-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

Iruka blinked open his eyes in the early dawn light. Above him, the ceiling looked plain and cold, to his right, a cool breeze was blowing through the open window. Blearily he blinked at the alarm, trying to make out the time past the cracked display. The sun was only just rising, but there wasn’t much point in going back to sleep. Iruka blinked at the clock for a minute longer; he didn’t remember cleaning up last night . . .

Kakashi had been here. Iruka sat up slowly, looking around the room. He wondered when the man had been inside. Was it in the morning, or had he come here after Iruka had told him not to? What exactly had he been looking for? Iruka shook off the thoughts and climbed out from the sanctuary of his comforter. He didn’t have time to be thinking about Kakashi and all of his oddities, he was supposed to be thinking about what he wanted.

It was Sunday and Iruka’s Sundays fell into a fairly predictable pattern. Since he was up earlier than usual, he went to the memorial stone first. It wasn’t part of his routine, but it was a relaxing place; Iruka hoped to clear his head and reach some sort of decision. After a while of staring at the names of lost friends, the jounin admitted to himself that he’d need significantly more help to figure things out than what he could get from a silent stone.

The missions’ room was mostly deserted, as it always was this early on Sunday. A couple of shinobi were leaving just as Iruka arrived. He had no classes today, so he always stopped by the desk early, that way, if they needed his help, he’d know ahead of time. Otherwise he’d take his mission and go. Kotetsu was slumped at the missions’ desk, glaring at another man, but looking thoroughly bored as he handed a small scroll to Iruka. The teacher took it with a smile and turned back to the door as he unrolled it.

Iruka froze, looking down at the words. There was only the one other person in the room – a chunin arguing with Kotetsu about his own mission. The bandaged man glanced up at Iruka’s sudden lack of movement. “Something wrong? Don’t tell me you’re going to argue assignments, too. Look, I know there’s usually a choice, but some jobs have to be assigned or they wouldn’t get done!”

Rolling the scroll back up, Iruka shook his head. “No, it’s all right. I just wasn’t expecting this particular assignment. Thank you.”

Kotetsu waved a hand at the teacher, turning back to his argument with the other chunin. “Like I told him, sometimes you don’t get a choice.”

Iruka scurried down the street, searching for a particular scarred face. He found Raidou coming out of one of the apartment complexes, yawning and stretching. He was wearing the same civilian shirt he’d had on the day before under his flak vest. “Is this where Genma lives, then?”

The taller man turned in surprise before raising a hand in greeting. “Hey Iruka. Um,” he glanced over his shoulder at the building, “Yeah, third floor. What’s up?”

Iruka could hardly muster the strength for a smile. He held out the mission scroll without meeting his eyes. “I got prison duty.”

Raidou’s eyes widened in an instant and he hissed as if in pain. “Man, what a way to end your weekend.” He took the scroll, glancing over it quickly. “No one likes inspection, and most of them don’t have personal reasons for avoiding that place.”

Iruka nodded absently. He’d never been scheduled as a guard before because of his status as a teacher. The breakout not long ago was the first and only time Iruka had actually interacted with criminals after they’d been locked away. But the inspection was different from guard duty, and it was a jounin’s job. “I was hoping you could give me some advice.”

Raidou handed the scroll back to him. “You want me to take it for you?”

Iruka shook his head quickly. “Just advise.”

The other nodded. “Well, it’s not pleasant. The most important thing to remember is not to listen to them. They’re going to try and mess with you, but none of them can actually hurt you. Remember that and you can get through it.”

Iruka met the other man’s eyes with a halfhearted smile. “Thank you.”

“You sure you don’t want me to take it for you?” Iruka turned away, rolling his eyes slightly and Raidou watched him go. As the teacher pulled out of earshot, Raidou let out a sigh. “Don’t follow him, Kakashi.”

For a moment there was silence. Then the white-haired man appeared in a displacement of air. “I’m not letting him go to that hell-hole alone.”

Raidou looked at him evenly. “He doesn’t need you right now, don’t follow him.”

