Relations between Senseis Chapter 10.
Title: Relations between Senseis
Pairing: (KakaIru, GaiIru, KakaGai with eventual GaiKakaIru )
Rating: M for Sex, Violence and Mature themes
Warnings: Attempted Suicide, Violence, Polyamorous Relationship
Summary: There is a lot more to Maito Gai then meets the eye and unfortunately it takes some bad things happening before Kakashi and Iruka realize it. (Summary not so great but story is better)
Author's Note: A few reviews and then an update. You know how this works by now. Some of you have already read this chapter on fanfiction which is cool. The next chapter is coming I have just been sick so it is taking longer than anticipated.
Begin Here
Gai would give anything to have been able to refuse this mission in hindsight. He had a dead Konoha ninja, Raidou’s lover Genma was unconscious. Naruto was holding Sasuke’s body with tears streaming down his face.
It had taken more of Gai’s resolve than he knew he had to fight off the attackers who had finally retreated. Whoever they were he would give them credit for strength. Though currently if he couldn’t save Genma’s life, he would be out for their blood and only a God could save them. Gai could feel his chakra racing for his enemy’s blood but to allow himself to give in would have been wrong.
Gai kneeled next to Genma, checking his pulse and trying to get some type of response, anything to give him an idea of what he was looking at. Then he noticed the markings on Genma’s hand. He had seen them before in his nightmares, they were marks of a poison that ate away chakra before killing someone. It took three days for the poison to kill and Gai was four days away from Konoha by normal traveling.
“Naruto, snap out of it.” Gai barked. Going over to Naruto and shaking him. Seeing no obvious signs of damage, Gai tried to figure out how best to get Naruto moving.
“He’s dead. I killed him.” Naruto’s voice was a whisper breaking Gai’s thought process. Naruto’s chakra was flaring dangerous.
“Naruto he was going to kill you and your teammates.” Gai soothed though his voice held a hard edge.
“I had to kill him but I …” Naruto stared at the ground.
“Naruto, Sasuke is dead. One of your teammates is dead and another is dying.” Gai put his hand on Naruto’s shoulder and what he saw in his eyes, Gai knew he had on more than one occasion seen staring back at him in the mirror. “You loved him.” It was more a statement than a fact.
Nodding Naruto answered the question that he felt was sure to come, “I loved him enough not to want to see him suffer anymore. I wanted him back. Now I can’t have that.” Letting Sasuke’s body slowly go, Naruto stood and wobbled. Gai quickly steadied him.
“We have to go.” Gai sighed knowing that Naruto was going to be slightly useless but not really able to blame him. “We can burn the body or bring him home but either way we have to leave now.”
“Burn him. He would have liked that.” Naruto coughed lightly. Quickly Gai put Sasuke and the dead in a pile and lit an incendiary tag. Then hoisting Genma on his shoulders, he regarded Naruto.
“Genma will die if we don’t make it back in less than three days.” Gai laid out the facts for Naruto. “Someone else will lose a lover so we have to hurry.”
Seeing Naruto’s face take a determined look, Gai nodded. Together they hopped into the trees but soon Gai knew things were not going to go that smoothly. Leaping down from the trees, Gai regarded Naruto.
“How bad is it?”
Gai received his answer when Naruto heaved dark red blood.
“Shit.”
Naruto would have thought Gai’s reaction was funny if he weren’t in so much pain. Listening to the fox swearing in his head was just as entertaining but Naruto stopped hearing when he was halfway to the ground. He never felt Gai catch him or his body be placed over Gai’s shoulder. If Naruto had been awake he would have laughed harder than anyone as Gai removed his weights, leaving craters in the ground and began a mad dash to Konoha.
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The hospital was a mad rush of activity, med nins and nurses scurrying around one another as they frantically tried to drain the poison from Genma and reestablish some kind of chakra system in him. The life of a civilian was what awaited him if they couldn’t...if he was lucky.
Naruto’s demon chakra was healing him but for some reason beyond what Tsunade and the med nins could not understand, they kept losing him.
Iruka watched for a minute as Naruto’s heart stopped again before turning away, moving down the hall to rest a hand on Raidou’s shoulder.
