Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Somewhere to Belong ❯ Shackled ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter Six: Shackled

 

“Iruka, your sensei talked to me today. Seems you've been giving some of your classmates a hard time.”

 

“I was only messing around with them, Dad. They were being mean to me too.”

 

A sigh. Iruka felt a large hand place itself on his head. His father's tone was serious. His father's voice was usually so carefree and happy. Iruka felt guilty for making him use this tone.

 

“You should try to get along with your classmates. Someday, you might be relying on them to help you get through a mission or even to save your life. Shinobi need to respect each other. Your teammates will always make you stronger...”

 

“Mmm…” Iruka grunted as he wearily opened his eyes, the voices of his dream having drifted away.

 

It was cold and dim where he sat on the stone floor of some unfamiliar place. Iruka couldn't make sense of it right away. Where am I? What was I- Kakashi! Iruka immediately tried to rise from his sitting position, only to find that his arms were tightly shackled to the wall. The only light that poured into the dim area came through the bars of the door, and the chunnin realized that he was trapped within a prison cell. He let out a grunt of frustration and pulled at the chains uselessly. Damn it! Iruka slumped back onto the floor, shaking with anger and fear. He had never been prepared for this.

 

Moments later, there was a creak at the door, and two enemy ninja walked into the prison area. They each carried a katana at their sides and took every step with a powerful thump, as if trying to intimidate their prisoners. Iruka glared at them fiercely as they approached his cell. The guards each gave the chunnin an amused smile.

 

“So this is the coward who tried to run away,” one mocked, “Left his teammate behind and just fled to save his own skin. Ha! Shows you what the Leaf village has come to. Nothing but cowards.”

 

“That's not true!” Iruka yelled at him, unable to contain his anger, “I went back! I didn't abandon him…” Iruka choked slightly before glaring back at his captors dangerously, “Where is Kakashi? What have you done with him?”

 

He realized that his heart was racing. Even though Iruka was known for his temper in his classrooms, he usually tried to retain his composure outside of the academy…and especially in such dangerous situations. For some reason, however, his concern and anxiety was causing him to break out of his disciplined mannerism and instead, he felt close to panicking.

 

“Relax,” the other enemy sneered at him, “He's not dead yet. We just need him for a little…questioning. You and your precious Copy-Nin can die together…after we've finished with you.”

 

Iruka grunted.

 

“If you've hurt him-”

 

“What? Are you going to break out of your chains and take revenge? Those special shackles are slowly draining your chakra. You'll never have enough to use any jutsu!”

 

It was true- Iruka could feel his bonds slowly stealing his strength away from him. He almost hadn't realized how weak he felt from the shackles sucking up his chakra. There was still enough left to keep him alive, but Iruka knew any type of jutsu would be impossible.

 

“Just who are you?” the chunnin demanded.

 

“Us?” the first ninja scoffed, “That's none of your concern- just consider us the last clan of renegade ninja you'll ever see.”

 

And with that, Iruka's captors continued patrolling the cells, possibly on their way to torment more prisoners. Iruka was left alone with his thoughts, which were no less brutal. Why didn't I just keep on going? I could have at least warned the village…Now they'll all suffer because of me. And Kakashi…How can he be saved now? He thought about his students in the academy and their families. Had he sealed their fate? All the people he saw on the streets and in the mission room, his acquaintances, his coworkers… all gone? Because of him. And now he and Kakashi were both going to die because Iruka had failed.

 

“I should have listened to you,” he growled to no one, “I should have kept on going!”

 

“Yeah…I wish you had.”

 

Iruka froze. The voice was deep and familiar, but how could he…

 

“Kakashi?!”

 

The jounin answered him with a grunt. Iruka could hear chains clanking against the stone, right next to his head. Kakashi must have been in the cell next to him, on the other side of the wall. Iruka could sense that his chakra was dangerously low- so low that he almost wasn't able to sense it at all.

 

“How long have you been awake?” Iruka asked hesitantly.

 

“Since just a little bit before you came to,” the jounin replied, “Though before that, I was drifting in and out of consciousness.”

 

Iruka felt his face turn red. Then he must have heard what I said to the guards! Iruka realized in panic. “If you've hurt him-” If nothing else killed him first, Iruka knew he would eventually die of embarrassment. Kakashi didn't say anything about the conversation he had overheard at first, but after a few moments of silence had passed, Iruka heard his voice come through the wall.

