The Konoha High drama club acted out a history they barely knew in the elementary school's dark auditorium under the bright spotlights. Their acting wasn't the best but the hints of comedy that were sprinkled throughout were helpful at keeping them awake.

Kushina was shifting in the seat next to Tsunade, looking uncomfortable and upset. From the outside looking in, it seemed like she was too pregnant to be comfortable in the stiff plastic chairs. While that may have been a big factor, it was unmistakable the way she would glance back at the entrance and how they'd left a seat empty next to Minato.

Tsunade could feel her motherly disappointment from miles away and she remembered the first time she'd confronted Kakashi about being late or not showing up. It was a lesson she'd learned about parenting the hard way; just because they don't show up for dinner, doesn't mean they don't love you. They just made more important plans.

On the other hand, she wondered if the play itself was making Kushina uneasy too. Tsunade knew that most of it was fabricated and silly but she did like how spot-on they'd been about the star-crossed lovers who managed to survive in the end. They did play her grandfather in a very soft way that usually gave her a good laugh but there were people around them who were distracting her this time.

Around them, there were tons of teens giggling and whispering to each other as they normally did. It made her wonder which of them had been involved with what had happened last Monday and what words were said. She'd left Kakashi to sleep in when they left a few hours ago.

Just like Kushina, she hoped that he would show up but she wouldn't get her hopes up any higher, especially with the people surrounding them. If Iruka wasn't there either, it probably meant that those two were goofing off somewhere, a soothing reminder to her worries.

Vibrating in her pocket drew her attention down for a moment. Her pager was showing an emergency surgery for as soon as possible. Jiraiya already had noticed and she quickly whispered a word to Kushina who nodded, "Good luck."

It was only a dozen minutes later after she left that Minato's phone buzzed and he too excused himself.

Sharing a look, Jiraiya and Kushina followed their gut and Minato out of the auditorium. Just as he held the door open for her, cell phones started ringing and buzzing one by one in the audience. With a worried exchange of looks, they left before they could get lost in the chaos that was erupting.

"Minato?" Kushina's worry made the young man turn to them, his face even paler under the fluorescent hallway lights.

"We have to go."


"We've kept him as stable as possible," A nurse was explaining as Tsunade suited up in her scrubs, readying for a long night on the table.

"Car accident, huh?" She asked as they headed to the emergent care wing and the operating room that was waiting for them.

"Yeah, completely ejected from the car."

"And the patient?" Tsunade had heard their condition was bad: internal bleeding, broken bones, punctured lung and a lot more. They had to call in every doctor and surgeon in the county and beyond to come in and help. It was amazing that the kid was even still alive. There was still hope for them but their chances were so slim at this point.

"Young, probably still a teenager. Their face is pretty beat up. No identification on them. Just a box of chalk. Couldn't find any emergency contacts."

"Weird." Tsunade said, her mind going into full analytical mode in preparation for surgery and the long night ahead even though the night ahead looked very grim.

Rounding the corner, she saw the figures sitting on plastic chairs by the surgery room entrance. As usual, she didn't look at them; a form of bad luck in her superstitious mind.

Still dripping from the rain, Gai and Anko watched as completely ignored them and strode through the double doors. It was only a few seconds later that they heard voices of concern. The doors slid back open as Tsunade pressed through them slowly. As she looked over and realised who was sitting by the sidelines, a confused nurse tried to ask her what was wrong but she vaguely told them, "That's my boy."

Without saying anything for a long time, she stood there swaying as if on the brink of passing out but she steeled herself. This was just another patient. That broken, dying boy on the operating table wasn't Kakashi. He was just another patient and she would do everything in her power to calmly and carefully patch him back up. And if she couldn't, she had other ways. Just breathe, she told herself. No tears or falling apart, not this time.

She stormed back into the surgery room and the light above the waiting teenagers' heads turned red.

Sitting there, they waited.

And waited.

All the while, the last one of their soaked trio stayed far away, crouched and leaning up against the next corner barely visible but within earshot of everything.


Night sky twinkled up in between the arms of the trees. The night was still, quieter than it had been in months but there were still a few crickets off in the distance. It should have smelled heavily like damp ground and leaves but everything was blurred. There was just the patch of sky above him like a peek at the world beyond.

It blurred everything else. The smells were dulled and what should have been a chill breeze was muffled into vague feelings. It felt like he was under water but he could see that singular spot of sky as if he were looking through a telescope.

The stars were so beautiful tonight, stronger than ever. Why was he looking at stars?

With a blink, it felt wrong. There was something missing.

Like slowly coming out of a daydream, the window of his focus grew wider and the forest around him came into view. One way, there was just trees as far as his eyes could see. As he turned, the glimpses of grey through the trees got more and more pronounced until the road was just a few feet away.

There was a tall tree to his left. Near his hip, the bark had been violently ripped away. There was a bright, cherry-red streak where it should have been and it reminded him of something.

Something had happened there, something familiar but strange.

When he looked back at the road, it was day outside. The sky was full of white, fluffy clouds and the sky was so bright behind them. How long had he been there for? How long had he been staring at the forest?

Everything seemed to blend together and it was so heavy. He just wanted to close his eyes and rest a little. Just a moment and he would feel much more awake.

