Immediately after Shizune had delivered the news that he'd escaped from the hospital, the three of them had headed out into the night, hurrying towards Kakashi's apartment, as they knew that he would likely be there.

Tsunade and Gai were collectively filled with unshakable fear, as they knew that him being away from medical attention could pose an insurmountable risk to his already fragile condition.

Gai was especially worried about his erratic breathing; it seemed as if he had been heavily reliant on the oxygen mask, as a result of the fluid buildup in his lungs. He'd witnessed what had happened without it far too many times, and it never ended well.

Upon arriving, they found that the front door was locked, and that there was no key under the doormat this time. However, they got around the setback by entering through his bedroom window, which opened easily after some skillful prying.

At that moment, Shizune, Gai and Tsunade were inside of Kakashi's apartment, having come through a window that Gai had thought to have led to his friend's bedroom, but had brought them into the living room instead.

Gai squinted in confusion, wondering how he'd made such an obvious mistake; for some reason, he was oddly unsettled.

Looking around the dark, moonlit room, they saw that his living area was empty and neat, as was the kitchen. They swiftly headed towards his bedroom, but found that it too was empty.

"That's weird," Gai spoke apprehensively, furrowing his brows, "I don't know where else he would've gone…"

"Maybe he went to the graveyard?" Shizune said unsurely with a glance around the room, trying to be helpful, "He loves going there."

Tsunade stood still with an indiscernible expression on her face, her eyes squinted, and her eyebrows slightly furrowed in confusion. It felt as if she was missing something.

Gai shook his head in silent disagreement to Shizune's suggestion, as he didn't feel as if he could leave Kakashi's apartment; something told him to stay there.

He paced to the closet, jarring it open, and looking around to see if Kakashi was in there, hiding. He shifted around the monotonous clothing, finding that the back of the closet was…

The living room?

He stepped through it in astonishment, realizing that it literally opened right into the living room. He ambled to the couch, eyes widening slightly as he observed that the room looked eerily clean, and exactly like Kakashi's, from the rug, to the brown suede throw pillows. It dawned on him that it was rather strange that the place wasn't more unkempt, as no one had been there in almost a month.

With a glance to the right, he saw that the wall was empty, as it had always been, save for a small bookshelf filled with Kakashi's favorite novels and rather promiscuous magazines.

More importantly, Gai realized that the living room had no windows, and had never had any windows in the first place. How had they entered through the living room window then?

"What the…'' Gai started in bewilderment, "Of course! A genjutsu! Exactly what I should expect from my eternal rival!"

"Release!" he said confidently, making the telltale hand sign.

Looking around, he saw that the state of the apartment immediately seemed less tidy and more neglected, with dust gathered up on the top of the coffee table, and an unfamiliar stain dirtying the carpet. The room smelled like vomit.

Gai found Kakashi passed out on the couch in a fetal position, his messy, silver hair peeking out from under a thin crocheted blanket that did a measly job of keeping him warm.

"Kakashi?" he started, the brief relief he'd experienced at finding him quickly becoming replaced with concern as he noticed how much he was trembling, and how congested his chest sounded, "Kakashi!"

Crouching onto his knees, he put a hand atop the man's bony shoulder, pulling away the blanket to reveal his pallid visage. His cheeks were flushed red, and upon placing a clammy palm on his forehead, he found that it was burning up.

Shizune and Tsunade hurried to Gai's side, growing weary when they heard how rattled and wet Kakashi's breathing sounded up close, and how convulsively he was shivering.

"He has a fever," Gai told them quickly, his eyes never leaving his friend's unconscious form, "Wake up, Kakashi!"

He took Kakashi by the shoulders and turned his stiff torso so that he was facing straight up, flinching at the discomfort etched into his face.

Shaking him a little harder this time, Gai attempted to wake him up again, wondering why he was in such a deep sleep. The Hatake's unfocused eyes opened a sliver, but then feathered shut again just as quickly, almost as if opening his eyelids was too physically taxing.

"Kakashi? Please, just wake up," Gai pleaded gently, cupping his warm cheek, "Why won't you wake up?"

His unblinking gaze turned glossy, and for the first time, he wondered if Kakashi was actually beyond saving. Maybe they had gotten there too late.

The ailing man coughed incoherently, weakly shifting onto his side and leaning into Gai's cool touch with a shaky exhale. If he were lucid, he never would've done such a thing, as he was rather uncomfortable with physical contact, especially with his rival.

