Medical Report-5/16/08
Kakashi is progressing rapidly. His disposition remains sweet and docile, except for when he is touched around the head or hips. He becomes skittish and frightened when anyone moves towards him then, but calms down again when someone he trusts is close by to reassure him he is safe. The long-term effects of the trauma Kakashi suffered will most likely be mild, such as sensitivity to being touched around the hips, or sudden movements aimed at his head. Such may provoke a violent reaction-
Tsunade glanced up from her small book at a soft knock on her door. "Come in," she called, folding the book closed, but keeping the pen inside. Kakashi walked through, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Tsunade-sama, I'm sorry for the trouble-"
"Not at all," Tsunade said, and waved off Kakashi's concern. "What is it?"
"I was wondering when I could resume my responsibilities here as a jounin," he said slowly. "I know I'm nowhere near fully recovered, but…"
Tsunade sighed. "We'll see how things go," she said. "It could be anywhere from a week to months. We just need to see how things work it, alright?"
Kakashi nodded. "I understand. Thank you." As he turned to leave, Tsunade stopped him.
"Kakashi, are you ready to talk about this? Obviously it was worse than last time…"
Kakashi froze, his hand hovering over the doorknob, and it slowly lowered to drop back to his side. "I-I'm not sure…" he murmured, turning back around. "I can't really tell you…what really went on-"
"Then don't," Tsunade said. "Sit down, relax, and tell me what to want to."
Kakashi shook his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "But I-I just don't think I can do that right now…I'm sorry-"
"No, no, it's my fault for asking." Tsunade waved her hand at Kakashi, dismissing him. "Go on," she said. "You can leave if you want."
"Actually…" Kakashi faltered. "There is one thing…I've been meaning to tell you…"
"What?" Tsunade asked, standing up and walking around to stand next to Kakashi. "Talk to me, baby-"
"Don't call me that. You don't understand…!" Kakashi shook his head and slowly sank into a chair across from Tsunade's desk. The Hokage came to stand next to him again, one hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "It's just not that easy…to just forget it all, to just throw it all away like it never happened…I just can't do that!"
"I'm not asking you to," Tsunade said softly, gently running her hand along Kakashi's shoulder. "I'm just asking you to be strong and to take things one step at a time. That's all. And if that's too much, you have friends here you can rely on. You don't have to go it alone."
Kakashi sighed. "I've been…struggling with myself every day…just to get up, and keep going, if only for the sake of Itachi-sama…he would want it this way. He wanted me to be happy, and that's why he let me come back. He didn't want me to have to suffer anymore…and yet, I still am…ironic, no?"
"Slightly," Tsunade said. "I think he wants what's best for you, and that's why he brought you back. I think…that in his own twisted way…Itachi really does love you. And what more could anyone ever ask for?"
Kakashi gave a soft smile and replied, "Nothing, really. I have someone who loves me…and even if he's miles away, it's still love. Truthful love, too, and meaningful love…not just sex. And…I think it's nice…to have someone who doesn't just 'love' me because I'm pretty…they love me…because of who I am. And I don't know…what I would do without that…"
Tsunade allowed the smallest of smiles to slip through her determined mask of calm. Kakashi was luck to have someone who cared about him so much-she had had someone, but that was no longer true. Death had stolen those she loved from her too early, and the wound still stung with the promise of reopen. Even after all this time, wounds simply would not heal.
And yet here was Kakashi, recovering well, because of hope.
Hope that his lover was out there somewhere, and still cared about him like a true lover would, and loved him until the ends of time.
Tsunade's smile slowly grew. "By the way, if you ever see Itachi soon, just ask him to stick around until you see me next, okay? I have a quick question for him…"
Kakashi nodded. "Alright. Just promise me you won't attack him?"
"Not if he's with you." A frown crossed Tsunade's smile, though. "But if he comes for any purpose other than to see you, and I know of this and know where he is every hour of the day, I will re-instate the order to kill him on sight. Is that clear? You try to stick to the edges of the village so you don't call attention to yourself, alright? Use the old Uchiha complex or something. I'll give you the keys as long as I get them back after every use. Talk to Itachi about it and see what happens, okay?"
