A/N: Okay, I'm not even going to try to make any lame excuses for the late update this time. You'll want to chuck anything that's within reach at my face. But hopefully this chapter makes up for my being a bum. Reviews/PMs are more than welcome. Hope you enjoy!

Kakashi returned home that evening, thoroughly weary and confused. Lady Haruka had forced him to kiss her and then to spend the entire day with her. He had held her hand, taken her around town and, worst of all, not even touched his Icha Icha once! It had been, to say the least, excruciatingly frustrating. Looking forward to a long reading session, Kakashi settled onto a couch in the living room of his apartment, when the clock caught his eye, and he suddenly sat up straight. Ten hours had elapsed...ten hours...the surgery would have been completed by now!

Abandoning his book, Kakashi sprinted to the hospital. People threw glances at him as he sped past, but he didn't care. He had to get there, and soon.

After making a hurried enquiry at the reception as to where Hyuuga Neji was being treated, Kakashi ran up the stairs to Neji's ward. The entire corridor was deathly silent. Neji's family stood right outside the ward where he was being treated. The Konoha 11 plus Sasuke and sans Neji sat on the chairs provided, their faces glum. Kakashi saw that almost all of them were praying. Gai, who was pacing up and down, looked up when Kakashi reached the scene. He was the only one who acknowledged the arrival of the grey-haired jounin.

Kakashi stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on the shoulder of his 'eternal rival'. No words needed to be said. Both the jounin understood well what the other was trying to communicate. And then through that deathly silence came a creak.

Nearly everyone started. The door of the ward had slowly swung open. Everyone who was sitting down got to their feet. Neji's parents rushed to the open door. A bedraggled Hina staggered outside and would have collapsed to the floor had Gai, who had also hurried to the door, not caught her just in time.

"You can...go in..." Hina mumbled, her breath coming out in short and rough gasps. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin was uncannily pale. The next second, she was unconscious. Gai left her to the care of Momoka, who had hurried onto the scene and then went into the ward along with Neji's family, Lee and Tenten. The others stayed behind to allow them their personal space. They all had the same notion in their minds – that it had been too late.

Kakashi was highly worried about Neji, of course, but a small corner of his brain kept fretting over Shizune's condition. If the nurse had come out like that, Shizune, who had used more efforts, would most certainly be worse. Just then, Lee came through the door, holding a frail and limp body in his arms. It was a moment before Kakashi realised that it was Shizune. He quickly relieved Lee of her, so that the young lad could return to his teammate's side. To say that Kakashi was utterly shocked to see the dark-haired kunoichi's condition would have been a complete understatement.

The blood had drained from Shizune's face. Her eyes had bags and dark circles under them. Her lips were cracked and dry. Her limbs hung limply from her torso. Kakashi took her to the nearest empty ward, not bothering to even register the fact that the nurses were giving him loud stares due to the fact that he was carrying Shizune bridal style. He entered the ward he wanted and deposited her gently onto the bed. Her breath was ragged and extremely irregular. Her clothes were stained with blood. Kakashi checked her pulse and found that it was alarmingly faint. Just then, Lady Tsunade thundered into the ward and took command of the situation. She shooed Kakashi out, so he was forced to exit despite the fact that he would have liked to have stayed.

As Kakashi stepped into the corridor, he heard the sighs of relief and cries of joy for the first time. Gai ran over to the Copy Ninja and held him in an iron-tight hug. "He's survived, Kakashi," the Green Beast wept softly, "He's survived!" Again, Kakashi felt pride swelling up within him, but it was a thousand times stronger now. Shizune had actually gone and done the nearly impossible. She had succeeded in performing the highly meticulous surgery without practising it even once.

Along with everyone else, Kakashi went to see Neji. The young Hyuuga was still unconscious, but his breathing was normal and his features were actually adorned with a serene smile. Tenten was holding his hand and doing nothing but gazing at him, her eyes full of concern. Lee was busy reciting how the combined power of the youth of Neji, Shizune and Hina had saved him. The others spent five minutes with Neji and then departed to let his family and team spend some time with him.

Lady Tsunade had come out into the corridor. "Shizune needs blood," she said straightaway, "How many of you here have blood of the O+ group?"

Kakashi came forth, his sleeve already rolled up to his shoulder. "Alright then," Lady Tsunade said briskly and led him into the ward, shutting the door behind them. She quickly performed a blood test on him and then set about the apparatus for the transfusion. As his blood slowly made its way into Shizune's being, Kakashi prayed for her. Hopefully, this would save her.

After the transfusion, Lady Tsunade ordered, "Kakashi, make sure you eat plenty of iron-rich foods. Take adequate rest and don't try anything funny. I'm giving you tomorrow's day off, since I've extracted quite a bit of your blood."