“He’ll make it. You know he’s too stubborn to die. You need to be strong because the next while could be very hard for him,” Iruka murmured, thinking about Genma and how much he’d hate not being able to do missions any more. Genma was an adrenaline junkie, loving the thrill of the hard work and particularly suited to the assassination missions he usually was given.
Gai was sitting beside his friend, covered in blood and looking just a bit shell shocked. “Gai,” Iruka murmured, running a hand through the black hair. “Do you want me to go find you something else to wear?” When he didn’t get much of a response, Iruka tried again. “Gai...I need your help. Kakashi...he needs some company. Sasuke and Naruto are...were his students you know. Do you think you could just try to get him to...sit down for a bit?” He gestured over to where Kakashi was pacing in front of Naruto’s operating room, dragging a hand through his silver hair every few seconds. “He needs someone in his space right now, even though I know it doesn’t look like it.”
Kakashi growled softly to himself, running his hand through his hair again as he tried to shake away the sick feeling that was making his skin crawl. No matter what anyone said this was his fault. He'd trained Sasuke, he'd made him into a killer and then he'd lost him to the snake. People could be as understanding as they wanted but he knew the truth. And if Genma died, it was his fault. And if Naruto, the only child of his beloved sensei died, it was his fault too. And now Sasuke was dead and as hard as he'd tried to keep the kids from ending up like his team or the sannins, history seemed like it was coming back on him full circle.
Slowly Gai picked his head up and looked at Iruka. Studying him for a moment, Gai looked back at his hands. Reaching over he grasped, Raidou’s hand and squeezed. Rubbing his thumb across the back of Raidou’s hand in a soothing gesture Gai gave Raidou his presence as a temporary grounding in reality before Gai stood. Walking over to Kakashi, Gai neatly caught the hand that Kakashi was using to run through his hair. Kissing the back of Kakashi’s hand, Gai gave Kakashi a quiet smile before leaving the hospital.
Moving with a steady purpose, Gai went to his small apartment. Showering and changing quickly Gai went to see someone he knew would be able to help though the price would not be something to be taken lightly. He needed information of the poison effecting Genma and from what records anyone could dig up death appeared to be the only cure.
Seeing those marks had Gai’s brain in overdrive running through the different bits of information he knew about the poison. Then something clicked.
“Death. Draining chakra.” Gai practically tapped danced it could not be that easy. Then Gai smacked himself, draining chakra required more skill than anything else. Too little taken or too much taken would have the same result. Feeling slightly dejected that he couldn’t do any more about it, Gai turned his mind to Naruto.
Dying of a broken heart. Gai was pretty sure that was why Naruto kept flatlining but at the same time how could you not blame him. Spending his entire life trying to catch up to a genius only to win but still lose.
Realizing that their lives were mirrors of each other Gai felt his knees wobble slightly. Not wearing his weights was giving Gai an odd sense of balance. Making him over compensate slightly for what wasn’t there. Walking back into the hospital, Gai sat back next to Raidou ready to wait for whatever happened next.
Iruka felt exhausted and frustrated, wanting to deal with his own emotional chaos but shelving it to satisfy the needs of others. He finally managed to get Kakashi to sit but didn’t try to engage him much in conversation. He’d tried to talk about Sasuke with his lover before but Kakashi always shut right down on him when it came to that topic.
Now Raidou was waiting to see if his lover would survive. Only time would tell if Genma would survive the life change that would hit him if lived or not. The lifestyle was all consuming, and being in a supportive role like he had been, Iruka had seen it all, and still felt helpless to aide in the situation.
Gai just looked lost, or sick, something Iruka couldn’t quite put his finger on. He wanted to ask what the man was thinking but this wasn’t the time or place. Besides, Gai was probably where he was needed most, silently sitting in support with his friends.
Sakura emerged from Genma’s treatment room, looking pale and exhausted. Raidou leapt to his feet and Kakashi slowly stood too, all of them joining a circle to hear the news.
“He’s...stable,” she started, sounding less than sure of her prognosis. “If he makes it through tonight...there will be a lot of procedures in the next few months to try to get his chakra systems restored, assuming his body can handle it.”
