He's Just My Best Friend | a Kakashi love story

Chapter 10

"He's in room 315. He might be sleeping." The nurse at the desk told me. I just nodded and turned back to Kakashi. I didn't want him to leave. I felt like I would crumble to pieces if he did.

"You'll be fine." He said, as if he read my mind. "It's just Sasuke." He gave me a closed eye smile. I tried to smile back, but I couldn't.

"He's going to hate me. And I deserve it." I stated. I did deserve it. I wasn't here for him when he needed me the most. I left on a mission and he needed his big sister to protect him. I couldn't do that. Not only that, I could have stopped this had I thought faster, or not left for that mission.

"He might hate you. But you don't deserve it. You had no control over Itachi's actions." Hearing his name made me wince. Although I understood why he did it, or at least I thought I did. Really, I was confused. What do I really know? I was so angry with him, that I was glad they didn't catch him. I'd kill him before Ibiki even got the chance to look at him. "I'll be back in a few hours, okay?" I just nodded and watched him walk out the door.

I started to feel a sense of panic set in. With no one to reassure me, I felt every ounce of my self confidence fade away. I took a deep breath and tried to remember that Sasuke was now my responsibility. I had to put his needs above mine, just like Mom did for each of us. Just thinking about her made my heart hurt more than I can describe. I began to walk towards his room, feeling more guilty with each step. I could have stopped it. I'm sure I could have. If only I had more time.

I knocked on the door before walking into Sasuke's room. He was sitting in his bed, staring at the sky. He looked at me, frowned and then went back to looking at the sky. I knew it. He hates me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to do this.

"Hey little brother." I said softly. I felt tears start to come out again, but I pushed them down. I had to be strong.

"It's about time you showed up." He said flatly.

"I know. I'm so sorry Sasuke. I wish with everything in me that I had been here. I would have stopped him." I put my hand on his head, like Minato-sensei used to do for me, remembering the comfort I found in it. Sasuke just glared at me.

"You weren't here."

"I know. And I will regret that for the rest of my life." I started to cry again. I thought about sucking up my emotions, and being strong, but Sasuke needed to see a somewhat healthy way to grieve. This is the worst thing that either of us has experienced, and it was my job to get him through it.

"I'm mad at you." He said coldly.

"And I deserve that. But I'm here now, and I promise you that I am going to do everything that I can to help you through this, okay?" I scooped him up and put him in my lap, hugging him from behind.

"Promise?"

"I promise. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you and I are okay. I won't be as good as Mom at a lot of things, but I promise you that I will try." I was crying again. I didn't know how to do this. How do I even take care of a child? Mom always did everything for me. How would we make money for rent? And food? And clothes? Is a ninja salary enough? I could get a second job.

"Where are we going to live, Big Sister?"

"In an apartment. Kakashi and Guy are moving our stuff for us now. I imagine we'll be seeing a lot of them. Is that okay?"

"Hn. I guess." He sounded sad, but I needed the help. After all, it takes a village, right?

"Get some sleep. I'll wake you up when they come get us." I whispered. I was exhausted. I didn't know if I'd be able to sleep or not, but I knew we both needed to try. I looked down and Sasuke was already asleep in my arms. I smiled a very small smile, and leaned back on the hospital bed, making myself more comfortable. Within minutes, I was sound asleep, dreaming about my family.