The Bank II
"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." - Jean de La Fontaine
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters contained therein, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto who is kind enough to let fans write fiction. I make no profit from this nor do I intend to.
A/N: Unbeta'd. I will attempt to post every other week. I think I'm going to need to do more rewrites on the remaining chapters than in previous chapters so I can't make any guarantees.
The next chapter will be the final chapter – unless I can get a short epilogue together in time for Christmas. We'll see.
Enjoy.
Chapter XXI
Kumiko heaved a sigh of relief as she exited the small café. Her supervisor had given her an early, extra-long lunch break to pull herself together after her run-in with Mr. Hatake. Nearly everyone had heard about it and while no one liked it, hospital policy was hospital policy. Due to a recent crackdown on rampant bending of the rules, she could have easily lost her job had she handled the situation any differently.
Even so, knowing that she had done the only thing she could, did not help with the sense of profound guilt she still felt. If only she had been more proactive… or if only she had seen what was directly under her nose sooner… that might have made a difference. Maybe.
Kumiko had tried to put things right, made multiple attempts. Regardless of her belated efforts, there was simply no way to get around it. She was going to have to apologize. The only real question was how and when… and then, how to handle the fallout which was sure to be explosive.
On autopilot, contemplating the best way to cope with the situation, Kumiko made her way back to the hospital and to the reception desk in the front lobby. Just as she was locking her purse in the little cabinet next to her desk, an unwelcome voice hailed her.
"Oh, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Itsuki called as he rushed across the lobby, gum wrappers leaving a trail behind him. "Where have you been?! I couldn't find you anywhere in the hospital! And I looked everywhere!"
Kumiko flinched. Her hand automatically moving toward her panic button before she caught herself. Why he would be looking for her, she couldn't even begin to guess as she'd been less than sympathetic the last time they'd spoken. She then sighed, realizing that she shouldn't be surprised to see him. He never listened.
"Hello, Itsuki." She greeted him flatly, not bothering to glance up to greet him properly, instead keeping her attention on going through the papers that had turned up in her inbox while she was out.
After a moment of silence, unusual for Itsuki, she shifted her gaze to him. Kumiko was faintly surprised to see that his face was flushed and he was twitching nervously, obviously having a hard time standing still. She frowned in faint confusion.
"What has you all upset?"
"I-I've done something awful… Something truly bad…"
Interested in spite of herself, Kumiko raised an eyebrow – unable to imagine what foolish thing he'd done and then probably managed to blow out of proportion.
"What have you done?"
"I-"
A loud crash interrupted whatever Itsuki might have had to say.
Surprised both Kumiko and Itsuki turned their attention to the rest of the lobby, or rather to the small knot of people now gathered a short way away from the reception desk.
"Oi Watanabe!" someone from within the group yelled out. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Several bystanders turned to glare at the front desk.
Itsuki so wrapped up in his own problems just started for a moment before visibly pulling himself together to respond.
"What? What did I do?"
An off-duty nurse, Atsushi, huffed and rolled his eyes before returning his attention to whatever had gathered all the people in the center of the lobby. A moment later he bent over, scooped something up off the floor, and then waved it in the air.
"For the last time, watch your wrappers!" Atsushi growled, clearly angry at Itsuki's inability to control his gum wrappers.
The group of people then moved enough so that Kumiko and Itsuki could now see the elderly man being helped up from the floor. A few of the bystanders were slowly maneuvering the older gentleman into a wheelchair that had appeared on the scene, almost as if summoned.
Itsuki's face shaded from simply flushed to a dark red and he hurried over to help escort the injured man to the emergency room, well aware that he was responsible for the elderly man's fall and would probably face serious consequences for his negligence. It was not the first time his carelessness with his gum wrappers had gotten him into trouble.
Kumiko watched in faintly irritated confusion. She shouldn't want to know what Itsuki had done… but, somehow… she suddenly found that she was really curious. A part of her had to wonder if it had something to do with Ms. Haruno. Then she shook her head, realizing that of course it did, these days it always did. The only question was, what?
Later, wound tighter than a drum, Kakashi returned to the hospital lobby with paperwork in hand. Briskly he made his way to the reception desk. With great restraint, he managed to just slide the papers across the desk, rather than throw them as his nerves almost demanded he should.
Kumiko glanced up to find Kakashi standing before her once again. Scooting her chair back she swallowed, her heart suddenly pounding. That he might return had not occurred to her, or rather it hadn't until a well-meaning co-worker had brought it up not too long after Itsuki had put in his disastrous appearance. Since then, Kumiko had been miserably on edge, fervently hoping not to see Mr. Hatake again until the Lady Hokage returned.
Now, seeing the determined elite shinobi standing in front of her… she suddenly felt woefully unprepared. Kunoichi or not, she knew when she was outclassed. Consequently, she was unable to prevent the surge of panic that hit her. He looked angry. He looked very angry. Ms. Haruno angry had been one thing – her temper was legendary and made frequent appearances. Mr. Hatake on the other hand… his strict sense of self-control was legendary, he never lost control of his temper. That he appeared to be actually angry was… terrifying.
"M-Mr. Hatake. I-I'm sorry, really, I am, but I-I can't help you..." She trailed off as she realized he wasn't budging. Hurriedly she tried to verbally justify her actions to him, "I'll lose my job. I just can't lose my job. My sister is still in the academy – this is the only position that pays well enough for her to stay there and take all the extra courses she needs to enroll in the early medic program. I need this job. I'm sorry, I can't-"
Kakashi, tired of listening to her prattle and his patience wearing dangerously thin, tapped the papers he'd slid across the desk.
