Shanan woke up in the hospital. Again. Her head still hurt. She was sick of it, but she was used to it. She wasn't sure how long she had been there, but the last thing she could remember was Sasuke passing out on her after... after Itachi.

She got up and walked to the door and out into the hallway. Nobody was around. She didn't know where Sasuke was or if Naruto was back. So she started to go back in before someone yelled out to her.

"I see you're awake," Kakashi said as he walked into view, pulling his mask down, before putting his hand back in his pocket.

The hallway wasn't very bright, so it's no wonder she hadn't seen him from further away.

She had completely forgotten about Kakashi being injured. "I see you are too," she smiled back at him.

"I was just coming to see you, let's go and sit, you shouldn't be up," he said as he walked past her and swung his elbow out slightly to nudge her.

They went back into her room and Shanan sat in her bed as Kakashi pulled a chair up.

"I heard you stopped by when I was out," he told her. "And that you guys ran off and saw Itachi."

She looked down at her hands and considered for a moment.

"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't stay long. I would've checked on you every day if-"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her.

Shanan rolled her eyes at him. "And we shouldn't have run off like that." She said as tears formed in her eyes.

Kakashi softened his expression. "I know you feel it's your duty to support Sasuke no matter what. But you're not feeling well and you really should've tried to talk him out of it instead of going along without question." He put his hand up so that she wouldn't interrupt. "Guy told me everything. I know you're smarter than that. Sasuke is too, but..."

"The curse mark." Shanan didn't have to think about it. Sasuke would've thought things through before taking off in the past. "I'm guessing he's not awake?" she asked rhetorically.

"No. He's gonna need a specialist. He's young and not used to being in a genjutsu like that. Itachi's genjutsu didn't affect me as much because I'm older and have had my Sharingan longer, even if I'm not an Uchiha."

Shanan looked at him surprised. "Itachi put you in a genjutsu too?"

"Uh... yes," he said almost reluctantly. He had forgotten that she was unaware of that day's events. Last he'd checked, she was home sick with Sasuke.

"What happened? What did he do?" She tried not to sound too panicked, but Kakashi was one of her dearest friends.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head casually. "Oh, the usual. Three days of torture in a split second. Nothing too bad," he said with a smile.

Shanan glared at him suddenly. "Why do you do that?" Tears ran down her face and she couldn't stop them. "Tortured? For three days?" She couldn't help but feel upset for him even if he brushed it off. It had to have been scary and painful to say the very least.

Kakashi looked at her sympathetically. "Sorry. It's... an annoying defense mechanism of mine. Yes... it felt like three long days. It was..." he trailed off not knowing exactly what to say. It was excruciating and traumatizing. But how do you share that with a person that truly cares about you?

"You don't have to tell me," she said shakily as she wiped her eyes. It was hard not to cry, but she knew Kakashi didn't like to share a lot of personal things. Even with people he was close with. Or maybe they weren't actually close. She wasn't really sure.

Kakashi sighed and moved his chair closer to the head of her bed. "Do you remember when you told me about being in the dark? It was the night that I found you."

Shanan nodded, still crying. "Yeah. I still remember being in the darkness and then you came along and I... wasn't in the dark anymore."

"Well... I, too, have had my fair share of being in the dark." He wasn't sure he had ever said this outloud to himself or especially anyone else, but it felt ok to share it with her. "I would prefer not to get into the details right now, but it's why I don't have many close friends, except for Guy and Asuma."

Shanan wiped all of her tears away and thought for a minute. "I suspected as much. I remember about your friend that died and you seemed sadder than you'd let on when you told me about him." She grabbed his hand. "You probably don't hear this much, but, because of you, my biggest goal has been to help people and try and make them happier. So I always try to be direct and open with my feelings if I think it'll help. Anyway, I wanted you to know that I love you. You're the first person I can remember in my life and you made sure that I was safe. A big part of who I am now is thanks to you," she said as she squeezed his hand.

He squeezed her hand back, but remained silent and thoughtful for a few minutes. She could tell he was trying to remain apathetic. He finally let go of her hand and stood up. "We should go and visit Sasuke," he said as he put his mask up and turned for the door.

Shanan knew he had appreciated what she'd said. He just wasn't great with feelings and he wasn't used to how honest Shanan was. She hadn't broken down that wall yet, like she had with the boys.