And he did. When he opened his eyes, he could properly concentrate and the world was a lot clearer.

But he wasn't in the woods anymore and it wasn't day. The sun was falling just beyond the treeline and he was at home. The fireplace was cold. The house was quiet. There was no one else home. At least that was what he thought until a bundled-up figure shuffled to the coffee maker and started a pot for brewing. Tsunade sat at the kitchen table and Kakashi could see from where he was sitting that she was exhausted. Her age was even beginning to show a little, under eyes dark and hands trembling.

She looked sad and upset. He wondered why.

"Tsunade?" He asked but his voice fell on deaf ears. Again, he called out her name but there was no response.

She couldn't hear him.

She didn't even flinch.

For some reason, it bothered him. It didn't feel like she was ignoring him.

There was a spark out of the corner of his eye and Jiraiya was lighting a fire. He hadn't even seen him pass by.

The sparks jumped onto the paper and wood until the logs were burning brightly. When he looked over to the kitchen again, everything was different. The sun was gone. The table was pushed to the side and so was the fridge. From the opening that led down into the basement, warm candlelight spilled out and so did voices.

"Tsunade," Jiraiya pleaded but there was no response except for the sounds of glass on glass as Tsunade stepped up the stairs with her arms full of greenery and jars. After setting them on the table, she went back down for more all the while ignoring him.

"Let me come with you."

The light was snuffed out and they both climbed up into the dark kitchen. Kakashi couldn't see their faces but he could tell that his offer wasn't a light one.

"Okay," She nodded.

He watched as they methodically went through the jars and carefully bagged them in small portions. It was like watching her portion out food and he remembered where he was. He was home. This was where he'd lived for his entire life, part of his routine.

He was forgetting something.

There was something he had to do.

What was it? What was he missing?

It didn't have to do with Tsunade, someone who he loved and cared about. He was trying to find that part of his routine that was missing.

Gai. That felt odd. There was something about Gai that he felt terrified about. And yet, there was something not quite right with the idea of Gai being part of his routine. He thought to at least try and find Gai.

As if on the end of a taut rubber band that was suddenly let go, Kakashi was pulled backward. Quick as it had started, the movement stopped and he was somewhere completely different. It was a familiar feeling, like how he was able to get places quickly while spirit walking. familiar were the clean, white walls he was looking at too.

Instead of home, he was now standing in the hospital corridors of Konoha General. The windows to one side were still dark and looked down onto a parking lot but there was light coming from the door to his other side.

The small window of the private patient room had been covered with a dark paper but there was what seemed like candlelight flickering from the cracks. Faintly, the sound of voices whispering could be heard inside. He wondered where he was and why they sounded so familiar. It sounded like two people, a man and a woman.

It was only a few seconds in his time before the light and paper were suddenly gone. That was when he realised that he wasn't all there. Reality was bent in a weird way around him. Everything was blurring together but still very clear in some parts. How could he have just been with Tsunade and Jiraiya at home but was now watching her leave a hospital room at work?

He was spirit walking, he realised. There was something very different about this though. He felt wildly out of control.

He suddenly wasn't looking at Tsunade and Jiraiya right outside the hospital room anymore. Instead, there was a group of teenagers standing there.

"Something probably ran out into the road," Anko answered, looking more tired than anyone else there.

"How's Gai?"

"Quiet," Was all she had to say.

Aoba swore but the others were as quiet.

"What's he doing here?" Genma finally asked, staring Anko down until she snapped.

"He's a friend. Maybe if you weren't such an asshole then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess," She could tell her words bit the way Genma looked away and retreated into himself.

They all did.

"He stood up for someone who couldn't."

They looked up from their self-pity to find Gai, someone who they'd bullied beyond belief when they were younger. His words didn't fall on deaf ears. They were heard loud and clear because they all had one thing in common.

Maybe that was what made Genma turn and head out, frustrated and confused with himself and the world around him.

The rest of them were left deflated and ashamed.

Who were they talking about?

There was something very, very wrong and he felt so dizzy, a cold panic swelling for a second at the realisation that he was forgetting something important. If he was spirit walking, he had to find his body. Where was his body?

The question was left hanging in the air.

He tried to think of being there, next to himself but he didn't move.

And then it dawned on him where he was. He was outside a hospital room. The panic slowly ebbed away. Oddly enough, he was smart enough to know what was going on and the more it made sense, the more he felt the fear fade.

Slowly, he started to remember the last few weeks. He remembered the things he'd said and done, the people he'd met and the mess that he'd gotten himself into. As he stepped through the door to the patient's room, he remembered swerving and losing control of the truck.

He could barely recognise himself in the bed across from the door. It felt like he was looking at someone else, another person whose whole body was bandaged and bruised beyond imagination. It didn't feel right to be there. This was the source of where things felt wrong. How was he even alive?

Everything was numb.

And he walked back out.

At least Gai didn't seem to hate him, he thought to himself with a relief that felt like the world's weight was off his shoulders. He seemed to side with Anko of all people and Kakashi remembered the conversation they'd had at the grocery store. They used to butt heads all the time. He let out a laugh in the empty halls at everything, knowing that no one could hear him anyway.

Jiraiya's prophecy had come true. He did crash but at least he wasn't dead yet. His body was still going. Kind of.