"I'd like to see my wife."
Kumiko flinched and stopped babbling as she felt the color drain from her face.
"Excuse me?" she asked, unable to believe what she thought she'd heard.
"My wife. Let me see her."
Kumiko shook her head, still not quite comprehending. Just because he'd decided to refer to Ms. Haruno as his wife, didn't actually make her his wife.
"I'm sorry but-"
Exerting a great deal of his legendary self-control, Kakashi tapped the paperwork again. This time Kumiko glanced down to see the marriage certificate – dated months prior – and some other supporting documents, all with the appropriate seals and stamps from the courthouse. She picked the papers up to get a better look, quickly shuffling through, and found it all seemed to be in order. He was, in fact, married to Ms. Haruno.
"What?" Her eyes widened, there had been rumors but she hadn't seriously believed them… no one had, not really. She had, of course, exaggerated things to Itsuki to make a point. But, she hadn't actually believed…
"Sakura never got around to filing any of this with the hospital. These are the copies for the hospital so the changes can be made. Consider them filed."
"But…" she started somewhat stupidly, trailing off almost immediately. While his tone had been even and calm and he hadn't raised his voice, there had been an underlying edge to his words. She knew the situation could go badly very quickly if she didn't respond as expected.
"I want to see Sakura, now."
"Ms. Haruno-"
"Hatake," he interrupted her, patience beginning to fray under the delay but still needing the change to be verbally acknowledged and made – the sooner the better.
Taken aback Kumiko shook her head slightly, still trying to calm herself down.
"O-of course, Ms. Hatake." She paused to try and regain her train of thought. "Oh, but Ms. Hatake isn't-"
Kakashi shook his head, holding up a hand to interrupt whatever else Kumiko may have to say, he was done being patient.
"Enough!" Pausing briefly to forcibly calm himself, he continued. "Where is my wife?" he nearly growled, unable to keep his voice from dipping down to his lower registers. "I don't care where she is or what state she is in, take me to her, now."
Noting that that particular tone was not to be denied in combination with legal proof that they actually were married, Kumiko nodded mutely. Luckily for everyone involved, it turned out Mr. Hatake was her next of kin. Otherwise, the situation would probably have gone very badly.
"Right. Okay, then. T-this way, please." She pushed a button on her desk, realizing just then that she could have hit the panic button at any time and that no one would have blamed her for doing so. Shaking her head slightly, she realized that it had been guilt that had prevented her from using the panic button. Kumiko mentally shoved her regrets aside and gestured for him to follow her through the now unlocked double doors. She knew that he would only get angrier if she tried to make him wait for an orderly to come and escort him to Ms. Hatake.
Kakashi followed closely behind as they headed toward the first bank of elevators beyond the locked hospital door. His hopes rose as they approached, the first bank of elevators went up, to the various wards, offices, and surgical theaters. If they got into one of those, everything would be okay. Sakura would be okay.
A moment later, as they passed the first bank of elevators, his hopes crashed. The second bank of elevators didn't go up. They went down. The only things down were the records rooms, general storage, the labs, and… the morgue.
Doing his best to keep it together, he continued to silently follow Kumiko. She offered no comments and her finger shook visibly as she pressed the call button for an elevator. They were in luck, one was already there on their floor. Without a word, they got in and Kumiko pressed one of the basement buttons. Kakashi didn't look. He already knew where they were going. Instead, he kept his thoughts tightly corralled on what he would need to do once he had confirmed that Sakura was truly gone.
The elevator dinged and the door slid open. Almost as if in a trance, Kakashi followed Kumiko as she exited the elevator and continued down the hall. Kakashi could see the sign marking the morgue ahead and took a deep slow breath, preparing himself for what he would likely be shown. Sakura would be pale, deathly pale. He knew from experience that she would likely appear as though asleep – he would have some convincing to do, but he knew he would eventually accept that she would not wake, no matter how much he might wish for her to do so.
Kumiko continued down the hall, aware that Mr. Hatake had slowed behind her but chose not to acknowledge it. Instead, she paused without turning, too afraid of what she might see.
"This way Mr. Hatake, nearly there."
Kakashi nodded, aware that she couldn't see the gesture, and continued. She had stopped by the entrance to the morgue. Slowly he let out a long breath, mentally preparing himself.
Kumiko, sensing that he had caught up, continued down the hall, turning left at the next intersection where the hall ended.
Kakashi blinked upon realizing that Kumiko had continued on past the morgue and made a left turn at the end of the hall. Puzzled he followed, belatedly remembering that the hospital was out of rooms – the whole reason why Sakura had been staying in her apartment instead of the hospital in the first place. Likely, they had overflow everywhere, not just in the hospital wards but in the morgue as well.
Shaking his head, trying to dispel the faint hope that crept in once he remembered that the hospital had run out of rooms, Kakashi silently followed Kumiko. She was probably taking him to an overflow area.
Finally, Kumiko stopped by a nondescript door. She turned to Mr. Hatake before opening it. She had calmed down considerably on their long walk and hoped that he would stay calm once she let him in the room. She could cope with him as he was now but was positive that she could not handle things if his temper should get the best of him. Granted, she was fairly certain that security was watching – they tended to take note whenever something unusual happened, such as her leaving her desk to personally escort someone somewhere in the hospital. Even still, he could do an awful lot of damage before anyone reached them.
