Chapter Nine: Discharged
Tenzou sighed, scribbling his name as best he could in the designated boxes (which happened to always be just a tad small).
He'd already gone through at least twenty-five sheets, and it seemed that there were at least twenty-five more to go. While Tenzou wasn't clueless about the inner workings of the hospital, he never remembered having to sign and date so many forms before. He sighed again; his hand was beginning to cramp already. Being off of clerical duty for so long had him feeling a little weak in the wrists.
"Can't you just give me a few pages? It'll speed this painful process up," Genma said, leaning over the stack of papers.
Raidou looked up from his reading-he'd picked up the newspaper soon after the clerk had left-and shook his head. "Not legal," he murmured.
"As much I'd want to get out of here," said Tenzou tightly, "I think they'd notice if the writing suddenly went from cripple-scratch to clean."
Genma raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen my handwriting?"
Tenzou slid a completed sheet of paper towards Genma, a look of clear annoyance darkening his expression. Ink was splotched here and there, looking as if someone shook a leaky pen above the page. Half a thumb print was covering one of the boxes. It would've taken an eagle-eye to make out a name from the characters-a term Tenzou was hesitant to even use. "Can you duplicate this?" he asked.
"I'm a ninja," Genma replied, a barely concealed scoff following the statement.
It took almost thirty minutes to complete the forms, even with Genma's help. Tenzou officially loathed paperwork. And hospitals.
Thankfully, the walk home was one of the most refreshing things Tenzou had experienced in quite a while. After convincing both Genma and Raidou that he didn't need an entourage to escort him home, he'd taken off at a slow gait from the village hospital. He'd made a vague promise to meet them somewhere or other, so that they could visit Kakashi as a group. He knew things needed to be discussed: what had happened and, probably as the highlight of the talk, what to do with Tenzou next.
The sun was out and the sky was a pretty blue with white, fluffy clouds drifting in the far off distance. The pine-fresh smell that had wafted into his hospital room was back again, and it was just as comforting as ever. He took a deep breath and wiggled his fingers; his arm was still in a tight sling and his shoulder wasn't hurting. Tenzou wasn't sure exactly what the nurses had given him as a send off, but they wouldn't see him complaining.
Before he knew it, he was already at the steps of his apartment building. Kimura-san, his landlord, was in his usual place. However, instead of his usual stool, he was sitting on an old chair.
"Good afternoon, Kimura-san," he said. Normally he would take evasive action and make an attempt to sprint up the stairs before the old man could notice, or just swing in through the back. But he felt less than normal at the moment and hardly cared that he struck up conversation with his still-senile landlord. He blamed the prescription drugs for his amiable mood.
Kimura-san blinked up at him, stroking his wispy beard. "Young Tenzou! What a pleasant surprise. You haven't said hello in days."
"I've been away for a little while," he replied, slightly surprised that the man even noticed his absence.
Kimura-san nodded gravely. "Ah, yes. Troubled times, troubled times."
"Not really-" he stopped himself. This was an argument he would never win. "I suppose you could call it that, though."
They lulled into an awkward silence after that, one that Tenzou had never once experienced with his landlord before. Usually the old man was a chatterbox.
"You ought to be on your way then?" said Kimura-san, almost hopefully.
"Yeah, yeah," said Tenzou. "Nice talking to you."
It was a horribly nice day out and, with every step he took upstairs, he felt like turning back around. To do what, he didn't know. He didn't think he could stomach anything at the stands-whatever they were selling was almost guaranteed to be too greasy for his still-tender stomach.
Socializing was still a new subject to him, too, and the people his mind automatically thought of as "socializing fodder" probably had their own plans by now. He imagined Hayate trying to shrug off Yuugao's quiet attention as politely as possible, Genma and Raidou playing a game of cards in a random bar dive, and Kakashi. He paused as he reached his floor, his free hand resting on the guardrail. He didn't know enough about the man to picture his daily life, he realized.
He'd met Kakashi randomly in a Laundromat one day and learned that he wasn't much of a homebody. And for a good ninety percent of their time together, they'd exchanged not-so-kind words and phrases. Actually, it was mostly Kakashi who got most of the insults in with Tenzou barely managing to scrap his dignity together, but Tenzou tossed that little fact to the side.
He blinked. There he was, thinking about Kakashi again. He continued on through the apartment hallway undisturbed and opened his door without much trouble.
He heard the faint jingle of Bucket's collar tinkle somewhere in the house as soon as he was inside, but the cat took his time in coming out to greet him. He closed the door behind him and put his prescription on his coffee table.
As much as Bucket liked to play the alpha in their relationship, he always loved to cuddle whenever Tenzou came home from long days out. Tenzou took a deep breath, grateful that no one was around to see him kneel down and shower Bucket with affection-mostly in the form of cuddling and enthusiastic scratching under the chin. For once, Bucket was glad to wrap himself around Tenzou's leg and lean in towards his touch; Tenzou could feel the faint purr against his leg. His heart swelled and a content smile stretched across his lips, the way it only did when he came back home to his only family.
