Kakashi stared at the door Shizune had exited to, a dumbfounded look on his face. They – they were dating? He – he had a girlfriend?! They were living together for a year?!

Kakashi's thoughts were already muddled and mixed ever since Tsunade-sama had explained to him what happened in the past year and what his apparent condition is. Amnesia. The word sounded foreign to him. Tsunade explained that it may be caused by the blunt force that had been delivered to his head by the rogue nin and that she'll be researching their available literature for any more information and treatment to his condition. He had never known anyone who had a condition like this one, so he doubts she'll find anything useful.

When she left, his mind was still reeling from the facts that he had to take in when Shizune had suddenly dropped an absolute bomb to his head.

We were dating. We're a couple, you and I.

Damn it. He had not been able to answer her nor ask her any questions since he's so shocked by what she's saying. Kakashi wants to pull his hair if not for the bandages around his head and Tsunade's strict instruction not to aggravate and exert any part of his head. How did – when – where - ?

Questions after questions made him want to chase after her, but the door had long since shut behind her. It crossed his mind that, maybe, Shizune's playing a sick prank on him, but he shot the notion down. Shizune is one of the most honest, straightforward and responsible person around. Playing pranks is not her forte.

Shizune mentioned that they were living together; then that would mean that they were serious, right? But, Kakashi couldn't fathom how anyone would want to be with him, much more bear to live with him.

He closed his eyes and laid back down on the pillow. Tsunade told him that he managed to kill the rogue nin but that doesn't mean Kakashi doesn't want to kill him again and again for putting him in his current predicament.

When Kakashi woke up again, it was already dark outside. A nurse was standing beside his bed, writing something down on the clipboard that he was holding. He smiled when he saw his eyes open.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama," he greeted and pulled a thermometer from the tray beside him, "Just routine vital check. Please lower your mask and put this under your tongue," he instructed. Kakashi felt comfortable with the hospital staff enough to lower his mask and do as he was told.

The nurse rattled of questions as he placed his fingers on his wrist and looked at his wrist watch, calculating his pulse, "Do you feel dizzy? Pain in any part of your body?"

"No, not dizzy. Though my head hurts," he admitted. The nurse hummed as he wrote in his clipboard. He plucked the thermometer from his mouth and read the temperature.

"Normal pulse and temperature," he mumbled and started to write again, "I'll come back later with dinner and pain medicine. You do need to eat first, Hokage-sama, before taking the medicine. You did not eat since yesterday."

Kakashi smiled as he put on the mask, "Thank you but, please, drop the 'sama' part."

The nurse merely smiled as he gathered his tray and clipboard in his arms and went out the door.

Kakashi was left alone with his thoughts again. He stared at nothing as his brain tried to process the overloading information that it had received and he doesn't think his brain had fully absorbed everything yet. Naruto and Hinata, already married? Even Sasuke and Sakura? Him and Shizune being a couple?

Kakashi heaved a sigh, sitting up and reached for the drawer beside his bed, hoping that his Icha Icha Tactics is in there. To his surprise, it was not there. Inside was a plastic bag. When he inspected the contents, he found out that it was his clothes, probably the one that he wore during his forgotten fight since it was still stained with blood. He put it back inside the drawer.

He sighed again and leaned his head against the wall. There's nothing to distract him except for the night sky outside his window, watching the last rays of light disappear and the stars to take over its place.

He was burning with curiosity, brimming with questions and he'll have to find a way to have some answers.

The nurse came back with a tray of food, a cup of what smelled like tea and a smaller cup containing tablets, which he set on top of the bedside drawer.

"Hokage-sama, please eat the food first before you drink the tablet. It may upset your stomach if you ate them on an empty one," the nurse reminded him. Before he left, Kakashi made up his mind.

"What's your name again?" he asked the young man.

"Aiko, Hokage-sama," the man answered promptly. Kakashi decided not to correct him with the 'sama' part.

"I see. I suppose you already know about my condition?" he guessed.

The young man looked down, staring at his shoes, "Yes, Hokage-sama. Godaime-sama had informed us and gave us instruction with regards to your care."

Kakashi nodded almost absentmindedly. He expected that of Tsunade.

"I see. Aiko, I have some questions," he began, looking intently at the young man, "And I need you to answer me honestly. Can you do that?"

The nurse straightened at the request, eyes now focused on him, "Yes, Hokage-sama!" he declared.

Kakashi fixed him with his gaze, "How is my relationship with Shizune?"

