Falling:

It had happened too suddenly for him to realize it was happening, as if a disaster had struck and destroyed everything in its path in just a few mere seconds, without any prior warning.

Well, saying that his body hadn't been giving him warning signs would be a huge lie. After the mission, Kakashi had noticed the blatant soreness of his muscles and the pronounced throbbing in his head, but he'd just ignored it, putting it to the side as if it were a mere graze from a kunai, when really, it was something much more serious.

Part of the reason Kakashi buried this constant pain and fatigue into the deepest part of his consciousness was because he still refused to believe that there was anything wrong with him, that he had a tumor in his brain. He chose to deny the fact that he was morphing into someone he didn't know, and that he didn't have enough stamina to carry out a proper mission.

He couldn't accept that he would soon be unable to fight as a shinobi.

But on the morning after returning from the Land of Waves, it was extremely hard for him to simply ignore his body's protests for him to lie down, to relax for just one day, if not take the whole week off.

To put it simply, Kakashi had woken up on the wrong side of his queen sized bed. It took him a long time to actually ease himself up and off of the hard mattress, since his head was pounding with such a bitter virulence, as if it were punishing him for not taking the proper measures to ensure that he was in good health.

Well, as "good" as his health could be with his current predicament.

When he finally did manage to plant his feet onto his cold, wooden floor, he was so intensely disoriented from the sharp throbbing of his headache, and how his stomach was turning so mercilessly, that he had to use the wall for support to make the inevitable trip to the restroom down the hall.

He plowed on nonetheless, his determination to get through the day overpowering the voice in the back of his mind that told him to slink back under the covers until he felt well enough.

So, after slipping into his uniform, Kakashi tiredly body flickered to the training grounds against his better judgment, skipping out on breakfast out of fear that it would come right back up. He used the teleportation technique with the false hope that it wouldn't ruin him in front of his Genin, as his legs were simply too sore and heavy to make the trip on foot.

*POOF*

It was a mistake. His body made sure he knew that.

Kakashi's stomach flew up to his throat; the jutsu, which required moving at practically untraceable speeds, had undoubtedly worsened his already unbearable symptoms. He put a shaky hand to his masked mouth and quickly gulped down the bile that had streamed into his mouth, his forehead beaded with cold, clammy sweat.

"Kakashi-sensei! Finally, you're here! We've been waiting for two hours!" a certain blonde ninja cried out. Naruto jogged towards his sensei upon hearing the familiar 'poof', his two teammates following closely behind him.

The three genin skidded to a stop in front of the man, their arms crossed petulantly at his late arrival.

Kakashi's body jerked with a sudden impulse to gag, the visible portion of his face taking on a sickly green color. The angry disposition of his three students was quickly replaced with concern—perhaps their sensei really did have a reason for arriving later than usual.

"…Kakashi-sensei? Are you feeling alright?" Sakura started timidly, approaching him with a deep crease between her thin eyebrows,"Because you don't look so goo-"

Kakashi couldn't hold it in anymore. Instead of reassuring them like he wanted to, like a sensei was supposed to, he clumsily turned around, falling to his knees as his aching legs gave out beneath him. The jonin yanked his mask down with haste, just in time to spill the contents of his stomach onto the perfectly dewy grass. The three teens jolted forward, at their sensei's side in a second.

"Sensei?!" Naruto cried out in disbelief, placing an alarmed hand on the man's shaking shoulders. Kakashi painfully heaved once more, a glistening, colorless stomach acid splattering onto the ground, the grotesque sounds of his retching penetrating their ears instead of his usual excuses for being tardy.

He ducked his head and covered the side of his face with a tremulous hand, pulling his mask back up between every gag, so as to preserve as much of his dignity as possible.

"Why'd you come to training if you were sick?!" Sasuke questioned urgently, a bead of sweat forming at his brow.

The three of them stood around Kakashi anxiously, their rampant worry clouding the surprise they had at unintentionally catching a small glimpse of the unmasked profile of his face. Sakura stepped forward and started rubbing circles across his hunched back as he vomited, her eyes glistening sympathetically as she caught sight of how he was visibly trembling.

