Hello again! I come with another chapter of TWW! If you see any please let me know and I will fix it ASAP!
EDIT 1/12/2015: This story now has a beta and with this note, what you are reading is the beta'd version. All betaing has been done by bleeding-roses 16
Also to those many reviews that wanted the two to meet face to face, I again apologize in advance. Other than that, enjoy!
As soon as those words were out of her mouth, Akiko felt the wave of relief crash over all of them. She could see it in the way that their backs straightened, as if released from a heavy burden that had fallen on them since learning of Kakashi's condition, this was something that she hadn't noticed.
Perhaps when all calms down, she will make her apology to Fumiko.
Akiko noticed the light rays from behind her. Turning slightly, she could barely see the sun rise over the trees.
'It's morning already?' She thought, surprised with how quickly time has passed.
"Since it's morning already and all of us are exhausted, we should catch what sleep we can. I'll stay to look over him, you two get some rest" Akiko tells them clearly, her concern clear on her face.
"No, you get some rest. I've already had some sleep and from those awfully dark bags under your eyes I don't think you've even slept at all!" Fumiko refuted, standing tall and stubborn but Akiko was too tired to argue with her and conceded with a weary sigh.
"Alright, alright. I'll leave him in your hands but" Akiko nods the Eiko, who was too old to have gone for so long without sleep "Eiko, you need some sleep."
"Worry about yourself first! I'm already off to bed!" Eiko said lively, already hobbling out the room and seemingly intent on going to bed. With a nod to herself, Akiko sat heavily on the wooden chair.
"You're not sleeping here!" Fumiko exclaimed loudly. Akiko looked up, a slightly pained expression on her face.
"You, will be sleeping in an actual bed!" Fumiko grabs Akiko's arm and drags her through the door directly opposite Kakashi's room.
The room was as sparsely furnished as Kakashi's, with only a bed, a small side table and a wooden stool. Akiko shot Fumiko a grateful smile and collapsed into bed, exhausted by the recent events from their sudden meeting to his fever.
Gingerly sliding under the paper thin covers, Akiko felt all thought drifting from her mind as it shut down.
'...What was that with Kakashi?' was her last lingering thought before sleep claimed her completely.
X
Fumiko quietly backed out of the room, leaving Doctor Akiko to her rest. Though she was jealous of her, and still is, there was no way to stop the admiration that had bloomed when seeing that woman in action. Being able to keep her calm in such a situation, where even her grandmother had been shaken by the scene of Kakashi in pain and crying, out was an impressive feat.
Such a strong man, one wouldn't even think it possible! And how had Fumiko first acted towards her? She had acted like a snubbed woman, high and conceited even going so far as to use the men that had visited as a show off! And to think the one she had sent to rile Akiko up was Kakashi's teammate!
'Oh, I hope Genma will forgive me for using him like that!' She thought worriedly as she re-entered Kakashi's room, as she had been the one to set him on Akiko earlier that night.
Seeing that Kakashi was sleeping peacefully and his fever having broken, Fumiko saw no need to keep him restrained any longer. She approached the still body carefully, aware of his capabilities and remembering the many lectures from her father and Kakashi about shinobi and their instincts.
Carefully, she undid the restraints, wincing at the rope burns from his struggle. Once they had been neatly pilled, Fumiko sat down with an over exaggerated sigh, staring with a pout at Kakashi's gravity defying silver hair and waited for him to wake.
X
When Kakashi awoke, there was nothing fancy to signal as such. His eyes didn't open, his breathing didn't change and he didn't even move. Fumiko couldn't feel the sudden chakra pulse that he had released to test his surroundings. By then Fumiko was already half asleep.
She watched with half lidded eyes as Kakashi's own eye opened.
Fumiko stared uncomprehendingly for a few seconds before her own eyes widened.
"Kakashi! You're awake? How do you feel? Sore? Dizzy? Tired?" She shot rapid fire questions at the man, staring intently at him her own worry clear in her voice.
Kakashi's eye slowly moved towards her, relief thinly veiled in his eye.
"I...I made it?" He asked slowly, voice rough from disuse and thick with disbelief.
