A/N: Here it is! At last - the final chapter! Thank you so much to all of you who have given me such kind, encouraging, and helpful words. And to those who have read to the end! I appreciate it immensely; you have all certainly pushed me to see this through. And I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed the process. Thank you.
...
The ANBU captain approached the dead man with discretion. In the mist of the early hours, their small team came upon a harrowing scene. Blackened earth encircled the man, and he lay on his stomach in the tepid pools of rain.
There was a shout, and without warning, energy exploded at the corner of his vision. Someone had emerged from the face of the stone. They were hostile.
When it was all over with, Kakashi was left shaking. Smoke rose from his shoulders and shorn, smoldering clothing. Jittery, white and blue sparks jumped up and down his body. His enemy was dead. But he was unable to move; he still held his arm above his head and his fingers were trapped in their grip.
With great effort he unlatched his arm from the singed body of the other man. It fell to the ground. His vision was blotched. Odd shapes floated past him. Each breath was shallow and ragged until he felt his lungs abandon their purpose.
Vaguely, he was aware of someone coming towards him. They were saying words to him, but they sounded muffled and unintelligible. Kakashi opened his mouth, and was not certain what form his response took.
He managed two steps forward.
Energy surged through his body, exhilarating and intense. He closed his eyes and took a deep, reviving breath. He had never felt more relieved, as if some missing piece was at last restored, a forgotten sense returned.
And he promptly went down.
Iruka did not move for a total of three seconds; in the first, he was horrified; in the second, he was shocked; in the last, he came to his senses and scrambled to his feet.
It was difficult to see. The rods of his eyes were still dazed from the explosion of light. He squinted past the rain.
There remained the erratic outline of an upright man. As he came clearer into view, Iruka was frozen by the image. The look in Kakashi's eye was shaken; it was the look of someone torn violently apart, and with equal violence reassembled.
His sight adjusted fully in time to watch as Kakashi faltered forward, wavered precariously, and fell to the ground. There was a blackened ring where he had stood. Smoke and steam from the rain ghosted from him and the crumpled body at his side. Electricity continued to fissure across his person. Iruka approached hurriedly, but guardedly, and shouted ahead of himself.
He reached out, and hesitated at the snapping sparks. He turned Kakashi onto his back. The sparks crept through his digits, pricking his skin like myriad pine needles. There was no response.
"Kakashi-san!" Iruka shouted at him. He did not move. In anger and dread, he realized that his chest was still. "Don't do that!"
Umino Iruka was not a medic. There was no other option but the old-fashioned; taking a gulp of air, he grasped the frayed edge of Kakashi's mask and pulled it down.
The sharp pieces of Tsunade's instrument still lay, scattered across the far side of her desk. She ignored them completely.
"It's true he split lightning once, isn't it?" asked Shizune. Tsunade knew what her assistant was thinking.
"He's not that stupid," she said, in a manner that was far from confident. Gai did not respond. For a genius, he knew that Kakashi was certainly not above stupidity. He was brave, he was loyal, and he was perilously resourceful. "Send a squadron of four."
At last, there was a strangled sound and the man gasped for air. Kakashi coughed hard, as if choking.
He curled onto his side and curved stiffly into himself. Not all of his limbs would move properly. His eyes were scrunched tightly shut.
"Iruka-sensei," he rasped. "You're electrifying." Iruka could not be sure that his jaw did not drop. He did not know how to react, except to grab the Jounin by the scruff of his shirt. This was anything but an appropriate time for jokes.
"You're insane!" Kakashi cringed; his mask was back in place. Iruka released him. Electricity continued to snake about the man's hands, jumping across his chest and limbs. Iruka watched it with fascination and caution. "How do you turn it off?"
"Not sure," blinked Kakashi. He raised his hand. The fabric of his forehead protector was gone; all that remained was the hot metal plate. With considerable effort, and a shallow hiss, he pried it from his fingers. Iruka put a hand on his shoulder. The prickling sensation of static electricity shot up his arm and he shivered.