The previously alert man looked down again, hesitation in his eyes. It was a long moment before he spoke again, "I don't think that's my place to say, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi expected that response, "You promised me that you will answer my questions."

"Yes! But…"

"Do I visit her here at the hospital?" he started with the simplest question.

The nurse nodded, "Yes. Every time she's on duty here at the hospital, you'd be here to take her out for lunch and you'll come back again at night so you can go home together. Even if she works night shift, you'd still do the same."

Kakashi blinked at that revelation. He didn't perceive himself as the clingy one in the relationship.

"Does the public know about our… relationship?" he pried

"Uhm, well, as far as I know, the Jounins know. Your friends to be exact. And well, us here in the hospital since we always see you together. And, I suppose… your students."

"Were we… do we do PDA?" he inquired next.

"No, Hokage-sama!" he quickly denied, "In fact, we never saw the two of you kiss!" The man blurted and his hand clamped over his mouth, as if afraid that he revealed too much.

Kakashi looked at him expectantly, "Go on," he encouraged.

His hand slowly dropped and, almost hesitatingly, continued, "It was always a kiss on the cheek when you drop her off after lunch. But it was obvious that the two of you were affectionate with the other without revealing too much about your relationship."

Kakashi was silent for a long time after that. He goes to the hospital to get her to eat lunch, even when she's working at night and he lived with her at her apartment. If he did all this with Shizune, is it possible that, after some time, he did fall in love with her?

He'd been silent for a long time that the nurse started to shuffle his feet, "Am I still needed, Hokage-sama?"

Kakashi looked up, almost forgetting his presence and shook his head, "No, Aiko, you can go. Thank you for your help."

Kakashi stared down at his hands entwined on his lap, mind racing. He actually didn't know how to feel about all of this. His emotions are a jumbled mess of confusion, worry and frustration that its making his head pound. Gritting his teeth, he glanced at the cup of tablet and had the urge to just dry swallow them all. However, he doesn't want to face the wrath of the Godaime.

He took the plate and started eating. Every bite tasted bland to him, the tea more bitter on his tongue, but he mechanically opened his mouth and chewed. After, he downed the tablet and swallowed the dregs of the tea. He glanced outside. It may be around 8 at night by now. Despite just waking up, he laid his head on the pillow and slept.

He woke up around midday, sunlight seeping through the curtain. He sat up and glanced at his left and there were a bouquet of flowers left on top of his bedside drawer. Somebody must've visited while he slept.

Just then, the door opened and in comes Naruto, Hinata and Sakura, who all looked delighted to see him up.

"Kakashi-sensei!" they all exclaimed, with Naruto's voice being the loudest from his other two companions. They all embraced him with careful and gentle hugs, mindful of his injury.

"How are you, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, switching to medic mode.

Kakashi smiled reassuringly, "I'm alright," I guess, "Godaime mentioned you were in a mission while I was out. How was it?"

"It was an easy one, Kakashi-sensei! Just a few bandits causing trouble there. We really kicked their butts, 'ttebayo!" Naruto gloated.

Hinata gave him a smile, "We're glad you're awake, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi smiled, "I'm glad, too. Did you bring these flowers?"

Hinata shook her head, "No, sensei. Ino and Sai were here earlier, though. They must've brought it when they visited."

After a few small talks, Kakashi addressed the elephant in the room, "So, I take it that you already know?"

They all nodded.

"Sasuke-kun will be back soon, perhaps he can try using his eye to help you get back your memories," Sakura said hopefully.

"I doubt that would work, Sakura," he replied in a monotone. Sakura opened her mouth to argue but he beat her to it, "I know that Sasuke's dojutsu is, no doubt, very powerful and had given him unimaginable skills, but I don't think that would include memory recovery."

Sakura looked down forlornly, as was her two companions.

Naruto spoke first, "But what about Shizune-oneechan?"

"Naruto!" Sakura chided as Hinata warned, "Naruto-kun, don't."

Kakashi stared down at his lap as the women glared at Naruto. To be honest, he doesn't know. Shizune told him that she will continue to be his assistant during his time in office but, Kakashi thought, wouldn't it be awkward to work with your supposed girlfriend?

Naruto looked down in shame as the two women continued berating him.

"Now, now," Kakashi protested, saving his successor from an earful, "It's alright. Shizune is a competent and a very professional assistant. We'll continue our work relationship at that."

The three of them fell silent, understanding his unspoken statement.

We'll be in a boss-assistant relationship and that's about it.

Tsunade determined that he should stay at the hospital for the rest of the weekend to let his body to rest and, on Monday, she'll be the one to remove the bandages and thoroughly examine his condition.