Kakashi listened mutely, wondering if it was better to become an invalid in the profession than to die in service. He and Genma were alike in that sense. They’d lived for the work, let it become their whole lives and now struggled with finding the balance and peace that having someone who loved them, someone to live for, offered them. Glancing at Gai, Kakashi realized that his friend still lived for the work and, while he had friends, didn’t have that same sort of grounding anymore. Even though he and Iruka hadn’t been together that long, he wondered how the man survived without it.
“Raidou, you can go in once they move him to his room. He’ll be unconscious but try to talk to him. I think it will help. I’m going to go help Tsunade-sama with Naruto.”
Swallowing hard, Iruka twisted a lock of his hair anxiously. “Why is he...” he started, only to have Sakura cut him off.
“I don’t know, Iruka-sensei,” she lied, having discussed Sasuke with the blond at length before. “He keeps healing and and relapsing. I...I need to go help.”
As Sakura walked away, Kakashi could see just how upset his pink haired student was. She’d thought she was in love with Sasuke for a very very long time, the kind of feelings that never really went away completely. That made him think of Gai again, starting to feel lost about what to do with his friend, who had admitted to having feelings for him for a long time too.
Gai wasn’t sure how much time had passed but he knew his adrenaline and chakra were leaving his system and lactic acid build up in his muscles was making him hurt, badly. He had made the four day trip in just over a day and a half. Gai stood and staggered a bit as it all caught up with him. Feeling a firm grip on his arm he looked at the Hokage and smiled faintly.
“I think I may have overreached my limits a bit.” Gai explained.
“If you hadn’t I would be down three shinobi instead of one.” Tsunade murmurred before leading Gai over to another bench and pushing him down. Doing a quick scan of his structure she shook her head. “You need food, and sleep. Your chakra is almost gone and your muscles are spasming. Though how you are hiding it is beyond me.” The Hokage sat down next to Gai looking at the wall.
“I put Naruto in a coma until we can figure out why he keeps healing and relapsing.” Tsunade’s voice held the question that Gai knew he didn’t want to answer in present company.
“From what I saw Naruto did not get poisoned.” Gai knew he was going to have to give a full report later so he left a part unsaid.
“Walk with me.” Tsunade stood and Gai managed to hobble along beside her. Keeping his voice pitched low he explained the fight between Naruto and Sasuke. By the time he was done Tsunade was shaking her head.
“Is it possible to die of a broken heart?” Gai asked needing to know.
“If anyone could manage that it would be gaki.” Tsunade spoke torn between exasperation and fondness for her adopted brat.
Nodding Gai waved at Tsunade and trudged to the exit.
“Gai I would like to know where you are going?” Tsunade raised an eyebrow. When Gai looked at her she continued to give him a pointed look.
“I thought I would go to my apartment.” Gai trailed off realizing that extenuating circumstances had gotten him back in the field but he was still on sabbatical. “I have to go to Kakashi’s and Iruka’s I take it.” Shoulders a little slumped because he had a lot on his mind and no interest in sharing, Gai shuffled over to a bench by the entrance way and sat to think before Iruka and Kakashi found him.
Slipping into Naruto’s room, Kakashi watched Iruka gently take Naruto’s hand. He knew that as calm as Iruka might seem, his lover would never be the same if Naruto didn’t make it. He thought of Naruto as his surrogate son, especially since children of his own weren’t likely to be an option considering his sexual preference. He’d done so much for the boy over the years but thought nothing of the emotional support more than his duty as Naruto’s teacher and first friend.
“You’re not going to give up on us, now are you?” Iruka asked the blond softly, very gently rubbing the back of Naruto’s hand. “You know we still need you here, right? You’ve done so much for all of us, saved us all more times than I can count but...you can’t quit on us yet. We all still need you here.”
It was just like Iruka not to talk about how much he still needed Naruto, or about his own needs at all and Kakashi rested his hands on Iruka shoulders, letting him know that they should probably let the blond rest.
“He knows, Ru. You mean just as much to him,” Kakashi murmured, giving his lover a gentle smile before letting him up. When Iruka had left the room, Kakashi dug his hands in his pockets and toed the ground.