The masked man crossed him arms. “He won’t even notice me. He hasn’t yet.”

“That’s not the point, is it, numbskull? Gods, you still haven’t even figured it out, have you?”

Kakashi’s head tilted to the side, visible eye widening. “Figured what out?”

Raidou shook his head, turning and walking away from the other man. “Honestly, you’re supposed to be a genius.”

Kakashi followed only a second behind the man, forgetting his stalking of the young teacher. “Figured what out?”

Raidou glanced over his shoulder. “What do you care? You’re just going to follow him around until you find out what you want to know, right?”

Kakashi sped his pace so he was beside the other. “You think I shouldn’t,” he muttered, no trace of question in his tone. “All right then, why don’t I buy you lunch and you can tell me what you think I should do.” The scarred man raised an eyebrow but kept his silence, turning immediately into a small restaurant. Kakashi glanced over the menu as he followed and smothered a groan at the prices. Although, it looked delicious, he’d have to take Iruka here if he managed to get back on the teacher’s good side.

Raidou sat in one of the comfortable plush chairs surrounding the various tables, quickly calling a waitress over and ordering a half-dozen small deserts. At Kakashi’s stare, the man just smiled. “This place has decent main courses, but it has the best cakes and pastries in the whole of Fire Country, let alone Konoha.” Kakashi nodded slightly, ordering a small desert himself. As the waitress scurried away, Raidou leveled his gaze at the other man again. “So, why are you stalking Iruka-kun?”

Kakashi reached up, idly scratching the back of his head. The movement was very deliberate, displaying the uneasiness he would have normally kept hidden away. “I got some remarkably good advice and now I need to watch him. Figure out what to do.”

Raidou shook his head, his expression pure disdain. “Kakashi, let me ask you a few things before I tell you about him.” Kakashi raised an eyebrow, waiting. “When was your first date?”

Which left Kakashi blinking in confusion. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just answer.”

“All right. First date? I think I was ten, I couldn’t get out of it and had a fairly miserable time. I didn’t even like the girl.”

Raidou nodded, smiling widely as their food arrived. Popping a small cake into his mouth, he muttered his next question. “Who did you have your first crush on?”

Kakashi stared, silent for a moment before finally opening his mouth. “I was twelve, and it was a boy. You don’t need to know his name.”

The answer made Raidou frown, but he didn’t comment. “Last question, then. Have you ever been in love? Not counting Iruka, I mean.”

“Why does everyone assume I’m in love with him? Am I really that obvious?”

Raidou chuckled, munching on more sugarcoated sweets. “Yes, now answer.”

Kakashi shook his head, thinking the question over. “That one’s harder than you might think. Love, after all, is different for everyone. And it’s possible to love different people in completely different ways. ‘I love you’ is just words anymore without any real meaning to it most of the time.” He paused, sighing and staring down at the cake in front of him. “The short answer is yes, I think I’ve been in love before. A couple times, and now with him.”

For several minutes, the two sat in silence, Kakashi staring at his dessert while Raidou nibbled at his. After a long while, Raidou set his fork aside. “Do you know when Iruka’s first crush was?” Kakashi looked up at him, drawn out of his thoughts and intensely interested once more. “It was Mizuki, back when he was twelve. Beyond that, I only know of one, and after that he seemed to give up on the whole thing.”

Kakashi felt his eyes dropping again. He knew very little about Iruka’s past, especially that far back. He’d known it would be bad.

“As for a date, I’m fairly certain his first was about four months ago, with you.”

Kakashi’s eyes snapped up, wide and disbelieving. He could feel his mouth open as if he were about to speak, but he had no idea what his mouth had intended to say. He’d been Iruka’s first date? Ever?

“He hasn’t decided if he loves you yet, but I know for a fact he hasn’t admitted love before.”

Kakashi’s mouth worked uselessly for another moment before he was able to even think of something to say. “His first date? All this time I’ve been treating him like he knew what he was doing . . .”

“You’ve had a normal experience with the romantic side of all this. Even without that, you have those god-awful books.” Raidou was studiously avoiding the man’s eyes. “All Iruka has is you.”

