Another KakaHina oneshot.
Ages:
Rookie Nine: 20
Kakashi: 33
I seem to like writing the Naruto cast when they're at this age. It's fun to write them as adults, yet still write them retaining their strongest qualities :)
Summary: It was a mission-gone-wrong at its finest. When Kakashi comes home, it's with her bleeding to death in his arms.
This wasn't happening. It wasn't, it couldn't be, it shouldn't be.
He wasn't supposed to be holding this—hardly considered to be—young woman in his arms, watching her bleed to death. He wasn't supposed to be—keep breathing, please, Kami, keep breathing—listening anxiously to her raspy breaths, praying that they weren't her last. He wasn't supposed to be sprinting towards Konoha's gates, all thoughts of their mission gone from his mind.
He wasn't supposed to be alive, damn it!
Ignoring the guards' alarmed shouts, he ran through the gates, his sole focus on one building in particular. 'I have to make it, I have to make it, I have to make it.'
He jumped across the rooftops, his speed increasing when he saw the familiar red roof of the hospital. He flew in the doors, kicking them open fiercely, ignoring the startled gasps and indignant glares.
"I need Sakura, now," he practically growled to a nearby nurse.
There was a flurry of action as people took in the bloodied and unconscious body in his arms. The next few seconds passed by in a blur to Kakashi. All he saw were flashes of pink hair, white uniforms, and… He shivered. All the red, bright red blood, that his vest was soaked in, that his arms were coated with.
Sakura was shooting questions at him. He only barely managed to catch them, only barely managed to open his mouth to answer them.
"How long has she been bleeding like this?"
"Twelve minutes," he answered numbly.
They were practically running down the hall now, the stretcher's wheels squeaking in protest.
"What are her injuries from?"
"Multiple kunai cuts, sword lacerations… the enemy knew fire techniques." Kakashi gulped. "A stab to the chest immediately followed with a push from the enemy. When she fell, she hit her head against a jagged rock."
There was a shocked silence following his words before he heard Sakura mutter something to the nurses. "Inform the head trauma department to set up the instruments for brain scans. There is a high possibility of brain damage, at the very least, a cracked skull."
The hallway seemed impossibly long to Kakashi as he ran down it with the medical team, his own injuries forgotten in this frantic race against time.
"How did she get stabbed in the chest? Surely her byakugan should've caught the attack, allowing her to at least partially block it?" asked the nasal tone of a snot-nosed man-nurse.
They were nearing the emergency room now. Kakashi knew that, but… "How did she get stabbed in the chest? Surely her byakugan should've caught the attack…"
"It did." Kakashi swallowed dryly. "I was preoccupied fighting the higher-level enemy and didn't sense his partner creeping up on me. When I finally did… it was too late." He watched them set her on the operating table from the doorway. Just before the door was closed in his face, he managed to finish. "She pushed me out of the way, taking the attack in the worst possible position."
The door shut, the sign that an emergency operation was in process beeping.
Kakashi breathed in shakily, feeling his body beginning to grow numb. 'That's right… That guy's needles were poisoned.'
His vision swam and he swayed on his feet. He leaned heavily against the walls for support, not yet ready to let this blissful darkness overcome him.
'She's safe right? She's safe… right?'
Exhaustion from his intense battle, coupled with his poisoned cuts, brought a relaxing, and almost welcomed, darkness over him.
'Hinata...'
"Kakashi-san, you must be tired."
Kakashi smiled at the concern on the young woman's face. "I'm fine, really."
The woman bit her lip lightly; Kakashi couldn't help but eye the movement closely. He stared at it for a while before he realized that she was talking to him.
"Ano..." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "What were you saying, Hinata?"
Hinata shook her head before giggling softly. "You must be really tired if you're dozing off like that."
He chuckled. "It comes with old age."
The indigo-haired woman frowned. "You're not old, Kakashi-san. Just... older."
Kakashi grinned. "Nice way to put it, Hinata-chan."
Hinata blushed at the endearment in her name before hurriedly turning away to busy herself with cleaning off the medical supplies littered all over their shared bed. Kakashi leaned back heavily against the bed post, his grin widening at her cute reaction. He shifted slightly and winced when he strained one of his new injuries. Feeling his grin fade away into a frown, Kakashi contemplated on how they were going to proceed with their mission.
'I'm already injured... and we haven't even reached the enemy's base yet.' Kakashi watched Hinata put away the medical supplies before turning around, only to blush darkly when she caught sight of him, shirtless and bandaged. She quickly muttered an excuse about going to check if the inn owners had found another room for them and left.
Kakashi watched her leave, a slight smile on his face. 'Well, whatever happens, we'll manage.'
