Chapter 23
A Healer's Pain
"Give me one good reason why I should let any one of you darken my doorstep. You promised I'd never see your lying…cheating…ANBU faces again."
Kakashi cringed at the brown-haired woman's words. Not because of their volume – he'd expected that. It was more because of how she said them. Each word clipped and making it quite clear, to him at least, that this may not have been the right choice after all. Still, he had agreed with what Ibiki had said the previous day. Coming to Sutoro-finaru, and Matsuro's house in particular, was their one and only chance of surviving without permanent damage to those in the party with injuries.
He watched Ibiki step forward half a step, keeping his hands carefully wrapped under the Sensei's legs. Kakashi had to admit it was a great way to show Matsuro that the T & I expert held no weapons, and at the same time it allowed Iruka's damaged leg to be fully seen by the dark-haired woman standing in the doorway. He watched silently as her turquoise eyes shifted ever so slightly from where they'd been glaring holes into the entire group, to the tell-tale signs of blood seeping through Iruka's bandage, up to the sensei's confused and pained face, then over to settle on where Kakashi was gracelessly draped over Itachi's back and breathing heavily. Her delicate brow pinched ever so slightly, a light blush dusting her fair skin, and she bit down on her lower lip before lowering her head.
"Tch. If you hadn't dragged this poor kid into this, I'd kick the three of you out this instant." She grumbled even as she turned and stomped back into her house, leaving the door open.
Kakashi's lip quirked up at what was the closest that they'd likely get to an invitation at this point. Clearly the others recognized it too, as Ibiki and Itachi wordlessly moved through the entry and into a room that instantly brought back memories that he'd really would rather had stayed buried. Everywhere his eye landed was a reminder to him of just why this woman wanted nothing to do with them.
To the right of the doorway was the wall that he'd managed to leave a rather large hole in when he'd been hallucinating and thought the cracks in the plaster were an enemy trying to kill them. Straight ahead was the kitchen table where he'd helped hold Ibiki's internal organs in place while the man was being treated. Next to that was the stairwell that Itachi had dragged their prisoner to keep him out of the way of the occupants of the house. And then there was the small alcove to the left, where he'd nearly bled-out while he was waiting for his turn to be treated. Ah yes – fun times.
As though she had heard his sarcastic thoughts their hostess snarled at Itachi. "Bring that useless bastard over here before he decides to destroy my wall or floors again!"
Kakashi pursed his lips into a pout even as the Uchiha moved to join the others. "Mah, Matsuro, but I'm not bleeding this time."
xx—xx
Trying very hard to ignore the silver-haired bastard, Matsuro pulled her hair back and tied it out of the way as she crossed to the sink to wash her hands before dealing with her unexpected guests. She just knew the day was going to turn sour the moment that she'd broken her favorite teapot that morning, but nothing could have prepared her for the Trio-of-Terror stalking back into her life. It had been years since she'd even thought of them, having finally pushed that dark part of her past behind her. But, in less than five minutes, all those memories came flooding back, threatening to bring her to her knees.
She propped her hands against the sink and closed her eyes, waiting for the horrific visions of her brother's death to overwhelm her like they used to do, but surprisingly that didn't happen. Taking a deep breath and blowing it out in a rush she thanked Kami for small miracles and turned to face the bedraggled group staring back at her. She was glad to see how wary the three ANBU were of her. It should make this a tiny bit easier all around. But when her eyes fell on the dark-haired man being eased off of Ibiki's back she couldn't help but feel his pain when his obviously injured leg hit the floor wrong.
Wiping her hands dry, Matsuro crossed to that man's side and immediately began a chakra-scan of the leg to ascertain the full extent of the damage. She stopped when she felt his hand lay gently on her arm. She looked up to see a small smile and a pleading in his eyes.
"Could you check Kakashi over first, please? I can wait."
