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The bland hospital room was entirely still and silent. Asuma, Gai, and the slighted medic all watched on anxiously as the genjutsu master remained motionless, her eyes closed, her hands clasped over Kakashi's Chakra coils.

Kurenai slowly inhaled, dark curls rising with the motion, her closed eyes tightening a bit in worry. She breathed in time with Kakashi, and if this hadn't been the first time Gai had seen her work, he would've been almost mesmerized. When Kurenai was given the task of breaking one out of a genjutsu, she focused everything on the task; so much that she and the other almost, mentally, became one. When Kakashi's breaths hitched a little, so did hers, when he shivered, so did she.

Finally, her crimson eyes opened, expression unreadable. She slowly stood, removing her hands from Kakashi and letting them fall limply by her sides, shaking her head a few times as if to reorient herself. At length, she cleared her throat and took several steps back, absentmindedly smoothing a wrinkle out of her dress. "It's not good."

"Obviously," the medic muttered in a clipped tone, still a bit snide and unhappy that it was Kurenai, a ninja with only the required medical training to be a jounin, who had treated Kakashi, and not himself. "Is that all your little probe told you?"

Asuma and Gai both glared at him. "Let her talk," the former muttered, crossing his arms gruffly.

Kurenai made no acknowledgement of the medic, almost as if she hadn't even heard the interruption. "I'm sorry I didn't catch this before; my main concern was that Kakashi was stable, and, at the time, he was. If I had been paying more attention, then, perhaps-"

"Look, we all get you weren't paying attention, considering the fact that he just up and passed out without-"

This time, Asuma's and Gai's murderous glares were enough to make the man wither and fall silent, his hands slipping meek behind his back and he took a minute step away from the group of ninjas. Kurenai glanced over at him for a brief moment before turning back to Kakashi and the others. "As I was saying. Gai, Asuma- I already told you that, while actually under this Tsukuyomi, Kakashi's Chakra flow ceased entirely. This is unlike a usual genjutsu, where Chakra flow is simply disrupted. The medic squad found his flow to be a bit abnormal, but regular, as did I. But… we weren't putting two and two together."

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head unhappily. "…Imagine Kakashi's Chakra system like a computer. Even you should be able to understand the metaphor, Asuma; it doesn't matter that you're hopeless with them." She smiled gently at him before continuing on. "Itachi's Tsukuyomi is like a virus. Even once the genjutsu is ended- akin to the virus being purged from the computer- the system still has to reboot. The system being Kakashi's Chakra flow. The problem is, it seems like his brain doesn't know what the normal flow is supposed to be. Chakra flow is supposed to be as natural as breathing, as walking; his body has never had to restart it before. It doesn't know what to do, and so, basically, it's just started guessing on what the correct flow should be. Which is why, Gai, Kakashi so abruptly regained consciousness, and just as abruptly lost it. His body must've gotten his Chakra flow active and fluid enough for him to wake, but the moment it tried to do something different, that was no longer true, and he was out."

"Hold on." Earlier fears forgotten, the medic stepped back up to Kurenai, gesturing to the unconscious jounin with an erratic flip of his pen. "People's Chakra flow stops all the time. Lightning attacks often jolt start a person's system, when we manage to restart someone's heart here- and what you're describing never happens."

Kurenai nodded swiftly. "That's because Kakashi's heart didn't stop. Only his Chakra flow did. His body kept functioning, and then, suddenly, it has to deal with this mass of Chakra it doesn't know what to do with. It's not like when someone's heart stops. Arguably, this situation is even worse."

The medic pursed his lips and looked away, seeming out of ways to call Kurenai out. The three ninjas remained in their stoic positions, brainstorming ideas to counteract Kakashi's situation. Asuma rolled an unlit cigarette around in his mouth with a longing look towards his lighter, then just shrugged helplessly and looked to Kurenai. He already knew that if anybody would be able to help him, it was her. He didn't know the slightest thing about genjutsu.

