Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything or anybody except Tomoko, her family, and Nagareboshi Cafe. Any concepts/ideas mentioned in this fanfiction that seem to be borrowed from another media/piece of continuity - note that I don't mean to plagiarize anything or anybody in any way! This fanfic was made for entertainment purposes, not for pissing off others! So yeah!

The theme for this chapter is specifically Kyle Landry's Improv piano cover of TenTen's Theme, an unreleased track from the original Naruto anime. Tomoko doesn't actually play it (considering what happens to her this chapter), but it's still fitting. I was initially thinking of using LeeandLie's newly released cover of Butterfly from Digimon Adventure (since it is an amazing song), but with the recent airing of the last episode of Naruto Shippuden, I thought this theme would be a good homage to what may be the end of an era. Sure, we're getting the Boruto anime, but it won't be the same.

Naruto has been around as an anime for a long time. So this theme, I feel, really conveys my feelings on its conclusion.

So please enjoy!

Chapter 34: Heading Out & Staying Back

A few days after the dance party, sunlight was shining through my window when it happened.

If anything, it felt like a normal morning, where I had to wake up to start cleaning around the house and Nagareboshi Cafe. But for some reason, I couldn't get up.

I didn't feel well enough to get up.

When opening my eyes that morning, it felt like an entire bag of hot coals was sitting on my head. My body felt sore all over, and heat was piling specifically around my face and forehead.

What was going on with me?

I didn't feel this bad last night when going to sleep.

In an attempt to make it all go away, I tossed around in my futon to find a more comfortable position than just my side, closing my eyes. If it was this bad, I was hoping to get at least a few more hours of rest.

But then Mama came into the room. Normally, I would be the one to go around waking everyone up in the house, but with my body like this, it looked like Mama would be taking that position. She was the first one to find me, curled up in the futon probably looking like a sick duckling.

"Tomoko-chan? It's morning. It's time to get up..." I didn't have to look up to know that she was confused. Her soft whisper said more than enough, and the quiet footsteps were getting closer to me before the floorboards creaked with her weight. A soft hand landed on my forehead, brushing my tangled bangs back before resting on my skin for a few moments. Her palm was so cool to the touch to where I unconsciously found myself leaning into it for some relief.

Unfortunately, it pulled back far too quickly. "Oh kami." Mama breathed, and her voice took on a worried, motherly tone. "Tomoko-chan, you have a fever!"

I just opened my eyes to see her concerned blue orbs. "M-Mama, not so loud…" Sheesh, even my voice sounded bad.

Mama frowned before brushing some of my hair behind my ear. "I'm sorry, dear. Just wait here, Tomoko-chan, okay? I'll go get Papa and we'll see if a doctor can look at you."

Nothing you can do BUT wait, dear.

… Hisako. Do you know what happened?

It looks like a fever to me, Tomoko-chan. Might be because it's spring already, and we both know how bad sickness could be in that season in Vy's memories.

Well, no shit there.

Nevertheless, I did my best to make myself comfortable in my futon, even when feeling the beginnings of sweat. A few minutes passed before those same soft footsteps approached again, and the sound of water dripping into a basin reached my ears.

"Tomoko-chan, I'll put this cloth on you, okay?" Mama was back by the sounds of it, and even with my eyes closed and my breathing a bit labored, I attempted to nod back, exhaustion setting in.

If being sick as Vy was bad enough (with her encountering food poisoning at least twice), then this was pretty similar in feeling, alright.

That same hand reached over to brush my bangs back before placing a cold, wet cloth on my head. It was both a great and queasy feeling, since the chill helped with the heat while also highlighting how vulnerable I was.

When was the last time I was actually sick?

Soon enough, my ears could pick up the strides of other footsteps.

"Hikari? What's the matter?" Papa. I was too tired to look up, but I knew it was him without the rough footfalls on the tiled floors. The same, long strides sounded near me before another presence made itself known near my side. "Oh god… Tomoko-chan?" His voice went down a few notches, concern leaking into the familiar sound before it turned in Mama's direction. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure." Without opening my eyes, I knew that Mama was worried. "I just found her like this, and she was burning up, Judai. Do we have a thermometer somewhere?"

A long sigh greeted her. "I'll get it. Do you want me to call up a doctor, too?"