What's happening to you, sensei? Sakura thought to herself, realizing with certainty that the man was definitely not okay, and that his health had been noticeably deteriorating recently. It wasn't just skipping out on breakfast, or not drinking enough water—it seemed as if he was hiding something far more serious from them.

Kakashi shamefully gagged on the burning liquid that he was bringing up, truly regretting coming to training that day. He was mortified that they had to see him in such circumstances, that they were forced to witness the illness he'd been trying to hide so dutifully. Sasuke was right; he should've stayed at home if he felt sick.

He shakily wiped his lips and pulled his mask back up, forcing himself to sit up straighter. With a hand clutching his sore abdomen, Kakashi attempted to stand.

He tried pushing his legs up, but after a few pained grunts, he realized that he simply couldn't. Kakashi had pushed himself too far. He hadn't paid enough attention to how he was feeling, to what his body had been trying to tell him.

I can't sit here forever…I need to get up, at least to make the trip back home—

"Sit down, Kakashi," Sasuke commanded sternly, taking the lead, since Sakura and Naruto were frozen at their feet, too shaken up to say anything. Kakashi-sensei was supposed to be the strong one, a ninja that didn't break a sweat even when fighting the worst of enemies.

"Sakura," the Uchiha uttered, turning towards the kunoichi next to him, "Get Asuma, he's on the training field right next to ours. "

After a few moments of unintelligible silence, Sakura nodded vigorously, her face set with determination. She dashed off, running faster than her legs were used to.

As intelligent and independent as Sasuke was, he himself didn't know how to handle the situation. He knew Kakashi was ill, that there was something that was just wrong with him, but he didn't know what it was, or how to treat it, for that matter.

"Um...Kakashi-Sensei, let's move over there, okay?" Naruto started softly, pointing toward a large oak tree in the distance that offered a generous amount of shade, "So the sun won't bother you too much, ya know."

The Uzumaki gazed at Kakashi's masked face as he waited for a response, noticing how his lone, pensive eye was fixated on the ground, and etched with deep shame. As he observed his slouched form even further, Naruto took note of his washed out, sweaty visage, and the way his baggy shinobi uniform was hanging over his thin frame, noticeably looser than before.

You're not okay, are you, Kakashi-sensei?

When Kakashi failed to reply, Naruto grabbed one of his limp arms and threw it over his shoulders, gesturing for Sasuke to take the other. The two genin eased him off of the ground and slowly began to head towards the tree, choosing to ignore the way his feet were dragging over the grass, making a distinct shuffling sound.

He was leaning on them heavily, as if he was barely conscious.

Kakashi grunted as they helped him down, his legs stretched out in front of him as he leaned back onto the rough bark of the trunk. Sasuke remained standing, inspecting the ailing jonin below him with a scrutinizing gaze; In contrast, Naruto took the spot next to Kakashi, his blue eyes fixed intently on the silent man as he sat down on the damp grass.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto said in an uncharacteristically solemn voice, nervously adjusting his headband, "What's wrong with you? You can tell us, you know that, right?"

Kakashi tilted his head downward, his overgrown, silver bangs casting a shadow over his face.

I have cancer, Naruto. That's what's wrong with me.

"Look, I know there's something wrong," Naruto continued with a frown, his brows furrowing deeply,"Yesterday, you fainted, on such a simple mission!…And now…What's going on with you, sensei? You seem different…"

"A-Are you sick, or something?"

There was a long, tense pause.

"I...I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you guys…" Kakashi replied finally, desperately hoping that his student would drop the subject.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man's superficial answer, picking up on the hint of reluctance in his tone.

"You're lying, Kakashi-sensei…Why are you lying?!" he questioned anxiously, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

Kakashi didn't say anything in return, averting his darkened gaze, and ducking his head even lower, if possible.

Before either of the boys could say anything more though, they heard the sound of three pairs of sandals running across the grass, coming their way. Turning towards the noise, they saw Sakura leading Asuma towards them, with Kurenai, who had been doing a combined training session with Team 10, at his side.

Even from their spots by the tree, Sasuke and Naruto were able to make out the blatant worry lining their features.

"Kakashi? You okay?" Asuma questioned through soft pants, once they had come to a stop in front of him. Sakura immediately went to Kakashi's side, the one that Naruto wasn't already occupying.