He couldn't go back to it just yet. He didn't want to. He needed a breath of fresh air. Moving through walls and doors, the air outside made no difference. He couldn't breathe it, he couldn't even smell or touch.

Out in the open space of the parking lot, he watched the people passing him by and the cars going in and out.

The world around him was moving and still going without him. It was almost peaceful to just watch everyone go about their day. Even though he wasn't a part of it.

There were things though that felt like they were creeping up on the horizon. Something was brewing in the air. He couldn't shiver but a cold wave through his spirit felt very similar to eyes staring down the back of his neck. Scanning the entrance of the hospital and everything beyond, he couldn't see any shadows that looked out of place. It only gave a small ease to the uncertainty.

His body was incapacitated. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't go back yet. There wasn't anything he could do in a body that was broken and would probably be in a coma for a while, he could tell that much from what he'd seen of himself. At least he could watch and follow even if others couldn't see him.

There was one person who could though.

As soon as he thought of Iruka, aching bloomed in his ghostly chest into his entire body. It was almost like being homesick. A thread that had always been there being pulled tight and drawing him in. How could he forget about Iruka?

Holding onto that yearning, he followed its path. It didn't lead him back towards home though. It went right back into the hospital and to his room. Through the door, he could feel that link pulling him in but a bit of doubt made him stop.

A set of dark eyes turning away from him and Iruka's voice telling him to call Gai back reminded Kakashi of where their relationship had been left. He didn't know how long it had been since he'd been out or what had happened since then but he hoped that Iruka would at least talk to him. Pushing aside the doubt, he remembered Iruka's rare grins and wanted to be near him more than ever.

Letting himself be drawn in, the door slid through him and he moved into the quiet room. His body was still there and beating beyond comprehension but he couldn't look at himself. While his own body was pushing him away, the person sitting just next to it was what drew him in.

His hair mussed and falling in shaggy curls, Iruka shoulders were sagged and curling into his body. Hands meekly laying in his lap, his whole body looked like it hated being there just as much as Kakashi did. It caught him by surprise to realise that the bloom in his chest burned brighter than before just by the sight of Iruka, he almost felt nervous.

The soft beeping of his comatose body's pulse was the only real sound inside the room until Kakashi heard the sniff.

Stepping around the bed to face Iruka, he found that the tears and runny nose were a welcomed balm to soothe away his previous worries. As much as it was relieving that Iruka still cared about him, he hated how it had come to this.

He'd never cried when someone else did. Seeing the heavy rolling tears falling from Iruka's dark lashes and passed pursed lips that were holding back louder hiccups, would have been his tipping point. If ghosts could cry, he would have been holding back tears but he couldn't.

It felt worse than seeing his own comatose body in some ways and he couldn't help himself. All it took was his hand moving out and using whatever energy he had to make contact with the empty chair, anchoring his invisible soul to the visible world.

Like a breath of fresh, outdoor air, he felt himself there in the room more than ever.

"Hey," He heard himself whisper and this time his words were heard. Like struck by lightning, Iruka's casted hand froze up by his nose. Watery but bright and amazed eyes lifted. The shock slowly fell away to relief and Kakashi suddenly felt at peace more than ever, almost sleepy.

Hand falling away, Iruka's crackling voice finally chuckled back, "Hey."

Kakashi didn't know how much Iruka could see of him but he hoped that Iruka could at least see how fond his smile was.

Tears came back with twice the power and Iruka ducked his head in embarrassment. Kakashi wished Iruka would yell at him and get mad, anything that would help the guilt that he was feeling.

"You were gone," Kakashi heard faintly. Iruka didn't mean his living body. He didn't know what Iruka had seen or what had happened while he was out but it looked like it'd been rough. There wasn't much of anything that he could do, he realised. Ever since he'd been thrown out of his body, the passage of time seemed twisted. Even with Iruka, he was feeling the world starting to blur at the edges.

"I'm here now," He offered and that seemed to help even though he felt like it wouldn't be true for long.

"Yeah," Iruka whispered with a small laugh, his lips curling up softly. "You kinda are."

Time shifted around him again after he felt a wave of exhaustion roll over him but this time it was subtler. The only differences were Iruka's sudden change in expression from affectionately smiling to concern and the shifting of daylight outside. It was like suddenly jumping ahead a few seconds in a video.

Iruka's worried brow told him that he wasn't the only one to notice. "Kakashi. You should really get back."

Glancing at the unconscious young man between them, he shook his head truthfully. "Not now. I don't think I'd be able to wake up for a while anyway."

Iruka seemed to understand but that didn't stop his troubled stare. Kakashi normally would feel weird having someone stare at him but he didn't mind it this time.

"You're different."

Looking down at himself for the first time, Kakashi could see the clothes he was wearing the morning he'd crashed. It had been thing he'd thrown on quickly, stuff that he didn't think of putting on. "Kind of rushed out."

"No, it's your soul." Iruka said slowly, eyes narrowing curiously. Abruptly, he asked, "What happened that morning?"

The dream from the night before and the fear flooded him for a second under Iruka's gaze but he reminded himself it was days ago even though it didn't feel like it. "Dreams. She was in them. It was like she knew things that no one else knew. It was like she was in my head."

