"You can do that later, c'mon Kakashi, one race." Gai shoved his way between the man and the door to the store, "I've got to keep my streak alive!"

Kakashi sighed and titled his head, "another time Gai, I'm really tired."

"Exhaustion fuels the soul, Kakashi! If I stopped everytime I was tired I wouldn't be as strong as I am now."

"I guess that's true," his grey eye slid shut with a smile, "but I do need to eat."

"When we're finished, buddy." Gai moved forward and tossed his arm around Kakashi's shoulder to steer him from the door, "one lap around the village, just one."

"If you're keeping me from grocery shopping, we might as well make it more than that. How about ten laps? Loser buys dinner."

Gai shook him eagerly, his smile in place and lifting his thumb up, "of course. Although, you should know that as my eternal rival I will not go easy on you, I plan to make this my third consecutive win."

"We'll see about that Gai." Kakashi adjusted the bracers on his arms, itching to get out of his ANBU uniform and shower the day away before shoving the feeling back. It had been over a week since their last rivalry showdown after all and they were overdue for a good match. "Your streak is going to end tonight."

"Oh Kakashi, you think you're so cool but—"

"Give that back!"

The friends turned with other shoppers on the street, watching the owner of the store Kakashi was about to enter fly through the door after a small blonde. The resemblance to Minato took Kakashi's breath away, memories flashing through his head the longer he stared.

Gai glared at the small crowd beginning to form, the whispers already reaching their ears regarding the scared boy in the middle of the crowd. "Kakashi."

"He's fine." His eye narrowed with his answer as he tensed, readying himself to move in case things escalated. He could feel Gai's displeasure at his cold response, his friend tensing beside him as though he was about to step in for the boy.

"Little brat." The shop owner lifted his arm with a sneer, finally getting the hit on the boy he knew some of the other villagers wanted. Small fingers curled around his wrist as it fell, a fist flying and hitting him in the nose before sending him sprawling to his back.

"You people… disgust… me…" Kagome grimaced and turned a glare to the people closest her, "he's a child…"

"He's the nine-tails—"

Kagome released a shaking breath, eyes closing as her jaw clenched at the pain ebbing from the wound at her side from overexertion. "Lord Fourth should have never saved any of you," her eyes shot open, shoving the pain away before moving gingerly to where Naruto stood. She stooped carefully, ruffling his hair gently before scooping him up, eyeing the orange he managed to grab from the store. "He's starving."

"He's a monster."

Kagome kicked the shop owner in the ribs sharply, "I see plenty of monsters… none of them look like Naruto." Her eyes swept over the crowd, widening slightly at the pair watching her carefully before narrowing once more into a glare as though she were silently blaming them for the problems she was facing.

Finally tearing away from Kakashi and Gai, she smoothed Naruto's hair from his forehead, "you're coming with me, okay?"

"Yeah…" he nodded and buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, the kunoichi's anger rising once more at the wetness slipping across her exposed skin.

"He stole my orange."

Kagome inhaled sharply at the sharp tear as she spun, tossing ryō at him with a sneer, "keep the rest, jerk." Her hands cradled him protectively to her body before moving forward again, part of her wishing she had heeded her mother's words to take it easy. 'But, Naruto's safe now.'

"You're bleeding."

Her breath hitched as she slowly turned in a circle, feeling Naruto stir to no doubt look at what was keeping them in the place neither of them wanted to currently be in. "What?"

Gai moved forward in concern at the growing stain at her side, "you um… reopened your wound."

Kagome glanced at the blood and blinked at the stain, "yeah…"

"Why not hand Naruto over and we'll help you home?" Kakashi stepped closer, the image of her lying on the bed in the spare room at the Higurashi house, had that only been just this morning?

"Hand him to who? You?" she scoffed and stepped back, "back off! I'm cleared to take him."

Kakashi sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, 'stubborn, pain in the ass… hard-headed… stop being so damn frustrating.' "We're just trying to help."

"You couldn't help earlier?" she snapped, her eyes held his before ghosting over his form as disgust once more filled her face as they lifted back to his grey eye, "Minato would be disappointed in you… both of you!"

With a final sharp inhale, she turned on her heel and attempted to storm away, the tear in her side hindering her escape slightly.

"Sharp tongue that one," Gai frowned and dipped his head slightly, that had been a shot in his heart he hadn't been ready for.

"Ignore her," Kakashi turned his back on his friend and began walking, shoulders drooping at the truth in her words and being thankful once more no one could see the emotions on his face. "Let's have our race."

"How is she?"

Tatsuo's eyes shot up from the writing the findings on the monitor as she turned, Team 7 hovering inside Kagome's room as they blinked and waited impatiently for her answer. Well, she figured Naruto was clearly impatient with her, Sakura looked torn and Sasuke looked as bored as ever, although his eyes flicked over every once in a while to the bed and lingered. "You three aren't supposed to be in here."

"Yeah, that's what the nurses said too." Sakura laughed nervously; she at least had the decency to look a bit ashamed at breaking the rules.

"And you three should listen to them," Tatsuo tucked her clipboard under her arm and looked ready to shoo them through the door, "come on, lets at least go and get you on the list to visit but, you'll have to wait until she's awake."

