THE SCORCHING CINDERS X
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Words about Kaeri traveled fast. By the end of the third day after she returned, her friends and acquaintances all knew about her unfortunate condition. To anyone concerned, the situation Kaeri was in wasn't exactly bad per se. At least, she had avoided the worst outcome – death. Regardless, her comatose state wasn't the best result either. It was far from perfect but all they had to do for the time being was to wait until she woke up again. Sakura sighed as she looked at the redhead who was breathing evenly on the bed. The sight would be quite normal if they weren't in a hospital room. Although she had told Kaeri not to get sick, at the time, she didn't expect the kind of sickness the redhead landed herself in would be this severe. Leaving a reminder to Kaeri and trusting her to go beyond absolutely everyone's expectations (even though she had gone against said reminder). What an inspirational way to declare her recklessness.
Sakura snorted at her hilarious thoughts. Besides a severely damaged chakra core and a missing left forearm, the redhead looked quite alright. To be precise, as a comatose patient who had a breathing machine and small transparent tubes attached to their body, Kaeri looked better than most people in the same shoes as her. Nevertheless, the pressing problem at hand was when would she wake up? It was a good question. And yet, no one could answer, even Tsunade herself. Instead of being discouraged, the thought only gave Sakura more reason to become a medic-nin. It would be conceited of her to say that she could heal Kaeri when the best medic-nin in the world couldn't. Then again, she hated the feeling of being helpless. At least, she had to try. Besides, her teammates, friends, and teachers might also need it one day. And Sakura refused to stand on the sideline when she could help her people by becoming a medic-nin.
However, it didn't mean she would give up her frontline position. It just meant Sakura would do anything to be a combat medic-nin. Perhaps, the progress would be painful and arduous but she had been through Kaeri's hellish training method so nothing could faze her anymore (hopefully).
"Sakura-chan!" Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Hinata and Ino.
"Hinata-chan, Ino-pig!" Sakura turned from the redhead to greet her friends.
"You've just come back, right?" Hinata stepped forward to engulf her in a brief hug as she stood up from the chair.
Taking a few steps away from the Hyuuga, Sakura noticed the purple head had grown her hair pretty long and in all honesty, it looked really good on her. Aside from that, Sakura remarked on the impressive amount of confidence Hinata had gained over such a short time. She was elated to see the girl didn't stutter anymore and her gait was steadier than before. Not to mention she didn't try to avoid Sakura's gaze out of shyness anymore. Obviously, Hinata had successfully transformed from a timid little girl to this confident person who was smiling gracefully at her. Besides, the proud look on Ino's face let her know that something had happened to the purple head and changed the girl since. It was indeed an interesting topic that she would like to dwell on later, Sakura mused internally.
"Yeah, we just came back yesterday." Nodding, Sakura noticed Ino was putting the flowers into the vase on the bedside table. It was a bouquet of pink and red camellias.
"Do you plan to leave next year, too?" The blonde turned to raise an eyebrow at Sakura while taking two chairs over for herself and Hinata.
"No," She shook her head. "We intend to wait for Sasuke-kun. Then, Team 7 will be back on the active roster. But right now, I'm not so sure anymore…" She glanced at Kaeri briefly. If the other two noticed her small gesture, they didn't show it.
Perhaps, Sasuke had picked up on the signs, but she didn't think Naruto did seeing as he would still sometimes babble about Gaara's crush on the redhead in front of their teacher.
(To be honest, the not-so-subtle annoying looks Kakashi shot at the blonde every time was hilarious. Although she found the situation funny, Sakura still had a life-reservation instinct in herself that stopped her from bringing up the other people who also had a hot for the redhead to Kakashi's face. Nevertheless, watching the man being riled up so easily by such a trivial thing had been one of her bright spots of the day. It was even better when she noticed Sasuke was too amused to contain his chuckles, which he disguised by a few coughs into his fist.)
Since Sakura took pride in her intelligence, it would be a shame on her part for not catching on to what was happening between those two. It was so transparent, so evident that Kakashi had feelings for Kaeri. However, she didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing considering Kakashi was the redhead's former teacher albeit unofficially. Though, she was certain that with the girl still laying there, Team 7 wouldn't have Kakashi back in the foreseeable future. Hopefully, the man wouldn't be too depressed. Otherwise, things would get complicated. And there would be plenty of inevitable headaches as well. Don't get her wrong, she wasn't against the whole relationship thing between Kaeri and Kakashi. That was their private stuff which she didn't have any rights to pry onto. On the other hand, Sakura knew her teacher was stubborn (and suicidal but she would never say that to his face).
Thus, she was worried that the man would jump off the roof if something bad happened to Kaeri. Of course, it would be awfully awkward to just mention the tip of the iceberg that was her teacher's romantic life. Then again, her concern for him won over her self-consciousness and embarrassment even if it was only a little bit. Sighing, Sakura felt her head was hit by a hammer as she certainly didn't know where to begin from. Especially since she had just figured out that her best friend's crush was the same person that the Copy Nin had his eyes on this entire time. What a mess. Talking about Kakashi, she hadn't seen him around ever since she returned. An ominous feeling flared in her gut. Did something also happen to him but it was kept secret instead? Considering literally every ninja villages' tendency for going to an extreme just to keep their secrets, she wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Regardless, Sakura discerned she couldn't just go around and ask about Kakashi.
