A Night in the Forest
Kakashi was with his team on a simple D rank mission and they were on the way home to Konoha. They had set up a camp for the night, because he wanted some rest for his team. However after the work was done, Kakashi allowed his students to run free for a while because the three genins found it to be very boring to sit in the camp for the entire evening. So Kakashi let the kids go, with the strict warning that they were to stay near the camp and not wander too far away from him. At last Kakashi would have some time to relax himself. He pulled out his Icha Icha book and began reading, while he waited for his little genins to come back.
After one hour, Sakura was the first who came back. She didn't look happy and Kakashi gave her a concerned look as he asked, "Where are Naruto and Sasuke?"
"Sasuke-kun and Naruto got into a new fight and Sasuke-kun ran off because he said both Naruto and I were annoying." Sakura said and bit her lip. "And then I blamed Naruto for that and left him behind."
Kakashi sighed. "How often have I told all three of you that you should learn to get along with each other?"
"I know..." Sakura blushed.
"Besides, you shouldn't run off alone in the forest. It's dangerous. I only allowed it because you promised to stay together." Kakashi said and gave her a firm look.
"Yes, I know... But I guess the boys should arrive soon too." Sakura said and sat down next to the fire.
After a while, Naruto returned to the camp, when it was almost sundown. He saw Kakashi's strict glare and gulped.
"Where have you been for so long?" Kakashi asked. "I've told you not to separate from your teammates."
"It is not my fault, sensei!" Naruto protested with a loud voice. "That bastard left us behind and then Sakura-chan ran away too!"
"Watch your language. And you three are really a handful sometimes. Have you seen Sasuke anywhere? He is not back until now." Kakashi said and looked to the sky, which has gotten darker.
"I don't know where Sasuke is. Maybe he is still sulking." Naruto answered.
Maybe Naruto was right and Sasuke was still annoyed with his teammates and so he wanted to avoid the team for a while longer. Otherwise why would Sasuke risk getting into trouble with him only because of that?
"Don't worry. Sasuke will be back in no time." Naruto said optimistically.
"But what if he wandered off too far?" Sakura asked with worry in her eyes.
"We'll wait for a while longer. I'm sure he had only lost track of time." Kakashi said, determined to give the boy a firm scolding when he showed up.
But time passed and the sky was getting darker. Kakashi couldn't deny any longer that something definitely wasn't right. Something must have happened. He stood up and ordered Naruto and Sakura to stay in the camp, while he would go and look for Sasuke. Maybe the boy wandered too far and now he couldn't find the way back to the camp.
He grabbed his first aid kit just in case of emergency, and after Naruto and Sakura nodded, he vanished into the forest and tried to look for some traces of Sasuke. It was really dark and so he had to pull his headband up, which usually covered his sharingan. With the sharingan, it was a lot easier for him to go forward. It only took him half an hour to finally find some traces. He saw some foot prints but what really worried him was the fact that the place looked as if there was a fight a while ago.
Kakashi grew worried. Damn, he shouldn't have allowed his students to leave the camp. He had no idea what had happened. And as he went further, he could see a pool of blood to his shock. A couple meters away, he suddenly saw the dead body of a big tiger. A lot of kunais were stuck in the body of the animal and it was obvious that Sasuke was the one who was attacked by this dangerous animal. He looked in every direction. Wild animals were a danger for sure; this was one of the reasons why Kakashi had told his students to stay together and not to wander off too far. Usually the animals wouldn't attack humans without a reason.
As he looked to the floor again, he saw a trail of blood on the ground. Kakashi followed the trail and after a couple of minutes, he heard a whimper. It was definitely Sasuke's voice. As he looked in that direction, he could see his student curled up into a ball, between two trees. Kakashi wasted no time as he sprung towards the boy and landed in front of him.
"Sasuke!" He cried, as he saw how bad Sasuke's condition was. Sasuke didn't answer and merely whimpered in pain. Kakashi pulled out an electric torch from his bag so that he could better see in the dark. He could see that his student was hurt really bad. Sasuke had scratches all over his body and his left arm was bleeding really badly.
