Fragile: Handle With Care - Chapter 5
In the completely sterile hospital room, there was nothing to break the monotony except for the steady in and out breathing of the injured ninja. Iruka found himself with far too much time to think. He'd imagined a hundred different scenarios; Kakashi waking up and not remembering who he was; Kakashi waking up with a blank stare, totally unresponsive; Kakashi not waking up at all...
That had been the worst by far.
Iruka was afraid to leave, in case the man in the bed woke up while he was gone. But although he desperately wanted to stay, the chuunin decided that it would be better for his mental state of well-being to get out of that hospital for a little while. He paused at the door, ready to run back to Kakashi's side at the slightest indication of movement. Seeing none, Iruka sighed before slipping out the door and shutting it softly behind him.
The village outside proved to be in absolute contrast with the sobriety of the hospital. It was one of those freak periods of warmth in the middle of a cold spell. The kind of day that was so perfect, it was almost a sin to squander it. Iruka didn't smile or wave to anyone like he normally would on such a day. It felt to him like a personal affront that anyone could be happy while he was so obviously miserable.
Iruka was glad not to run into any of his students on the way to the academy. He hadn't yet thought up a suitable excuse for leaving in the middle of class. Luckily, the school had a contingency plan in cases such as these. There was always a ninja on call if a substitute was needed. Iruka walked into his classroom and found pile of papers stacked neatly on his desk. A short note had been left on top, and the teacher scanned it quickly. Apparently Shikamaru had been called in to sub and, having nothing planned ahead of time, simply made the kids sit quietly and write essays for the rest of the day.
Since they hadn't finished, Iruka knew he'd have to go back and reteach the whole lesson. 'At least these will give me something to do while I wait for...' The chuunin shook off that thought, grabbing a few red pens and the pile of essays from his desk. Deciding he'd been away long enough, he stuffed the supplies into his bag and transported himself to just outside the hospital.
He walked quickly down the hall, and was suddenly anxious when he saw that the door to Kakashi's room was slightly ajar. Iruka knew he had closed it. He ran the rest of the way to the room, eyes searching. The only change to the room was the addition of a nurse, who was replacing the IV bag. Kakashi was in the same position as when Iruka had left him. But he still had to ask.
"Did he wake up? I was only gone a few minutes, but..." the nurse cut the chuunin off with a shake of his head.
"I'm sorry," the man said. "I just came in for this," and he held up the empty bag in explanation.
Iruka felt his chest tighten. "Of course. I shouldn't have expected anything." The nurse gave him a sad smile and turned to leave the room. "Um, actually..." The nurse paused, looking back at the other man. "It's just...he's still covered in dirt and..." and blood...his mind supplied. Among other things...Iruka ignored his subconscious and continued. "Do you think...Would it be okay if I cleaned him up a little?"
The young nurse smiled warmly and nodded. "I'll bring you some towels." Iruka thanked the man and dropped into his chair, rubbing his face with shaking hands. The shot of adrenaline that had flooded his body upon seeing that open door had abandoned him suddenly, leaving the chuunin feeling weak.
Iruka didn't have to wait long for the nurse to return. He took the towels gratefully, and headed for the small adjacent bathroom. He turned on the tap, and let the water run until it was a comfortable temperature. After soaking one of the towels in the lukewarm water, he wrung it out over the basin. Walking back to the man lying comatose, Iruka wondered where to begin. It seemed as if every inch of Kakashi's exposed skin was either cut, bruised, or burned.
The chuunin then remembered seeing blood in the silver hair, and decided to start with that. "Naruto came by today...to see you," Iruka said softly, as he rubbed a few locks of hair between the corners of the towel. "He'll probably be back tonight. And Sakura is going to check on you whenever she can." He moved to a different section of hair. "We're all pretty freaked out."
Iruka looked at the previously white cloth that was slowly turning to a dark brown color. "Okay. Maybe I'm beyond 'freaking out.' It's more like 'terrified.'" There was a particularly large clump of dried blood near the jounin's left ear, and Iruka worked at it for a few minutes in silence.
After he was satisfied that all the hair he could reach was at least mostly clean, Iruka decided to move on. In the medics' haste to ascertain his most serious injuries, Kakashi's mask had been cut away, along with most of his uniform. A white surgical mask was in its place, in an attempt to give back some of the man's privacy. "I remember the first time I saw you without it," Iruka said, smiling at the memory. "I don't know who you think you're fooling. Everyone already knows there's a handsome face under there."
A smudge of dirt drew his attention to Kakashi's forehead, and he wiped it away lightly. Iruka leaned forward on one hand, and reached the other towards the jounin's ear, and the thin elastic band holding the mask in place. He slid a finger under the band to lift it off, when his mind registered a sharp pain in his other arm. Iruka's eyes shot back down to the bed.
There were fingers wrapped tightly around his wrist.
Hardly daring to believe it, he looked back at Kakashi's face. Mismatched eyes were now open and focused intently on Iruka. When the jounin spoke, his voice was raspy from disuse, but the words came out clear and cold.
"Touch me again and I'll kill you."
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AN: Holy crap. I know. It's been almost three years to the day. This is why I should never ever be allowed to write chaptered stories.
But...on the plus side...Kakashi's awake. Yay? This chapter was originally going to be much longer, but I like cutting it off here. Dramatic tension and whatnot. It feels not as good as previous chapters, but things should be more interesting from here on out.
Anyway, I've got outlines through chapter nine, so I may finish this damn thing yet.