Chapter Ten: At Your Own Risk
Before Erika knew it, they'd immersed themselves in a staring competition. The look her patient was giving was far from intense—as a matter of fact, it was blank at glance but if she were to dig into his greyish eye, a deep sorrow mixed with an unexpressed sigh of relief were hidden behind it. In a little while, the bedridden ANBU broke off his stare, letting Erika become the victor in this foolish unintended staring competition they held.
"Sorry," was the first thing he said after returning to consciousness. "I mistook you for someone I know."
"No problem. I'd rather put the blame on this common face of mine," Erika chuckled, "That's the first impression I leave on everyone."
The fact that Kakashi didn't react, let alone make a response to her prelude caused extreme discomfort to her pride. It was the feeling of being stepped on the toes if Erika were to describe it. Still swallowing her pride, she gave it another try, "You… you must be wanting to see her so much. That Rin person," a hesitant smile rolled over her lips, "Would you mind if I call her?"
"She's passed away long ago."
That's not how you raise your patient's spirits. Lesson learned.
"My apologies," she had to borrow Itachi's catchphrase this time, "I didn't know that—"
"Of course you wouldn't know that," interrupted the ANBU captain, "it was all in the past."
An awkward pregnant pause invaded the room. Erika unknowingly tightened her grip on the clipboard before trying to break the ice once again, "I'm asking—"
"Have we—" Kakashi held his tongue just when Erika began to speak at the meantime, "You can go on."
Erika coughed, "I'm asking your permission for changing your dressing. Shall we start now?"
"Do you not want to know which features of yours that bear a resemblance of Rin?" Her patient suspiciously folded his built arms.
"There are still several patients waiting to be treated, Hatake-san…" frowned the assertive intern, "Could I also ask for your cooperation, please?"
"I'll let you change my bandage on one condition," Erika paid more attention to what favor her patient would ask her, "Do not remove my mask."
Cooperation. She sighed at her previous request. If only she hadn't asked for it, she wouldn't have to be afflicted by not doing Kakashi a good turn, would she? A stumbling block disguising itself as a patient like him put her reason of becoming a true medical-nin to test. Come to think of it, she was still exceptionally lacking in forbearance, despite she had been doing volunteer work at the hospital for quite some time now. And the more she had qualms about herself, the more threat posed to her persistence in attempting at joining the Medic Corps.
Looking on the bright side, a patient similar to Kakashi generated wild ideas she would've never imagined before. As luck would have it, the hospital supplied stacks of germ-free surgical masks in the storeroom that were usually used for performing a surgery. Perhaps Erika could fetch it and replace Kakashi's current mask with it so that it would refrain him from making a noise effectively. Scratch that. He never took off his mask yet he could still make an absurd request.
"Fine. I'll get you another mask," said Erika before heading to the storeroom.
"Did you see his face?" Asked one of the nurses, who was blatantly infatuated with the ANBU captain. She had been listening eagerly to Erika's story without missing out on any pieces of information.
"Nope," the intern continued, "I had to turn around while he was changing his mask."
"What a pity," the hopeless romantic stood up from her seat, "It's settled. I'll be the one getting his dressing changed after this. And if he asks for another surgical mask, I'll let him know that we're running out of it."
"Sure, go ahead," Erika nodded without a doubt. Before long she realized where the nurse was heading, she called again, "Hey, he just got his bandage changed a while ago. Don't you think it is a bit too soon to change it again?"
"No need to worry, Erika-san, I only want to check up on him." The widowed nurse waved at her cheekily, grinning from ear to ear. It had not been more than a couple of minutes since her coworker left for Kakashi's room and shortly afterward, a deafening holler abruptly caught in her ear, causing her to rush to the patient's room without delay.
Erika couldn't help but cover her mouth shockingly after she had arrived on the scene. Another man who was clothed in ANBU uniform was helping her most difficult patient slip out of his black pants carefully. After realizing that they both were caught red-handed by not only one but TWO medical practitioners, the other ANBU whose shameful name was still unknown stuttered as he tried to explain, "Don't get the wrong idea! I'm only helping him—"
"Actually, I have a preference for men."
Hearing Kakashi's alibi, the nurse whose heart was broken fainted.
"Mayumi-san!" Erika took hold of her coworker's body in time before her head hit the floor.
"I'm still into women!" denied Kakashi's lover, "It's all your fault, Senpai!"