"You made it." Fumiko said softly, grinning brightly despite the tears in her eyes, her voice mirroring the relief from Kakashi.
After three years of constant worry that Kakashi was behind enemy lines for a reason that was beyond their clearance level, she couldn't stop the tears as she laughed through them. Kakashi, who had pulled the sheet to cover his face, only eye smiled with her. Their relief was practically tangible.
"I'll get you some water; you sound like you need it." She sniffed, still smiling and crying as she got up from her chair.
As she walked to over to where the cold kettle and a cup of tea lay, Fumiko could hear the re-shuffling of blankets as Kakashi moved around.
"Don't put your mask on or Akiko will be on my back about not waking her." She calls to the man in a light scolding as she examined a piece of bark and the contents of the cup she had found.
"Who?" He asks, the interest in his voice is clear but there is hardly any wonder.
"Akiko, the lady who brought you in." Fumiko clarifies slightly distracted as she confirms that the cup contained white willow bark before pouring in the water.
"Hm, I don't remember anyone bringing me in." Kakashi answers, fascination and befuddlement mixing in his tone.
"You probably don't, but from what I saw, you were out of it. Completely." She explains, a youthful cheer in her own voice, still grinning at the fact that Kakashi was awake, as she carries the cup to him.
Kakashi takes the cup with one hand holding a part of the blanket to cover his face and gives a nod of thanks before staring intently at the pieces of bark in the water swirling around.
"Don't worry, it isn't poisoned or anything. It just has some white willow bark to numb the pain." Fumiko dismisses the intense look at both her and the cup with a flippant wave of her hand, just missing the flash of pain and a minute wince that he couldn't hide.
She looks away as Kakashi drinks the cup in one go before handing it back to her.
"Oh, lay down. You've been injured and Gran-ma says you have chakra exhaustion and that you need rest!" She pokes Kakashi in the chest fond exasperation colouring her tone but clearly not hiding the blush as it crawls up her cheeks.
'I'm *touching* him!' The blush becomes darker causing Kakashi to look at her with a strange expression.
"Are you okay? You seem a little red." Kakashi observed as he gently lays back down on the bed.
"Oh-h! I'm fine!" She exclaims, caught off guard, and finishes with a nervous laugh, praying that Kakashi wouldn't catch on to her train of thought.
"So, what happened?" Kakashi asks, seemingly curious about his current situation. Fumiko's face turns sour for a second but long enough for him to see the expression and raise an eyebrow in response.
"Oh, I'm not really sure. Gran-ma will write it all in the report!" She says cheerily, defecting his question quite obviously.
"What about my extraction?" Kakashi asks casually, causing Fumiko's cheeks to flush once more but this time in embarrassment.
"Um...Gemna is here but I think the rest will be here by tomorrow." She tells, visibly wincing at the mention of Gemna's name.
An awkward silence hangs in the air.
"Now, tell me what I've missed." Comes Kakashi's attempt to break the silence and the chance to distract Fumiko from continually giving him the odd look that she gives him which usually follows with an alarming about of sighs, all directed at him.
X
Kakashi listened idly as Fumiko chattered on about the things that he had missed during his three years mission in rain and as time seemed to crawly by, his eyes slowly closed until he fell back asleep.
X
"…and from ther-" She stopped in mid-sentence before releasing her breath with a smile.
'Kakashi's fallen asleep again.' She thought fondly with a sly grin.
'If only you could always stay that way so I can watch you.' Her small sly grin became one full of teeth as she quietly got up from her chair and rummages behind the small table before pulling out a simple black book with a charcoal stick.
She hurries back to Kakashi side before opening the book and flips past various unfinished and rough sketches of said man all in different positions. With another grin, Fumiko sets the charcoal to paper and begins to draw.
X
Akiko wakes, stuck in the feeling of chasing a dream and for a second the image of walking by the side of someone that is barely visible to her but the sight of him fills her with the feelings of contentment, peace, calm and...Something she hasn't felt in a long, long time. She lies on the thin bamboo bed, staring at the roof as the image fades into mist but the strange feelings remain.
'What...what was that?' She releases a sigh that almost feels wistful before forcing herself up.