"I missed you, too, you stupid cat," Tenzou said. "I'm going to pass out soon. Want to come snuggle with me?"
Bucket looked up at him with watery eyes, perhaps wondering why Tenzou'd stopped petting him. He pressed his head against Tenzou's hand insistently and Tenzou happily obliged.
"You're a cruel thing, did you know that? I feed you and take care of you and cuddle with you whenever you want, but you couldn't care less about me otherwise. Then I'm gone for a few days and you can't get enough of me. Make up your mind, eh?" He scratched Bucket behind the ears, who didn't seem to be listening to anything Tenzou'd said.
"C'mon, let's go."
Tenzou scooped Bucket up-a little hard to do one-handed and drugged up, but Bucket made no protest-and headed towards his bedroom. He seldom let Bucket snooze with him (his bed should have been one thing the cat didn't believe to be his own), but he thought exceptions could be made today.
The room was cool, his blinds already pulled closed. He didn't remember leaving them that way the day he'd left, but it wasn't unusual for Yumi to "rearrange" his apartment whenever she came by to check up on Bucket and his plants.
He looked around his room, hoping that if she had "fixed" his room for him, he'd be able to find his stuff without too much trouble. He contemplated shrugging off the sling, but instead chose to let Bucket flop down onto the bed and scoot in after him. His hospital-issue clothes were what he would normally sleep in anyway.
He shifted around for a few minutes, trying to a find the perfect position to drift off in. He found that he was most relaxed on his back, with Bucket curled into a tight ball beside his head. The cat's barely audible purring lulled him into a deep sleep.
He awoke, several hours later, to a stabbing pain in his shoulder. His head was foggy with sleep and it took him a good minute to fit all the pieces together. Bucket was no longer at his pillow, but curled up at the foot of the bed. It was dark outside, but he couldn't tell if it was early morning or late evening.
He found that his sling was much looser than it had been when he'd been discharged from the hospital. It felt strange to be disheveled, as he did not usually shift around much in his sleep. Sleeping in trees meant sleeping still, after all. Though the dried saliva at the corners of his mouth was a testament to how deep he must have been asleep.
Tenzou slowly pulled himself into a seated position against his headboard, mindful of his bruised ribs. Moving was still extremely painful, even as he held his shoulder still and close to his tender torso. It was not to say that he couldn't handle the pain, but he'd really rather it not be his upon-first-waking sensation. His medication must have worn off very recently-there was no way he could have slept so soundly like this.
He found his prescription in the living room and fiddled with it until the child-proof cap came off with a pop. He briefly eyed the instructions before taking two pills into his mouth and swallowing. He ignored the fuzzy feeling in his throat he always got after taking pills dry. It wasn't long before his eyelids started to droop once more.
He woke with a start. He was sprawled out on his couch, his arm in a position that, if he hadn't taken powerful medications beforehand, would be bothering him quite a bit right then.
Daisuke was standing over him. His hair was more mussed up than usual. "Hey, you alright?"
Tenzou lifted his good hand into the air and waved. "Yeah."
Daisuke looked uncharacteristically upset. "Why are you on the couch? What happened to your arm? Are these pills? How many did you take?"
"I don't know. I can't tell you. Yes." He paused. "And what was the last one?"
"How many pills did you take?"
It was hard for Tenzou to think back that far, but he managed it. "Two."
"It says on the label that you're only supposed to take one pill every six hours, you idiot. And it's highly addictive, too! What am I going to do with you? Here, let me help you up. Your sling is half-way off already..."
Tenzou pursed his lips. "What are you doing here? Ah, thanks."
"No problem. Try not to thrash around and it won't get so loose. And I'm here because Yumi and I have been worried sick about you. I got my hands on your file a few days ago and it said you were in the hospital. We couldn't visit because you were in the ICU. By the time we got some free time again, they said you'd already been discharged."
"I'm sorry?" he said weakly.
"We're just... worried. Anything could happen to you now. Before we were all here, together." Daisuke sighed and sat down on the free edge of the couch. "You've come a lot farther than both Yumi and me. I think you could even give Sensei a run for his money."
Tenzou shook his head with a pained smile. "He wouldn't like hearing that."
"But it's true. I know we're not supposed to know, but you're ANBU now. You're out risking your neck. All I'm doing is cracking codes up at the Tower. Still a chuunin, too. I'll be lucky to get a promotion by next year-ow!"
Tenzou had pinched him. "You're the best code-breaker I know. And didn't you pay attention in the Academy? The three of us all have our own strengths and weaknesses. We balance one another out. That's why we made-make such a good team."
