Kakashi has lost track of how long it's been since Naruto left.

He feels like it's been an hour, maybe two, maybe longer, though it's difficult to know for sure when his sense of time is distorted by nausea and dizziness. Kakashi is certain Naruto should've been back by now, though. If his memory serves him well, the pharmacy is barely ten minutes away from here.

There's an anxiety in the pit of Kakashi's stomach that grows with every minute that passes – an anxiety that steadily becomes just as bothersome as the nausea. Naruto had still been recovering from having the chakra-concealing seal applied to him when he left. He said he was fine, but for all Kakashi knows, he's collapsed somewhere on his way to the pharmacy. And as though that idea isn't awful enough, someone could've taken him to the hospital, which means the seal could be discovered on top of everything else.

Or – and this is an even worse thought – maybe their fragile cover finally got blown. Maybe someone got suspicious of Naruto and had him taken in for interrogation. Kakashi imagines Naruto in the hands of the T&I department, and his stomach twists unpleasantly.

He groans quietly at the new wave of nausea, pressing his forehead into the crook of his elbow. He's still kneeling on the bathroom floor, in the same spot he was when Naruto left – in the same spot he's been since several hours before that, actually. In that whole time, he's only moved to put his sweater back on because he got cold, and he's still lightheaded from that simple action. The pain in his side is messing him up bad.

In any case, he can't imagine that he'll be able to get up any time soon. Whatever it is that's causing Naruto to be late, Kakashi won't be able to help him.

He focuses on his breathing until he feels like he's no longer actively in danger of puking his guts out, and then he sits up a little and wipes his sweat-soaked hair out of his face. Maybe the constant pain is making him overreact, blurring his judgement, but he really doesn't like the fact that Naruto's been gone for so long. He may not be able to go and look for him himself, but he can send someone in his stead. He should have recovered just enough of his chakra for it.

Closing his eyes against the headrush, he raises his hands, which are covered in dried blood, and signs. When he opens his eye, he's successfully summoned one of his ninken.

Guruko sits in front of him – as the most recent addition to the pack, he's the safest ninken for this job, because that means the people of Konoha won't recognize him as one of Kakashi's.

"I've got a mission for you," Kakashi croaks out, reaching out a hand to untie Guruko's vest. He'd stopped putting his signature henohenomoheji on the dogs' vests a long time ago, but he feels like the vest would still draw too much attention here. In this case, it'd probably be safest for all involved parties if Guruko could be mistaken for a stray. "Would you mind finding someone for me? A boy named Naruto. Sniff anything in this apartment and track down the scent, and bring him back here. If he's in danger, report back to me immediately. And make sure you don't talk when you're outside."

Guruko nods his head, his eyebrows drawing together. "Got it," he replies, stepping forward to put a paw on Kakashi's knee. "You sure you don't need me to find medical supplies as well? You don't look so good."

Kakashi gestures at the contents of the first-aid kit, which are spread haphazardly around him on the floor. "Plenty of medical supplies here."

"Clearly they haven't been enough to actually help you," Guruko protests. Kakashi tiredly rests his hand on his head.

"Naruto is my first priority," he replies quietly. "Find him first. We'll see about my own problems later."

Guruko looks like he wants to protest, but he doesn't. Kakashi lifts his hand from his head, and he's off.

Kakashi closes his eyes for a while after that, exhausted and relatively at ease now that he's done something at least. Eventually, the silence is broken by footsteps in the hallway outside the front door.

That's… quick. He thinks. Guruko wouldn't have brought Naruto back this soon, would he?

Instinctively, he focuses on sensing the chakra signatures of whoever's in the hallway – and his blood freezes in his veins.

Shinobi. Two of them. And there's one more outside the kitchen window, and another one outside the bedroom window.

Damn it, no, not now.

He holds his breath, trying to slow down his racing heart, trying to convince his exhausted brain to think. He knows Naruto put booby traps along the front door and the windows, but they likely won't be enough to scare off four adult shinobi. Kakashi never added any booby traps of his own, because advanced traps around a ten-year-old's apartment would've confirmed that there's someone here who put those advanced traps there. That would've done more harm than good.

Naruto's traps might distract the shinobi long enough for Kakashi to make an escape – which had been his plan in case something like this happened – but he does not think he'll be able to run fast enough in his current condition.

So the shinobi will likely make it into the apartment, and they will find him here. He knows he won't win a fight, and he doesn't think he has enough chakra left for any jutsu powerful enough to prevent a fight.

A loud crack sounds from the hallway; the shinobi are forcing the front door open. What follows are a clatter, the sound of someone yelping, and a bright flash of light that slams its way into the bathroom through the space underneath the door. That must've been Naruto's trap. Kakashi has little time before the distraction stops working.

He draws in a breath, steeling himself. He doesn't have enough chakra left for powerful jutsu, but he has enough for a smaller one. Maybe that'll be enough.

Quickly, he forms the signs for a henge. He's very familiar with the person he transforms into; he's able to copy him flawlessly. The blond hair, the marks on his face, the way he frowns when he feels like he's been wronged.

