Note:
Hi Lovely People! Welcome back. It's quite a short one this time, I'm afraid.
I just want to say thanks to my lovely anonymous reviewer from Chapter 12 "Namae desu". In reply to you (everyone else please skip this bit !):
Don't worry about a long review and 'ranting - I like it! I love swordsmanship too, though I don't really know much about it - just what I've seen in Chinese movies! The movements are just so elegant and beautiful, and as Kakashi owns a sword anyway and moves in a beautiful, flowing way in the anime I thought it seemed fitting for him to have learned to fight well with a sword. I just couldn't resist it!
The Kakazu fight is my favourite fight in the anime. It's the only time so far that Kakashi's true speed and skill has been shown, and I love how in that fight his movements are so fluid that even when he is knocked onto his back he turns it to his advantage and never stops moving for a second. It's amazing! I even slowed down the video to watch it better (aargh! did I really just admit to that!).
I love that about Naruto - each character has a completely different fighting style, and even when they are seemingly doing something similar their personality and experiences always seem to show through in the way they move.
Thank you so much for your comments on my writing style - I'm thrilled and blushing!
And thank you to everyone else who has read this and has added it to alerts or favourites! And thanks to the other anonymous reviewers from earlier chapters - it didn't cross my mind until now that I could thank you here!
Anyway the time has come to move on...
Chapter 13 - Exhaustion
Kakashi opened his eyes to the sight of a blue, perfect sky dappled with fluffy white clouds. He chuckled quietly. He hadn't intended to make a sound, but the sight of a cloud that looked just like Pakkun was just too funny.
"How are you feeling kid?" said a deep voice from somewhere that wasn't the sky. It was Jiraiya-sama, and he sounded pretty concerned.
Kakashi took a moment before responding to perform a quick assessment of his physical state. His entire body felt heavy, as though he had chakra exhaustion, but he didn't remember having used that much chakra. The light hurt his eyes, and his whole body seemed to ache. He couldn't remember a time he had felt so utterly exhausted. He really must have been more out of shape than he had thought. Who would have known that three months spent pretty much out of the game would leave him in such bad shape.
He tried to sit up, but his body didn't respond as he wanted it to, and he barely managed to lift himself an inch from the ground before falling back.
"I feel fine, Jiraiya-sama", he lied automatically. But obviously someone who was fine would be able to sit up, so in an attempt not to look stupid Kakashi tried once more without success and then conceded, saying "well, I am a bit stiff".
Kakashi cringed inwardly at giving such a lame response. He heard Jiraiya-sama sigh deeply and could imagine him shaking his head. But he didn't take his eyes off the clouds for a second. Things were developing up there, and he didn't want to miss any of the fleeting changes that might take place.
Pakkun was just about to sniff at, or perhaps bite, some sort of rabbit - or small elephant - or even a large mouse. And now it wasn't Pakkun any more but Jiraiya-sama's head from the back.
Kakashi chuckled again.
Pakkun and Jiraiya-sama were so different, and yet in their cloud-forms one could morph into the other so easily.
Kakashi felt Jiraiya-sama staring at him intensely, so he reluctantly pried his eyes away from the peaceful sky and turned his head to the right to look. It took far more effort than it should have done.
"Kakashi. You're not fine. And what are you laughing at?" Kakashi watched Jiraiya-sama shake his head and look at him with great concern. But wasn't it obvious?
"Oh, Pakkun, you, the elephant-mouse thing" he responded, aware that he sounded slightly vague. But they were up there for anyone to see, after all.
Jiraiya-sama frowned and turned his head to the side, addressing someone just outside of Kakashi's field of vision.
"Is he all right?" he asked the other person. Kakashi hadn't sensed them at all. He must be more out of it than he had thought.
Then a second face appeared above him, and Kakashi realised that perhaps he wasn't out of it. This person was one of the most killed shinobi in all the Five Countries after all.
"Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi was certainly surprised to see her. He opened his tired eyes wide and tried to sit up again. This time, before his back hit the ground again, Kakashi found himself caught by a pair of strong arms and raised gently to a sitting position. The arms did not release him but remained, holding him upright.
"Hi Kakashi-kun", she smiled warmly at him. "Take it slowly, your body isn't too happy with you right now" she paused and turned to glare at Jiraiya-sama. "It looks as though Jiraiya has been pushing you too hard".
"Tsunade-sama, what happened? Why are you here?" Kakashi wondered what had happened. He remembered sparring with Jiraiya-sama and feeling exhausted, so he guessed that he must have collapsed, but his body didn't feel in bad enough condition to warrant the sort of looks Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama were giving each other. Jiraiya-sama spoke after a few seconds of silence.
"Kakashi-kun, you collapsed after our spar. Perhaps I did push you too hard. I should have stopped it as soon as you got tired, I realise that now, but..." he paused as Tsunade-sama backhanded him around the head. "I sent a frog to bring Tsunade here because you weren't breathing normally and I was worried. You were out for nearly two hours you know."
"And it's a good thing he did, Kakashi-kun. You shouldn't be using your chakra", added Tsunade-sama.
Kakashi was a little stunned and wanted to say something but Tsunade-sama began speaking again.
"Your system is still recovering from the almost total drain you suffered during the fight for the Village, and just using a small amount of chakra combined with physical exertion was enough to knock you out for two hours,. In fact, I'm surprised you're awake now. Still, it's time we got you back to the Village." She frowned, and Kakashi realised that he was shivering despite being inside a survival bag. He didn't feel particularly cold, but he didn't feel warm either. He was really thirsty and although he knew that going 'back to the Village' meant at least an overnight stay in the hospital he was too tired to care.
The two Sannin had turned away, and started talking in hushed voices which Kakashi could hear all too easily.
"Is he stable enough to move yet?" Jiraiya-sama asked.
"We can't keep him here. I wanted him to regain consciousness before we moved him, and he has woken up much more quickly than I was expecting, so he should be fine. I want to get him to the hospital as soon as possible now. The priority is to get him warmed up and get some fluids into him. His body temperature is all over the place". Tsunade-sama bit her lip, indicating that she was nervous. Kakashi didn't miss the movement. He had played poker with her once, and he knew that was her 'tell'. He much didn't like the way they were talking about him as though he wasn't there, although he wondered what would have them both so worried. Surely he was just tired. Neither did he like the worried looks on their faces, so he decided to intervene.
"Um, Tsunade-sama? I feel fine, honestly. I just need to rest so I don't need to go to the hospital. I can sleep at Sarutobi-sama's place". Kakashi didn't really care where he rested, but it was the only thing he could think to say at that moment, and he wanted to distract them both.
Tsunade-sama sighed deeply and exchanged a glance with Jiraiya-sama before addressing him.
"Kakashi-kun. You are suffering from severe exhaustion, and it isn't purely chakra-related either. You need to rest properly, and I want to monitor you for a bit to see how you are sleeping. You've had a hard time lately - in fact these last few years have been tough on us all - and it's all taking its toll on your body. You are not to push yourself at all or you might never recover. Do you understand, Kakashi-kun?"
She raised her voice slightly at the end, bringing Kakashi's attention back to what she was saying. His mind had drifted off and he had been looking at the clouds again, he realised. It was hard to focus.
"Hai, Tsunade-sama" he said automatically, rolling his eyes to the side to look at her face. His attention was drawn to her eyes. She had brown eyes. Light brown, like her hair. She was made up of warm colours; golden hair, brown eyes, honey skin. Her green and beige outfit. She was like the forest in summer, peaceful and warm. Jiraiya-sama was brighter and harsher in colour. White, tan. red. Still warm though. He was not bright and warm like they were. Grey hair, pale skin, black eyes - eye - and dark clothes, like a faded photograph. And Obito's Sharingan red like blood, the only bright, living part of him. He couldn't be warm like them. He felt so cold as well. He felt his body shake even though the sun was shining and he was well wrapped up.