Gai frowned deeply. Kurenai's explanation hadn't made complete sense- he was a taijutsu master, after all; he spent no time studying the tricky ways of mind games- but it didn't sound good. He cast another look at both Kakashi and Kurenai and grimaced. Genjutsu made him uncomfortable. It wasn't like ninjutsu or taijutsu; it couldn't be countered by sheer strength and the power of youth… as Kakashi had once told him.

He smiled wryly. It was his first time being under a genjutsu, and Kakashi had been none too gentle, and when the copy ninja had finally released it, it had been with a smirk and a careless, 'What? Can your youth not overcome a little eye game?'

It was ironic that a Sharingan user had been left incapacitated because of a genjutsu. And Gai had never been a fan of irony.

At length, the medic leaned back against the wall at kakashi's head, tapping his pen against his fingers one by one. He looked to Kurenai, appraising her with a critical eye. "Well, if all his problems are because his heart didn't stop with his Chakra, why not stop his heart? His Chakra would stop with it, and then, when we restarted his heart, shouldn't all the problems go away?"

"No. Too risky. There's no guarantee his flow would return to normal after already being abnormal for so long… in fact, there's a slim chance that you wouldn't even be able to restart his heart."

The medic glowered, flustered. He scratched at his short brown hair and glanced back at the patient before just shaking his head. "Well, listen, I've been doing this for four years, and I think there's a damn good chance it would work. And you're not his doctor; I am. Unless you can-"

"You'd need Kakashi's consent to do such a risky procedure, right?" Asuma countered, swiftly intervening with an angry look in his eye. "And, with his Chakra flow as abnormal as it is, even when he's conscious, he may not be in his right mind. You won't be getting a signature from him."

The medic shrugged, unconcerned. "Fine, I'll just get it from his relatives-"

"All dead."

"-power of attorney-"

"Doesn't have one." At the medic's growing anger, Asuma just shrugged, unconcerned. 'In situations where a ninja is unable to make a medical decision for his or herself, there is no family available, and there is no power of the attorney, the decision goes to the Hokage. And, we are currently without a Hokage."

"Then I'll just take it the council."

Kurenai smiled slightly, catching on. "Actually, they technically don't have the authority to give you permission. The procedures for what to do if the village was without a Hokage were never set up for a situation like Kakashi's."

"Give it up. Kakashi's one of the village's best, and he's stable. Plus, Jiraiya's out looking for Tsunade. The council will never let you risk his life, not knowing that the best healer in all the Five Great Nations is on her way here."

The poor man looked positively furious at the fact that he'd been outmaneuvered. He glared between the three jounin, seeming on the verge of tearing his hair out, then just threw his hands up into the air with a heavy groan. "Fine, for god's sakes. He's not my problem, anyway."

"Thank you," Kurenai said with a slight bow. "I apologize for our protectiveness, doctor-san, but Kakashi is our friend and-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, jounin-san." He bowed stiffly as well, and then, as a final jab to tell them his ego was still more than a bit bruised, he said as he left, "Visiting hours are over, by the way. All three of you, out."

Kurenai easily complied, with Asuma following her example, but Gai lingered behind. He glanced down at his rial nervously, but he looked as if he were merely asleep. Not that his Chakra was forcing him unconscious. After Kurenai's worrisome explanation, he couldn't help but worry. After all, Kakashi may have been the last master of the Sharingan left in all of the Hidden Villages, but Itachi was undoubtedly the strongest Sharingan user in the world. And it would be just like the sadistic Uchiha to release Kakashi from the genjutsu, make them all think he was fine, only to then realize that the technique had had some lasting effect and that Kakashi was going to die from it.

Gai shuddered and shook the thought of in the same moment, swallowing back a wave of emotion. While that was just like Itachi, it was also just like Kakashi to scare the hell out of them all, make them worry themselves to death, and then pop up with a warm eye crinkle and show himself to be perfectly fine. "There is no reason to worry!" he announced aloud, attracting the surprised medic's attention. "My rival is caught up in the springtime of his youth; his gloriously passionate energy will never be taken over by Uchuha Itachi's traitorous, treacherous, terrorizing genjutsu, for such dark things are nothing when compared to the power of youth!"

The medic looked like he'd just been hit across the face.

