He'd lost his head for a second. Only a second. But that was the way of shinobi, wasn't it? That was the reason they'd beaten in to each and every student at the academy that true shinobi killed all emotion and buried the remnants deep inside where no one could touch.
She didn't know who the ninja had transformed into, the young woman didn't look familiar at all to her, but she'd been a reflection of something from Kakashi-sensei's memory, just like all of the previous versions of the attack had been. Although he'd recovered faster from the surprise than the victims they'd seen and heard of…he'd been off. He'd hesitated when he shouldn't, barely perceptible even to her, and attacked with a slower jutsu than he should have.
He missed the cloaked secondary attack until it was too late.
"SENSEI!" Even though she'd screamed out the warning, she'd already been running by that time. Of course she was, because even with the warning he wouldn't have been able to dodge it.
She couldn't, either.
The rain of poisoned senbon struck exactly as it was meant to, simply not on the target it was meant for. But that was fine, because now that the surprise attack was spent, the ninja was forced to flee, and Kakashi-sensei would be able to deal with him easily. It'd been their plan all along, although the 'plan' had been for him to resist the genjutsu and simply dodge them instead.
Ah…ah, well.
Shinobi were meant to improvise.
When her legs gave out, a gloved hand seized around her shoulder, supporting her. It was a nice gesture, catching her like that…but it wasn't necessary. Most of her body was already numb, so it wasn't as if she'd have felt it even if she did fall.
She didn't mind though. She was happy. Not to die, no one would be happy to die, but to know her team captain and sensei did still care. She knew he did, of course, she knew he valued his comrades greatly, and she'd taken from him that same ideal. Still, there weren't many moments they could spare as comrades for each other. He was always so busy with missions for the village and her other teammates (they were such troublemakers it was a wonder they didn't keep his hands so full he never slept) and she…she had things to do, too.
For teammates, they never really had time to do things that other teammates did. She never had the time to request him to help her with jutsu (Sasuke and Naruto needed him more, anyway), they were usually assigned separate missions given Kakashi's skills and the state of Team 7, and neither of them had the time or inclination to waste evenings at the ramen shop or barbecue (if they had time, there were others who always needed their attention more).
The point was, it was nice in those rare moments when they could affirm their old team's connection. No matter how long it had been, no matter if she had another master now, he was still her sensei after all. That was a worthy excuse to give up her life for him if nothing else. What kind of a student would she be to allow her sensei to die in her place? What kind of a medic would she be if their roles were reversed and he were the one dying in her arms?
That wasn't how she wanted to remember her sensei anyway.
This was much better.
She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. It probably would have been some comfort if she could feel it, just as the words he spoke would have been if she could hear him.
If she'd attempted to speak it would have been slurred unrecognizably due to the numbness of her tongue and the state of her hearing. Instead, then, she simply smiled at him. Her expression could do just that: express herself. Gratitude, so much gratitude for everything he'd done, for choosing her, for training her, for giving her all the chances she probably hadn't deserved at the time. For showing her the way ninja were supposed to be.
Contentment, if not happiness, that she could do this: that she could save him as he'd so often saved her instead.
Satisfaction. There were few better ways for a shinobi to die than fighting for and protecting their village and comrade. She could be satisfied she did her job well.
…What was the word?
There was a word she wanted.
It was like companionship, she thought, but that wasn't it.
It was like affection, but that wasn't it.
It was like respect, but no, that wasn't it.
What was she thinking about? She'd forgotten.
…
…There was a word.
…Thankful.
She was thankful. Had she thought that?
What did she want to express?
…
It seemed…very important.
Hm. She couldn't remember. Maybe it wasn't important.
She would have sighed, if she had any control of her body left. But that was fine. She didn't really need to. She'd done all she needed to.
For…
Oh, that was it.
Her comrade.