Shaking those dire thoughts aside, she addressed Mr. Hatake.
"As you well know, the hospital is experiencing a shortage of space just now. We had to put Ms. Har- er, Hatake here for the time being." She opened the door and gestured for Kakashi to go inside.
Kakashi nodded and entered the large room, it was one of the file storage rooms from what he could see, plastic-covered filing cabinets and piles of boxes had been pushed up against the walls, towering right up to the ceiling, and leaving a large area clear in the center of the room. Quickly his eyes found Sakura and his feet moved him toward her of their own accord. Kumiko was speaking but he wasn't listening.
As expected, Sakura was lying in a bed in the middle of the room, deathly pale, so pale that it was hard to distinguish her from the sheet draped neatly over her from her chest to her toes. Not as expected were the various life support machines still hooked up to her. Unable to make sense of it he hastily tuned back into what Kumiko was saying.
"... so that's the situation so far. I'll have someone find her doctor for you, we're especially short-staffed today so it may take some time to track him down and send him here. Decisions need to be made and since the Lady Hokage is out of the village they were uncertain as to how to proceed. But, with you here now, we can get some things squared away at the very least."
"What?" Kakashi asked, still uncertain as to if his eyes were deceiving him. Could Sakura truly be alive? Had he been given one more chance?
Kumiko had the grace to blush at Mr. Hatake's unexpected response. She hadn't realized that he'd assumed the worst. She felt her cheeks heat even more and a deep sense of guilt took over once again. Kumiko knew she would have to apologize… but, this was definitely not the time.
"Ms. Haa-take didn't fill out her new medical paperwork – to be honest, ah… someone probably didn't mention it to her… it's unlike Ms. Hatake to leave something this important undone." Kumiko shook her head and averted her gaze, she had really tried to make it right just before the accident at the hospital... "Um. So, now that you're here, you can just fill it all out for her."
Kakashi focused his full attention on Kumiko, the sense of false calm he had felt while being brought to see Sakura starting to fray under the stress of the situation, the anger beginning to seep in once again. He'd just been through the emotional wringer, all because of some incomplete paperwork?! His hands curled into fists without his conscious direction.
"So what you're saying is that Sakura doesn't have a list?" He'd gone and filed all the marriage paperwork just to get to see Sakura, only to find out that it was a technicality keeping him from her in the first place?!
Edging away from the now once again visibly upset ANBU, doing a good job at hiding the guilty flush, Kumiko only nodded as fear started to set in again.
"No paperwork means no list, no list means no visitors, period. That's why I was so insistent that you do yours." Kumiko was surprised at how firm and even she'd managed to keep her tone considering the rising sense of panic she was experiencing.
Kakashi stood for a moment, visibly conflicted – torn between his anger at the situation and his obvious concern for Sakura. Concern for Sakura eventually won out and he reluctantly stifled his anger. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want the paperwork filed anyway.
Outwardly calm once again, Kakashi returned his attention to Sakura. Though she wasn't conscious, she seemed stable. He needed more information on her status – he needed her doctor to come and explain it all to him. In order for that to happen, Kumiko needed to leave the room – unscathed and not in a panic. Anything else would possibly get him ejected from the hospital – Sakura's husband or not, the hospital did not tolerate threats or violence against its employees.
"I see," he conceded brusquely, more to send Kumiko on her way than anything else. "I'll be sure to get her paperwork done quickly then so this won't happen again."
Feeling that her duty was more than complete and that hanging around was probably a bad idea, Kumiko started backing toward the door.
"I'll send for Ms. Hatake's doctor and have her paperwork brought for you right away." She gestured to the paperwork he had given her. "The sooner it can be completed the sooner I can make the changes in the system."
Kakashi nodded, already taking the final few steps to bring him to Sakura's bedside. Though the room contained several other empty hospital beds, it was bare of anything unnecessary, so he would have to stand until someone thought to bring in a chair. Unable to stop himself, he knelt down next to Sakura's bed and reached out for one of her hands. It was slightly cool to the touch but he attributed that to the chill in the room. Shifting his fingers slightly he felt her pulse, slow and steady – as shown by the life support machines. Without his conscious direction, he brought her hand to his forehead, closed his eyes, and sighed.
Sakura was alive.
Kakashi sat in the chair someone had thoughtfully provided for him and continued on with the paperwork using the little table they had also found for him and upon which his porcelain ANBU mask also currently rested. Since Sakura had not filed their marriage paperwork herself, he now found himself with the responsibility of filling out the numerous forms that went along with making the changes to both Sakura's name and marital status within the hospital database as well as her updated medical preferences paperwork. Granted, Sakura hadn't made the changes because she had not filed the marriage license and name change paperwork, he had. In a way, he figured it was only fair for him to have to deal with all the headaches associated with making the changes.
Once again he came to a section requesting the marriage date, this time the form also wanted to know the date the marriage license was filed.
Kakashi heaved a silent sigh of relief. He'd had to do some very fancy footwork to get the clerk at the courthouse to agree to backdate the marriage license. Thankfully Sakura's temper was legendary and all he had had to do was to claim that he'd thought she'd filed the paperwork and she'd thought he had… when he'd found the unfiled paperwork… Well, he knew he would be in for a month on the couch at the very least since the date on the marriage license was special to them – no don't ask, he couldn't quite remember exactly what it was, but it was important to Sakura which was all that mattered. If their anniversary wasn't the date she'd thought it was, or worse, if they weren't legally married… she'd kill him for sure. At least, that's the tale he'd spun for the wide-eyed clerk at the courthouse. The young man had bought it hook line and sinker – the whole office had – and they'd all worked together to get the marriage license and name change paperwork filed properly and with appropriate dates and stamps so as to backdate the marriage to nearly a year prior.