“He could have said something, asked-“

“You know he never would. Whatever his reasons, Iruka doesn’t know how to react to something this . . . good. But he won’t do anything to endanger it, if he can. He’s stuck somewhere between kissing you and slugging you and you don’t make it any easier by treating him how you would anyone else in his situation.”

Kakashi shook his head miserably, covering his visible eye with one hand. “I really have screwed up, haven’t I? If I’d known he hadn’t had any experience, I would have done so many things different . . .” He dropped his head into both hands, raking his fingers through his hair and trying desperately to figure things out.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Iruka took a deep breath as he looked at the imposing building before him. Standing beside the gate was Hana Inuzuka, glaring at anything that entered her field of vision. Iruka approached slowly, offering the feral woman a hesitant smile. “Hana-san?”

“What are you doing here?” She barked at him, glaring at the scroll in his hands.

Iruka didn’t flinch, holding out the parchment. “Why aren’t you at your clinic, Hana-san?”

One strong manicured hand snatched at the scroll, nearly clawing into Iruka’s flesh. “Clinic’s closed on Sundays except for emergencies. So I have to devote my time to this god-awful place because Konoha’s still shorthanded!” Iruka was honestly shocked that the scroll didn’t tear as Hana pulled it open. Her scowl slowly faded as she read the instructions, replaced by something more akin to pity. “But at least I don’t have to do this.”

Iruka nodded, taking back the scroll. “Being promoted has at least a few drawbacks. I have to admit I didn’t think of this one specifically, though.”

Hana just nodded, leading him inside. “Guards are in charge of controlling the prisoners and stopping riots and the like. You’ve got the harder job of making sure the conditions here are habitable and the inmates are being treated well. It’s not easy, from what I’ve heard, but just shout if you need a guard, all right?” The woman finished by handing Iruka a clipboard and holding out her other hand. “I will need to take your pouch, though. Too easy for them to get a hold of.”

Iruka nodded, relinquishing the weapons pouch and looking into the prison with a sort of dread. “Thanks Hana-san, but I should be all right.” With a last look at her, Iruka set off down the long hallways.

He stared at the clipboard as he walked. Several papers were already attached, detailing the things he was supposed to look for, including the safety and integrity of the cells themselves and, most important, the health of the prisoners. The main reason that jounin were selected for this job was because they were removed. Most that got this job assigned to them never or rarely worked as guards, which was all well and good because those that often worked as guards became desensitized to the prisoners themselves. It was simply overload; after a certain point they just didn’t care about what happened to the criminals anymore.

Not that being a ‘new face’ made it any easier for the inspector. The very first cell Iruka approached heralded catcalls and leers. Fujin and Raijin, not much later, required the sacrifice of several ration bars he’d brought specifically for that purpose. While he was looking over prisoner number eighteen, a slim hand slipped through the bars of prisoner nineteen’s cell, firmly stroking his butt. Iruka gave a little yelp, jumping away from all the cells and staring at the offending man with huge eyes. He felt his cheeks begin to burn as laughter floated up all around him; there was little wonder guards burned out so fast in this place.

Forcing his heart to slow, Iruka turned back to the cells, glaring between the cells and his clipboard. There were only about one hundred prisoners, a few more, so Iruka had anticipated it only taking a couple of hours. But with gropes and jeers and more than one unexpected projectile (not all of them solid, much to the man’s dismay) he was now looking at an entire day spent here. He was seriously considering going back to Raidou and taking up the man’s offer, and he wasn’t even half done.

Mizuki was prisoner ninety-nine.

Itsuo was prisoner one hundred three.

A guard caught up with Iruka mid-thirties, offering a friendly face and leading him away for some lunch. The teacher took the break gratefully. Every cell he looked at brought him closer to those higher numbers, any delay was welcome. Over the small table and meager meal, the guard smiled at Iruka. “You surviving out there?”

Iruka nodded slightly. “Yeah. In the end you just have to remember that when the sun goes down you get to go home but they all have to stay here.”