"How about we get out of the rain?" He moved to help Kakashi up. "Do you think you can walk?"
"Yeah," Kakashi said softly. He took a deep breath. "Give me a second."
Iruka nodded, withdrawing slightly to give the other man space. There was a swell of breath. Kakashi closed his eye, concentrating intensely. Iruka observed carefully. His teeth were clenched, and chin down. Very subtly, the cadence of his breast hastened. Little by little, the electricity at his fingertips lessened and ceased to jump across his body. At last, it disappeared. He exhaled quietly and opened his eye. Despite his obvious discomfort, there was something new, - but profoundly familiar - which gleamed in the dusky light of his iris.
"Alright," said Kakashi as he maneuvered to stand. He swayed like a leaf in the wind.
Iruka swept an arm behind him and helped to pull him upright. As if for the first time, he realized that Kakashi was not wearing shoes; his feet were bare, and he stepped tenderly and slowly.
They should have hid the body.
There were voices outside the overhang. Three or four at the most. Iruka reached for a kunai from its holster and crouched low to the ground. He drew breathlessly to the edge of the rock ledge, keeping his movements slow and imperceptible. They could not draw a fight. Kakashi was in no condition; a sickly blue hue had settled beneath his eyes, and his words were few and far in between. Iruka knew he personally could not take on four at once without backup.
They were in tenuous territory. Any number of traffickers, missing-nin, and disagreeables haunted these northern roads. A carcass always attracted attention.
Iruka peered around the ledge. The monotone hues of mist and constrained light revealed four figures, hovering spectrally about the site of the strike. They were discussing in hushed tones. He could very vaguely make out white flak.
There was a loud, penetrative thump as they turned over the body. The trees rustled threateningly, a racket of birds took to the sky, and something erupted behind him.
Their progress back to the overhang was sluggish. The rain mattered little; Iruka was thankful simply that they were both moving under their own devices. One glance at the remains of their enemy reminded him of how lucky they had been. He, too, had been a lightning user; and he had not survived.
When they reached the overhang, it was not a moment too soon. Kakashi could scarcely hold his weight. It was testament to his deteriorating condition that he conceded easily that Iruka look him over. There was not much to be done for the severity of the burn to his hand. Iruka examined the soles of his feet, and found it difficult to believe that he tolerated any pressure on them at all; they, too, were burned. Gently, he wrapped them with the bandages from his own legs. The sandals had not stood the test.
Down the center of Kakashi's chest, there was a burn following the line of the zipper of his vest. Across the pale plane of his skin there spread the faint splintering tendrils of the lightning's semblance, marking the course it had taken over his body. These were surface wounds, and benign in contrast to what they might have been.
Most troubling, however, was his forearm. The poison from the enemy's blade, more than anything else, seemed to be taking its toll. And for that, Iruka had no solution.
The best he could do was to keep a conversation, and hope that it passed.
The rain had diminished to a placid lull as the morning crawled across gray skies. The sun was an elusive, white halo suffocated by the haze of the storm. The leaves continued to shiver in the cool of dawn. Far off, the expiring grumblings of angry clouds disappeared beyond the reach of sight.
"Kakashi-san," said Iruka.
Kakashi raised his head. His vision was spinning, and he addressed one of a number of outlines that could have been Iruka.
"Hmm?"
Iruka ran a hand through his dripping hair.
"I've seen your face twice, and still have no idea what you look like."
Kakashi afforded a light laugh.
"I suppose."
The poison was causing him to sweat despite the cold, and Iruka carefully smoothed away the beads forming on his brow.
"I misjudged you out there." Iruka admitted. "I called you bull-headed, and thought that you were rejecting my help."
Kakashi laughed again, very quietly.
"I am bull-headed," he offered. His voice was soft and deep. He knew that Iruka was trying to keep him talking. "But you can back me up anytime."
Iruka smiled at him. He was hunched against the wall, skin burning with fever at the same time that he shook with shallow chills.
"Just never do that again."