Flipping another page, he had to stifle another sigh. This one was asking for basically the same information that he'd already filled out three other times on this same packet of paperwork. At least it was the last page of the packet and he only had another two packets to go.
A small part of him had to hope that once Sakura woke and found herself married, she would be less inclined to have it annulled if he had already gone through all the trouble of jumping through all the hoops for her. Though he would, of course, tell her that she was more than welcome to file for an annulment if she should be so inclined – he would not stand in her way. Somehow, though, he suspected that she wouldn't. Regardless of what was next for them, he figured having the paperwork filed really only simplified matters.
Completing the last page of the packet, Kakashi flipped it over with the other completed forms and took a moment to stretch and check on Sakura before starting on the next set of papers.
A little while later, Kakashi absently rifled through the paperwork for the hospitals' new list policy – he'd saved it for last as it was the easiest, or so he'd thought. He'd filled Sakura's paperwork out like his own. Listing both himself and Tsunade as her medical contacts – no telling if he would ever be sent out on missions again – and making Sakura's a list of exclusion rather than inclusion.
Kakashi had hesitated for a good long while over adding a name. His keen eyes had not missed the gum wrappers under the blood on the floor the second time he had gone through Sakura's kitchen. It did not take a seasoned tracker such as himself to guess what had happened. His fury for the gum-chewing medic knew no bounds and he hoped he did not see the man again – Kakashi was not sure he could control himself if he did. He was profoundly grateful for the fact that it was highly unlikely that he would – once Tsunade returned and caught wind of what had happened… well, he didn't know what the volatile Hokage would do, but he did know that at the very least Itsuki wouldn't be seen in the village for a very long time.
In the end, Kakashi had sighed, left the list blank, and made a mental note to hire someone to clean Sakura's floor before she was discharged from the hospital and before it had a chance to stain. Even as her (possibly temporary) husband, it was not his place to try and bar anyone from Sakura's life. That was truly a decision only she could make.
With all the paperwork completed, just waiting to be picked up – Kumiko had said she'd return later when she dropped it off – Kakashi sat, all his attention focused solely on Sakura, watching her chest move up and down slightly as she breathed. He didn't like how helpless he felt, no matter how much he wished he was able to do something for her, he knew that there was nothing he could do. The fact that he, one of the most powerful shinobi in the village, couldn't do a single thing to help Sakura – his wife – was just killing him.
He sighed, doing his best to suppress his anxiety and impatience, Kakashi sent a brief glance to the door, willing Sakura's doctor to appear. After a moment's unsuccessful staring, he shifted his attention back to Sakura, resisting the urge to reach out to her – he knew he'd have a hard time letting go if he did. Kakashi almost wished he had more paperwork to do – filling out forms had at least that kept his mind focused and occupied for a time. Now that the paperwork was done, all he could do was to sit there and wait… and worry…
His mind just kept going through the same loop. Sakura was clearly stable but not okay from what he could see. She didn't seem to be in a natural sleep. That meant something was wrong. But what? How serious was it? Was she going to be okay?
Just as he was contemplating the emergency button they had left him, a firm but still somehow deferential knock interrupted his thoughts.
Hoping for good news, Kakashi turned toward the door.
"Come in!" he called out – though not very loudly. He knew that Sakura was probably in a medically induced sleep but was still afraid of somehow disturbing her.
The volume of his response didn't matter as the door still swung open and admitted a familiar figure.
"Yui. What are you doing here?" he asked, a frown manifesting and his tone turning harsh. She was one of the last people he wanted to see – especially since he'd only just had a meeting with her superiors. "I was very clear with the Council."
"Ah, Mr. Hatake," Yui started, hesitantly. She did not like what she had been ordered to do and was genuinely fearful of the response she would receive. From what she'd heard he was a man not to be crossed lightly. "The Council sends their concerns over your ah… that is to say… well, that is…uh, over Ms. Haruno's recent… accident." She nodded decisively, not very elegantly put but still managed to get the point across. "They wish her a speedy recovery."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, letting Yui's incorrect address for Sakura slide for the moment – explanations would only draw things out unnecessarily. He wanted her gone, the sooner the better.
"It's their fault she's here."
"Now, Mr. Hatake, I do not see how that can possibly be true."
"If they hadn't gone on for three hours – about absolutely nothing – Sakura wouldn't have been alone. She wouldn't have suffered a fall if I'd been there. This is all their fault and, I won't forget this." His hands curled into fists and he had to concentrate to get his fingers to relax.
Yui swallowed, suddenly realizing that she'd taken a step backward without her noticing.
"The Council-"
Kakashi held up a hand, the stress of waiting to hear the full details of Sakura's current condition combined with the lingering panic he'd felt when he'd thought he'd lost her, finally pushed the anger he felt at the Council's continued interference over the edge. He snapped.
"No. I don't care what they have to say. Right now, it does not matter."
"Surely, Mr. Hatake-"
"I said 'No.' Not now. Not here," he hissed, his voice nearly shaking in rage.
Yui took another step back at the barely controlled ire she could hear in his voice.