“Very zen of you.” The guard shook his head. “Doesn’t really help that much, though. They have it out for the inspectors, and you haven’t even met the fakers yet.”

One of Iruka’s eyebrows quirked up almost on its own will. “Do I even want to know?”

The chunin shook his head. “You’re the only chance most of these people will ever have to get out of here. And the only way you would do that is if they were rotting away. Trust me, more than one will lie to you, or try to convince you in other ways. Threats, bribes. My name's Aki, by the way. I am keeping an eye on you. Promise.”

Iruka felt his lips pulling into a smile. “Thanks.” But the one I’m worried about won’t try anything you’re thinking of. The meal was finished quickly and Iruka bowed to the older man before going back out to the long halls. He was honestly grateful for the warning Aki had given him. Not a half-hour after he left, he was surprised by a man passed out on the floor of his cell. When Aki came running, unlocking the door to check on him, he’d sprung up, attacking both men eagerly. Only to have Aki slam the bars shut in his face. With a quiet ‘told ya’ he left and Iruka continued along.

The next prisoner to give him trouble was sixty-seven. At first it looked empty. Looking closer meant putting himself in potential grope/projectile/touching range, but an empty cell could mean something much worse. Getting closer, Iruka saw the prisoner huddled at the end of the bed. Curious, Iruka moved even closer to get a better view. The prisoner looked out nervously and Iruka’s eyes widened as he found himself looking at a young girl with messy black hair. Iruka had his hands half through the jutsus to unlock the door before his mind caught up. With a sigh, he turned to move along. “If you have the energy to disguise yourself, you’re fine.” Behind him the prisoner dropped the jutsu, reverting to the muscled man he actually was.

As he approached one hundred, Iruka’s stomach was beginning to cramp. Staring into the cell of a well-muscled – and fluently cursing – shinobi that had been convicted of murder, Iruka heard the voice he’d been dreading. “Well if it isn’t little ‘Ruka.” The pen nearly snapped in his hand. Iruka firmly ignored the gentle words, focusing on the cells he still had to inspect. The pale man leaned further out between his bars. “They’ve promoted you. However will the children survive their loss?”

Iruka closed his eyes and took a deep breath, centering himself. As he opened his eyes again he moved to Mizuki’s cell. “I’m still at the academy.”

The man’s eyebrows raised a bit. “Is that so? Then they’ve started having chunin do the inspections?”

Iruka tried to focus on the bars, the bed, not looking at Mizuki himself. “I have been promoted. I still teach at the academy. You and Itsuo can’t do anything-“

“Ah yes, Itsuo. He does tell the most interesting stories about you, ‘Ruka.”

Iruka could actually hear the clipboard crack in his hand. Slowly he forced his eyes to focus on Mizuki’s form, checking the man for injuries or signs of abuse. As much as he hated the man, he was at high risk since his botched escape. The frail man before him now couldn’t do anything to hurt him physically, but those eyes still conjured up deep buried memories Iruka would have rather forgotten.

He missed the movement, he was so distracted with trying to focus. Suddenly Mizuki’s hand was wrapped around one wrist, a leer on his face. “I never thought I’d be able to see the famous Iruka again.”

It took every ounce of Iruka’s control not to transport himself from the prison right then. The pale man had spoken loudly and Iruka knew dozens of eyes were now focused on him. He hadn’t thought of what rumors may have been floating around this place, what stories had come along with Itsuo. Quietly, the teacher growled at Mizuki. “Unhand me now or I will break every bone in your arm and no one would condemn me for it.”

Mizuki’s smile grew and he pulled away, moving to his cot. “Such fire. Don’t you remember, Iruka? Nothing good happens if you fight.”

Just the words sent shivers up Iruka’s spine and he scurried from the cell as quickly as he could. He was almost through this. That bastard couldn’t do anything from in there except talk, Iruka knew that regardless of how his pulse was racing.