He's not Hatake Kakashi – he's Naruto, who's sitting miserably at home because he's sick and who's completely undeserving of getting his front door kicked in. He's Naruto, and these shinobi had better believe it.

He hides away his chakra signature as well, and not a moment too soon; a pair of loud footsteps stomps into the apartment. Another pair of footsteps follows, more slowly. Kakashi can hear the shinobi rummaging about in the other rooms. He imagines them turning what few belongings Naruto has upside down, and he lets that anger seep into his voice when he speaks, the way Naruto would.

"Hey," Kakashi calls out in Naruto's voice. The way his voice cracks with exhaustion isn't faked. "What's all this about?"

Almost immediately, the bathroom door is yanked open. A shinobi storms into the bathroom, takes a split-second glance at Kakashi, drags him to his feet by the front of his sweater and slams him against the wall. Every shampoo bottle in the room rattles from the force; Kakashi's side sends a jolt of pain through his entire upper body.

The look of shock on his face is genuine. "What-"

The shinobi brings his face close to Kakashi's, teeth bared. His breath smells like an ashtray. "You're the little shit who's been helping the bastard that killed my sisters," he hisses. "I should've beaten the Hell out of you the moment you came to my door. How dare you ask me for help?"

Kakashi barely has a clue what he's talking about, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that this shinobi knows that Naruto has been helping Kakashi. He should not have that information.

Someone talked. Damn it, Kakashi should've known. Their cover had all kinds of holes in it.

No time to think about that. Kakashi bares his teeth right back at the shinobi. "What the Hell are you talking about?" he replies, his voice strangled because he's being held up by the collar of his sweater. "I don't know any bastards that killed your sisters."

The shinobi stares him directly in the face, and Kakashi considers using his Sharingan on him, but reluctantly decides against it. Even if he managed to put this shinobi under genjutsu, he would still have to deal with the other three shinobi – one inside the apartment, two on their way. There's a couple of shuriken in his pocket and a kunai up his sleeve, but most of his weapons are in his backpack, hidden in the bedroom. Adding his meagre amount of chakra to that- He'd get himself killed.

The stare-down might've been intimidating if Kakashi had been an actual Academy student; the shinobi has a decidedly wild look in his eyes. It's certainly not the look of someone who's following orders, which makes Kakashi think these shinobi are here without the Hokage's knowledge of it. That idea does worry him.

During the silence, two more pairs of footsteps enter the apartment. The other shinobi must've left the windows alone once they realized the place is booby trapped. The shinobi who'd already been inside talks to them, quietly; Kakashi can't make out any words but he recognizes that this is the voice that yelped earlier. A kunoichi responds, sounding worried.

The kunoichi enters the bathroom soon afterwards, takes in the scene, and sighs. "I leave you alone for two seconds and you're beating up a pre-genin," she says to the shinobi, shaking her head. She seems older than he is. Kakashi wonders why she isn't the one in charge.

He scoffs, not breaking eye contact with Kakashi. "This particular pre-genin deserves to be beaten up way worse than this."

"Yeah, well," the woman replies, "could you put the kid down for a minute? Your nephew has glass in his eye. He could use your help."

There must've been sharp objects involved in Naruto's trap at the front door. Effective.

The shinobi's mouth tightens. "Is his life actively in danger?"

"No, but-"

"Then he can wait."

"Noboru-"

"He can wait! Leave me alone so I can interrogate this little traitor!" The shinobi – Noboru – turns his head to snap at the kunoichi. Kakashi takes the chance to make eye contact with her as well, his expression pleading, scared, innocent. If he's right and she has some power over Noboru, then she might be able to convince him to leave Kakashi alone. That would be a major help.

The kunoichi looks between him and Noboru, frowning. "Noboru," she starts again, her voice stern. "There's no one here. All of our information comes from hearsay – from someone who said that someone said that the missing-nin might be here. That the kid might have helped him." She puts one hand on her hip. "I'll interrogate the kid. You go make sure your sister's son doesn't go blind."

"There's no one here," Noboru mutters, like he hasn't processed anything she said past that, and he turns his wild gaze towards Kakashi again. "Speak! Where is Hatake Kakashi?"

Kakashi's stomach lurches painfully in response to that. These shinobi know they're looking for him specifically – not some nameless missing-nin, but him. It takes effort to clamp down on his alarm.

"I don't know," he says, his eyes wide. "I don't know that name."

"Liar!" Noboru slams him against the wall again. "You're clearly hiding something. What're you hiding?"

Kakashi makes no effort to hide his pain; he still clings to the hope that he can get them to believe he's innocent. He takes a few gasping breaths. "Nothing," he breathes.

"Then why did you put booby traps at every entrance of your apartment?" Noboru tightens his hand in the fabric of Kakashi's sweater when he doesn't immediately reply. "Answer me!"

Kakashi squeezes his eyes shut, trying to catch his breath. The words on his tongue burn; second-hand bitterness. "If your entire village hated you," he whispers, "wouldn't you try to protect yourself from intruders, too?"

