A New Life

Chapter 12

In retrospect, going after Orochimaru by himself would have been a stupid, stupid idea. He had no idea how to find Orochimaru, he still had no memory of where Orochimaru had kidnapped him from or where he'd been held, but he couldn't sit in the village doing nothing. He was grateful for Anko's company, not only because she actually had a clue where to look for Orochimaru but because he didn't think he would have made it more than a day outside of the village on his own.

His stomach hurt, more than he thought it would, and it was slowing him down. He really should have stayed in bed resting but it was too late to go back now. His stubborn pride wouldn't let him and he needed his family back. He couldn't rest, not when Kakashi and their son were both gone. Anko picked up the slack where he faltered without saying a word. She made no mention of turning back or stopping.

He knew they were at the right place when he heard fighting. Anko leaped ahead of him and Iruka followed at a much slower pace. His stomach twinged but he ignored it, pushing the pain to the side at the thought of seeing his baby and hopefully Kakashi as well.

Iruka recognized more faces than he expected as they burst into the compound. Gai was fighting three people at the entrance and when they went deeper inside he saw Genma and Raidou back to back holding off a small army at a hallway junction. Genma waved them past and Iruka slid under Raidou's outstretched arms as a fire jutsu roared over his head and down the hall. Also Yamato using his wood style to hold down some of the others.

His breathing came hard as he ran but he kept pushing himself faster. He was close. He could feel it. His nerves were alive with energy, like the prickling feeling right before lightning struck and he followed that feeling deeper into the building with Anko at his side.

They turned the corner just in time for Kakashi to slam into the wall next to them. They shared a glance and launched themselves into the room in unison. Orochimaru grinned wide and snakelike as his eyes fell on Iruka.

Memories slammed into Iruka – memories of being strapped to a table and taken apart. Fear froze him in place, but only for a moment.

Rage washed over him, hot and bright. "Give me back my baby!" He screamed and tossed a handful of exploding kunai at Orochimaru. It was an annoying distraction at best but that was all he needed. It gave Kakashi an opening to attack, drawing Orochimaru's attention so that Iruka could sprint across the room and yank open the door opposite. He saw Anko follow up Kakashi's attack as he stepped into the room.

Iruka's reflexes barely saved him as a large python launched itself at Iruka. He sidestepped automatically and lashed out with a kunai without thinking. The snake's head rolled into the other room, leaving Iruka to face two more. They slithered out from under a table, hissing at him with their long red tongues sticking out at him. They lunged at him. He dodged, a little too slow, and narrowly avoided being bitten.

His stomach was agony. He'd been trying to ignore the pain for too long and now it was back with a vengeance. He pressed an arm to his stomach, as if to hold himself together. He needed to stay together, just a little longer, just enough to get his child back. One of the snakes died with a kunai buried deep in its eye. The other lunged at him. He brought up his kunai too slow. It was going to bite him.

The snake exploded in a burst of electricity. Iruka slumped against the wall and turned his head to smile weakly at Kakashi. Judging from Kakashi's frown, Iruka looked as bad as he felt. He was shivering, but he wasn't sure if that was from adrenaline or from pushing himself too hard. Probably both. Kakashi's arm came around his waist, pulling him away from the wall and into Kakashi's embrace.

"Where's Orochimaru?"

"Gone."

Iruka shivered. He didn't like the fact that Orochimaru was still out there. He didn't like what it meant for their future. He pushed away from Kakashi and limped towards the other side of the room. There was a box on the table and he had a sickening feeling that he knew what was in it. Kakashi was right behind him as Iruka cautiously peered into the box. As he expected, there was a baby inside. His baby, no doubt. It was so still. His heart stopped in his chest and for a moment he felt like he'd died.

Right when he had lost hope a slight movement came from the box then a cry a child's cry. Iruka looked into the box a second time and there he was alive. Iruka reached for it without thinking. The box could have been trapped but he would have walked right into that trap without a second thought. He pulled his baby into his arms and held it to his chest. Tiny fingers curled against the fabric of his shirt. Warm tears rolled down his face and when he looked back at Kakashi, and Kakashi smiled at him he felt like he could die like this, die from sheer happiness.

Kakashi came over and held Iruka and his new baby in his arms. Then turned towards the door. "Let's go home."

He nodded and smiled at Kakashi. He was ready to go home and get yelled at by Tsunade and probably end up in the hospital again but it was alright. He had his baby back and there was no way he was letting go of him again.