Medicine

Chapter 2

"Good afternoon, Hatake-san. Feel like gushing about your feelings today?" Shiori said by way of greeting after she had let Kakashi into her office the following week.

"Nope," Kakashi replied cheerfully with a fake smile. She shook her head and went to work at her desk while he went back to the couch like the previous week to read a book.

The week after that, Kakashi let himself in and threw himself on the couch after giving her a lazy greeting, making Shiori smirk in satisfaction to herself.

He was getting comfortable.

;

On the sixth week, Kakashi came into the room a few hours after having returned from a mission. His greeting was a little more halfhearted, and he let himself onto the couch much more carefully, as though he was favoring one side.

Shiori shot him a bored glance, "Hey, Kakashi-san, your mission went well?" she inquired. Kakashi nodded the affirmative and tried not to flinch.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you hurt? I can take a look if you want, maybe actually make this session about some sort of treatment," she suggested casually. Kakashi hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Well, I might as well put you to work once in a while," he casually joked.

Shiori tried to not let the triumph show on her face as she walked over and sat down beside him. She focused her chakra to her palms and put one on his back to run a diagnostic jutsu, frowning slightly. He wasn't too injured, but it looks like there was some serious bruising around his ribs, something that he shouldn't continue training with…

She sighed and put her hands on his side, focusing on healing the bruising. They sat silently for a few moments while she worked, and then she focused a bit on transferring a bit of her chakra to him - just enough to alleviate some of the chakra exhaustion he must've been feeling.

He grinned at her appreciatively as she finished and moved away, "Ah, that's much better, thank you, Shiori-san."

She gave him a ghost of a smile back, but rolled her eyes at him, "It would've been better for you to actually go check in to the hospital, have proper treatments done, keep your records updated…" she trailed off, cocking an eyebrow at him. His closed eye smile didn't change, so she sighed in exasperation at him, "but it is my pleasure to perform half-assed, off the books treatment for your convenience," she finished with a shake of her head.

To her surprise, Kakashi actually snorted before pulling out his book with a content look in his eye.

;

Shiori gave Anko a toothy grin while they parted ways. She was slick with sweat, and her short purple battle kimono was soaked through and stuck to her skin, but she felt invigorated. There was nothing quite like a ferocious training session after being stuck off duty for so long. Taking deep breaths, she decided to take the long way home, taking several detours through the training grounds, taking her time having a walk, enjoying her first day off in a while.

She eventually stumbled across training ground 3, where she slowed as she realized the grounds were not empty, and there was a man standing in front of the memorial stone with the setting sun behind him.

Not just any man though, because Kakashi's gravity-defying distinctive hair-do was identifiable from a mile away.

She silently approached, not wanting to disturb him. She watched his morose expression as he stared down at the names, and she frowned thoughtfully, "Oh, what I wouldn't give to get inside that head, Kakashi, and be the one to figure out what makes you tick."

She plastered on a lazy grin and walked up beside him, "Hey, Kakashi-san," she greeted pleasantly. Kakashi quickly turned to her, wearing a quick fake smile of his own.

"Ah, Shiori-san. How nice to see you outside of your natural habitat," he joked. Shiori bit back a retort, a little pleasantly surprised he was comfortable enough to make a joke at her.

"As much as I adore being cooped up with paperwork and patients all day, even I need to get outside sometimes. I'm starting to miss field work," she sighed.

"Ah, speaking of patients…"

She gave him a deadpan, unimpressed look as he chuckled nervously and held out his arm.

"I think I pulled a muscle the other day, could you…"

She sighed and walked up to him, and held his arm as she activated a simple healing jutsu. She was exasperated with him, but as a doctor, still glad that he had at least moved to occasionally letting her know he was injured and having her heal him.

"Thank you, Shiori-san," he said, this time with a genuine small little smile, "I don't know what I'd do if you returned to active duty. Where would I be without my personal little doctor?"

She sent him a reproachful look. She was fairly tall for a kunoichi at 5'7, so she wasn't much shorter than him. He just continued grinning at her.

She shook her head, but couldn't hold onto any actual irritation with him. Over the past two months, they had built up a comfortable level of companionship and banter. They weren't good friends by any means, but they were relaxed around each other, which was a pretty big step for someone like Kakashi.

They both looked back to the memorial stone silently. Kakashi's smile dropped which did not go unnoticed by Shiori. She quietly reflected on the memorial stone for a few minutes before she spoke, choosing her words carefully. She wanted to share information with Kakashi as a tool to earn his trust, but also because she enjoyed his company and didn't mind talking a bit about herself to continue bridging the gap between them.

"My parents are both on this stone. So is my genin team, including my sensei," she started, making Kakashi shoot his head towards her in surprise, single visible eye wide. She glanced at him with a small smile.

"I'm a medical ninja, but I couldn't really help any of them. My teammates both died in the war. I was beside them when it happened, but didn't have the skill to save them," she said sadly, but there was still a fond look in her eye.

"I do not know a single person who doesn't blame themselves for their close one's deaths somehow," she continued, making Kakashi's breath hitch in his throat. He was still watching her cautiously.

"I've had children as young as four who blamed themselves for not being able to protect their parents," she said, with a small chuckle. "As humans, we are quick to find fault within ourselves, and carry the heavy burden of guilt that most of the time does not rightfully belong to us.

"I have watched a lot of death, having worked as a medical ninja through two hugely disastrous events, and it really gave me perspective. Blaming ourselves is perhaps part of the grieving process, but it doesn't always make sense. I hated myself for not being able to save my teammates, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a single person who blamed me for it. What could I have done? I was a genin at the beginning of my medical training. I am sad to have lost them, but there's nothing I could've done or changed that would've resulted in their survival. They died protecting me, and protecting Konoha, and I know logically they wouldn't blame me either," she said, finally turning to him. He was surprised when she gave him a wide, hopeful smile, no sadness in her eyes.

"Sometimes, all we can do is our best. Because of their sacrifices, I'm alive, and I have been able to save many more lives in their place. I don't know a single Konoha ninja that wouldn't put their life on the line for a similar cause. It is my pleasure and honor to hold their memory in my heart and proudly continue onwards in their spirit."

Kakashi gaped at her. She had lost so many too, but she wasn't… sad. Or if she was, she was lying very well. How could she lose her whole team and be so at peace with it? Could he be like that?

Before his thoughts could go further, she let out a loud yawn, and stretched her arms above her head.

"Ah, sorry, I'm rambling, you should've stopped me, I'm a therapist, we're really good at babbling on and giving positive anecdotes about life. I've probably interrupted you enough now, I'm sweaty and could really use some dinner after training," she said, giving him another dazzling smile.

Kakashi blinked at her, unsure what to think. Was she trying to get inside his head, or was she really just so friendly and open when she wanted to be? He could never tell with the Yamanakas. Still, there was something about her smile, and the sincere look in her eyes…

"Right… Well, thanks, Shiori-san. I'll see you in a few days I guess," he said with a half-hearted smile. She grinned back and gave him a small wave, before turning on her heel and walking away.

Kakashi watched her leave out of his peripherals until she had completely disappeared from the training ground.