After quite a bit of time had passed, they finally reached the end of the tunnel, which turned out to be some opening carved into the side of a steep stone wall. When they cleared the entrance, Reiki stared around them in amazement. The two shinobi were at the bottom of what seemed to be a stone valley. A short distance ahead of them a small, crystal clear river drove its way through the rock, grass settled on its banks and in random patches across the floor of the valley. Seeming to pick up on her amazement, Kakashi paused just outside of the tunnel.

“This valley is known simply as Tamashī no Tani. We’re in the Land of Rivers. It will probably take us three, four days to get back like this. Once we clear the border, however, we may run into other Leaf Shinobi. If that happens, we’ll be able to make it back at a much quicker rate, possibly only two days. From now on, I’m going to be as quiet as possible. Until we cross the border we’re still in enemy territory.”

She tapped her foot once again and he started walking. The silence gave Reiki time to study their surroundings as she attempted to pull any information she might have about the area from her swimming head. Pain bloomed in her mind at the attempt, but there were a few details that managed to detach themselves from the void. Small, meaningless details such as the name of a plant or what time it was from the position of the sun. Nothing that would help her pinpoint where they were, or why they might have been there.

Kakashi, she noted, walked with a swift, yet cautious, pace. He seemed wary of being spotted, and wary of irritating his wounds, yet impatient to get away from the area. Despite her attempt to pay attention to everything, including anything that caught his attention, she soon found her swimming head to be too much and hid her face in his back, closing her eyes at the same time. Without the constant movement of their surroundings, the pain faded just slightly. Beneath her, Kakashi tensed, but said nothing. The reaction itself sent yet another round of questions through her about who they were to each other.

Obviously, being comrades meant something. He’d reacted to everything she’d done. To her fear in the tunnel, to her reluctance to trust him, to her touch when she’d first climbed on his back, and now to this. Try as she could, however, her mind refused to release any details about this matter. His entire appearance flashed through her mind as she attempted this, yet nothing seemed even remotely familiar. Not his white hair, his dark eye, his mask, nor his voice. The concern in it, the harsh tone when she did something out-of-place, the matter-of-fact tone he used when explaining everything. The slightly detached air he’d obviously attempted to put on as well.

The lack of information was probably the worse part of all of this.

She was still pondering this when her overwhelming weariness slowly sent her mind into unconsciousness.

Kakashi was completely aware of the moment this began to happen. Reiki relaxed, her arms loosening slightly around his neck. His only response was to hold a bit tighter on her legs.

He’d found her.

Now all he had to do was keep her alive.

____________________________________

Reiki wasn’t sure how long she slept on his back, but she knew the moment she woke up that something was wrong. They weren’t moving. He’d been so insistent about getting out of the country- didn’t that mean that he wouldn’t stop moving without reason?

She didn’t open her eyes, wary of the fact that her headache had died down and that looking around might spur it up again, and instead focused her other senses on what was going on around them. For a moment, there was nothing, but soon she picked up on the same thing that had caused the tense edge to his form. Dozens of feet above them... several people were walking.

It wasn’t that they were loud, or that they were talking. The terrain was giving them away, rocks periodically being thrown down into the valley as the group made their way along a path.The instant she realized this, her entire frame went tense as well, a small sliver of fear pushing through her. Despite this, she managed to nudge him with her foot, her own way of questioning the matter. He simply shook his head, spinning to the side and pressing up against the rock wall of the valley. She bit her lip, the hard surface sending a wave of pain through her body.

After a moment had passed Kakashi loosened his grip on her legs. Catching on within an instant, she released her hands from around his neck and allowed him to place her on the ground. Using one hand to brace herself against the wall, she favored her bad leg and simply shot him a questioning look. Kakashi shook his head and reached past her into the bag he’d had her put on. Shifting so he could access inside it easier, Reiki only watched as he produced a blade with opposing handles, one her mind immediately produced a name for - a manji sai. At the same time, it seemed slightly off. Shooting Kakashi yet another questioning look, she simply watched as he flipped it over on his hand and offered her the handle side.

