Hmm...

In other news, my computer's back. It actually got back a few days ago, I just forgot. Heh... I want to be calm. I feel fidgety? Or irritated, rather. Meh, no matter. There, the next part of Tryin'. Another one, or so, and I should be done with another chapter. I'm moving so slow on this.

Bite, how do you do it?

Edit: Fred Jones Part II!