Not to me. I'm pretty sure the weirdo is continuing…I've forget to note that this is happening during the 'time-skip'.
So ask he did, when he handed, somewhere near three hours later, the unfolded blood-stained document to an exhausted-looking Hokage above what seemed to have been, a long time ago, before the paper invasion, her desk. She did not answer, sending him to one of her Chuunin assistant.
The guy – he knew him from sight, but never managed or bothered to remember his name – looked oddly… concerned ? when Kakashi asked him where was Umino. The guy frowned, cast a glance to the spike-haired guy who seemed to always come along with him and who shrugged in response, before saying a single sentence.
"He's in the hospital."
Kakashi frowned slightly behind his mask at this reply, a move that passed unnoticed. The two Chuunin were already carrying huge stacks of paper to the mission office. Outside the walls of the building, the rain was still pouring down, hiding Konoha from sight between curtains of water and clouds of mist.
When he entered the white building, Kakashi was wetter than if he had swam with his clothes on. He glanced around him, surveying the hall just to be sure Tsunade had not teleported herself suddenly, before he used a variation of a small fire jutsu to dry himself. He did not wish to face the Hokage nor the hospital staff wrath.
Then he calmly walked to desk, and asked the room of the Chuunin to the woman who had watched him make a puddle while stepping in with narrowed eyes.
The Chuunin was in a single room, white from floor to ceiling, lighted only by what little came from the ajar door and from the window with its shades up – by what little daylight coming from the outside.
Kakashi paused on the threshold. He slowly lifted a hand to knock softly at the door.
"Iruka-sensei? May I come in ?"
Kakashi was waiting for him to say something along the lines of 'Even if I told you no, you would came in anyway', the kind of sentences they throw at each other without really thinking about it, when they met without an audience that was. Or maybe was he waiting for a smile.
Umino did not respond, did not make a single sound or move to show he had heard him. He stayed laying, his head turned to the lef side, toward the window. Kakashi could not see his face.
"Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi asked again. Maybe the guy was sleeping.
He opened the door fully, stepping into the room. As he get closer, he studied the room and its inhabitant almost mechanically.
The room was kind of bare. Bed, a piece of furniture that could pass for a night stand, another for shelves; all, besides a change of clothes on a shelf and a bottle of water on the night stand, were devoid of any things Kakashi could think of he had had already see in hospital rooms. Things like good-wishes cards. Flowers. Books. Little gifts. Even plushes.
Kakashi frowned, refocusing on Umino. His right eye slide clinically, almost coldly on the body hidden under the gray-green blankets, save for the torso and arms. Left arm – plaster cast from shoulder to fingers, left leg – probably broken too, too stiff under the sheets, what he could see from face and skin – bruises already fading, right arm – laying on the man's side, restrained by IV, various bags dangling from it.
Kakashi toke one last step closer to Umino. The man's eyes were open, staring absently by the window.
His mind noticed the pale skin where he should have seen tan one, the hair framing the tired face on the pillow where he should have see a ponytail, the vacant stare where he should have see warm brown eyes with a hint of mischievousness in to who know how to look.
"Iruka ?" Kakashi tried again.
No move, just the small rise and fall of a heavily bandaged chest and the steady drip from a plastic bag in a plastic tube.
By the thinner part of the wall that was the window came the muffled sound of the rain on the roofs of Konoha.
Kakashi found with a jolt that he did not like this Iruka.
This Iruka who seemed hollow. This Iruka who did not smile, or scream in anger, or tease him back, or laugh. This Iruka who was just laying there, staring at the kami knew what by the window.
The window which was showing just moving gray, and the translucent jewels that were steadily dropping on the glass.
I'm sorry to have made such a short chapter, but it seemed to be a good part to cut it as I've planned to continue. That and I've drawn Kakashi at the door, then Kakashi and Iruka in the room on my ride to Grenoble Tuesday. The next part should be up soon since I've got half of it' mind-written'. Thanks to all people for reading this, and to the people who reviewed – it was just a strange, unreadable drabble written in class at the beginning… And for who was wondering, I don't know when this fic will earn its M-rating. And also, if you have idea for a better summary, I'm all ears, mine suck.