✔️Heal My Heart {Kakashi Hatake}

59 | im in hospital again but wheres kakashi

This sensation was familiar. A little more familiar than it probably needed to be, in fact. I didn't need to open my eyes to know where I was. Just the scent was a giveaway; it reeked of cleaning chemicals and too-pure air. Sure, hospitals were very thorough in getting rid of potentially harmful bacteria, and it was good for recovering patients, but it didn't exactly smell great. There was also the telltale sign of thick pillows stacked up beneath my head, and the carefully positioned quilt. Yep, I'd been here a couple of days.

I opened my eyes slightly, blinking a few times to clear the blurry film so I could actually see properly. The first thing I noticed - or rather, didn't notice - was Kakashi. He wasn't sat reading in the chair by my bed like he always was. In his place was a worried-looking Tsumari, her brown hair cascading limply down her shoulders. It seemed duller than when I was younger, and I could have sworn there were streaks of grey in it. That didn't make any sense; she was only forty.

"Miyoshi, you're awake!" Tsumari exclaimed, noticing that my eyes were open. She wrapped me in a tight hug, then put her hand on my forehead and brushed the hair from my eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," I responded hoarsely. "How long have I been here? And where's Kakashi?"

"Three days. Kakashi's on a mission, I think." Tsumari responded, then hugged me again. "I was so worried! The Hokage brought you here himself, and he seemed furious. He keeps coming down here to see how you're doing, but he won't tell anyone what happened."

"I had a slight disagreement with Orochimaru." I allowed a little smile to flicker across my features at the horrified expression on my former sensei's face.

"Orochimaru?" she repeated. "And you're still alive? No wonder you looked so defeated."

I scoffed bitterly. "I've never been beaten so quickly in my life, not even by Kakashi. The Third swooped in right as I was curled up in pain, probably about to die. They fought, and his giant monkey Summon carried me here. 'Fraid I can't tell you any more, I was pretty passed out."

"You could have been killed!" Tsumari exclaimed.

"Easily, yes," I agreed. "Lucky the Hokage was in the area. Or he might not have been, actually. He has a pretty fancy teleportation jutsu on him."

Tsumari stroked my hair with a sigh. Her green eyes brimmed with concern. "Sometimes I think you're in over your head."

"Are you kidding? I'm six feet under and not likely to surface any time soon." I crossed my arms behind my head. "Hey, I forgot to ask. How come you're here? I thought you were working at the Academy."

"I am. I took some time off to come down here and stay with you," Tsumari replied.

"You didn't have to," I said immediately.

"Well, Teren offered to cover my class while I was gone, so I took the opportunity."

I choked on air. "Teren's a schoolteacher?!"

Tsumari chuckled at my reaction. "Temporarily."

"Are the kids okay? Is Teren okay?" I fretted. From my memory, Teren had never had much patience with children.

"Surprisingly, yes," Tsumari said. "I went past the Academy to get lunch yesterday and had a look through the window. Teren seemed fine, and the kids looked like they were having fun."

"Are we talking about the same Teren?" I checked. "Long ponytail, tall, emotionless face?"

"As far as I can tell, yes." Tsumari smiled.

The door opened suddenly, and we both looked up to see who was coming in. Tsumari stood suddenly as the Hokage entered, once again wearing his Kage cap and cloak.

"I'd stand, but I'd probably collapse," I said by way of greeting. I thought that formalities were such a pain, and was going to use my hospital confinement to my advantage.

"Lord Hokage." Tsumari bowed respectfully.

"You may sit, Tsumari." The Hokage gestured for her to relax, his attention focused on me.

"I'm awake," I supplied. "It's okay, I didn't die. Thanks for saving my life."

The Hokage regarded me with amusement in his eyes. "I have a few things I need to ask you."

Of course you do. You didn't come to see how I was, ask how I was doing, or even to accept my thanks. Just wanted to interrogate me.

"Shoot," I invited, wisely deciding not to repeat my thoughts aloud.

"Did Orochimaru tell you why he was there?"

"He did, actually. He gave me this long tirade about what he was doing there. Talked my ear off."

The Hokage's amusement turned to a stern glare. Tsumari's grip on my hand tightened.

"So what exactly did he want?"

"Well, for one, he was the one who was responsible for my brother's reincarnation. He said it was a 'present' to test my fighting power, but I didn't actually fight much because I was busy having a panic attack. So Orochimaru said he wanted me to be his student or something, talked a lot about potential and a hell of a lot about power. I wasn't really listening. Also something about a vessel because of my Kekkei Genkai, but I have no idea what that means," I summarised.

"This isn't good," Lord Third muttered to himself.

I shrugged. "I'll just add him to the list of people who want to kidnap me for some reason. But if you don't mind, sir, I actually have a couple of questions that I've been meaning to ask you for a while."

"Alright," The Hokage allowed.

"Why did you never tell me the real reason my brother killed the clan?" I challenged openly. "I know you know."

The Hokage let out a long, wearied sigh. "I should have known you'd want to know. About fifteen years ago, your mother approached me with plans for something so terrible I had difficulty believing she'd thought it up. I told her that she shouldn't do it, and she went away calmly. I thought she'd listen to me. Of course I knew what threats were looming over her and the clan at that time, but I thought they would be protected in the village. Understand, Miyoshi, that had I not believed we could offer enough protection, I would have allowed her plan to go through."

"She did it anyway."

"Yes. I realised what had happened the minute you were found running towards the Hokage tower in that state. I was distraught. I hadn't expected it to happen, but it seems that my power is not as far reaching as I was first led to believe." There was genuine sadness in his tone, and I felt a pang of sympathy.

"Thank you." I leaned back into the thick pillows. "That's all I wanted to know."

The Hokage nodded once and headed for the door. He paused before leaving, and said, "Kakashi should return tomorrow." Then he was gone.

"I hate everything he loves," I said in a monotone once he was out of earshot. "Actually, maybe with the exception of Asuma. Asuma's cool."

"Was it really that bad?" Tsumari asked.

"Oh, that particular remark has nothing to do with the murder of my whole clan that he could probably have prevented. It's more the fact that he felt the need to tell me when Kakashi gets back," I responded. "Sometimes it feels like the whole world is trying to get us together. You know, not long ago, he said I was 'love struck'. Can you believe it?"

"It's not hard." Tsumari responded vaguely. "I can see why you give off that impression."

"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow at her, and she smirked. I didn't like that expression.

"You're way too obvious. Anyone with eyes can see you've fallen hard."

"No, I haven't," I lied.

"Come on. I've known you too long. You're a terrible liar, too," Tsumari said, half teasingly.

"I'm done with this conversation."