I opened my eyes slowly to see Mama smile softly. "Please do, dear."

Papa grinned back. "Alright." Then I was surprised to see him turn to me, brown eyes swirling with what I knew was love as a large hand gently rested on my hair, ruffling it softly. "Just rest up, Tomoko-chan, okay?"

"Okay Papa…" I attempted to smile, but by then, sleep was slowly gaining on me and by the time he had already left the room, I found my vision going black.

"- looks like a bad fever. Luckily, there's nothing much aside from that."

Huh... ? Who is that?

"Will she get better, Doctor?"

Mama's voice?

"Don't worry, ma'am, your daughter should be fine. Just a day of rest without work and she should be back to normal by tomorrow morning. I recommend warm soup and lots of sleep."

The sound of a bag being zipped up and shuffling of a.. coat?

"Thank you, Doctor."

"No worries. All I can do for the daughter of one of our best shinobi."

"... I'm retired though, Doctor."

Papa…?

"Nonsense. Even when retired, you're still a ninja at heart. And we're all grateful for what you've done in the previous war, Judai-san."

A familiar scoff. "Thanks then."

"Well, if you'll excuse me." Footsteps sounded, almost like a combination of three pairs of feet at once, each second making them farther and farther away from my side before finally disappearing in the horizon with the door creaking behind them.

I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was a familiar navy blue mask.

Even with my pounding head, I could tell that Kakashi was smiling. His forehead protector was shining gently in the warm sun, and his eyes crinkled in relief. "Hey Tomoko."

"K-Kakashi?" My voice sounded coarse, and my dry throat wasn't helping anything. Despite the pervading feeling of helplessness, I did my best to not complain, only really noticing the area of my room before refocusing on my best friend. "What time is it…?"

"... The first thing you ask when waking up is what time it is?" My best friend looked almost miffed if not for the mask on his face, but nevertheless shrugged before tugging my blanket up to cover my chin. "Anyways, it's almost 10 in the morning. Nagareboshi should be opening up soon."

Panic started to settle in. "T-Then I should be getting up by now-!" But before I could even think of shifting upwards in my futon, Kakashi's hand held me down by my shoulder, his eyebrows furrowed in exasperation.

"What do you think you could do with that kind of fever, Tomoko?" Even without saying anything, I could tell he was close to scoffing. But despite that, his hand was still gentle in pushing me down, and I soon found myself back in my futon without much restraint. Then again, being sick meant feeling weak like all hell. "Just lie down and rest up. Uncle Judai is handling the cafe for now."

A tired sigh left me before I pulled the covers up to my nose in an attempt to hide whatever heat was on my face, sickness or otherwise. "... What about you, Kakashi? I thought you had a mission today…"

My masked friend blinked before shrugging. "I guess I'll be late by now."

There was a long pause.

He's joking, right? Please tell me he's joking, Tomoko-chan.

"... Kakashi, when were you supposed to meet up with Minato-san and the others?" I deadpanned as best as I could, ignoring my sore throat.

Kakashi just gave me a sideways glance before crossing his arms across his chest. "..."

"... Kakashi," I tried again, more firmly.

Another few seconds passed. "... 20 minutes ago." Was the resounding mumble.

I didn't know whether to facepalm or smile. "Kakashi, you didn't have to stay back."

If I didn't know any better, it looked like my best friend was pouting from a specific angle. Then again, his mask and the sunlight made it a bit hard to see his full face, so I could only really generalize. "I didn't have to, but I wanted to." He turned his head to lean close to me, and it was that moment that I could see how much worry lined his face. Heck, my 10 year old ninja friend would've passed off for being 15 with those stress lines. "You really threw us into a bind, you know that?"

… He must've been waiting for you for a while.

"I-I'm sorry…" Even with the pervading heat in my entire being, I still attempted to smile, raising one hand towards him. Kakashi only had to turn his head by a small margin to notice, and immediately grabbed my hand in his, squeezing my fingers reassuringly. "But are you… are you really going to be okay?"

"Not sure. This is my first time being late, intentional or otherwise." Kakashi just seemed to slump in on himself before looking at me again, silver eyes soft while squeezing my hand again. "I think Minato-sensei should be coming right about…"

A yellow flash resounded in the area.