If the man decided to disappear instead of guarding Kaeri like what he would always do when one of Team 7's members had to stay on bed rest, he had his reason. Still, Sakura had to know whether or not he was in a critical condition so she wouldn't become a bundle of nerves. Pursing her lips, the pink head inhaled deeply before turning to one of her friends.
"Uhm, about Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura came to a halt as soon as the words slipped out from her mouth. Green eyes widened slightly, realizing she had just fucked up exactly what she was supposed to be secretive about.
"I don't think he's in any danger or trouble right now." Hinata gave her an understanding look. God, when did the Hyuuga become this sharp?
"Last I heard he had fought with Guy-sensei after he brought an unconscious Kaeri to the hospital." Ino chimed in and her words startled Sakura instantly.
"He did what?" Gasping, Sakura tried to lower her volume but what the hell? Kakashi was the most chill man she had ever met. No way he would snap like that unless… She blinked slowly. Right, Kaeri's injury must put a toll on his mentality. And Guy's, too. It was a wonder both men had been still calm enough to not burn anything down. Or, they had done something really stupid and she just didn't know about it.
"Don't worry," Ino waved her hand lightly. "They said it was to let him blow off some steam. And everyone knows how attached Guy-sensei is to Kaeri so you can say it could've been worse."
Except it didn't. That was the whole point, wasn't it?
"Ah, I heard that he will have eye surgery today." Hinata maneuvered to the bedside and took her time to run her fingers on the red hair that splayed on the white pillow.
Something in the girl's eyes forced Sakura to look away. She felt like she was intruding on a private moment which shouldn't be in the first place. Sakura was only confused for a second when the realization hit her hard like a trunk. The Hyuuga also harbored the same kind of feeling that Kakashi and Ino had for Kaeri. Sneaking a glance in the blonde's direction then shifting her gaze back at the purple-haired who was calmly brushing Kaeri's hair, Sakura listened to Inner's quiet sigh before she let out one herself. Let's not open that can of worms, for the time being, she muttered to Inner and received an approval "Agree". At least, she could pretend to be oblivious until the person that mattered woke up. Because as much as she wanted to help, nothing could be solved unless the redhead returned to the living world and made a decision herself. Sakura could tell it would be troublesome although it was bound to happen sooner or later.
"Oh, I didn't know about that." She sent a questioning look to Ino.
"Actually, I didn't know either." The blonde shrugged innocently.
"It's alright. I only heard about it when I talked with Father yesterday." Hinata finally retreated her hand and went to sit down on the chair beside Ino's. Then, she looked at Sakura curiously. "Speaking of which, where's Naruto? He's quite close with Kaeri-san, right?"
"Actually, he had already visited yesterday." Sakura settled down on her chair and scratched the back of her head. "Since we figured it would be better to take turns. Also, we have to give our reports so after losing to him in rock scissors paper, I had to stay back and write my report all night." She let out a humorous huff. "He must be crying a river now."
"That bad?" Ino snorted while Hinata looked amused.
"Yeah," She nodded sagely. "Considering all the things we saw and all the places we went to, my hand is still sore when I think about the three-paged report I've turned in this morning." At her deadpan face, the other two broke into giggles.
Watching her friends who were unknowingly Kakashi's love rivals, Sakura just hoped her teacher would try his best instead of running away because he thought he didn't deserve happiness. Otherwise, with the none-bullshit personality, Kaeri would no doubt kick him until the man dissolved in an ugly crying mess. Why would she know? Because that was how Sasuke was trained. The poor guy was basically bullied until he gave in and started to be a docile student under Kaeri. It was terrifyingly effective. Even Naruto who was known to be a thickhead clearly tried to not mess with the redhead lest he ended up in the same fate as the Uchiha. Not that Sakura complained seeing as Sasuke could be quite stubborn whenever he put his mind into something. And that thing was unfortunately to take revenge on his older brother.
At first, she thought it would take longer for Kaeri to convince the raven-haired, but soon after, Sakura found out that she had underestimated the redhead. As it turned out, Sasuke became obsessed with mastering kenjutsu instead of his older brother for once. If it was out of fear, Kakashi would definitely intervene before anything could get worse. Though, knowing her teammate and the fact that their teacher wasn't against Kaeri's teaching method, Sakura figured that Sasuke heeded everything he was told because he respected his instructor which was a better outcome than anything they expected. Besides, it was refreshing to see the raven-haired being utterly defeated. Reminiscing the scene where Sasuke laid face down on the ground after he was beaten by the redhead, Sakura couldn't help but snort.
Then, she talked with her friends for a while before a stranger slipped into the room through the windows. Needless to say, both Hinata and Ino were one second from throwing punches but before they could do that, an exasperated man opened the door and started to reprimand the stranger. As for Sakura, she had already thrown a kunai at the intruder out of reflex but the guy was quick to avoid it.