Kakashi nodded. Lady Tsunade's eyes softened as she said softly, "You really care for Shizune, don't you?" Kakashi started. "I saw it clearly in your eyes – or rather eye, since you choose to expose only one," the Hokage smiled. Kakashi murmured a 'good-bye' and left the ward, feeling very weak but very satisfied.

He returned the next day with two bouquets of orchids in his hands. The first one he left at Neji's bedside table. He had finally come to. He was looking quite fresh, but was still not strong enough to speak. So, he simply nodded and smiled at Kakashi. The grey-haired jounin then took the other bouquet to Shizune's ward. Lady Tsunade was in there already. She turned and grinned when she saw Kakashi.

"Good morning," she greeted robustly, "Shizune's quite fine, as you can see." Kakashi could see. He walked over to her and placed the bouquet on her bedside table. "I'm so very proud of you," he said. Shizune smiled up at him from the bed. She still looked very weak, but at least she was conscious. "That was a complex surgery, Shizune," Lady Tsunade beamed, "It was more mental stress than physical. And mental stress can tire a person to bits. Anyway, I can't go about spending my day here. I've got the functioning of Konoha to look after. So, goodbye!" She left the ward, leaving the two of them alone in the room. Kakashi pointed at a chair beside Shizune's bed meant for visitors. "May I?" Kakashi asked. Shizune nodded, "Of course". He took his place. For a while, companionable silence lingered over the two of them. This was what he wanted. He wanted to be comfortable with Lady Haruka, just like he was with Shizune. The silence was finally broken by Shizune.

"Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Perfect," Kakashi eye-smiled.

"Really, I feel quite well already."

"I don't know, you still look peaky to me."

Shizune smiled, "When we Medics say those very words to you shinobi, they are totally inconsequential."

"That's different," Kakashi said.

"How?"

"Because you're different."

Silence lingered again, but it was no longer simply companionable. It was as if there was something else in the air. Kakashi felt that ember lighting up again.

"How?" Shizune breathed.

"You just are," Kakashi spoke evenly, "There's something about you."

Silence again. It was then that Shizune noticed how close they were. She had to say something, and fast. But she could think of nothing. Her eyes fluttered shut automatically. Her face and neck had heated up and her lips were tingling. The next moment, she felt Kakashi's hand on her right cheek. She settled into its gentle warmth, subconsciously knowing what was going to come next. "I'm going to say this straight out, Shizune," Kakashi spoke, "I'm the least unromantic person I know. But I'm going to do my best to make the ensuing kiss a memorable experience for both of us."

Shizune smiled. He had literally announced that he was going to kiss her. But his straightforward attitude was one of the things she loved the most about him. Sure enough, the next moment, she felt the soft and warm feel of his lips on hers. Shizune's faculties scattered one by one. Straightforward or glib, Kakashi surely knew how to make kissing memorable. And then, it struck her – the horrid realisation that Kakashi was a man engaged to be married and he was basically cheating on Lady Haruka with her. With whatever little strength she had, she pushed him away.

"What's the matter?" She hadn't managed to push Kakashi all that much away at all; the tip of his nose was still touching hers. Shizune noticed that he didn't have his mask on and was momentarily lost in how perfectly featured and structured his face was. Kakashi didn't try to kiss her again. He knew that she did not want him to.

"You're engaged," Shizune whispered, pulling herself together. This realisation was dawning on Kakashi as well, for he straightened up and pulled on his mask.

"You're engaged," Shizune repeated, "to be married to Lady Haruka. This was a mistake. This shouldn't have happened."

"Shizune..."

"This is bad," the kunoichi sighed, sounding distraught.

"I do not want to marry Lady Haruka."

Shizune gaped at this confession. "I am doing so only for the sake of Konoha," Kakashi continued, "There, I've said it. This had to happen."

"But..."

"Doing the right thing always involves a sacrifice. I am about to sacrifice the satisfaction of having bonded with the right woman. Don't feel responsible for this, Shizune." But just as he spoke the last sentence, a lone tear escaped from Shizune's right eye. And Kakashi felt a pang. Immediately, he wiped it off with his thumb.

"Please don't cry, Shizune," he whispered, "Please."

"Kakashi, I don't think we should converse regularly again. Let's talk only when it's absolutely necessary." Kakashi was silent. Shizune lifted her tear-filled eyes and said, "You will be married soon. You'll have a wife. You'll forget about me soon enough. But I'll remember you, Kakashi, as the shinobi who kissed me."

"Do you know what you're saying?" Kakashi said fiercely, "I'll never forget you, Shizune! Never! What kind of a boor do you think I even am?"

"It was my fault too," Shizune mumbled, "I didn't stop you in time. I wanted you to kiss me. Oh, I don't know what to do anymore!" Kakashi noticed that she looked considerably weaker than she had when he had just entered the ward. Quickly, he called a nurse, said a quick goodbye to Shizune and exited the ward, trying to get a grip on his flailing emotions.