"Kakashi." Minato-san's voice, both bemused and authoritative all at once. "Where have you been? You're late."

"- Now." My best friend finished.

I did my best to hide a giggle under my blanket.

Soon enough, I could see the blue that was the Jounin clothes of Minato-san before a leg kneeled near my bedside. "... Is Tomoko-chan the reason why?"

Kakashi didn't say anything, opting only to nod while resting my hand against his folded leg, still holding onto it after all this time.

Minato-san only chuckled. "Why am I not surprised?" Then he turned to look at me, blue eyes swirling with sympathy and concern almost immediately. "I'm guessing Tomoko-chan got sick and you didn't want to leave, right?"

Another nod on my best friend's part. I just glanced between the two ninja before doing my best to shrug, coming out as just a fumbling shudder while under the blankets.

Minato-san gave me what appeared to be a pitying stare before turning back to Kakashi. "I understand the sentiment, Kakashi, but being late like this can't become a habit, alright? We have a C-Rank Mission today."

Kakashi's head shot up from his slumped position almost immediately to look at the Jounin with wide eyes while I found myself freezing.

C-Rank?

On one hand, yay! Kakashi and Team Minato get to do something other than chores!

On the other hand, holy fricking shit, a C-Rank mission.

Considering HOW the Land of Waves went for the original Team 7 in canon, I wasn't feeling that great. The fever wasn't helping either.

Thankfully, the two ninja noticed my despairing expression before I did, blinking. "T-Tomoko-chan, there's no need to look so panicked. It's just a guarding and delivery mission," Minato-san resembled a deer caught in headlights with his wide eyes, hands up in the air as if surrendering… something.

Um…. huh?

"... Minato-sensei, how long will the mission be?" Kakashi said slowly. And… was he gripping my hand a bit tighter than before?

Please tell me your blood is still flowing through that hand, dear.

I tried to flex my fingers. Judging by the lack of pins and needles, blood was still there, thankfully.

So then why was Kakashi holding onto me so tightly?

Nevertheless, the Jounin gave a sheepish smile. "A few days, Kakashi. We'll actually be heading out to the border to help escort some of our Suna allies back to the Land of Winds with some other squads. Hokage-sama thought this mission would be good to make up for the fact that Obito and Rin recently 'lost' a teammate to join them in the Chunin Exams."

What?

When did a C-Rank equal making up for the Chunin Exams? Was there something I missed?

… Field promotions, Tomoko-chan. Field promotions.

Leave it to Hisako to know something like that. I know back in canon, it was established that becoming Chunin meant taking the Chunin Exams, but what about in times of war? Considering how… well, ugly the previous attempt of bringing an all-genin Team Minato went and the dire situation the village was in, a field promotion wasn't fully unheard of.

Even if Vy was still mostly used to things in Naruto's generation, who experienced at least 13 years of iffy peace at best.

It was easy to forget that the Third Shinobi World War was going on with my civilian position.

Nonetheless, I soon found Kakashi glancing at me, and I didn't miss how his silver eyes flickered with concern. I guess that explains the hand thing. Even with my fever, I did my best to squeeze his hand back, smiling. "Go ahead, Kakashi."

My best friend just glanced between Minato-san and I before looking down, taking apparent interest in the pattern of my blanket. "... Are you sure?"

Even with the impending headache, I found myself giggling. "Kakashi, I thought I was the one who worried in this house."

The masked nin looked almost affronted now as he pointedly stared elsewhere, grip on my hand loosening a little bit.

I glanced at Minato-san, and the Jounin shrugged before smiling. Then, the Yellow Flash pointed in Kakashi's direction with his right hand, mouthing to me: Please convince him.

When did I become a moral compass? And why was Minato-san being the bystander this time?

Anyways, I just smiled again before squeezing my best friend's hand. Thankfully, it had the intended effect of making him look back at me with somewhat wide eyes, and if not for the situation at hand, my heart could've easily dropped to my stomach.

Kakashi was conflicted. If anything, he was visibly upset with the idea of leaving me, judging by the deep frown etched into his mask, and I couldn't help but feel touched and concerned all at once.

My best friend Kakashi was worried about my being sick, and I was really happy to know that he cared enough to stay back and risk being late - but I was also concerned about his being… intentionally late.

