Chapter VIII

An Ephemeral Hope

After the storm, calm and silence are kings.

Sighs of relief are heaved simultaneously.

However, this peaceful stillness is ephemeral.

Like me, Lady Tsunade notices that one of Naruto's wounds has reopened, one being on his abdomen. The blood quickly soaks his clothes and the loss of hemoglobin only makes the whiteness of his tanned skin even paler. His forehead is sweaty, implying a high fever… It's only then that I note how boiling he is, as if I were holding a cup of water dangerously hot.

I gently lower Naruto on his back before giving way to the Hokage. Armed with compresses, she tries to silence the bleeding… Watching her, I raise an eyebrow.

"Why don't you use your medical ninjutsu?" I ask.

A silence. Focused on my student, she doesn't return the slightest glance when she finally deigns to answer me. "It doesn't work on him… We still don't know why."

Astonishment overcomes me. I can understand that it's difficult to heal all wounds and that depending on the severity of the latter, it may be impossible … but still. To say that even the exceptional talents of the legendary Sannin she is doesn't have the slightest effect on the simplest of wounds… I am speechless.

"Call the medical team to take care of the injured!" orders Godaime, whose hazel eyes don't deviate from the unconscious teenager. "The others make themselves useful!"

While my comrades-in-arms get to work, I stand up to lend them a hand… However, I feel dizzy and nearly collapse. A violent tinnitus twists my eardrums and I press my palms against my ears which only hear this shrill buzzing. While the whole thing is accompanied by an excruciating headache, my vision blurs, seeing only abstract silhouettes turning into a mirage. Before I can understand what is happening to me, I fall backwards. The shock further disorients all my altered senses. My body, so heavy and cold, trembles and shivers.

These abstract shapes above me, I don't recognize them; the echo of their voices seeming to pronounce my name either. I feel so bad, so sick … although the pain doesn't last as my skin goes numb. Between the path of consciousness and unconsciousness, black stars dance before my eyes for the duration of a breath.

I sink into darkness.

- XXX -

With a start, I open my eyes. Dazed, I take a long time to analyze the place in which I am. I am in a hospital bed, in the middle of four white walls that I cannot stand of contemplating. Unnecessarily, I think back to those many bedridden periods when I abused the use of my Sharingan. Beyond the window on my right, the sun has already begun to set.

I flinch and cringe as the pain hit my sweaty body, including my sore, overworked chakra network. I mistreated them mercilessly; I feel like a fire is travelling through my chakra veins…

"You're finally awake, Kakashi-sensei?"

That voice… Turning my head to the left, I recognize Sakura, sitting at my bedside. Her face is stern. She looks at me disapprovingly. Coming from her, that doesn't bode well. I expect a sermon from her.

"Sa… Sakura…"

"I don't think it's necessary to tell you that you've overworked yourself yet again," she snaps, her eyes glued to a report in her hands.

Of course. I am fully aware of this given the state in which I find myself.

"Sorry," I whisper flatly, knowing that my apologies were worthless. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Almost two days."

"I see…"

I thought I woke up a few hours after my faint, but I was wrong. The intensive training that I had imposed on myself—worthy of rivalry with those wacky of Gai—I am hardly surprised to be in a bad state. My body was exhausted, still is, and desperately needed rest. While I am struck by the suffering, memories about Naruto don't take long to resurface.

I had almost forgotten that he was finally safe in the village, alive, in flesh and blood after more than a month kidnapped and held captive I don't know where. His absence made me sick until I lost myself. I feel as if I woke up from a long, deep slumber; I practically have no memory of that time spent wandering in the darkness. On my arms, my skin, I still perceive the body of the teenager nestled against mine. It's such that I imagine myself hugging him a second time. I should be happy, relieved… However, this is hardly the case; I am dying of worry.

Those flames, that feral beast-like temper, that weird tail…

I dive into my thoughts, I see the scene unfolding before my eyes and everything seems to come out of a horror movie. What torments me the most in this tumult of questions is his sudden use of the fire release. Since the nature of his chakra is wind and he has only recently mastered it, I am amazed that he can use this other nature of the chakra with such finesse, as if it were innate for him and that he had trained for years to perfect his techniques. Of course, these are far from the only questions that overload my brain.