"Your soul was gone for almost five days." A dark cloud rolled over Iruka's face and they both remembered the situation they were in. There wasn't much Kakashi could do but sit and watch. He was on the outside looking in, walking amongst others but unable to be real.

Maybe that was what he'd been doing his whole life.

With his shoulders heavy and weary from the exhaustion it took to hook himself down to the physical world, Kakashi felt himself falling away. He was so tired. He just wanted to close his eyes for a bit.

"Feeling tired."

"Kakashi?"

Words falling on deaf ears, it wasn't until the vision in jeans and a hoodie flickered away again that Iruka noticed what he'd missed when Kakashi first appeared.

Drifting in the air, the smallest aura he'd ever seen hovered about where Kakashi had been. It was smaller than the nail of his index finger but it glowed like magma. As if compressed down to its smallest form, Kakashi's soul hung there just to Iruka's side.

It suddenly stopped in mid-air from its hovering. Just as Kakashi's spirit had done a few minutes before, the bead of energy froze and faded away slightly. And then the beep of the heart monitor suddenly hiccupped and climbed. Before the machine could even start its long screech, Iruka was out the door calling for a nurse.

Seconds later, a pair of nurses rushed in with a crash cart. One of the nurses was pulling away tubes and cables while the other pulled open the hospital gown and prepped the defibrillator. Another nurse had showed up and was pulling Iruka aside.

It was all happening so quickly and suddenly one of the nurses was calling for clear. Everyone in the room froze and backed away from the bed as the nurse pressed the pads of the crash cart to the erratic heartbeat. There was a beep and Iruka watched for the fifth time that week as Kakashi's limp body was shocked in restarting.

The whole time he simply watched the spot where Kakashi's soul had flickered away, hands balled tightly around his dirty cast and trying hard not to think of anything at all. He remembered tripping through the forest and Gai helping him up but the rest was a blank.

A glow finally appeared, the shine of the young Hatake's soul bigger and less bound up as before. Shaken but relieved, Iruka slipped out of the room for fresh air.

That hadn't happened in a while. He'd been stable for almost three full days now ever since Tsunade had taken matters into her own hands. Iruka didn't know what rite or ritual she'd done and how strong it was. There had been a barrier around the room at the time, stopping him from invisibly sneaking in. It had stabilised Kakashi's weak form at the time.

Whatever she had done though was fading and he had to talk to tell her.

He didn't know if Kakashi's soul being so small had anything to do with it but it didn't seem like it was any less than before. His spirit still felt the same just… Pressed together or tightened up, if that was possible.

It was all so weird. Everything was so out of balance and off kilter, like floating around stranded in the middle of an ocean.

The worst part of it all though was that it felt like someone was constantly watching him and he couldn't see her. He'd started biking back to the tree outside of town limits but it didn't feel right to be there alone anymore. Sleeping was something he only did when he was in the car with Minato driving and that had happened even less.

Tired and anxious were the worst combinations even though he had been used to it before. This time he knew what was missing and that made Iruka miss the silver-haired country boy all the more.

At least Kakashi wasn't dead. That had been the worst feeling. At least now he could relax a bit.


When Kakashi was back again, the feeling of coming out of a dream was becoming familiar. Everything became quickly clear. He was in the same place he'd left off.

The daylight outside the windows was gone and the only real light came from the light-bar above his body's head. It made his hair look white like an older man. It made him recall someone else he'd seen like that and he pushed that memory away. It was a reminder of his own morality and how close his body looked to death.

Memories aside, there were other things to worry about. Seeing Iruka had showed him that life was moving on without him. This didn't just include his neighbours though. With his accident, anyone he knew could be targeted.

A quick thought brought him onto a nostalgic strip of road.

Leading around the southern outskirts of town, the cracked pave curved on as dark branches bent over its path, draping down from high above. Warm lights from the deep-set houses spilled out onto the dark street and he could see the twinkling of fireflies pulsing in and out. Gai's house was just up ahead a few blocks and they would often pass down this very road on their way to the rivers up north.

Like he had many times before, Gai was strolling up ahead of him but Kakashi noticed his friend wasn't alone.

There was an awkward atmosphere between Gai and Iruka but not because of each other's presence but because Gai was prodding Iruka who seemed very intent on keeping his mouth shut.

"Come on, Iruka." He pleaded but Iruka's shoulders just went up higher as they walked along. Moving up by Iruka's side, he could see the way Iruka's cheeks were stained red and he wondered what was going on.

Iruka almost whined back but blushed even deeper when he found Kakashi's soul floating along beside them. With renewed embarrassment and adamant refusal, the brown pony-tailed teen in tight jeans huffed, "I am not talking about this with you."

Gai's stepped suddenly stopped and they both looked back. Arms crossed and looking frustrated, Gai surprised them both by saying softly, "It's just… He's my best friend."

Kakashi had never had a crush on Gai and never would but he did love him dearly.

"Well," They heard Iruka say and his back was to Gai but Kakashi could see the soft smile on his lips. "You're his best friend too."

They started walking again as Iruka said carefully, "And I think that you should talk to him about it when he's awake."

Lost in his thoughts, Gai nodded and they kept on going down the street until they parted at Gai's driveway with a friendly wave.