"Okay, that's enough," the kunoichi decides, grabbing Noboru's shoulder. "I get that you want revenge for your sisters' deaths – I really get it – but taking out your anger on a kid isn't the way. He clearly doesn't know anything. We've hit a dead end, Noboru. I'm sorry."

Kakashi's eyes sting with relief. He can get out of this. More importantly, he's convinced them that Naruto is innocent, which means that Naruto's apartment will likely be left alone.

There's a split second of thoughtfulness in Noboru's eyes before it's replaced by fury. He pulls one hand back, still pinning Kakashi to the wall with his other hand, and Kakashi knows exactly what's coming.

Noboru yells, and punches him directly in the diaphragm.

He doesn't hit Kakashi's side, but it's more than close enough. Agony explodes through his entire upper body, red-hot and overwhelming. It briefly steals away his vision. Kakashi had anticipated the pain, but that doesn't make it better.

Somehow, he manages to stay in control over his chakra – every sign that he's Hatake Kakashi remains hidden. Even when Noboru lets him fall to the ground and his legs refuse to carry his weight. Even when he blindly drags himself to his hands and knees and vomits on the floor, and when the violent movement of his abdomen send more waves of pain through his side. He doesn't care that he's showing weakness. He's willing to give up any and all control over his body if it means that he gets to keep his chakra control.

Over the roaring in his ears, he can hear Noboru turn away from him. The kunoichi stays where she is. Kakashi can feel her eyes on him.

"Don't look so shocked," Noboru tells her harshly. "Even if this kid didn't help a missing-nin, he's still a monster. I'm sure he did something to deserve a beating."

Kakashi is furiously glad that this isn't happening to the real Naruto. He vowed to avoid killing whenever possible, but if he'd seen Naruto being treated like this, he's not sure he would've been able to stop himself.

He pants raggedly, still on his hands and knees on the floor. The pain in his side doesn't stop.

"Noboru," he hears the kunoichi say, sounding alarmed, "what did you do to the kid? He's bleeding."

Not good. Kakashi knows he should focus, now. He's so lightheaded-

"I didn't-" Noboru starts, then cuts himself off. "We were told that Hatake Kakashi is injured. This isn't the Jinchuuriki."

Before Kakashi fully realizes what's happened, he's already been slammed onto his back and pinned against the floor, Noboru's hands squeezing his throat. Kakashi takes a half-second to close his eyes, resigned.

There went his chance at getting out of this without violence.

Gritting his teeth, he reaches for the mess of first-aid supplies on the floor, grabs a handful, and hurls it into Noboru's eyes. It only blinds him for a moment. That's long enough.

Kakashi lets the kunai in his sleeve slide into his hand and stabs him in the lung.

The kunoichi immediately runs up to help, shouting. Kakashi lets go of his henge and kicks Noboru off him, rolling onto his hands and knees again.

He dodges the kunoichi's blade once, then twice, and then he finds an opening to slam himself against her middle and tackle her to the floor. Her head bounces off the edge of the bathtub. She doesn't get up.

A shuriken grazes his shoulder from behind; the noise must've alerted the other two shinobi. They're hiding in the hallway.

He ducks out of the way of three more shuriken, then grabs his own shuriken from his pocket and throws them into the hallway. One hits something with a squelching noise. Someone screams; the same voice that had yelped before, the nephew.

The fourth shinobi curses loudly. The next moment, a Wind ninjutsu rushes into the bathroom – a blast strong enough to yank Kakashi to his feet and slam him against the wall again. The impact knocks the air out of him, blurs his vision. He can't breathe.

Someone punches him in the face – the fourth shinobi. Kakashi raises his kunai, but he's too slow. The shinobi wrenches the weapon from his grip and pins his hand against the wall.

Another punch to his face follows, then another. It's hard to think while someone's actively trying to knock him out. Another punch. He should be fighting back, but he's barely aware of his own body. Another punch. Stars in his vision. He should be fighting back-

His right hand is free, he realizes with a start. The shinobi doesn't think it's a threat because it's splinted. His right hand is free.

With a shout, Kakashi grabs the shinobi by the front of his uniform, drags him to the side and pushes him against the wall. Teeth bared, he presses his right forearm against the shinobi's throat.

The shinobi keeps his grasp on Kakashi's left hand. With his other hand, he tries to grab a kunai, but the lack of oxygen messes with his coordination. He only scrabbles at his weapons pouch with his fingernails.

Kakashi stares into his eyes, panting through his teeth like an animal. His wrist is sending brand-new waves of pain up his arm, and his side is bleeding again, and his nose is probably broken – but he fought four shinobi and he's not dead. He hadn't thought he'd get this far. He needs to think about what to do next.

He needs to get out of here, that's clear. Once this shinobi passes out, he needs to disguise himself and find Naruto and get as far away from Konoha as possible-

In his wild moment of relief, he doesn't notice that Noboru has scrambled back to his feet. A fist strikes him in the jaw.

Kakashi is unconscious before he hits the floor.