I've taken to staying in Kakashi's hospital room for most of the day.

He was moved here a few days after he collapsed, because his condition hadn't changed at all. I was reluctant about, and because of that the others were too. But I could see he needed help, so everntually we all agreed to let the doctors look at him.

They haven't been able to do crap.

I've pretty much lost track of how many days Kakashi's been here; I don't keep count because it only depresses me further.

I'm not even sure why I care so much for the silver-haired Jonin. If I'm being honest, I don't know him as well as his teammates, or as well as I know Kurenai Sensei. And another thing, he's not my Sensei. He's Team Seven's.

But then again, if I'm still being honest, I'd have to say that I see him as a f--

The door bursts open and Naruto crashes into the room, smiling when he sees me. "Akari!" he greets, skidding to a stop. I nod at him, letting my eyes soften as I look at his frazzled form. "What are you doing here, Naruto?" I ask in a soft voice. "I thought you went out with Master Jiraiya?"

He nods eagerly, poking his head out the door and scanning the hallway for someone. Then he ducks back into the room. "I was!" he says loudly, and I wince, casting a worried glance at Kakashi. If he's still out cold after hearing Naruto's voice, which almost no one can ignore...

"But now I'm back, cause we found the next Hokage!"

I blink, leaning back in my chair that I'd dragged from all the way across the room to sit beside the bed. "New Hokage?" I ask, frowning. "I didn't know they'd decided on Third Hokage's replacement."

He nods again, pouting as he once again looks out the door. "Come on Granny! Get your butt in here! Kakashi Sensei needs help!"

"Granny?" I question. "How old is she? And wait, this means the new Hokage's a woman?" Not that I'm not impressed, I just didn't realize everyone eould accept a woman Hokage. We've never have one before.

"She doesn't look her age," Naruto says with a sigh. "Some stupid jutsu to make her look younger. But yeah, she's a woman. But she's mean! Like Sakura when's she angry with me..." His voice trails off as a blonde woman with a... well-developed chest walks in, scowling. Another dark-haired woman, who looks to be considerably more frantic, follows her, carrying a small pig in her arms.

"Lady Tsunade!" the dark-haired woman whines. "You don't need to appear so angry! We're helping people right now!"

Tsunade's scowl just deepens as her eyes travel from Naruto, to Kakashi, to me. "You!" she barks at me, causing me to jump. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"M-My name's Akari Yuki," I say, refusing to cringe under the older woman's glare. "I'm just visiting Kakashi."

She nods, accepting my answer and turns to Kakashi. "Pitiful," she mutters walking over to him. I growl under my breath; if she's going to help him, fine, but does she need to insult him while doing it? The dark-haired woman gives me an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry," she says, coming to stand beside me. "Lady Tsunade can be a bit... hot-headed at times, but she's the best Medical Ninja in the world! If anyone can help your friend, it's her!"

I nod, watching as Tsunade places a hand, now glowing green, on Kakashi's forehead. After a few minutes, he blinks open his eyes. I gasp in surprise; I fully admit I wasn't sure this was going to do anything. I mean, all the doctors in the Village attempted to wake Kakashi Sensei, and they did squat. But this woman, the apparent Fifth Hokage... maybe I can overlook her attitude.

Without much forethought, I fling myself at Kakashi, just as he's sitting up. I wrap my arms around his neck in a hug as he let's out a surprised sound. Then, he returns my hug. "Good to see you too, Akari," he says warmly, giving me a squeeze.

"This your daughter or something Kakashi?" Tsunade asks in her somewhat rough voice, hands on her hips, a smirk on her face. Kakashi sighs. "No, Akari is not my daughter," he says, as I sit back and remove my arms from his neck. "She's half my age, Lady Tsunade," he adds, giving her a look. She smirks again. "Oh please, Kakashi," she says, leaning down towards him and sufficiently showing off her, uh, chest for the two of us. I wrinkle my nose and lean back against the wall; it's not really an enjoyable experience to be so close to... that.

Kakashi only sweat drops.

"Anyway," Tsunade continues, straightening up and turning back to the other woman and Naruto. "You said there's one more patient for me to look at?"