 

“Why did you come back for me?”

 

“Why do you think?” Iruka asked sternly, “I knew something had happened to you! You told me to meet you at the stream, but you never came! I thought-”

 

“You were suppose to have kept going,” Kakashi said in a low voice.

 

Iruka froze for a moment, and suddenly gaped with realization. His chains clanged angrily as he turned to shout at the wall.

 

“You planned that, didn't you?! You planned on staying behind! You knew you weren't going to make it out of there, so you had me go ahead!”

 

“…”

 

Kakashi let out a sigh. It seemed the chunnin had finally figured it out. He hadn't wanted to say anything…The Copy-Nin knew Iruka would have never listened to him if he had known the details of the jounin's plan.

 

“It's what I had to do,” he said finally, “for the village...especially your students. Both of us making it out was impossible, but one…”

 

Iruka felt a shiver go down his spine.

 

“I wanted it to be you,” the jounin finished with hurt in his voice.

 

Something suddenly hurt the chunnin's nose. He rubbed the scar on his face against his shoulder and stifled a sob. There was no fighting it- Iruka let the tears fall slowly from his eyes and run down his cheeks to drip from his chin. He was glad Kakashi wasn't able to see it. It had been a long time since Iruka had last cried. He blamed a lot of things- his hopeless situation, the fate that awaited Konoha…but mostly the fact that Kakashi had been willing to sacrifice himself for him. Iruka couldn't take it.

 

“Did you really think,” he began once he had recovered a bit, “that I would have left you behind?”

 

Silence. Kakashi glanced down at the prison floor sadly. He had told himself that Iruka didn't care about since before the mission had started, but now…he could see that he really had been lying to himself the whole time. And it took me this long to figure it out…

 

“I should have known,” Kakashi sighed, “One more failure in my book.”

 

Despite his frustration and anger, Iruka couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Maybe the one I'm really disappointed in is myself- that I couldn't save anyone…He sighed. The jounin was silent. Iruka didn't doubt that he felt the same way he did. Having Konoha's fate on your shoulders was an incredible burden, one both ninjas had been trained their entire lives to endure.

 

“This isn't as much your fault as mine,” Iruka told him, “If I had listened to you, maybe Konoha would have been safe.”

 

“They won't attack just yet,” Kakashi said, “Not until they're done with us.”

 

Iruka raised his eyebrows.

 

“With the `questioning'?”

 

“That,” Kakashi replied, “and they might try to use us as bait too. Or ransom, who knows?”

 

The Copy-Nin's uncertainty wasn't making the chunnin feel any better. Iruka would have given anything to get out of this or just to know that Konoha would be safe even if he were killed.

 

“We have to get out of here,” Iruka grunted, “We have to warn them.”

 

He could hear Kakashi's chains shifting in the cell next to his. The Copy-Nin let out a groan in pain as he moved. Iruka frowned, wondering what kind of condition his partner was in. He must have been seriously injured for the enemies to have been able to drag him back here…though Iruka imagined that he had probably collapsed from chakra exhaustion.

 

“Maybe…there's a way,” Kakashi's voice said.

 

“What is it?” Iruka asked desperately.

 

Is there really a way for us to get out of this?

 

“There was jutsu I learned once,” the jounin muttered weakly, “A chakra transfer jutsu…but I don't know if I have the energy-”

 

“Then don't try it yet,” Iruka said suddenly, “You should save your strength until you get some more of your chakra back. The chains will let you keep enough to stay alive, maybe more than you have right now. If you collapse, though, we'll both be stuck here forever. I can't get out of here alone.”

 

The jounin laughed softly.

 

“You need to have more faith in yourself. Don't underestimate your abilities.”

 

“If I were stronger, we wouldn't be in this mess right now,” Iruka mumbled softly to himself.

 

Kakashi gave a weak smile he knew the chunnin couldn't see.

 

“You have a different kind of strength, Iruka. You care so much about the people around you…and you're not afraid to do so even though you know you might lose them someday. That takes courage.”

 

The chunnin was silent for a moment. He thought of all those who he had been close to who had been taken away from him. His parents, the Third Hokage, all those people he had only known for so long before he never saw them again… Each death had hurt him so badly, but he knew that he would never give the time he shared with them back for anything. It was better for him to have had them in his life for only a short time than never at all…

 

“The old shinobi rules teach you to leave your emotions behind when you go into battle,” Iruka said quietly, “but to do that, you couldn't be human. Ties are what give us a purpose to fight on…and emotions are not something you can simply cast aside at will. You're not just a tool, Kakashi.”