“I’d say I was sorry for not being there for you enough but in the end you were better off. You had Jiraya and he was the perfect teacher for you.” He cleared his throat, his hands balling into fists when his self hatred spiked. “I am sorry that I didn’t see what was happening with Sasuke. I should have known better. I should have seen it coming but I thought I could handle it. Just don’t let go. Iruka’s right, we do still need you here, and you’re not finished yet. You still have a dream to achieve and you’re closer than you think.”
Having said enough, Kakashi sighed and left as well, not surprised that Iruka had vanished so he could pull himself back together. Wandering towards the entrance, Kakashi slumped down on the bench next to Gai, running his hands through his silver hair as he sighed. “You look tired,” he said simply, not bothering to look up. “We should go home and let you rest up for a bit. Sakura promised she’d summon us right away if anything happened. Have you gone to see him yet?” Kakashi asked, still feeling dizzy with guilt.
“I saw him all the way back and at the moment I think it were best that I come see him when my body functions aren’t likely to give out on me.” Gai sighed. “I am so tired that I can’t even attempt a youthful response. I also have to go weight shopping.” Grumbling Gai looked at the ceiling.
“You don’t look so fresh yourself.” Gai commented after taking a side long glance at Kakashi. Picking up his hand, Gai outlined each finger. Then placing the hand down Gai stood wobbling slightly from exhaustion and just a bit hunched because his body was still protesting. “Where is Iruka?”
Grunting softly as he got up and wrapped an arm around Gai’s waist to steady him, heading slowly towards the doors. “He’ll probably be home by the time we get there. He needed a minute after seeing Naruto laid up like that. They were very very close when Naruto was younger.” Kakashi decided not to mention how broken up Iruka would be if Naruto didn’t make it. He didn’t think Gai needed that added stress right now.
“How are you doing?” Kakashi asked, pulling Gai’s arm over his shoulder. “This has been...a pretty brutal day.” Somehow reassuring Gai was easier than trying get Iruka to talk to him if he wasn’t ready or thinking about Naruto and Genma laid up in the hospital. “It makes you think...about a lot of things.”
“Kakashi I haven’t slept in three days. I made a four day trip back in a day and a half. My legs hurt, my back is sore, my head aches and my heart is broken. Knowing that time was of the essence when getting Genma back home to make sure he survived and also knowing the closer home we got the more Naruto died inside...” Gai trailed off His emotions began to peak again and Gai felt like crying.
Pushing Kakashi away, Gai tried to continue his stagger home. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he collapsed at the rate he was going. His body was at its limit.
Managing to turn what could have been a sob into a hiccup, Gai felt himself slump against a building on the outside of town, not to far from Kakashi and Iruka’s house. “You know for all the perks the ninja lifestyle has sometimes it isn’t worth getting out of the bed in the mornings.” Gai sniffed trying to gather the will necessary to stagger at least to the property line. There if he crashed landed in the gardens at least he could pretend it was normal.
Kakashi trailed behind Gai, letting the man go for the time being but when he approached the house he stepped back in, not letting the man push him away this time. “Come on,” Kakashi murmured, leading the man to his bedroom, reaching out with his chakra to see if Iruka was home, only to find the man already curled up under the covers.
“Do you need anything?” Iruka asked, looking suddenly as tired as Gai as he sat up as Kakashi began undressing the raven. “Something to eat? Water?” he asked, starting to get up when Kakashi signaled for him to stay. “I’ve got it,” he murmured, peeling the rest of Gai’s clean clothes off of him and gesturing to the bed. “You two relax.” In a moment Kakashi was back with some simple leftovers in hand and a large glass of water along with some pain meds.
“Sleep,” Kakashi ordered them both, knowing that no talk would help much at this point, especially with Gai being so physically exhausted and Iruka being on the edge mentally.
“Where are you going?” Gai asked climbing into the bed with a resigned sigh. He took the medication from Kakashi after studying the pills. Taking the water he drank it down. Gai nibbled on some of the food before collapsing back on the bed. “You should sleep too.” When Kakashi had climbed in Gai let his eyes close. Gai felt himself fall into the world of sleep knowing that he had only a few hours of obliviousness to enjoy before his body rebelled. He knew that no matter how tired he was his eyes would be open again at 4am but Gai was confident that he could make himself sleep longer.
