Nori: Ok, I'm here. DISCLAIMER! I'll do it. I do not own Naruto or the characters but I do own all the OC's and ideas!
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Rika opened her eyes and yawned. She sat up and looked around, she was still in the hospital. It was dark out now. When did she fall asleep? She looked over at the hospital clock. It was 1:32 AM. She really never remembered falling asleep.
Then, she reached up to touch her cheek. It felt weird, like she had been crying. It hit her at that moment. She remembered. She went to Kakashi's room. He was all mad at her and that's when…he kissed her.
'Whoa…how can I forget that?' Rika asked herself. She smiled. 'That was a great kiss. If only he would've taken his mask off!' She growled. Every since Rika could remember, Kakashi has worn that stupid mask! She had never seen him without it, but she had a feeling she was going to change that…very soon.
Rika sighed and then lay back down, she decided that it would be a good idea to rest up. Hopefully, tomorrow the hospital would let her out.
-Earlier that Day-
Kakashi sighed as he walked out of Rika's hospital room. She had fallen asleep on him and he decided, before anyone had a chance to walk in, that he should get her back into her own room.
He couldn't believe what went on about an hour ago. Since when did he have the courage to kiss her? He had no idea where it came from; he was so pissed at her. Why did he do it at a time like that?
'So, you finally did it,' Obito's voice said triumphantly in Kakashi's mind as he walked. 'How many years did it take you? Twenty-four? When are you guys gonna just get it on!?' Kakashi rolled his eyes.
'Shut up,' he told his friend. 'I haven't even thought of that, plus, who knows if she likes me as anything more than a friend.'
'First of all, yes you do think of that, all the time,' Obito said, Kakashi knew he was smirking. 'Trust me, I know. And second, did you see how she reacted? She definitely thinks of you as something more than a friend.'
'How do you know? She's been through a lot,' Kakashi said. 'She could've just needed someone to be there for her.'
'You're so negative,' was all Obito said back. Kakashi decided to ignore that statement. Besides, he had some business to tend to. Before he checked out of the hospital he wanted to check up on Sakura. She had been out for the past three days and he was worried about her. He wasn't sure yet exactly what went on with the young genin and Vansu, but he did know that the outcome was pretty bad. He just had to see how his student was doing.
Finally, he arrived at Sakura's hospital room. Room 4785; a name plaque was on the door, it read Haruno, Sakura. Kakashi, slowly and quietly, turned the doorknob and opened it. Inside was pretty much the same setup as his and Rika's rooms. Instead of one of them lying in the bed though, the young, female genin did.
Kakashi walked over to the side of his student's bed. She still looked pretty beat up, even after having treatment for three days. She had a black eye, cuts, bruises, and bumps all over her body. Her pink hair was messy.
Kakashi looked down at Sakura sadly. He took his hand and gently pushed some of her hair out of her face. She looked so peaceful sleeping, even though she was so battered up.
"I can't believe I let this happen," Kakashi whispered to himself. "I can't believe I didn't see this coming."
He couldn't stand seeing Sakura hurt like this. Kakashi, at first, hated his team of students. They were three annoying brats that didn't know what the word "shinobi" meant. But after all they had been through in the past almost year, he had grown to care for them like they were his own children.
In a way, Kakashi felt like he really was their father. Sasuke had no family, well besides his brother, but he was the murderer of the whole Uchiha Clan. Naruto had no family as well, his mother had passed awhile back and his father had died saving the village. And Sakura…she still had a family, but from things Kakashi had heard and read about her, they didn't pay all that much attention to her.
Kakashi couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She needed, they all needed, some sort of parental figure in their life. That was where Kakashi came in.
Then, out of nowhere, Sakura started to stir. Kakashi watched intently to see if she was waking up. He heard her groan quietly. One of her jade eyes opened and looked up at her sensei.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, her voice hoarse. She opened both eyes now and sat up.
Kakashi smiled sadly under his mask. Even with her being awake, she looked like death. She seemed as if she wanted to cry.