Kakashi's eyes snapped open.
'Where... am I?'
Closing his Sharingan eye, he scanned the white, spotless room, his eye landing on the beeping monitor next to him.
'Oh... at the hospital again.'
He shut his eye wearily before quickly opening it again.
'Hinata!'
He pulled himself up, only to feel his body freeze up in pain. He fell backward, breathing heavily, as waves of pain coursed through his body. Immediately following the pain was an icy coldness that numbed his body, numbed his mind. One thought broke through it, though.
'I have to get to Hinata... That guy... He... He's going to kill her!'
With shaking limbs, he pushed himself up, forcing himself to move. With his teeth chattering violently, he managed to stand upright, although he was using his bed as a support. He eyed the distance to the door with decisive eyes and took a step. His legs shook uncontrollably but, with force of mind, he lifted his other foot. He managed to take another step before swaying suddenly.
'Damn it... I'm not going to make it.'
He hit the floor painfully, the tiled floors cold against his unmasked cheek. He winced when he felt a warm liquid pooling around him.
'I think I reopened one of my wounds,' he thought dully, feeling a bit woozy from the amount of energy it had taken him to take those three steps.
"Kakashi-sama!" screeched someone just as darkness, yet again, claimed him.
"Kakashi-san... Do you think we'll make it?"
He jumped off to the side to avoid a weak area in the branch before answering the girl's anxious question. "They wouldn't harm Tonoshi-san. He's an important swordsmith to these rogue ninja."
It was quiet the rest of the way, both wrapped up in their own worries. Just as they reached a clearing, however, Hinata voiced another question, one that had been weighing on both their minds.
"W-what about Hikari-chan?"
Kakashi almost missed the next branch, but managed to get a hold on himself.
"The swordsmith's daughter will most likely be killed... or worse."
There was a sharp inhale of breath as the young woman as she contemplated the worse aspect of it.
A young, healthy teen held captive by a bunch of grubby men wasn't something one wanted to think about.
"But they have samurai in their group, so maybe Hikari has a chance. Samurai abide by their bushido fiercely."
He hadn't meant for those words to escape his lips, but they had.
Hinata's face lit up brightly at his words. "Y-you're right. I'm sure she'll be fine."
He didn't have the heart to tell her that these particular samurai had killed their own rulers in a revolt; killing or raping a young teen wasn't something far off their ball park.
But... he didn't have the courage to face her depressing face, either.
He liked her soft smile so much more.
It was dark, thought Hinata. She stepped through the darkness cautiously, her sharp eyes and finely honed ears concentrating on everything around her.
Nothing.
'Where... am I?'
A small beam of light suddenly appeared at her feet. Feeling hope start to fill her, Hinata followed the increasingly bright light through, what she could now make out, a dark tunnel. The light was getting brighter and brighter... and... and...
x-x-x
Kakashi watched the father and daughter escape into the hidden passageway grimly. Most likely, they would make it out of here, securing their mission.
He turned back to face the duo that had cornered them.
"So, Hatake Kakashi, what will you do now?" sneered the taller one.
Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly and lifted up his headband. "Kill you, I guess."
Beside him, he saw Hinata shiver slightly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling his heart skip a beat when she focused her moonstone eyes on him, an anxious look in them.
"They'll be fine, Hinata. All we have to do now is defeat these guys, and their way home will be safe."
He felt a sense of satisfaction flood him when she nodded resolutely.
"Thank you, Kakashi-san," he heard her whisper as she activated her byakugan.
"You're welcome," he said simply as he dodged the metal fist aimed for his face. "I guess I'll take..." He appeared behind the taller ninja. "This one."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Hinata nod slightly as she grabbed the short-statured man's fist to throw him out into the clearing. He smiled and faced his opponent. "So, let's get started then."
Kakashi groaned slightly as he opened his eye to bright light.
'Too... bright...'
"I see you're awake, Kakashi," said a familiar voice.
Kakashi blinked away the bright dots to focus on the owner of said voice. "Hokage-sama?" he said hoarsely.
"Mmhmm. Now, seeing as how you're awake, would you care to tell me of your mission?" asked the busty, straight-to-the-point blonde.
Swallowing dryly, Kakashi weakly lifted a hand to push up his mask. As soon as he felt the familiar feel of sleek fabric against his cheeks, he relaxed. "Sure."
"Water?" asked another familiar voice.
Kakashi stared blankly at the Hokage's assistant, Shizune, was it? and nodded. He took the proffered glass and gulped it greedily and quickly. As he drank, Tsunade went over the mission details.