Chapter 11
Pairing: (KakaIru, GaiIru, KakaGai with eventual GaiKakaIru )
Rating: M for Sex, Violence and Mature themes
Warnings: Attempted Suicide, Violence, Polyamorous Relationship
Summary: There is a lot more to Maito Gai then meets the eye and unfortunately it takes some bad things happening before Kakashi and Iruka realize it. (Summary not so great but story is better)
Author's Note: A few reviews and then an update. You know how this works by now. Some of you have already read this chapter on fanfiction which is cool. The next chapter is coming I have just been sick so it is taking longer than anticipated.
Begin Here
Gai would give anything to have been able to refuse this mission in hindsight. He had a dead Konoha ninja, Raidou’s lover Genma was unconscious. Naruto was holding Sasuke’s body with tears streaming down his face.
It had taken more of Gai’s resolve than he knew he had to fight off the attackers who had finally retreated. Whoever they were he would give them credit for strength. Though currently if he couldn’t save Genma’s life, he would be out for their blood and only a God could save them. Gai could feel his chakra racing for his enemy’s blood but to allow himself to give in would have been wrong.
Gai kneeled next to Genma, checking his pulse and trying to get some type of response, anything to give him an idea of what he was looking at. Then he noticed the markings on Genma’s hand. He had seen them before in his nightmares, they were marks of a poison that ate away chakra before killing someone. It took three days for the poison to kill and Gai was four days away from Konoha by normal traveling.
“Naruto, snap out of it.” Gai barked. Going over to Naruto and shaking him. Seeing no obvious signs of damage, Gai tried to figure out how best to get Naruto moving.
“He’s dead. I killed him.” Naruto’s voice was a whisper breaking Gai’s thought process. Naruto’s chakra was flaring dangerous.
“Naruto he was going to kill you and your teammates.” Gai soothed though his voice held a hard edge.
“I had to kill him but I …” Naruto stared at the ground.
“Naruto, Sasuke is dead. One of your teammates is dead and another is dying.” Gai put his hand on Naruto’s shoulder and what he saw in his eyes, Gai knew he had on more than one occasion seen staring back at him in the mirror. “You loved him.” It was more a statement than a fact.
Nodding Naruto answered the question that he felt was sure to come, “I loved him enough not to want to see him suffer anymore. I wanted him back. Now I can’t have that.” Letting Sasuke’s body slowly go, Naruto stood and wobbled. Gai quickly steadied him.
“We have to go.” Gai sighed knowing that Naruto was going to be slightly useless but not really able to blame him. “We can burn the body or bring him home but either way we have to leave now.”
“Burn him. He would have liked that.” Naruto coughed lightly. Quickly Gai put Sasuke and the dead in a pile and lit an incendiary tag. Then hoisting Genma on his shoulders, he regarded Naruto.
“Genma will die if we don’t make it back in less than three days.” Gai laid out the facts for Naruto. “Someone else will lose a lover so we have to hurry.”
Seeing Naruto’s face take a determined look, Gai nodded. Together they hopped into the trees but soon Gai knew things were not going to go that smoothly. Leaping down from the trees, Gai regarded Naruto.
“How bad is it?”
Gai received his answer when Naruto heaved dark red blood.
“Shit.”
Naruto would have thought Gai’s reaction was funny if he weren’t in so much pain. Listening to the fox swearing in his head was just as entertaining but Naruto stopped hearing when he was halfway to the ground. He never felt Gai catch him or his body be placed over Gai’s shoulder. If Naruto had been awake he would have laughed harder than anyone as Gai removed his weights, leaving craters in the ground and began a mad dash to Konoha.
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The hospital was a mad rush of activity, med nins and nurses scurrying around one another as they frantically tried to drain the poison from Genma and reestablish some kind of chakra system in him. The life of a civilian was what awaited him if they couldn’t...if he was lucky.
Naruto’s demon chakra was healing him but for some reason beyond what Tsunade and the med nins could not understand, they kept losing him.
Iruka watched for a minute as Naruto’s heart stopped again before turning away, moving down the hall to rest a hand on Raidou’s shoulder.