A few long, awkward moments passed in silence, and then he finally spoke.

"Jounin-san, what the hell are you talking about?"


It was four days before Kakashi woke again.

Kurenai had insisted that it was nothing to worry about, that while his body hopped from option to option with his Chakra flow, finding one that would result in him being conscious was only a fifty fifty chance, at best. But the moment his rival sighed, mismatched eyes slowly, sleepily opening to blink at the ceiling, Gai could've jumped for joy.

"Rival!" he had exclaimed gleefully, drawing Kakashi's attention to him. "You have finally arisen from the seemingly endless sleep of recuperation! This is a wondrous development! Tell me, how is your youthful energy? Has it refilled to the brim of its capacity to the fullest potential of your youthful flower?"

Kakashi had blinked, then reached up, and poked him in the stomach.

"Big, bouncing, green dot. It's a big, bouncing, green dot. Ha!"


This was how it came about that Kurenai was analyzing Kakashi's Chakra flow again, with the silver haired jounin amusing himself with pulling and stretching on Gai's green spandex, a gleeful smile stretching the fabric of his mask. He giggled occasionally, which was almost certainly cause for alarm. He took one look at Asuma and the jounin moved back as if he were an S-class missing nin, seeing no reason to subject himself to the man's whims when he clearly wasn't in his right mind.

When Kurenai opened her eyes and stood, it was obvious she was fighting a smile. She cleared her throat amidst Gai's and Asuma's worried looks while Kakashi's attention was diverted to her, and he reached out and snagged her hand. "Are you done playing with me? I want something else to play with!"

Kurenai gently removed her hand from Kakashi's and stepped back to stand beside Asuma, no longer able to resist the urge to grin.

"Well?!" Gai exclaimed impatiently. "What's wrong with him?!"

"…Gai, have you ever been with Kakashi while he's on morphine before?"


Asuma yelped in surprise when he was abruptly met with an armful of Kakashi, the silver haired jounin throwing himself forward into his unsuspecting arms. He stared at Gai in shock before looking down at the man leaning against his chest, eyes wide. "Kakashi?!"

"Like a teddy bear. A big, cuddly, oversized… teddy bear. Ha! I'll name you… I'll name you… Bear!"

Kurenai had to actually clap her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Ha! You… you said you were no f-f-fun, but you are! You and the big bouncing green dot are a lot of fun!" Kakashi flopped back onto his bed with another broad smile, laughing breathlessly, then flung an erratic arm out to point at Kurenai. "What about you? Are you a lot of fun, too? Hey! You, too- that rhymes! Hey, hey, Bear, I made a rhyme!"

Asuma stared, aghast. He managed to cough gruffly and scratch the back of his head, nodding awkwardly. "Uh… yeah. That's, um… nice, Kakashi."

Once Kakashi was fully busy with Gai's spandex again, Asuma glanced over his shoulder to throw a dark look at Kurenai, who was trembling with suppressed laughter. "You lied. This is not what he's like when he's on morphine. Not at all!"

She shrugged innocently. "His Chakra flow is a bit… overexcited right now. He's the definition of loopy. Don't hold it against him."

"I' not going to hold it against him, it's just that-"

"Hey, guys, guys, I just got an idea. I just got a brilliant idea! Guys, guys, guys!"

Asuma turned slowly to look at Kakashi, who was sitting upright excitedly, his hands clasped together, his eyes wide in earnest. He was hesitant to find out what this so-called brilliant idea was, but Gai shared none of his qualms. "Yes, rival?!" he asked urgently. "What is it? What is your no doubt youthful idea? I am sure it lives up to the Springtime of your Youth and in the never-ending flower blossoms of our eternal rivalry!"

Kakashi blinked, then just looked back at Asuma. "Green, bouncing, big dot is weeeeeird, Bear. But anyway, there are these two people, whats-it-called…. Asuma and Kurenai! Yeah, that's right, that's right. And Gai and I have this bet going on. He's convinced they're just friends; I think they're doing a bit more with their youthful energy."

