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Chapter Thirty-Six

Yeah...I said I'd update on Wednesday but I didn't..haha....just got a bit busy since it's close to Holidays. Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter! The end is soon, though... :]

...---...

The news of the crash traveled fast to the university, and the key words teacher, Hatake was the driver worried the students most. And for some reason, his sister was missing as well.

"Today we have received news that Kakashi Hatake, the new teacher at the Sunagakure University, and his younger sister, Sayuri Hatake, were involved in a major crash. The teacher's car collided with a family's minivan. Luckily, for the family, there were only minor injuries. It seems as though the Hatake family took the most impact, as the both of them landed in the hospital.

Due to the accident, two roads are closed off, please avoid them..."

The minivan had been speeding for unknown reasons, and like Newton's Third Law of Motion, every action received an equal and opposite reaction. Kakashi Hatake's car had acted as a wall, and suffered the blow.

The students in Hatake's class received a free period, as the university didn't have enough time to find a substitute. The tests for the class (which were coming up in a month) were held back for the time being.

Many students were worried for their teacher, as they heard he was in the hospital. They prepared many get well cards and balloons. The news of Sayuri fell silent; no one ever knew her. The teachers made sure to pile the extra work for her.

But a pinkette was spotted hovering around the hospital room.

...---...

Kakashi Hatake woke first, as he'd received less injuries than the other. However, it didn't mean it wasn't that severe; his left leg was in a cast, while his right leg was only minorly injured. He'd woken up two weeks after the crash, relieved to find that his recovery would take at least a few months for him to heal halfway, where he'd take physical therapy. After that, he would be able to resume teaching. But, it'd take at most a year and a half for him to walk or run properly.

They didn't discuss the cost.

What was worse was that he received a small concussion. He had forgotten what happened nearly two hours before the crash. He forgot what he was doing, how he ended up in the car, and how Sayuri of all people was in the car with him.

Why the heck would I even bother with her?

The university had to find a substitute, quick.

His students from his numerous classes visited and dropped off many get well gifts. In return, he gave them a month-long assignment for the time being.

"Aw, dang, Hatake-sensei! But, we're glad you're okay. "

His colleague but close friend, Asuma (a fellow teacher from another class), delivered his orange book, a new mask (much to the complaints of the students in his class; they had yet to see what his real face was), and a stack of homework Asuma wanted him to grade with him. The teacher had spent many evenings with him, after the classes finished, to grade and review the students' work.

"Hey, your sister's in my class. Wanna give her the work when she's better?"

With a light smile, Kakashi nodded and held onto those papers. But he couldn't bear looking to the left, where in the far corner, lay his own sister, unconscious.

Because if he did, then he'd try remember what she told him.

But the feeling of guilt and remorse would fill him every time he thought of her. It overwhelmed him, like a tsunami crashing against the rocks,

and he just wanted to forget what he couldn't remember.

"Hey Asuma, you wanna sneak in some sake next time?"

...---...

It'd been a week since Kakashi woke up, and his younger sister hadn't raised an eyelid since. Though, he couldn't tell. He'd sleep most of the mornings, and when he'd be awake, she'd be asleep--maybe she was avoiding him? He didn't bother to look into it.

But the nurse told him of her situation.

We don't know why, but she took most of the damage, even though the collision was on your side of the car, not hers. She's got a few damaged ribs. Her left leg is broken, but not as severe as yours.

Her left arm is broken as well, witnesses reported that her arm somehow stuck out of the driver's window. Her right wrist is broken as well. Her head received some damage as well, but only minor.

Recovery time is predicted to be at least a five months and a half, which is just a month more than your recovery time. She is to take physical therapy for a few months. Her leg with heal in at least half a year, but as for her left arm, it is to be functioning properly for more than that.

"You made me sell my music and violin, yet I still want to play, Kakashi."

We don't know if she'll wake up anytime soon, though. Honestly, how did she even end up on the driver's side? She was in the passenger's seat...

Kakashi wondered how that happened as well. How had she ended up in the car with him, and had earned more injuries than him-he knew the answer, but he couldn't remember.

A dark part of him let out a bitter laugh, saying, maybe Kami wanted her to hurt more.

Somehow, his body betrayed him. His head swiveled to the direction of the bed. His eyes stayed, trained on her unconscious body. Her arm was in a cast, as well as her left calf. Her right hand was wrapped in bandages.

No. I don't think Kami wanted to hurt her.

His head pounded when recounting the memories of the incident, but he'd managed to remember her small frame in front of his.

She hurt herself trying to protect me.

That thought hurt him so much more than the pain he'd felt in the crash. It coursed throughout his entire body, reminding him. The guilt that he'd forgotten hit him in the face--with its power increasing tenfold.

It hurt him so much that he wanted to forget.

But he couldn't.

How did you accept your sins, when I can't even accept my own?

...---...

Kakashi Hatake caught sight of a glass jar, filled with soil, water, and a growing flower.

But it wasn't a little lily.

It was a perennial.

And next to the jar of flowers, was a get well soon card.

...---...

Four and a half weeks after Kakashi Hatake woke up, he'd heard the heart monitor speed up and the bed sheets shifting. But it wasn't him.

"Get the doctor, she's awake!"