Erika shut her eyes for a moment to clear her mind. Who would have thought things would end up like this? She wasn't sure which problems worth solving more, Kakashi turning out to have a liking for men or her coworker passing out. As far as Erika was concerned, she didn't take an interest in her patient's love life and her coworker's state was more at risk. Although her ego kept reminding that this nurse refused to tend to her dying mother once. This woman was one of the suspects of Sakuya's tragedy in a roundabout way. Did she still have all the more reason to care for her? Yes, her aspiration. And this was only the starting point of all the difficulties she would have to be faced with in the near future.
"Are you Hatake-san's guardian?" Erika began, "I'd like to discuss something important regarding Hatake-san's condition after I take care of Mayumi-san."
"I would like to clarify something crucial, too and stand up for myself…" the ashamed ANBU bowed his head deeper than he was supposed to.
The ANBU who introduced himself as Tenzō never left Erika's side in the wrong place at the wrong time. Walking behind the occupied intern who was giving medical care to the patients in the emergency room, Kakashi's guardian wouldn't stop explaining his sexual orientation and actual relationship with the ANBU captain. If Erika didn't bother to make a response after he finished giving an excuse, he would likely to repeat the same chronology over again from the beginning until she opened her mouth.
"I understood you are perfectly normal and still interested in women, Tenzō-san," commented Erika. "But you shouldn't have gone on a mission with him in the first place and even helped someone who was capable of performing an ANBU-level mission easily take off his pants."
"I – I'm telling you the truth, Erika-san! We were given a mission and Kakashi-senpai insisted that we should accomplish it pretty damn quick because he would be finished if the medics discovered he wasn't in his room. Being stupid he was, he re-injected the IV drip back first before changing into his gown and I had no choice but to help him take off his pants. And the bad timing allowed the first nurse to sneak a look at us while I was in the middle of helping him remove his tight pants."
"I heard you loud and clear, Tenzō-san," Erika breathed out a sigh, "But you don't have to tell the same story repeatedly. You'll end up spreading a rumor about yourself if you continue."
"That's why I'm making myself clear—"
"Name the man who assigned this mission to Hatake-san."
Tenzō paused for a split second, lost for words, "It's the commander, your father."
"I'll inform him about Hatake-san's health condition so that he can take a rest until his body's fully recovered."
"For that reason, I decline to show myself at the hospital ever again," concluded the Mokuton user after telling the origin of his phobia about visiting their troublesome captain to the youngest, obedient ANBU member, "I doubt the commander's daughter has reported on Kakashi-senpai's state since he still instructed Senpai to come along with us. You'll go and get him this time."
Itachi's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Is Kakashi-taichou in critical condition? Didn't he merely overuse his Sharingan?"
The older ANBU shrugged, "I have no clue. Maybe she's just like the other nurses who have a big crush on Senpai, that's why she wished to see him around."
Suddenly, Itachi's chest burned with irrational feelings that he himself could not comprehend. He held his breath not for long and pursed his lips. Which aspect of Kakashi that Erika considered appealing? As for himself, he sincerely thought highly of his captain, especially when he said he would risk his neck to protect his comrades. Apart from Kakashi's outstanding leadership skills, he also had more experience in the combat zone, giving him the advantage. But Erika hadn't witnessed the ANBU captain swing into action—she barely knew him. The Kakashi she knew so far was flat on his bed. What else fascinated her then?
"Itachi," called his senior, "Do you mind?"
Why did he feel insecure about himself all of a sudden? Where did the insecurity come from anyway? "Not at all," answered the Uchiha plainly. In the end, he decided to see it for what it really was.
Looking through the window, it appeared that the ANBU captain was absorbing himself in reading the adult book that Tenzō always warned Itachi about staying away from it. After making sure the only chakra he could sense was Kakashi's, the young ANBU brought himself to knock on the glass quietly, signaling his captain to slide it open. Getting no response, he knocked again, this time harder. Until the window finally slid open as he wished, but not by whom he intended to reach for.
"Look who's paying you a visit, Hatake-san. To the amusement of me, he comes from the window," greeted Erika with a tinge of sarcasm in her voice, "So not raising suspicion in my mind!"
Kakashi directed his attention from the book for a while, "Because of that I didn't get to the window, Itachi."
"Not you too, Uchiha," the commander's daughter exhaled deeply and wearily, "What is it again? Does Hatake-san have another mission? Tell the commander he's not going."
Since when did Erika become this defensive all of a sudden? She never cared for Hanabi as much. Itachi's head tilted to the side, ignoring the intern's presence, "You look perfectly fine to me, Taichou. I thought your condition would be much worse."