He remembered the feeling of lying in Biwako-san's arms. Warm.
Why was he so cold when everyone else was warm, Kakashi wondered with a detached sort of interest.
He turned his eyes to the sky once more. There was Maito Gai, striking a pose. A laugh once again left his lips. Gai was warm, like the sun. Gai was always so enthusiastic. Gai saw the good in everyone, and made even Kakashi feel valuable in some way.
Then he felt so tired suddenly. Everything just ached so much, and the the light was hurting his eyed, so he closed them. They felt so heavy.
His whole body felt heavy. Perhaps someone had replaced his original bones with lead.
Yes. That would explain it. Was there a jutsu for that, he wondered? Maybe if he could copy it he wold be able to get hold of a lot of lead quite easily and... what?
What would he even use lead for anyway, Kakashi wondered as the sky and the clouds faded away and darkness came up to meet him.
Tsunade watched as Kakashi's attention seemed to wander as she spoke to him. He really couldn't focus at all and it worried her. He blinked slowly and looked at her for a moment, then his eye moved to look at Jiraiya behind her before coming to rest looking straight up again at the sky.
He laughed again. What was going on in his head? Just what was he seeing?
His eye drifted shut and he passed out again. She would have preferred him to be awake for the short trip back, but it would be all right. He was out of danger now.
She laid a hand on his skinny chest and performed a quick scan to make sure. His heart was beating strongly and his breathing seemed normal.
Jiraiya had been in such a state when she had arrived. He was hiding it of course, but he had never been good at dealing with a crisis and she could tell he cared about Sakumo's kid beyond any obligation he might have felt for his safety.
When she had followed the little messenger frog back into the forest to Jiraiya, and had started trying to correct the problems he seemed to be having with breathing, Kakashi had gone into cardiac arrest. She didn't want to tell him that just yet.
She had almost panicked. There had been no blood, but the thought of almost losing a child like that, under her very hands... She had frozen as images of Nawaki and Dan had entered her head un-looked for. By panicking over her past failures she always came that much closer to failing again. It was ironic.
But Kakashi was alive. She looked down at him. He was small for fourteen she thought, and in sleep he looked no more than ten really. But his outlook was so mature. Children should not be frail and burdened like this. Even she and Jiraiya had found some time to be kids, although they had become Genin at only six years old themselves, and had grown up in war time. But back then it had been pretty much the norm, so there were far more ninja their own age around. They hadn't been singled out and forced to grow up quite as quickly in order to work with older shinobi. Everyone had seemed to accept that kids had a role to play as well, and although they were ninja they were still treated like kids by their older comrades.
At six, Tsunade remembered being treated pretty much how ten year old Genin were treated today.
She was glad that it was no longer the norm for children that young to go out to fight, but it had probably made it harder for Kakashi to be accepted.
She sighed and bent to rearrange the blankets around the kid. She was about to scoop him up in her arms, but Jiraiya, who had been uncharacteristically silent for a while now, stepped forward.
"Let me, Tsunade." She looked into his eyes for a moment, and sensing that he really wanted to do something useful to help out she nodded and straightened up.
Jiraiya lifted Kakashi with great tenderness, careful not to jolt him at all, and cradled him closely to his huge chest. The size difference between them was really quite absurd, Tsunade thought, and she snorted a little thinking about something Jiraiya had said.
He turned, a questioning look on his face.
"I was just imagining this little squirt getting the better of you in a fight. It's pretty funny really! The Great Jiraiya-sama caught out by a smart little brat!"
Jiraiya just shook his head, feigning indignance, but Tsunade could see a smile on his lips as he leapt up into the trees.
Jiraiya was pleased that this kid had caught him out? Ha! He must really be taken with him, she thought.