Sakura must have been made aware of this whole thing. Knowing her, she wouldn't sit idly; this Sakura who lacked self-confidence, from this time when the trio was complete, is a thing of the past after all.

"And Naruto? How is he?"

A silence.

She looks away, so as to no longer have me in her field of vision; an evil rages in her heart. It's not good. My worries turn into anxieties, then into fears. No. Impossible that Naruto succumbed to his injuries, not being in the hands of Lord Hokage herself.

I refuse to think about it.

I heard his heart beating, he's alive.

"He's fine… I mean, that's what Master Tsunade told me," Sakura mutters, looking back at me and thus, breaking the unbearable tension.

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto was put in an isolation room, in the same department where they put prisoners who need treatment. In addition, she severely limited contact with him. Even I don't have the right to approach him, or even see him…"

My student lets out a sigh. According to her pout, this must hurt her greatly. She's part of Team 7 like Naruto. The two know each other and are very close. And yet, she was removed from the case. This radical and unusual decision by Lady Tsunade surprises me; it's not her style… Although I don't like that Naruto is put in a cell as if he were a criminal, I understand that the situation requires it; the violence he showed during his most chaotic awakening explains this choice. Caution prevails; better safe than sorry.

"Do we have any news on what happened to him?" I ask.

"No, not yet," she replies, shaking her head. "We did find something in his blood, but we can't identify what it is. We would need more samples, but…"

"But...?"

"We can't do them."

Her words imply that Naruto is awake. Why is the medical unit not able to draw his blood? Or even put him under sedation if he's agitated and therefore make things easier? Could it be that Naruto continues to lose his temper like last time? That he pushes away with as much violence anyone who approaches him? The blond's personality is gentle, friendly; a ball of sunshine that illuminates the day of others by his mere presence. He manages to gain the trust of others, and does so with uncanny ease. He likes human contact and is very extroverted by nature. So much mistrust and aggressiveness coming from him are not normal…

Lost in my thoughts, I am suddenly struck by an epiphany.

"Would Naruto have amnesia by any chance?"

Sakura's face speaks for itself. She doesn't have to confirm it to me with words. I hit the bull's-eye…

"I see."

An inexpressible evil pierces my heart.

Despite the sharp pain that inflames my whole being, I draw on my last strength to get up. My trembling arms struggle to hold me; I lost weight, but my body is so heavy that it weighs tons…

"Kakashi-sensei, you must stay calm!" Sakura tells me in a stern tone, ready to catch me. "Your state doesn't allow it! You must rest!"

Saying so, she tries to force me to lie down. However, I clap her hands with the back of mine in order to push her away, indicating that I don't intend to bend to her will. It's my turn to look at her and make her understand that my decision is irrevocable. If I can sit, I can stand on my own two feet and walk.

This situation bothers me too much to find the land of dreams that my body desperately craves. I cannot stay in the dark and gnaw my blood to the marrow. Naruto needs help. He needs all the help he can get and I intend to help him beyond my capabilities; for him, I am ready to do anything. This fire that ignites in my heart feeds this fierce determination in me. I ignore the pain and find the strength to go beyond the limits imposed by my own self.

"I'm going there whether you like it or not, Sakura," I dryly say.

I slip my feet into slippers while my student watches me with concern; her sealed throat is a ban on speaking. I understand her worries about me, but I am enslaved to my anxieties. Since I will come back to sleep here, willy-nilly, I don't bother with my shinobi outfit, including my forehead protector.

I take a deep breath, then give myself a swing. Standing, my legs wobble a few seconds before stabilizing. Once again, I wave an arm to forbid Sakura from helping me. By the force of my will, I manage to silence the suffering that shelters me as I know how to do when the situation requires it. Quickly, I stop shaking.

"You must probably know it, but I was the one who appeased Naruto's fury. I refuse to stand there with my arms crossed, waiting when he's the one who needs the most help. My case will wait."

She shares the same sentiment as me, but her logic and her role as a medical-nin scream at her to put me back in my bed. However, her emotions take precedence and are stronger than reason.

"All right. I'm coming with you," she nods.

I nod and follow the rhythm of her steps. I feel as if I were walking on broken glass … although I walk with a firm and confident step. I don't slow down nor let Sakura outrun me.