"You two are getting along," He said as Iruka continued on and he watched Iruka purse his lips.

"You know, I can still hear you even if you're not appearing as yourself."

"Oh, I know." He couldn't help but feel very pleased at ruffling Iruka's feathers. "So, what was that about?"

The blush faded slightly to Kakashi's dismay and Iruka seemed to relax, knowing that Kakashi hadn't heard the most of it.

"Guess you'll hear about it when you wake up." Iruka's sly grin was a warming feeling and they kept going down the street together, Iruka walking and Kakashi moving alongside him.

"Tsunade's really worried." Iruka finally admitted and Kakashi knew that he would have to check up on her.

"Could you let her know I'm okay?"

Iruka nodded faintly as if wanting to say something but not knowing the words. Then he let whatever he was thinking go and instead said, "We're all worried about you."

Lights dim from the houses lining the street, Iruka didn't look up but Kakashi's didn't have to see his face completely to know that he wanted to be right there with Iruka. He could just float next to him and watch with a sad weight on his heart that dragged him down into that tired feeling from before.

"I'm still here." He finally said and Iruka smiled softly.

"Yeah." There was a sadness there though.

It felt like Iruka wasn't telling him everything but sadly that wasn't new.

Iruka had been on his own through almost everything. He'd lone-wolfed it for this long with minimal help from Kushina and Minato but things seemed to be progressively getting worse as it got closer to the baby's due date. They could both feel it in the air even though Kakashi couldn't feel anything physical. It felt like there wasn't enough time.

He didn't know what would've happened if he hadn't been there to watch Iruka fall off the bridge and to drive out to him, what she would've done. Kakashi did have first-hand experience at being manipulated emotionally by her through the dream she'd made and that was when she wasn't even visible in real life. Maybe they had been creations from his own mind but her image appearing to him in the middle of the street when he was so shook up felt too coincidental.

Oh, it was morning already. Alone in the middle of Gai's street, he watched a car pass just next to him and he shivered. He was suddenly in the hospital by his body.

Sun streamed through the curtains and an attendant was in his hospital room, changing his IV bag. How much time had passed since the car crash? It felt like it had been years but at the same time such a short time ago.

He hoped he hadn't been lost in thought for weeks. He felt bad for suddenly leaving Iruka in the middle of the street and not getting to talk as much as he'd wanted about everything like Kushina, her powers and what Jiraiya had said about the source of her powers being a demon.

His room hadn't changed since he'd left except the bed was made and clothes had been left folded on his dresser. Moving through the house, he couldn't find any indication of dates. It was apparently around noon though so at least he had that.

The guest room door swinging through him was a shock at first. Kakashi's surprise slowly ebbed away as he watched Jiraiya walk off to the kitchen, leaving the guest room and his laptop open.

And that was exactly what Kakashi was looking for. Sliding into the room, he quickly scanned the fancy technology for dates and time until he found it: just before midnight on October 8th, a full week after the crash and on a Monday when Tsunade would be taking a night shift. Even though it didn't feel like days, it was easier to grasp onto time when he wasn't connecting it to how time felt around him.

And then the pages open on Jiraiya's laptop became very clear and he realised what he was reading.

How could he forget that one of Tsunade's closest friends was a pervert and closet erotica writer? As distracting as Iruka had been after his findings, he still remembered what he'd read from Icha Icha and how very similar it to their spot in the fields. Words like sauna and honeymoon were words that popped out with the same main character. As much as he felt he'd spoiled himself for later issues, he couldn't help but wander back to wondering what Jiraiya had seen in their spot and if anything else in those books related to visions of himself or people he knew.

It was a such a weird and intriguing new fact of life. But mainly it was creepy.


Iruka pulled his face out of the forest dirt. He was shaking, arms trembling to press himself back up but he was losing all strength. This couldn't be happening, not after he'd just pushed Kakashi away. It couldn't have all been for nothing. He wanted to throw up.

"Iruka." At his side, Gai was holding his elbow and pulling him to his feet but Iruka couldn't tell where he'd been headed anymore. The world around him was starting to spin a little, losing control.

"The road is that way," Gai was pointing straight ahead, opposite from the elementary school yard they'd come from with the same dread.

With a nod, they started off again in a run that was much more careful this time, spurred on by the need to get there as quick as possible. Their heads were ringing with the same screech of metal they'd heard from Gai's phone.

Through the forest, the grey of pavement poked through and Iruka ran just a little faster as rain started coming down heavily beyond the trees. Breaking out onto the road, the street was bare with no cars on the road. Rain beat down against the pave and soaked him instantly to the bone but he was already numb. For as far as the eyes could see through the heavy rain, there were only trees even until the road curved up ahead out of sight.

Iruka knew they were close though, he could feel it. While Gai broke out of the trees behind him, he headed through the heavy showers further up the street, away from the elementary school and towards the corner store that was up the street from home. Scanning and following the road's curve, Anko finally ran out into the street behind them in a swearing mess.

"Iruka?" She panted after them but Gai was following Iruka's lead.

The road ahead that was out of view slowly grew closer until they saw the black tire marks on the pave as thunder clapped. Iruka couldn't breathe.

