The Red String of Marriage

Your Heart - Kakashi

After helping him out of the warm bath, Mizuka helped Kakashi dry off and then practically carried him back to the freshly laundered bed. The fire still roared, warming the room to the point where Kakashi's teeth no longer chattered, even though he was still shaking from the bone cold he had experienced the previous night. Mizuka helped him to get comfortable on the bed, as he was still very weak. She began to inspect his body. This made him feel a little uncomfortable, as it has been almost ten years since Mizuka had seen him naked. Before shinobi life had taken its toll on his body. Now, he was a deluge of scars that he had received at the hands of his enemies. Mizuka was gentle and patient as he struggled to move his limbs when she asked.

"Kakashi, most of these look like battle injuries, but some of these look like... something else...."

He closed his eyes and stayed quiet for a moment.

"Those are torture injuries. I was caught last year during an Anbu mission. And that's all I can say."

"Understood."

She continued to examine him until she reached his testicles. Kakashi would have had a hard time hiding his erection if he wasn't so exhausted.

"I know you can't tell me the nature of the mission, but can you tell me what made these scars?"

Kakashi took a deep breath.

"They took a sharp wire and strung it through my testicles. And pulled it back and forth, trying to get me to talk."

Mizuka acted as if it wasn't a big deal, but Kakashi could see the color drain from her face.

"Well... did you talk?"

Kakashi smirked at this question.

"No, I didn't."

"And the indents and scars on your hips and shoulders, the work of an iron maiden?

"A modified one. The lethal points were removed. You can't extract secrets from a dead shinobi."

"And the burn marks on your ribcage?"

"Burns from a hot rod beaten across my chest."

She probably couldn't tell that his kneecaps had been shattered last year as well, which made him wonder what they looked like now. He was too weak to see for himself.

Mizuka finished her examination. He did have an incredible amount of bruising around his torso, so bad that she could see the outlines of the muscles in his ribcage where his flesh beat against the river rocks. His shoulders and thighs were purple with bruising as well. Across his knees and elbows, the bottom of the river had scraped the skin off, leaving exposed muscle and bone. She quietly picked up her kit of bandages and ointments from the side table and went to work bandaging the first elbow. She rubbed a thick slave on it that smelled like sage, and tightly wrapped it.

"I heard you made a kunai disappear into thin air right before it hit Mei. Is that true?"

"Yeah, its because of this eye."

"So, you must be getting better with your Sharingan."

"I've been working on my Kamui, but I'm usually only good for one use. It seems like it could be a pretty helpful ninjutsu if I can master it."

She finished wrapping his bandages in silence. She then placed a hand gently over his heart.

"I'm just glad you're okay."

Her fingertips softly touching his skin in such an act of affection made his head swim. He had forgotten how strong the chemistry was that he had with her. It was undeniable; her gentle touch alone sent electricity jolting through his weak body. It was now or never.