“He’ll make it. You know he’s too stubborn to die. You need to be strong because the next while could be very hard for him,” Iruka murmured, thinking about Genma and how much he’d hate not being able to do missions any more. Genma was an adrenaline junkie, loving the thrill of the hard work and particularly suited to the assassination missions he usually was given.
Gai was sitting beside his friend, covered in blood and looking just a bit shell shocked. “Gai,” Iruka murmured, running a hand through the black hair. “Do you want me to go find you something else to wear?” When he didn’t get much of a response, Iruka tried again. “Gai...I need your help. Kakashi...he needs some company. Sasuke and Naruto are...were his students you know. Do you think you could just try to get him to...sit down for a bit?” He gestured over to where Kakashi was pacing in front of Naruto’s operating room, dragging a hand through his silver hair every few seconds. “He needs someone in his space right now, even though I know it doesn’t look like it.”
Kakashi growled softly to himself, running his hand through his hair again as he tried to shake away the sick feeling that was making his skin crawl. No matter what anyone said this was his fault. He'd trained Sasuke, he'd made him into a killer and then he'd lost him to the snake. People could be as understanding as they wanted but he knew the truth. And if Genma died, it was his fault. And if Naruto, the only child of his beloved sensei died, it was his fault too. And now Sasuke was dead and as hard as he'd tried to keep the kids from ending up like his team or the sannins, history seemed like it was coming back on him full circle.
Slowly Gai picked his head up and looked at Iruka. Studying him for a moment, Gai looked back at his hands. Reaching over he grasped, Raidou’s hand and squeezed. Rubbing his thumb across the back of Raidou’s hand in a soothing gesture Gai gave Raidou his presence as a temporary grounding in reality before Gai stood. Walking over to Kakashi, Gai neatly caught the hand that Kakashi was using to run through his hair. Kissing the back of Kakashi’s hand, Gai gave Kakashi a quiet smile before leaving the hospital.
Moving with a steady purpose, Gai went to his small apartment. Showering and changing quickly Gai went to see someone he knew would be able to help though the price would not be something to be taken lightly. He needed information of the poison effecting Genma and from what records anyone could dig up death appeared to be the only cure.
Seeing those marks had Gai’s brain in overdrive running through the different bits of information he knew about the poison. Then something clicked.
“Death. Draining chakra.” Gai practically tapped danced it could not be that easy. Then Gai smacked himself, draining chakra required more skill than anything else. Too little taken or too much taken would have the same result. Feeling slightly dejected that he couldn’t do any more about it, Gai turned his mind to Naruto.
Dying of a broken heart. Gai was pretty sure that was why Naruto kept flatlining but at the same time how could you not blame him. Spending his entire life trying to catch up to a genius only to win but still lose.
Realizing that their lives were mirrors of each other Gai felt his knees wobble slightly. Not wearing his weights was giving Gai an odd sense of balance. Making him over compensate slightly for what wasn’t there. Walking back into the hospital, Gai sat back next to Raidou ready to wait for whatever happened next.
Iruka felt exhausted and frustrated, wanting to deal with his own emotional chaos but shelving it to satisfy the needs of others. He finally managed to get Kakashi to sit but didn’t try to engage him much in conversation. He’d tried to talk about Sasuke with his lover before but Kakashi always shut right down on him when it came to that topic.
Now Raidou was waiting to see if his lover would survive. Only time would tell if Genma would survive the life change that would hit him if lived or not. The lifestyle was all consuming, and being in a supportive role like he had been, Iruka had seen it all, and still felt helpless to aide in the situation.
Gai just looked lost, or sick, something Iruka couldn’t quite put his finger on. He wanted to ask what the man was thinking but this wasn’t the time or place. Besides, Gai was probably where he was needed most, silently sitting in support with his friends.
Sakura emerged from Genma’s treatment room, looking pale and exhausted. Raidou leapt to his feet and Kakashi slowly stood too, all of them joining a circle to hear the news.
“He’s...stable,” she started, sounding less than sure of her prognosis. “If he makes it through tonight...there will be a lot of procedures in the next few months to try to get his chakra systems restored, assuming his body can handle it.”