The door swung open casually and another voice joined the conversation: "Wise beyond his years."
Both Daisuke and Tenzou turned to look at the doorway, but Tenzou already knew who it was. He flushed. "Genma... nice to see you."
Genma gave a mock salute and stepped inside. Raidou and Hayate followed after him.
Daisuke gave Tenzou a curious look, but it dropped away from his face quickly, replaced with a casual look of understanding. "Well, I should probably get out of your hair." He checked his wristwatch for added show. "I have work in a bit. Can't be late."
Tenzou nodded. He wanted to say 'thank you' but instead said, "Tell Yumi I said 'hi'. And Sensei, too, if you see him."
Daisuke was already out the door, tilting his head politely to his superiors. He gave Tenzou a small wave and said, "I think they'd like it better if you said it in person."
Tenzou felt a weight drop in his stomach. He wanted to call Daisuke back and ask him to stay, but he was already out the door. A tangible silence hung in the air after that, his three new teammates looking uncomfortable. Even Genma, who he'd always considered a little shameless in his actions, was subdued.
Hayate chose to break the silence with a cough. "We apologize for our intrusion."
"The doctors are finally letting Kakashi accept visitors," said Raidou. "We thought you would like to join us."
Tenzou shifted and let out a tired breath. "I would."
Genma's nose wrinkled, as if finally catching a waft of something foul. "Remember that time when we visited and you were hungover and I told you to shower?"
Tenzou glared.
And subtly tried to sniff himself.
"Vaguely."
It was a difficult shower and a change of clothes later. Tenzou, Genma, Raidou and Hayate were back in at the Konoha Hospital.
It had taken a little coaxing for Tenzou to let Raidou fix his abysmal attempt at putting his sling back on after dressing himself, but had otherwise escaped the ordeal without much fuss. Now they were coasting back and forth outside of Kakashi's room, waiting for the nurse inside to finish her rounds.
He thought it was much too soon for him to be back in the hospital, but relished in the fact that he had free reign to leave whenever he wished. Not that his team would let him leave anytime soon, however. There was still that matter of visiting Kakashi.
The nurse emerged from the room. "Are you the party here to visit Hatake-san?"
Hayate stepped forward. "We were told he was well enough for visitors."
"He's just been asking after you all." She smiled. "Go on ahead."
"Good thing he is," said Genma wryly. "I don't think even she'd stop me from getting in there and kicking Kakashi's ass-begging your pardon, Miss."
The nurse blushed and scampered away toward the Nurses Station.
Raidou scoffed. "Play nice."
"I always do," said Genma with a wink.
Hayate sighed. "Let's go." He always sounded like a weary father berating his two misbehaving children.
Tenzou entered the room last. No flowers or cards of well-wishing were at Kakashi's bedside.
"You didn't bring flowers."
"What?" Tenzou blinked at Kakashi.
Raidou crossed his arms. "We didn't think you'd be here long enough as to require plants, Captain."
Kakashi waved his hand. "You can make this atrocious social faux-pas up to me next time."
The four men then settled into comfortable banter and Tenzou settled into one of the room's chairs. He didn't have the energy to join in today.
It took a few minutes of watching them interact before he noticed that Kakashi was devoid of his mask. He blamed his lack of attention on his pain medication and shifted in his seat to gain a better vantage point, hoping that none of them would notice his spying.
He'd assumed the mask was on at all time—and now that Kakashi was bare-faced, Tenzou could see why.
Kakashi was absolutely beautiful. Handsome. Even with a nasty-looking purplish-green bruise across his otherwise very perfect jaw. There was no other way to put it.
A sudden wave of embarrassment overtook him and Tenzou looked away.
"Are you okay?" asked Genma, from Kakashi's beside. "You look a little red."
He nodded, still looking anywhere but Kakashi. "Y-yeah, I think my meds are wearing off. And, uh, I left my prescription at home. I think I should go home and get it."
Raidou looked between him and Kakashi, then rocked back when realization dawned on him. "You're not wearing your mask."
Kakashi touched his cheek, although Tenzou had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew that. "I'm not? I didn't notice."
Genma pointed at Tenzou. "And look what it's doing to Tenzou."
"He likes what he sees?" tried Kakashi. His tone was a strange mixture of amusement and exasperation; the latter probably born from years of similar incidents.
"Try again," Tenzou said sourly. The spark of anger gave him enough strength to face Kakashi. "Your personality clashes with your face, is all. You're... you're good-looking, okay?"
Kakashi looked as if he was about to retort with a usual barb, but instead shrugged loosely. "Thanks. Let's move on, though, shall we? I'm sure you all have some unanswered questions…"
They all nodded.
"The building…" Kakashi started. "I think it's plain to see that that was no accident."
Tenzou then recognized the look that was on Raidou's face earlier when they'd all been at his bedside the other day. It was guilt.