"Gai, let's take him back right now," Tsunade told him decidedly, referring to their plan to use Kakashi's recent lapses in judgment to override his decision to not accept medical help, "He's unconscious. It's the perfect opportunity."

Gai looked at her with a guilty, confused gaze, then turned his attention back to Kakashi's sleeping form, feeling as if he was betraying him. He'd obviously escaped for a reason; the last time Gai had seen him, he seemed as if he'd truly feared the hospital, and could not remain there any longer.

But if Kakashi stayed at home, Gai knew with certainty that he wouldn't make it. Without medical attention, he could be dead by morning.

He nodded shortly, getting up, and carefully removing his hand from Kakashi's warm face. "Okay. Let's go."

Gai slid his arms underneath Kakashi's spindly legs and his shoulders, slowly scooping him up as gently as possible, as to not stir him into consciousness. He didn't want Kakashi to see him doing this.

Shizune stared at his limp body in Gai's hold with a regretful expression, really understanding for the first time that the end was right around the corner for him. She noticed how his teeth were audibly chattering underneath his mask, and how he was subconsciously leaning into Gai's chest, as if it was helping him to feel warmer.

The visible portion of his face was sallow and covered in perspiration, and she could hear the congestion in each struggling breath he took. She eyed the carpet grimly, knowing that Kakashi was in grave danger, and that his health was likely at an all time low.

Wasting no time, the three of them begin to head towards the front door apprehensively, only to stop in their tracks when they heard a small voice calling out to them.

"W-what..." Kakashi whispered breathlessly, squinting and taking in his hazy surroundings in confusion, "What are...you doing?"

His feverish gaze settled on Gai's face, which had worry and guilt written all over it.

"He came to take me back," Kakashi thought, unsurprised; he'd already prepared for their arrival at his home, having used a sizable amount of his remaining chakra to cast a rather strange, last-minute genjutsu.

Inhaling sharply, and ignoring the acute pain in his aching chest at the small action, the Hatake lifted his head and struggled out of Gai's arms, hating the fact that he was carrying him like a baby almost as much as the fact that he was taking him back to the hospital.

Kakashi shakily pulled away from his grasp and stood on wobbly feet, feeling as if the world around him was moving in slow motion. He observed the three of them with blurred vision, his breaths coming in shallow, dry pants that exacerbated how parched his mouth was. It felt as if he couldn't gather enough air in his lungs to talk to them and say what was really on his mind.

It wasn't fair that they were taking him back to the hospital without his permission, but he didn't even have the energy to tell them how angry he was.

Gai looked at him with concern, noticing that he was swaying slightly, and wearing a distant, unreadable expression on his face. He watched as the man brought a tremulous hand to his mouth and coughed into it harshly, his eyes blank and glossed over from the fever.

"Kakashi, we're taking you to the hospital. You're really sick," Gai finally found the courage to say, looking to him expectantly for a reaction. Kakashi responded by continuing to cough.

His raucous hacking soon became deeper and more intense, making him hunch over slightly, his long hair falling over his eyes. Wheezing, he brought himself back up, wiping his wet lips with the same shaky hand that had been covering them moments before.

He glanced at his open palm, finding that it was covered with splotchy patches of blood. Before anyone could notice, he brought his hand down to his side with a pained gulp, wiping it on his black hoodie.

"No...don't...I'm not going," Kakashi breathed stubbornly. He shifted away from the group unsteadily, growing nervous from how they were staring at him, all of them wearing similar pitying, concerned expressions that bored holes into his remaining livelihood.

Walking backwards, he stumbled over his own two feet, unceremoniously tripping.

Tsunade jolted forward and grabbed him before he could fall, supporting the front of his torso with one hand, and delivering a swift, specific blow to the back of his neck with the other. He was out in an instant, his head falling forward and his limbs becoming loose and heavy.

The hokage adjusted her grip with a sigh, throwing him over her shoulder, and paying no mind to the shocked looks she was getting from Shizune and Gai.

"Let's go. We're running out of time."

The hokage raced over a rooftop and leaped onto another one with Kakashi in her arms, Shizune and Gai following closely behind her. She glanced down at his face, paling when she saw how his complexion had blanched even further somehow, and the slow, weak way in which his chest was rising.

Cursing audibly, Tsunade quickened her speed, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her eyes were wide and focused ahead as she continued to the hospital, which was now only a few minutes away.

In the quickly approaching distance, she could make out a young boy with blonde hair laying down with his arms tucked behind his head, looking up at the stars. Unbeknownst to her, It was Naruto, and she was crossing over the top of his apartment complex.