 

Kakashi felt a slight pain in Obito's eye. He's so much like you…

 

“Yeah…I know.”

 

Iruka noted the jounin's defeated tone. He had been so willing to throw his life away to save him, and Iruka still couldn't figure out why this bothered him so much. Would he have done the same in Kakashi's position? Like the jounin had said, it was for the good of the village…but was that all there was to it? Iruka found himself wanting to believe there was something more- a deeper reason. The same reason the chunnin had gone back for Kakashi even though his mind had been screaming against it. Something that left reason itself behind. Iruka sensed much hidden beneath the Copy-nin's surface…and it sparked new curiosity.

 

“Kakashi? Can I ask you something?”

 

“What?” the jounin answered hesitantly.

 

“Why do you always wear a mask on your face?”

 

Kakashi didn't answer right away. For one thing, he wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to the chunnin about this. He had never spoken openly about such things before…especially since the last of those close to him had died. He remembered that his sensei had asked the same thing. Kakashi had been wearing the mask ever since he joined the Yondaime's team, but not regularly…not until his father died, that is.

 

“Kakashi, you hardly ever take that mask off now. How come?

 

A seven-year-old Kakashi stared back at him, but said nothing in response. His sensei looked upon him with kind blue eyes, trying to understand his student. You're always so hard to read, Kakashi, he thought to himself. The ability to read people was one of the things that made the future Yondaime such an excellent shinobi, however, so he analyzed his student carefully before speaking again.

 

“Is it because of…your father?”

 

The young ninja flinched. He could feel his throat going dry and tears filling his eyes, but he bit down on his lip hard. No! Shinobi don't cry! Kakashi couldn't help shaking, though. He gasped with surprise as his sensei wrapped his arms around him and held his head to his shoulder. Kakashi attempted to break free, embarrassed by his sensei's sudden show of emotions. His sensei didn't release him, however. He just shushed in his ear until Kakashi had stopped struggling. Once he had calmed down, his sensei spoke softly to him.

 

“It's okay,” he told him, “You shouldn't harbor so much pain inside of you. Dealing with hardships is part of being a ninja, but if you let them consume you, you'll just end up destroying yourself from the inside out. If you ever need someone to talk to, Kakashi, I'll listen. Teamwork means not leaving your friends to endure their burdens alone.”

 

“B-but I look just like him,” Kakashi choked, “Everyone says I remind them of him.”

 

“Is that a bad thing? Your father was a great shinobi, Kakashi. It doesn't matter what people say about him. He valued his teammates' lives more than his honor. You might not understand it now, but that was a very brave act.”

 

Kakashi couldn't hold back the tears that were fighting to escape. He finally gave in and started sobbing into his sensei's vest. He couldn't be more ashamed. What would people say if they saw him crying? The son of the White Fang- nothing more than a weakling. The young silver-haired ninja choked back his tears. His small fist trembled as it clutched onto his sensei's vest.

 

“Sensei…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Please don't tell anyone…”

 

He felt the arms close around him more tightly.

 

“I won't.”

 

Iruka noted the jounin's silence and realized that maybe he had been wrong to ask a question that could have such a personal answer. Of course, if it had been someone else, such as one of his students, the Copy-Nin might have laughed it off with something like, “To hide my good looks, of course. If I didn't wear it, every woman in Konoha would stalk me endlessly!” But this was not just anyone, the jounin realized. Something about Iruka made him want to give a truthful answer for once. Even Kakashi himself couldn't understand it. Iruka- the only one Kakashi felt truly cared about him now that everyone else was gone…He didn't deserve a lie.

 

“This is the face…of my father,” he answered finally, “Every time I look in the mirror, I see him. Other people see him in me too…Everyone who ever knew him tells me that we have the same face. I couldn't take it- especially when I was younger. I hid behind the mask more and more until it became a part of me. I've been wearing it for so long that without it, I feel exposed.”

