Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen:
Kakashi drifts somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, like he's floating down a calm river. He struggles to open his eyes, feeling his eyelashes flutter against the tops of his cheeks. Soft sunlight filters in through an open window and Kakashi stirs, opening his eyes to the sight of an old, wooden ceiling.
The first thing he notices is that his hitai-ate is misplaced, the familiar weight of it missing from his face. The second thing he notices is that he's laying atop a thin futon, covered in a worn out blanket. Kakashi shifts, testing out his mobility. His body feels heavy and lax, his muscles tired and sore. He can barely move.
He turns his head to the side, spotting his flak jacket folded atop his travelling bag. His hitai-ate glints at him from where it's tucked into one of the pockets, half of it sticking out at an awkward angle.
Kakashi blinks, soft and slow, slightly disoriented. His throat is dry and his mouth feels like it's being stuffed with cotton. He groans, moving his gaze back to the wooden ceiling. It's dotted with mould. His nose wrinkles beneath his mask, catching a mixture of sour and sweaty scents ━ stale sake, mildew and something tangy, like lemon juice.
Memories slowly begin to trickle in. The fight with Zabuza is a blur, a mess of water and panicked breathing, a sizzling heat rushing through his system, ignited by Naruto's seal.
Kakashi’s fingers twitch. His hand is heavy, tingling with pins and needles, as he moves it towards his neck. He slips his fingers beneath the band of his mask and traces his fingers over his pulse point, disappointed to find Naruto's seal gone.
The door to the room creaks open, catching his attention. Kakashi’s hand falls back onto the futon, useless and hurting as he watches Naruto quietly walk in, the door closing behind him with a soft sound.
Naruto’s scent ━ salt water, sunshine, fresh and clean ━ filters through the air and Kakashi takes a deep breath, engulfing the scent of his pup greedily.
“You're awake,” Naruto murmurs, kneeling beside Kakashi's futon. He places a water filled bucket onto the floor, along with a wooden tray containing a small towel and what seems to be a ceramic mug filled with green tea.
Kakashi's nose twitches. He wants a drink to get rid of his parched throat. As if sensing his troubles, Naruto asks, “can you move? Or do I need to help you drink your tea?’’
A huff escapes Kakashi. He struggles to move, trying to force himself into a seating position with shaky, uncooperative limbs. Sweat breaks out against his pale skin and Kakashi groans, trembling as Naruto gently helps him up.
“Easy,” the pup murmurs, cautiously bringing a hand up to Kakashi’s face. His fingers settle softly over the jounin's cheek, just over the line of his mask, silently asking permission to lower it.
Wounded by how gentle his pup is being with him, Kakashi leans forward and burrows his face into Naruto's shoulder. He closes his eyes and hides there, letting Naruto's scent settle him into ease.
“... safe?” Kakashi asks, his voice low and raspy, an echo of a whisper. He's aware of how much weight he's putting onto Naruto by leaning onto him, but he can't bring himself to care now. Not when he knows the truth ━ not when he knows that Naruto has inherited Minato’s curse.
‘I’m letting you see the real me. It's only fair that after this… you start answering my questions.’ That's what Naruto had said during the fight with Zabuza and Kakashi shivers, remembering a soft smile accompanied by empty blue eyes.
“We’re staying at Tazuna's,” Naruto says quietly. His hand moves from Kakashi’s cheek to the back of his neck, warm and slightly calloused, it rests there, squeezing softly. “...I'll make it safe,” he promises.
Kakashi inhales deeply and exhales softly a moment later, letting his heavy, hurting limbs turn as loose as they can. They're at Tazuna's, no doubt hidden somewhere in the village ━ and Kakashi is filled with relief. He and his pups are safe, for the most part.
Naruto pulls away slightly and his hand returns to Kakashi's cheek. The pup is cautious as he pulls down Kakashi's mask, his blue eyes curious as they scan the older man’s face.
Kakashi manages a smile as Naruto brings the cup of green tea up to his mouth. He takes a generous sip. It's warm and soothes his aching throat. He drinks the eternity of the tea and only then does Naruto put the cup away.
“Here,” Naruto murmurs, helping Kakashi back down into a lying position. He tucks in the sides of the worn out blanket and Kakashi stares, a little fond and a little exasperated, as his pup generously takes care of him. He can't remember the last time he was tucked into bed.
Kakashi closes his eyes, the exhaustion catching up to him. His chakra pathways must be frayed if he's feeling this weak. The sound of water dripping catches his attention. He struggles to open his eyes, but loses the battle as he feels Naruto gently move his bangs away from his sweaty forehead. Kakashi can't believe how gentle, how caring, his pup is, even with his inherited curse.
Is it an act? Is he trying to lure Kakashi into a false sense of security? He can't bring himself to care, not when something soft and cold is placed over over his sweaty forehead ━ no doubt a towel to curb the light fever Kakashi is feeling.
Naruto murmurs something soft and quiet, but Kakashi can barely hear it as he dozes off, returning to the land of sleep.
Several hours pass before Kakashi wakes again.
He stirs awake, opening both eyes to a now familiar sight of an old, wooden ceiling covered in mouldy spots. Kakashi’s body doesn't feel as heavy as it did before and even his muscles have loosened, no longer in such aggravating pain.
“You're awake, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura greets him, hovering by his side. The girl looks exhausted. Her pink hair is a frazzled mess and the bags beneath her eyes look dark. Kakashi frowns as she carefully takes away the damp towel from his forehead and places it to the side. Was his pup not sleeping?
