Kakashi woke up.

His first thought was that this was a little strange.

One only tended to wake up when they'd been unconscious in the first place. And Kakashi made it a habit of only being unconscious when he purposefully meant to be. But he couldn't remember dozing off or falling asleep. The fact that he was waking up, then, seemed curious and more than a little problematic.

After the inevitable grogginess that came with forced unconsciousness had passed, he was able to focus his senses.

Smell.

A strong smell of… alcohol? It stung his nostrils, nearly overpowering his nose. Other than himself, two… no, three people had been in the vicinity recently. Three separate scents, though not very distinguishable from each other, lingered in the area. He was not alone.

Kakashi took a deep, relaxed breath as to not alert anybody to the fact that he was now awake.

Hearing.

Footsteps. Many distinct kinds, all of them muffled. He could hear the clicking of heels, the squeaking of rubber soles, the soft sliding of wool slippers. A steady, high pitched beeping. From a machine of some kind? It sounded close.

Touch.

The telltale feel of his uniform was gone, replaced with what almost felt like paper. A heavier material, a cover perhaps, lay over his supine body. He could feel the open air on his face. His mask and hitai-ate were also missing. He lifted a hand and pulled the cover up to his nose. No restraints. Whoever was monitoring him (because someone most definitely was) clearly didn't consider him a threat. That could be used to his advantage.

Sight.

Kakashi waited a beat to ensure that he in fact was alone before opening only his right eye. A white ceiling, white walls, and a window to one side. Flow-y curtains creating a partition in the room, dividing what appeared to be his bed and another. A door, brown, wooden, closed. Another door, also brown, also wooden, open. Leading to a small bathroom.

That solidified it. With his short investigation in order, Kakashi could now determine that he was in none other than… the hospital.

Again.

His entire body ached, but Kakashi reasoned that he had dealt with much worse. That didn't stop a groan from leaving his mouth as a particularly forceful throb pounded through his head. Forcing himself to sit up, he pushed the covers off himself, sat up, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Looking down, he could see the atrocity that he was now wearing.

It was indeed a paper-like gown that was typically found in hospitals, decorated with a mix of white and pale green floral patterns. His bare feet made contact with the cold tile floor and he prayed to whoever was listening that his clothing lay folded in one of the closets.

As he slowly shuffled further from the bed, he felt a tug at the inside of his left elbow. Looking down, he could see an IV piercing his skin, held down by an adhesive. He ripped it out of his arm and let it hang from the post it was connected to. Kakashi felt plenty hydrated.

He absently noted that next to the dot of blood left over from the IV needle was an interesting plastic bandage. He discovered after ripping it off that it had been covering a nearly recovered puncture wound. Perhaps they'd wanted to test his blood while he was unconscious? The small bandage was decorated with what appeared to be a cartoon character. The head of a white cat wearing a red bow. Strange.

He, however, paid it very little mind. He crumpled it into a ball and dropped it on the floor as he crouched down, intent on checking the single drawer in the bedside table in search for his clothing. A frown marred his face. Nothing.

Kakashi soon became distinctly aware of footsteps approaching from what had to be a corridor outside. They sounded rushed, with a small click that could've been a low heel.

He wasn't surprised when the door opened, revealing a middle age woman dressed head to toe in pale blue fabric. A nurse, Kakashi guessed.

"You're awake!" the woman exclaimed after a second, mostly to herself.

The nurse took a step into the room before reaching for a device on her hip. She didn't seem to move for a weapon, but Kakashi also couldn't see a hitai-ate. Then again, what village someone came from didn't really matter anymore with the Allied Shinobi Forces…

Kakashi's right eye widened.

Recent memories of the war came flooding back into his mind. The Allied Forces coming together for what seemed to be the final battle, the realization that Obito was alive after all these years, the Juubi preparing for a devastating attack… He had wanted to send the terrifyingly powerful creature off to another dimension, but Obito had appeared right in front of him as he activated his kamui and then…

Kakashi whipped his head to stare directly into the nurse's eyes. She flinched at the motion. Not a shinobi, then.

"Where am I? What's going on with the Allied Forces?" he demanded.

"Oh, it's alright if you're a little disoriented, honey. You're in the hospital," she said in that sickeningly fake, sweet voice he often heard from the nurses he received treatment from, "You're in Kizamu City. Someone found you over by the bridge."