Leading into the woods' edge, the black smears were peppered by scraps of metal and glass that led all the way up to the pickup that was curled around a tree, facing them. It looked like the vehicle had rolled over before hitting the tree, every inch of it was scratched and crushed beyond belief. The windshield was smashed out, it was missing most of its doors and the front bumper was ripped off. There was no way in hell that it was ever going to be driving down a street again. It was just a piece of scrap metal now.

A gasp from Anko was heard and Gai was suddenly sweeping by Iruka, sprinting to the crash site.

"Call nine, one, one," He heard himself distantly say, his whole mind going into panic mode as his legs ran after Gai.

Their shoes crunched over glass but neither of them heard through the rain or cared. Gai was circling the truck over to the driver's side where the door had been ripped off its hinges to be left in the road somewhere.

There was no sign of Kakashi or where he could have gone and Gai was stunned by finding nothing, as if too afraid to look elsewhere but Iruka wasn't in his own mind anymore.

The trees around them were all untouched other than that one and he ran his eyes over the wreckage around them, looking over leaves and grass. Bits of plastic and metal were strewn about, glass catching his eye too. And then there was the blood and his heart was gone.

He didn't need to call Gai, he had probably made a gasp or just the sound of his quick steps alerted Gai.

Not far away, about a handful of feet away, there was a shock of silver hair. The grass around his body was etched and scratched from the impact but the body that made those marks was far worse.

Lying on his side, Iruka couldn't see his face but his hoodie and jeans were ripped and stained in ways that suggested very bad things. He didn't want to get any closer but Gai hadn't even moved from the wreck. There was a part of Iruka that was frozen, but he thought faintly that he should check for a pulse and then do CPR.

Without thinking twice, he carefully kneeled next to the body. Recalling what he'd been taught back when he'd taken babysitting courses, his shaking fingers touched the pale neck that was already showing signs of bruising. He didn't dare look higher. A split lip and cut jaw were within sight but that was it.

There was a twitch under his fingers. He thought maybe he'd imagined it but it happened again and suddenly he was there in that moment, panicking and scared to death.

"Gai!" He called, already pushing away the edges of Kakashi's sweater to start chest compressions, to keep that slim thread of a pulse going.

"Shit, shit, shit," Gai was swearing, hovering around Iruka as he started counting compressions in his head. "Iruka. His..."

Iruka didn't dare look to see what Gai was seeing, shaking his head and he pressed down onto his palms. "Stop."

Somewhere behind him, he heard Anko saying something and Gai joining her. He didn't stop. He couldn't stop.

"Iruka. An ambulance is coming," Anko was saying, her voice wobbling to his ears but he didn't answer.

All the could do was keep the compressions going and holding onto that threadbare hope. Everything would be fine if he just kept pressing. They'd go to the hospital and Kakashi would get fixed right up. They would go back home and then everything would be fine. He just wanted Kakashi to be okay. He would give anything for that. He'd apologize to Kakashi head on and tell him how he felt instead of being a coward.

If only to have Kakashi back again, he would leave town completely or stay close, whatever Kakashi wanted. Maybe if he hadn't pushed Kakashi away, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Maybe Gai wouldn't be shell-shocked. Maybe Anko wouldn't be talking to a dispatcher, trying to hold back sobs. Maybe Kakashi's face wouldn't be scratched and riddled with glass, covering his beauty mark in blood.

A sob got caught in Iruka's throat, but he pushed it down, ignoring the tears streaking down his cheeks and focusing on keeping whatever hope they had alive.

That's all he had to focus on as the sound of rain blocked everything else out.

He just had to push everything down.

Keep everything away.

Just ignore everything.

With a jolt, Iruka woke up from sleep for the first time in days.

Breaths slowed down at the realisation that he was home and safe instead of giving first air to Kakashi's dying body, that things were okay. They weren't good but they were okay for now. Even if Kakashi had suddenly stopped responding last night and he was forced to walk back home without knowing if he was okay or not, feeling uneasy and paranoid.

The feeling of being watched wasn't good either but it was a paranoia he'd been living with. At least he knew how to deal with that. Emotions were a whole other ball park.

Sliding to the edge of his bed, the mid-Tuesday sun was a welcomed warmth at least. It helped to soothe away what he'd seen, bringing back the recent few days that were all passing so fast. Maybe he was being selfish though. He hadn't been the only one there at the crash site. He wondered how Anko was doing now. He hadn't really seen her since they'd left the hospital to go home and sleep for the first time in over two days. At least Gai seemed okay. It was odd that he'd started hanging out with Gai but not terribly weird. They did have a friend in common, if Iruka could even call Kakashi a friend.

The other two teens on his mind and Tsunade, he got dressed and headed out into the woods. The guide wasn't much help at all but he'd managed to do a few simple things like conjuring small spurts of water and fire towards the end once he was frustrated and angry. What he really wanted to figure out was protective circles and barriers. There were a few spells in there that could maybe help with that. If he couldn't protect Kakashi, then he would at least try to keep Kakashi's friends alive and safe.

The only problem was that he couldn't figure out how. It was like meditating for answers to the universe or trying to make food you'd never had without a recipe.

He felt like everything was right there but he couldn't touch it. It always felt like there was something wrong with his already weird link to magic. He thought the guide would've helped and so had Jiraiya when he'd given it but they were both wrong as it seems.