Before she could come up with a response, he preempted her.
"We all know there isn't an actual choice there. I'll take the job when it's available and if it's offered. Seeing as how it's not available just now, there is nothing further to be done. Which is fortunate since I have more important things to focus on right now," he ground out through gritted teeth, doing his best to keep his tone even and calm.
Message imparted, Kakashi returned his attention to Sakura, relieved that she was still sleeping peacefully – her chest still rising and falling steadily – and that his brief controlled explosion of temper hadn't disturbed her.
Thrown off-balance, Yui tilted her head to the side, unsure what he meant. To her mind, nothing could possibly be more important than the highest-ranked shinobi position in the village.
"I'm sorry Mr. Hatake, I do not think I understand."
Kakashi turned his attention back to Yui, eyes narrowed and a frown distinct enough for her to be able to make it out under his mask from across the room.
"You're still here?" he asked, more to convey that she had overstayed her welcome than to actually get an answer to his question.
Yui blinked, still not quite comprehending, this meeting was not at all going as expected.
"Well, yes… The Council-"
"Get out."
"But, Mr. Hatake-"
"Enough! I've had enough of you turning up when and where you're not wanted! I've let it slide in the past since I don't care if you bother me. The moment you or the Council think to involve Sakura on the other hand… I very much care." He paused for a moment to keep his temper in check, taking a breath and letting it out, before continuing. "You can find and bother me while I'm training, while I'm running errands, hell, you can even follow me into the men's room for all I care! But, there are two places you cannot come and bother me. My wife's bedroom and my wife's hospital room!" He pointed to the door before growling, "Get out now!"
"W-wife?!" Yui exclaimed in shock.
"OUT!" he roared.
Eyes wide, Yui hastily backed out of the converted file room, sure that at any moment she would have to dodge a barrage of deadly projectiles. She'd never seen Mr. Hatake so angry and hoped never to see him that angry again. Such a display of temper boded ill for their future working relationship. Never mind the fact that he'd referred to Ms. Haruno as his wife… that was new and absolutely something the Council would want to know as soon as possible.
Taking a moment to collect herself, Yui lingered in the doorway – door safely shut, of course – and closed her eyes to take a deep and even breath before slowly letting it out. It had been some time since she'd let her composure be so badly shaken.
When she opened her eyes she started upon finding a woman in front of her with a wry expression on her face.
"Ah, Cousin. Long time no see," Yui greeted Kumiko with a nod, dignity hastily gathered about her as she knew it was probably obvious what had happened.
Kumiko suppressed a slight smile. It was nice to see that her cousin was human after all. Only very rarely was Yui ever less than composed and in complete control of herself.
Knowing that Kumiko had seen through her hastily raised barrier of dignity, Yui sighed.
"He's pissed," she commented flatly by way of an explanation. "A Doberman with a whole mouthful of broken teeth."
Surprised that her cousin had forgotten herself so much as to use common slang, Kumiko grimaced. She could entirely understand his foul temper but that likely meant her job was going to be trickier – especially if he was in even more of a rotten mood than he had been earlier. Kumiko had hoped that now that Mr. Hatake had what he wanted – access to Ms. Hatake – he'd have calmed down. She certainly had, though it had taken some time for her heart rate to return to normal.
"Because of you, or because of something else?" Kumiko asked warily. If it was something Yui did then it was likely that she should be safe to go in and retrieve Ms. Hatake's paperwork.
Yui sniffed delicately.
"Mr. Hatake does not wish to be interrupted at this time."
Kumiko rolled her eyes. Clearly, it was something Yui had said that had made Mr. Hatake's temper even worse. Bad for Yui but probably good for her.
"Ah, tossed you out, did he?"
"Mr. Hatake expressed a desire to be left alone at present."
Kumiko snorted.
"Right, and he made his desires known very clearly, I can see."
"He's married, you know." Yui sniped spitefully.
Kumiko shrugged.
"I gave up on that months ago. Got myself added to other lists. Life goes on."
Yui just stared at her cousin, surprised that she was taking it so well. Last she'd heard it was Mr. Hatake no matter what – he'd been a sure thing, especially after what had happened the last time the shinobi she'd pinned her hopes on had suddenly gotten married and settled down.
"You sound surprisingly okay with it – I would not have thought you would be..."
Kumiko shrugged again, Yui was right, it had been a fairly bitter pill to swallow – again. But, she'd really had no choice. Not once she'd actually seen them together regularly. It had been made painfully clear to her that things would never go her way.
"It was fairly obvious to anyone who had eyes. I cut my losses and found someone else – several someone elses, actually." She waved a hand negligently. "It's better this way."
Yui raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow in askance.
"Really? Just like that?"
"Yes. Just like that. He truly cares for her – can't compete with that." Kumiko eyed her cousin shrewdly. "That what got his back up? You somehow manage to bother Ms. Hatake?"
Yui's lips firmed into a hard line as she tried to control her expression.
Kumiko snorted, knowing she was right.
"Rookie move, Cousin."
"I did not ask for your opinion, Cousin."
"He'll put up with a lot of nonsense unless or until it involves his wife. You'll do well to remember that going forward." Kumiko paused for a moment before thoughtfully adding, "Don't think it will end well for you should you ever forget it."
"Oh, shut it Kumiko. Give your sister my love and get out of my way," Yui snapped, irritation at her cousin getting rid of the last vestiges of fright from her interaction with Mr. Hatake. She had a lot of work to do, not the least of which was to alert the Council to the latest Hatake developments.
