Life After Death (Naruto, Kakashi/Iruka)

Iruka frowned as they approached a bright and sunny clearing. He didn’t like the feel of the forest, but then he didn’t like most of their mission. He’d had a bad feeling about it from the minute it’d been assigned to him. The fact that he was out on missions at all said something about the state of the village. He shouldn’t be here – wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t summer and all of the Academy students on vacation – and the others had done nothing but remind him the entire time that he shouldn’t be here. They were polite about it, never complaining outright, but he heard their mutters when they thought he wasn’t listening. He was slowing them down, but there was no one else the village could spare. Everyone else was either injured, defending the village, or out on another mission.

Kakashi was their team leader, which seemed a bit ominous to Iruka. His last mission with Kakashi had ended poorly, so poorly that Iruka had quit active duty to become a teacher. It was slightly fitting that it was Kakashi who led his first mission back out, but that didn’t make him feel any better about it. Some Sound ninja had stolen a scroll during Orochimaru’s invasion and they’d gotten a lead on its location. It must have been an important scroll to bring Kakashi out for it, and it must have been a dangerous scroll given that Iruka was out with another chuunin and two jounin besides Kakashi.

The jounin were in the trees, scouting ahead and scanning the area from above. He saw Kakashi flit ahead on the opposite end of the clearing. That left Iruka and the other chuunin, Midoriko, to search the low ground. The scroll was supposed to be hidden somewhere nearby and they couldn’t afford to miss any hiding spot. Iruka was surprised they hadn’t run into any other ninja yet. Surely whoever had hidden the scroll out in the woods would have left someone to defend it.

Iruka took a step into the clearing. Chakra flared beneath him. He had half a second for his stomach to twist, not enough time to move. He barely had time to open his mouth. His warning shout never made it out of his mouth.

The clearing exploded in dirt and fire and blood. Pain. There was so much pain. It washed red through him, taking away his sight and his hearing until all that was left was bright red pain.