Hatake Kakashi was still in surgery. His chakra was badly depleted, there were kunai buried deep in his chest, and he was suffering from severe blood loss. Tsunade had summoned only Team 7, Iruka, and Gai, but every available jounin was crowded into the small waiting room. Everyone was anxious for the Hokage to come out with news. Not even Gai wept in the tension, though some seemed close. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto had gathered fearfully around Iruka, who was doing his best to give them comfort.
Everyone in the room but the genins knew about Kakashi and Iruka. They knew that the chuunin was suffering silently more than anyone, even as he assured Team & that their mentor would be alright. Everyone hoped that Kakashi would be alright. He had to; they'd already lost lord Hokage and so many others that the village couldn't lose Sharingan Kakashi. It might spell the end.
Finally, Tsunade came into the room. If she was surprised by the number of people there, she didn't show it. The expression on her face was exhausted and unreadable. The very sight of it made Iruka's heart sink. If was not hopeful.
"He's pulled through surgery, but his chakra system is messed up. Hopefully it will repair itself, as in other like cases. He needs to rest, so I'm only allowing four people in the room at a time."
By silent agreement it was Iruka and the three genin who followed Tsunade into a small room down the hallway. Kakashi was in the bed, tubes and wires flowing from his body to various machines around him. The white sterilized material made Kakashi appear thin fragile and small. Iruka saw the genin hesitate, not sure how to react. This was the man who had trained them, related to them, protected them and saved their lives on more than one occasion. But the person in front of them carried almost no resemblance to the person they knew, and none of them knew how to deal with it.
"Ka...Kakashi-sensei? Can you hear me?" Sakura moved slowly toward the bed, eyes filled with tears and took his hand. "Please be okay. Please?" He let go of Kakashi's hand to bury her face in her own. Uncharacteristically, Sasuke stepped forward to comfort her. As he did so, Naruto moved forward. "Kakashi-sensei, thank you for not letting us go on that mission with you. I…I'm sorry for shouting at you. Really…." He looked as though he wanted to say more but couldn't find the words.
"Wake uo, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke whispered. "Wake up soon." The Uchiha's voice was quiet, almost fearful. He did not want to lose his sensei, who had listened to him, advised him, and done his best to train Sasuke in the matters of the Sharingan. For the first time since his clan had died, Sasuke felt accepted. He did not want to lose that.
With a mod from Iruka, Tsunade led the genin out. Alone now, the chuunin knelt next to the bed. When he'd found out that Kakashi had been assigned an A-class assassination mission, he'd feared that Team 7 would be forced to accompany him. Now he berated himself for not worrying about the jounin. Kakashi had promised that he would be fin, and Iruka had blithely believed him!
"'Kashi-kun, can you hear me? Iruka's voice was hoarse and heavy from being forced out around the lump in his throat. "I know you can do this. I know you could be strong enough for every person if you had to. But I can only be strong for so many people. You're my strength, Kakashi. I can't go on without you." He swallowed. "Tsunade told us that…that you might not make it. But we all need you so much! And I need you so much. It's so selfish, but I do. I...I love you 'Kashi-kun. I couldn't lose you for the world. Please don't leave me." The chuunin's voice broke. He gently pulled the mask down and kissed his lover as gently as he could. Tears fell on Kakashi's face as Iruka wept into the jounin's hair.
How long he sat weeping Iruka didn't know, but Kakashi's hair was beginning to drip moisture when the chuunin felt something move beneath him. Quite unexpectantly he felt a hand weakly take his own.
"Kakashi!" Iruka squeezed the hand joyfully, watching the jounin's mixed-matched eyes flutter open. He looked exhausted, and immediately closed his Sharingan for fear of using more chakra, but he was alive! "Kakashi, I knew you wouldn't die on me yet!"
Jounin's, by necessity, have very good hearing. Iruka only had time to pull Kakashi's mask back up before the room was crowded. All the jounin were talking over each other, relief and excitement in their faces. The members of Team 7 might have tackled their sensei if they knew that that would most likely kill him. As it was they were chattering over each other at him. At first Kakashi did his best to keep up, but after hearing "New flavor of ramen- Ino said- learned a new jutsu" at roughly the same time he gave up.
Thankfully, Tsunade came in then. She was trying and failing to be furious at the shinobi for breaking her rule. The Hokage banished everyone but Iruka and Gai back to the waiting room, and the two only had ten more minutes.
"Soon, my eternal rival, I challenge you to a competition of Rock Paper Scissors." The jounin announced, his own way of telling Kakashi to recover quickly. Then, in an act of sincere friendship, he untied his hidden leaf head band and fastened it gently around Kakashi's Sharingan. "There, until Tsunade replaces the one you lost."
The copy-nin was half-asleep again, but he appreciated all the same Gai's action. "Thanks." He hesitated, and then added slowly, "my eternal rival."
Iruka couldn't help but grin as Gai burst into twin waterfalls, announcing to an uncaring world that Kakashi had finally accepted their rivalry. "You've done it now. He'll never stop challenging you at this rate."
"Iruka… here." Weak though he was, Kakashi slowly handed back a small pendant. Iruka recognized it as a gift from one of his students, with 'Iruka-sensei' monogrammed into it. "I took it so I would have a reason to drag myself home, and a reason to live…." With that, the copy-nin fell back into an exhausted sleep. Iruka gazed at him for a moment before tucking the pendant back into his lovers hand and kissing his forehead.
"I always want you to have a reason to live."