"A-rank protection mission. Pretty straightforward, I'd say," groused the Hokage. "So then what the hell happened during this 'A-rank' mission, that brought two of my shinobi back half-dead?"
Kakashi coughed as some water went down the wrong tube. As soon as his passageway cleared, he spoke. "A-rank, yes. Some information was withheld, however. The swordsmith neglected to mention that he had shinobi and samurai chasing him down."
There was a shocked silence following his words, forcibly reminding him of another one that had occurred not too long ago...
"Hinata?" he asked in a slightly panicked voice. "How is she?"
He stared at the Hokage as an expression of surprise crossed her face, instantly followed by a smug smirk. "Well..." she drawled out, not missing the narrowed glare he sent at her, "She's in a stable condition right now."
Her assistant spoke up from her place behind her. "You and Hinata have been in a coma for about four days now. The enemy's poison was a slow agent, but deadly still. We managed to get it out of your system and come up with an antidote, though. Hinata's situation, however..." She looked at her clipboard before looking up. "The sword pierced through one of her minor arteries, but Sakura managed to spot it in time, and it was quickly healed. She got a fractured skull, however..." Shizune bit her lip. "We healed all visible injuries but... we're not sure how this will affect her brain."
Kakashi sat there in stunned silence, not sure if he could believe his ears. All that blood... all those painful, rasping breaths of hers... Death had come so near to her... yet it had been delayed with a few healing techniques.
'Thank Kami,' he thought in relief.
"Interesting how you're so worried about her," said Tsunade in a deceptively casual voice. "Just how long was this joint mission of yours?"
Kakashi answered dryly. "Three months."
"Oh?" remarked the Hokage with a thoughtful expression on her face, the image marred by the small smirk on her lips. "A lot can happen in three months."
Kakashi couldn't quite disagree with that thought.
Hinata's eyes opened sharply. A soft light made her blink.
She turned her head slightly towards the light, wincing when she felt her neck pop. She craned her neck downward to look at her body, startled to see so many bandages covering her.
"Oh? You're awake?"
Hinata's eyes, which had unfocused as she assessed her aching body, snapped to attention, stopping on a bright yellow ponytail.
"Ino-chan?" she rasped out.
The young medic-nin smiled brightly. "You are awake!" she exclaimed joyously. She jotted down something in the clipboard in her hands before walking towards her. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain or anything?"
Hinata contemplated her question before replying. "I'm... thirsty."
Ino nodded. "Obviously. You've been in a coma for about a week and a half now," she said as she grabbed the pitcher of water on a table, pouring its liquid drops into a cup. Hinata watched as the clear liquid filled up the cup closely. She licked her dry and cracked lips, grimacing at the sour taste in her mouth.
"Here you go, Hinata!" said Ino as she placed the cup against her parched lips. Hinata drank the water greedily, loving the way it slid down her throat, quenching her of her thirst. When she finally drank her fill, Ino's words suddenly registered in her mind.
"C-coma?" she stammered out.
Ino placed the cup on the table and turned to her, nodding. "Yeah, for about a week and a half now."
Hinata sat there, speechless.
Coma? She'd never been in a coma before... Just how serious had her injury been?
'Injury...'
Her fingers wandered up slowly to her heavily bandaged chest, probing slightly. She winced when she poked a rather tender spot.
"How did I get this?" she asked quietly.
Ino, who had been rambling about something or other, looked at her in surprise. "Eh?" Her aquamarine eyes took in her hand's position before they widened slightly. "Oh..." The blonde bit her lip before asking her, "You... you don't remember?"
Hinata shook her head. All she could remember was setting out for her mission, and... Spiky, silver hair in disarray and a lazy, coal black eye passed through her mind.
"Kakashi-san?" she almost yelled. "Kakashi-san? How is he?"
Ino's eyes widened in surprise. "Kakashi?... He's fine," she answered slowly. Her eyes silently appraised her. "Are you sure you don't remember anything?"
"No... everything's a blank," murmured Hinata as she processed in this fact. Kakashi was ok, he was alright, he wouldn't die, and she wouldn't be heart-broken, and... and...
'Wait...' Hinata's eyes widened in shock. 'Why am I so worried about Kakashi-san?'
"Sakura did say that there could be repercussions from that bonk on her head," she heard Ino mutter.
Hinata looked at the blonde curiously. "What?"
The blonde smiled cheesily before shaking her head. "N-nothing!" Her smile widened. "Nothing at all!"
Hinata could honestly say that she had never heard such an obvious lie.
"Alright..."
"Memory loss... Most likely due to post-traumatic amnesia," murmured Sakura.