Squinting, the Uzumaki sat up, trying to make out the blurred people running in his direction. When he recognized Tsunade, with Kakashi's limp body cradled in her arms, he quickly stood up from his relaxed position, fresh anxiety bubbling in his chest.

"Hey! HEY!" He cried out, waving to them desperately, hoping that they would give him the courtesy of at least explaining what was going on.

Tsunade slowed down as she approached Naruto, finally realizing it was him. However, she didn't stop, her brows furrowed deeply in concentration.

"HEY, STOP! What the hell is happening to Kakashi-sensei?!" the boy yelled obstinately when they quickly passed by him, barely giving him a second glance.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance at how they were ignoring him, he began to run along with them, tailing right behind Gai.

"Gai-sensei?! Where are you guys going? What's wrong with sensei!" He asked again, quickly catching up to the group,"Why won't you guys tell me!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto, we're just in a hurry," Gai told him, the sense of urgency and fear prominent in his voice, "He escaped from the hospital, so we're taking him back."

The Uzumaki silently processed the explanation, getting the feeling that Gai wasn't being completely honest with him. Their worry was almost palpable, and their faces were ashen and sweaty, leading Naruto to believe that something much more serious was going on.

"Okay, but how is he? I-Is Kakashi-sensei going to be okay?" he asked tentatively, looking to Gai for a response. The older man just pursed his lips, his thick eyebrows scrunching together as he thought about the reality of his dying friend's condition.

"I don't know, Naruto. All we can do is hope for the best."

Before long, the four of them had reached the front doors of the hospital. Tsunade busted the entrance open even with the Hatake in her arms, paying no mind to how his warm cheek was firmly pressed up against her décolletage.

"We need a gurney and an ambu bag, stat!" she exclaimed explosively, garnering the attention of everyone in the vicinity. The staff listened to the hokage's orders instantly, bustling to help the motionless copy nin in her hold.

Naruto moved to her side with a rather serious, ill-fitting look on his whiskered face, taking in his sensei's state with a knot in the pit of his stomach. The man was completely limp, and obviously knocked out cold, the visible parts of his face practically gray, with a contrasting bright flush spread across his cheeks. His chest was barely rising and falling, and there was a frighteningly distinctive wheezing sound every time he attempted to inhale.

Fidgeting restlessly with his hands, the Uzumaki caught sight of the silvery lashes lining Kakashi's closed eyes, and his unconsciously furrowed brows, wondering when things had gotten this bad. It was clear that his sensei was in pain every time he tried to breathe. And the fact that he'd selfishly gotten angry at him for not taking treatment, without knowing or experiencing what he was really going through, made Naruto feel viciously guilty.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Naruto watched as Tsunade placed his body into the empty gurney, almost flinching at how still and lifeless he seemed, given how his limp limbs were jostling around loosely from all the movement. The blonde's eyes widened as a doctor abruptly ripped open the thin fabric covering Kakashi's face, quickly tilting his exposed chin up and sealing a mask over his chapped, blue-tinted lips. The professional proceeded to squeeze an attached bag that made his chest rise visibly as it was manually filled with air.

A team soon began to push away the bed, and Naruto instinctively followed, feeling as if he was on autopilot. He reached out a hand to grasp one of the metal bars of the moving gurney, but before he could, Tsunade grabbed his wrist, holding an arm out in front of him to prevent him from going any further.

"W-what are you doing?! Let go! LET ME GO!" Naruto cried out in a panic, desperately struggling out of her tight hold, and watching with tear-filled eyes as Kakashi moved further and further away from them, "LET GO OF ME!"

"Naruto, calm down!" the hokage started sternly, "I know you're worried, but you're not allowed in there, okay? He needs to be treated!"

Glancing back at Shizune and Gai, she took note of their downcast faces, and their rigid postures, sharing the feelings of concern that they were obviously experiencing.

"Stay with Naruto!" she told them hastily, pushing the blonde in their general direction and wasting no time in running after the gurney, which was turning a corner at the end of the hallway.

The three of them were left to an arduous wait, praying for the best outcome, though it was clear to them now that the odds were not in Kakashi's favor.

The hospital room was empty and quiet when Kakashi woke up, the lights pleasantly dim and tinted blue. There was a high-pitched ringing in his ears, and as he groggily looked up at his blurred, unrecognizable surroundings he realized that he couldn't hear much of anything, except the sound of his muffled breathing through the oxygen mask.