"This is the hospital, Sai. How many times do I need to tell you that you have to enter the room by the door? Especially when other visitors are all inside." Despite the man's strict words, the guy only tilted his head to the side like a curious cat.
"So I can do that when there's no one beside taichö here?"
"Ye–," The man nodded but then snapped his eyes at the guy when the words sunk in. "No! You got it all wrong!" As he finished, a woman who had purple hair streamed in through the windows as well and stood beside Sai. Thankfully, she remembered to close the windows given that the chilling wind could give Kaeri a cold. In other words, winter weather sucked.
"Not you too, Yügao." The man sighed warily.
"We're ninjas, after all, senpai." Yügao shrugged half-heartedly but the amusement in her tone of voice betrayed what she was thinking.
"Ehem," Clearing her throat, Sakura successfully grabbed the three newcomers' attention. "So?" She arched her eyebrow to emphasize her question further, which proved to be effective seeing as they seemed to understand exactly what she was asking for.
"Ah, my apology for our rudeness." The man turned to tip his head at Sakura and her friends. "My name is Yamato. This is Sai, and this is Yügao." He began to introduce each person respectively. The latter waved lightly at her group while the former bowed stiffly with a plastic smile on his face.
"Kaeri-san is our team captain." Yamato said matter-of-factly. It was enough to explain their reason to visit the redhead, Sakura supposed.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sakura." She nodded in return. Then gestured at her friends. "This is Ino and Hinata."
"Ah, so you all are her friends." The man said with a note of delight in his plain voice. Though, with his career nature, she wouldn't be surprised if he already knew about all of them.
After both sides finished exchanging pleasantries, an awkward silence fell upon them. It was until Yamato coughed into his fist that the silence was broken. As the gazes directed at him, Sakura would say the man had squirmed a bit if she didn't know better.
"Well, we only drop by to see if Kaeri-san is alright. Since we still have patrol duty, we get to go now." The man laughed dryly. Sakura bet five ryö that Yamato was just as bad at socializing as Kakashi if this was his best attempt.
(She deliberately ignored Sai and Yügao who both didn't utter a word after their little introduction. They seemed to have reached their socializing quota for the day already which was quite concerning if she had a say in the matter.)
Standing beside her, Ino sighed quietly. It seemed the blonde finally decided to have mercy on the other three socially inept ninjas who were also undoubtedly traumatized Anbu agents.
"Nah, it's okay, Yamato-san. We have to go now anyway. I hope guys will stay here a little longer to keep Kaeri accompanied."
"She's right, Yamato-san." Hinata spoke up when the man was about to protest. "Actually, we were going to leave when Sai-san arrived."
"Well…if you say so." He blinked slowly at them. Not knowing any alternate routes he could take rather than the one presented before him, the man donned a stiff smile on his face. "Then, see you all later."
At that, Yügao gave them a friendly smile while waving her hand.
"See you later." Smiling faintly at the purple head, Hinata made her exit.
Then, Ino followed suit after telling the others to visit her family's flower shop. Finally, Sakura bid them goodbye before going outside.
:
Naruto stared at his incomplete report in despair. Alright, it wasn't that bad but he was having a hard time sitting still seeing as he wanted to pay a certain redhead another visit. He had been horrified when he learned about her condition, but Tsunade had promised to give Kaeri a new forearm so Naruto would latch on that to calm himself for now. Nevertheless, he was still restless due to her broken chakra core. Even Jiraiya said it was a miracle that she was alive at all. He knew he must be grateful but it was too close. Naruto would've lost one of his best friends without knowing about it.
The idea terrified him immensely and as a result, he was startled up from a bad dream where red hair was mixed with blood and dirt, where emerald eyes stared lifelessly at the sky, where a body was buried in the ground so no one could ever find out. Grimacing, Naruto perceived that he had dozed off again because he hadn't had a wink of sleep since last night. Nonetheless, if he could choose again, he would still run to the hospital to see Kaeri. She was worth it, after all. Sighing, he summoned all of his energy and willpower to write the rest of his report despite the hand that held his pen trembling slightly. As Kaeri had taught him, a ninja should get their priority right. And for him at the moment, work first, then mental breakdown later.
o0o
It was only the first day of the New Year and Kaeri already had her third visitor. Masaba let his mind wander while playing with a lock of red hair. Things had been hectic lately, to say the least. First, he and Tsuyume had blacked out for estimably a week. Then, they woke up and were informed to have to spend the rest of their short time outside the village somewhere in the middle of a forest. He also noted the appearance of those odd strangers. They seemed as lost as him and Tsuyume, they never talked about themselves and were content with their situation. It could be a normal reaction coming from homeless people, or it could be something that didn't add up and he had been in the dark the whole time. He could drop the matter given that there was nothing that concerned his safety anymore. However, Masaba wasn't a Nara for nothing. He could be playful most of the time, but his genetics destined him to be sharp and observant for all of his life.
