REVIVAL

"Once you had put the pieces back together, even though you may look intact, you were never quite the same as you'd been before the fall."

― Jodi Picoult

Chapter IV: Broken & Beautiful

"Kunais?"

"Yes, yes."

"Snacks?"

"Check."

"Bandages?"

"Tenshi-neesan," the golden-haired boy whimpers, "I'm good to go!"

Pushing herself up from the dining table, she nods, conceding. "Fine, fine."

"You've got to count on me," Naruto smiles, "I'm going to be Hokage someday, remember? There's no way a little Chunin Exam will hurt me."

The child's grin sends a warm feeling in her chest. He's right, I should really stop coddling him like he's some baby.

The duo exits Naruto's apartment, the warm breeze rushes over them, leaves rustling in the strong wind. "Naruto-kun?

The eleven-year-old turns up to her to face her, wide blue orbs sparkling.

"Please don't be stupid out there."

"Neesan!"

After saying their goodbyes, Tenshi heads straight for their new office. Apparently some jounins made formal complaints to the hospital to move the clinic to an indoor wing for some air conditioning. So now, she can finally rest easy from the brutal summer in Konoha. A small but major improvement from their situation, she and Aoi did little happy dances upon hearing the information.

Hari would've loved this, she thought, her thoughts shock her. The familiar brown tendrils and green eyes haven't entered her mind recently. But lately, her mind tends to wander off to simpler times with him by her side, or the warmth of his body next to hers at night. An unsettling feeling makes her way to her chest, sometimes constraining her breathing. What is this?

The feeling of eyes on her always followed her wherever she went. She couldn't explain it, but she's grown used to it throughout her whole life. Only Hari knew about it, but he dismisses it to her as paranoia.

"It's just how life is when you're on the road," he said, rolling up his white sleeves like he always did, "We've just got to get used to it."

She's still not sure she believes him completely, but she used to nod at him anyway, not wanting to add unnecessary fear.

The complete quiet of the new clinic is unnerving to say the least, not hearing the bustle of the outside unusual in her ears. But it quickly disappears after recalling her uncomfortable walk through the Hidden Villages weather.

Aoi watches her superior in quiet pity, biting her lower lip and eyes narrowing.

Sighing, Tenshi takes a seat on her plush leather chair. Fancy. "Don't be shy, Aoi-chan. I can handle it. How many will there be?"

"Fifteen, Tenshi-san."

It takes all of the restraint in her body to not bang her forehead against the desk and throw a tantrum like a child. Instead, she takes a deep breath and nods. "Well, let's get started, shall we?"

"That's why whenever you do feel that overwhelming emotion of shutting down in stressful situations, I suggest you pull back by taking note of your environment," Tenshi says. Kurenai nods eyes trained on her. "Focus on your breathing, the things around you, that way your thought won't spiral."

"That actually makes a lot of sense, Tenshi-san."

The ladies stand up from the couch. Just as Tenshi extends a hand to shake hers as usual, the brunette kunoichi pulls her into a hug. Surprise hits her at first, but she settles into it and rubs her back. "Thank you so much, Tenshi-san. You don't know how helpful you've really been in our community. Are you sure you're not planning on staying here forever?"

The ladies chuckle at her innocent question. Tenshi pauses, a contradicting mix of emotions boils underneath her surface. "Unfortunately, it's not that easy to break from the Group. We're extremely underhanded. Besides, I can't imagine staying still for too long." Her heart sinks at the piece of reality. The last sentence tasting like acid on her tongue. Lie.

"That's unfortunate, definitely," bright red orbs stare at the floor, "Well, I love having you around, Tenshi-san. And, I believe Konoha has more than enough space for you to settle in. If that's what you want, that is. You never know." She flashes a bright smile.

"Your words mean a lot to me Yuhi-san."

"Please, call me Kurenai," the beautiful woman smiles.

"Kurenai-san, then," she returns the gesture.

The kunoichi's words play on loop in her mind the whole day, did she want to actually settle in somewhere? The thought of having a permanent home makes her stomach swirl, but a sigh of relief as well. It's too foreign for her, living the life she had lived so far.

At 8 PM, she and Aoi make their way out of the hospital, the sterile scent unfortunately carried through her hair making her stress from today's appointments heavier. "Aoi-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Shall we get something to eat?" she offers, her braided red hair flapping around in the wind, "And something strong to pair with it?" A mischievous grin paints itself on her face, making the younger woman gulp in apprehension.

