He could feel the metallic liquid slowly dripping down his face as the crimson of his precious eye faded away into a deep dark obsidian. He blinked slowly as the colors began to fade and more life dribbled down his face and pooled on the ground below his neck.
The loud calls and what he recognized as Shizune's voice began to fade as he felt his body being picked up by a young man in a green spandex suit and what he knew to be orange, not grey, leg warmers.
It was Rock Lee and not Maito Gai that was heaving him onto the stretcher. He knew this with absolute certainty, after all, he had seen one of the last of his generation get eviscerated nearly a month ago right before his very eyes.
The crimson bled back into his eye and the tomoe spun for just a second. He convulsed in pain, one second of his memories was enough to destroy any average man. Why wouldn't it just destroy him?
The crimson turned back to black and he stopped moving.
Shizune's voice was calling to him and he must have reacted for more orders were screamed. The words were lost on him as he closed both of his eyes. "Kakashi! Hatake Kakashi! Hang on!"
The stretcher moved and seemed to collide with that of another medical team's for there were more yells before his body was jostled and the movement continued. The movement was so familiar and yet so distant, it had been many years since his best friend had been able to move like his protégé now did.
It was a steady rhythm, like the beat of a drum. He could hear the pounding of feet against the ruined and scarred earth, but he could not hear the words that were being screamed around him.
A heavy weight sat upon his chest.
And Kakashi wondered, 'Am I dying? Am I finally... finally dying?'
...
Death and Dying
...
"Naruto!"
A cough, the pooling of blood... and a weak smile. "S-Sakura-chan..."