"And how long is that?" Sasuke grumbled, glaring at the surprised look Naruto gave him, "not that I care."

"It's hard to say," Tatsuo answered.

"You'll let us know when we can come back though, right?" Naruto crossed his arms and pouted, he had been on that mission, he deserved access first. "Right?"

The Higurashi matriarch rolled her eyes as he continued to press her, tilting her head with a frown. Since Kagome brought him home, Naruto tried her patience, and if it hadn't been for her daughter she probably would have been like every other villager and ignored him. "I will… put you all on the visitor's list but," she pinned them with a strict glare, "you cannot waltz in here while she's unconscious."

"That's great, thank you!" Sakura nudged Naruto's ribs hard as he moved to protest, tossing a winning smile at Sasuke as he nodded. Whatever the importance was to the Higurashi girl was, she would make sure to get on her good side too, it would make Sasuke happy after all; it had to!

Tatsuo set the clipboard on the table beside the door, succeeding in finally ushering the young team from the room and shutting the door behind her to leave the room in silence. The window slid open carefully, Kakashi glancing around the room before climbing through the opening and crossing the floor to the discarded chart.

He didn't know what he was expecting to find, maybe some indication of the mystery that he wasn't aware of surrounding the family. Maybe he was wrong and it was just a personal vendetta against the family as a whole, from what he remembered Kikyō had met her fair share of advisories in her short career.

"What's the verdict?" Kagome's hoarse voice made him jump slightly and turn, her half-lidded brown eyes trained on him, "am I paralyzed this time?"

It took him a moment to comprehend the question before the realization dawned on him as he turned his eye back to her papers, she was anticipating an outcome like last time. "Only if you can't move anything." He answered softly.

The blanket moved slightly as she seemed to test out her limbs, head falling back in what he took as a sigh of relief. "How do you feel?"

"Sore… and stupid," she grimaced with the word, "I should have taken his weapons… How's Tōga?"

"He was conscious when we brough him back."

She mumbled something under her breath and glanced at the IV in her arm before turning her eyes to the monitors, her fingers snaking across her blankets to begin pulling the tape free.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi set the clipboard in place and moved closer, tensing as she eased the IV from her arm and began working on the other wires.

She lifted her head and arched a brow, "I'm fine, I don't need to stay here."

"Your mother might think different."

Kagome grunted as she tugged the last wire from her chest and tossed the blanket back, slinking her legs back onto the mattress as the door opened.

"You're awake," Tatsuo sighed in relief before catching sight of Kakashi as she reached for her discarded papers, "I'll make sure you're on the list too."

"Thank you." He smiled and tilted his head; Tatsuo was more reasonable than he thought.

'Suck up,' Kagome rolled her eyes and sat up straighter, watching her mother move to fix the blankets on her body before eyeing the cords in exasperation. "I don't need them."

"You're in the hospital, you need them."

Kagome moved away from her seeking hand, shooing it away with a frown. "I can do R and R at home."

"No."

"I did last time."

"You were in a different circumstance last time." Tatsuo looped the wires over the monitor and ducked her head, "is it safe at least?"

Kagome turned from the window and arched her brow, "what?"

Sharp eyes shot to her with a frown, hissing her daughter's name before realization dawned and the woman flipped her hand in annoyance at the topic. "Yes. Thanks for worrying about me."

"You're exhausting, why can't you take this seriously? Your sister and father did."

"Yeah… didn't do them much good though, did it?"

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets and moved to the window, staring at the people in the hospital courtyard as he tuned them out. His fingers rolled the jewel still residing in his pocket, suddenly not needing answers to his unasked questions; whatever this trinket did, it was enough that the Higurashi's were willing to give their life for it. 'I'll put it back when I leave.'

Silence lapsed over the room save for Tatsuo's notetaking, Kagome's hands hitting her blankets sharply and drawing the jōnin from his thoughts as he turned.

"I want to go home…"

"I could have cleared you if you kept the monitors on."

"So, put them back for an hour—"

"Why are you like this?"

"They didn't even give me the good jell-o flavor… can I have orange?"

Tatsuo deflated slightly and took the small bowl, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

"I'll have you eat and drink something to prove you can, then see about discharging you… those chakra bindings are still going to need a few days to fully disappear."

Kagome shoved the sleeves up and turned her arms, "oh yeah… what's that bandage?"

"Where they burned you while you were saving Tōga… he's fine! He's going to need a few more weeks."

The kunoichi nodded sharply and settled against her pillows, rubbing her arms gently with a frown. Her eyes caught Kakashi's as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, her stomach flipping at the concern shining in the depth of his orb. "Hey um… when's the last time you hung out with Gai?"

"Tired of me already?"

Tatsuo glanced up from her notes, eyes flicking between them before shaking the Jell-O cup in her hand, "I'll grab you an orange and be right back."

Kakashi traipsed to her bedside, finger gently brushing against her arm before leaning down to brush his masked lips against the crown of her head. "I suppose I'll go and find him, maybe grab an early dinner with Asuma and Kurenai. When you're released I'd like to cook for you again."

"Yeah," she smiled lightly and settled back, "I'd like that."

"It's a date then." His finger brushed against the bandage before pulling back fully and making for the door, "we have a lot to talk about after all."