Tsunade folded her hands together and placed them on her desk. "I see..." She stared at her student sharply. "And you are saying that she recognizes everyone... yet cannot seem to recall what happened during her mission?"
Her pink-haired student nodded. "Yes. We questioned her and she knew everything that had led up to that mission, all the way to leaving the village gates. Yet..." Sakura looked at her in the eyes, a confused look in them. "Yet, she doesn't remember what happened at all during the mission."
Tsunade nodded. "I see," she repeated.
She placed her head in her hands.
"Kakashi's not going to be happy," she muttered.
"Eh? What?"
Tsunade looked up sharply, a fake smile on her lips. "Nothing."
Her student eyed her suspiciously before she nodded. "Ok... Well, I'm going to go check on Hinata. These past few days have been tough on her."
Tsunade nodded her dismissal.
"Good luck."
Hinata smiled at all her friends' joyous reactions to her waking up. They were all crowded around her bed, each jostling each other or hitting elbows against another's in the small hospital room, yet all wouldn't let her out of their sight for some reason.
"Hinata! I'm so glad you're back!" yelled Kiba enthusiastically. Outside her window, Akamaru barked.
Beside her, Shino nodded. "Yes, I am glad that even though you ran into some difficulties, you managed t-"
"Hinata-san! Your youth runs wildly through your veins! I admire you, Hinata-san!"
"It's rude to interrupt when a person is talk-"
"I heard you saved Kakashi-san! That's like, so cool!"
"Tenten-san, did you not hear me? To interrupt a person is ru-"
"Ne, Hinata, I heard you went to Tea Country. They specialize in seafood. Did you get to eat any? I'm so jealous..."
"Chouji-san, have you not heard anything I said? It's rude t-"
"Troublesome as it is, I've got to head out n-"
"I said that it is rude to inter-"
"Man, Shino, I didn't think you were so rude. Sheesh, interrupting people when they're talking."
Hinata couldn't hold back her giggles anymore when she saw Shino get reprimanded. Her heavily clothed teammate's sunglasses glinted dangerously before he turned around to sulk in his corner. She didn't miss the smug look on Shikamaru's face as he left the room, sending her a half-hearted wave.
'It's good to be back,' she thought with a grin.
She looked at her friends that were in her room and her grin couldn't help but grow into a bright smile. Yet... when she smiled... why did her heart feel so down? Why did... she want to, so badly, see a head of spiky silver hair in her room too?
'Amnesia, huh?' mused Kakashi from his perch outside the Hokage's window. 'And she doesn't remember the mission at all?...'
He leaped off the rooftop and jumped through the village, one destination in mind.
'Well, we'll have to remedy that.'
x-x-x
Hinata could walk now, albeit with shaky limbs and sore muscles. She leaned heavily against the hospital wall and mentally recalled how much ground she had covered today.
'I made it past the children's ward today... That's farther than yesterday,' thought Hinata proudly. She stared at the long hallway in front of her. 'And... now I have to go back.'
Deciding to take a breather before facing down the long hallway, Hinata thought back to Sakura's words.
'I'm sure that your memories will come back eventually. Seeing as how you can still remember everyone and everything about being a ninja, I'm thinking that hitting your head against that rock just made your memories disappear for a while. I'm sure that seeing more interesting sights than this dull hospital will jog back some memories.'
And now it had become a mission to her: regain strength to her poorly used muscles and find out what happened during her mysterious mission with Kakashi.
Hinata breathed in slowly before steeling her resolve. 'Ok, I'll make it back before Tanaka-san starts her afternoon rounds!'
She let go of the wall and took a confident step forward... only for her knee to buckle weakly under her weight. The world tilted as Hinata began to fall forward. Lifting her hands weakly to block at least some of the now-menacing looking hospital floors, Hinata closed her eyes and braced herself for impact. Only to feel an arm slink around her waist to pull her back up.
As the world tilted back to its regular dimensions, she collided with a warm chest, its solidness making her blush. Hinata lifted her head slowly, wondering who her savior was... only for her eyes to widen in shock when she saw a familiar lop-sided forehead protector with spiky silver bangs falling over it.
"K-Kakashi-san?" she stammered out.
"Yo, Hinata-chan," a smile visible in his dark eye.
The sky was an endless pool of blue, not a cloud in sight. A breezy wind blew teasingly, its soft winds sending her hair flying about. She stared at the wide open vacant rooftop as she bit her lip quietly.
She turned to look at the smiling man beside her before averting her gaze when he turned to look at her. Instead, she focused her gaze on the white bed sheets swaying with the wind. Hinata swung her feet loosely in her seat on the bench, enjoying the way the breeze hit her cheek.
"Do you like it up here?"
