Kakashi aims to reach Konoha by six in the morning. He wakes up much earlier than that, woken by the sound of thunder, after a grand total of four hours of sleep.
Groggily, he stares at the ceiling for a bit, debating going back to sleep, before deciding he's slept enough and pushing himself up on his elbows. Rising early gives him some more time to prepare, and on days like these, over-preparing is impossible.
He eats some rice and egg for breakfast – a cold and bland meal, but he welcomes it regardless – and takes his meds. He does not feel awake yet, but he doesn't waste energy on forcing himself awake. Each bit of energy he can spare now is energy he can use later.
As he waits for the fever meds to kick in, he seals all of the stuff in the room – including his backpack – into a scroll. It costs a bit of chakra, but the result is worth it: he'd much rather carry a scroll than a heavy backpack. He remembers how much pressure the backpack put on his side, and how much that hurt.
He takes his time warming up his stiff muscles; stretching his legs, rolling his shoulders, digging his thumb into the knots on either side of his spine. His back especially is far more sore than he'd realized. Spending two weeks bedridden is an experience he's familiar with, but it seems that spending two weeks lying on the ground is another thing entirely.
He's starting to properly feel awake at this point, and with the wakefulness comes anxiety. His brain insists on running each and every risk of what he's about to do by him again, each flaw in his plan. Last time he tried to enter Konoha, he ran into two jounin, got stabbed and almost died as a result. There's a significant chance that something like that will happen again today – and this time, he has the disadvantage of being in even worse physical condition.
Exasperated, Kakashi closes his eyes and sits in the middle of the empty room for a moment, trying to calm the rising wave of adrenaline. Sure, he's about to waltz directly into dangerous territory while he's in terrible shape, again – but the reason why that didn't work last time, was because he'd overestimated himself. He denied that he was sick, and he insisted on trying to enter Konoha the way he always did, even though he was far too weak for that.
This time, he won't make those same mistakes. This time, his plan is built with his current weaknesses in mind. There are still risks, of course – no plan survives contact with the enemy, after all – but he's at least being realistic. He knows he won't be able to fight or run or maintain a jutsu for very long. The fact that he can't breathe well and hasn't moved in weeks, combined with the pain in his side and the lingering chakra exhaustion, will make him slow. The broken wrist will make it hard to sign quickly, and the fever will make it hard to think fast. He can't force those weaknesses to disappear, but he can try to work around them.
He's taken the time to prepare. In theory, this shouldn't end as badly as last time. He's ready. He's ready to set his plan into motion.
With careful, slow movements, he folds his hands into the signs for a henge. Normally when he visits Konoha, he transforms into some nondescript civilian – but that might be too risky now, since the shinobi are trying to find out who killed their jounin and would probably be suspicious of a civilian they don't know. He needs to transform into someone they already trust.
Thankfully, Kakashi has recently copied a Konoha shinobi's face with his Sharingan: Naruto's Iruka-sensei would make a pretty good disguise. The greatest risk would be running into Iruka himself, but since he's an Academy teacher, he likely wouldn't be on duty this early in the morning.
The henge doesn't take up much chakra; the more you change about your body, the more chakra it costs, but Iruka is roughly the same height and body shape as Kakashi. His chakra signature is different, though, which could be a problem if Kakashi runs into someone who knows Iruka and who is able to sense chakra.
Trying to imitate Iruka's chakra signature during the whole walk to Konoha would be dangerously tiring. Kakashi decides to only hide his own chakra signature instead. If someone actually gets nearby enough to sense the lack of chakra, he can still put effort into imitating Iruka's chakra signature then.
He sighs and opens his eye. He should get going, before he loses his nerve.
It's easier than he'd expected to crawl through the tunnel. His side complains and he's a bit short of breath, but it's manageable if he takes it slow.
A flash of lightning and the rushing sound of rain greet him at the top of the tunnel, and he pauses to catch his breath and to stretch out his senses in search of anyone nearby. There's no one here, he concludes. Just him.
Finally, he crawls out into the darkness.
The rain hammers down on him. His clothes are soaked in seconds. It's cold, but he doesn't mind; the adrenaline and the effort of moving have already left his skin far too warm. He'll have to make sure he dries his clothes afterwards, though. He learned his lesson after Rain.
He braces his hand on his knee and exhales. Time to get up, carefully. He's more than familiar with the weakness that comes with spending weeks lying down; he knows to take it easy if he wants to avoid falling over.
Slowly, he pushes himself upright. He knows to expect the headrush; when his vision starts to blur, he braces a hand on a nearby tree and turns to lean his back against it, panting. His legs are trembling and his side is complaining, but at least he's on his feet.
He stands there for a while, breathing in the cold air through his nose and out through his mouth. He hadn't realized before how stifling the air had been underground. The fresh air clears his head a little.
He straightens up, letting his shoulders relax. With practiced ease, he lets all signs of visible weakness melt away. He is not Kakashi, missing-nin, who is barely able to stand on his feet and whose side hurts like Hell. He is Iruka, Academy teacher, who is perfectly healthy and who is maybe a little tired from getting up this early to check on Naruto's dog.
