"Mad, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence." ~Ambrose Bierce
Chapter Two: New Accommodations
"I know this mission is rather unconventional, but, as you are a rather unconventional jounin, it shouldn't be too much trouble."
Hatake Kakashi stood at half-attention, his shoulders slouched slightly, his right eye sliding back and forth between the Hokage, and the figure in a wheelchair just behind the Hokage's desk, shrouded in shadow. Although Kakashi couldn't make out the distinguishing characteristics of the figure, if he was sitting in the Hokage's office without a guard, he was not much of a threat.
Kakashi nodded, his hand inching for his book. It was just getting good…
Tsunade scowled. "Kakashi, this is the patient you will be guarding during his rehabilitation period." she jerked her head in the direction of the young man in the wheelchair.
Well duh, Kakashi thought. If not, then why is he here?
The patient, meanwhile, sat silently, his eyes hiding behind the round frames of thick glasses.
Kakashi stepped forward to greet the patient and stopped cold. "Yakushi Kabuto," he said slowly, feeling his heart rate elevate slightly.
Kabuto inclined his head slightly in Kakashi's direction, not deeming it necessary to respond verbally to that particular greeting.
Tsunade cleared her throat. "Well, now that you two have gotten acquainted, get going."
Kakashi turned to leave. Kabuto cleared his throat slightly.
Tsunade sighed. "Kakashi, he's been rendered nearly immobile by a very debilitating surgery. Push his wheelchair, if you don't mind."
Kakashi winced slightly at the sarcasm, then moved back across the room to scoot the wheelchair forward with one hand, reaching for his book with the other…
Tsunade sighed, resting her forehead on her desk for a moment before calling, "Shizune, get me my sake!"
Kabuto was seething. There was something very degrading about being restricted to a wheelchair and practically being bottle-fed by a Konoha jounin. It didn't help that Kakashi seemed disinclined to take a direct route to his apartment; Kabuto felt as though he was getting a tour of the entire village of Konoha… as if he hadn't already spent a good deal of his life in the village.
"How do you feel about getting some ramen? Oh, no, that's probably not good for a recovering patient. Which do you like better, apples or oranges? I think apples are better for you, but if you can't eat solid food we could always get applesauce…" Kakashi was muttering, really reading his book and barely paying attention to where he was wheeling Kabuto. He wasn't giving Kabuto time to answer any of his questions, either.
People were staring. Kabuto was sure that more than several people recognized him; the harsh stares and murmurs that followed the roving wheelchair were beginning to grate on his nerves. Finally, he'd had enough.
"Kakashi, can we go somewhere with a bed? I'm tired." Kabuto said, wishing he didn't have chakra inhibitors. He would be back to normal in a flash. Instead, he was relying on a distracted jounin who seemed enamored with the concept of wandering about town with a wheelchair.
"Why? Don't you like sunlight?"
Kabuto sighed, and faked a yawn. He allowed his head to loll to the side and closed his eyes. This day was going downhill. The bumping, jolting motion of the wheelchair seemed to counter any attempt he might make to fall asleep, however, Kabuto found himself waking up in bed, with Kakashi standing over him, arms folded.
"Good…" Kabuto paused, realizing he had no idea what time it was. "…morning? Evening? Afternoon?"
"Good night," Kakashi replied. "You've commandeered my bed. I'll be sleeping right here," he pointed down at the floor beneath the foot of the bed. "So don't try anything funny."
Kabuto blinked. "You're going to sleep with me right here?"
"Don't bother looking for weapons," Kakashi replied, "And your chakra is inhibited. Besides that, you're still recovering. I'm not particularly concerned."
Kabuto shrugged, attempting to roll over. However, he couldn't seem to make his muscles do what he wanted them to, so he had to settle for turning his head away from the Jounin.
Kakashi, meanwhile, settled down on the floor.
Kabuto stared at the ceiling for awhile until his stomach growled. He knew he wouldn't be able to get up, and he certainly wasn't going to ask Kakashi to get him something to eat. So he tried to ignore his growing hunger as the minutes passed by with a slowness that seemed uncharacteristic of time.
Before long, Kabuto was biting his lip to keep from waking Kakashi. Normally he could go for days without any food. One little surgery should not have taken this much out of him! Well, technically, it could have, but it shouldn't have created such weakness. It was beyond frustrating, bordering on infuriating.
Kakashi, meanwhile, slept peacefully.
A/N: Apologies for the short chapters. They should get longer soon. But not until after the next chapter... ^_^ Oh well. Hopefully you'll survive.