"Kakashi!"

There was darkness.

"Sakura, you must get out of here now!"

There was blood.

"Kakashi, you're hurt! I won't leave you behind!"

There was fear.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Naruto, get back!"

There was death.

"Ughn!"

"Sensei!"

"Naruto, Sakura; go tell the others now."

"No," Naruto shouted. "I won't let you die here!"

"Naruto, if you don't go, it won't just be me who dies!"

"Kaka-sensei, you stubborn-"

"Naruto!" Kakashi said in pain. His gasps for air grew gurgled, fluid rushing into his lungs. Kakashi held on tightly to the iron stake that pierced his chest. His enemy would go no further than through his body. Naruto looked at Kakashi agape, Sakura by his side trembling with fatigue and the sensation of Kakashi's blood splattered on her face. "Please..." Kakashi grunted. "Go."

"S-sensei," Naruto choked on tears.

"Naruto, let's go," Sakura tugged at his arm and turned around to leave.

"No, Sakura," Naruto pulled his arm away from her grip.

"What? Naruto! We have to go! We're wasting time. If we don't go now Kakashi's sacrifice will have been for nothing!" Sakura said.

"He's not dead yet, Sakura," Naruto grit his teeth. Kakashi's ears started to ring with impatience and faintness.

"Naruto, you fool," Kakashi growled. "Now is not the time for sentimental - ughn!"

"I won't let you die here, Kakashi! Sakura, you go ahead, tell the others. I'm staying right where I am and fighting this monster."

There was a rattle in the distance, the sound of an impending attack. A black mist permeated the forest, blood soaked through Kakashi's mask and began dripping onto the iron stake. Maniacal laughter shook the trunks of the trees. "Make up you minds now, or else we all die," Kakashi said.

"I will not let my friends die. Sakura, go while you can still see."

Without saying a word, Sakura left to bring in the reinforcements.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto addressed him. "You will not die here."

"How sweet of you to say that," a shadow stepped out from the trees, the shadow that held the other end of the killing stake. "But I'm afraid he will." Kakashi looked up to see the monster salivating, it's tongue lolling, eyes on fire; fat bulging from its greasy chin; skin turning to diamond for protection. "I want to eat your guts, Hatake Kakashi." The monster spun the stake and in one upward motion, sliced through Kakashi's heart, his neck, his face, his brain.

And in one upward motion, Kakashi sat up with a gasp, sweating and panting in fear from his nightmare. Calming himself down, he listened to the silence of his room, gently scratching his forearm, and looked at the light of the moon pooling at the foot of his bed. It had been years since he had a mother or father to comfort him after a terrible dream, to explain to him why he had to relive such awful images during what is supposed to be such a peaceful and vulnerable state of being. And now, the fifth time in a row the dream had occurred, he wished for nothing more than his parents to be with him.

But idle wishing was useless, it made Kakashi more upset than before. He plopped his head back down on the pillow, turned to his side, and bitterly surveyed his empty flat. His eyes fell upon the picture of Team 7 in its first stages and then to the latest photo of Team 7, Sasuke absent, Naruto holding his head in pain, Sakura post-punch and fuming, and Kakashi rolling his eyes, confined to a hospital bed.

The scar on his chest where the stake had pierced him began to sear; he eyes began to water - how pitiful he felt. How weak and useless. Thirty-six and counting, not getting any younger, not feeling any stronger, his health beginning to fail him; the cells of his body attacking each other, eating away at his knees, hips, his shoulders and arms - his chakra uneven and overactive, uncontrollable. His mind wandering into darkness, his heart lonely - where was the wife he was supposed to have? The children? Where were the grandparents and honorary aunts and uncles?

If his legs had not given out that day, he would not have been nearly killed by some cannibalistic rogue ninja; he would never have had to find out.

"Kakashi," Tsunade spoke to him privately at the hospital. "Your blood test results came back, and..."

"Tsuande, what you're about to tell me...it's okay."

"I cannot allow you to fight for Konoha anymore."

Kakashi closed his eyes and exhaled. "Is it that bad?"

"We may be great shinobi, Kakashi, but we are still humans who suffer from disease. It seems that you have a high level of autoimmune antibodies in your system. To put it simply, you have arthritis."

"That can be worked around, can it not?"

Tsunade sighed. "I can heal you temporarily, but it will only come back. We haven't a permanent cure for it yet, and I refuse to give you a medication that will dull your senses. It will take me at least three months with the help of my staff to create a remedy to soothe your joints and prevent neurological disturbances. But as you become worse, so will your concentration and your ability to fight. It would prove to be a great weakness for any team you may be on."

"I see."

"Kakashi, will you be okay?"

There was a pause. Kakashi looked up at Tsunade and grinned. "I have no choice but to be okay, Tsunade-sama. It cannot be helped."

"Right. In the meantime, rest up. We'll find you an instructor position at the Academy if that is ok with you."

"Yes. That's okay."

Arthritis. What a stupid thing to prevent him from fighting. He turned on his other side and looked out the window. He could hear voices outside, an argument perhaps? It was definitely the voice of a male and female. The argument grew louder, shouting instead of stern statements. Kakashi could make out the voices now. It was Sakura and...Sasuke? What was Sasuke doing?

He craned his neck to look down at the street just in time to see Sakura crumple on the ground and Sasuke disappear. Completely awake and alert, Kakashi jumped out of bed, threw on a pair of pajama pants over his boxers, and ran downstairs, outside. He stopped at the door to see Sakura slumped over in the fetal position, crying.

"Sakura!" He ran over to her and bent down, wincing, both of his knees cracking.

"Kaka-sensei?" Sakura whispered.

"Sakura, what happened?"

"Kaka-sensei, I'm drunk...mmmmm...and I feel sick, and my stomach hurts..."

Kakashi sighed. "Alright, it's okay, Sakura. Let's go inside."

"No! Sasuke it out there."

"Sasuke doesn't matter right now, Sakura. I'm taking you inside where you can rest for the night. We'll handle Sasuke tomorrow, okay?

"Okay, Kaka-sensei."

Kakashi lifted Sakura up to her feet and escorted her into the building, up the stairs, and into his room. "Take my bed, okay?" Kakashi brought her over to his bed and she willingly climbed in. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

Sakura looked drunkenly into Kakashi's one open eye. "Kaka-sensei, you're not wearing a mask," she lifted her arm and her thin, pale fingers stroked Kakashi's sculpted jawline.

"Sakura," Kakashi grabbed her hand and gently placed it back down beside her. "Go to sleep."

Sakura yawned and turned on her side. Kakashi looked at the top of her shirt and saw it was torn from the shoulder. "Sasuke," he muttered under his breath.

Seeing that Sakura had quickly fallen asleep, Kakashi walked over to his door, locked it tight, and sat down on his couch. Turning the light on, he grabbed a copy of Icha Icha and started to read. Sasuke had the intention of hurting Sakura, or Sakura didn't give him what he wanted. If she was drunk, so was he, and who knows what he would do next, especially with his attitude. Maybe the light being on wasn't such a good idea...Kakashi switched the lamp off, put down his Icha Icha, and held his knees close to his chest. He watched Sakura's chest go up and down with her gentle snores. He could still feel the imprinted trail on his face from where Sakura had touched him. What a curious feeling was stirring deep inside...