With a confident nod, he bids his hiding spot farewell and sets off towards Konoha.
The storm, as it turns out, is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, the pouring rain washes away his tracks and scent, and the near-deafening claps of thunder offer a much-needed cover for his coughing fits. On the other hand, though, his lungs pretty quickly decide that they do not like all of this moisture in the air, and his brain pretty quickly decides that it does not like all of the noise that's happening around him, and his feet keep slipping in the mud. He keeps his breaths slow and his steps heavy, and he stands still as often as he dares to wipe his hair out of his face and rub his aching head.
Distantly, he's glad he knows these woods. He knows exactly where he is at any given moment, and how much farther it is to Naruto's apartment. He knows that Konoha's wall is the halfway point; from there, he'll only need to walk around the outside of the village to the front gate, and from the gate, it's only a few minutes to the kid's apartment. He keeps his gaze on the wall with every flash of lightning.
He's almost made it to the wall when a wave of lightheadedness comes over him. It's nothing new, and it's nothing he can't handle – but it makes his focus waver, and his foot slips out from underneath him. The next moment, he's sitting flat on his butt in the mud.
The impact jolts the wound in his side; the pain makes the rattling of the rain sound suddenly distant. Kakashi curls his hand into a tight fist, trying to shake off the daze. His vision won't quite focus and it's freaking him out.
He's still busy trying to ground himself when he spots something out of the corner of his eye. It's immediately gone again, and it's tempting to think that he imagined it, but Kakashi knows his instincts better than that. Carefully, he releases his best imitation of Iruka's chakra signature; if whoever that was comes nearby enough, they'll sense it. The strain on his chakra makes his limbs feel a bit numb.
Lightning flashes. Kakashi squints, trying to catch another glimpse of what he just saw.
It's a Konoha ANBU mask, staring down at him from the trees above.
He clamps down on his panic, keeping his shoulders relaxed. He's Iruka, he reminds himself. He's Iruka, Academy teacher. ANBU don't usually interact much with other Konoha shinobi. If he's lucky, the ANBU will just continue on their way.
The ANBU shifts a bit, seeming out of their element now that they've been spotted. To Kakashi's horror, they then hop down to the ground and walk towards him. Their body language is cautious, though ANBU tend to be cautious about everything.
"That was a nasty fall," a woman's voice says from behind the mask. "You okay?"
Despite everything, Kakashi manages a convincing embarrassed laugh. "Uh, yeah, I'm all right," he replies, forcing everything he's observed about Iruka to the front of his mind. "Thanks for your concern, ANBU-san."
The ANBU gives a non-committal hum and steps closer, holding out her hand. Kakashi takes it and lets her pull him upright, because rejecting the polite gesture would just make him look suspicious.
He's already on his feet when he realizes he made a mistake.
He was not ready to get up yet.
His vision dims immediately, the rushing of the rain fading. His knees buckle underneath his weight. Damn it, he's overestimated himself again- He's made the same damn mistake as before-
He can feel his consciousness slipping. Pure willpower and nothing else keeps him from passing out immediately.
In the struggle, his control over his chakra loosens.
The henge stays.
The fake chakra signature does not.
Next thing he knows, he's throwing himself backwards to dodge a Water ninjutsu. Somehow, he has the clarity of mind to roll across his shoulder when he lands, ending in a crouch instead of on his back. His side hurts. His vision won't focus. He shoves it all to the back of his mind.
Another Water ninjutsu – another blade made of rainwater, broad like a sword – rushes diagonally towards his face. He jerks his head to the side just in time. The water misses his ear by a hair's breadth.
His left hand has grabbed a kunai by now, just in time to block the ANBU's tantou. She's hurled herself at him, using her ninjutsu as a cover.
They stand face to face now, both straining against each other's blades. A flash of lightning illuminates the ANBU's eyes, behind her mask. She's staring into Kakashi's eyes, defiant.
She's staring into Kakashi's eyes.
She doesn't know about the Sharingan.
Kakashi has put her under genjutsu before the flash of lightning has ended.
He loses his balance with the sudden drain on his chakra, and drops backwards into the cold mud. The ANBU stares at him blankly for a moment, then puts away her tantou, turns around and leaves.
Kakashi lowers his head to the ground, his chest heaving and his left eye throbbing sharply. He's dizzy and his entire body hurts, but he could genuinely cry from relief. For a moment there, he'd been terrified he was going to die. It's an unfamiliar feeling; apparently, he dislikes the idea of leaving Naruto by himself so much that his brain has invented a new emotion for it.
He pushes his relief to the back of his mind; he has no use for it, not yet. He's not in Konoha yet. He could still run into trouble on the way there.
…With that in mind, he should probably catch his breath before he continues.
He applies a quick chakra-concealing seal to a nearby tree and hides himself in the undergrowth for a while, letting go of the tight control he'd held over his chakra. The fight – however short it was – took more out of him than he'd initially realized, and it takes some time before he no longer feels like he's on the verge of passing out. The nauseating pain around his left eye stays, as does the throbbing in his side, but he should be able to handle that. It's not very much farther to Naruto's apartment. He can push the pain to the back of his mind for a bit longer.