The last thing on my mind was my somehow being the cause for my Kakashi's future 'perpetually-late' habit that his canon self had. More so possibly becoming the main 'go-to-excuse' for a possibly older ninja I would get to know in the next few years.

"Kakashi, just go, okay? Team Minato needs you." The migraine was coming on pretty quickly, but I did my best to ignore it and continue smiling. My best friend had to hear this. "I-I'll be right here and it's just a fever. I'll be okay."

Even with my words, that masked frown wasn't going away. If anything, Kakashi just looked more upset, squeezing my hand a little tighter. "But Tomoko… I won't see you for a few days. Sure, Uncle Judai and Dad are really capable, but what if something happens -"

"Nothing will happen, Kakashi." I was honestly shocked that I was still being so patient considering that I was the bedridden one. Not to mention how in canon, the Jounin Kakashi ended up in the hospital bed more often than the other members of Team 7, so I didn't know whether to see it as irony at its finest. "If anything, I'll be stuck in bed sleeping off this stupid fever at home. Who attacks someone in their home? Mama, Papa, and Uncle Sakumo can and will take care of me. Just go out there and kick some enemy butt for me, alright?"

My best friend blinked before sighing. "Alright." He conceded slowly, reluctantly letting go of my hand. The immediate lack of warmth hit me almost instantly, and a part of me was already missing it when he spoke again. "Just… stay safe, okay? Don't do anything reckless."

I just raised a sweaty eyebrow. "Kakashi, I'm stuck in bed. How can I do anything reckless?"

Now Kakashi was frowning at me again. Thankfully it wasn't so much of a worried frown than the usual exasperated counterpart. "You know what I mean, Tomoko."

I shrugged before reaching over to touch his hand again. For some reason, it was at this exact moment that my body decided to put in the pins and needles in my fingers, so I ended up lightly stroking the back of his palm before raising my pinky. "Don't do anything reckless out there either, Kakashi, okay? P-Promise me that."

Do it before she passes out again. Hisako muttered.

The masked nin just looked down at my pinky before smiling softly and hooking his own with it, finishing the gesture with a gentle shake of our hands. "I promise. And you take care of yourself."

My vision was already starting to become blurry with sleepiness as I nodded, tired hum leaving my mouth. Minato-san just looked like a smiling, yellow-green blob by the time I got to say one last thing to my best friend. "... Love you Kakashi."

Once my hand fell back onto the blankets and sleep started taking me over again, I swore I could've heard a chuckle as the covers were tucked under my chin.

"I love you too, Tomoko. I'll see you in a few days."

"YOU'RE LATE!" Was the first thing Kakashi heard when leaving Nagareboshi. The Chunin held back every urge to strangle the Uchiha and opted for a sigh.

Kakashi didn't know whether to appreciate or despise Minato-sensei's Hiraishin now.

On one hand, it was quick in getting you to a specific location, in this case being the village gates.

On the other hand, it didn't give you enough time to (personally) prepare for any curve-balls the other side could give. In this case, a miffed Uchiha Obito yelling at the first chance he got when Kakashi showed up.

"Seriously, Bakashi!" The Uchiha was actively glaring at him, and if not for the circumstances on hand, Kakashi felt a migraine coming on. "You're later than ME! Seriously, I came on time today!"

Why in all hell did he decide to show up late again?

Tired blue eyes and a sweaty, red face passed through his mind's eye.

… Oh yeah. Tomoko.

Kakashi wondered at moments how much he could take being with the girl and all. She was someone very important to him, sure, but if staying back out of concern meant dealing with a teammate yelling at you, he wasn't as happy with his past self's decision.

And here he thought taking a page out of the currently yelling Uchiha's book would fly just fine. Obito used to be late almost all the time because of helping one old lady after another. Why not stay back himself and help a friend?

But judging by Minato-sensei's badly hidden chuckles, it seemed to be funny enough.

Thankfully, before Obito could continue going on his tirade, Rin took the chance to speak up with a sheepish smile, placing a hand on the Uchiha's shoulder to placate him. "Anyways, Kakashi, why were you late? This is really rare, considering how strung up you were about missions."

