This was kinda requested from a Guest in the story Firm Hand. I liked this idea, because I just can't get over the fact that Sasuke was allowed by an adult to confront a S-Rank shinobi all by himself in canon. It's just. Ugh. So. Frustrating.

And also because adults are not supposed to leave a traumatized kid alone to his own dark thoughts. Like, never. Much less a child with a cursed mark. I understand that all of this was made for the sake of drama and plot, but that's precisely why I have the urge to soothe that pain a little.

Anyway, this story will contain spanking and lots of comforting in the second chapter.

I apologize for the grammatical mistakes!

Kakashi should have known.

Kakashi should have known Sasuke wouldn't believe his poor excuses why they couldn't have lunch together, especially after he'd been the one to invite him in the first place. He should have known his student would follow him through the village, from roof to roof, as silently as he'd taught him himself. He should have known his threatens wouldn't be enough to force Sasuke to stay away from the danger. Not when Kakashi wasn't standing right in front of him to protect him from harm any longer, at least.

Kakashi should have known Itachi would take him down in seconds with his Infinite Tsukuyomi.

But he hadn't.

And because of his idiocy he'd had to endure his tiny genin's agonizing screams for what felt like ages. The sound of bones snapping. Fists impacting so hard against flesh that they could be heard. Ragged breaths desperately pulled in by air deprived lungs, before the next blow landed. Wet, painful coughing. Groans and whines and whimpers and stifled sobbing.

All of that while Kakashi laid helplessly there, on the water, not even able to regain control of his limbs and so pitifully struggling not to drown. Almost failing every time he heard Sasuke scream again, concentration betraying him and making him stumble over his own sinking hands and feet and fall straight on his face. Breathing water in in despair, cursing himself over and over again for not knowing.

Then everything had gone awfully quiet. And Kakashi had realized, both with relief and terror, that Sasuke'd finally slipped into blissful unconsciousness. Which either meant his injuries were truly serious or that his miserable excuse of an older brother had dared to use his Infinite Tsukuyomi on him, a child.

Driven only by the crushing rage that invaded him after considering any of these possibilities, Kakashi'd somehow managed to lift his head and actually cast Kamui on one of Itachi's arms. His intention had been to distract him, because he just knew he didn't have enough chakra to try and take his limb off, so he was shocked when Sasuke's older brother stammered backwards and fell on his knees.

The one who truly got deconcentrated by that was Kisame Hoshigaki, though. He was so unsettled that he stopped brandishing his monstrous Samehada for one only second, and that was enough for Asuma to slip past him and shove one of his chakra blades into Itachi's stomach with one single swing. Blood dripped down Itachi's chin, but apart from that, he didn't make a sound.

He still proved to have enough strength in him to send Asuma away with a sturdy kick. But, after that, he started coughing blood, and Kisame was at his side immediately, cleverly not daring to try and yank the knife off. Kakashi's vision clouded after that, and he would've successfully drowned this time had Kurenai not caught him.

Asuma was with them a few minutes later, Sasuke cradled in his arms. Kakashi tried to examine him closely, like he always did to his genin after every fight, but his throbbing eyes and fogged mind did nothing to cooperate. He barely managed to urgently demand for his friends to take Sasuke to the hospital, and that actually made Asuma snort. Kakashi didn't blame him. As if not taking an injured student to the hospital were even a possibility.

He didn't realize the water under them was starting to swirl and wave, infused on chakra, until Guy entered the scene and interrupted the water jutsu by lashing out against Kisame with his signature roundhouse kick. The mist nin managed to fend himself with his sword but, with his other arm curled protectively around Itachi's middle, he couldn't counter attack properly.

Kakashi blinked, or at least it felt like a blink to him, and suddenly he and the other jōnin were alone.

Then Guy began yelling something about villains youthfully sweeping other villains up in their arms to protect them. And Kakashi finally fainted.

Kakashi refused to stay in his own room so stubbornly that the hospital personal eventually had to give in and place him and Sasuke in the same room. Not that it made any difference, since he still stayed out of bed most of the nights. He wouldn't hear any of anyone's shit on that matter. His place was right on his genin's bedside, where he could easily reach and grab his hand whenever he started tossing and turning, haunted by nightmares. No human force would convince him of getting rest when he knew that his tiny student would stifle his screams even in his fitful sleep.