His eyes widened anxiously, and he peeled his stiff back off of the surprisingly soft mattress, bringing himself into somewhat of an upright position. Looking around, Kakashi immediately saw that the room was much more spacious than the one he remembered escaping from, and noticed that even the bed was slightly bigger, a full instead of a twin. His comforter from home was splayed across his form, in addition to a purple blanket that he remembered Shizune using to sleep on the couch when she had briefly lived in his apartment.

Though his body felt heavy and leaden with the obvious effects of some kind of drug, he felt a vague ache in his head, at a very specific point. Grazing his fingers over the tender area, he felt a small patch of gauze, almost hidden under his unruly silver hair.

He scoffed in disdain, realizing that they had performed a biopsy on him without his consent, as he recognized the wound from a previous time he'd had one.

Touching his face and feeling the obvious obstruction to his mouth, the Hatake deliriously pulled off the oxygen mask and tugged up the bunched up black fabric on his itchy, sweaty neck.

"Don't take that off," he heard suddenly, snapping his head towards the door. He watched blankly as Lady Tsunade entered the room, her figure hazy, the clicking sound of her heels seeming muffled and echoey.

She approached his bed with a curious look, noticing how he'd taken off the oxygen mask and pulled up the black mask that usually covered his face on a day-to-day basis. The visible portion of his face had an unreadable, emotionless expression on it, and he was eerily still.

"Hello, Kakashi. I'm sure you've noticed by now that you're back at the hospital…"

She waited for a reaction from him, but she was just met with silence. The hokage watched as Kakashi hung his head low and stared at his lap, his shoulders rising up and down at an uneven pace as he dealt with the pressure of breathing without any supplementary oxygen.

"You should put it back on, Kakashi," the hokage spoke, upon noticing the copious amount of sweat gathering on his pallid brow.

He failed to respond, hunched over in a way that cast a dark shadow over his face, practically hiding it from view. Kakashi put a hand to his tight, full chest, gulping deeply to push down the thick mucus in his mouth. His ears focused on his wet wheezing, and for once, he truly feared for himself.

It felt as if he was freezing, yet his whole body was covered with perspiration; in addition to that, his lungs felt sore and heavy, and it was getting harder to breathe properly, no matter how much air he tried to desperately inhale.

He leaned back into the pillows with a deep sigh, feeling the weight of his body pressing against the mattress as it became more and more limp with fatigue.

"We did a biopsy on you. I know that you probably think this is an unmistakable wrong, but you've proven time and time again that your judgement is impaired. So I think the decision to proceed without your consent was indispensable," Tsunade said bluntly, feeling hasty with her words, but saying things she actually believed at the same time.

At this, Kakashi's droopy eyes turned to her from where he was laying down, and his trembling fingers moved to slowly remove the blankets that were covering his masked face.

"If that's what you need to say to yourself to feel less guilty, then okay," he rasped huskily, pausing for a moment with a tired, almost sad stare, and then looking away, closing his burning eyes altogether.

Tsunade shuddered at his response, pondering upon the possibility that he may actually be speaking the truth—though she could say that his tumor was causing his cognitive dysfunction, was it actually true?

"Your biopsy results showed that your tumors were glue-like, and contained "white chakra" inside of them, matching the composition of what we found in your chakra screening," she continued hesitantly, choosing to ignore his sharp remark, "Upon closer examination of your chakra pathways, we found that they had actually sustained damage, more so in areas that align with the location of your tumors."

He didn't move to react to what she had said, as if he were feigning sleep.

"Knowing this new information opens up some possibilities…first of all, we can perform surgeries to extract these masses of chakra, and also repair your chakra networks. After this, we can perform a chakra transplant, which would be a short term solution—or we can find a way to suppress the biological chakra tumor pathway involved in your condition, which is obviously much harder."

Tsunade observed his prolonged silence and lack of movement with scrunched eyebrows, noticing that his chest was barely moving, except for an occasional sigh. As she scrutinized his form, she found that his breathing was significantly slower, and shallow in combination.

"Why are you even asking me…" Kakashi started quietly, his voice rough and haggard, "If you're going to do it anyway?"

Tsunade winced, reduced to silence.

"…You're right, Kakashi. But I need to know if you want to prolong your life…will you even consider these options?"

She stared at his motionless form, realizing that she hadn't seen him take a breath in a while. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor began to increase in speed, growing with his body's pressing demands for oxygenated blood.

"Kakashi?" Tsunade said with a concerned tone, putting a tender hand to his face, "Put your mask back on."

Her eyes widened when his head lolled loosely to the right, away from her touch. At that moment, It became resoundingly clear to her that something was wrong.