Akiko scans the room, unsure of her whereabouts for a second before she remembers the events of the last three days.
'Right! Kakashi is still recovering!' She remembers with a small gasp. As she made her way to stand, a sharp pain in her stomach made itself known. With a small grunt of pain, Akiko bites her lip.
'That's right, I've haven't been eating right. Not only that but I still have the bruises from Kakashi's kicks.' The next realization comes to her as the pain continues, the thought of the various bruises causes them to twinge in response.
Akiko could smell something though the wooden door that was followed by a series of knock on said door.
"Akiko? Are you awake?" Comes the voice of Eiko.
"I'm up, you can come in." She calls back, her throat feeling dry and croaky.
The door swings open with a creak and Akiko can see Eiko making her way into the room with a small tray of food with a singly bowl on it.
"I figured you would be hungry so I made some chicken soup." The elderly woman answers her unasked question.
"Thanks, I didn't realize I was hungry until just now." Akiko takes the dish with both hands and a warm smile.
"Of course! How could you when you were sick with worry!" Eiko chastises her.
"Next time remember to take care of yourself as well."
Akiko winces from the sudden smack to the back of her head and stares back at Eiko with a slight look of indignation but a stern look from her elder has Akiko ducking her head.
'She reminds me of my own grandmother.' She thinks with a small amount of disbelief.
"I'll do my best" She says sheepishly before drinking the soup straight from the bowl, relishing the taste of the chicken that hit her taste-buds.
"Well, I suppose that would be the best I can get out of you." Eiko sighs with exasperation before her expression brightens for a moment.
"Oh! Fumiko told me to tell you that your patient had woken for a while before falling back to sleep" She tells Akiko giddily.
Akiko chokes on the soup at the sudden news before putting the bowl down and starts to cough.
"Fumiko...said he...woke up?" Her voice is broken up by the coughs and croaky from the soup.
"Yes she did. Oh! Are you alright?" Eiko asks concerned at the sudden coughing fit.
"I'm fine; just some soup went down the wrong way" Akiko replies while hitting her chest with a fist in an attempt to stop coughing, an old habit that had followed her throughout her life.
"So, did Fumiko ask for a name?" She questions once her coughing had stopped and watches Eiko intently. She knows that these two know Kakashi on a personal level and wonders if they will hesitate to say a different name.
"Yes, Fumiko told me that his name was Hisao." She is told smoothly. There is no delay or hesitance when saying the name. Akiko speculates that perhaps Eiko had used that name before or that it was a friend's.
"Long-Lived Man..." Akiko ponders on the meaning of the name, and whether it was a wish of Eiko that he lives a long life, a tell of events to come or just plain luck that this name was his.
"Is he alright? Has anything changed?" Akiko looks up at Eiko while resuming her soup.
"There was not change, he's fine. As for you however..."
"I'm fine as well, there's no need for you to worry about me" Akiko cut Eiko off; she knew that she would have to leave soon and it was only a matter of time that someone would come to collect Kakashi as well. Her time here was limited, hopefully limited enough so he won't remember her.
Eiko looks at her with a strange look in her eye, as if reading her emotions but unable to tell her intentions.
"I will also be leaving soon and hope that Hisao will recover well in your hands." She explains, now reading Eiko's look as befuddlement and a question.
"You're leaving?" Eiko's brow furrow's at Akiko.
"Yes, I only intended to stay long enough for Hisao to no longer need my help." A calculative gleam enters the old lady's eye and Akiko knew that she must be careful with her words here.
"You're running from something." Eiko states, not a question and she gets it right.
"Aren't we all?" There is a small smile twisting on her lips and Akiko isn't sure whether it's a sad on or one a bitter one, because she was, she was running from Kakashi and any chance that they could meet. She didn't want any contact with any of the characters, she didn't want to interfere. Akiko knew there would be hard time for them and the world, but she was selfish. All she wanted to do was to find her ache and have a happy life with children and love.
"Perhaps once..." Eiko trails off, still staring at Akiko with eyes that show her mind fast at work remembering a time when she too, had been running.
Akiko gives a non-committal hum of acknowledgement and finishes her soup before handing it back.