"Yeah! Rock Lee!" Naruto shouts, fist pumping the air. "Lee?" I ask and Naruto shoots me a hopeful grin. "Granny Tsunade says she'll heal Bushy Brows!"

"I said I'd try, moron," Tsunade corrects, sighing at the younger blonde. "And stop calling me Granny! I'm not old!"

With that, she pushes past Naruto and strides out the door. The dark-haired woman says, "I'm Shizune, Lady Tsunade's assisstant, and this is Tonton." She nods at the pig in her arms, which gives a cute "Oink oink". Shizune smiles at us, before turning around and hurrying after Tsunade. "Nice to meet you two!" she calls over her shoulder, disappearing out the door.

And that just leaves Naruto.

The orange-clad Ninja jogs up to his Sensei, sticking his face in Kakashi's. "Glad to see you're up, Sensei!" he says, giggling. "I heard you were out for a long time!" Then he abruptly jumps away, moving towards the door. "I gotta go see Bushy Brows!" he says, throwing another smile our way. "Feel better, Kakashi Sensei!"

And then he's gone as well.

"That woman... is really going to become the Fifth Hokage?" I mumble, staring at the open door in wonder, and honestly? Fear.

"She is one of the Legendary Sannin," Kakashi reminds me. I frown at him. "What does that mean exactly?" I say earnestly. "Jiraiya, according to Naruto, is the biggest pervert ever, and Orochimaru is the goddamn devil!"

Kakashi chuckles, giving me a closed-eye smile. "You're right," he says. "But it doesn't change the fact that Lady Tsunade is an amazing Ninja. In fact, she's the person people credit for creating the Medical Ninja system we know today. She's probably the best Medical Ninja in existence."

"That doesn't change the fact that she's a fifty-something woman with a blunt personality that hides her age. What does that say about her?"

"It says," a voice says menacingly from the doorway, "that she's a woman who cares about her appearance! Unlike some ratty Genin!"

I swallow thickly, sweat dropping at Tsunade's furious expression. Then I frown and look down at myself.

Yeesh.

I really have let my appearance go.

Not that I really care.

I look up fearfully at the newest Hokage. "I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade," I ammend softly. "I wasn't thinking."

She blinks at me, before stepping fully into the room. "What's wrong with you?" she asks, jabbing a finger at me. I shrug one shoulder. "Been through a lot of crap, I guess," I say truthfully. Her eyes narrow and she steps closer, peering down at me with an unreadable expression on her face. "Lost a loved one, have you?" she asks bluntly, and I flinch.

"Lady Tsunade..." Kakashi starts worriedly, but is unable to finish.

"I know the look," she tells me, answering my unasked question. "So who was it? Friend? Sibling? Parent?"

"My brother," I whisper, staring at my fisted hands resting in my lap. Tsunade sighs. "Me too," she says, startling me. "Nawaki," she continues. "That was his name. He was about your age when he died. I was a lot like you after that. Depressed, lost, all that stuff nobody likes to feel."

"How do you know that's how I am?" I ask, slighlty bitter to be dissected like some stupid experiment, my insides revealed to anyone who cares to look. "Because you're not normal if you act any differently," she says, surprisingly me once again. "I didn't want to go on, without my little brother. At the time, he meant everything to me. And losing him... well let's just say it sent me off the deep end for a while. But you want to know how I got past it?"

I look up into her now soft eyes. "How?" I ask softly. She smiles, placing a warm hand on my head. "I fell in love."

There's something in her voice that tells me this isn't the whole story, but I don't pursue it. Instead, I ask, "You fell in love?" She nods. "With a man named Dan," she says. "He allowed me to feel complete again, after losing Nawaki."

"Not to be rude," I say. "But why exaclty are you telling me this?"

Tsunade shrugs, starting to turn around. "You seem in need of some help," she says. "I thought this might be of use to you. Maybe I was wrong. But it's none of my concern really, so do what you want with my advice." She stalks out of the room, slamming the door closed behind her.

"What advice?" I ask helplessly, as Kakashi chuckles again. "You'll understand eventually, Akari," he says, while I shake my head in denial. "I hate that answer," I say with an honest pout. He laughs.