Kakashi listened mutely, wondering if it was better to become an invalid in the profession than to die in service. He and Genma were alike in that sense. They’d lived for the work, let it become their whole lives and now struggled with finding the balance and peace that having someone who loved them, someone to live for, offered them. Glancing at Gai, Kakashi realized that his friend still lived for the work and, while he had friends, didn’t have that same sort of grounding anymore. Even though he and Iruka hadn’t been together that long, he wondered how the man survived without it.
“Raidou, you can go in once they move him to his room. He’ll be unconscious but try to talk to him. I think it will help. I’m going to go help Tsunade-sama with Naruto.”
Swallowing hard, Iruka twisted a lock of his hair anxiously. “Why is he...” he started, only to have Sakura cut him off.
“I don’t know, Iruka-sensei,” she lied, having discussed Sasuke with the blond at length before. “He keeps healing and and relapsing. I...I need to go help.”
As Sakura walked away, Kakashi could see just how upset his pink haired student was. She’d thought she was in love with Sasuke for a very very long time, the kind of feelings that never really went away completely. That made him think of Gai again, starting to feel lost about what to do with his friend, who had admitted to having feelings for him for a long time too.
Gai wasn’t sure how much time had passed but he knew his adrenaline and chakra were leaving his system and lactic acid build up in his muscles was making him hurt, badly. He had made the four day trip in just over a day and a half. Gai stood and staggered a bit as it all caught up with him. Feeling a firm grip on his arm he looked at the Hokage and smiled faintly.
“I think I may have overreached my limits a bit.” Gai explained.
“If you hadn’t I would be down three shinobi instead of one.” Tsunade murmurred before leading Gai over to another bench and pushing him down. Doing a quick scan of his structure she shook her head. “You need food, and sleep. Your chakra is almost gone and your muscles are spasming. Though how you are hiding it is beyond me.” The Hokage sat down next to Gai looking at the wall.
“I put Naruto in a coma until we can figure out why he keeps healing and relapsing.” Tsunade’s voice held the question that Gai knew he didn’t want to answer in present company.
“From what I saw Naruto did not get poisoned.” Gai knew he was going to have to give a full report later so he left a part unsaid.
“Walk with me.” Tsunade stood and Gai managed to hobble along beside her. Keeping his voice pitched low he explained the fight between Naruto and Sasuke. By the time he was done Tsunade was shaking her head.
“Is it possible to die of a broken heart?” Gai asked needing to know.
“If anyone could manage that it would be gaki.” Tsunade spoke torn between exasperation and fondness for her adopted brat.
Nodding Gai waved at Tsunade and trudged to the exit.
“Gai I would like to know where you are going?” Tsunade raised an eyebrow. When Gai looked at her she continued to give him a pointed look.
“I thought I would go to my apartment.” Gai trailed off realizing that extenuating circumstances had gotten him back in the field but he was still on sabbatical. “I have to go to Kakashi’s and Iruka’s I take it.” Shoulders a little slumped because he had a lot on his mind and no interest in sharing, Gai shuffled over to a bench by the entrance way and sat to think before Iruka and Kakashi found him.
Slipping into Naruto’s room, Kakashi watched Iruka gently take Naruto’s hand. He knew that as calm as Iruka might seem, his lover would never be the same if Naruto didn’t make it. He thought of Naruto as his surrogate son, especially since children of his own weren’t likely to be an option considering his sexual preference. He’d done so much for the boy over the years but thought nothing of the emotional support more than his duty as Naruto’s teacher and first friend.
“You’re not going to give up on us, now are you?” Iruka asked the blond softly, very gently rubbing the back of Naruto’s hand. “You know we still need you here, right? You’ve done so much for all of us, saved us all more times than I can count but...you can’t quit on us yet. We all still need you here.”
It was just like Iruka not to talk about how much he still needed Naruto, or about his own needs at all and Kakashi rested his hands on Iruka shoulders, letting him know that they should probably let the blond rest.
“He knows, Ru. You mean just as much to him,” Kakashi murmured, giving his lover a gentle smile before letting him up. When Iruka had left the room, Kakashi dug his hands in his pockets and toed the ground.