Kakashi nodded. "Of course," he said quickly. He didn't want to lose Itachi, not now! Tsunade gave a small, quick nod, and walked back to her desk. "So, what did you want to tell me?"
"Itachi-sama left a note saying that he would be here on Friday night," Kakashi said. "I-I just thought you would want to know…"
"Yes, thank you, Kakashi," Tsunade said. "Now, you're free to do whatever you wish for-"
"KAKASHI-SENSEI!!!!!"
A shock of blonde was all he saw before Kakashi was barreled over and knocked to the ground. Kakashi yelped with surprise and shoved Naruto off, taking a deep breath and slowly getting to his feet.
"Naruto, take it easy," he gasped. "I'm not quite up to that yet…"
"Oh…sorry…" Naruto took a sudden interest in his feet, and Kakashi swallowed and straightened. "Naruto, this is going to be hard for me, alright? Just try to keep it to a dull roar?"
Naruto nodded silently and looked up again, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, if it's any consolation, Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun are excited, too."
"It'll be a cold day in hell when Sasuke's truly excited," Tsunade said dryly. "But I see your point." The door opened and Sakura and Sasuke walked in. Sakura looked overjoyed, and Sasuke looked mildly happy.
"Welcome back," he said, giving Kakashi a slow, awkward hug. Sakura charged right in after Sasuke, throwing her arms around Kakashi and burying her face in his shirt.
"Missed you," she murmured, her grip tightening for a moment before she stepped back and smiled at Kakashi. Kakashi forced himself to return the gesture, hoping the creases in his mask would make them think it was a real smile.
"So, what's going on with my brother?" Sasuke asked conversationally. "If he's the one that did this to you-oh, doubtless it was, who else would be that unscrupulous?"
"Kisame," Kakashi murmured. He took a deep breath and set his hands on Sasuke's shoulders. "Sasuke, I-I want you to listen to me…I have something to tell you…"
Sasuke's dark eyes looked suspicious for a moment, then locked onto Kakashi's one and asked, "What?"
Kakashi shuddered. "Sasuke, the one who hurt me so badly wasn't Itachi…it was Kisame, his partner, and the leader of the Akatsuki, Pein. Your brother…he was actually the one who kept me safe and brought me back…Sasuke, we…I…we're in love, Sasuke, and I don't know how else to tell you this…"
Sasuke looked like he had been slapped at first. Then, his look slowly changed to anger, then hatred, and finally, pure, pure, rage. "What has he done to you?" he whispered, taking a small step back. "Why is he doing this to you? He can't just leave you alone, now he has to force you to love him-?"
"Sasuke, no, that's not how it went!" Kakashi was almost pleading with Sasuke to understand. "Sasuke, we love each other because we care about each other! The only ones who forced me to love them were Kisame and Pein! And Itachi prevented them from hurting me further once he realized I was being abused-! Sasuke, don't hate me for this, please, just…just don't hate me! I couldn't help any of this…I had no control…we just…we love each other…just don't hate me…"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he whipped around to stare at Tsunade. "Is this true?" His words were hard and bitter, and it hurt Kakashi just to hear them. Tsunade nodded sadly, and Sasuke turned his gaze back to Kakashi. The jounin took a step back, eyes downcast and sad, and settled for a small sigh of pain and betrayal.
"You hate me now…don't you…?"
"I don't hate you," Sasuke bit back. Kakashi seemed stung at the harsh words and stepped back again. "I only hate the ones who did this to you. How could he?"
"Sasuke, please-!"
"Shut up. It's not important anymore."
Now Kakashi looked like he had really been slapped. He made no response to Sasuke's snap except a small, whispered, "I'm so sorry," and another step back. Sasuke didn't seem to hear him, and stormed out of the room looking like a thundercloud. Tsunade glanced worriedly at Kakashi: could he take something like that so soon after his traumatic incident?
"Kakashi, are you alright?"
Kakashi spun around, gasping. He knew that voice-!
"Itachi!"
Tsunade glared at the Uchiha. "What are you doing here?"