Obligingly, Kumiko stepped out of the way and allowed her cousin to brush past her in a huff – most likely back to the Council to report on whatever the hell they had asked her to bother Mr. Hatake about.
Taking a deep breath, she knew her chances were dicey, Kumiko knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
Hesitantly, Kumiko opened the door, stepping inside only enough to close the door behind her. Mr. Hatake was sitting close to Ms. Hatake's bedside, all his attention focused on her. Just how much he cared was obvious and just how she hadn't seen it sooner she couldn't say. Guilt hit her again as she once again promised silently to apologize later.
"Mr. Hatake, have you finished with the paperwork?" she asked hesitantly, afraid of further provoking his ire.
The glare he'd been sending her way faded, clearly he'd expected Yui to make a second attempt. Kumiko knew that she and her cousin shared a family resemblance at first glance and couldn't blame him for momentarily mistaking her for Yui. Mr. Hatake visibly sighed and gestured to the neat stack of papers on the small table next to him.
"All done. Thank you."
Cautiously, Kumiko stepped forward to collect the papers. Just as she was picking up the stack, she found Mr. Hatake's hand preventing her from removing the papers from the table.
"Wait."
"Er, did you forget something?" Kumiko asked a little nervously.
"Yes, let me see the list." He held out his hand for the paper.
Quickly, Kumiko sorted through the pages and handed the list back to him, she didn't need to ask him which list.
Mr. Hatake took the paper and added a name. The pen hovered over the page indecisively for another moment. It didn't take a genius to guess what name he was debating over – the likely cause of Ms. Hatake's accident had spread through the hospital like wildfire shortly after she'd returned to her desk after escorting Mr. Hatake to his wife. The horrible thing Itsuki said he did revealed for everyone to see. Finally, with a sigh he lowered the pen, only one name having been added to the list, and handed it back to Kumiko.
Kumiko took the paper and nodded, unsurprised that Yui had been added as 'do not admit.'
"These are all set then?" she asked, more to have something to fill the awkward silence than receive an answer to the obvious question.
"Yes."
"Good." She riffled through them quickly, doing a spot check to make sure all blanks had been filled in. "That's some tough luck on your anniversary, especially since it'll be the first," Kumiko mused aloud as she started back to the door, bent on escape.
"Thank you," Kakashi answered absently, his attention already refocused on Sakura. "Wait, what?" He turned to shoot Kumiko an inquiring glance.
Kumiko turned from the door, surprised he'd responded.
"Your first anniversary – from the looks of it, Ms. Hatake will likely still be in the hospital for it."
He shook his head in faint surprise. He hadn't thought that far in advance. He hadn't been able to.
"Oh… yes. Yes, you're right… I hadn't considered that. Will have to come up with something special then," he murmured the last part mostly to himself.
"I'll go start the process of getting everything updated in the system now," Kumiko responded awkwardly.
"Thank you."
Kumiko nodded and quickly exited the room. Like her cousin, taking a deep breath once she'd shut the door behind her. Though he hadn't yelled at her the atmosphere had still been almost stiflingly tense.
Just as she was ready to head back to the reception desk to finish updating the hospital database, despite what she'd said to Mr. Hatake, she'd already made as many changes as she could without the papers, she heard someone running down the hallway in her direction. Instinctively she just knew who was coming and decided to stay where she was and try to do Mr. and Ms. Hatake a good turn.
A moment later, Itsuki came rushing down the hall.
"Kumiko! What the hell?! You never said!"
"Never said what?"
"Sakura! They rushed her here a couple of hours ago! How could you not tell me?!"
Kumiko shook her head slightly. This was going to get ugly if she didn't try and get him to leave as quickly and quietly as possible.
"You're not family nor are you Ms. Haruno's medical contact. I couldn't tell you anything. It would have cost me my job." Kumiko responded evenly, deciding that she didn't want to cope with being the one to tell Itsuki that Ms. Haruno was Ms. Hatake now – and had been for nearly a year by the looks of the paperwork.
Itsuki opened and then closed his mouth a few times, trying to find a response before finally settling on, "But, I work at the hospital! I'm her friend! I have a right to know!"
Kumiko snorted and rolled her eyes.
"No, you don't." She paused as something occurred to her. "Wait, if you didn't already know she was in the hospital, what was the horrible thing that you did earlier?!"
"What do you mean the horrible thing I did? Why would you assume-"
Kumiko cut him off, aware that their loud voices were going to draw unwanted attention sooner rather than later.
"You came rushing into the lobby earlier saying you'd done something terrible. I'd assumed…"
"Oh! Yes! I need to apologize to Sakura! I said some terrible things to her!"
"What?"
"I heard she'd married Mr. Hatake and I lost it – said a lot of things I shouldn't have, all because of a stupid rumor! I shouldn't have believed it! No way would she have married him! He's not at all what she needs in a partner. It was imprudent of me to have believed any of it. No way she would have done such a foolish thing." He shook his head sadly. "She must be so upset that I had so little faith in her."
Kumiko's mouth fell open, this was more than she could handle.
Taking Kumiko's lack of response as encouragement, Itsuki continued.
"I want to apologize. No, I need to apologize! She has to forgive me! She can't just throw me out of her apartment and her life like that! I need to apologize!"
Finally shaking herself out of it, Kumiko held her ground.
"So do I – now is not the time."