The only thing he truly paid attention to apart from Sasuke's health were the updates on Naruto's whereabouts. He'd been attacked by Akatsuki a few days after the incident in Konoha, but Jiraiya had been prepared for that after being informed by Guy himself and Naruto had resulted untouched. Kakashi was still feeling a little wary about having Naruto so far from him and diving straight into danger while helping to look for Tsunade Senju, but he forced himself to remember that Jiraiya could be just as overprotective as him. If not more.

Sasuke opened his eyes for the first time five days after the fight.

He barely said a few words. Numbers for the pain, yes and no for symptoms. He demanded for the IV to be immediately removed from his hand, but everything he accomplished was to get his hand tightly bandaged up, so he wouldn't be able to rip the needle off. Then he was put to sleep again, when he'd started to turn pale and sweaty even after he'd claimed his pain was merely a four.

The nurse explained Kakashi that even civilian adults used to rate the pain of broken ribs with at least a seven. Kakashi himself admitted that he would rate it with a five.

But what he didn't share was that he'd seen closely the look in Sasuke's eyes, and that he clearly understood that pain wasn't the main of his student's concerns in that moment. Kakashi actually dreaded the moment Sasuke wasn't in so much pain anymore and was allowed to stay awake for more time, when he would actually have a lot of time to overthink about the last events.

He couldn't leave him alone.

Sakura started visiting as soon as she was allowed to and refused to leave when visit time was over. Some nights Kakashi indulged her by interceding with the nurses and earning permission for her to stay. Other nights, when her eyes were puffy and red because of the exhaustion and the crying, he put his foot down and ordered her to go home and get some rest.

He did appreciate being able to hold her in his arms some nights, though. Having at least one of his genin safe and sound was a small comfort.

Tsunade Senju was brought back to Konoha by Naruto.

While it was incredibly reassuring to see the pain fade bit by bit from Sasuke's face while Tsunade healed him, Kakashi couldn't bring himself to feel relieved. Especially after being able to see how the fogginess disappeared from the boy's eyes and slowly revealed the heartbreaking distress hiding behind them. Tsunade, not for nothing the most skillful ever known med nin in the world, didn't let that slip past her either. She pressed a caring kiss against Sasuke's forehead, whispered something that Kakashi couldn't hear, and then looked at them.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "None of you would stop annoying me about healing this brat. You better—"

She didn't need to say anything else.

Naruto and Sakura were both scrambling onto the bed before Tsunade could finish that sentence, bawling their eyes out. They both curled against Sasuke's sides and pressed their teary faces against his shoulders, holding onto him like they were afraid of him suddenly evaporating at any second.

"Careful with his ribs!" Tsunade hissed, smacking Naruto and Sakura with her notepad after Sasuke winced almost imperceptibly. Her eyebrows were furrowed, but there was a small smile on her lips. "They're not fully healed yet. I will not have any of you accidentally messing my work up."

But they weren't hearing her anymore. They were too busy arguing about something, Sasuke included, the tiny demons. They had a lot of bickering to catch up with, and apparently it couldn't wait a single second more. Kakashi couldn't even understand what could possibly be bothering them after so long after seeing each other.

It was only after Tsunade threatened with sedating the three of them that they finally shut up and grumpily settled back against the pillows, refusing to see anyone's eyes but still clinging to each other. Then Tsunade proceeded to heal Kakashi, and both contemplated as the three kids slowly drifted off to what probably was the first peaceful sleep they'd had in the last week.

"How did Itachi Uchiha find him?" Tsunade calmly asked, and Kakashi tensed.

"He didn't," He muttered, and hoped that answer would be enough. Tsunade's displeased and piercing glare made him know that it wasn't. "Sasuke followed me when I went to confront Itachi. I was so worried about the reason why someone had infiltered into the village that I didn't even contemplate the possibility of him doing that."

"And you decided that letting a boy engage into battle with the person who killed his entirely family was a good idea?" Tsunade gritted his teeth. "I don't care if he was following him or if he was hiding in your pouch, Kakashi. Even having him physically attached to your hand wouldn't justify the fact you allowed him to fight."

