✔️Heal My Heart {Kakashi Hatake}

41 | sickness

I worked on healing Kurenai's mother all through the night. Kurenai was up the whole time with me, running back and forth with ice bags and worrying herself to death. I hadn't allowed my patient to get worse and had expended all of my efforts to keep the fever down, but she wasn't any better, either. She had yet to wake up; that was what worried me the most. Theoretically, she should have reacted to either the ice that was constantly replaced on her forehead, or the bitter medicines that I was mixing.

It was around ten in the morning when the doorbell rang. I glanced at Kurenai, who leaped to her feet immediately to answer it. I privately hoped it was someone from the hospital coming to take over; I was in desperate need of a break.

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, I recognised immediately the voice of the person at the door. Kakashi found my note, then, I thought. I heard the uncertainty in Kurenai's voice as she spoke to him.

"It's alright, Kurenai, let him in," I called. "I could do with another pair of hands."

There was no response that I could hear, but a few moments later Kurenai appeared back in the room, Kakashi in tow. I didn't look up from the poultice I was mixing.

"You're a mess," Kakashi said.

"Good to see you too." I frowned, and crushed another root into the mixture, just for good luck. I tipped back Mrs Yuuhi's head and let a few drops fall into her mouth. "Kurenai, the ice bag needs replacing again."

"Got it." Kurenai hurried out.

"So what seems to be the problem?" Kakashi asked conversationally.

"That's just it," I sighed. "I've been working non-stop since two am, and this fever seems to have come out of nowhere. It's just getting worse and worse, and I have no clue what induced it or why it's accelerating so quickly."

"I don't really see how I can help with stuff like this," he confessed.

"I need to borrow your Sharingan," I said, quickly checking the patient's temperature again. I almost burned my hand doing so. "Can you see anything unusual?"

Kakashi pulled up his headband to uncover the sharingan. He scanned over her body, eyes narrowed analytically.

"On her neck, there's a tiny puncture wound." Kakashi pointed it out to me. "Does that mean anything?"

I inspected the area Kakashi was showing me. The puncture was barely more than a pinprick; I would never have noticed it without Kakashi's Sharingan, no matter how closely I may have looked. I touched it lightly with my finger, then almost instantly flinched away.

"That means everything." I swore loudly. Kakashi looked alarmed; I usually never swore if I could help it. "I'm such an idiot! I've been doing everything wrong."

"Are you okay?" Kakashi asked as I swept all the plant cuttings I'd had out back into my pack.

"Depends on your definition of 'okay'," I replied, replacing the plants with bits of shredded leaf that had been tucked away in a separate pocket. "Physically, I'm perfectly fine. Mentally, I'm such an idiot I'm amazed anyone can bear it."

Kurenai came back right at that moment, the bag refilled with ice cubes. I took it from her, but instead of putting it straight on Mrs Yuuhi's forehead, I reached in and took a handful of ice from it and placed it against her neck.

"I'm going to need to do a surgery," I informed Kurenai and Kakashi. "Kakashi, take Kurenai outside and don't let her in until I say."

"What?!" Kurenai exclaimed. "Why? I can stay here with Mom, it's fine!"