Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...
Kakashi hated heart monitors. While many saw them as a comfort, a visual reminder that their loved one was alive and well, Kakashi couldn't help but resent the monotonous beep that symbolized the beat of his lover's heart. Because that beep had been steady and constant for almost three days now, and Mizuko was no closer to consciousness than she had been when she'd first been admitted.
Sakura had assured him that it was one-hundred percent normal, that we all heal in different ways and at different rates. But Sakura hadn't seen the way her body had hit that tree, hadn't heard the sick crack as her skull made contact with the wood, hadn't watched her crumble down into a mess of unmoving limbs, a halo of red staining her red-blonde curls. He'd never been more terrified in his life.
If Mizuko were awake, she'd probably laugh at him, tell him how ridiculous it was to worry over her so. She was the daughter of the Demon of the Mist - a little explosion couldn't keep her down.
Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...
"Kakashi-sensei... I have a confession to make." Sakura said softly. She looked from her former sensei to the prone body on the hospital bed, before sighing. "I've always been a little terrified of Mizuko. I think that's more than understandable, considering how she tried to slaughter us all on the bridge after Zabuza died."
"I'll make you pay for ever setting foot on this goddamn bridge!" The young girl, then only fifteen years old, stood defensively over the fallen bodies of her father and love. She wielded a large scythe that was perhaps twice her size, the blade infused with chakra.
Kakashi watched her with the critical eye of a would-be opponent, and he could immediately tell that the girl wasn't seeking an actual fight. She'd seen her father and her boyfriend brutally murdered in front of her. The girl was heading into this with a death wish. He had no doubt that she had a very deep desire to avenge her fallen family, but at the same time, she wanted to be with them.
In a flash, she was gone. And then suddenly, Sakura was screaming as the scythe twirled once, twice... and came down directly on her shoulder blade. Blood started to pour down her arm, and Sakura fell to her knees. The scythe swung back, Sakura in the perfect position to be decapitated by the next blow, when three kunai impaled her in the lower back. Her body lurched unsteadly, but she did not cry out in pain.
"Leave her alone!" That was Naruto's voice. The other boy was standing defensively over Sasuke's fallen body, ready to attack.
Mizuko reached behind her, fingers grasping the weapons impaled in her back, and yanked them out. "Is that the best you can do, little man?"
She was bleeding profusely, the wounds deeper than she probably realized. She didn't seem to care. She swung the scythe again, the blade missing Naruto by mere millimeters. Sasuke groaned as he tried to move out of the way, only to receive a sharp blow with the side of the handle for his efforts. Blood gushed from the dent in his forehead, and he was unconscious within seconds.
She readied to strike again, only for Kakashi to reach out and stay the blade with a single finger. Her blue eyes grew wide as she realized what'd just happened. "It's over, Mizuko. Your father and Haku would not want you to die meaninglessly. They died happily, you need to understand that."
"I was so sure that she'd kill you without a second thought. She would've killed all of us. But you disarmed her with a single finger, and took her back to our camp. You brought her back to Konoha and you saved her, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura continued.
"Only to let her get killed in an ambush. She never should've been on that mission." He said darkly.
Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...
"Maybe she just needs a good reason to wake up." Sakura offered gently. She finished filling out her paperwork for the day, before leaving the two alone.
A reason? Was it not enough to open those eyes so that he could know that she was okay, that she hadn't suffered some sort of permanent damage because of his momentary lapse of judgement? From the moment he faced her on that bridge, he knew that she was the one. He would save her a million times over from the countless dangers of the world: even from herself. But he couldn't save her this time. This time, to live or to die was a choice that she alone could make.
A reason to wake up? Kakashi reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out a simple silver chain, which had a thin silver band attached. It was simple, as far as engagement pieces go. But then, he didn't think his love would want something overly flashy anyhow. Carefully, he slipped the chain over her injured head and let the ring settle over her heart.
Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep
He didn't miss the way that the heart monitor sped up at that simple movement.
He'd take that as a 'yes'.
A/N: So this was kind of a 'feeler' of sorts for a new story that I am working on. What would you guys think of a Kakashi/OC romance, with Kakashi being in love with the daughter of the 'Demon of the Mist', Momichi Zabuza? And how would marrying her affect his reign as Hokage? Drop a review and let me know!