She looked into the man's dark brown eyes and frowned. Just from her preliminary scan it was clear he was in pretty rough shape. Although some small amount of medical aid was given to the injury, it was also clear that his bones had shifted at some point during their journey and were now pushing for a way out. If he wasn't treated soon, he ran the risk of nerve damage – or worse. What in the world made the man so sure he could wait? As though sensing her line of thoughts he smiled shyly at her.
"Kakashi has injuries that are far more serious but are completely hidden to the eye. I did what I could to help him…but I know he has something going on that he won't survive without your help. Please. I don't know what history you all share, but please…don't let my friend die."
She looked up to see a stunned expression on Kakashi's unmasked face. Whether it was from this man begging for her help on his behalf, or from the profession that they were friends was anyone's guess, but it had clearly moved the normally stoic man. That in itself was enough for Matsuro to change her focus fully onto the silver-haired shinobi.
"You heard the man, Kakashi. Get over here and sit down."
Her tone left no room for argument and, with the obvious help of Ibiki and Itachi, the man was gingerly placed into the seat next to her first patient. The ANBU met her gaze with narrowed eyes.
"Mah, Matsuro. Iruka-sensei should go first. I can wait."
That caused her to raise her brow before glancing back at the brown-haired man. "What madness would drag a Sensei into the chaos that only these three bastards can create?"
Iruka…as she now knew him to be called, sighed. "That story is too long to go into right now – but I promise that I'll share it in full once you've healed Kakashi. No matter what his pig-headed mind is telling him, he really does need your skills more than I do right now."
She looked between the two once more, noting the almost comical frown on Kakashi's face from the sensei's none-too-flattering assessment, before sighing to herself and focusing on the silver-haired menace for a preliminary scan. It was very clear to her that the Sensei's assessment had been all too accurate. She stood up and moved to the other side of the room and she leveled what she knew was a no-nonsense look at the other two shinobi before speaking.
"Bring Kakashi into the back room and place him on the examination table. Once you've finished that, bring Iruka in and set him on the cot. Try not to jostle his leg this time Ibiki. Then you two can come back to the kitchen and stay the hell out of my way. Understood?"
A chorus of agreements surrounded her as she promptly turned her back on them and marched into the room where she had her medical supplies set up in what used to be her brother's bedroom. She pushed down her fears of what the sudden appearance of these men might lead to, and concentrated instead on helping those in need. It was, after all, her calling…no matter how much pain her memories may cause her.
Xx – xx
Iruka still wasn't sure who this woman was, but one thing was for certain…she was a very skilled medic-nin. As he watched her push Kakashi onto the table until he was flat on his back, he marveled at how every move she made was precise and purposeful. When she activated her chakra and began scanning the jonin again, it quickly became clear that this woman was on a level with the Hokage in the amount of pure healing energy and skill she wielded.
"Who worked on him?"
Her words, like her actions, were purely professional. "We all did at one point or another, but most of the attempts to repair the worst damage were by me. I did what I could to keep him alive, but I know I didn't do the best of jobs. I've meant to get more advanced training…I just never managed to find the time."
She spared a look over her shoulder at him and he saw a sparkle of amusement in her turquoise eyes. "Don't sell yourself short, Sensei. If you hadn't told me that you weren't an advanced healer, I wouldn't have known it from your work."
Iruka could feel his cheeks heat up at the compliment. "Thank you for that."
The woman turned her attention back to Kakashi. She continued to scan him for countless minutes in absolute silence. Even Kakashi was not making a sound…which was a miracle in itself. When Iruka was just starting to grow uncomfortable with the length of time, Matsuro turned to face him fully. By the look on her face it was clear she'd found something serious.
As she moved over to the cot and sat next to him, he noted that Kakashi was sound asleep. A smirk appeared on her lips.
"I learned long ago that the only way to treat that bastard is to knock him out first."
Iruka knew his eyes widened at her comment. "Oh. I wish I'd thought of that."