"What happened? Where am I?" she began to ask, Kakashi noticed her eyes turn glassy. "Why am I here? Why can't I remember anything? What's going on, Kakashi-sensei?" Her tears began to flow freely down her cheeks.
"Shh," Kakashi hushed her and gently pushed her to lie back down. "Calm down, Sakura."
Sakura shook her head violently back and fourth.
"What happened, Sensei?" she asked again. "You have to tell me."
Kakashi closed his visible eye and just shook his head slowly. He sighed. He wished he could tell Sakura exactly what happened but he just didn't know. The only thing he did know was that Vansu hurt her…but he was dead now. None of them would have to worry anymore.
"I'm not really sure," Kakashi told his student. "All I know is that man, Vansu, injured you pretty badly. You say you can't remember what he did?"
Sakura shook her head again. More tears fell. Kakashi frowned and brushed them away with his fingers.
"Shh, it's alright, he's gone now," he comforted her. "I promise I won't let anything like that happen to you again."
"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough," she said to him, her voice was still raspy. "I should've been able to get away."
"Don't talk that way. You were able to keep yourself alive and I'm proud of you for that," he told her gently. "Now, try and get back to sleep. I'll inform one of the nurses that you were up." Kakashi turned to leave, but Sakura's voice stopped him.
"What about my mom or dad?" she asked. "Did they at least stop by?"
Even though Kakashi had been in his own hospital room as long as she had he knew for a fact that neither of her parents had visited to check up on their daughter. He didn't have the guts to tell her that, though.
'Wow, this is pathetic,' he thought to himself before answering. 'I'm the Copy Ninja of Konoha, I've killed so many other shinobi and missing Nin that were stronger than me, but I can't tell a little girl that her parents didn't come to the hospital to see her.'
"Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi snapped out of his own thoughts.
"Sorry," he told her and turned around. "Uh, I think I remember hearing Naruto say that they did but the nurses wouldn't let them in because of your condition."
Sakura looked down. Kakashi wasn't sure if she knew that they really didn't come or if she just missed them.
"Thank you, Sensei," she told him without looking up. "For everything."
"It's not a problem, Sakura," Kakashi told her and smiled. "Now do as I said and get back to sleep. You need your rest to fully recover."
Sakura nodded and closed her eyes again. Kakashi walked out of the room and shut the door. As he did a nurse walked by, he stopped her.
"Excuse me," he said. "I just wanted to inform someone that Sakura Haruno has woke up now. She still seems beaten up badly and she can't remember what happened to her. But she is fully conscious and able to function for what I can tell."
The nurse smiled and bowed to Kakashi.
"Thank you," she said. "I'll have a doctor go in and check up on her shortly."
Kakashi nodded and walked away. He needed to check out of this hospital now. Ever since he could remember he hated being in hospitals. They were always so depressing and sometimes seemed to make matters worse.
He walked to the elevator and rode down to the lobby where he checked out. Kakashi took a deep breath as he stepped outside. It felt good to get out, finally. It was bright, sunny, and warm, just how he liked it.
Kakashi began to walk down the street. He needed to find Naruto and Sasuke to check up and see how they were doing. They weren't able to do much in the fight against Vansu but they still got a few cuts and bruises here and there. Plus, as their sensei, it was his duty to make sure they weren't trying to kill each other.
He tried to sense their chakra. It was the easiest way to find them. It took a minute before he actually got anything, but then he caught onto Naruto's. He was near the ramen shop.
"Not a surprise," Kakashi said to himself as he ran off to find his student.
Kakashi got to the ramen stand in a matter of a couple minutes where he saw his blonde student and a man that he hadn't seen in a long time. Jiraiya, one of the three sannin.
He casually walked up and sat down next to his pupil. Naruto looked over at his sensei and smiled.
"Kakashi-sensei!" he shouted. "You're out of the hospital!"
"Just checked out," Kakashi told him.
"Kakashi!" Jiraiya shouted. "So good too see you." He got up and slapped his shoulder. Kakashi smiled at the man.
"Same to you," he said, eye curving.
"Guess what, sensei!?" Naruto bounced to his feet. "The Pervy-sage is going to teach me a cool new jutsu!"