Itachi shrugged. "Got away for a little while and just wanted to say hi." He looped one arm around Kakashi's shoulders, pulling him up against his body and holding him in a comforting embrace. "Make sure he's okay…" Kakashi sighed and let his head fall to Itachi's shoulder. His hair had never really returned to its former spiky state-it still remained, long and silky around his face and brushing his slender shoulders. "What happened?" he murmured, running one hand over Kakashi's hair. "He doesn't exactly seem hyper and happy…"
Tsunade sighed. "Sasuke wasn't exactly excited about…you know, the two of you…"
"He isn't comfortable with us seeing each other."
Tsunade nodded. "His reaction was…not a good one, and Kakashi, I think, was really hurt by Sasuke's denial and lack of acceptance."
"Ah…" Itachi otherwise gave no reaction to Tsunade's statement, instead returning his attention to Kakashi. "You okay?"
Kakashi gave a small shrug. "I guess," he said slowly. "I'll live…"
Itachi smiled. "We'll just see what happens. Let me know if you need me, alright?"
Another shrug. "Sure…"
Itachi sighed. "Come on, cheer up. It's not all bad!"
Kakashi gave Itachi a death glare he hardly knew he was capable of giving in his state of mind right now.
"Okay, yeah, it's pretty bad," Itachi admitted. "Look, I'm being happy-go-lucky for your sake, so at least try? For me?"
Kakashi's shrug was a sure sign he didn't feel like deciding. Itachi wanted to press the matter, but decided not to. "How's he been?" he asked Tsunade. The blonde sighed.
"Getting there," she said. "He's getting back to normal pretty quickly, but the underlying trauma will never go away completely. He might be able to hide it, but…"
Itachi seemed disappointed. "I'm sorry, love," he whispered, tightening his grip on Kakashi. Kakashi remained silent for a while, and then gave a shuddering sigh, and his arms found their way around Itachi's waist.
Sakura and Naruto were shocked, to say the least. They had never imagined that their sensei would fall for Itachi, of all people. And they were expecting that he would simply be abused at Itachi's hands…never had they expected that Itachi would be the only one kind enough to spare Kakashi torture beyond belief.
Naruto was the first to speak.
"Um…excuse me…Itachi…?"
Itachi's pinwheel eyes fixed uncomfortably on Naruto's baby-blue ones. "Yes?" he hissed. Kakashi stepped closer to Itachi, moving his hands up to rest on Itachi' shoulders.
"Um…why do you…you know…why did you and Kakashi-sensei…?"
"Fall in love?"
Naruto nodded, and Itachi sighed. "We just did," he said slowly. "Kakashi is just beautiful…and I can't stand seeing him hurt so badly. We just kind of ended up falling for each other when we realized how much we cared about one another."
Sakura glanced at Kakashi. "And…he's totally happy with you…? Y-You don't hurt him or anything?"
Itachi glanced down at Kakashi. "He's perfectly comfortable around me, he's not showing any signs of anxiety, and he's not flipping out. What could possibly make you think I abuse him?"
Sakura blushed and looked down. "Not abuse, just…I just wanted to make sure you were treating him right…"
Itachi snorted with laughter. "Hurt him, my ass. As if!"
"And he's happy with you?"
Itachi glanced up, seeing the door wide open and Sasuke standing in it. His eyes narrowed, but he nodded and tried to still keep his body relaxed and calm. "Quite," he said frostily, "And just for the record, the day I even think about hitting him for any reason at all is going to be the day you give up on revenge against me."
Sasuke almost smiled. "Well, then…you're probably going to be having some mean thoughts, because if he's happy with you…I'll leave you alone. But, when he's not with you-!"
"Yeah, yeah, if you can." Itachi smiled and waved Sasuke off. "Shoo, shoo. Having a moment."
Sasuke glared at his brother, but turned on his heel and stalked out of Tsunade's office. He slammed the door behind himself, and everyone could clearly hear him stomping down the hallway. Itachi's sigh was the only sound to break the silence, and Tsunade glanced worriedly at her door.
"Kakashi, if you and Itachi want to be alone, you can go…"
Itachi nodded. "Of course. Thank you." He left the room, Kakashi trailing behind him, and Tsunade sank down at her desk with a frustrated exhale.
"Long…long…day…"
A/N: I like ponies.