“So you’re the famous Iruka?” The teacher looked up at a man’s voice, surprised to see the prisoner also at the bars, leering at him. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

Iruka could feel the clipboard starting to slip from suddenly numb hands. The man was looking at him like an animal looked at its dinner. The whole jail had to know . . .

“If I were out of here, I could give you a good time. You like it rough, right?”

Everyone knew about it, and not all of them would be in here for the rest of their lives. Every prisoner. And every guard. A small club slammed into the bars without warning, silencing the prisoner and shocking Iruka back to the present. Aki was scowling at the man angrily. “You really want to lose your privileges, don’t you Keisuke?”

The man glared back at the guard. “Please, you know what he’s like-“

Aki slammed his weapon into the bars again, silencing the man. “Keep your mouth shut, Keisuke. And you, too!” He growled towards Mizuki’s cell where the man could be heard laughing rather hysterically. “Sorry about that. You all right to finish up the last few? You could go home if you wanted, you wouldn’t be the first to skip a few cells.”

Iruka still couldn’t feel his hands. It was a miracle he hadn’t dropped the clipboard yet. It was pointless to even try writing his notes now, but Iruka had to finish. He stared at the cell in front of him, committing the scene to memory to write down later. Then he moved on, all but ignoring Aki when the man didn’t leave his side, repeating the memorization until something else brought him to a stop.

“What happened to him?”

Aki hesitated before he started speaking with a sigh. “Itsuo’s at the bottom of the pecking order, so to speak. His strength isn’t fighting, it’s information, and while he builds up his little network of blackmail and espionage . . . well it’s only expected he’s going to make a few enemies.”

The man was asleep on his cot, turned towards the wall. He had several visible bruises, and Iruka was sure the uniform hid others. He was thin, too, thinner than four months in prison should have made him. “He’s hurt. He should be removed from the general populace.”

Aki just waved him off. “He’s fine. He is building a power base of his own and once he knows everyone’s secrets no one will touch him. In the meantime, just being associated with Mizuki protects him a lot. Don’t waste your sympathy on him, he doesn’t deserve it.”

Iruka turned away, ignoring the last few cells and heading towards the exit. “It’s my job to protect them.”

Aki followed closely, ushering Iruka into the small office they’d had lunch in and guiding him to a chair. “Sensei, I’m telling you to forget him. The last two inspectors haven’t done anything; he deserves what he’s getting.” Aki brushed a hand across the back of Iruka’s neck and the jounin shivered. “You should hear what he says about you.”

Iruka’s eyes snapped to the guard’s face. For a long minute, Iruka couldn’t move, frozen by the look in the man’s eyes. Slowly Aki sighed and pulled away. “Sorry. He’s pretty convincing; just thought I’d give it a shot.”

Iruka shuddered again, curling in on himself somewhat. His voice was shaking slightly when he spoke. “He has a grudge, I’m sure. We’ve never really gotten along, and then I’m the one that got him sent here . . .”

“Go home, Iruka.” The teacher looked at him, stunned. “No one finishes their reports right after the inspections. Most people don’t finish them the same day even.” He squeezed the teacher’s shoulder, urging him onto his feet again. “Go home and forget about this place.”

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 23 -o-o-o-

(Two weeks after Kiba and Shino find out about Iruka’s nighttime reputation.)

Hinata stretched, rubbing her shoulders to work out the sore muscles. It was nearing midnight and she’d just finished her evening exercises. After the workout she was looking forward to a steamy bath and a good night’s rest. She could even sleep in the next morning because there were no classes! Already thinking of the hot water washing over her body, Hinata reached for the door of her room, sliding it open.

The person on the other side of the door jerked back, surprised as her target disappeared before she could even knock once. It was an older woman, a servant that often worked nights around the Hyuga complex. For a long moment, she and Hinata blinked at each other in silence before the older woman finally found her voice. “Hinata-sama. I’m sorry to disturb you so late. Someone is asking for you at the front gate, I thought I’d see if you were still awake before sending them away.”

Hinata continued her stunned blinking. Who could possibly be calling on her at this late hour? “Who is it? Is it something important?”