"I feel perfectly fine myself as well," the patient added, "When will I be discharged, Sensei?"
Erika's cheeks went pink for no earthly reason, "Y-you should have been discharged yesterday if you hadn't gone against my restriction to go on the last mission!"
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Until you're completely restored to health, of course," she held her chin up.
Itachi disliked it. He was unable to bear the argument they were having. It reminded him of short-ago memories of Erika taking issues with every little thing he did wrong. It felt like yesterday yet seemingly, she had found a replacement for his former position. Be that as it may, the first thing he wanted was to split them up even though he felt apprehensive as to how he would actualize it.
"Actually, ANBU has been suffering from a shortage of competent members nowadays," the Uchiha ANBU explained, "Those who are considered competent either perished or turned their backs on the Leaf. Because of that, the commander, your father still requires the presence of Kakashi-taichou on the mission. At this rate, we cannot let our fallen comrades increase in number. The only way out is in the hand of you, either you will let Taichou fight along with us or let the ANBU lose more lives."
"What if Hatake-san doesn't sustain himself?"
"I assure you he will," Itachi stared deeply into her eyes, "He doesn't have to use his Sharingan on this mission onward. I will use mine effectively."
She pressed her lips together before coming out with, "Very well then." Almost unnoticeably, her mouth stretched into a smile, "Carry it out at your own risk, Hatake-san."
Hatake-san. Hatake-san. It was always Hatake-san. Do I have to injure myself to be worthy of your care, Erika-san?
"Thanks, but you didn't have to go that far by lying to her," expressed the ANBU captain, catching up with his fit junior. "It's true that we lost countless excellent members but we've also recruited a number of skillful ones."
"I did so at my own risk." Said Itachi before going past the copy-nin.
Tomorrow, the second part of the entrance exam would be held, making this very day the last day of her service at the hospital. Erika had been given permission to leave early to review the materials at home. Luckily, the emergency room wasn't too hectic today, giving her a chance to bid adieu to her coworkers and patients.
Room 301 unintentionally became her last stopping place. The first time the strictest intern of the Konoha Hospital showed her face today, she came up with a teaser. "Is no one picking you up today, Hatake-san?"
The ANBU captain looked away from his book on his lap, "Where am I at exactly? The academy?" He returned the question sardonically, which resulted in his caregiver for the time being laughing her heart out.
"You don't have the appearance of being a bookworm at all," commented Erika.
"You won't call me a bookworm after finding out what I'm actually reading."
Without notice, the young intern had stood behind him, "You know it's going to be good, don't you, baby? He whispers. I close my eyes as my insides uncoil and melt," she innocently read a line of his precious Icha Icha book out loud before glaring at the older man, "You - you've been reading porn this whole time?!"
Kakashi's cheeks flushed and spontaneously, he slid the mature book down from his lap and hid it under the blanket, "I – I – It's not porn! It's a work of literature."
The awkward silence filled the room. Erika coughed, "Today is my last day offering my services to this hospital. Y-you won't meet me again after this so I guess your secret is safe with me."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm entering the Medic Corps."
"We'll bump into one another more often then."
"Oh," answered her. "Then more opportunity for me to make known how dirty-minded you are."
At the end of the day, she came back with a silly smile plastered on her face. Her arms were stretched out to the sky as the wind blew on her strands of hair, tickling her cheeks. The burden that weighed down on her shoulders before was no more; she was as free as whispering air. Her mind wasn't put at rest because she simply had gotten her volunteer work over and done with. On the contrary, she couldn't erase those wholehearted thankful smiles her patients flashed at her while announcing her departure from the hospital. She might not be able to keep some of her critical patients alive or bring the dead back to life, because either life or death was uncontrollable and actually dependent on the patients' will to live. Even so a doctor was merely the medium, whether the patient wished to fight along or go to their last resting place, still, she held their endeavor in high regard.
Nevertheless, Erika was nowhere near attaining her true aspiration as yet since she still had to face the second part of the entrance exam the next day. That being the case, she took the initiative to seat herself on the riverbank of Naka River while reviewing the medical thesis. Nonchalantly, her hands formed the required hand seals to summon her legendary scroll. Much to her surprise, various side notes were distributed over the scroll! Why did she get a feeling that she knew who could have impolitely written on her scroll?
"I wish you luck for tomorrow. Have confidence in yourself."
"I can see now why you care very much for Kakashi-taichou. He is a senior I have a high opinion of after all, by all means, he will take a good care of you."
"Do you remember Tenzō-san? He told me the book Taichou usually reads at leisure would get you addicted. For the first time in a while, he was not lying."