"But-"
The door opened and Mr. Hatake's frowning face appeared.
"What the hell is going on out here-"
He caught sight of Itsuki and his expression tightened with immediate wrath as his hands curled into fists.
"You!"
Itsuki automatically shrank back away from the enraged ANBU in front of him.
"You nearly killed my wife!" Kakashi took a step forward, shaking with obvious fury.
"Hospital! Hospital Mr. Hatake!" Kumiko exclaimed quickly, panic causing her voice to turn shrill.
Kakashi stopped mid-step, still radiating rage. Visibly he took a moment to calm himself before shifting his attention from Itsuki.
"Kumiko, I believe I need to make one last change to that paperwork after all," Kakashi stated calmly, though his entire being was still shaking slightly with what was clearly tightly controlled fury.
Kumiko nodded and eagerly returned the paperwork.
Kakashi returned his focus to Itsuki who was trying very hard to stand his ground and not back away slowly.
"You're lucky we're in a hospital. It would be in your best interest that I don't see you again – it's highly unlikely that I'll be able to maintain control again, even in a hospital." Promise issued, Kakashi turned on his heel and returned to the filing room, closing the door with something just short of a slam. Itsuki was not worth the trouble beating him to a pulp would cause. Not the least of which would be that he would be barred from the hospital – from Sakura. A price he couldn't afford to pay no matter how much he may wish to beat the living shit out of the man who had nearly cost his wife her life.
"W-wife?" Itsuki asked Kumiko hesitantly.
Kumiko heaved an irritated sigh and rolled her eyes, doing her best to calm herself once again. Though he had not been angry at her, it had still been a frightening few moments.
"Yes, wife. They're married. What's worse, for you anyway, she's here because she fell. I'm guessing no one told you that."
"She fell?"
"More accurately, she slipped."
"Slipped?" all at once it hit him, Sakura had most likely slipped on one of his discarded gum wrappers. All the color drained from his face, sheer terror keeping him rooted to the spot for a moment. Finally, he managed to get it together and rapidly fled back down the hall.
Kumiko watched as he rushed off, hoping that he'd finally got it and would immediately get himself assigned to something very far away for a very long time. She did not doubt that Mr. Hatake was capable of making Itsuki pay for what he'd done and that he would, if ever granted the chance.
A slight sound made Kakashi glance up from the paperwork he was reviewing one last time, first at Sakura, who appeared to be still peacefully sleeping, then toward the door.
A tall, thin man with light hair and dark eyes slowly made his way into the room, his attention focused on a clipboard in his hands. When he reached the bedside he glanced up to find Kakashi, now standing to greet him.
"Ah, Mr. Hatake, I take it?" he asked as he extended his hand to Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded curtly and took his hand in a brief, firm handshake. Doing his best to suppress his suddenly heightened nerves. All the answers he'd so desperately needed were finally at hand.
"That would make you Sakura's doctor?"
The tall man nodded.
"I'm Doctor Tanaka. I've been assigned to Ms. Hatake while the Lady Hokage is out of the village."
Kakashi nodded, secretly pleased that he didn't have to correct the doctor.
"What's her status? I take it she's stable?" he asked anxiously.
"Ms. Hatake is stable, for the moment. We currently have her sedated."
Kakashi nodded again, it was as he'd guessed, he just needed to know the reason.
"Why? What danger is she in?"
Dr. Tanaka cleared his throat a little awkwardly.
"There are two reasons for that. The first is that she's in a great deal of pain right now and we thought it best to keep her under."
"And, the other?" Kakashi asked tightly, doing his best to keep his anxiety under control.
"We thought it would be easier to just keep her under in preparation for her surgery this way."
Kakashi's jaw tightened. It was as he'd dreaded, more serious than when Sakura had overextended herself at the Memorial Service and Name Ceremony. He'd hoped…
"Surgery? More surgery?" he asked, not even bothering to try and hide his dismay.
Dr. Tanaka blinked in surprise. He'd have thought it would be obvious that Ms. Hatake would need additional surgery – the sooner the better.
"Yes, more surgery. We did a series of emergency procedures to stabilize her when she was first brought in but they were only temporary, to buy us the time to make some big decisions. Despite her location here in the overflow area, Ms. Hatake is still in critical condition." He sighed. "The clock has been ticking since her admission a few hours ago – we were hoping the Lady Hokage would return in time to make the necessary decisions and oversee the surgery. However, we have been preparing to act either way since our window of opportunity is rapidly closing and we need to act fast or risk additional complications."
Kakashi turned to look at Sakura, for all the world sleeping peacefully in her hospital bed, and let out a long slow breath. He'd thought she was out of danger, to hear that she was still in a precarious state... Well, it was hard to hear – especially after the day he'd already had. Just when he'd thought he was through the worst of it...
"I'll be honest, that's not what I was hoping to hear," Kakashi responded wearily once he'd managed to wrap his brain around the reality of the situation.
Dr. Tanaka grimaced sympathetically, it wasn't what anyone would want to hear.
"She has had a fall and the jolt was enough to undo not only what the Lady Hokage did to keep things in place but also all of the progress she had previously made, and then some," he explained.
"But, she's suffered setbacks before, surely this isn't as bad as all that?" Kakashi tried hopefully.
Dr. Takana frowned and shook his head.
"Now that Ms. Hatake has interrupted the healing process not once but twice, things will be less easy to accomplish this time around. We now have fewer options, especially with the Lady Hokage out of the village at this time and her backup, Ms. Hatake herself, out of commission."