Kakashi found himself sighing before speaking honestly. "Tomoko actually got a fever this morning and because of it, I ended up losing track of time." He was starting to hate the heat suddenly flooding his face at this point from the embarrassment. The last thing he wanted to do was for his teammates to see him like this. "... I wanted to make sure she was alright."

Obito's mouth immediately shut into a thin line as the rage disappeared from his eyes. "A fever? Is Tomoko-chan okay?"

The Chunin shrugged, smiling a little bit at the thought. "Thankfully, yes. Aunt Hikari called a doctor over and luckily, it's just a fever. She just has to sleep it off for a while."

Rin's worried stare wasn't helping the strange dread he was feeling in his chest though. "Kakashi, do you want me to take a look at her later?"

"Another time, Rin," Minato-sensei interrupted, hand landing on Kakashi's shoulder. The sudden touch nearly made the Chunin jump if not for the raised voice, and his nerves were immediately on alert for the next announcement. "We have a C-Rank mission today."

"C-Rank?!" Obito and Rin said in unison. Judging by the varying amounts of joy on their faces, the spark of surprise more noticeable in Rin's brown eyes, Kakashi immediately knew that this was going to be an interesting mission.

A few seconds of silence passed before anyone reacted. As expected, a large grin burst onto Obito's face as he bent his knees before jumping. "Minato-sensei, I love you~!"

Kakashi made sure to duck away from the surrounding area so that his teammate collided with the Jounin as expected. Being with Tomoko meant learning how to either take on or avoid similar hugs after all.

"O-Oi Obito!" Despite the rather large tackle, Minato was smiling as his arms immediately wrapped around the Uchiha. "The hug's appreciated, but it isn't as simple as that."

Rin took the time to tilt her head in confusion, a hand tugging at her hair band for a second. "What do you mean, sensei?"

Minato sighed before lightly pushing Obito away to speak. "As you all probably know, after the whole thing with Satoru, there really wasn't enough time to find a replacement Genin to take Kakashi's place for the Chunin Exams this year, so instead, Hokage-sama wanted us to take this mission."

Kakashi had a bad feeling in his gut. Adding in his teacher's tense shoulders, this was more than just a 'C-Rank escort mission'. He didn't want to believe it, considering how casual the Jounin was when talking about it with Tomoko earlier, but this was different.

Minato-sensei had the face of a seasoned ninja instead of the casual carefreeness he was used to for the past few months.

The words felt like sawwood in his mouth. "... This is more than just a C-Rank escort mission, isn't it, Minato-sensei?"

The Jounin glanced at Kakashi before curtly nodding, turning his head to look towards the horizon. "I'll explain everything once we're outside the village, alright? Make sure to bring everything with you."

That explained Minato-sensei's earlier orders to pack enough for a few days. Obito and Rin just shared a confused glance with him before adjusting their packs and starting to walk.

Kakashi sighed.

Now he was wondering whether or not it was a good thing Tomoko was far too sick to see this.

She would probably blow a gasket knowing that Minato-sensei blatantly lied to her.

"-moko-chan. Tomoko-chan."

A soft hand shook my shoulder, and my eyelids felt heavy when opening up.

The first thing I saw was familiar silver hair.

"... Kakashi?" Was the tired mutter that left my lips.

Immediately, a warm, tired chuckle greeted me as the same hand gently wrapped around my back to pull me up to a sitting position. Judging by the muscle, I could tell it wasn't my best friend.

With reality coming to me a few seconds later, I could feel the embarrassment flood me as I looked up to see wrinkled, silver eyes. "I-I'm sorry Uncle Sakumo…"

The former White Fang just smiled at me. "Don't worry, Tomoko-chan. How are you feeling anyways?"

I found myself blinking slowly before wiggling my fingers. Judging by the amount of exhaustion and heat still flowing throughout my skin, it looked like I wasn't fully better yet. A tired sigh left me as my hand slowly went up to wipe at my eyes. "Still tired, Uncle Sakumo… What time is it?"

The ninja kept on that same smile as he folded the top of my blanket into a small rectangle over my legs, the same hand still holding me up. "Almost noon, Tomoko-chan. Judai told me to wake you up since you need to eat something before drinking some medicine, alright?"