Throwing the Nara's natural intelligence in the tray, Masaba would always itch for researching and solving puzzles. That being said, he barely stood the idea of being clueless. Sure, ignorance was bliss but being born a Nara came with a price. Namely, his peaceful ignorance. Masaba had accepted the truth since he was five and he knew Tsuyume wasn't any different than him either. Thus, after doing their best to unfold the mystery, they weren't too surprised to find out what happened although it was merely an outline. That meant they had got caught up in a crossfire of whatever was going on at the time. Most likely, it was the Akatsuki mission that Team 23 was tasked with. Masaba didn't often think highly of himself, but the possibility he and Tsuyume had been held hostage against Kaeri made him feel guilty and sick.
They were supposed to help their teammate but became burdens instead. Masaba grimaced. And now, she was back in one piece that lost a bit at the edge. He was grateful, of course. Regardless, he was aware that as a teammate, he hadn't provided any help for the redhead when she needed it the most. How could he proceed in life when his teammate had almost died while he had no idea about it? How could he not kick himself for being helpless, useless for his teammate when she had always been able to offer him a hand? And how could he not do anything when she was lying as still as a rock on a hospital bed when no one knew whether or not she would wake up again?
"She will, Masaba-san."
A familiar voice sounded behind him. Startling, he turned around to see Shikamaru was sauntering into the room with something in his hand (wait, was that a shogi board?). At his silent question, the guy sent him a lazy look.
"You've been muttering for a while now."
"Oh." Masaba didn't have anything to respond to despite his face being heated up by the statement.
"Don't be shy. I've heard weirder things before." The Nara's heir offered nonchalantly. How reassuring.
"What?" As the silence drew too long for his comfort, Masaba lifted his gaze to meet a pair of ink-black orbs. Somehow, it gave off a rather ominous feeling.
"I'd recommend you to stop what you are doing right now if you don't want to get on Kakashi's bad side." Another string of words leisurely entered his ears as Shikamaru started setting up the shogi board.
"But I already am?" Blinking slowly, Masaba still threaded his fingers in red hair absentmindedly.
"Huh, that makes sense. You're her teammate after all." Shikamaru nodded. Even though he masked it well, Masaba still detected the annoying twitch of his eyebrow.
This was too much fun, he mused internally. Teenagers and crushes were always a hot topic amongst the people Kaeri's age. It was no wonder that Masaba would enjoy teasing someone who had a crush on her even if the said person was going to be his clan's head one day. As though to smother his good mood, the guy added on as an afterthought.
"Ah, you tried to kill her last time if that's what you're curious about by the way."
Faltering, Masaba widened his eyes in disbelief and retreated his hand to let it hang loosely by his side. Clenching and unclenching his fist, he licked his dried lips after a moment.
"Even Tsuyume?"
"Yeah, even her." Shikamaru responded placidly while continuing to play his shogi idly.
Immediately, something in Masaba's head clicked and he just knew that was the last piece of the puzzle. Running his hand down on his face, Masaba sighed tiredly. He was only twenty but at this point, he felt like he would have gray hair soon. Well, at least, he could accept the truth and move on. Or, he could wallow in self-blame and guilt until he evolved into the second Kakashi but lamer. However, such irrationality wasn't his style. And definitely not Kaeri's either. Thus, Masaba held his ground and tried to not think about running away. That would be cowardice. Nevertheless, his brain was running haywire to search for a solution. An answer that didn't put Tsuyume in his position. Of all people, Masaba understood that between the two of them, he was the one who had dragged her along their stupid chase which resulted in the Akatsuki turning them into sleep agents.
If the said organization's eyes weren't set solely on Kaeri, he didn't know what else they would've taken from the village because of his recklessness and foolishness. Therefore, it was his responsibility to shoulder the consequence of his deed. No way he would let Tsuyume be through that when it wasn't even her fault in the first place. A wave of dread draped over Masaba like a heavy blanket that suffocated him in the middle of summer break. Blinking rapidly to regain his logical sense, he exhaled slowly and then shifted his gaze from the redhead to meet Shikamaru again. He could feel the guy had been watching him for a while now. After a couple of seconds, the Nara's heir finally opened his mouth, the words were succinct but meaningful nonetheless.
"So it wasn't intentional."
"Of course not!" Masaba was baffled. Had this guy been searching for any signs that he was lying during this whole time?
"Yeah, and I'm glad." For the first time since they met again after Masaba came back from that strange forest, Shikamaru seemed more relaxed. The corner of his mouth twitched upward, signaling for his good mood. When his eyes met Masaba's, they weren't stone-cold anymore but filled with something warmer. "As much as a dear friend Kaeri is, you and Tsuyume-san are also my cousins, Masaba-san."
Listening to those genuine words, Masaba's breath hitched. He realized Shikamaru had been torn between choosing his best friend and his clan's members after the incident happened. Although the guy would be the clan's head in the near future, he was still younger than Masaba and didn't have much experience in such a thing despite how intelligent everyone made him out to be. All in all, if Masaba and Tsuyume really did have ill-intention toward the redhead, Shikamaru would be hurt the most. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, Masaba blinked his tears away. This wasn't an appropriate time to get emotional. Though, he could tell Shikamaru had noticed his brief moment of weakness but didn't mention it which he was grateful for. Sniffing, Masaba ambled to join his future clan's head at the tea table. Settling down across from the guy, he grinned at the curious look sent his way.