"Another, please!" Tenshi shouts, her words slurring.

"You really need to stop drinking, Tenshi-san."

"Andyareallyneedtaloosenupabit, Aoi-chan," Tenshi mumbles, making sure to enunciate the last word clearly to the lady across her to remember her inferiority, eyes drooping.

Once the ninth of her pints was set on the table, Tenshi claps her hands in excitement. Konohagakure beer is delicious. Before she reaches for the glass, Aoi snatches it from her grasps and chugs the whole thing down. Tenshi shoots her a look. "That was…not very polite, Aoi-chan. You're very…mean."

"I'm just," she hiccups, "looking out for you, Tenshi-san."

"I know," her voice cracks at the last word, "You're such a good friend, Aoi-chan. You know you mean a lot to me more than just as an assistant, right?" She couldn't help it but tears just start streaming down her eyes.

The younger woman stares back at her in shock. "So, you're that kind of drunk." Chuckling to herself, she calls for a bill and takes out her wallet to pay for their meal. "You wait here, Tenshi-san. I'll be right back."

Tenshi just nods and continues to cry on her lonesome, the people looking at her weird. Without Naruto, she didn't have anyone else to really to talk to. Sure, her dinner with Kakashi was refreshing, getting to talk with someone of your age. But her chest is heavy for no reason, an uncomfortable pain buried deep inside that she couldn't pinpoint to.

At some point, two pairs of footsteps arrive in front of her, her eyes only seeing their feet as she cries into her hands. "Thank you so much for your help, Kakashi-san. I'm sure Tenshi-san would be extremely grateful as well if only she could…form coherent sentences."

Kakashi?

Her heads snaps up, the blurry image of blonde and white occupying her vision. She raises an eyebrow at them. "Whyifitisn'tKakashi. Come join us, my friend," she pats the seat beside her, her tears taking a momentary pause.

Aoi is a petite girl, it's understandable that she couldn't for the life of her carry the heavier woman. Tenshi carried a bit more meat in her bones than the average woman. Even in the haze of drunkenness, Tenshi can see that. But she may have preferred Gai to see her in this time of embarrassment.

"Let's head home now, Tenshi," his low voice sounding like butter in her ears, "Come on now, let me help you."

Frozen in her spot, the waterworks begin to break free again. "Kakashi — no, Kakashi-sama, you are so kind. Sosososokind."

The shinobi ignores her comments as he swings her arm around his neck, his hand softly holding up her waist, barely even touching it. Tenshi notices the respectful gesture, smiling as she leans her body weight against him while she finds her footing.

The trio walk down the dusty streets, the night in full bloom. The surroundings overwhelm her senses in the best way possible, the night sky clear revealing the multitude of stars above. Hari would've been able to tell which constellation is which.

After some challenging moments going up the stairs, Aoi reaches into her purse as she searches for her keys. It took a few attempts before she could find the key to her door, Kakashi slightly struggling as he holds her up. In her sober state, Tenshi would've been embarrassed. But she isn't in her sober state. Instead, she's a sobbing mess. She almost feels apologetic to the jounin assisting her, confusion is painted all over his features as to why she's been crying but he makes no comment throughout the entire way home.

He sets her on her bed, taking a short break on one of her sofas, a long drawn-out sigh escaping his lips. Aoi bows at him at a ninety-degree angle, "Thank you so much again, Kakashi-san. You've really gone out of your way to help us."

Waving a hand, Kakashi says, "It's nothing. I happen to do this a lot more than you'd expect."

Tenshi listens to their exchange as she continues to sob into her hands, curling up into a ball on her lilac sheets. The two watch her, concerned.

"Did something happen at work?"

"No, she just asked me to have drinks with her and then this happened."

"I see…"

Aoi says, "I can take it from here Kakashi-san. Thank you for your help again."

"It's okay. You should really head home now, it's getting really late."

Aoi remains on her spot, staring straight at him, "No, really it's fine. I can take care of myself Kakashi-san."

Kakashi sends her a quizzical look before the thought dawns on him. "Y-you think I will…take advantage of her?"

"With all due respect, Kakashi-san, Tenshi-san has shared several times about your encounter in the convenience store when I told her about you."

Shooting up from his seat, a nerve on his forehead protrudes, "I am not a perv! It's all a misunderstanding!"