"It's unfair. You don't wish to see me get into the hospital yet you won't let him discharge."
"According to Kakashi-taichou, he couldn't wait to be released from the hospital. Maybe you should listen to your patient for once."
"I'm not certain of which one is correct: Kakashi-taichou has been making things difficult for you or the opposite?"
"Congratulation on passing the exam with flying colors! Still, do not get cocky."
To her amazement, she wasn't irate to discover her instrument of learning had been scratched off here and there. The first thing crossed her mind immediately was as to why Itachi hinted at being jealous of her patient, to all appearances. Perhaps jealous wasn't an appropriate word for the oh-so-mighty Uchiha—from where a medic to be stood, he didn't seem to have a jealous bone in his body. If truth be told, Kakashi was her least favorite patient—he was disobedient, it went without saying and perverted on the quiet, to boot. Because of his lack of cooperation also, she was left with no option but to pay more attention to the ANBU captain.
For all that, Erika didn't wish Itachi to continue getting the wrong idea about Kakashi. She wasn't getting her hopes up all of a sudden; of course, she was fully aware of the line they both could never cross. Itachi was… a very valuable friend she could never afford to lose. Just a friend…? She kept reassuring herself—her feelings, to be exact. If someone were to draw the line at the relationship they were stuck in, she had gotten to be that someone.
Without a second thought, Erika rose to her feet and ran as quick as her legs could carry her, neglecting the scroll when she clearly knew someone wouldn't bother to pick it up again for her. But she didn't care—her main focus was to locate Itachi and have a private talk with him. She had a hard time tracking him down the last time she did so in order to get him to interpret her mother's hidden message. It took her almost a day, more or less and to make matters worse, the night was nearly fallen, where could Itachi be at this moment in time?
At the end of the line, she saw him go in the same direction as her. Additionally, he wasn't alone; like a duckling following wherever its mother went, Sasuke walked behind him.
"Uchiha!" Her roar drew the brothers' attention, "The older one," she pointed out. "Can we – can I have a minute?"
After persuading Sasuke to return home first, Itachi came behind Erika who was guiding him across the road a short distance from the Naka River. Neither of them bothered to make a sound along the way. To Itachi's way of thinking, it could be the soon-to-be medical-nin was feeling nervous about tomorrow's examination, for that reason she wasn't being herself at the moment. Consequently, he had to make an effort to start a conversation with her first.
"You've done your best. There is no need to be nervous about," comforted the Uchiha ANBU, "Also, good luck for tomorrow."
"There is no need to be nervous about?" Erika copied his intonation almost perfectly, "Explain yourself as to why you scribbled my treasured scroll and how you got it."
"So you've read them all."
Her glare was fixated on the playing innocent culprit as she stepped forward. She hated it. She actually hated it when she had to lift her chin a little bit higher so that she could stare furiously straight into his onyx eyes. Since when did he grow this tall? Noticing that the top of her face was at close quarters to the tip of his nose, she poked his forehead on impulse to give herself a wide berth to breathe.
"What was that for?" Protested the ANBU boy.
For getting taller drastically, duh! "For stealing my scroll and leaving side notes all over it!"
"Don't make assumptions, Erika-san. I never stole it in the first place."
"Me? Making assumptions? Ha. Speak for yourself, Uchiha!" She objected, "First things first, I'm going to reply to your absurd side notes one by one patiently, so listen carefully until the end. Oh, if I happen to forget to include something—my apologies, just let me know. Say it to my face, not on the scroll. Got it?"
"Okay, let's get it started. Thank you, really. I thought I would have failed and been prepared myself for taking another opportunity next year. So don't worry, I've eaten a humble pie. Actually, you and Tenzō-san and my father were the ones making things way more difficult than it already was with Hatake-san. So screw you all! And I was always all ears when my patients had something they'd like to make a fuss about. Why didn't Hatake-san say anything to me? He seemed to be enjoying his time alone in his room. You should've known better why I didn't welcome you to the hospital, Uchiha, because I NEVER wish to see you get hurt. Are you satisfied with it? Okay, let's move on. Of course, I remember Tenzō-san, he left a lasting first impression on me. And I agree with him—stay away from porn if you still want to be my friend. Oh, I cared very much for all of my patients, for your information. It wasn't just your Taichou. Why were you suddenly speaking highly of him anyway? And thanks again for the good wish. I'll do my best tomorrow."
"You got them all on the mark. As expected from you," Itachi stated further, "Is there anything else of great importance you still want to clarify?"