"Well, we can have one or two matches before Kakashi comes back and hauls our asses out of here."
The words incited a snort from Shikamaru and he counted that as a win.
:
Sasuke had always been a patient person. Or, at least he would like to consider himself as such. He also had a high tolerance for bullshits seeing as who his teammates and teachers were. Therefore, it took Sasuke a lot to be beyond pissed off. And ironically, it was when he saw Itachi sitting inside the room when he decided to pay Kaeri a visit after he heard about her condition.
"What are you doing here?" Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke inquired the man darkly. Sure, he knew about Itachi's secret mission. Then again, it didn't justify his crime nevertheless. Sasuke still hated the man's gut even if the fire burning in the pit of his stomach was cold and full of resentment.
"Read a book for Kaeri-san." Itachi responded placidly while closing the book in his hand, and then set it on the table beside him. Following his movement, Sasuke noticed the title "Chronicle of Anatolis" embedded boldly on the cover.
"Don't feign stupid," Crossing his arms, Sasuke cocked his eyebrow. "You know what I mean."
"So I've answered you." Itachi inclined his head.
Flattening his lips in a thin line, Sasuke frowned. Obviously, he was annoyed at the man's behavior. Then, a realization dawned on him.
"You work for her now?" Sasuke couldn't help but snort at the idea.
Of course, the redhead would snatch someone like Itachi to run errands for her. Somehow, he didn't feel surprised at all. Although he only knew her for over four months, he was aware of her low ethic when it came to social standard morality. In other words, she was even worse than Itachi. Sometimes, it made him wonder why he bothered to care about her at all if she was by no means a good person. However, Sasuke also knew he would be hypocritical to judge her seeing as, besides her twisted sense of justice, Kaeri had been regarded highly by her proficiency and professionalism. Not only did she teach him kenjutsu, but she had also never lied to him. Therefore, it was only reasonable for Sasuke to respect the redhead and grow fond of her as days went by much to his unwillingness.
"Yes, Sasuke." Blinking slowly, Itachi inclined his head even though they both knew it was merely a rhetorical question.
"Tch." Closing the door behind him, Sasuke maneuvered to the bedside while ignoring the man.
It had been a long time since he last saw the redhead. He had envisioned their reunion countless times, he even imagined how his teammates and Kaeri would react upon knowing about his decision. However, Sasuke didn't expect to meet her in this situation at all. Staring at the girl's pale skin and all the things that attached to her body so she wouldn't die from dehydration or hunger, he exhaled slowly. It was still too much to take in at once even though Naruto and Sakura had pulled him aside to explain everything. In addition to that, Kakashi had also supplied him some insight but due to the restricted information, the man could only tell him so much without disclosing the village's secret. Besides, according to the Copy Nin, he was also caught in a crossfire so Kaeri was the one who knew the truth. That being said, as long as she was still dead to the world, no one knew what had happened.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sasuke let out a quiet sigh. It looked like Kakashi wouldn't leave the village anytime soon if what he had assumed before was right. Lifting his gaze to meet his serene former older brother, Sasuke felt a wave of exaggeration flood his gut again. These days, after reflecting on himself at Tsurugi's place, he perceived that wasting his time on hating someone was stupid. Not to mention that person always incited complex emotions inside him. Therefore, he decided the best course would be to spend his time doing something more productive. Well, Sasuke still wanted to punch that emotionless face dearly but he wasn't a child anymore. That meant no throwing tantrums even when things didn't go his way. It was difficult to push the urge down, he admitted. However, Sasuke knew he was better than someone who acted on instinct so he pushed and pushed until he regained his composure and his mind was calm again.
Knowing it was time to make a wise departure, Sasuke turned away from the bed and stalked toward the door, not bothering to spare the other man any glances. He wouldn't admit that somehow, in a brief childish moment, he almost expected the man to call him by that stupid title "little brother" again, but nothing happened. Within a second, Sasuke was outside the room and felt disappointed. Chasting himself for getting carried away, he threw the emotion in the back of his head and continued on his way. He had many things to do, and seeing Itachi was the last thing he wanted right now.
o0o
One after another, the four seasons gradually went by. It was New Year again and people decided to celebrate it just as usual before they went back to their hustled lives. Sometimes at Naruto's apartment, Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and then at their Uchiha teammate who was sipping his tea calmly. The silence drew on until the raven-haired lifted his gaze to meet them both.
"What? I don't know anything. Stop staring at me like that." He frowned faintly while setting his cup on the table.
"You're literally his student, dattebayo!" Naruto pointed out.
"So are you." Sasuke shrugged half-heartedly.
"No, it's different, dattebayo!" Naruto huffed.
Before Sasuke could trick the blonde to give up the question, Sakura was faster.
"Don't think we didn't know, Sasuke-kun." She raised an eyebrow at her teammate. "Since you're his apprentice, you can ask your summon about him, can't you?"
"Hn." He forgot that the pink head had become sharper ever since she started training under Tsunade.
"So he's doing it again." Sakura sighed quietly.