"Are you okay? Oi, Kakashi," she tried again, already moving to strap the discarded oxygen mask next to him back onto his face, "Stay with me!"

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and sat up with a strangled groan, pushing away her hands, and looking at the wall in front of him with a dazed, ill look, feeling his stomach churning uncomfortably. He grabbed his abdomen weakly, gulping down the saliva that kept gathering in his mouth, along with the viscous gobs of phlegm resting in the back of his throat.

"What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

"Trash…can…." he responded vaguely, a tremulous hand moving to cover his mouth, and a thin line forming between his silver eyebrows at the nauseating sensation.

The hokage fumbled for the bucket on the side table, her visage twisting into a look of intense worry as she placed it in front of him.

Kakashi peeled off his mask and inhaled shakily, immediately beginning to cough at his attempt to get a proper breath of air. He felt his face flush as he continued to hack, the rest of his body experiencing uncomfortable hot flashes that made him want to rip his sweaty clothes off.

Tightening his grip around the bucket, Kakashi ducked his head into the opening, coughing and sputtering as he felt thick mucus and bile rising up his throat. Soon enough, his raucous hacking turned into dry heaving that twisted his abdomen into painful knots, his body jerking forward convulsively with every gag.

He felt someone rubbing circles on his hunched back, and as if the touch were somehow a trigger, Kakashi heaved and began to bring up burning stomach acid, gasping between retches at the strenuous effort his body was putting into expelling his stomach's contents.

Sniveling quietly, he stared into the bucket with wide eyes, saliva dripping loosely from his mouth and into the container. With a quiet groan, he wiped his lips and pulled back, not feeling the incessant need to gag anymore.

"It's okay…you're done now," Tsunade said calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder and grabbing the bucket out of his grasp to put on the floor. Moving away from her touch, he let himself collapse onto the pillows, his glassy gaze focused on the ceiling.

Exhaling shakily, he closed his eyes, pulling the blankets closer to his body to comfort himself amidst the nerve-wrecking sensation of drowning, and to quell his raging desire for fresh air.

Tsunade moved to strap the oxygen mask on him again, her eyes flitting to the monitor as she took note of his elevated heart rate and his plummeting blood pressure. Upon feeling hands touching his masked face, Kakashi's eyes snapped open and he jerked away.

"Listen, Kakashi, your oxygen levels are dropping and your blood pressure is too low—I need you to put this mask back on, right now," Tsunade said firmly, crossing her arms and returning his intense, almost fearful stare.

He was silent, protesting his treatment without having to speak at all.

"You give me no choice, Kakashi."

When she attempted to strap it on once more, Kakashi grabbed her wrist, his eyes covered by his bangs, which were casting a shadow over the upper part of his face.

"You can't do whatever you want to me…I'm not crazy—I'm completely capable of making my own decisions," he said lowly, his voice flat and scratchy, "You think you can go around the system just because you're the hokage…I know exactly what—"

A high pitched, fast beeping began to envelope the room, and Kakashi stopped speaking with a soft gasp, his face practically going gray.

Glancing at the screen at the loud noise, Tsunade found that the blood pressure alarm had gone off, indicating that his BP was problematically low.

"Kakashi?"she called tentatively, trying to assess how serious the decline in his condition was, "Are you okay?"

The Hatake felt his hand grow tingly and heavy, watching confusedly as his shaky fingers slowly relinquished their grasp on Tsunade's wrist, his arm falling loosely to his side.

He blinked several times to try and clear the fuzzy spots out of his vision, the ringing in his ears starting to intensify painfully. Kakashi groaned in discomfort, shutting his eyes with a deep furrow in his pallid brow, feeling dangerously lightheaded.

"Kaka…kashi…"

"Kakash—"

"—kashi? Hey!"

As he heard echoey, far away voices vaguely call out his name, he also felt cold, clammy hands lift up his head and strap an oxygen mask onto his face. Though he had stubbornly refused to wear it before, at that moment he didn't argue, as he hardly knew what was going on, and could barely feel his numb limbs.

The sounds around him began to fade away gradually, until all he could hear, other than the ringing in his ears, was the sound of his rattling, shallow breaths. Kakashi was scared to succumb to unconsciousness, as he felt the need to consciously take each struggling inhale and exhale, and feared that he wouldn't be able to do so if he passed out.

However, despite his concerns, he soon felt his presence begin to fade—Gazing at the ceiling with a dazed, glossy look, he watched as the spots in his vision intensified, and let his cold, trembling body grow heavy and relax into the soft mattress.

Everything went black.