"And what had happened before it blew up…" Kakashi continued on, "Tenzou, can you remember?"
Tenzou furrowed his eyebrows, thinking hard. "I... no."
Kakashi shook his head, the look on his face unreadable. "Genma, Hayate, Raidou… can you give me and Tenzou a moment?"
"What the fuck for?" Genma asked.
Hayate pulled Genma arm. "Captain said so, that's why. Let's go."
Kakashi and Tenzou were the only ones left in the room once Genma, Hayate and Raidou had left as ordered.
"What I'm about to say… it stays here—between you and me—for now," Kakashi said. "The daimyo said something to you before you cut his head off. I need you to remember what that was."
"I don't understand," Tenzou said, feeling very small now that he no longer had the rest of his team next to him.
Kakashi shook his head again. "His index finger was cut off, Tenzou. The ring was gone. I don't have it."
Tenzou felt, right then, like his stomach dropped out of his body. He had assumed, this whole time, that Kakashi had retrieved the ring from the headless corpse. Was that why he had been so pissed during their walk back to Konoha?
"Fuck," murmured Tenzou.
"That's right," said Kakashi. "You chopped the daimyo's head off without thinking."
"I can't…" Tenzou's head was pounding. He was going to be sick. "I don't remember anything."
"We couldn't have been the only ones there that night, you said it yourself before you entered the villa. Not exactly in those words, but you asked me if I had seen something near the north entrance."
Tenzou felt his heart sink as his memory fluttered back to him in bits and pieces. "A… a bloody hand print. On the door. That's what I saw."
"Yes, I saw it, too," said Kakashi. "Didn't you stop to ask why he was covered in blood when your doppleganger was shielding him? Didn't you notice that his finger was missing when you chopped his head off?" Kakashi said. He did not sound angry. He sounded very cold and disappointed and it chilled Tenzou to the core.
"I didn't… I don't…" Tenzou stammered, knowing he made a series of horrible decision that night. The knowledge twisted his insides violently.
"Someone outsmarted us all, Tenzou," Kakashi said, smiling, but it was a very cold smile. "Someone wanted that ring. They knew the daimyo was going to die that night. They knew that Konoha was taking care of it. They also needed to get rid of the evidence—including us—and any knowledge that the ring had been taken at all. It was also someone that had no desire to do any of the dirty work lest they were caught in the act. But who?"
Tenzou couldn't bring himself to reply.
"I haven't starting thinking this whole thing through yet, I'll admit," Kakashi said. "Nevertheless, the Hokage needs to know at once and I'm giving you the opportunity to redeem yourself. When I dismiss you, go to the Hokage Tower straight away and tell the Sandaime exactly what I said, nothing more, nothing less."
"Yes, right away," Tenzou said. He hoped Kakashi would dismiss him right then, but it wasn't to be so. Kakashi continued on.
"Tenzou… when I first woke up in this hospital bed, I had every intention of telling you to pack your bags and go home. You should have told me about that handprint. It was a clear disregard of elementary ninja standards. If you didn't say anything then because you were afraid I would call you back… well, yes, I would have told you to come back straight away. I can't put my finger on it, but… there's something about you…"
Tenzou closed his eyes like he'd been punched. This was it, he thought. This was it. He felt his heart drop to his stomach and his palms break out into a clammy sweat. All the doubt that had been swimming in him the past week came swarming back tenfold. He had screwed up so badly. A million thoughts jumbled up in his tender head and knew deep down that there was nothing he could say to redeem himself.
"I want you to stay with my squad until I figure out what it is," Kakashi said finally.
Tenzou exhaled sharply and his eyes snapped open. He searched Kakashi's face to any hint or sign of a lie. "W-what?"
"Yup, I think I'll keep you."
"Kakashi… I… thank you…"
"Don't thank me just yet. And don't blame yourself for any of this, by the way. Whatever happened that night, we all should have paid more attention. We're ANBU, but we're still human. Now go and tell the Hokage my message. I still have a few chapters I want to finish," Kakashi said, pointing to that orange-covered book by his bedside.
Tenzou exited Kakashi's room as quick as he could.
Genma, Hayate and Raidou were waiting outside.
Tenzou gave them a strained smile, knowing at once what they're anxious expressions were asking. "I'm staying."
"Welcome to the team, Tenzou. Well, officially." Genma laughed.
Hayate nodded. "I believe you'll need to get your own armor and mask soon."
"Maybe celebrate once you're off medication," suggested Raidou.
Tenzou laughed along with them for a few minutes, knowing that if he had been accepted under different circumstances he would have been beyond elated, then slipped away down the hospital corridors while they weren't looking.
He still had to face the Hokage and deliver Kakashi's message. He felt a mixture of fear and absolute dread crept along the back of his neck at the thought. How had someone outsmarted them all?