"Do what?" Still oblivious, Naruto blinked slowly.
"Wallow in guilt, self-hatred, and so on." Sakura gestured vaguely.
To be honest, it was inevitable given that the man had never been stable in the first place. Not that she knew about his condition before. It was only when she started learning psychology did she notice the signs she had caught in Kakashi's behavior in the past. Those were alarmingly concerning but it seemed like every ten ninjas she met, there would be at least eight of them that had the same symptoms which wasn't a good thing in the long term. And it was only a quarter of the Jönin rank. If the standard ninjas were this damaged, then she couldn't imagine how traumatized those who took on the footjobs were. No wonder the Anbu was said to be suicidal.
"Wow, how do you know all of that, Sakura-chan?" Blue eyes twinkled in amazement.
"Of course, she learned them from Tsunade-sama, idiot." Crossing his arms, Sasuke snorted.
"Hey! Can't you just leave me alone for a second here, bastard?" Wiping his head to the raven-haired, the blonde retorted. Somehow, it was a signal to start a war with the Uchiha.
Sitting across from the duo, Sakura watched her teammates strangle each other and didn't think it was worthwhile to intervene. After all, she was supposed to rest on her day off, Sakura yawned quietly. On the other hand, thinking about her teacher, she couldn't help but feel worried and exaggerated. Obviously, Kakashi was going backward again. And the worst was that his cure was also his poison. She could only hope the man would be able to hold on a little while longer or this village would lose both its best assets.
That was why Tsunade dumped all the paperwork on her and Shizune to visit the hospital and the lab every day. These days, the woman's top priority wasn't being a good Hokage anymore. Instead, it was to dig into Orochimaru's old research to find a way of creating an artificial forearm for a certain redhead. Needless to say, Sakura was drained and could shut down at any second now. Though, she stubbornly pried her eyes open so she could enjoy the sight of her teammates being idiots together. Her heart swelled with fondness just by watching Naruto brighten while bickering with an annoyed but also amused Sasuke.
Moments later, the blonde and the raven-haired would coax their teammate to go to sleep considering how exhausted she looked. The next morning, they would have breakfast together and Kakashi would pop up out of nowhere to accompany them until they all left for work. Obviously, the man was trying to be there for his students who had always looked up to him and depended on him for most of their teenage years. Then again, even Naruto could tell that he wasn't alright, that something was wrong with him. And yet, when they were about to address the problem, Kakashi would laugh it off then dodged their questions. Thinking he must need some space and time, they decided to drop the matter for the time being and went back to it when their teacher was ready.
:
Guy thought about his eternal rival. The man had clearly become detached from the world these days. Not that Kakashi was back to being a recluse or trying to avoid socializing. So far, he had become chirper if not slightly unhinged which was much worse. Because anyone could tell the Copy Nin was faking his cheerful personality and didn't even spend any effort to make it believable. In fact, it was almost like he was doing it for the sake of forcing himself to carry on. Apparently, it would be no good if he became dysfunctional when a certain redhead was still fighting for her life (a confession that Guy had accidentally heard one night when they were out drinking). It was depressing and equally unhealthy. Nonetheless, no one could tell Kakashi how to live his life when they didn't even know how to cope with their problems themselves.
Still, Guy was worried. It had been three years since the night Kaeri was brought back unconscious with a broken chakra core and a missing forearm. Yes, she was alive but watching her get thinner and paler as days went by wasn't easy, especially to Kakashi who had been staying by her side from day one. No doubt the man blamed himself for her condition considering the way he acted nowadays. One could argue that the man was faring pretty well without slipping himself into any troubles or suicidal missions. However, to those who knew, the Copy Nin was losing his will gradually like a melting shard of iron (if that made any sense).
Somehow, in a twisted sense of humor, Guy preferred the pre-meeting-Kaeri Kakashi to this one. And didn't that say a lot about how fucked up his life was? At least, Guy didn't catch any problem besides the big change in his eternal rival's persona so it should be a good thing, he should be thankful. Except something was undergoing and it was more unsettling than a simple self-deprecating tendency the man seemed to be born with. Guy was confused, disturbing even to watch Kakashi sulking in one second and then being back to cheerful the next second as though the man had some kind of a mood flip. It should be illegal to not have an emotional whiplash but somehow, Kakashi managed to. Unbeknownst to him, another person also had the same train of thought.
"Are you sure, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune knew she shouldn't be surprised since she had been following Tsunade everywhere and had a fair understanding of the woman. Though, she still felt like the decision was made too sudden if not hasty.
"It's gonna be okay, Shizune." Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "He's been supposed to wear this hat since the day the Fourth was gone. But you know the problems so it's been dragging until now."
"That man– Excuse me, but Hatake-san is hardly qualified for the job, Tsunade-sama." Shizune recalled Kakashi's slouchiness and his habit of reading porn in public with a pained look on her face.
"As I said, it's gonna be okay." Snorting at the blatant suspiciousness in her apprentice's eyes, Tsunade shrugged. "Sure, the Hatake brat can be a pain in the ass sometimes but he's also a strong and reliable ninja. Besides, my hands are tight with the hospital and the lab so I'll need both you and Sakura to assist me. That leaves the Hokage hat for someone else."