“It’s smaller than your normal ones, but it’s all I’ve got,” he muttered under his breath, then without another word, stepped away from the wall to peer up above them. With pursed lips, he gestured for her to stay put and launched himself up the side. When she moved just enough so that she could peer upwards and catch sight of him, there was a faint glow around his hands and feet, letting her know that he’d attached himself to the surface using chakra.

Chakra.

She blinked, the unfamiliar word providing her no explanation for why it seemed so important, or why she’d been able to identify the fact that Kakashi was using it. For a moment, she allowed herself to slump back against the rock wall, the situation overwhelming. She knew things without knowing how she should know them, the weapon felt comfortable in her hand, they were being chased by some sort of enemy that Kakashi had gone to check, and yet she couldn’t remember a single name or how she came to be here in the first place.

It just seemed all so...surreal.

There was a cry of pain above her, followed by the clash of metal-on-metal.

Reiki froze, pushing away from the wall and peering above her once again as she carefully steadied herself with one hand. She was well aware that if she attempted to back up and get a better look, she would most likely end up collapsing seeing as her bad leg and torso providing no assurance that she’d be able to support herself. A bit of worry flashed through her as the sounds continued, then without warning a figure was suddenly sent flying over the edge. Her mouth opened to let out a startled noise, but thankfully the seal kept even the smallest sound from escaping.

The figure collided with the rock only dozens of feet away causing a bile bubble up in her throat. Unable to help herself, she braced herself more firmly against the wall as she leaned to the side and began coughing, her empty stomach causing an uncomfortable feeling to sweep through her as only water came up. A shudder racked her frame when she stopped, the image still burnt into her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut as if that would push it away.

Blood pooling around his cracked skull, his lifeless eyes staring up at the sky.

The was a quiet thump as Kakashi dropped back down next to her, giving the figure one last, studious gaze before his eyes settled on her. Without a word, he watched as she swiped the back of her weapon hand over her mouth, her body shaking.

“We need to get moving again. They weren’t just travelers, they were shinobi.”

She nodded, clenching the weapon he’d given her tighter. Within a moment she was once again tucking her arms around his neck from behind as his arms easily secured Reiki on his back. It was all she could do to ignore how even with his already blood soaked clothing and skin, she could pick out traces of fresh crimson.

She buried her face against his back.

Was this supposed to be something she was able to handle easily? Was she the sort of person who watched others die and had no problem? Who could be secured on someone’s back and have no issue with the fact she’d recently become aware that a majority of the blood covering his frame might not be his own?

Reiki felt sick again.

Whatever she was supposed to be, this current her couldn’t stand it.

The sight of blood… it was disturbing.

_________________________________________

“We’ll rest here.”

The announcement was so sudden, it took her a moment to realize he’d spoken. As they’d walked, she’d been in and out of consciousness, to the point where he would occasionally pause and wake her, as if to make sure that she was really just sleeping. As it was, she only offered him a small nudge of her foot to let him know that she’d understood, her mind too clouded for her to bring herself to do anything else. Perhaps knowing this, instead of simply letting her off of his back as he’d done before, Kakashi carefully knelt and released her onto the ground, making sure that one of the many trees flanking them was close enough for her to brace her back against without Reiki having to shift around to manage it.

She blinked, only then realizing that their surroundings had changed. A cough tore through her chest at the same time, something that had become frequent as they were traveling. Lifting up her hands to cough her mouth, she managed to pull it under control before turning her eyes to her surroundings and discretely curled her hands into fists before tucking them in her lap. She doubted that her companion would take well to the blood dotting her already stained hands.

At some point along the way, they’d left the valley. In it’s place, the duo were now surrounded by a dark forest, alive with the sounds of unseen birds and other animals. As if to verify this, she blinked a few more times, shifting her head around to get a full view of it.

The idea that this had somehow happened without her realizing it was frightening.

It was also at this moment that she realized the weapon he'd given her was no longer in her hand. She could only hope that he'd noticed she'd dropped it and had stored it once again in the bag.

