Kakashi is the first of his ANBU squad to recover from the blast in front of them because he recognizes the chakra like he'd recognize his own, and before he knows it, he's running through the crater, mismatched eyes fixed on the figure plummeting from the sky, trailing a blue haze, almost like a wish-granting falling star; Kakashi only has one wish, and it is granted, when he manages to catch Gai's limp body – his skin so hot Kakashi will have first degree burns on ever exposed part of his body that touched Gai – before it impacts with the hard, unforgiving earth.

(And although the first seconds hurt like hell, Kakashi doesn't even think of dropping him because he knows that, no matter how much it burns now, it's nothing compared to the pain of letting a comrade go.)