Kakashi placed his hand on Sasuke's back and tried to get a better look on the boy. Sasuke's leg was also bleeding from a wound on the boy's calf. When he tried to observe the wound, Sasuke pulled himself away from him.
"Sasuke, hold still and let me have a look on you." Kakashi said and tried to get Sasuke to lie down on his back, so that he could have a better look on the boy's injuries. "I need to check on you and treat your wounds."
"No... G..Go away..." Sasuke said between gritted teeth. "It hurts... "
"I know it hurts but I need to check on you, so that I can help you." Kakashi said with a comforting voice. He was damn worried at this moment and to see Sasuke in such amount of pain broke his heart. He tried to lie Sasuke down again.
Sasuke tensed and curled himself together. "Please... It hurts..."
The jonin sensei realized that the boy was already crying and he knew that his student was in a lot of pain. "I'll help you, I promise. But Sasuke, you need to cooperate so that I can fix the damage. I know it hurts, it has to be."
Kakashi placed his hands under Sasuke's arms and placed the boy carefully on his back, then he restrained Sasuke with his left arm, so that he could have a better look on the boy. The scratches on the boy's body seemed to be harmless and the wound on Sasuke's calf didn't seem as big as he had thought at first. But his arm... He got bitten on his arm and the wound was really deep. Kakashi narrowed his eyes in concern as he grabbed his first aid kit and placed the electric torch on the floor so that he could have a perfect look on his student. He disinfected his hands and pulled some gloves from his first aid kit before putting them on. Sasuke tried to shriek as Kakashi came near again, but this time he grabbed the boy and held him back in place.
"Please don't touch it!" Sasuke whimpered. "It hurts so much!"
He could see how tears appeared in Sasuke's eyes and he wanted to do something to comfort the boy, but on the other hand, he must take action or Sasuke could die because he had lost a big amount of blood.
"I'm sorry." Kakashi said as he grabbed Sasuke's arm and began cleaning the wound with alcohol. The scream which followed broke Kakashi's heart. He knew how much pain it was from experience and if he could, he would rather endure the pain on Sasuke's behalf. But he had no other choice. "Shh. You'll be fine. I promise..." Kakashi said with a soothing tone, but he didn't need to look at Sasuke's face to know that Sasuke didn't believe him and that the boy was crying.
He heard Sasuke's sobs but he continued with his work because he had to hurry. When the wound was clean, Kakashi began to bandage the wound. A medic nin would be able to heal the boy but he wasn't a medic nin and so he could only treat the boy until he could bring him into a hospital. After his arm was bandaged, he grabbed Sasuke's ankle and placed his leg on his lap so that he could treat the wound. When he began cleaning the wound with alcohol, Sasuke cried again, and tried to pull his leg away but Kakashi had a firm hold on his ankle.
"It's almost done. Bear with it a little longer." Kakashi said and tried to comfort his student, but he already knew that Sasuke wasn't listening to his words; the pain was too much to bear for a child of Sasuke's age. He could hear Sasuke's sobs and he tried to hurry but the treatment needed some time and he knew that his little Uchiha had no other choice than to go through this. But then suddenly Sasuke stopped crying at once and Kakashi's head shot up and looked concerned at his student. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that Sasuke's eyes were closed and his face was really pale. Without hesitation, he grabbed Sasuke's wrist to check his pulse. And he was so relieved when he felt a strong pulse. Sasuke only passed out because of the pain, blood lost and exhaustion. Maybe it was better for Sasuke, because he didn't need to bear the pain any longer.
Kakashi proceeded to bandage Sasuke's calf and treated the rest of his wounds as fast as he could. Nevertheless Sasuke was in no good condition and he had to hurry to bring the boy to a hospital. He had never been in such a situation before. Ever since he became the sensei of Team 7, his students had only gotten some minor injuries, and it was his first time to see one of his students in such a bad condition. Like every other sensei, Kakashi felt desperate. He was their sensei, the three of them were placed under his care and he felt responsible for what happened to Sasuke.