Kushina and Minato had both taught him as much as they could but their energies were so ingrained into their very beings. They were naturals and he wasn't easy to teach anyway.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground with the guidebook in his lap, the tried to find the link that would give him direct access to his own energies. Most of it had been blindly trying his hardest with little results but meditating had never been his thing.

After trying his hardest at recreating the flames he'd flickered and the water he'd pulled from the ground, he felt more than useless.

He stood from his spot in the forest and tramped back to the house. He was debating going to find Tsunade and talking to her as he saw Minato and Kushina leaving in the car.

They had only spotted him once they'd reached the road and he was on the front steps.

"We should have made him food," Kushina mused sadly but Minato held her hand.

"Let's grab some take out or something to bring back," He suggested but she only nodded, lost in her own thoughts as they drove towards the hospital. She tried not to think about how they parked in almost the exact same spot as the last times they came. As they checked with the reception desk and headed up to the obstetrician's office, she wanted so badly to just check in on the boy they knew who was still in critical condition. There was still a small bit of hope that there was something she could do to help but she knew that she didn't have those capabilities. Tsunade did though and they knew he was in good hands.

She felt so guilty though because they were the ones who put him there.

First there was Iruka and now Kakashi who were both tried up in this mess and now the later was in such horrible condition because of their selfishness, because of her.

Months of agonizing thoughts were bubbling up but she pressed them down when they sat in the small waiting room that was decorated in pastels with a small section of kids' toys and magazines. Maybe it was the overly happy posters of mothers holding their soft babies or the framed ultrasound pictures but Minato was nervously bouncing his leg.

"I'll go get a snack." He finally declared, looking overwhelmed. "Want something?"

"I'm fine." She said and he was off down the hall as she waited.

She was really trying to push away her own thoughts and feelings. Stress wasn't good for the baby, after all. What were they thinking?

Even though she was in a comfy armchair with soft lighting and the glow of the nursery room was just a few rooms down, there were too many things on her mind. And the guilt in her chest kept squeezing up her throat. Trying to distract herself, she walked over to where the nursery was housing a few babies.

One of them looked small and fragile, hooked up to a ventilator and swaddled in blankets to keep her warm. Another was screaming and crying, being rocked by a nurse who wasn't at all fazed. Kushina couldn't help but run her hands over her own belly, cradling it and remembering that this was life that she and the love of her life had created. She loved him so much. She could see him being a father and taking their son to the park.

She hoped that everything would be worth it, that he would be beautiful and good person. She hoped he would make a difference in the world and live a happy life, that he would end their curse. She just wanted everyone to be happy even if that may or may not include her. Their backup plan just had to work.

There was a soft kick under her hand and the tears fell uncontrolled.

"I love you," She whispered to herself, hoping that all of this mess was worth it and that he could hear her. "I love you so much."

"Kushina." And then Minato's arms were around her and she pulled herself together a little, hoping he didn't see.

"Just a few more weeks," He whispered to her and she nodded, smiling against everything.

"I know… Just worried about Kakashi."

He could feel the same guilt in his own chest but reminded her softly, "Tsunade will take care of him. She is a Senju."

With that reminder, she turned to hug him back and they both felt the baby between them kick again.

"I love you, Minato," She whispered against his shoulder and he held her a little closer.

Outlined by the nursery glow, they closed their eyes and stayed in that moment as he whispered back, "I love you too, Kushina."

Kakashi watched as a nurse met the couple who composed themselves before being led them off to their appointment. He'd debated showing himself to her but things had happened so fast. Regretting not quelling her worries, he wondered who else was worried about him. At least Iruka knew he was okay.

The person at the front of his mind though was Tsunade, the name Senju and why that rang a bell in his blurred thoughts. And then it clicked: Senju and Uchiha. Those names felt so far away but had been a driving force in Konoha's growth. They were two families that had supposedly wiped each other out on the first of October dozens of years ago.

A dark-haired boy with a big grin flashed into his mind and he pushed it away, focusing on the fact that Tsunade's real last name probably wasn't Kato.

The star-crossed lovers who managed to survive had always seemed like a stretch but he wondered now how much of it was true and how much was weaved in with the powers around them.

It was like finding hidden tunnels under the town, a whole part of history that he didn't know. What did it mean to be a Senju? It must have been linked to this newfound magical side of life he was discovering if Minato's words were anything to go by. He wondered what else she was hiding from him and how it probably had to do with the things in their basement that a spirit walker wouldn't need. All the jars, herbs and weird things in their basement were making a lot more sense now, reminding him of the Uzumaki's basement and the ritual he'd seen them casting.

He wondered if Tsunade had been hiding those kinds of powers all along.

In an instant, he was back home and looking for her. If she had these powers then it meant that she should be able to hear and see him when he anchored himself.

As he guessed, she was in the kitchen but he hadn't guessed the glass in her hand. Alone in their dark, evening kitchen, her only companion was the bottle of hard liquor and the glass she was already downing. To Kakashi's shock, he watched her refill the glass and go again. Slamming it down, she sighed and pressed back against her chair as she went to fill up again without looking the slightest bit affected. He hadn't seen her drink so heavily in a long time. She used to home blackout drunk almost every night when he was young but hadn't in years. There was a good reason to drink now.