"Um, rival, stop-"

"But I have a secret. I'm cheating." Kakashi giggled and tapped his nose, his eyes wide with glee, even as Asuma and Kurenai both turned to level twin glares at Gai. "See, see, cause I'm special. I can smell things really good. So, whenever Asuma and Kurenai, you know, have sex, I can smell it!" He gave a triumphant chuckle, utterly oblivious to the fact the temperature in the room must've just dropped ten degrees. Instead of Gai being uncomfortable, Kurenai's cheek were suddenly tinged with pink and she was unable to look off up from the floor, whereas Asuma's face had gone a peculiar shade of purple and now grasped the plastic armrest so hard there was an audible crack.

"And so, I was thinking, Bear, that… hey! That smell! I can smell it right now!"

If possible, Kurenai's face grew even redder while Asuma's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Gai stuttered and stumbled back, looking between their two friends in shock while Kakashi continued on happily. "Green dude, it's coming from Bear and that other lady. I think they just had sex."

"Oh dear Kami…" Kurenai hid her flaming red cheeks from view by buying her head in her hands while Asuma was staring at the copy ninja like he wanted to strangle him.

And Gai knew just what to do to dispel the awkwardness from the situation.

With a sweeping thumbs up, tears of fervent admiration streaming down his cheeks, he whirled to face Asuma and Kurenai. "Congratulations on the consummation of the burning passions of your youth and never ending flowers of your love! This is nothing to be ashamed of! It is a natural process of the young and the youthful when caught up in the glorious springtime of youth! Oh, it is most shameful for me to have bet against the most youthful of consummations, but it is merely another point for my rival in our eternal rivalry! My most unending and passionate congratulations to the both of you!"

Gai, for the life of him, would never understand why that made the silence even more awkward.


Kakashi's relatively short attention span was probably the only reason he had forgotten what it felt like to nearly be strangled by a pillow. It was only five minutes after the couple's embarrassed exit that the copy ninja had moved on to something else, much to Gai's relief.

"Hey, Gai. I want to tell you something."

"Yes, Kakashi?" he asked warily. His rival's eyes were still unfocused and he was still smiling widely, a bit unaware of his surroundings. The last time he had spoken, it had been to ask why a giant green frog was in his room.

Kakashi laughed sleepily again and looked over at him, his red Sharingan now shut. "I challenge you to outlive me."

Gai stiffened. This again?

Just what the hell had Itachi made him see in Tsukuyomi?

"Kakashi, listen-"

"No, no, let me talk, Gai. Let me… let me talk. Promises break all the time. But challenges are different! Our contests are so close; it's so close, Gai. A split second in a footrace, in holding our breath; one move away in shogi, one more bite of sushi in that sushi-eating contest. So, see? Even if you lose the challenge and die, I'll definitely die right after you. As long as it's a challenge." He grinned confidently. "See? Win win. And, we're tied now, so whoever dies last wins the rivalry. Ha, I said win three times. Ooh, four!"

Gai shifted uneasily. He didn't like the turn this discussion had taken. Kakashi was always the man to go to for a wealth of morbid topics, yes, but the way he spoke so easily about dying, even when he wasn't in his right mind… "Why don't we talk about this some other time."

"You don't understand!" Kakashi complained, unnecessarily flustered. He sighed loudly and rubbed his hand over his eyes, the movement causing a spike of his thick hair to flop haphazardly over his face. "So misunderstood. We can't put this off, Gai. Too important."

Gai opted to remain silent, watching as Kakashi distressed silently, mulling over whatever things had been troubling him since his ordeal with Tsukuyomi. He knew full well Kakashi had always been worried- more worried than most- of losing the only people left that meant anything at all to him. But this was a fear he didn't voice, didn't reveal, never admitting once that it existed. He wanted to wait until Kakashi was in his right mind, at least, before he made any such challenges or promises; until he knew why Kakashi was so suddenly, so terrified of what might happen to him.

"Gai!" he pleaded, voice still slurred, eye still unfocused. "Gai, you have to do this for me. If you don't-"

"Rival, we'll talk about this later."

Kakashi stared at him, very clearly frustrated, and Gai couldn't help but feel the slightest bit relieved when Kakashi abruptly passed out once again.