"Thanks for the food, it is much appreciated." Akiko changes the subject with about as much subtly as a barking dog and from the look Eiko gives her, she thinks as much as well.
"It's no trouble dear; Hisao's room should be empty now. You can take another look at him if you want." Eiko offers and leaves the room with a grace Akiko hadn't noticed before, a grace that a dancer usually has, or a ninja.
'Well, it seems that Eiko was a Shinobi at one time. Or at least a very good dancer.' Akiko can feel the slight quirk of her lips as she watches the woman leave.
Once Akiko is sure that Eiko had left, she makes her way back to Kakashi's room to check on him, gather her supplies and get ready to leave.
X
When Akiko enters Kakashi's room once more, it's clear that Fumiko had removed the restrains and there are clues that he had been awake, the single one was that the bed covers were now covering his face as if to duplicate his mask. That single action of habit caused a fond smile and an exasperated head shake from Akiko.
Remembering the broken hand, Akiko quickly checks it but is surprised that it has already been set and tied with supports. She isn't sure whether it was Eiko or Fumiko but it is clear that they both care for Kakashi.
As Akiko covers the hand, a small piece of white catches her eye.
It's the cup that she had used to sedate Kakashi during his hallucinations. She stared at his cup thoughtfully. It must have been used recently, as to why, she herself wasn't sure.
'Well, the dosage isn't dangerous and there wasn't enough to cause a serious illness. So it should be fine.' She dismisses before turning back to the table.
Her bruises were still untreated and Akiko intended to put a numbing cream so that she could leave and treat her wounds elsewhere, her head wound being the most prominent.
On the table, her bag and satchel hadn't been moved. The salves were longer that and she was fine with that. All she wanted to do was to leave, and soon and from the looks of the sun's position from the window, it was almost noon.
Searching through her bag, she pulled out the two salves she had used on Kakashi earlier, setting those aside to redress his wounds, Akiko continued her search. There was another jar, one with numbing cream and a thin slender stick. Good enough so that when she puts it on, she can easily move despite the pain. It was a quick remedy she had used many times before.
The stick would be used to keep her hair out of the way. Holding the stick with her teeth, Akiko pulls her hair into a pony tail before taking the stick and sliding it underneath the ponytail and twisting the stick twice and sliding one end through the bun she had created, keeping her hair out of her face.
At the same time as taking out the jar, Akiko also took out her own spare clothes that she intended to change Kakashi into, as a form of apology for ruining his clothes and a spare set of bandages that she had intended to use as a bind.
Setting each item aside, she moved to apply the cream. Instead of removing her shirt, Akiko merely smear a semi-decent amount of the ointment on her finger and rubbed it in based on where she could feel it. It didn't take long, once she had finished, Akiko quickly moved on to rechecking Kakashi's wounds.
Akiko spent a few minutes staring at the bandages that covered his torso, unwilling to cut through them but also equally unwilling to unwind them individually.
Letting out a small sound from the back of her throat in clear display that she didn't want to, Akiko as gently as she could, she ripped the bandages on the side. Gathering the ends in bundles, she threw them to the other side of the bed exposing his wounds. The three wounds that had caused the most trouble were healing nicely. The redness and swelling had gone down, most of them were sealing themselves up but there were a few superficial cuts that had reopened during the night.
With the new shirt by his head and the roll of bandages on top, Akiko repeats the process cleaning his wounds. Smiling when she noticed her water skin was right where she had left it, it was still on the bed side table un-touch by the night's commotion.
Taking a piece of the clean bandage roll and dampening it with water, she sets out to clean all of the wounds, unaware she had started humming again.
Akiko sets the cloth, now stained red from the blood, she turns to the two ointment bottles she had brought over with the clothes. Once more with the two salve jars she had used before, she takes a generous amount of each and mixed them together. When she deemed them mixed, Akiko smears them over the wounds again.
Pulling back, she stares at her work before moving resigning herself to using the bandages to re-wrap Kakashi's wounds. After wrapping the bandages, Akikio moves to replace his shirt.
"You haven't gotten any lighter since the last time I lifted you up." She mutters to herself as she heaves his upper body to slide his arms and head through the shirt's respective holes.