Kakashi tensed up twice as before. A shiver ran down his back.

It wasn't until Tsunade's apparently harmless glowing hands sent a small shock through his body that he gathered enough courage to answer.

"I didn't," He explained, swallowing. "He waited until I was out of combat and Asuma and Kurenai were busy with Itachi Uchiha's partner to do it."

Tsunade's lips pressed together into a tight line. And then she didn't say anything else on the topic for the next half an hour. After Kakashi was completely healed, she gave Sasuke one last check up before looking at Kakashi dead in the eye.

"You can't let him get away with it."

Kakashi buried his face in his hands and refused to answer.

"This wasn't a harmless childish escapade, Kakashi," Tsunade continued, heading for the door. "He could have gotten himself killed."

Then she left.

"You warned him, Kakashi," Guy said, and Kakashi almost felt dismayed by the look of seriousness in his eyes. That wasn't common in him. "Kurenai and Asuma told me. You explicitly stated that he would deeply regret it if he dared to disobey you. Didn't you?"

"I should've known he was going to do it as soon as I wasn't physically able to restrain him—"

"Kakashi!" Guy chided, eyebrows almost becoming one as he frowned. "He's been your genin for almost two years by now, right? He surely knows the rules. And the consequences. If you don't administer them, life will do it for you. And, I assure you, life has got no mercy for shinobi."

Kakashi groaned.

"He'll put his life in danger again as soon as he's allowed to leave this hospital," Guy continued, using his thumb to point at the closed door leading to Sasuke's room. "He has been insufferable with his teammates ever since he woke up, right? This is not going to stop until you talk to him, Kakashi. And I mean a real talk."

"He's in pain," Kakashi insisted, feeling almost overwhelmed. "And I don't mean physical pain. Something is troubling him."

"Want to know what's bothering him?" Guy said, narrowing his eyes and leaning closer to Kakashi. "He's craving power, Kakashi. And I don't mean good, pure friendship power."

This time Kakashi stayed silent, feeling lightheaded as he looked straight into his best friend's fierce eyes. They were burning, but not with outrage. No. They glinted with protective ire, and stern inflexibility. Guy could be considered as not so smart on a few matters, like recognizing enemies, but reading tiny shinobi seemed to be his specialty. Sometimes Kakashi wondered if he actually read some kind of pedagogy books or if the talent was just natural.

"I eavesdropped on your kids this morning, while I watched over them like you asked me to," Guy explained, lowering his voice. "Sasuke was trying to pick a fight with Naruto. And I mean, he was trying to provoke him. Physically. He's been hitting him and trying to scuffle whenever he's got a chance. I don't think he's looking for a friendly sparring. He wants to feel like he can hurt, Kakashi."

Kakashi inhaled deeply, closed his eyes and flinched when he felt Guy's heavy and warm hand settle on one of his shoulders. His friend gave him a comforting rub, or at least what he considered that was a comforting rub. It actually hurt a little, but Kakashi didn't have the courage to tell him.

"I know it's hard, Kakashi," Guy conceded. "But a teary face and resentful eyes are much easier to deal with for a few days than a severely injured student. Right now, Sasuke thinks what he did wrong is not being strong enough. I'm not even sure he regrets being disobedient."

"I'll talk to him as soon as he's discharged," Kakashi finally agreed, and felt himself relax a little when Guy's beamed for the first time in what had felt like hours.

"Don't forget to hug him and tell him how much you love him," Guy instructed, raising a finger. "Before and afterwards. And while you are at it, if possible."

"That'd just confuse him, Guy—"

"Okay. You can just tell him you love him while you do it."

"No, Guy, I don't think that's the pro—"

" STOP IT! "

The shriek chilled Kakashi's to the core.

He held his breath and, after exchanging one panicked look with Guy, he kicked the door open.

The room was empty.

His heart started beating so hard in his chest he could swear he felt it pounding against his ears. It was as if someone had suddenly punched him in the stomach and taken his breath away. Adrenaline made his body move by itself, and soon he was climbing the window and racing vertically towards the roof of the hospital, from where the screaming had come.

That'd been Sakura.