 

“Your father…the White Fang?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Iruka hadn't heard much about him, truthfully. He had been very young when Kakashi's father had died, but as he had grown older, he had heard legends of a ninja as respected as the Sannin who had met his end by his own hand after breaking the shinobi code by abandoning his mission to save his teammates. Iruka had eventually discovered Kakashi's relationship to him. Judging by Kakashi's tone, the mention of Hatake Sakumo was painful for him.

 

“I'm sorry,” Iruka said finally.

 

“You don't have to be,” Kakashi replied, “Really.”

 

Silence. Neither ninja could explain it, but there was something briefly present between them right then- some sort of understanding, a connection that was rooted from the common ground that they shared. Both understood the pain of losing a father. We're really not so different, the younger ninja thought.

 

“I didn't mean to make you get into that,” Iruka told the jounin guiltily.

 

Kakashi laughed weakly. Maybe he could find a way to make Iruka feel a bit less guilty…

 

“Now it's my turn,” he said, “I get to ask you a question.”

 

“W-what? What do you want to know?” the chunnin inquired nervously.

 

“How did you get that scar on your face?”

 

Iruka stiffened in surprise, but soon sighed with relief. That wasn't such a difficult question to answer.

 

“Oh, this? I've had it forever…When I was younger, I use to believe I was born with it, for a while,” he laughed, “but of course, you can't be born with scars, so my mother told me the truth about how I got it. When I was very young, my father use to take me to the training grounds to watch the young ninja practice. Even back then, I was so excited about being a ninja, I would run around the training grounds and get in everyone's way. My mother said there was an accident, and I got cut across the face by some stupid kid who was throwing kunai and shuriken carelessly.”

 

Iruka laughed again, but heard no response from Kakashi. In the next cell over, the Copy-Nin was wide-eyed and holding his breath in one silent gasp. When he spoke, his voice was slightly shaky.

 

“H-how old were you?”

 

“Huh? Probably only about five or so…maybe younger.”

 

Silence.

 

“I'm sorry,” came a whisper.

 

“What?” the chunnin asked, confused.

 

What is he apologizing for?

 

“That stupid kid? I think it might have been me.”

 

“WHAT?”

 

“It was such a long time ago…I don't remember it that well, but when I was still learning how to handle my weapons, I injured a little kid at the training grounds. I think it was a large gash across the nose, now that I think about it...”

 

Iruka couldn't believe it- the one who had left him with this distinctive scar across his face…Hatake Kakashi? He wasn't angry- just surprised; shocked, too, that the mystery behind his scar had finally been fully solved. Iruka could almost feel Kakashi's guilt seeping through the walls of his cell.

 

“Don't worry about it,” the chunnin reassured him, “It was an accident, and we were both very young. There's no need to dwell on the past.”

 

“Yeah…but I'm sorry anyway.”

 

Iruka smiled to himself and heard the jounin's chains rattle as Kakashi attempted to get himself into a more comfortable position. It was hard to be comfortable when your wrists were chained to a wall and you were suffering from fresh battle wounds, however. Kakashi let out a groan.

 

“They even took away my Icha-Icha Violence…This is torture.”

 

Iruka couldn't help but laugh softly at that. He wasn't sure if the jounin had meant to be funny, but to be thinking about that book at a time like this, seriously. Iruka was glad to have something to laugh about. He could just barely sense the weakened chakra of the other prisoners trapped here. Now and then, he heard the soft rattle of chains moving in other cells next to his and Kakashi's. By the stench of the dungeon, Iruka could tell that some were either dead or had been there and extremely long time. He shuddered slightly.

 

“Kakashi?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“After we try this chakra transfer jutsu…how are we going to get out of here?”

 

Kakashi thought for a moment.

 

“We need a distraction,” the jounin replied quietly, “Given our situation, it seems a jailbreak would be best…All of these prisoners escaping would give us a good cover.”

 

“We'll have to work quickly, then,” Iruka said, “Otherwise, we won't stand a chance of escaping here. There's bound to be plenty more guards around…”

 

“I think I'm almost ready,” Kakashi told him, “Just a little more chakra…”

 

“Don't rush yourself!” Iruka said worriedly, but no sooner had he said this that he felt a sudden burst of energy as Kakashi's chakra poured into him.

 

“But-” the chunnin protested.

 

“Work quickly. We don't have much time,” the Copy-nin said weakly and then fell silent.