"Sakura was telling us that you threw up," Kurenai continued for the Sarutobi, crouching on one knee so that she was face to face with the Hatake, "Is everything alright?"

No. I'm not okay.

Kakashi gripped the grass beneath his fingers, his pale visage twisting into a hidden look of anguish. To have his comrades ask him over and over again if he was okay, when he was not, was torture.

He wasn't prepared to tell them the truth—he knew that they would look at him differently if he did.

Kakashi flinched, the cool touch of a feminine hand breaking him out of his thoughts. Kurenai's palm was resting on his clammy forehead, checking for a fever.

If only I had a cold, an illness that goes away after a day or two.

"Well, he doesn't have a temperature," Kurenai announced, retracting her touch, and turning her worried gaze toward Asuma, "If anything, Kakashi seems cold..."

"Be honest, Kakashi, is it the ulcer again?" Asuma asked sternly, coming forward to get a closer look at the pale jonin, "Should we take you back to the hospital?"

Kakashi choked out a few chuckles, ones that were painfully fake to him and everybody else.

"I-I...I guess I drank some spoiled milk for breakfast," he lied awkwardly, his mind too foggy and unclear to come up with a believable excuse. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion, now completely sure that there was something that Kakashi was hiding from them.

He said he got food poisoning before…what's this about going to the hospital for an ulcer?

"Your vomit was clear, which means that you didn't drink milk for breakfast, or have anything else, for that matter. And even if you did get food poisoning again, it wouldn't explain why you passed out on the boat yesterday," the Uchiha said swiftly, catching him in the act of lying.

Kurenai and Asuma shared a bewildered look upon hearing Sasuke's words, not having known that their friend had recently fainted on a mission.

"Come on, Kakashi, you're worrying me now. Just tell us what's wrong," Kurenai encouraged uneasily at his continued silence, feeling very confused and unsettled. What was it that Kakashi was trying to cover up? He had only been in the hospital for an ulcer, right?

The Hatake visibly blanched, his eyes widening as a sudden, intense cloak of anxiety settled over his pounding head.

He gazed down intently at his hands, watching them shake without his permission. The feeling was so familiar, and that was what was so terrifying about it. Kakashi knew exactly what was about to happen, and it was completely filling him with dread.

I need to get away, before they see…

The copy ninja desperately scrambled onto his two feet, clinging onto the tree trunk for support. Everyone watched incredulously as he limped away from them, his gait fast paced and uneven. He would have ran if he could.

"O-Oi, Kakashi-sensei! Where are you going?!" Naruto shouted at his retreating back, "You need to sit down! You're not well enough to—"

Without warning, the world tilted and Kakashi crumpled to the ground, his vision becoming hazy and obscured with black dots.

It's too late…

Eyes widening, Kurenai and Asuma reflexively rushed to their collapsed friend, his three disciples following closely behind them. The adults quickly crouched down at Kakashi's side, assessing the situation to think of what could have possibly caused him to completely fall over.

"Kakashi?! Hey, talk to me, Kakashi!" Asuma shouted, lightly slapping one of his cheeks. His head loosely lolled from side to side every time the Sarutobi's callused hand made contact with his face, but he gave no answer.

Kakashi looked up at him with one dull, glazed over eye, an indication that he wasn't all there anymore.

Then, "it" happened.

His teeth clenched, loose drool slipping out of his lips and wetting his tight mask. It appeared as if he had stopped breathing, the only indication that he was alive being the noticeable tremor in his hands. Kurenai leaned down and put her ear to his rigid chest, checking for a heart beat.

"His heart rate's irregular, Asuma...and too fast..." the kunoichi reported in utter seriousness, tilting her head back up,"We should get Kakashi to the hospital, quick-"

The copy nin's eyes rolled back into his head, a pained grunt passing through his parted lips as his back arched up off of the grass. They gaped in shock as Kakashi's arms and legs started to spasm, the sharp, misfiring electrical signals being sent to his limbs causing them to contract uncontrollably. Sakura and Naruto jolted forward, their feet moving forward of their own accord.

"Move back! Don't come here!" Asuma warned them, quickly taking off his flak jacket, balling it up, and placing it under Kakashi's jerking head to act as a pillow of sorts. Asuma and Kurenai positioned themselves so that the teenagers had no view of the seizure.

