Kakashi's Cat
There are only two countries: heaven and hell; but two conditions of men: salvation and damnation.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Kakashi leaned down onto the bed and sighed. Rin purred in his lap, giving no thought to the world. The doctor had been here a minute ago, apologizing for taking the cat away. He didn't really bother Kakashi, but something about him just made him feel… weird.
No, you're just crazy again from too much happening. Don't go the wrong way…
But what was the right way? Was it with the living, where his fellow jounins were? Was it with the deceased, where Rin, Obito, Sensei and… father was?
Why was he thinking about dying now?! He had to fight back, to live, to breathe in the air, to train, to go on missions and see things happen… without emotions, like any great shinobi…
"You have a visitor", the doctor came in, escorting someone.
"Kakashi, how are you doing?! I'm sorry about before and- what the hell is wrong with you?" Gai exclaimed. Seeing the sudden fierceness in Kakashi's expression, the doctor made a hasty retreat. Rin hid under the covers, aware of her owner's displeasure.
"Hey Gai, there's something I've always wanted to tell you. Please bring your ear here." Kakashi said slowly.
Gai, always too eager and rash at times, leaned in closer. He was always interested in any secret Kakashi wanted to entrust to him. They were rivals after all.
"Alright, listen to what I have to say…"
o0o0o0o0o0
The doctor was making a copy of the concoction. Yes, he wasn't supposed to do this, but it could be useful in the future. There really was no one who could stop him. A few actually, but many of them weren't human…
"She used some heavy metals for this… a lot of iron from this plant…calcium for the bones… potassium from this herb would give him strength against this event happening again… man, Rin is almost as great as Tsunade-not that I'm degrading her!... well, the copy is done."
He pocketed the potions and went back to Kakashi's room.
Walking down the hallway, he felt different in his opinion for the jounin. The last time they had met was… eight years ago? Yes, he had been an eager twelve year old and Kakashi had been the emotionless thirteen years old, the new jounin. They were true rivals, disgusted at their differences. No one could've guessed that even being on the same team, they could be friends…
He heard some inaudible noises coming from the room. Then the door opened up.
"AHHHHHHH?!?!"
The doctor ducked for cover as a body flew out of the room. The man he had brought in, Gai fell on the floor and rubbed his sore head.
"My goodness, what an unyouthful thing Kakashi had to do and say! Really he should learn some manners!" he moaned, making his way out of the hospital.
The doctor chuckled. Apparently, even though he was sick, Kakashi still had enough stamina to throw a person out of the room. Truth be told, even he hadn't liked Gai that much.
o0o0o0o0o0
I'm glad that I said what I had to say and did what I had to do. Throwing Gai out of the room is definitely what the doctor ordered.
Kakashi was reflecting on the previous moments. When Gai had leaned closer to him, he had given him a mighty thrust out of the room while saying some pretty nasty words.
Yes, how childish of him.
He was a twenty-one year old jounin lying in what may be his deathbed. He didn't feel sorry and he hadn't kicked him to be mean; he wanted Gai to know how annoying he was being with the issue. In other words, Gai shouldn't stick his nose in things that he didn't have to know about.
The important thing was that he felt better.
"Hey Kakashi-san, it turns out that I'll have to be your doctor for this time. Your regular doctor is doing surgery on a shinobi who is having his ear amputated for some weird reason beyond my understanding", the annoying doctor came in. Kakashi simply stared back at him. Rin came out of her hiding place, relieved that the ruckus was over.
"You have to sleep now; doctor's orders."
"….."
"I'll give you this drug instead. It should help you sleep."
As the drug was sent into the IV, Kakashi asked, "Who are you?"
The doctor paused, than said, "I'm just a doctor, that's all."
That answer didn't appease Kakashi. "I mean, have we met before?"
"Kakashi-san, I think you need to sleep more", the doctor said as he walked out of the room.
Maybe he was feeling crazy, but what gives?
Thump-Thump-Thump-!
He couldn't make a sound as his heart began racing faster-then faster-faster-!
What was going on?!
Heart attack…?
His throat was dry and nothing he did could help it. He wanted to cry out in agony, but the drug…
He was feeling so sleepy…
Beep-Beep-BEEP!
o0o0o0o0o0
The beeping machine warned Rin of the incoming danger. It was so noisy and it made her worry. Jumping up, she saw that the lines showing his heart beat were coming in irregularly. Kakashi himself was breathing harshly, his hands gripping onto the mattress.
Damn, why did she agree to be a cat in the first place?!?!
"Hey Rin, I-Where's the electric thingy that's supposed to bring the heart back!" the doctor raced in. Clawing underneath the bed, Rin found the machine he had vaguely mentioned. Administering two shocks of electricity, Kakashi began to breathe better without interference.
"Now is the best time to do our work without interference. Close the windows, slam the doors, do whatever! Just cover the room in darkness!"
Rin bit onto the drapes and pulled. It was going to be one heck of a recovery.
o0o0o0o0o0
Kakashi was in a strange place. He was standing on a huge river. In front of him, there was a small town. Behind him, there was mist.
The town looked strange, yet had a feel of familiarity. Yes, he should go across.
