The Red String of Marriage

In Bad Shape - Mizuka

Knock, knock!

It was the middle of the night, who could that possibly be? 

Mizuka put her book down and answered the door.  It was Kyo and Ryuu, the fiery red headed twin guard captains. 

"Mizuka, help!  They're in bad shape!"

She moved as the twins hurried into the warm cottage, stepping out from what was practically a snow storm.  Ryuu held a little girl in her arms.  Under the ice and snow, Mizuka could see it was Mei.  Her lips were blue, but she was breathing and even coughing from time to time.  Kyo carried a tall figure in a shinobi flak jacket over his shoulder.  He placed the figure gently in the middle of the floor.

"Oh my..."

It was Kakashi.

"Mizuka, he's dead-"

"Ryuu!  Put Mei in the bathtub!  Tepid water!  Support her head!  Kyo!  Get Yohe!"

Kakashi's face and body were beaten horribly, and under that, his lips were purple.  He wasn't breathing.  No heartbeat.  Ryuu may be right, it may be too late for him.  But she still had to try.  She ripped his already shredded flak jacket and shirt open and began chest compressions on him. 

"Kakashi!  Come back!  Please!"

She straightened his chin and breathed air into his lungs before continuing with the next round of chest compressions.  The tears were flowing freely from her eyes now, landing on his cold, bare chest.

"Please!  Please!"

She pleaded and screamed with everything she had in her, beating on his chest as she sobbed bitterly.  She gave one last hit before putting her head down on his chest in defeat and frustration.  Only then did she hear the faint buh bum of his heart.

"Kakashi!"

He gasped loudly, which was the most beautiful sound that Mizuka had ever heard.  His breathing was shallow and labored as he coughed up water, but he was alive.  Mizuka grabbed him under the arms and heaved him onto the bed, quickly covering him with blankets.  She turned to find Yohe standing in the doorway, tears running down her cheeks.

"How can I help, Z?"

She pointed to the bathroom, the lump in her throat keeping her silent.  Her friend nodded and rushed in to relieve Ryuu.  She turned back to Kakashi, who was shaking violently.  Mizuka prayed that it wasn't a seizure.  His eyes shot open momentarily and she could see the fear and panic that overtook them as they darted wildly around the room, trying to focus. 

She quickly turned and put more logs on the hearth, stoking the dying fire and heating the room. 

Turning back to Kakashi, she placed her hands over his lacerated chest, a green orb of light forming from them.  He had a punctured lung, which she quickly patched before moving down to his stomach, which was full of blood.  A torn spleen, bruised kidneys.  She was fortunate that she had the chakra tonight to mend him. Ripped muscles were stitched together with chakra.  There wasn't much she could do for the bruising, but everything else was fixable.  He was missing large patches of skin from his elbows, knees, and back, and he was a mess in different shades of purple.  His face was swollen.  His body was mutilated.

"Hey, Z.  I'm taking Mei back to my cottage.  Good luck, girl."

Yohe reemerged with Mei, wrapped in several blankets.  Mizuka nodded.

Ryuu came to sit next to Mizuka.

"Akihiko fished them out of the Tenchi River with the help of a second shinobi, Kyo, and myself.  The other ninja said that they must've gone a mile down the river before being rescued.  And you know how rough it's been.  He looks like he scraped the bottom the entire way.  We found both of them unresponsive; he was curled up around Mei, protecting her.  It took all 4 of us to loosen his grip to pull them apart.  Good thing, too.  If Mei had scraped the bottom of the river without his protection, we would've been pulling a dead girl out of the water."

"She's not injured at all?"

"She has some scrapes and bruises.  That's it."

She turned back to the injured shinobi and tucked his shaking body in tighter.  As he was warming, his face was slowly becoming unrecognizable.  His skin was torn and puffy and purple and blood was beginning to seep out of his wounds.  Mizuka quickly jumped up and dove into the side table, getting rolls of bandages.  She needed to wrap him quickly before he bled out. 

"Ryuu, can you please report this to Master Suoh?  I'm sure she will want to follow up with that second shinobi."

Ryuu nodded and left, leaving Mizuka and Kakashi alone.  He was beginning to make guttural sounds, but was still shaking violently.  Blankets just weren't warming him quickly enough.  She would need to figure something else out.  Just as she was placing the last bandage on his shoulder, she heard a barely audible whisper coming from his lips.

"M-M-Mi..."

His eyes were attempting to fix on her.  He recognized her.  She stopped and tenderly placed her forehead against his. 

"It's me, Kakashi.  I'm going to do everything I can to get you through tonight."

His body began to shake a little less and his breathing began to even out slightly. She went to the closet and pulled some thicker blankets out, placing two by the hearth to warm and one on top of Kakashi. She then cleaned up the bandages and came back from the cabinet with a small brown bottle and a teaspoon. She lifted his head gently and parted his lips with the spoon, pouring the liquid from the spoon into his mouth as he gagged.

"This will help make the pain more bearable."

She placed the spoon on the bedside table next to the bottle, feeling his face.

"You're still freezing. Shit."

She knew that there was only one choice left, stripping down to her panties, getting in bed next to him as she mumbled, half to herself.

"I'm sorry Kakashi's wife or girlfriend or whoever. I'm just trying to save your man's life, not sleep with him. I'm so sorry."

She curled up next to him, picking his head up and placing it on her shoulder. He was on his side so she could have maximum body contact with him, pressing her chest and torso against his. She gently placed her leg on top of his and wrapped it around. He was cold as ice. But he still smelled like the Kakashi she remembered, even though his scent was marred with a metallic blood smell and healing herbs.

Laying like this made her feel slightly guilty: she had to admit, a part of her enjoyed holding him again, but she was also certain he was married. He had to be; he was so damn good looking. Mizuka tried to put these thoughts aside as she focused on Kakashi. She could feel his heart beating rhythmically against her chest. He was still very cold, but beginning to warm slightly. She ran her hand through his bloody hair as she quietly spoke to him.

"Hey, Kakashi. I need you to stay with me. Don't let go. I don't want to live in a world without you."

For hours, she told him stories about their academy days, and life in Tenchi, and her sensei and friends. And how much she missed him. And how she thought about him every day. She told him these things until the few unbruised parts of his face turned pink with color. And his heartbeat and breathing became stronger. Until she finally fell asleep with the morning sun coming in the window.

Until she knew he was safe.