The servant offered a quick bow. “Aburame Shino-sama. He said it was an important school matter, or I would have sent him away immediately.”

Hinata frowned, trying to think what could be so important to warrant such a visit. There weren’t any projects going on, no special assignments or field trips over the weekend. Hinata was honestly surprised Shino even knew who she was. “I should see what this is about. Thank you.” The young Hyuga heir ducked back into her room, grabbing a yukata to slide on over her training outfit and hurried to the door.

The boy she saw waiting for her was not the Aburame Shino she was used to seeing. He still looked the same, from his tall collar to the dark glasses despite the late hour. However, instead of standing quietly, observing everything around him, this boy was fidgeting, glancing back out the door repeatedly and holding his fingers right up to his face every few moments. It wasn’t until she was almost beside him that Hinata saw he was whispering to the miniscule bugs crawling along his hands. “Ano . . . Shino-san?”

The bug user looked up, no change in his visible expression. Hinata could sense his eyes shift behind her, looking at the servant still shadowing the hallway. “Hinata-san, I’m sorry to disturb you so late. Iruka-sensei has announced a special assignment, but it’s only tonight. I thought you would benefit from it.” Hinata frowned, wrinkling her forehead. Shino had never noticed her in class, why would he think of her for a special assignment? She wasn’t particularly gifted in many things . . . unless he needed her eyes for something . . . Hinata opened her mouth to refuse, but Shino took a half-step closer to her, speaking quickly and softly. “Please, Hinata-san. Tonight may be your only chance.”

For another moment, the girl hesitated. Then she finally looked back at the servant, offering a deep bow to the woman. “I’m sure father will understand, since it is for school. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

The woman took a step forward, frowning deeply herself. “You should have an escort this late at night, even if it is something to do with the academy.”

Shino stepped quickly forward, placing himself between the two females. “I can act as escort. The Aburame family would never let anything happen to a Hyuga under our watch.” The boy bowed, keeping his eyes on the woman, and after a moment she relaxed, nodding at the children. Quickly Shino took Hinata’s hand, guiding her out the door.

They were on the rooftops in seconds and Shino paused, looking at Hinata intensely. “Hinata-san, thank you for coming. I couldn’t explain anything in front of that woman. There may be a problem.”

Hinata’s eyes widened. Immediately she began toying with the long strands of her hair. “What is the matter, Shino-san? Has something happened within your family?”

Shino shook his head slightly. “I believe Iruka-sensei is in trouble. Kiba-kun thinks so, too. But neither of us can tell exactly what’s going on. Hinata-san, we desperately need your talent if we want to know anything.” He paused, waiting as Hinata nodded unsurely. “If you help us, I can’t guarantee what you’re going to see. It could be very bad.”

“I . . . I will help Iruka-sensei if I can. What-“

“My kikaichu are keeping me informed right now. We need to go to his apartment and watch him. Hinata . . . thank you for helping us.” The Hyuga girl nodded, following as Shino leapt across rooftops at a swift pace. The two stopped on a roof across from Iruka’s building and Shino quickly pointed out which window belonged to the teacher. “My kikaichu will let us know when-No, wait!”

Hinata already had the seal formed, activating the Byakugan and peering through the walls as if they weren’t there. What she saw made her blood run cold. Iruka was bent over his dresser, blindfolded and making a face as if he were in pain. There was a large man thrusting into him from behind, apparently taking next to no interest in the man he was using. After a moment, the man balled up his fist, slamming it into the back of Iruka’s head suddenly. The teacher’s head jerked forward, connecting with the wall hard enough to dent the plaster as the man behind him tensed up, freezing in his motions.

Hinata dropped the jutsu, screaming and falling to the rooftop behind her. She had her eyes clenched shut, both fists pressed against her forehead and she continued to scream, muffled now by a solid hand over her mouth. Shino had his other hand around the girl’s shoulders and he was making calming noises, but his eyes were fixed on the building across the way. It was another few minutes before the teacher’s window slid open, a large man leaping down to the street and running off quickly. Hinata was mostly calm now, though she was shaking rather badly, and Shino finally looked down at her. “Hinata-san, I’m sorry. I tried to stop you-“

“Iruka-sensei . . . Iruka-sensei is . . . How could he! How could that man . . !”