As Akiko is about to move to check on stitches on Kakashi's right leg, she looks up in surprise as the sound thundering footsteps echo through the room and as it gets heaver, she can just hear a voice over the sound.
"...Came as soon as I heard!" It was loud enough to cause Kakashi to groan quietly in discomfort. The voice itself seemed vaguely familiar but if it was one of Kakashi's buddies, there was no doubt that they may be using a disguise. Akiko knew she couldn't trust her ears or her eyes here.
The footsteps became louder as they came closer. The stairs and then down the hall. Akiko pointedly ignored the sound, there was nothing she could do now but focus on caring for Kakashi.
She starts again when the door suddenly opened with a bang. She stares at the man in the doorway with eyes wide.
The man had black hair and a forehead slick with sweat, his eyes were a dark brown that held worry that Akiko was sure couldn't be faked. He wore clothes of a regular farmer but there was something about it that seemed...off somehow as well as the eyes and when he saw the position she had stopped in, his lips pressed into a thin white line.
Her arms had been stopped in the motion of removing Kakashi's pants.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" Instead of the worry she had heard in his voice earlier, there was now anger. Akiko's surprised stare changed and she levelled him with the flattest stare she could and watched with hidden amusement as he involuntarily shivered.
"I'm tending to my patent. Keep your voice down, it's disturbing him." And as if on cue, Kakashi shifted restlessly and let a small moan of pain.
She could see the blush of embarrassment slowly rising before she turned away again, just catching a glimpse of the Eiko, whom she hadn't noticed being by the door until she had moved, and her smirk as she walked off.
"Are you his friend? Or next of kin?" Akiko questions professionally, ignoring the man's presence.
"um...I'm his friend." He says, sounding caught off guard. She hums in acknowledgement as she removes his pants, exposing his leg and some of his underwear. Akiko ignores the latter with years of practice and a strong feeling of professionalism.
When being a doctor, one sees all parts of the body to point of simply being desensitized to any parts a patient may consider embarrassing. However, the man that had taken to squatting by her side didn't see it like that.
His hand grips her wrist as she was removing the completely ruined pants.
Akiko looks up in response, annoyed with the interruption.
"You shouldn't do that." The man says, his brown eyes boring into her with an angry intensity.
Akiko only sighs wearily at the action, silently asking the heavens for patience.
"This man suffered severe blood-loss through a severed artery. I have sealed the wound and am currently checking on it." She explains patently but the hand does not release her wrist.
"Please remove your hand so that I may continue with my job." Akiko says through grit teeth as she faces the man. The man does with curiosity and surprise evident in his expression.
"Why did you help him?" He asks as the pants are removed completely.
"Why wouldn't I?" She retorts as she inspects the skin.
"People don't just do that." The man replies and Akiko can feel his brows furrow from the bewilderment.
"Well, I'm not people." There is a silence from his end.
The skin itself had healed enough to remain together so there was no longer a need for the stitches to remain. As Akiko moves to get up, the man stands quickly.
"You stay there; I can get whatever you need!" He says with an urgency that comes from a person who doesn't want or know how to apologize but does want to help.
"Okay then. Can you get my brown satchel from the table?" She concedes and lets the man investigate her belongings, after all ninjas are paranoid.
"Here." The man hand her the satchel which she unrolls and Akiko can feel the stare on her as the various surgical tools glint in the sunlight, as she quickly removes a small and thin pair of scissors.
"That's a lot of sharp tools." He said in surprise.
"Of course, I'm a medic. I do need tools for my trade." Akiko replies, wearing a faint smirk as she removes the stitches from Kakashi's leg.
"You're a medic?!" Now Akiko is sure that the surprise the man feels is real.
"Yup!" She cheerily agrees as she replaces the scissors for some more bandages and wraps Kakashi's leg wound.
Replacing the scissors back in to leather satchel, she re-rolls the bag and stands where takes her spare pants and drops them in the man's hands.
"You can put those on him while I pack up." She says with a small grin as she walks to her own bag still lying on the small table.
There is some startled movement behind her as she repacks her things and by the time she had turned around, Kakashi was lying in bed fully dressed with the man standing awkwardly by his side.