For the rest of his stay, his friends, including the ever energetic Gai, and a few members of ANBU visited, bringing him fruits and news from the outside. Some even filled him in on what had happened the past year, though none of them mentioned the one that he's itching to hear about.

For the rest of his stay, Shizune never visited. He was actually hoping to see her, to ask her questions about their… their entanglement. Who made the first move? How did they get together? When did they decide to live together?

They were still left unanswered, however, as the kunoichi didn't even show her face ever since she shut the door behind her. He doesn't want to ask his friends and colleagues either. He already quizzed Aiko enough. He doesn't think it'd be a good idea to press anymore.

When Monday came, Tsunade herself had arrived to his room. To his surprise, she was followed by Shizune herself, her face a professional mask, one hand clutching a tray of medical equipment and a clipboard gripped against her chest. He swung his legs down, sitting on the edge of the bed and planting his feet flat on the floor.

"Alright, Hatake," Tsunade spoke as she stood behind him, Shizune following closely, "Let's get this over with."

Slowly, the bandage around his head was unraveled and left to pool on the bed.

"We had to cut your hair around the wound. I'm sure you can find a barber who can fix your hair," Tsunade quipped behind him and he had to chuckle. His hair is the last of his concerns.

When the bandage had been completely removed, Tsunade's hand hovered on his wound and began to glow with her iryo chakra.

"Shizune, check his vitals," the blonde ordered the younger woman.

"Right away, Tsunade-sama," Shizune went to work immediately, setting the tray down on the bedside drawer and the clipboard on the bed, her face still showing nothing.

Shizune took the thermometer from the tray, "Please remove your mask, Kaka – Hokage-sama and put this under your tongue."

Kakashi complied, his fingers brushing hers as he took the thermometer from her hand. Her fingers drifted to his left wrist, pressing against his pulse point and staring at her wrist watch, her eyebrows knitted in concentration.

As Kakashi stared at her, he can feel his heart clench in an unknown emotion. Was it… was it longing?

She let go of his wrist and scribbled something on the clipboard, just when the thermometer beeped. She took it out and wrote down his temperature as well, putting it back to its tray. She crossed the room and wheeled the sphygmomanometer beside him. Putting the stethoscope in her ears, her warm hands lifted his arm a bit as she put the cuff around his arm.

Shizune's hand stayed around the cuff and he felt it fill with air and tighten around his arm. All the while, his eyes were glued to her but she was determinedly avoiding his gaze. Kakashi wants to ask her something, everything, but his tongue feels heavy inside his mouth.

When she released the air from the cuff and removed it from around his arm, he once again felt her warm fingers against his skin and, to his bewilderment, he felt warmth bloom from the place that she touched. He quickly put his mask back up his face, fearing that he will blush like a green boy.

Shizune wrote down her findings on the clipboard, "All normal, Tsunade-sama, though his blood pressure's a little low."

The woman behind him hummed and drew her hand back, "Probably from blood loss. All right. I need you to stand and walk around, Hatake. We need to asses if your limbs were affected by your brain condition."

Kakashi nodded and stood up slowly. He'd been in bed for at least five days and walking seems like a difficult challenge. He tried to step forward, only to stumble. His eyes widened and he started to flail his arms in an attempt to catch himself from falling. A small, warm hand caught him by the arm though. He looked and saw Shizune staring at him, a light blush on her cheeks as she wrapped an arm around his waist and slung his arm over her shoulder but she still managed to look professional despite the close proximity of their faces.

"Hold on to me, Kakashi-sama. I'll help you," she spoke, her breath blowing over his face. He merely nodded and started to step again. Slowly, the feel on his legs began to return and, eventually, he managed to walk on his own. He slipped his arm from around her shoulders as he started to walk confidently around the room.

"That's good," Tsunade remarked, "You'll finally be able to get back to work tomorrow. You can go to your quarters this afternoon. Thank god, no more paper works for me," she laughed.

He smiled as he once again sat down on the edge of the bed, "Tsunade-sama, I think I need to extend my stay here."

"Bullshit, Hatake," she laughed again, "Though, you know, I'll stay here for a while to research about amnesia. Well, let's go, Shizune. I need to inform the council about the Hokage's imminent return to work."

"Yes, my lady," Shizune agreed.

He's not about to let her go so easy.

"Wait," he called out when they were near the door. Both woman turned to him.

"Shizune, can you stay?"

A/N: thank you very much dear readers! I hope you like the chapter!