“I’d say I was sorry for not being there for you enough but in the end you were better off. You had Jiraya and he was the perfect teacher for you.” He cleared his throat, his hands balling into fists when his self hatred spiked. “I am sorry that I didn’t see what was happening with Sasuke. I should have known better. I should have seen it coming but I thought I could handle it. Just don’t let go. Iruka’s right, we do still need you here, and you’re not finished yet. You still have a dream to achieve and you’re closer than you think.”
Having said enough, Kakashi sighed and left as well, not surprised that Iruka had vanished so he could pull himself back together. Wandering towards the entrance, Kakashi slumped down on the bench next to Gai, running his hands through his silver hair as he sighed. “You look tired,” he said simply, not bothering to look up. “We should go home and let you rest up for a bit. Sakura promised she’d summon us right away if anything happened. Have you gone to see him yet?” Kakashi asked, still feeling dizzy with guilt.
“I saw him all the way back and at the moment I think it were best that I come see him when my body functions aren’t likely to give out on me.” Gai sighed. “I am so tired that I can’t even attempt a youthful response. I also have to go weight shopping.” Grumbling Gai looked at the ceiling.
“You don’t look so fresh yourself.” Gai commented after taking a side long glance at Kakashi. Picking up his hand, Gai outlined each finger. Then placing the hand down Gai stood wobbling slightly from exhaustion and just a bit hunched because his body was still protesting. “Where is Iruka?”
Grunting softly as he got up and wrapped an arm around Gai’s waist to steady him, heading slowly towards the doors. “He’ll probably be home by the time we get there. He needed a minute after seeing Naruto laid up like that. They were very very close when Naruto was younger.” Kakashi decided not to mention how broken up Iruka would be if Naruto didn’t make it. He didn’t think Gai needed that added stress right now.
“How are you doing?” Kakashi asked, pulling Gai’s arm over his shoulder. “This has been...a pretty brutal day.” Somehow reassuring Gai was easier than trying get Iruka to talk to him if he wasn’t ready or thinking about Naruto and Genma laid up in the hospital. “It makes you think...about a lot of things.”
“Kakashi I haven’t slept in three days. I made a four day trip back in a day and a half. My legs hurt, my back is sore, my head aches and my heart is broken. Knowing that time was of the essence when getting Genma back home to make sure he survived and also knowing the closer home we got the more Naruto died inside...” Gai trailed off His emotions began to peak again and Gai felt like crying.
Pushing Kakashi away, Gai tried to continue his stagger home. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he collapsed at the rate he was going. His body was at its limit.
Managing to turn what could have been a sob into a hiccup, Gai felt himself slump against a building on the outside of town, not to far from Kakashi and Iruka’s house. “You know for all the perks the ninja lifestyle has sometimes it isn’t worth getting out of the bed in the mornings.” Gai sniffed trying to gather the will necessary to stagger at least to the property line. There if he crashed landed in the gardens at least he could pretend it was normal.
Kakashi trailed behind Gai, letting the man go for the time being but when he approached the house he stepped back in, not letting the man push him away this time. “Come on,” Kakashi murmured, leading the man to his bedroom, reaching out with his chakra to see if Iruka was home, only to find the man already curled up under the covers.
“Do you need anything?” Iruka asked, looking suddenly as tired as Gai as he sat up as Kakashi began undressing the raven. “Something to eat? Water?” he asked, starting to get up when Kakashi signaled for him to stay. “I’ve got it,” he murmured, peeling the rest of Gai’s clean clothes off of him and gesturing to the bed. “You two relax.” In a moment Kakashi was back with some simple leftovers in hand and a large glass of water along with some pain meds.
“Sleep,” Kakashi ordered them both, knowing that no talk would help much at this point, especially with Gai being so physically exhausted and Iruka being on the edge mentally.
“Where are you going?” Gai asked climbing into the bed with a resigned sigh. He took the medication from Kakashi after studying the pills. Taking the water he drank it down. Gai nibbled on some of the food before collapsing back on the bed. “You should sleep too.” When Kakashi had climbed in Gai let his eyes close. Gai felt himself fall into the world of sleep knowing that he had only a few hours of obliviousness to enjoy before his body rebelled. He knew that no matter how tired he was his eyes would be open again at 4am but Gai was confident that he could make himself sleep longer.
Chapter 11