The disclaimer: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and Spam; egg bacon and Spam; egg bacon sausage and Spam; I don't own Naruto; Spam bacon sausage and Spam; Spam egg Spam Spam bacon and Spam; Don't sue me; Spam sausage Spam Spam bacon Spam tomato and Spam;…
It's getting to my head. I didn't want to be a barber; I wanted to be a lumberjack…
Ok, maybe the Monty Python marathon wasn't such a bright idea.
(goes off humming 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life')
Chapter 3The March sunlight flickered through the window onto the copy-nin's eyes. They opened to witness a tangled mess of hair beside him; pink hair to be exact.
Sakura? How long was I out? He mused. The pain was somewhat bearable now, and he could move his legs without feeling as if a swordfish impaled him several times. However, he felt (and reeked) like he was impaled into a swordfish, or at least into a highly sterilized but not deodorized…thing… He wanted to leave for good, but stopped as pink caught his eyes again.
Why is she here? Right, I'm in the hospital, and she's a medic. Put two and two together, Hatake, and stop thinking like a genin. You're ANBU for god's sake.
He glanced towards the sleeping kunoichi. There was no doubt now that she was the one who healed him. Every good medic, or at least every one of them he voluntarily asked treatment from (a total of three people in the course of his life), it seemed, had a different way of healing.
Sakura got rid of the pain, then tried to heal the parts of the wound that a shinobi would regard most important, mainly the bones and muscles that controlled movement. Tsunade treated her patients with medically biased priorities, but allowed room for pain. Chakra-based painkilling used up chakra and stamina immensely, and the injection variety imported from Snow, despite the discounts given at the expense of one grateful, and particularly generous Snow princess, was less effective and expensive.
Sakura…reminds me of Rin…
He pushed the memories away and slid into his pillow, trying to keep them from sprouting through the metaphorical wall he had built between himself and the world.
The said figurative wall enclosed emotions as well. Although he had known and practiced the shinobi rules since before he could reach the top of the counter at Ichiraku's on tiptoe, and knew by heart, #25, the one about emotions, where it says not to display them, it was getting increasingly more difficult to do so especially with her right beside him.
Speaking of whom, the pink mass shifted to reveal tired sea-green eyes that opened wide when she realized that her patient was conscious.
ЖЖЖ
"Kakashi-sensei? You're awake? When did you-" she rubbed her eyes and yawned, the fatigue not yet gone from her from her depletion last night and her exertion in healing prior to her falling asleep, despite her recovery rate that almost rivaled her mentor's, and said mentor's treatment.
"You could have woken me up, you know. Then I could have healed you faster, so that I'd have had more time before I had to go and-" she rambled as she glanced at the clock. Suffice to say, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she did.
Aw crap! I'm late! She'll totally kill me!
Such language!
Meh, not like she's wrong.
Not the time. SO not the time to be sitting here arguing. Shannaro!
She ran over to the window and opened it, letting in the warm spring breeze.
"I have to go. I'm late." She fumbled around with the mesh screen, meant to keep patients in and pests out. Apparently it kept Sakura in too.
"Sakura, what happened?"
Direct, and to the point, as always.
"Shishou'll tell you, when she gets here, which is in five seconds to kill me if I don't get there now!" Damn net-thingy, stupid, stupid, hospital regulations. Seriously, a bug won't really do that much more to a patient who's already sick. Shishou won't just kill me…I feel so guilty, and I was the one who asked her about extra training as well. Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn-
"Can't you just tell me?" her patient interrupted.
"Yes, but now, I have to go, and unlike someone I know, sensei," Sakura hinted, "people do mind a lot when I'm late."
A chakra-laden fist punched through the exasperating piece of mesh.
You go, girl! Inner Sakura pumped her fist into the air.
She paused, one foot already out the window.
ЖЖЖ
"Kakashi-sensei,"
"Yo, still here. I still find it reasonable for-" He stopped himself as he noticed the vein throb on her head and the gloves going to their respective places on her hands, and decided that the smartest thing now would be to shut the hell up. At least until he was less…incapacitated, and she, more willing to just sit down and negotiate the situation.
"Aah, nevermind. Go on." Kakashi didn't feel like being on the receiving end of her insane strength, looking towards what used to be an effective measure against bugs.
"If I come back to find this room empty," Sakura went on with a voice too sugary sweet for a threat, "I swear, I will hunt you down and-"
Kakashi yawned as she continued her threat, her many threats, to be more precise.
Another trait from the Fifth…I guess I'll have to just sit here and wait. I hope she doesn't take up gambling as well.
"And after that-"
He nodded and cut her off. "Whatever you say, Ohimesama. By the way, don't you have to go and visit a certain princess?"
A certain pissed off princess…
ЖЖЖ
"Oh Shit!" Sakura yelled as she fell out of the building. She quickly regained her balance. She stopped at the window and gave him a sharp glare.
He probably will drag his sorry ass out of the hospital, through Konoha to his apartment, regardless. He isn't legendary for nothing, although I hope he'd stop trying to get out without telling m-anyone.
Told ya, you like him.
Yeah, you don't have to rub it in. I'm not stupid. She focused on getting to the Hokage tower, sulking about the imminent punishment.
ЖЖЖ
He sighed, knowing too well that he'd have to stay, for once, at the dreaded building if he ever wanted to so much as walk again. He also wanted to know exactly what had happened to him, but he knew that curiosity and temporary physical handicaps had failed to stop his escapes in the past. It probably was Sakura who made him stay willingly for once, although he hated to admit it.
Sakura…she did heal me, I'm sure. No one else would be good enough…or nice enough to use that much painkiller. He added the last bit, remembering the slug princess's role in the medical field. If she didn't, I guess I'll have a…pleasant talk with Tsunade-sama…
Combine two live sannin with some nice blackmail, and soon you'll find yourself getting whatever you want from the village. Getting the kunoichi of the Legendary Three to let no medic so much as touch him, with the exception of her and Sakura, was a piece of cake. Being the main source of money for them both, in their own respective ways had also helped him make his life somewhat easier.
By now, he was sure that it was Sakura. His mask was on the same way as it always was, and the minute seals were still attached to the rim of the mask, though barely visible. He didn't want to endanger or hospitalize more medics. It was more trouble than they were worth for the paperwork and money involved. It also had nothing to do with the fact that Sakura had once subtly complained about staying around healing her subordinates. Subtly, mind you, but he got the point.
He stretched, feeling stiff and out of shape. He was well aware that most patients were expected to stay in their beds until their discharge, but hell, he didn't stay in the building if he could help it. He doubted that anyone would really mind the minor details of where he was relative to the piece of furniture if he just stayed in the room for once.
Sakura never did tell me to stay in bed, now did she?
He couldn't tell what day it was, but decided that he'd sat around far too long, and started to mentally count the improvised one fingered, one legged push-ups.
1…2…3…
A/N: I know, my author notes are getting exceedingly weird…and food-like…
Sorry if I made anyone hungry. :P