"But Tsunade-sama, isn't Shikaku-sama better at the job?" Resigned, Shizune sighed quietly.
"With such a fine head on his shoulder, don't you think he would attempt to redirect the proposal at Kakashi?" Tsunade shook her head. "Shikaku doesn't want the hat. And between the two of them, the council will choose Kakashi because his reputation is what the village needs right now for its protection."
Looking at the clock, Tsunade stood up from her seat. "Come on, we'll head to the hospital." Then, she took off with a mild hesitant Shizune in tow.
Every day, she would do a quick check-up on Kaeri to monitor the redhead's recovery progress. Of course, it was slow but still hopeful nonetheless. Sometimes, Tsunade would wonder if she was the reason for Kaeri to pull that stunt back then. That would mean the girl trusted Tsunade to bring her back from the death's gate. Oddly enough, Tsunade was both horrified and elated to have such a supposition. Needless to say, it had been a long time since Tsunade healed someone whose injury was this severe. Even Kakashi's eye surgery was done by Shizune.
Because Tsunade's fear of blood was still there even though she tried to forget it. No matter how many times it was futile, she realized one morning when her finger was cut by paper and the first reaction she had was panic. No one said a word about that day, but Tsunade knew she just couldn't ignore it forever. Regardless, she had delayed finding a solution for herself until the night the redhead was brought back unconscious. At the time, Tsunade suddenly remembered the girl's words the other night before her mission.
"Blood?" The redhead raised an eyebrow curiously, then nodded. "Of course it's scary."
"Why isn't it?" Pink lips curved slightly, a breathy laugh escaped. "It smells bad when dried, it's hard to wash and clean, it's sticky and itchy on my skin. The only thing that I like about blood is the color."
"Hm? It looks like ruby, doesn't it? Well, besides the fact that it's liquid." A shrug, then a faint smile. "You know, I have a trick to repress the fear although it's temporary. If you'd like the fear to disappear completely, then it can only depend on you."
A pause before a hand was held out to Tsunade.
"Hearing all of that, do you still wanna know the trick?"
Mischievous emerald eyes flashed in Tsunade's mind. When she looked at the redhead who was laying on the hospital bed silently, she thought that she wanted to see those eyes again. And so, Tsunade took a deep breath before proceeding to unwrap the bandage. Since then, Tsunade started to apply the trick more effortlessly till the point she mistook that her fear had gone away. However, a simple test had revealed that no, she was still afraid of blood, and for all those years being a medic-nin, Tsunade couldn't heal herself. Fortunately, Shizune suggested that she keep doing the trick. Something about "try it until you make it". Somehow, Tsunade had a feeling that her fear wasn't that bad anymore although it had yet to leave her alone.
"Kakashi, why are you still here?" Tsunade jotted down on the clipboard in her hands without bothering to give the man across from her a glance.
"Mah, where else should I be?" Sitting by the other bedside, Kakashi answered lazily but the way his eyes glued on the redhead had nothing to do with his slouchiness. Since those eyes were just as intense as when they locked on their target. Tsunade didn't doubt that with the man lounging around here, no one would be able to harm the girl.
"Don't let me remind you, Kakashi. It's been three years and you haven't left the village once." Finishing with her notes, Tsunade shifted her gaze to the Copy Nin. As the man stayed silent, she fixed him with a stern look. "I can be lenient to you due to your circumstance but you're still a ninja who serves the Leaf village." There was a threat lying somewhere under those words and Kakashi was too smart to not catch it. The problem was whether or not the man acknowledged it.
"I understood, Tsunade-sama." His eyes were downcast, expressing his respect for the Hokage. That was a compromise he would always follow orders regardless of his personal feelings.
Tsunade wasn't surprised at all given that he still needed her to provide proper treatment for Kaeri. On the other hand, Kakashi was a loyal ninja foremost so she knew he would never betray the village. Furthermore, she was also the one who gave him the reason to be on leave for over two years without being harassed by the council. Thus, her threat was empty and she merely used it to test the water. Needless to say, Tsunade was pleased with the outcome. After all, no matter how adept the man was, letting him sit around like that would only stagnate his potential. Being the one who had access to his health statistics, she knew without the Sharingan, Kakashi would be able to grow even stronger than before.
"So, if you don't want to leave the village so soon, I have a suitable job for you." Red lips curved upward in amusement, Tsunade watched the man eyed her cautiously.
"And what is it, Tsunade-sama?"
"Wanna have your face carved on a certain mountain?"
At his horrified look, she cackled loudly before leaving the room without hearing his protests.
o0o
Kakashi stared at the ceiling. He was certain his eyebags had gotten worse and he didn't know what to do about that. The paperwork was wearing him down day by day, certainly. Considering his insanely tight schedule, Kakashi didn't doubt he would join Kaeri in the hospital soon. He wanted to quit the job and lay down somewhere, eyes closed and never opened again. Nevertheless, he knew he couldn't, at least when Kaeri was still in a deep coma. Blinking tiredly, Kakashi let out a weary sigh. It had been another two years but there was no sign the redhead would wake up anytime soon. The idea of Kaeri sleeping away her life terrified him excruciatingly.