"Can't promise," he said with a grin in his eye.
A vicious web of white chakra flared at his hand, and he tore from the cover of the overhang at the intruders. Iruka leapt after him.
"Wait!" Iruka shouted, but he did not dare touch the rushing shinobi. "They're ANBU."
They were met by four pairs of blank, masked sockets; Kakashi slowed as each drew their weapon and made ready to charge. He was at his limit.
"Hatake-san," said the captain.
Kakashi stood for a tremulous moment, white chakra lashing from his palm. He bent his knees, and they wobbled beneath him. The raikiri flickered fitfully, and then faded. He stayed his ground for a tense second and then wavered. Iruka moved in time to catch him from behind as his legs gave away.
"He's been poisoned."
The ANBU, Iruka learned, had been sent at the urge of Tsunade. She was a wise Hokage, for she sent a medic among their numbers.
Iruka was infinitely grateful. It made their homeward journey considerably less daunting. He had faith in both Kakashi's resilience and his own doggedness that they could have met the challenge. But they would have been late.
The medic extracted most of the poison from Kakashi's system. The burns he could only provisionally heal; Kakashi would need to recuperate more before subjecting his body to the stress of induced healing. Especially, the medic opted not to risk nerve damage. Unfortunately, the ANBU team had not thought to pack an extra pair of sandals.
Despite Iruka's sharp tongue, and the medic's diffident insistence, Kakashi resolutely objected to being carried.
The ANBU escorted them as far as the outskirts of Konoha, and thereafter fell into shadow. When they reached the gates, their silent escort was replaced by a far more boisterous one. The Green Beast, Maito Gai, intercepted them as they entered. Kakashi responded to the question in his black eyes with a nod. Discreetly, he proffered a pair of sandals.
The day that Kakashi was released, it was with a limp and a sky of blue. There was not a cloud for miles. A great storm had passed, and washed them from its palettte.
He made it hardly a block before he sensed distinctly that he was being approached.
"Sensei," yapped an energetic, young voice from atop the wall surrounding the Konoha hospital. It was Uzumaki Naruto. He narrowed his eyes at the slouching figure of a Jounin. A blond brow quirked upwards suspiciously. It was as if he expected to find something strange or fantastical.
"Naruto-" began Kakashi, mildly.
"Naruto!" yelled another, more irritated, and higher. Kakashi heard the loud angry steps long before Sakura came into view. She rounded the bend and pointed emphatically to the object of her frustration. There was also someone with her. "Get down from that wall and use the sidewalk like a normal person, for goodness sake."
The boy huffed, but hopped down nevertheless. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.
"When I'm Hokage," said Naruto with confidence, and a glance to his gray-haired sensei, "it won't matter where I walk."
"Until then," said Iruka as he and his pink-haired student turned around the wall, "I'd do as Sakura says."
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto stretched his hands behind his neck. Kakashi elbowed him in the shoulder. "I mean, yeah, Sensei."
"Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura brightly. She was holding an armful of yellow flowers, wrapped in crinkling brown parchment. She offered them to Kakashi. He took them, but could not figure out just what to do with them. He scratched the line of his nose. Their scent was strong. "It's a good thing we caught you!"
"We were coming to see you," explained Iruka. Kakashi raised his eyebrows. He had spent only one night under Tsunade's sharp observation. His hand would take some weeks before full motion was restored, but he otherwise passed her examination. She refused to heal the soles of his feet, however - any man who would strike himself with lightning deserved to suffer the brand. He did not dare to complain.
"You didn't have to do that," Kakashi said quietly. Naruto found such an ungrateful response to be extremely rude; Sakura found it extremely amusing that her sensei was so clearly embarrassed.
"You're welcome," said Iruka, because he understood the underneath.
When they reached the office of the Hokage, Kakashi entered silently, flanked by Iruka, and his Eternal Rival. He hid his exhaustion well.
Tsunade folded her arms across her desk and leaned forward.
"You're back," she said.
"I'm back," he answered.
...