“Hinata-san, please. I’m so sorry. Please, I need you to watch him now. I need to know what Iruka-sensei is doing now.”

The girl was shaking her head, but slowly her hands formed the seal for her Byakugan. Struggling to control her voice, she narrated as Iruka slowly stood from where he’d collapsed on the floor, dressed, and went into his bathroom. She was tempted to look away when he began filling the tub, but couldn’t deny a certain morbid curiosity as he climbed in, fully clothed. It was more than an hour before Iruka collapsed into bed, surrounded by the smell of bleach and cleaner. Hinata’s voice was all but gone, ragged from the narration and the barely contained sobs. Shino thanked her again, somberly leading her back to her house and the girl walked straight to her room, collapsing into bed without even changing into her nightclothes.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Neji was in the yard, training, when Hinata finally woke up the next morning. She waited on the porch until the older boy was done hurling his weapons at various targets and turned to acknowledge her presence. Hinata stepped onto the grass slowly, approaching her cousin as if it took every ounce of her control and then some. “Ni-sama, I need your help.”

The boy was gruff, turning his back on the girl. “What do you want?”

“There’s . . . there’s a problem . . . with Iruka-sensei.” Her voice trailed off, almost disappearing as she finished her sentence. Neji froze at the words, turning back around to look at her slowly. “He’s being . . . being . . .”

Suddenly Neji was moving, long fingers wrapping painfully around the small girl’s wrist. “How do you know about that?” he growled, scant inches from her face.

The girl’s breath caught. “Sh-shino-“

Neji was moving again, not waiting to hear the rest of her explanation. He rushed from the compound, dragging her behind, following the streets to the Aburame house. Pounding on the door, he was surprised when Shino answered himself. Behind his glasses, the boy’s eyebrows raised. “Neji-san?”

Neji didn’t wait for a formal invitation. He pushed past the bug user, barely pausing enough to kick off his shoes before stepping into the house proper. Kiba was there, too, staring at the older boy as if he’d gone completely insane. Neji ignored the wild boy, speaking directly to Shino. “Who else knows about Iruka?”

Shino’s head snapped to look at Hinata before focusing on Neji again. “Only us. We asked Hinata-san to find out what was actually going on so that we could know who to go to-“

“You can’t go to anyone!” Neji cried, shocking the Aburame heir into silence.

Kiba was not so easily quieted and growled at the older boy. “What the hell do you mean we can’t go to anyone? Iruka-sensei is in trouble! He’s being hurt! We have to get someone to-“

Neji spun on the other boy. “He doesn’t want anyone to know!” For a minute there was silence. Then Neji finally looked away, glaring at the wall. “I’ve been watching him for more than a year. Iruka-sensei doesn’t want anyone to know about this. He even demands it of these . . . people.” He said the word with such hate, the others were practically burned by its venom. “If Iruka finds out that even we know . . . I don’t know what he’d do.”

“So you’re suggesting we just sit by and do nothing while our own teacher is raped?!” Kiba howled at the boy, slamming his fist into the wall angrily.

Neji’s gaze dropped further. “I’m saying there’s nothing more we can do. Believe me, I want to help him, but . . .”

Shino was also glaring at the floor. “But if we aren’t careful, we’ll cause more damage. We can’t move until we have a stronger ally.”

Kiba looked helplessly between the two boys. “Then we’re just going to ignore this? We’re just going to pretend it isn’t happening?” Neither gave an answer.

It was Hinata that finally broke the silence. “We-we’ll have to keep watching him. M-make sure he is-isn’t hurt. If we c-can’t help, w-we can at least keep him s-safe.” For another long minute no one made a sound. “R-right?”

Neji finally nodded. Shino’s eyes fell further, but he nodded as well. “We watch him. And if there ever is an opportunity to help, we do all that we can.”

-o-o-o-o-o-