Sakura was just walking out the doors of the Konoha hospital when she saw a familiar shock of white hair run by. "Sensei?"
The lanky man whipped around, an unexpected look of fear on his face. "Has Gai come this way?" he panted, sounding slightly hoarse.
"No…" she looked at him askance. "Do I want to know why?"
"If you see him, tell him I…" he thought for a minute, "tell him I ran towards the entrance of the village," pant, "and I'm heading for the next town."
"And… where will you actually be?"
"Not telling!" He turned and ran down the road, muffling several coughs with his arm.
Sakura sighed. Well, that was odd. "Why can't I know a normal man? Just one!"
Kakashi finally stopped for breath, gasping and coughing. He bent over, hands on his knees. Perhaps this hadn't been the best idea, he realized, as he failed to draw more than one complete breath in a row. Would it really be so bad to go back to his apartment and lie down for a bit?
Gai would look for him in his apartment.
So yes, it would be that bad. He shivered at the thought of it. Then he continued shivering. It was significantly colder than he remembered it out here. Where could he go? Well, his own and Gai's places were definitely out, as was Naruto's house. Well, Sasuke's entire village was empty, so he supposed he could try there.
Several minutes later, Gai-sensei did indeed run by Sakura on her way home. He rushed by in a blur of green jumpsuit, the ensuing gust of wind ruffling Sakura's pink hair. Then, realizing whom he had just passed, he whipped back around. "Sakura! You're one of Kakashi's students!"
"Ye-es…" she replied, wondering what exactly was going on.
"Have you seen him?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"My glorious and manly rival has fallen prey to a debilitating sickness and refuses treatment! I have made it my personal mission to find and nurse him back to health!"
So Kakashi was sick, huh? Well, she supposed that explained the coughing. And why he was so afraid of Gai. She shivered, picturing Gai's idea of nursing someone back to health. "Haven't seen him; Sorry, Gai."
His face fell. "Oh, well," he rubbed the back of his neck, "If you see him, notify me immediately! This mission is of the utmost importance!"
She smiled fondly. "I will, don't worry."
"Thank you; I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!" With that, he sprinted down the road in the opposite direction Kakashi had taken.
However much Kakashi annoyed her most of the time, she was human, after all. She wouldn't send him or anyone to a fate as bad as that. However, someone did have to take care of him. She pulled her coat more tightly around herself, thinking that her sensei was truly an idiot to be running around in this chill if he was sick. Maybe she'd have to find him herself…
It was silent and dark, the only sign of life being the crunch of his feet over the rocky streets. His shivering hadn't lessened, so he hurried to get inside one of the abandoned buildings. Now, which one was Sasuke's? There!
After pushing open the door, he felt a sharp pang of guilt. He tried to repress it, searching for a cupboard that might hold food that Sasuke had left behind before he… Kakashi blinked once, twice, and shook his head. He needed to eat and not think. He squinted into one of the dark shelves, reaching for an abandoned container. Cup ramen. Naruto would be proud.
After pouring in some water and setting the – probably expired – ramen to boil on the stove, Kakashi sat in one of the creaky wooden chairs. He summoned some chakra and channeled it to light one of the small lanterns, and used that to light a fire in the fireplace. Sasuke's kitchen came into brighter focus.
He sat, coughing, waiting for the ramen to boil. A clock ticked from somewhere in the house. Tick. Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
It was getting progressively harder to keep his thoughts at bay.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
He gazed wildly around the room, hoping to find something that could distract him for a while. Then his eyes fell on a photograph. It was of a much younger Itachi holding an infant who must have been Sasuke. Suddenly, the copy ninja couldn't keep back his overwhelming memories of the Uchihas anymore.
Itachi came to his mind first. He had been his teammate, and he had gotten the chance to mentor the dark-haired genius. Out of all the black ops he had met in ANBU, Itachi had been the one he respected the most. The man had helped him conquer his own sharingan, even though the rest of the Uchiha clan hated Kakashi for possessing one of their famed eyes. He had shared so many fond memories, and so much heartache, with the man.
And then, Itachi had turned around and murdered all the Uchichas except for Sasuke. Sasuke, Kakashi's precious student. Sasuke, the one with more than enough potential and the drive to make it count for something.
Sasuke, who had gone rogue.
Was it his fault? He had often tried to convince himself that he had done everything he could, had clearly told Sasuke the futility of revenge and tried to emphasize teamwork.
But he hadn't done enough.
Another pang of guilt shot through his core.
Sasuke was so much like him, he should've seen this coming.
Guilt.
He should've taken him in, like Minato had done when he was a child.
Another shooting pain.
He should've watched him more closely, read the signs, predicted when Sasuke was planning to leave. But he had done none of this!
The pain had gotten bad enough that it felt like someone had physically socked him in the stomach. He bent over, clutching his middle, realizing that he was coughing, and, for some strange reason, couldn't seem to stop.
This was a small problem.
Between harsh coughs that made it feel as if his lungs were trying to escape through his mouth, he vaguely realized that the ramen was boiling.
Cough. Gasp. Cough.
He liked eating ramen.
He also liked breathing.
Neither of which he was likely to do in the near future.
He noted bemusedly that the room was growing darker, and was, in a detached way, thankful. It meant the room wouldn't keep reminding him of Sasuke.
Sasuke…
It was… his fault… wasn't it?
In the back of his mind, he realized he couldn't hear the ticking anymore.
Then the lights went out completely.