"What's wrong with him! What's happening!" Sakura cried out in a panic, her eyes wide, "KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

She ran forward once more, hot tears streaming down her pale cheeks. The kunoichi had never seen a seizure in progression before, so naturally, because it was the first time she was witnessing one, it looked as if Kakashi's body was being taken over by a demon of sorts. She was honestly afraid for his life.

"Sakura, listen to me," Kurenai said sternly, turning and grabbing her by the shoulders before she could even catch a glimpse of her sensei's face, "You can't come here. The best way you can help is by giving Kakashi some space, alright? He'll be fine in just a few moments, I promise."

Sakura nodded numbly and stepped into line with her two teammates, who were completely frozen in shock. Naruto's tanned visage had become unnaturally pale, and Sasuke's eyes were wide, a few lone dribbles of apprehensive sweat trickling down the sides of his face.

All they could see from their stances were the two crouched forms of Asuma and Kurenai, and Kakashi's violently convulsing legs. Amidst the unbearable silence, the only sounds they could hear were his pained gasps and gurgles for breath.

"Kurenai," Asuma uttered, worriedly looking down at the Hatake's seizing form, "How long has he been seizing?"

"About four minutes and thirty," the kunoichi replied, the solemnity in her tine expressing how dire the situation was. Asuma's eyes widened.

"Shit. That means this is serious," The Sarutobi said, not too far from panicking himself, "We need to get some medical help, and fast. If a seizure lasts for over 2-3 minutes, then it's classified as an emergency."

"Well, we can't take him to the hospital like this, it'll just hurt him even more," Kurenai voiced pragmatically, "And we have to stay here and watch him."

Asuma nodded curtly, before turning to face the three Genin behind him. "Hey! One of you get Lady Tsunade! Quickly!"

Naruto stepped forward before anyone else could. "I-I'll get Granny Tsunade!" he declared, before bolting across the field to the Hokage Tower, not even giving anyone else a chance to approve of his sudden decision.

Kakashi choked on his excess spit, his pupils dilating and shrinking at a rapid rate. Asuma grabbed his jerking shoulders, while Kurenai took hold of legs, and together, they turned him to his side so that he wouldn't drown in his own secretions.

When Naruto finally did arrive with a flustered Tsunade, Kakashi was laying on his side, facing away from his students, and had stopped seizing. His visible eye was extinguished of all its light, his face as pale as a sheet. Kurenai was clutching one of his limp, clammy hands, squeezing it as she encouraged him to stay conscious, while Asuma stood up to greet the hokage.

"How is he?!" Tsunade questioned urgently, immediately rushing to Kakashi's side and getting down on her knees, "Naruto told me he was "shaking a lot", did he have a seizure?"

"Kakashi was seizing for about five minutes, Lady Tsunade," Asuma informed her, hovering over the two women. The Hokage cursed under her breath, eyes widening.

"Kakashi? Oi, can you hear me, Kakashi?" she started, placing a manicured hand on one of his shoulders, her intent gaze locking on his one, dulled eye. The three genin, who had been standing on the sidelines the whole time, hesitantly came forward and stood behind Tsunade to get a better look at Kakashi, feeling sick to their stomachs.

They weren't dumb; Sasuke, Sakura, and even Naruto knew that for the hokage to have to come all the way to the training field, whatever had been afflicting their sensei must have been pretty serious.

Kakashi blinked lethargically, his blurry vision settling on a haze of concerned expressions, namely on a head of blonde hair and a pair of wide, hazel eyes.

"La...Lady...Tsu-Tsunade," Kakashi managed to slur, the pain already kicking in, his consciousness dimming like a light. Warm relief spread over all of them at his response. At least he could recognize the hokage.

"Kakashi, you idiot! I told you not to push yourself!" Tsunade said, more worried than angry, her eyes brimming with tears. Kurenai and Asuma's gazes narrowed in confusion at that. Why was Kakashi, out of all people, prohibited from pushing himself?

"...I'm okay...tell them I'm okay..." Kakashi croaked, looking behind the hokage to the rest of Team 7.

Then, everything started to fade once more, fuzzy, black dots obscuring the round faces of his students.