He placed the boy carefully in his arms and carried him back to the camp. They couldn't stay overnight here. That was impossible because they needed a medic nin to heal Sasuke and they couldn't waste a night in the forest. Kakashi knew that Naruto and Sakura were exhausted but they had no other choice.
As he arrived at the camp, Naruto and Sakura ran towards him at once.
"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled. "Where have you been for so long? And where is..." The blond boy became silent when he saw his unconscious teammate in Kakashi's arms.
"What happened?" Sakura cried and placed her hand before her mouth, because she was too shocked.
"I'll explain later. Please pack your things and then we have to go. We need to bring Sasuke to a hospital." Kakashi said.
Naruto and Sakura quickly packed their things and hurried to Kakashi's side. Then they ran in the direction of the next town.
"Sensei!" Sakura said. "Will he be alright? I... I mean will Sasuke be alright?"
"Don't worry, I've already treated his wounds. He is only exhausted, that's all. But after a medic have a look on him, he'll be fine." Kakashi answered and tried to comfort himself with his own words. He looked at Sasuke and he could see how the sweat covered his student's pale face. His breathing was heavy but it was there. Sasuke wasn't in a life threatening condition but he wasn't okay either. Kakashi wished he could reach this damn town in an instant. Both Naruto and Sakura also did the best they could to keep up. After an hour or two, they finally reached the town. Kakashi instructed his two students to look for a place to stay for the night.
"But sensei..." Naruto tried to protest. He wanted to go with Kakashi, to make sure Sasuke would be alright, but Kakashi interrupted him.
"No, Naruto. Please do what I say. Sasuke need treatment and rest, you two would be only in the way." Kakashi said and his voice sounded tired. He didn't wait for his students to answer as he turned around and ran to the hospital.
Naruto wanted to follow his sensei as he was not satisfied with his given task. Sasuke was their teammate, Sakura and him were worried too. It was their right to stay with him too!
Sakura put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "Kakashi sensei is right, Naruto. What we can help Sasuke most is to look for a place to stay and let the medics do their work. We will only be a nuisance."
With a heavy heart, Naruto nodded. Maybe Kakashi and Sakura were right.
Meanwhile Kakashi had brought Sasuke to the hospital. The medics had taken Sasuke from him and brought him to a separate room. He waited patiently outside and counted the minutes. After a while, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a loud and painful cry. It was obvious that this cry came from Sasuke and his heart throbbed painfully with the thought that Sasuke was in pain again. At least Sasuke seemed to be conscious again.
A second cry reached his ears and Kakashi couldn't bear the fact that he couldn't do anything for his student any longer. And so he pushed the door open and stepped into the examination room.
The sight hurts him. Two medics held Sasuke down, while another healed his arm wound with his chakra. It was a painful procedure when the chakra was pushed into the wound and Kakashi knew how much the boy suffered in this moment.
The medic gave Kakashi a look, and told him to leave the room again as he continued to push his chakra into Sasuke's deep wound. The result was a loud cry of agony. Kakashi couldn't bear it any longer but in the same time, he knew the medics only did that to help Sasuke. However he didn't leave the room because he wouldn't let Sasuke went through that alone. He wanted to be there for him. Without another word, he stepped towards the examination table, where Sasuke was, and placed his hand on Sasuke's head, while he grabbed Sasuke's free hand with his own.
"What do you want?" the medic asked. "We need to hurry and we don't need any distraction."
"I won't distract you; I only want to be here for him. He is still a child and this is too much to bear for him alone." Kakashi said and let his fingers slid through Sasukes unruly hair. The boy's hair was wet from sweat.
To his surprise, the medic nodded. The two medics strengthened their hold on Sasuke, as the third medic was ready to continue with his work.
Sasuke knew what this meant. Shortly after he was awake and his vitals were steady again, the medics had begun with this painful treatment and the end was not in sight. Sasuke was desperate, he couldn't bear with this any longer. He realized that Kakashi was there and he looked up with pleading eyes as the medic got ready to continue. "Please... Make them stop! I can't bear it any longer..."