Hinata looked at the man quietly before nodding. "Yes, it's... peaceful. I didn't think such a place in this hospital existed," she murmured.
Kakashi chuckled. "I know what you mean. I end up here half my missions. It does get rather dull."
Hinata smiled. "I understand."
"It's time off in the worst possible form," said Kakashi lightly.
Hinata laughed at Kakashi's words, feeling a slight hint of truth in his words. She leaned back in her seat, letting her solid indigo hair fall back, and stared up at the cloudless sky in wonder.
'Since when did I feel so... comfortable... in Kakashi-san's presence?'
"Hinata..."
Hinata turned her head curiously to look at Kakashi, only to find herself transfixed by the way his single eye stared intensely into hers, his normal lazy look absent. The silver-haired man lifted a hand and ran his fingers through her hair slowly, gently. Hinata shivered at his touch and found that she couldn't look away from his piercing gaze.
"Hinata," murmured the man again. He twisted a lock of her hair in between his fingers and rubbed his thumb lightly against a few strands. "I know that you don't remember what happened during our mission, but..." Hinata couldn't see it, but she knew from the way his mask creased slightly and the way his eye turned downward, that Kakashi was frowning. "I do." He released her hair and withdrew his hand, running it through his own silver spikes with a small sigh as he broke their gaze to lean back in his seat. "I remember all the running we did, all the fights we got into with random rogue ninja. I remember your amazing medical expertise... I remember all the laughs we had, usually at your expense."
Hinata blushed darkly at his words. Her blush deepened when she saw Kakashi's eye crease into an amused smile. "And..." he said hesitantly, his dark eye peering at her from the corner of his eye. "I remember your silly giggles, your pink blushes, your soft smiles..." He turned to look at her, his eye curved slightly. "Those things about you... I'll never forget."
Hinata sat there in stunned silence. Just what did Kakashi m-
A pair of warm lips suddenly covered hers in a soft, chaste kiss. Her chapped lips opened slightly in surprise, shock... and, instinctively... her lips pressed firmer against his.
Her eyes slowly closed as she sat there and relished the feel of Kakashi's lips moving against hers, shivering when he deepened the kiss.
'...so that's what he meant.'
"What? Her memory's returned?" Tsunade heard the table crunch under her as she clenched it in shock, but ignored it. "How?"
Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea, Tsunade-shishou. All I know is that yesterday, she came up to me and asked if she could leave, since there was no need of keeping her there anymore."
Tsunade contemplated her student's words thoughtfully. "You say... they suddenly returned?"
Sakura nodded slowly. "Yes..." Her pink-haired student sent her a questioning look. "Is it something to be surprised about? It was just temporary memory loss anyways."
Tsunade shook her head. "You're right, but..." She released her grip on her desk, ignoring the splinters in her fingers. "I find that there is something incredibly fishy about this."
Her eyes narrowed when she heard a familiar poof outside her window.
"Yo, reporting for duty," said a bored voice.
She turned around to face her window, not at all surprised to see a familiar head of silver hair.
"Kakashi?" she heard Sakura say in surprise.
"Yo, Sakura," said Kakashi, not sparing her a glance. "Sorry, I'm late. Got lost in-I mean, lost on, the path of life."
Tsunade stared at the man who had his masked nose in a green Icha Icha book and felt a smirk begin to grow on her lips.
"No missions for you," she said haughtily, her smirk growing when she saw him look up from his book in surprise. "You're dismissed from any and all missions for two weeks." Her smirk grew into a full blown out grin from the visible shock in his eye. "So why don't you spend it with Hinata? Maybe you can help her recall the rest of her memories... or at the very least, make some more. If you know what I mean."
Evidently, the man knew what she meant, for he left her office in a quick poof, a look of deep thought on his face. Tsunade watched him leave, feeling a bit sorry for Hinata.
She knew that look from her many years as an active ninja. It was the look Jiraiya had adopted when he was thinking up one of his perverted schemes.
'Konoha's filled with perverts.'
"Ano... Tsunade-shishou? What did you mean about Kakashi and Hinata? Surely, you aren't imp-"
Tsunade smirked when she heard her student gasp in understanding.
'I wonder how much Genma and Raidou will bet for Kakashi getting together with a kunoichi in say... a week or two?'
Dunno what you guys will think of this, but I've been wanting to write a fic with the slightly dramatic beginning for a while now. It didn't quite turn out how I wanted it to go, but I figure that this works. Eh.
I've been working on this for a few days now, yet never got the chance to finish it quite a lot of the time. School, life, curfew, driver's ed, etc. wouldn't permit. Ah well. Hopefully I can get started on a new chapter for A Different Perspective now :)