Perhaps she was wrong to have considered that the memory loss was from anything other than her head wound. As it was, thinking was difficult and her spacey mind made it easy to assume that the injury was the cause.

Was she going to make it even with the effort he was putting to get them somewhere safe?

Her weariness stopped the faint thoughts in their tracks as she leaned her head back against the tree and let her eyes slide shut. Another cough tore through her, a coppery taste filling her mouth. Kakashi wasted no time, forming the needed hand-signs and holding his cool hands up to her bandaged head. Her lips almost twisted upwards. He must not have noticed the blood if he was more interested in her head than her chest. Not that she cared, at this point caring seemed to be a wasted effort. Whatever happened seem to depend on Kakashi, whose brow was furrowing as he studied her.

Her forehead was burning up.

His eyes narrowed slightly when Reiki’s lips opened to release a protesting noise that never came as he pressed his hands a bit more firmly against the hot skin around her bandage. It would be so much easier if she could tell him where it hurt the worst, perhaps then he’d be able to ease away the growing uneasiness sweeping through him.

Was it the blood loss getting to her? Was there a wound he hadn’t found earlier? Was it something internal? Has an infection begun to set it, or did it take longer for that sort of thing to happen?

Kakashi wasn’t a medical-nin. There was no way for him to know.

Pulling up the little knowledge he had, he released the jutsu and dropped his hands.

“Reiki?”

Her eyes fluttered open, settling on him.

“I’m going to check for any bad bruising. It’s best if you just stay still.”

She furrowed her brow, trying to understand why he was warning her. A second later it became obvious as he pulled at her shredded shirt. If she hadn’t known what he was doing, she probably would have jerked away to the best of her ability. As it was, she only watched him warily as he studied her bruised skin, pressing his hands against her burning flesh. A flash of anxiousness flooded through her when he suddenly knitted his brow and rocked back on his heels. At the same time, a soft curse escaped his lips and he quickly put his hands together in what were becoming rather familiar hand-signs.

Once again, she wished she could ask questions. The only thing available to her was to give him a questioning look, which did nothing seeing as he was more focused on whatever he’d spotted than her expression. As soon as the familiar glow lit up his hands he pressed them against the pink stained skin above her bandaged torso. She sucked in a breath, her back slamming against the tree behind her. The sudden pain from the touch flashed through her more intensely than perhaps any of the pains so fair excluding her still faintly throbbing head. At the same time, another copper tanged cough tore through her chest and she brought her hands up to keep the spots of blood that escaped her mouth from getting on him. When she’d finished, she carefully clenched her hands once again. He’d probably found the source of the problem, there was no need for her to make things worse by showing him.

Kakashi clenched his jaw, but otherwise didn’t react. His eyes never swayed from her until an almost frustrated expression crossed his face and he swiftly pulled away. The jutsu was released the moment he stood and once again turned his back to her.

“Get on, we’re leaving.”

She stared at him for a moment. Weren’t they taking a break? Even with her cloudy mind, she’d understood that much. He couldn’t keep going without rest forever- he was injured just like she was. He’d collapse. That was yet another reason she was keeping silent about the blood spotting her palms. She might have been wary of him due to the fact she knew nothing about the man, but even if she couldn’t care much about him, she knew that without him she was dead. If he collapsed, they both were.

“I’ve changed my mind. We’re making it back to Konoha within two days.”

Reiki blinked, having trouble comprehending the meaning of his words. Two days, hadn’t he said that was only possible if they ran into other shinobi from his village? Had he met someone when she was out of it? As far as she could tell, they were alone at the moment.

“Reiki, wrap your arms around my neck.”

The firm tone of his voice pulled her mind into attention and she nodded, wincing at the way her head spun with the movement, and shifted her arms into position. Without further ado, he tucked his hands beneath her legs and lifted her back into place. She was suddenly aware that he hadn’t asked her to climb on, he’d completely ignored that. Was it so obvious that she wouldn’t have been able to accomplish something that little without a lot of effort?