"But, more surgery?" Kakashi asked, unable to keep an edge of fear from his voice. He didn't want this to be so serious – he'd hoped that whatever it was could be fixed with jutsu as it had been before. That the quick fixes with jutsu hadn't worked not once but twice now should have clued him in to the fact that more drastic measures would be needed this time.
Dr. Tanaka took a step back before he realized what he was doing and had to concentrate on firmly holding his ground.
"Ms. Hatake has had severe repeated trauma to her abdomen over the past year – the shrapnel from the accident at the hospital, being crushed and impaled in the hospital blast and now stopping her latest course of healing not once but twice. Unfortunately, she's been doing a good job of interrupting the healing processes, despite all our efforts to prevent it, and building up quite a bit of scar tissue."
Kakashi shook his head in disbelief. He hadn't realized the negative cumulative effects of her repeated setbacks and suddenly felt sick as he had a faint idea he knew where this was going.
"In plain terms, what does this mean?" he asked.
Dr. Tanaka frowned.
"Ms. Hatake will need to have things put back as they belong – again – and to make sure things stay where they need to be while she once again heals. And, because this is the third time, we are running out of means to accomplish this."
Kakashi ran his hand through his hair in agitation.
"What are the options? In plain language please, I have always had Sakura translate in the past." He inhaled and exhaled slowly. "And, since I don't have her this time around, I'll need it already translated."
Dr. Tanaka cracked a brief smile, of course, he relied on Ms. Hatake, from everything he'd heard about the pair, they were very close. Mr. Hatake had let her more or less make all his medical decisions for him, even before they were married.
"Ms. Hatake has three options and none of them are ideal – all are risky to a certain extent and will affect her future reproductive health."
Kakashi nodded, firmly keeping his hand from running through his hair again. Sakura wanted to have kids. She'd kill him if he made a decision for her that prevented that possibility.
"Option one, the safest option," he paused and eyed Kakashi for a moment before continuing, "I'll not go into the details but it will likely render her unable to have children."
Kakashi frowned and shook his head. Sakura wouldn't want that.
"What's option two?"
"Option two is riskier but will leave the possibility that she might be able to have children in the future, once she is fully healed."
Kakashi sighed, seeing where this was going, and asked the expected question.
"Option three?" he asked wearily.
Dr. Tanaka sighed and shook his head.
"Extremely risky but if we can pull it off she'll probably be able to have children once she is fully healed."
Kakashi turned his attention back to Sakura, barely able to prevent himself from reaching out to take her hand, instead he settled with running it through his hair again.
Dr. Tanaka cleared his throat.
"What option will it be, Mr. Hatake?"
Kakashi exhaled slowly as he shook his head and refocused on the doctor.
"You'll have to wake her."
"What?"
"Sakura, you need to wake her for this."
Dr. Tanaka shook his head.
"No, this is why we have a medical contact – you are her husband – you are to make these decisions for her."
Kakashi took a deep breath, glancing over to Sakura, and let it out slowly before focusing back on the doctor.
"I know what option I would select. However, it's not what Sakura would select. I need her awake to try and get her on board for a compromise."
Dr. Tanaka's jaw dropped.
"Surely having children isn't so important to you as to risk your wife's life, is it?"
Kakashi huffed.
"You have it backward, doctor. I'd go for the safest option. I want Sakura here with me no matter what. Sakura, on the other hand... if I made that choice for her?" He shook his head. "She would likely return the favor if I made a decision that rendered her unable to have children – or worse, she'd divorce me. She has always wanted to have children. She would go for the riskiest choice."
Dr. Tanaka winced and took a step back in surprise.
"R-really?"
Kakashi nodded.
"So, you can see why I need her awake. I need to convince her to compromise… I want the safest choice but I don't stand a chance of convincing her to go for that one… I can't in good conscience choose option one or option three, especially without speaking to her about it."
"She's in too much pain for me in good conscience to wake her."
Kakashi frowned.
"She's a kunoichi. She can handle pain."
Dr. Tanaka opened his mouth to respond before closing it again. He'd seen firsthand just what determined shinobi were capable of, but still, to bring someone out of sedation to experience such agony seemed irresponsible at best, negligent at worst. That her husband would be cruel enough to insist…
"Despite what you're probably thinking about me right now, I don't want to see her in pain any more than you do. However, Sakura is one hell of a shinobi, she'd be furious if we didn't trust in her enough to bring her out of it so she could make the decision herself."
Dr. Takana stood for a long moment taking it all in, his eyes went from Mr. to Ms. Hatake and back again. He didn't know Ms. Hatake well, he'd been as surprised as everyone else when it turned out that she was married, but what he did know of her made her husband's words ring true. He sighed.
"Okay, I'll take her off the sedative." He turned to take his leave.
"Wait," Kakashi extended a hand in the doctor's direction. "You're going to take her off the sedative?"
"Yes, but not before making sure she's thoroughly medicated for the pain. I'll be back shortly with the correct bag to swap out for the sedative. I don't want her to be in any more pain than absolutely necessary. Once she's awake, I'll give you no more than maybe twenty minutes to make your case before she's taken into surgery. One way or another, she needs to be in surgery within the next hour and a half or so. I will not keep her awake and in pain any longer than absolutely necessary."
Kakashi nodded as the doctor left and resumed his seat next to Sakura, a hand extending automatically to take one of her hands in his.