As soon as he feels somewhat confident in his ability to stay upright, he transforms into Iruka again and continues on his way. His legs feel numb, but he keeps his balance by bracing his hand against the wall. He feels like crap, but it could be worse. This was never going to be easy. He knew that beforehand.
The front gate comes into view sooner than he'd expected, and he realizes that he's been zoning out for the past ten minutes. Out of sight, he pauses to catch his breath. This is either going to be the easiest or the hardest part of today, and it all depends on his ability to focus.
If the guards believe he's Iruka, they'll just let him walk in. If they don't, well… either he'll be killed on sight, or he'll be arrested, at which point he'd be at Hiruzen's mercy. Judging by what Naruto said, Hiruzen wants him alive, but Kakashi isn't sure whether he trusts that enough to risk it.
He takes a breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts. He knows this village, and that will help him. He knows the guards' night shift ended a little while ago. If he can convince the day shift that Iruka went out to the forest about an hour earlier, they'd probably assume the night shift saw him leave and just didn't report it – which is a perfectly reasonable assumption to make, since it's early in the morning, it was the end of their shift and it wasn't crucial to report that one of their own shinobi had gone outside.
He knows this village. He has a plan. He uses henge all the time.
Quickly, he releases his imitation of Iruka's chakra signature and walks towards the gate.
Two guards are sitting in the small building off to the side of the gate, chatting with each other. They're not really paying attention – for a moment, Kakashi thinks they're just going to let him walk in, but then, one of the guards looks over and spots him.
"Morning, Iruka," he says around a yawn. "What're you up so early for?"
"Are they making Academy teachers do patrols now, too?" the other guard asks. "That's brutal."
They know Iruka, then. Possibly, they're friends – the guards seem around Iruka's age, so they might've even been Academy classmates. The familiarity makes Kakashi's heart skip an anxious beat, but he doesn't let it show.
"Ah, no, no patrols for me," Kakashi replies easily, walking over to duck underneath the roof of the building and lean his hip against the wall. "One of my students asked me to take care of something, and I wanted to get it done before school."
The guards raise their eyebrows. "Was it Naruto?" one of them asks. At Kakashi's wary nod, he muses: "Guess that makes sense – we're under orders to keep him inside the village right now. We've been so curious about what he was doing in the woods."
"It's probably just some sort of mischief," the other guard says with an indifferent wave of his hand. "Since the Hokage stepped in, it's probably pretty serious mischief, too. Just be careful the kid doesn't drag you into his trouble, Iruka."
Hot fury rises in Kakashi's chest, so intense it briefly blurs his vision. When he speaks, his tone is clipped.
"He's been taking care of a stray dog for the past weeks," he replies, "and he's been risking his safety and his financial stability to do so. The Hokage simply thought it was too dangerous. If Naruto hadn't asked me for help, the dog would've died."
Kakashi has no idea whether Iruka would defend his student like that. He hopes he would, both for the sake of Kakashi's disguise and for Naruto's sake.
He has startled the guards into shutting up, though, so at least his minor outburst was effective in that sense. He clears his throat. "I'm going back to sleep for another hour," he says, stepping back into the rain. "I'll see you later."
The guards murmur goodbyes as well, and they let Kakashi walk into the village.
The relief makes his head feel like it's filled with static; he makes his way to Naruto's apartment building in a daze. When he's able to focus again, he's on the top floor of the apartment building, standing in front of a door. Naruto's door.
He knocks.
The long silence that follows makes his stomach feel cold with dread, but then, he hears footsteps shuffle up to the door. Kakashi rests his gaze on the peephole in the door, imagining Naruto standing on his toes to look through it on the other side.
"Iruka-sensei?" he asks, his voice still crackly with sleep. "What're you doing here?"
Kakashi smiles at him with Iruka's face. "Not Iruka," he says. "This is Dog."
There's a long pause. "No way," Naruto decides.
Kakashi very carefully releases the henge around his left eye – just enough to reveal the Sharingan and wink at Naruto with it.
The door flies open, revealing Naruto, barefoot and in his pajamas. He stares at Kakashi for a moment, his mouth open.
"No way!" he exclaims, and the next moment, he's clinging to Kakashi in an ecstatic embrace. Kakashi rests his hand on the kid's head, closing his eyes with a tired relief.
His mind is quiet, he notices, and he finds that that surprises him. Every interaction with Naruto so far had been accompanied by some sort of negative feeling: guilt, sorrow, fear about messing up and getting this kid killed. Right now, though, those feelings are absent. It's very tempting to find that scary in its own right, but Kakashi doesn't let himself care about that right now.
He's sure he'll find reasons to be anxious again later on. Hiding in the middle of a Hidden Village won't be without danger. It's inevitable that he'll worry about Naruto's safety, and his own.
But for now, he simply holds Naruto close and appreciates this small victory.
