Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Waltz #2 ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

/He appears composed, so he is, I suppose
Who can really tell?
He shows no emotion at all
Stares into space like a dead china doll/

-Elliott Smith

 

Chapter 2.

 

“So, I'm taking him home with me.”

 

Shizune shook her head. “He shouldn't leave the hospital. He's... not well. And he'd be a danger to the village... to you.”

 

“Yes, but, here's the thing. I'm taking him home with me.”

 

She looked unsure. “Tsunade wouldn't want-”

 

“Tsunade nearly died getting him back. She wants him in one piece. He's going crazy here.”

 

Shizune was no fool. She cocked her head to the side and gave him a considering look. “Why you? Why do you want to care for him? How ever will you have time between your novels?”

 

That stung just a little. “He's my responsibility.” And then before she could make some exclamation about him suddenly growing one where he had none before, Kakashi turned away from her and went back into Sasuke's room.

 

His eyes were still bandaged. Shizune had managed to heal them, but they needed rest and darkness. Sasuke lay unmoving in his bed - arms, legs, and torso strapped down. Kakashi closed the door and walked to his former student's bed. The boy was getting very thin. He refused the food the hospital provided. But he ate the dumplings Kakashi brought and fed to him. Still, his collar bone stood out and his wrists were bony.

 

Kakashi stood still and watched him, knowing that Sasuke knew he was there and was choosing not to acknowledge him. Sakura had come to see him a few times - as part of the hospital staff they couldn't keep her out - and he'd ignored her presence as well, even when she sat next to him, strong hands hovering over him. Kakashi had warned her not to try and touch her former teammate. He didn't like to be touched. He spat ugly words and hurt himself trying to break out of his restraints when people touched him. So she'd only looked and cried silently.

 

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. This was not going to be easy. “We're leaving,” he said shortly. Sasuke didn't respond. “You'll be staying at my apartment until we figure out what to do with you. You won't be allowed to leave unless I say. No one will be visiting. No one will see you.” Still no response. “So I'm going to take these restraints off now, and we're going to walk out of here.” He took the last step to the bed warily and bent to undo the buckles, keeping his eye on Sasuke's expressionless face. The boy remained motionless until all the restraints were off and then the too-thin body whipped itself off the bed and came at Kakashi, teeth bared.

 

The jounin backed off quickly under the onslaught, Sasuke sticking to him, fists and bare feet swiping at chin and chest. Kakashi blocked and dodged, mildly impressed that his student could still engage him blind. But Sasuke was weak with undernourishment and lack of exercise. And his head was still cloudy. He seemed to not know that a physical attack like this would never overpower Kakashi. He didn't seem to realize that the fight was hopeless. Kakashi twitched his head to the side, avoiding a skinny fist. He shoved Sasuke's shoulder, pushing him with his own momentum. He stumbled and nearly fell before righting himself and spinning into a swift, scything kick aimed at Kakashi's head. The jounin leaned back out of the way and heard the distinct sound of a bolt sliding home. He glanced toward the door and saw Shizune smirking at him though the reinforced glass window. She'd locked them inside. “You asked for him,” she mouthed before disappearing. Sasuke dropped low in an attempt to sweep Kakashi's legs, but without blinking Kakashi stepped back until he fetched up against the wall. His vision was very suddenly filled with coarse black hair, white bandages and pale drawn skin. “Yes, I did,” he murmured, grabbing Sasuke's fist out of the air a scant distance from his temple. He caught the other fist aimed at his gut, then shifted to the side when a bare foot tried to smash his hip. He rolled back and spun Sasuke into the wall. He pinned him there, noting with slight alarm the boy's shortness of breath and the vague gray tint to his skin.

 

“Have you been sleeping, Sasuke?” he asked softly. The boy arched away from the wall, bucking his body against Kakashi's.

 

“There is no sleeping!” he shouted, baring his teeth again. “There's no difference! In the dark, he's there, filling me with nothing! He says nothing. He- he stares at me and I can't see him because he took my... he took everything!” He shuddered and his knees began to give out. Kakashi frowned as blood started to run from his nose. He moved to scoop up his former student and put him back in bed, but the boy jerked away from him, snarling like a dog.

 

“You're bleeding,” Kakashi snapped. “Stay here; I'll get you some tissues.” Sasuke sank to the floor the moment Kakashi left him, so when he returned, he knelt down and placed the tissues in the boy's hands, staying at a safe distance. Sasuke wiped the blood away and then pinched the bridge of his nose. He leaned forward and spat blood and mucus onto the floor.

 

“I hope this stops soon,” he said, as though he were talking about the weather.

 

“So does the hospital staff, I'm sure,” Kakashi murmured in the same tone.

 

Sasuke looked up. “You said we were leaving.”

 

Kakashi blinked at the bandages. They were wet. This bothered him more than it should have. Without hesitating, he reached forward and unwound the bandages, wrapping them around his hand as he went. For some reason Sasuke did not flinch away from him or curse at him this time. He tilted his head from side to side as the wrappings came away. When they were gone, he sat very still, eyes closed. Kakashi watched him closely. His lashes were clumped together, his eyelids rimmed in red. Dark smudges under his eyes enhanced his haggard appearance.

 

“We are leaving,” Kakashi said softly. “Open you're eyes, Sasuke.” The boy did as he was told and Kakashi was immensely relieved to see plain black eyes staring back at him, squinting in the sterile fluorescent lighting of the room.

 

At only one other time in Kakashi's life had he ever offered another person comfort. That other person was Rin, after Obito had died, when she was about to die. He'd held her and kissed her mouth and told her that he loved her, told her that he would see her again very soon, that Obito was waiting for her, that he loved her too. She'd smiled, called him a lier and then died. Kakashi remembered the pain that had stabbed through his chest when she said that, because most of what he'd said was true. Obito had loved her; he was dead and, if there was any justice in the afterlife - since there certainly was none in life - he'd be waiting for her; Kakashi loved her as much as he loved anyone; and he was planning on joining her and his other teammate as soon as he headed back into battle and got himself killed. He'd wondered why she hadn't believed him. Was he that cold of a person? Yes. Undoubtedly, he was. And he'd not made an effort to comfort anyone since then. He didn't count the times he ruffled Sakura's hair and told her everything would be okay, because that was a blatant lie and she knew it, had known it even at the age of twelve. She was a smart girl.

 

So, he wasn't quite sure why he felt the need to make an effort and say something to assuage Sasuke's fear and confusion. Kakashi and Effort didn't really go together off the battlefield. But he met black eyes with his own and said calmly, “Naruto killed him, Sasuke. He can't hurt you or anyone anymore. And he's not here. It's just me, and I'm not leaving.”

 

Sasuke looked at him, blatantly suspicious. Kakashi could not tell whether he was lucid or still stranded in fog, haunted by Orochimaru's desire for him. Then Sasuke laughed sharply and without humor, getting swiftly to his feet and dismissing Kakashi without so much as a glance. Kakashi scowled.