"Hisao is going to need you to take care of him now." Akiko says with some regret and watches as the man looks to her with wide eyes.
"He's going to need a lot of rest, about an extra week for the blood loss. Make sure he gets lots of water and eats meat to replenish his blood. Also he can't move much otherwise the wounds will open and take special notice of his right leg, that leg can't move much, otherwise he might reopen the artery and have severe internal bleeding." Akiko says in a rush and watches the realization dawn in the man.
"You're leaving." It's not a question.
"I am." Akiko nods, "You're here now, you can look after him." She finishes with a smile before leaving through the door.
X
Akiko meets Eiko and Fumiko at the bottom of the stairs. Eiko has a knowing look while Fumiko stares behind her anxiously.
"He's going to be fine. His friend will take of him now." Akiko releases a sigh.
Fumiko look at her confused before seeing her bag and the understanding dawns on her.
"You're leaving." The tone is slightly incredulous but not a question.
"I am." Akiko says with a slight, reminded of her with the man upstairs who she is starting to think is Yamato, but she isn't sure.
"You take care of yourself, now!" Eiko says to her affectionately and Akiko smiles at the woman before nodding before taking a sudden weight as Fumiko had thrown herself into a hug.
"...Thank you for taking care of him." Her voice is muffled by Akiko's shoulder but she can hear it loud and clear.
"Don't thank me; I was just doing my job." Akiko tells the woman, patting her back gently.
There is a flash of blond hair, Akiko looks up from Fumiko's shoulder and sees the same blond haired man from the night before except now he's sober and grinning at her. Her brows furrow as the man winks at her before performing over exaggerated motions of putting, what Akiko see as a thin metal stick in his mouth. She pushes this out of her mind as she sees the Eiko staring at her and Fumiko fondly.
"You two take care; I'll visit when I can." Akiko says her farewells and as she moves to the door, the two women accompany her to the entrance of the tea shop.
Akiko waves at them as she leaves, taking the road directly in-front of her.
X
As she moves further away from the teashop, Akiko can feel her ache making it's presence known once more. She rubs at her heart absently as her thoughts are cast back to that moment when she was checking Kakashi's temperature.
'...Home. He smelt like home.' Her realization comes suddenly and causes her to laugh sadly.
Now she has an inkling as to why but Akiko didn't want to confirm it, not yet.
Another sudden realization takes precedence over her inkling as she suddenly remembers the name of the man in the series that always had a metal stick in his mouth.
"...Genma." Akiko can't stop the laugh that bubbles out of her throat. She had elbowed a ninja in the stomach.
Placing her straw hat on her head with a grin, Akiko continues on her journey this time to where her feet will take her.
Now, before you lot all go off at me I DO have a plan. As said in one of the journal-ish entries, they didn't actually meet until later and not worry there will be many almost and justs later on.
Also I think you guys can guess what Kakashi had been doing for the last three years. And yes that was his team so to those who got it, I congratulate you!
As to the hair stick, I do that as well because I don't quiet like hair ties that much so that is how I do it.
Lately I've been watching some chinese dramas and those can get so complicated AND! And! They really pull at the heart strings, I can't not tell you how many times I've ended up in tears when something sad happens but their trial and tribulations that the character go through are brilliant! That is a sorta heads up of how this will go. But this fic WIll have a happy ending!
This is a shout out to the guest review called 'COME ON'. I know you got annoyed with the fact that Kakashi had spent most of this time on the bed but as I am trying to be as realistic as possible, I would like to say this. For a person to recover from severe blood loss like Kakashi without transfusions, they would need two weeks rest where they have to drink alot of water and have iron supplements or lots of meat to make up for the lost iron in the blood. Then as I have said here, Kakashi also has chakra exhaustion and if you remember, on team 7's mission to wave Kakashi also experienced chakra exhaustion and couldn't move for two days and it took him a week to heal.
When you add the two injuries together, then there would be a lot of sleeping to recuperate.
On a side note, I am looking for a person who is willing to beta this story. If you are, please PM me or leave a message in the review.
Thank you for reviewing, reading, following and favoring. Your thoughts are much appreciated!
Until next time!