His eyes moved back to where the jonin lay oblivious to their discussion. "Can you fix him?"
A deep sigh brought his attention back to the woman at his side. She met his gaze without flinching.
"I can. But it's going to take a while. And enough chakra that I'll need to stretch the treatments out over several days. Whatever happened to him was done at such a deep level that most healers wouldn't have noticed the damage until after it took his life. You were wise to trust your instincts on this, Iruka. It couldn't have waited a single day more before it would have been irreversible."
Iruka noticed a sad gleam in her eyes and he frowned. "Why do I feel like there's about to be a giant 'but' in here?"
Now she smiled at him. "Like I said, Sensei…you have good instincts. The fact is I have to work on the bastard immediately if he's to have a chance. It'll be at least three days before I'll be done. And another day to recover enough to tackle your leg. I'm sorry."
Iruka frowned at that. She just said she could fix Kakashi…so why was she sorry? He saw her gaze drop to where his leg was stretched out on the bed and he allowed himself to look too. What he saw made it all too clear. There was a noticeable bulge in his lower leg where he truly saw for the first time that he was bleeding through his pants. He knew the others had splinted his leg after their attempt at setting the worst of it days ago, but obviously at some point during their mad dash across the countryside the bones had shifted again. And what was worse was that he hadn't noticed it and only truly felt pain when the leg had been knocked into the floor.
"If I have one of the others reset the leg that should buy me some time, right?"
Matsuro reached out and placed her hand over his. "It could help…but you understand why I'm telling you this, right?"
Iruka sighed and lowered his head in defeat. "There's already nerve damage, Matsuro, if that's what you're hinting at. I never felt the bones shift or puncture my skin."
Her hand tightened slightly before she released it and pushed back up to her feet. She gave him one last smile before she turned her full attention to Kakashi. Iruka sat there staring at his leg and pushed back the urge to give up. There had to be something a lame sensei could do to be a productive member of a Village, right? He could still run the Missions Desk and concentrate on paperwork. That would free up others to…to…crap…who was he kidding. He was a missing-nin now. A lame missing-nin. Destined to be a burden no matter where he ended up.
"Sensei, does your Village track your shinobi?"
Iruka was so busy watching his life spin out of control that he almost missed Matsuro's question. He shook himself back to full awareness and frowned.
"The only tracking seal on Kakashi is blocked. Why do you ask?"
She cursed. "Looks like whoever messed Kakashi up left something behind. But it's grafted to his rib and it looks like it can only be removed in tandem with healing the area around it." She glanced over to him once more and narrowed her eyes. "Have you ever manipulated bone at the cellular level before, Sensei?"
Iruka's eyes went wide. "No! That is…I've never tried. Is it anything like manipulating rock? I'm really good at that."
She was quiet for a bit after that and he thought for sure that she'd already written him off. That is, until she raised her voice so it carried into the other room.
"Ibiki! Itachi! Get your useless asses in here now!"
They came almost immediately, and the look on their faces made it clear they had heard some – if not all of their discussion. As expected, Ibiki spoke. "Should we reset his leg before moving him? Or wait until he finishes whatever you have planned?"
"After. Unless you don't mind guests interrupting this party. Bring him to the other side of the table and both of you are to keep him steady. Not another word out of either of you, got it?"
They both nodded before moving to the cot and picking up and carrying him to the table. Matsuro met Iruka's eyes squarely once the others took up supporting positions on either side of him, ensuring he put no weight on his damaged leg. She reached across the table and pulled his hands over to rest over Kakashi's bared chest.
"Can you focus your chakra onto his ribs?"
Iruka closed his eyes and pushed his energy into the area Matsuro asked about. He felt the bones from where they attached to the jonin's spine to the tip of each one until he found something that definitely didn't belong there. He snapped his eyes open.
"What is that nodule on his third rib?"
She nodded at his words. "That would be the tracker."