 

Iruka knew he was right. The shackles were already starting to suck his new supply of chakra away. Quickly focusing all his chakra in his arms, the chunnin used his increased strength to break free of the shackles. The chain was torn from the wall, and Iruka could feel his lost chakra slowly returning to him. He let out a few gasps as he recovered from the overexertion. He hadn't used chakra like that for quite a while. He usually had no need to. For a moment, Iruka wondered why breaking out of those shackles had been so much easier than he had expected. Well, it was Kakashi's chakra. Speaking of which…

 

“Kakashi!”

 

No answer. Iruka rushed to the bars of his cell.

 

“Kakashi?”

 

He could sense no chakra coming from the cell next to his. Iruka panicked. Fumbling through the bandages wrapped around his thigh, Iruka found a hidden pin that he hadn't been able to reach before when he had been chained to the wall. He reached through the bars and immediately started picking the lock to his cell. With the chakra-sucking shackles, the enemy hadn't seemed to see much need for too much advanced security. The cell door opened easily.

 

Once free, Iruka ran to the door of Kakashi's cell and found the jounin completely passed out. Fool. I told him to wait, Iruka thought worriedly as he entered Kakashi's cell and started working on removing the Copy-nin's shackles. Kakashi groaned slightly, but didn't open his eyes.

 

“'Ruka…” he mumbled.

 

“Yeah, I'm right here,” the chunnin replied softly, unclamping the jounin's right wrist, “We're going to get out of here soon…”

 

Once Kakashi's arms were free, Iruka slowly lifted the Copy-nin over his shoulder and stood up. He couldn't help but laugh slightly. So far, it had always been Kakashi who had been carrying him, even back during the Kyuubi attack when they were just kids…but now, things had suddenly gotten switched around. Iruka grunted as he made his way back out of the cell. Though his chakra was returning, the chunnin was far from full strength.

 

“Damn, you're heavy,” he choked out with a smile.

 

He could feel Kakashi's chest rise and fall against him with each breath the Copy-nin took. At least he's alive, Iruka thought, relieved. He knew that the jounin could have died from chakra depletion; what bothered him the most, however, was that while performing the justu, Kakashi hadn't seemed to care.

 

Iruka frowned with the realization that it would be difficult if not inefficient to carry the jounin around with him as he worked quickly to release the other prisoners and initiate a jailbreak. He reluctantly sat Kakashi down outside the cell and rushed to the next cell and freed the captive within it. To each prisoner, he gave the same message.

 

“The only way we're all going to get out of here is if we work together and break out all at once. When I set you free, make sure you unlock as many cells as possible before running out of here. Selfishness will get you killed.”

 

Some of the more honor-bound ninja heeded Iruka's words, but the chunnin was not blind to those who rushed out without even a word of thanks or the intention to take orders from him. He didn't have time to deal with them. Once Iruka saw that all the captives had fled their cells, he made his way back to where he had left Kakashi.

 

He froze as he reached the spot where he had left the Copy-nin. No Kakashi. Iruka panicked and ran along the empty cells, searching desparately. Had someone moved him? Maybe the guards had caught on to their plan and were now setting up a trap to recapture all of the prisoners. Iruka stopped as he reached the end of the row, where a familiar figure stood, unlocking one final cell that the chunnin had missed. He looked battered, but at least he was conscious. He released the captive and beamed as the academy teacher approached him. Kakashi gave Iruka a one-eyed smile.

 

“Ready to get out of here, then?”

 

A grin crept across Iruka's face.

 

“Let's.”

 

In the midst of the confusion they had started, the two ninja ran through what they confirmed was the enemy's headquarters. Most of the guards that had been summoned to stop the escapees had already been slain by the time Kakashi and Iruka passed through the area that they had been guarding. Since their weapons had been taken away, they had to rely mainly on their taijutsu to get past the enemy ninja that stood between them and their freedom. Kakashi didn't dare risk any jutsus now that his chakra was so low. Iruka tried to save as much of his energy as he could; he knew he would need it once they were outside and on the run back to Konoha. His arm still hurt as well, and he couldn't move it quickly enough to form any seals anyway. On final opponent fell by Kakashi's hand before a large window with moonlight pouring through it was visible in front of the chunnin and jounin. Iruka wasted no time breaking through it, and took one glance behind him to make sure that Kakashi was right behind him. I won't leave you behind again…The Copy-nin quickly followed Iruka's path, and finally, the two ninja slipped away into the cover of the night.