"I'm sorry, Sasuke." Was the only answer Kakashi could give to his suffering student. And a second later, Sasuke cried again after the medic began with the treatment again.
Kakashi closed his eyes and tried to block out Sasukes cries and in the same time, he tried to comfort his student with soothing words. "Shh. You'll be fine. You'll make it, I know it. You're such a strong boy."
He knew that he couldn't do more in that situation besides trying to comfort Sasuke and be there for him. The procedure continued for a couple of minutes, and after the medics were finally finished, the medic bandaged Sasuke's arm again. Meanwhile Sasuke was crying and the boy bit his lips, a desperate attempt not to break down into childish sobs. Kakashi willed his tears away and looked at the medic.
"His arm will be alright, don't worry." the medic said and smiled for the first time. "We will fix his leg and then he can finally rest."
Sasuke stiffened after he heard these words. He couldn't bear with that again! He looked at his sensei, but Kakashi only gave him a serious nod and Sasuke knew it had to be done. He was a smart boy and he knew that he needed this treatment, but that didn't change the fact that he was suffering. He only wished that this torture would end!
Kakashi held Sasuke down on his shoulders, while the two medics grabbed his ankles. Sasuke knew he couldn't escape from this and so he tried to brace himself to go through this again. The medic started and Sasuke cried again. Fresh tears appeared in his eyes and he tried to push himself up, but Kakashi and the medic had a firm hold of him. The procedure only lasted for a couple of minutes, because this wound was not as deep as the wound on his arm. Sasuke was so relieved when the medics finally finished and Kakashi felt the same.
After that Sasuke was brought into another room, so that he could finally rest. When Sasuke was tucked in on the bed, he fell asleep almost at once. Kakashi sent Pakkun to Naruto and Sakura, because he didn't want to leave Sasuke alone. The shock still sat in his bones and he tried to calm down. He closed his eyes and mumbled. "I'm so glad..."
After many hours, Sasuke finally woke up again. He blinked because the light hurt his eyes and looked directly to the relieved face of his sensei.
"How are you feeling?" Kakashi asked, concerned.
"Okay... I guess..." Sasuke mumbled and noticed how dry his throat was.
Kakashi seemed to know what Sasuke thought and helped the boy up to a sitting position and placed a cup with water on Sasuke's lips carefully. Sasuke gulped down the water hastily.
"Hey, slowly. You'll choke yourself." Kakashi quickly said.
Sasuke ignored his sensei's warning and gulped down the rest of the water. "How long have I been sleeping?"
"Only a couple of hours." Kakashi said and placed the cup on the table. "You have frightened me so much. How did this happened, Sasuke?"
"I wandered off too far... I guess, I accidentally went into the territory of the tiger..." Sasuke explained.
"That's why I told you three to stay together and not wander too far away." Kakashi said and his tone automatically changed into a scolding and strict tone. "You could be dead, Sasuke! Only because you were so stupid to be separated from your teammates and ignored my orders!"
"I know... And I'm sorry. But I have never seen a tiger and he was so beautiful. I was so fascinate that I let my guard completely down. I have observed him for a while, but then he noticed me and attacked suddenly..." Sasuke said and gulped as he recalled the memory. "It's so sad that I have to kill him... He was really so beautiful..."
Kakashi's eyes widened out from surprise. He thought he had heard Sasuke wrong. Had Sasuke really said this? His Sasuke who was always so distant, who was obsessed with revenge, regretted that he had killed an animal? He couldn't help but smiled under his mask. His anger almost vanished once he heard these words from Sasuke. And he realized that Sasuke was still a child. The way that Sasuke thought wasn't different from Naruto, Sakura or any other twelve-year-old and Kakashi was thankful for that.
"Don't worry. You killed him not on purpose. It was necessary or else you would be dead now." Kakashi said.
Sasuke nodded. "I know."
"But don't ever do that again." Kakashi warned. "Never scare me like that again."
"Yes..."
And with that, Kakashi bent forward and pulled Sasuke into a hug.
"I'm glad you're alright." He finally said. And all was forgiven.
Special thank to een nihc for her great help :)