"But it doesn't feel electronic. What makes you think it's a tracker and not just a growth?"
"Focus on it again and wait about five minutes."
He did as she asked and settled his chakra around the rib once more. About a minute and a half later he watched the nodule tremor slightly…pulsing rhythmically…before falling still once more. Then, several minutes later it happened again. Okay. So definitely not a growth. He did a surface scan and found that whatever it was, it was organic in nature. So, he moved his awareness to the rib it was attached to and found it was only adhered into a microscopic layer of the bone. How the heck were they going to get this thing off him and out of the jonin without damaging him more, or Kami forbid setting off any booby traps like were likely on the damn thing.
As though reading his thoughts, Matsuro spoke softly. "This is going to take us working in tandem, Sensei. I can clear a path to pull the thing out of his body if you can manage to remove the bit of rib that the thing is attached to. I'm hoping that keeping it adhered to at least some of the actual bone will trick it into thinking that it is still in Kakashi until we can destroy it."
Iruka could see the logic in her approach. The nodule shouldn't recognize that it is no longer in the body until it hits the air and the bone cools. It avoided manipulating the device directly – which surely would set any traps off immediately – and made it much less risky for all of them. Assuming, of course, that Iruka really could manipulate a bone the way he manipulates a stone. He'd feel a lot better if he could practice first.
Matsuro sighed. "Iruka, the pulsing is getting closer together which tends to make me think that whoever put that thing in place is actively trying to trigger it to track you guys down. There is no time to do anything but try."
"Right. Okay. Let's do this." He settled his hands back on Kakashi and waited for the Healer to tell him to start.
Instead she locked her gaze with Itachi. "You still able to breathe fire, Brat?"
"I am."
"Good. Once I pull this thing clear I need you to toss it into the fireplace in the main room and toast it. Got it?"
Itachi must have nodded because her next words were directed to Iruka. "Let's do this Sensei!"
Xx – xx
When Orochimaru arrived at the house of one of his oldest watchers he was more than disappointed that she, along with his other messenger snake, had been eliminated. And based on the injuries it was clear that the shinobi of Konoha were still able to fight back. Something that he looked forward to remedying in the near future. Assuming, of course, that Kabuto's claims of having a means of tracking the Hatake were true.
He redirected his gaze from the body of the old woman to where Sasuke and Kabuto were staring into the screen of a portable device. The looks on their faces made it clear he was about to be disappointed…again.
As Orochimaru crossed to their side Kabuto turned to face him. "Lord Orochimaru I can only assume that someone has found a way to jam the signal of the tracker I had placed on Kakashi. It was working perfectly up until about ten minutes ago. Now it won't respond at all."
He took the device from Kabuto's hand and reviewed the data it had collected. Although it couldn't provide an exact location for his prey, especially now that it was no longer working, it at least showed which direction the beacon had been coming from. He looked up to find Sasuke had unrolled a map which showed the lands surrounding this town, in obvious anticipation of Orochimaru's needs. At least the Uchiha was proving more useful than Kabuto at the moment.
Taking a moment to scan the document it was clear that there three possible destinations in the general direction given from the device. The farthest away was a village of notable size which was the likely destination of the wayward party, as it was in a direct line of their last noted location. Although that village did not hold any shinobi force of its own, Orochimaru knew it acted as an outpost for several of the larger villages and likely would provide the Leaf fools a chance to find support from their brethren. In addition, it held a modest medical facility that could be used to treat those injured.
He traced the outline of that village with one fingernail. They would leave for this destination immediately and soon he'd have his prize back in his hands. He would send Kabuto back to the lair to ensure it was ready to accept his soon-to-be guests, while he and Sasuke used a few special jutsu to shorten their journey to their own destination. This would ensure they arrived at the village before the Copy-Ninja and his friends. And this time Orochimaru would make sure the troublesome jonin had no chance to leave his side again. Yes – by the end of the week Kakashi Hatake would be his once more!