He eases himself up into a sitting position, surprised to find Sasuke and Naruto sitting at the end of his futon. The two of them don't look any better than Sakura, both of them rumpled and tired.
Kakashi blinks, soft and slow. He feels loose-limbed and well rested. “Safe?’’ he asks, testing out his voice.
Naruto nods. “Safe,” he says. “You've been out for two days. We've kept a rotation on lookout and patrol throughout the night and day. Wherever Gato is, he's not on this side of the village.”
“Good,” Kakashi breathes out a relieved sigh. So, he's been out cold for two days, huh? He thought it would take a longer time for him to recover from his chakra exhaustion. Humming softly, Kakashi presses the back of his hand against his forehead, finding his fever gone.
Strange, he thinks, glancing at Naruto.
“The seal is gone,” Kakashi says, remembering how he checked for the mark when he woke up earlier. Was it yesterday, or was it today? Time is a blur to him.
Naruto’s mouth curls into an annoyed scowl. “I told you,” he says, low and sharp, “it was temporary.”
Beside him, Sasuke huffs, crossing his arms across his chest. He seems to be biting the inside of his cheek, stopping himself from talking out of turn.
Did the two have an argument about Naruto's seal while Kakashi was down for the count? The jounin's frown deepens beneath his mask.
“Here,” Sakura murmurs, holding out Kakashi’s hitai-ate for him to take. She chews into her bottom lip, hesitation visible on her face.
The hitai-ate is cool to the touch and Kakashi blows out a sigh of relief as he wraps it around his forehead and lowers it to cover his scarred sharingan eye.
“Sensei,” Sakura says, looking into Kakashi's grey eye, “shouldn't you say something to Sasuke about your…” she trails off, shifting her gaze to the wooden floor.
Right. Kakashi feels a lump forming in the back of his throat. Not only is Sasuke peering at him with narrowed, dark eyes full of confusion and suspicion, but Naruto is staring too, his blue eyes blank and his face impassive.
Kakashi is cornered by his sweet pups, who are young and fragile, and he worries. The reason he was bestowed the honour of becoming team seven’s teacher was for the sole purpose of controlling them.
Konoha is under Lord Third's dictatorship. On the outside it's a peaceful, prospering village, but in the shadows, Danzo, the elders and Root have its claws dug deep into the roots of it. No matter how much Kakashi cares for his pups, they aren't truly his. They belong to the current Hokage and they're not pups, they're weapons, and Kakashi is here to guide Sasuke into activating his sharingan so that the two of them can control Naruto if he ever loses command over the nine tails.
“The sharingan I have…” Kakashi trails off, thinking back to a bright smile and orange goggles, the scent of something dark and rich in the air, like iron and firewood, “was a gift from an old friend.”
He doesn't elaborate.
And Sasuke doesn't ask him to. He merely nods, the movement small and hesitant, and the suspicious look in his eyes disappears. “So you're not an Uchiha?’’ he asks, as if to make sure.
“No,” Kakashi shakes his head, “I'm not.”
Relief floods all over the pup's face and his shoulders sag, loosening up. Kakashi doesn't blame Sasuke for the reaction, not after what he was put through, and at such a young age too.
“We can talk about this further some other time,” Kakashi suggests, though he's hesitant, “but for now, we have a bigger issue.”
Sakura furrows her brows. “We do?” She asks, sighing mournfully.
“The hunter nin we encountered in our fight against Zabuza,” Kakashi supplies, noticing the way his pups collectively scowl, looking annoyed, “he was supposed to eliminate the corpse on the spot, but didn't.”
“Right,” Sasuke mutters, “all the hunter nin needed was Zabuza’s head, but he took the whole body with him.”
“Don't say it,” Naruto warns, as if already knowing the dark haired boy's next sentence.
Sasuke ignores him. “Zabuza was struck down with senbon, likely coated in some sleeping agent to make it look like he was dead. Which means, Zabuza is still out there, alive.”
“Noooooo,” Sakura whines, falling forward and landing atop Kakashi's legs. She hides her face into the blanket and sniffles loudly, curling her hands into the worn material.
“Don't say it,” Naruto repeats, turning to glare at Sasuke beside him.
The Uchiha ignores him once again. “That's all the more reason you should give me back my seal━”
“I said no━”
“Sensei,” Sakura cries softly, tilting her head to glance up at Kakashi with teary green eyes, “I want to hit you so badly right now, but it'll only make your injuries worse. I'll wait until you're fully healed.”
“Maa, Sakura-chan…” Kakashi trails off, sensing danger and pain in his near future. He idly pets the girl's pink hair and lets her cry into his legs.
“Give it back!” Sasuke demands.
“Are you deaf?” Naruto's annoyance seeps into the air, deadly and fiery, like his chakra. He tugs on the end of Kakashi’s blanket and swipes it from underneath Sakura's teary face. In one quick movement, he effectively smothers Sasuke into the blanket, covering him from view.
Sasuke fights back from underneath the blanket, snarling and hissing and kicking, like a trapped cat, but Naruto holds him down to the wooden floor.
“I've had enough of you,” Naruto scowls, “in fact, I've had enough of all of you. Stop asking for things I can't give you━”
Sasuke manages to stick his head out from underneath the blanket. His hair is wild and sticking out in all directions. “Then why did you give the seal to us in the first place━”
“Because I made a promise━”
“Dobe━”
“Asshole━”
"Dead last━"
"Snob━"
“Sensei,” Sakura tugs on Kakashi's shirt, childish and sweet, her green eyes big and hopeful, “heal quickly, okay?’’
“Sure,” Kakashi concedes, knowing he's going to get pulverised by his precious pup in a few days.