Mend my Mind {Kakashi Hatake}

9 | comfort

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"Maybe you should wait outside," I suggested to Sakura. She had come with me down to the hospital, but I wasn't sure if it would be right for her to intrude on Miyoshi and her former team. I wasn't even sure if I would be welcome, but I had to make sure Miyoshi was okay.

"It's okay," Sakura said. "I'll wait here."

"Thanks." I went on into the hospital and asked the receptionist for the room number.

"Are you a friend of the family?" she asked.

"You could say that," I replied. Technically, I was a friend of Miyoshi's, and she was like family to Garake.

"Alright. He's in room six-a."

"Thank you."

I headed down the corridor to the hospital room, and could tell immediately from the crowd around the door that Miyoshi had been too late.

I gently pushed the door open, but before I even had the time to step in, Miyoshi crashed into me and buried her face in my shoulder. I was taken a little by surprise, but carefully tucked her hair behind her ear and rested my hand on her back, hoping it was comforting her.

Looking over the top of Miyoshi's head, I saw that Teren was firmly rubbing his eyes, but Tsumari wasn't even trying. She was sobbing openly as she cradled Garake's upper body, not heeding the blood that was staining her clothes. It was heartbreaking.

"Kakashi." Teren stood, rubbing the last moisture (I couldn't tell if it was blood or tears) from his face.

"I came to see if everything was alright," I said slowly, "but clearly not."

"How did you deal with this, Kakashi?" Miyoshi asked in a barely audible whisper, not moving from where she seemed to have attached herself onto me.

"It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do," I admitted. But I had you there, so it was bearable.

"I... almost forgot," Teren confessed.

"I wish I could," I murmured. "If there's anything I can do... ah, it's not technically official yet, but I've actually been appointed as the Sixth Hokage. If you need anything, you can come to me whenever."

"You'll make a great Hokage," Teren said.

"Well, it's like I said, nothing's official yet," I replied hastily. My eyes drifted subconsciously down to Miyoshi, who was still crying silently, her arms wrapped so tightly around me that I wondered if she would ever let go.

Teren followed my gaze. "We can let you two have a moment, if you want..."

"It's fine." I shook my head. "I'll go. Sakura's waiting for me outside anyway. Miyoshi, do you want to stay here?"

Miyoshi slowly detached herself from me and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'll come with you. Just let me clean myself up a bit." She disappeared into the bathroom, and I heard the sound of a tap being turned on.

"I meant to ask," Teren said. "How come she's back after so long? What happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. She seems to have had a seal placed on her memories."

The tap stopped running, and Miyoshi appeared a second later, clean despite the fact that her eyes were red from crying. "If Sakura's waiting, we should go," she said.

"Sure?" I checked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I need some fresh air," Miyoshi said. "Does it looks like I've been crying?"

I hesitated. "Do you want the honest answer, or do you want me to make you feel better?"

"The roundabout answer will do." Miyoshi stuffed her fists in her pockets, though I picked up the slightest hint of a smile flickering across her face and took heart.

"Come on, then."

I led her through the crowd of people waiting outside, though as we stepped out, a few of them went in and started talking in low voices to Tsumari. I saw Miyoshi's expression harden, and decided it would be best to take her away from all this. I took her hand in mine and squeezed it gently. She squeezed back, and I felt reassured that she would be okay.

Sakura, as it turned out, had been waiting for us. She had her arms crossed and a triumphant look on her face, and I didn't know how, but I knew that she knew the truth about us. Not that it would change the very course of the world, but... I wasn't looking forward to putting up with it.

"I knew you were more than friends," Sakura said smugly as soon as we were within earshot. "Ino told me everything."

"How much does Ino know?" I asked in surprise.

"As much as there is," Miyoshi confessed. "I forgot... she was digging around in my head to see how trustworthy I really am."

"How much did she see?"

"Only what I let her see, it's fine."

"So when's the wedding?" Sakura pressed.

I shrugged. "We haven't talked about it. There's been... other stuff going on."

"And there's a lot of funerals to arrange," Miyoshi murmured. I sensed spirits fall as she reminded us of the cost of our victory.

"Way to put a damper on the mood," I said, hoping to restore any sparks of happiness that there had been. It didn't work.

Miyoshi squeezed my hand again. "I need to go do something."

"You want me to leave you alone?"

"No, you'd better come with me because I'm a little unstable at the moment and I need emotional support," Miyoshi replied bluntly.

"That's fine!" Sakura said quickly, visibly trying to fight back a smile. "I can find... people and do... stuff. Let you two be alone."

"Very discreet." Miyoshi remarked sarcastically. "But thanks."

Sakura turned and walked away, though I caught a glimpse of the satisfaction on her face. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad, but there was nothing I could do about that now.

"Where are we headed, then?" I asked.

"The cemetery," Miyoshi said.

"Rather gloomy for a first date back," I commented.

"Itachi's dead, isn't he?"

I looked at Miyoshi's face. To most people, she would have seemed emotionless, but I had known her so long that I recognised the glistening sadness in her eyes. I put an arm around her and pulled her closer to me.

"Yes."

"He did it," Miyoshi whispered. "He went through with the whole thing... I can't believe it..."

"You sure you want to go to the cemetery?" I asked. "We could always just go home..."

"I'm sure," Miyoshi said firmly. "But we're stopping to get flowers first."