"I'm not here to judge, Kakashi-san."

"No, it's not like that at all!"

"He's right, Aoi-chan," Tenshi mumbles, "you should really head home now. I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you."

"...if you're sure..."

"Yes, I am," she sends a confident smile. A confident tear-stained smile.

After several bouts of explaining, he finally convinces the blonde to head home. Tenshi should be laughing at the exchange, backing Aoi up just to tease Kakashi even though she knows that the man is perfectly respectful.

Once Aoi shut the door, Tenshi sits up. "You don't have to stick around, Kakashi. I can take care of myself, really." Propping herself up to stand, her head starts to spin once again making her stumble back onto her bed.

"Are you sure about that?" Kakashi asks, pouring a glass of water for her from her tiny kitchen. He hands it over to her and she utters a 'thanks' before chugging it down. The pain in her chest continues to deafen her but she struggles to hold it back.

Tenshi pats the seat next to her, Kakashi gives her one last look for confirmation only sitting when she gave him a nod. "Hard day at work?"

She shakes her head, eyes downcast "I mean, it's work, you know. A few more patients than usual but nothing I couldn't handle." She takes another chug of the glass before setting it to her bedside table. "I think…"

The man beside her remains silent, patient for the rest of her sentence.

"The entire day was more overwhelming than usual, yes. But I don't know, whenever I do something, I just keep thinking about him," she starts, "We always had dreams about breaking from the Group and finding our own place in the world. Together. And it was so simple at first…until it wasn't." Her eyes sting as the tears begin to descend once again.

Kakashi sits still beside her, a wary eye watching her.

"I don't know why I left. It's just…it felt too suffocating. Everyone believed we would end up together," she nitpicks her nails and refuses to meet his eyes, "I did too, at least, for some time. But something was lacking these past few years and I tried so hard to get rid of the thoughts. I tried so hard to ignore them and focus on the life I've always had. But the noise just grew louder until I couldn't take it anymore."

"So, you're crying because you miss him?"

Tenshi nods, "He's all I've known. It's like I already built this entire life with him and I just up and left. He must be furious, or worse, heartbroken."

A warm hand lands on her shoulder, Tenshi quietly accepting it. "I don't have a lot of experience with these things, to be honest-"

"-I can tell," she chuckles, Kakashi following.

"But, if there's anything I've learned, it's a sign of growth being uncomfortable sometimes. Because growing up, being independent, it's all an unpleasant mess. Almost unbearable sometimes," he sighs, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that, you have to have faith that the road you've chosen, you've chosen for a good reason. Even though it isn't that obvious at times."

Tenshi ponders on his words for a few moments, the nuggets of wisdom being digested much slower than usual due to the fogginess of her drunken state. "Y-you're right, Kakashi. Shoot, you're so, so right."

She doesn't know what came over her, but Tenshi can boil it down to a concoction of loneliness and booze, she lays her head on his shoulder. The gesture made the shinobi jump at the suddenness of it, but he slowly settles down although still kind of stiff. His breathing quickened slightly, Tenshi notices, her ears so close to him . Mm…he's so warm, strong but soft, and smells of a fresh shower.

They fall into a comfortable silence. Much more different than the other ones they've shared before. The sound of her clock ticking and the muffled commotion down below occupy her apartment. She breaks the silence. "You know, a question always plays in the back of my mind every time I see you."

"And what is that?"

"How long have you been keeping everything together, Kakashi-kun?" she blurts, the muscular shoulder beneath her head shifts. "I just want you to know how strong I think you are. And you don't always have to be so alone…" A tunnel-like blackness starts to cloud her vision, her words start to grow incoherent.

Tenshi doesn't know how long he stayed silent, not a muscle moved, not a sound made. She starts to wonder if she even said any of those things out loud at the lack of reaction coming from the silver-haired jounin. Until…

"Thank you, Tenshi," his voice creaks.

Smiling, she snuggles deeper into the dip of his shoulder, eyes fluttering shut as she starts to doze off. "You're welcome, Kakashi-kun."

And everything grows black.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying the chapters I've been putting out so far. This story has been in my mind for quite some time now and I hope I can continue to at least offer you something easy to pass the time with through this pandemic. Hope you're staying safe! Please favorite, follow, and leave me a review! I'd love to reply and interact with you guys as much as possible. :)