A frown found itself on my face. "I hate being sick…"

Uncle Sakumo just blinked before chuckling again, hand reaching up to squeeze my shoulder. "Don't we all hate the feeling, Tomoko-chan. Don't we all." Even with the laughter, I could tell the smile was genuine as he squeezed my shoulder again. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

I just looked up at him before shrugging, taking a slow breath. Even with my fever, it should've been fine. All I had to do was rest up and get better.

So then why did I have such a bad feeling in my gut?

Why did I feel so worried?

My gaze found its way out towards the window.

Kakashi…

The Chunin found himself sneezing in mid-jump from a tree branch.

"Are you okay, Kakashi?" Rin piped up, immediately rushing up to his position with a concerned gaze. "Don't tell me you're sick too."

Minato-sensei only turned his head behind him while Obito fully looked back with worry swirling in his eyes. Even without the goggles, it was obvious that the Uchiha was concerned.

Kakashi just grimaced before wiping at his nose. "No Rin, I'm fine. I think someone's talking about me, though."

Obito leapt back a few paces so that he was at Kakashi's side, blinking. "Who?"

The Chunin couldn't shake off the strange feeling in his chest, but nevertheless opened his mouth to speak. "... For a second, I thought I heard Tomoko's voice."

His two teammates glanced at each other before placing their hands on Kakashi's head.

The Chunin was not amused. "... Guys, I'm really not sick. So hands off."

The two Genin pulled back almost immediately with sheepish faces. "... Just let me treat you if something does happen, Kakashi, okay?" Rin said slowly.

Kakashi just shrugged before jumping ahead to reach his sensei's side.

And from the closer distance, the Chunin could tell that Minato-sensei was tense. With the additional poker face and the colder air, this wasn't good. He opened his mouth. "... Minato-sensei?"

The Jounin didn't turn his head. "Later Kakashi. We're not at our destination yet."

The tone of authority immediately signalled silence, and Kakashi begrudgingly went along with it. With every leap into the trees, the uncertainty continued to eat at him even more.

Why did Minato-sensei lie to Tomoko like that?

Where are we going?

What are we supposed to do?

Once a clearing started to come closer to their position, Kakashi pushed his feet forwards.

Minato-sensei landed on the ground first, dust cloud rising from his sandals as he kneeled for only a moment. Once he stood up, Kakashi landed behind him, narrowly avoiding Obito and Rin crashing into his back. They still had to work on their landing - at least a little.

Thankfully they (namely Obito) weren't bad enough to push him into the ground like before.

And then Minato-sensei took a step to the side for the three ninja to see their surroundings.

Kakashi found a lump forming in his throat.

Dirt ground instead of paved roads. Pale beige tents, pitched into the dirt with strong stakes and forming two lines on the sides of the clearing. And various Konoha ninja, all looking to be about Chunin or Jounin level, running around the entire site, whether carrying various supplies of water and kunai or supporting wounded comrades.

And blood.

So much blood.

Whether it was on the ground, tents, or even on a fellow shinobi, the bright red was almost everywhere.

Judging by the shocked gasps from his teammates behind him, Kakashi wasn't the only one seeing this anymore.

"... I'm sorry for not saying it before, but we couldn't risk anyone overhearing until now." Minato said softly, voice quiet enough to pass in the tense winds and be lost in the crowd's overbearing chatter. "Since we couldn't get Team Minato into the Chunin Exams, the next alternative was helping out near the front lines at the border. I hope you're all ready for a fight."

All the shinobi in the area took that moment to turn their heads and look at them.

Kakashi found himself frowning.

We're at goddamn war now.

A hand instinctively found its way towards the opening clasp of his kunai pouch, and the Chunin held back a sigh.

I'm sorry Tomoko. I don't know if I can hold you up to that promise.

Author's Notes: Not much to say here except that this chapter was LONG overdue. I'm really sorry for taking so long, but honestly, I had to push my time towards finals, which is why Chapter 34 is so late.

But a warm and special thanks to all those who reviewed Chapter 33! The feedback really cheered me up when I was stressed during those study moments. But now with Spring Break in motion, I'm back in action!

Thanks to everyone who's supported me so far! As of March 24th, Civilian Pianist currently has 578 reviews, 984 followers, and 783 favorites! This chapter is dedicated to you all!

Love you lots!

This is Writer-and-Artist27 signing out now to brainstorm and write Chapter 35 as soon as possible!