Kizamu. Kakashi didn't recognize it. Must be a relatively small town.

He took a step back when he saw the nurse reach her hand out, most likely to touch his arm in an effort to appear understanding. But he didn't need her comfort. He needed to get back.

"What country are we in," Kakashi said urgently, less like a question and more like a command. It was vital that he got back to the battle as soon as he could. Images of the Juubi's attack flashed through his mind. Images of his friends, his comrades, eyes and mouths still open after death, pierced through their chests with giant skewers made of wood. Hyuuga Neji's face, peacefully smiling up at the sky, forced it's way to the front of his mind. He shook away the memory, not allowing himself to dwell on those already lost.

The woman looked confused. She responded, "Excuse me?"

Kakashi didn't have time for this. He repeated himself, letting a hurried tone from his pressing situation bleed into his voice.

The woman's eyebrows furrowed, possibly in confusion, possibly in concern. Perhaps even both. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times before she finally said, "You're in Japan."

Kizamu City. In Japan Country. He'd never heard of it. It must've been a very distant land for him to not even recognize it. But how did he get here?

"Maa, I guess I'm checking out early," he said before turning away from the woman and walking over to the window. It took the nurse a second to realize that he meant to jump out of it. She panicked, saying something about the fifth floor, but he paid her no mind. Kakashi didn't see how it mattered how far down it was to the ground when he intended on going up. Once he was on the roof, he'd be able to think and make a plan of action on how he was getting back to the war front.

Kakashi made it to the window and unlatched it before he felt hands on his arm. He had barely payed attention as the nurse had run to the doorway and screamed. It would seem that three similarly dressed men had barged into the room and decided to grab onto him. Two of them held onto each of his shoulders while the third held onto his left wrist.

On one hand, these were civilians. And he typically didn't favor intentionally hurting civilians. On the other hand, they were forcefully stopping him from leaving. Was it really such a bad thing to beat up a few civilians if they were the ones that started it?

Kakashi let out a sigh, and with a few well-placed hits to the head, all three were unconscious on the ground. They would be alright in a few hours, but they would certainly have a terrible headache for a day or two. The nurse, still in the doorway, let out an ear-piercing shriek at the scene. He was unable to see what happened next as he quickly slipped out the window and onto the side of the building.

Kakashi made a beeline up. It was only two floors to the top, which still made this a pretty sizable building for a hospital. Much larger than the old one in Konoha, before it was destroyed.

One he got to the rooftop, he took in the view. The city reminded him somewhat of Amegakure, but smaller and… better weather. The architecture was notably similar. Multiple tall buildings, perhaps 10 to 15 stories tall, stood very close together. He couldn't see an extensive pipe system like there was in Ame, but he would guess that this town, Kizamu, probably didn't get as much rain.

With tall buildings, though, he could expect a larger population to sustain them, which meant he should be able to easily slip away in a crowd. Kakashi looked down at the paper gown he was still wearing and made a mental list. He would like to have some real clothing sooner rather than later. And for clothing, he would need money. If he didn't want to chance digging around in the hospital room and attacking more civilians, he would need to resort to thievery instead.

Kakashi would also like to find a map of the area to help with reconnaissance. If he could find one that listed Japan Country in relation to the Elemental Nations, well, all the better. He could probably find one at a local bookstore if there weren't any specialized map stores here. Which meant money. Food as well, which meant money.

All in all, Kakashi estimated that he would need about 400 ryo, if prices here were at least similar to those back in Konoha. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to stay in this city for longer than a day. Once he was on the road, he'd easily be able to live off the land for free.

And with that, Kakashi leaped off the roof of the hospital to find a poor soul who could spare some pocket change.


Possible Failed Suicide Attempt, Man In Hospital

Kizamu City. A man was discovered unconscious in the stream below the Iwasaki Memorial Bridge this afternoon at about 3:30pm. Witnesses who found the man called the proper authorities and he was transferred to the nearest hospital. While the man seemed to have suffered severe blunt head trauma, doctors believe he will make a full recovery with plenty of bedrest.

If you or someone you're worried about are suffering from depression or are suicidal, please reach out to the Depression Helpline or call the proper emergency numbers.