Of course, it was merely another unjustified fear of his. According to Tsunade, Kaeri's recovery progress' speed was picking up recently. However, that also meant she would risk her safety over the thrill of battles again, and with the Hokage's responsibility, he wouldn't be able to accompany her anymore. Kakashi knew he was being selfish. He didn't mind if Kaeri chose to not open her eyes again. Given that he was more than capable of supporting the hospital expenses, so long as he could still see her, the redhead could stay in her bed for all she wanted. Perhaps, it was better this way, Kakashi's shoulders slumped. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he resisted the urge to groan as exhaustion assaulted his entire body. His half-lidded eyes leered at the stacks of papers on the desk. Two years ago, Tsunade suddenly threw the Hokage hat at him. When he demanded an answer, the woman just said that she was busy making a forearm for Kaeri.
Obviously, Kakashi would give in easily. Even the council was taken aback that he accepted the job without a fight and only Shikaku seemed to know the truth. To be honest, Kakashi hated paperwork with passion and everyone knew it. Hence, it had been two years ever since he became the Sixth but he still sneaked to the hospital every time he got a chance and of course, it was always Masaba who had to bodily dragged him back to the Hokage's office. Talking about the Nara, Shikaku had recommended the guy to be his assistant as soon as Kakashi wore the hat. The reason was that Masaba had the mind for the job and had known him for quite a long time. Besides, considering the giant stack of profiles that stood on his desk upon people hearing about the recruitment news for the Hokage's assistant, Kakashi had assented.
Nevertheless, he didn't think Masaba could be an extremely responsible and strict assistant. Needless to say, his precious time with Kaeri had been shortened due to the village not being able to be without a Hokage for even one second. Therefore, Kakashi prayed for Kaeri to wake up every day not only because he missed her, but also for the sake of his sanity. He had a hunch that the longer he let Masaba slave drive him, the looser his sanity was. Snorting, he couldn't help but had to admit that ever since meeting Kaeri, his life had been full of surprises and excitement. If ten years ago, someone told Kakashi a little girl would make him want to see a therapist and accept the Hokage hat, he would laugh at their face and beat some senses into that person's head. Looking back, he realized that he had been a jerk for over a decade.
No wonder his friends had sighed in relief when Kakashi became less indifferent to other people and certainly, quit being suicidal while going on missions. Hence, although Kaeri might've not woken up anymore, he didn't consider killing himself. Kakashi knew death wasn't the only way out, especially after that dream about his father. If he died now, he would still linger in between both worlds due to his regrets. Not only that, but he also wouldn't be able to hold Kaeri's hands or do anything for her. And that was why he had to continue forward even though his heart had stopped beating the same day she closed her eyes. Shaking his head to chase off random thoughts, Kakashi picked up his pen again. He had to finish these stacks today. Not that he was suddenly a workaholic freak like Masaba yet. It was because the sooner he finished his paperwork, the longer he could spend his time with Kaeri.
:
Itachi didn't remember how many times he had read the book but it might be enough for the words to carve into his brain by now. However, the more he read it, the stranger it became. The world in this book had advanced knowledge and technology that was beyond Itachi's imagination, so it wasn't a surprise if people could do things like pick out a soul then sealed it inside a suitable body. At first, he found it odd that they had to go through too much trouble to just borrow strength from the outside world. Regardless, he gradually realized that it wasn't as simple as he thought. Considering the military must have certain control over whatever souls they attempted to summon, they decided to break those souls' constructs down and put them into human bodies.
Such a process would be painful to those souls so most of them usually lose their memories after waking up. That meant less trouble for the military since those powerful souls were reverted to the blank stage, which made it easier to mold them into obedient soldiers. Nonetheless, Itachi was disappointed to know that the world was always slowly coming to an end as he reached the last sentence. Seeing as Kaeri was still unconscious, he doubted he would meet Kato anytime soon to borrow the second part. As though to prove him wrong, the heart monitor suddenly changed its rhythm while on the bed, the redhead stirred slightly. Without looking back, Itachi sprinted out of the room to seek the doctor and nurses. On the bedside table, the forgotten book was left open. Obviously, the last paragraph was what made Itachi concerned.
"The peaceful age was over. Of all people, the soldiers were the ones who understood the merit of peace the most, especially those who had left the war behind. However, regardless of the amount of blood that was shed on their hands, they still couldn't fight to free themselves from the curse of fate. Soon enough, they would be reduced to scorching cinders. Though hopefully, the world would go down with them."
On the bed, emerald eyes snapped open. A flash of light glinted in those eyes before it disappeared.
Somewhere in the far West of the Leaf, a lone hooded figure stood by the windows and looked to the outside. Pensively, the person tucked at the curl of blond rested innocuously on their chest. A sigh echoed in the empty room.
"Not again…"
THE SCORCHING CINDERS - End
A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you for your love and support that I can go this far. This is not a goodbye because there will be a sequel. It will focus more on romance and fluff! So please stay tuned! Until next time...