I slowly slide off Kakashi's bed and land on the floor. "I'm so relieved that you're ok," I say to Kakashi Sensei. "But do you mind if I go check on Lee?" He nods and lays back down on his bed. He waves his hand at the door, drawing the covers up over himself. "I'm sure he'll be glad to see you," he says. "Go."

I say a quick goodbye and leave to go to Lee's room. He isn't there, and it doesn't bother me. He hates being in the hospital as much as Kakashi Sensei, and tries to get out as much as possible. So I check just outside, and find him wandering the garden belonging to the hospital. I think Ino's family helps keep it stocked.

Lee tells me that Tsunade thinks there might be a way to help him. But that the surgery involved has only a fifty percent success rate. It's so complicated, it hasn't even been tried before, and she isn't wholly positive she can even perform it. But despite this, Lee wants to have the surgery, more than anything. And he says Guy Sensei is behind him all the way.

"I'm happy for you Lee," I say as we take a seat on a low wall that goes around the garden. He tilts his head, regarding me quietly. "You are not happy, Miss Akari," he says, and I flinch at his words. "W-What do you mean, Lee?" I ask unsuccessfully. "Of course I'm happy! This is great news!"

"No," he says, shaking his head. "This is not happiness. It is a show for my benefit. You have not been happy for a long time." He places his good hand over mine; it's warm despite the bandages he always wraps it in. "You do not even show your smile any longer."

"I don't want to be like this," I say, and he nods in understanding. "It will pass," he promises, giving me his signature smile, along with a thumbs up.

Lee and I talk for a while, about things other than my unhappiness and his surgery. One thing we can easily agree on is our fear of Lady Tsunade. Lee says he respects her greatly, but can't look her in the eye. I say she reminds me of a witch, then glance around quickly to make sure she's not in earshot.

She isn't, thank God.

We also just talk about the goings on the Village, and another topic that comes up is the failed Chunin Exams. They were never finished, and we both wonder what they plan on doing about it. It seems late to hold another one, when the second Exam of the year is already scheduled. But it also seems wrong to deny everyone their chance of becoming a Chunin. Lee mentions that if the surgery goes well, he hopes to take part in the next Exam. I say I might hold off on it, becuase I... well, because I just don't think I can handle it.

***

I leave Lee when the sun starts to set, heading back to Kakashi's place. It's dark by the time I get there, unlocking the door and closing it behind me. And I'm greeted by a familiar drawl.

"What's up, Akari?"

"Hello, Shikamaru," I say, as friendly as I can been in recent times. He smiles at me, leaning back against the cupboard. "Notice anything different about me?" he ask. I scan his appearance, my eyes widening when I notice the green flak jacket. "What the hell?" I mutter, and he smirks. "Lady Tsunade appointed me as a Chunin this morning," he says, then sighs. "It's gonna be such a drag, being the leader of a squad. I wanted to decline, but my dad convinced me otherwise."

"That's awesome," I say, without much enthusiasm. He rolls his eyes. "No smile even for your best friend's promotion?" He sighs. "Pretty low, Akari. Pretty low."

"I didn't even smile when I saw Kakashi's face," I mumble, and he gapes at me. "You what?" he asks, losing his cool demeanor and openly showing his shock.

"That was supposed to be a secret, Akari."

Kakashi appears in the doorway connecting this room to the hallway. He still hasn't put his jacket, or his headband back on, and he looks even more casual than usual because of it. "Sorry, Kakashi Sensei," I say and he sighs. "You know, I'm not your Sensei," he says. "You don't need to call me that."

I shrug. "Force of habit, I guess."

"Anyway," I say after a short, uncomfortable silence. "I'm a little surprised they let you out of the hosptial... Kakashi." He grins beneath his mask, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, they say I have to rest up here for a few days though, just to make sure I'm alright," he says, and I nod. "At least they trust you not to hurt yourself," I say, and the two of them stare at me.

"Was that... a joke?" Kakashi asks, leaning towards me.

"A lame one," Shikamaru says, grinning. "But yeah, I think it was a joke."

I roll my eyes at the two of them, before walking past Kakashi towards my room. "Nice to see you, Shikamaru," I say pointedly over my shoulder, and I hear him laugh. "You can't deny it was a joke, Akari!" he calls after me. "It means you might come back!"