Hands moving out, Kakashi braced himself and focused all his energy on touching the chair across from her to show her that he was play, that he was there. His fingers touched and he lightly said, "Tsunade."

She didn't look up though.

"Tsunade?" He asked and she still didn't look up. Instead, her hand went to drink and he knew that she couldn't see or hear him. Frustration pooled deep within him, seeing her ignore him even though he was reaching out and he knew it wasn't her fault but…

It made his blood boil, watching her fall into old habits and he couldn't do anything to help her, to tell her that he was still there.

Gripping the chair tightly, he couldn't help the call that tore from his throat, "Tsunade!"

And the chair moved under his fingers, barely a millimeter. Tsunade's hand stopped with the glass at her mouth, eyes glued to the chair as she called out carefully, "Jiraiya?"

She seemed to look up but instead of at Kakashi, it was through and beyond him. So close, he sank into all the strength he had and pulled, inching the chair back again.

Shocked and scared, Tsunade quickly backed up out of her chair only to send it flying into the ground. Kakashi felt the world close in again though just as he'd caught her attention and he quickly pulled back, retreating into himself as he tried to hold on consciousness. She had to know it was him.

He blearily saw her staring at the chair in confusion and a look he couldn't make out through his flickering vision.

"Tsunade," He barely made out before he heard her speak.

"Kakashi?"

At that, he used the last of what he had to press the chair in before everything closed in again.


Tsunade had been just arriving from a shift when Iruka came around. She'd offered him leftovers, but he politely declined, seeing the dark circles under her eyes and the way she smiled a bit too hard.

He didn't know what kind of powers she had but he knew that Kakashi hadn't been able to get through to her if he was asking Iruka to talk to her.

"He's not gone." He'd told her slowly and she looked at him for a long moment before sighing.

"You can see him?"

"Yeah."

She nodded, not surprised one bit by that fact and Iruka kept going, hoping he could cheer her up, "He told me to tell you he's okay."

Instead of cheer, she just frowned deeper and sighed again in frustration. "That's because he isn't aware of what his body's going through at all. He doesn't even know how dangerous using his energy can be even if it is to communicate to us."

He watched her grip her glass tighter and scowl even harder, her back to him at the sink.

"One of his lungs completely collapsed. His entire left side was almost completely crushed. He doesn't know that the airbag didn't deploy." The anger had slowly trickled away with every muttered word until the older woman was curled in on herself. It was suddenly very clear that Tsunade felt guilty about everything. Her gift to Kakashi had almost killed him and Iruka could see that she felt responsible almost as much as Iruka did.

"It's not your fault." He had said quietly but she didn't respond. He knew she was worried as much as he was. "She did this."

With no response, he kept on saying, "He told me that he crashed because of her. The rite you did to him is fading already. I… She's getting stronger."

"I'll take care of his body." She turned to him then without any tears in her eyes but her commitment shining through in way that was inspiring.

And so, he gathered up his hope, went back home and tried again.

Trying was better than waiting around for something to happen.

And then something suddenly made sense. He couldn't explain it to someone. Maybe it was because he'd been staring at the strange writing for so long that he didn't need to know what they said but what they felt like. Maybe it was because he'd stopped thinking about it like a scientific recipe for success and more like suggestions for the soul. The key really did lie in Iruka and his own energies, how they were interlocked with feeling and emotion.

Fire bloomed from Iruka's fingertips as strong and intense as a house fire. With a gasp, Iruka quickly shook his hand and the flames died. Eyes wide in surprise and discovery, Iruka rolled his wrist with the ache in his chest that had first brought the fire to life and the flames came back, concentrated in a ball at the center of his palm with licks flicking out now and then.

Iruka closed off the flames again and chuckled to himself with a fond warmth in his heart at his own epiphany, thinking how it was so easy to feel. "Damn. So, that's it."

All the possibilities of spells and powers were suddenly at his fingers and he couldn't wait to find out which feelings were more powerful than others, which ones he could use to do what. He could find a way to make a barrier and protect himself from…

Success was quickly cut short with a piercing fear.

He was being watched, very closely. There was someone behind him.

But he couldn't turn around as much as he wanted to.

And in a home not too far from there, Kakashi's soul came back sooner than he thought to consciousness.

The kitchen was dark, and he was alone, presumably because Tsunade had gone to bed. Even though he wondered why she hadn't been able to see him when he was anchored down, he hoped that he'd reached her and that she knew he was there.

Turning to find her, he instead found that the living room's fireplace was burning brighter than it had in weeks. Usually, it was kept low for the summer and spring if they even lit it at all but now it burned hot and loud as if pushing away the winter cold from outside.

It was nostalgic and had him staring into its hypnotic flames so much that he almost didn't catch the movement just to the left of it.

There was someone sitting in his father's armchair, the one that no one else at home dared to sit in.

He suddenly felt like he was a small boy who'd woken up from a bad dream. Everything was cold and he just wanted to be comforted and told that everything was going to be okay by the one person who he trusted and looked up to more than anything else in the world. It felt like he'd just stepped around the corner and found him sitting there like every other night, as if he hadn't been gone for almost ten years. As if he'd always been sitting there.

"Dad?"


Hope you enjoyed :3