Yet something told him that he was leaving an important thing behind. Behind him, he had to leave and walk across.
He didn't have to, but what else could he go to?
o0o0o0o0o0
"Where's the feeding tube? It's not under the bed, but where- Oh, thanks."
Rin rolled her eyes. Her friend kept acting weirdly and he wasn't going to change. She was on top of Kakashi's chest injecting some of her chakra into him and taking out the bad substances. The poison was red with his blood and had the consistency of mud. It was sluggish to take out and there was a lot.
The doctor rolled up his sleeves. "I can't believe he actually went that far. I hope that sensei will keep him from harm. I can't look inside his mind now and neither can you. Damn, I hope no one tries to kill him."
o0o0o0o0o0
"Hello there, Kakashi."
The voice came out of nowhere, or it seemed to Kakashi. He was near the shore where the town lay. Looking up, he saw a figure in a black cloak approaching him.
"Do not enter the town. Do not step on the land or you will be lost forever."
He hadn't expected this to come from the stranger's mouth. It wasn't like he could stay on the water forever.
"Why not? Can you please explain better?"
The stranger nodded. "Simply follow and I will explain."
Having no choice, Kakashi followed the stranger across the river the other way. The town behind him eventually vanished in the mist.
o0o0o0o0o0
Kakashi vomited again.
The doctor had administered some of the concoction and had removed the feeding tube to let him digest. His stomach was refusing to take it in and… well, you get the picture.
"Rin, can you make his stomach relax a bit? I'm going to give him the feeding tube again."
Rin concentrated. She was too tired to yell at him and claw his hand. Kakashi's heart was safe and so were most of the organs. She was working on the intestines and the stomach. They were giving her a problem and were pretty tricky to work with.
Who ever said that medical ninjas had it easy?
o0o0o0o0o0
"But where am I?"
"This river is divided between… well; you can call it the living and dead. The town you were going to enter is the realm-no, the place where you usually go when you die. We are now heading back toward where your body lies."
Kakashi jumped slightly. "I'm dead, but why are we going this way?"
The stranger laughed dustily, as if he wasn't used to it. "You are merely in a very deep sleep. Anymore and you would be dead. You are lucky."
"Who are you?"
"You'll know when we reach the other side. But let's just say that I know your friends well."
Kakashi started, anxious to know more.
"You see, I have been with them for some time. In fact, we all have to live under one roof.
"I still remember when Obito came for the first time. He was lost and was in danger of being taken away as a newcomer. So I offered help and he has been doing great.
"Rin came later and Obito saved her before anyone tried to steal her for their own personal uses. That's why I can't let you enter the town. As a spirit not meant to die yet, there would be people who would separate you from your body before its time. You will never be happy and will not be able to go across this river anymore."
"I don't understand."
"I said before, you're merely asleep. Many before you have come here in a deep sleep. My job is to bring you all back to your lives and wait until you can come."
The stranger paused and looked up. The sky was a misty grey.
"Many of the dead have strong regrets that they feel have to be finished before they move on. So they have the privilege of moving across the river without interference. Those that are alive and well can never find this place no matter how hard they try. It's better this way so everyone can enjoy life peacefully.
"Come to think of it, I wonder how your friends are doing right now across the river."
o0o0o0o0o0
Cat and human panted and rested in a chair. It had taken throughout the whole night.
But everything was doing well.
Kakashi was going to live.
That was all they had to know.
o0o0o0o0o0
Kakashi saw the approaching shore. He felt relieved that he was soon going to be back in Konoha. He would be back with the annoying Gai, Iruka, the Sandaime… basically, the place he had always loved.
He turned around and looked at the mist. He was leaving the people he had grown up with. They were dead, they were across the river, probably waiting to meet him again, catch up on old times.
"There is only a 1 chance that you will end up like this again. I suggest that you don't try to come unless you're dead."
Kakashi stepped onto the ground. He turned around and faced the person who had helped him come this far.
"One more thing… I didn't catch your name. You said I would know when we got here."
The stranger didn't reply. Everything started to become darker and the ground was changing.
"Kakashi, you don't recognize me?"
The stranger sounded hurt. Kakashi didn't understand, did he know this person?
"You've known me your whole life and you've forgotten the sound of my voice?"
Kakashi wished that he would say it already. Everything was turning black and he couldn't see his feet anymore. Then his legs…
"It seems that I'll have to arrange another visit."
The blackness was up to his chest…
The stranger removed his hood and looked up.
Kakashi gasped and his mind scrambled for an explanation.
"…D…D… Dad… Dad, is that you?"
White Fang smiled at his son, the Copy Cat ninja. Father and son, Sakumo and Kakashi, kin to the Hatake family… one was dead and the other still alive, mourning for him.
Sakumo lifted his right hand and said, "We'll meet again, son."
The blackness washed Kakashi away and he knew nothing else.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
What do you all think of this little twist I made up?
In case you don't know, Sakumo committed suicide after he failed a mission. (Kakashi was the only witness to this event.) Obito was crushed by a rock slide during a mission, which is how Kakashi got the sharingan. For some reason, no one knows how Rin died except Kishimoto himself.
I plan to make this the second-to-last chapter for this story. So be prepared if the next chapter is the last.
See you all!