Erika froze as her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Thanks for the helpful information, Erika-san," he filled in the silence before walking away. "Very well, if you'll excuse me."
"Why… why must you do this to me, Uchiha?"
Itachi spun his body around, "Pardon?"
"I wouldn't have thought someone could ever break down the walls I've built, especially when that someone turned out to be you. No, I'm not disappointed at all if you asked me," confessed her. "It's just… you challenged me for the better and I'm g-glad you did. Even so, you know inside out about me—I barely know anything about you. When I finally decided to swallow my pride to get to know you more, you always try to—seem to be pushing me away. I no longer have the faintest idea about drawing you closer to me. Maybe I shouldn't have… gotten my hopes up when you were just being kind to me, that's all. Because I'm just the commander's daughter and you didn't have a say in picking out the mission you were given."
This time was Itachi's turn to go rigid. Why did the tables have to be turned on him like this? He simply couldn't believe what he heard.
"I have no intention to push you away, Erika-san. Forgive me if my strange behavior lately made you receive a false impression," he explained. "As for me, I'm still not sure why I'm not able to get my tongue around the words I had in mind when you are nearby. Because of that, I've been unknowingly avoiding you these days. If you notice, the way I strangely behaved toward you worsened when I saw you and Kakashi-taichou together. Taichou is like I stated on the scroll, a senior I look up to. At first, I considered him a perfect shinobi. But after I learned that you've been delaying his release from the hospital, I began to dig for his flaws, thinking that he was undeserving. To be completely honest, Erika-san, I don't wish to hold on to this state of mind for long. Since you are the root of the matter, perhaps you could give me a solution to turn me back to normal?"
"I'll help you find it instead. But first…" her cheeks burned up as her voice slightly decreased in volume, "I n-need to make sure of something."
Suddenly, Erika wrapped her arms around Itachi's waist, the side of her hot face resting on his chest. "Your heart rate quickened," said her as she broke off her embrace. "Th-these feelings aren't one-sided after all. It's—"
The Uchiha ANBU once again pulled the medic to be into another hug, "I didn't feel like letting go yet. Do you mind staying like this for a bit longer?"
Under these circumstances, the commander's daughter admitted defeat. Turning her head aside slightly, she quietly watched the horizon swallow down the warm bronze sunlight. Soon after, the bright sunny day engulfed in darkness—a beautiful and meaningful darkness altogether. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted, awakening the nocturnal nature. As a result, Itachi loosened his embrace cautiously, his fingers delicately sneaking into the gaps between Erika's fingers to interlace them.
"We're going separate ways and that was it?" Demanded her, "Won't it be awkward by the time we meet again—"
"I like you a lot, Erika-san," Itachi got to the point, "Would like to be my girlfriend?"
"I – I hate you! H-how c-could you declare such an embarrassing thing so confidently?" She mumbled, "I thought we would go on several dates first before going steady..."
"Sure," he heard her. "We will go on a date every day to your liking after you say yes to me."
"Do I look like I have choices?"
"I'm not forcing you, Erika-san. I will go along with your answer even if it's—"
"I like you. I love you. I want to be with you forever if I can!" After realizing what she had blurted out shamefully, her hands blocked off her mouth without thinking.
Itachi gave a chuckle, "Already?"
That very minute, Erika's greatest desire was to vanish off the face of the earth, "…just pretend you didn't hear anything."
"I will," replied Itachi. "Can you repeat what you said previously?"
"Forget it. I'm breaking up with you."
"We haven't even started dating, Erika-san…"
It was supposed to be their first day. Be that as it may, since the night had fallen, Erika came to a decision that tomorrow would be a perfecter day to be involved officially with Uchiha Itachi.
"There's still a question I haven't gotten the answer yet, Uchiha," Erika mentioned as they arrived at the front door of her house, "How did you get hold of my scroll?"
author's note: hey, it's almost a year since this story was published. how time flies~ this chapter basically has so much fluff despite the genre being angst (or maybe it's gonna be changed into tragedy in the long run who knows) i decided to let erika have her moments once in a while since she's gone through enough. i also hope i didn't make itachi/kakashi too ooc here, especially the confession part! don't puke ok.
if you wonder how in the world itachi accessed erika's scroll, here's the secret - of course he didn't steal it. he summoned it. how so? have i mentioned that erika has a problem with memorizing things? that's why she used only 2 (simplest) hand seals to summon her scroll and itachi hadn't gotten rid of his stalking habit by that time, so it was a piece of cake for him to copy them.