What had he seen on her chest?

______________________________

Her breathing was labored and anywhere her skin brushed his burned. Periodically, he would stop to use the medical jutsu on her, but he was acutely aware that he was accomplishing very little. The bleeding wasn’t something that his limited skills could handle. If they didn’t make it back soon, he was simply forestalling the inevitable. If Kakashi would have felt comfortable entrusting her to an unknown doctor, he would have detoured towards one of the closer, town villages, but the risk was too great.

If they were caught while she was being cared for, the consequences could be terrible. Plus, putting the villagers at risk wasn’t an option. No, Konoha doctors were the only ones that he was willing to leave her to. They were skilled enough to handle the injuries and within the village the risk of being attacked would be gone.

She hadn’t woken up since the last time she’d fell into unconsciousness. The girl’s lips were wet with crimson blood from whenever the coughs would erupt from her. At first he’d thought the harshness of the air ripping itself from her lungs would wake her, but even that didn’t seem to be enough. It only reminded him that they were running out of time.

Even then, he couldn’t fight the weariness flooding through his frame. Every step seemed to strain his wounds even worse than the one before it. Spots threatened his vision, his body only held up through sheer will. Kakashi’s eyes focused on their surroundings in an attempt to keep them on course, as well as avoid any potential enemies. If they ran into someone without concealing themselves to avoid being seen, they’d be dead.

Well, that’s if they weren’t already.

Slowly, familiar sights began to become obvious. His slowing pace had been enough to close a majority of the distance between them and the border between the two countries. Relief threatened him, only held back by the unconscious form supported by his back. He couldn’t slow down.

Another cough tore through her chest.

“Dammit.”

The curse escaped his lips, almost on it’s own accord. It hadn’t bothered to pause in his mind for permission, it’d just came into existence. Her head shifted on his back, but the deadweight never changed. She wasn’t awake. She wasn’t waking. She was simply getting weaker.

He had no time.

His legs shook beneath him, another curse escaping his lips. Kakashi paused, bracing one hand against a nearby tree as his other kept a tight grip around her legs. The toll on his body just to keep standing was unimaginable. He almost laughed.

He’d been so concerned about her, had he made sure to catch all of his own injuries?

Pushing off from the tree, he brushed his shirt, feeling for where the bandage began. Instantly he found it, the material having been glued to the bandage by the sticky liquid soaking through it. The laugh escaped then.

Even Kakashi knew that the amusement wasn’t healthy. He was losing it.

How far did he have left to go?

How long had he been walking?

He couldn’t stop.

Forcing his shaking limbs into action, he took another step.

One leg in front of the other.

One more step. He couldn’t stop yet.

His foot caught a stone in the path, he stumbled, almost fell. Instinctively he braced himself against yet another tree, the ragged breaths escaping his lips almost comparable to the weak coughs still ripping their way through the unconscious girl behind him. Each time she coughed, he could feel new droplets splattering against the back of his neck.

Another step, he urged his legs.

Just another step.

The only thing holding him up was his hand against the rough bark of the tree. His vision blurred, black curling around the edges. Another, humorless laugh escaped his lips.

Another step?

He was lucky to keep standing.

“Dammit.”

The curse was quieter than before. He tugged his hand from the tree and forced his shaky leg to move. His knees gave out, sending him crashing into a kneeling position in the dirt.

“Dammit.”

How much further?

Kakashi forced himself back up, protectively curling his arms around Reiki’s legs. Her skin burned. His vision went black for a moment. He swayed on his feet, stumbling another step forward as his he blinked, forcing his vision into blurry attention once again.

It didn’t matter. He had to keep going.

Another step and he crashed into the dirt once again.

This time he didn’t move.

A/N: You don't mind if I leave you there, do you?

So, the weapon to the side is the one faintly described earlier in the chapter. They look pretty epic, don't they? Although, those are sort of old and not really as sharp looking as I imagine the ones she has being. Next chapter I'll provide a picture I located of a konoha-nin fandrawing that looks a lot like how I picture Reiki.

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it!