"Really, now?" Kakashi gave Jiraiya a questioning glance. He nodded.
"I told him I would," he told Kakashi and waved his hand. "I'll have to take him for a few days, though. I'm on a mission at the same time."
Kakashi nodded.
"Alright," he said and looked at Naruto. "Please, don't do anything stupid." He ruffled the boy's hair. Naruto squinted one eye and glared at Kakashi out of the other.
"I'm a ninja!" he shouted at him. "You don't need to worry about me!"
"Good," Kakashi said and held up his hand. "Well, I have to go find Sasuke now, so I'll see you two in a few days."
"BYE, KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto shouted and the three went their separate paths.
After parting from Naruto Kakashi decided that he needed to go find Sasuke. He had an idea of where he might be. At the training grounds most likely…training.
Kakashi took his time walking to the training grounds. He was taking in the sent of summertime. He loved it so much. Peaceful, calming. After the past few days he needed something to clear his mind.
Once he got near the training grounds he felt a certain familiar chakra…but it wasn't Sasuke's. He hurried his pace and turned a corner to see Anko there. She was training and it looked like she had been for awhile. He could see beads of sweat on her face and that she was panting. She growled and began punching one of the three wooden posts that were smack dab in the middle of the grounds.
Kakashi walked a bit closer to her and she suddenly perked up. She turned around and faced the Copy Ninja. Her breaths were still irregular.
"K-Kakashi," she said. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same," he retorted. "Shouldn't you be at the academy going over what went on during the past chuunin exams?"
Anko put up her hand onto the wooden post she had been beating a moment ago. She had used up a lot of chakra, she'd been training all day so far.
"I took the day off," she told him. "I just needed time to think."
Kakashi walked over and leaned his back against one of the other posts with his arms folded across his chest. Anko sighed and sat down with her legs crossed.
"What do you need time to think about?" he inquired. Anko glared up at him.
"Why should I tell you?" she spat. "The last time we really talked was before Rika left. We were all good friends, Rika, you, Ayumu, and I, then she leaves and you don't say a word to me. Then she comes back and we're all best friends again? I don't think so."
Kakashi looked down at Anko in confusion. He straightened.
"I didn't…" Kakashi started to explain, but Anko cut him off.
"Save it, Kakashi," Anko stood back up. "I just don't feel like talking to anyone right now. You're all worthless." With that she disappeared.
'What was all that about?' Kakashi thought. 'I've never known Anko to act like that towards anyone, even if they did betray her.'
'Maybe it was Orochimaru?' Obito's voice popped into Kakashi mind again.
'No matter how long I haven't really talked to Anko, I know for a fact she would NEVER side or listen to him again, EVER,' Kakashi told him.
'You never know,' Obito said. 'He used to mean so much to her. A lot is going on right now. She might need it.'
'No, Obito, don't say that. I don't need this right now. I already have to worry about my students and Rika and I don't need one more thing on my conscious,' Kakashi massaged his temples. 'You're already enough to drive one insane.'
'I do what I can,' Kakashi knew that Obito was smiling.
'It's really not the time for jokes,' he said.
'Fine, fine, I'll leave you alone,' Obito sighed. He knew not to annoy Kakashi when he was overwhelmed, which he rarely got, but this was an instance to just leave him alone.
Kakashi slowly slid down the wooden post until he was sitting. He put his head in his hands and sighed.
'Ok, Kakashi,' he told himself. 'Just take one thing at a time. Make a list, that usually helps. Alright, kill Vansu. Check. Make sure Rika is healed. Check. See how Sakura is doing. Check. Find Naruto. Check. Find Sasuke. Still need to do that. Find out what's bothering Anko. That still needs to be done. Make sure Kakashi is alright. I doubt I will ever be able to get to that one…'
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Nori: God, shitty chapter here. Sorry guys!
Tama: It wasn't…too horrible.
Nori: Yea…right…
Tama: It was good!
Nori: Not really. Sorry for such a long wait guys! Read and review. Next chapter will be up soon.