Will Of Fire ~KakashixOc (Editing)

Neglection Ch. 38

I stretch my hands high in the air, yawning loudly. Den trips over his pillow and stumbles into my lap. I laugh, rubbing his velvet ears. His tongue flops out and his back legs thumps in happiness. I pick him up, resting him casually on my hip. Carrying him into the kitchen, I talk to casually as I poor myself some coffee. I blow on the hot contents, setting Den on the floor to eat his own breakfast. Last night was pretty uneventful. Tobi didn't sleep at all, so I wasn't able to visit him. I couldn't bring myself to visit Kakashi either. His words still cast a large shadow in my head, blinding my judgement. I'd just spent my night roaming the long hallways of my ability, mentally taking notes on small things like change of temperature to different styles of doors.
I take my coffee with me as I get dressed. I pull on my navy uniform pants and a sleeveless net top. I shrug on my vest, leaving it unzipped. Taking a gulp of my drink, I wrap some bandages around my ankles and wrists and slide my sandals on. I style my hair in a bun, keeping it out of my face. I walk back out into my living room, tying my headband to my forehead.
"Let's go, Den." I say, watching him trip over his paws as he races to my feet. He holds his head high, his tail wagging in happiness. He must have missed me a lot when I had Asuma watch over him for a couple of days. I smile at him, picking him up in my arms.
"Let's go find Sakura, Bubba."

Finding her shouldn't be hard at all. She'd been spending a ton of her time at the hospital, visiting Sasuke and Lee. I weave through the long hallways, avoiding doctors and nurses. I stick my head in Sasuke's room, finding it empty.
"She's probably with Lee then." I tell Den, making my way to Lee's room. I peek inside, seeing Lee laying in his bed for once. I grin at him, walking in.
"Lee! Taking a youthful break, I see!"
His eyes brighten when he sees me, giving me a bright smile and a thumbs up.
"Himi! I got your flowers and note a couple days ago! Thanks!" He beams at me and I give him a tight hug, but careful not to crack anything else in his body.
"We've missed you a lot, Lee! Nothing is the same without you!" I tell him, ruffling his hair. He laughs, shaking his head.
"You probably didn't even know I wasn't there. You've been so busy with Naruto and Sasuke."
"What? How could you say that, Lee?" I ask, tilting my head. "I think about you all the time."
"Maybe... But you've got a lot of other things on your mind as well." Lee says, hands clenched around the hem of my vest. My heart sinks in realization.
I have been so focused on Naruto and Sasuke, haven't I? I've barely even seen Gai's team and even my own Sakura. It's not fair for me to look past them. I've been neglecting them. I tighten my grip around him a little, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"How would you like to come with me?" I ask, pulling back mad smiling at him. Lee blinks, tears in his eyes.
"Do you mean it, Himi? Really?"
I nod, ruffling his shiny black hair.
"Let's go find Sakura. We can get some food together and do whatever you want." I say, picking Den up from his spot curled on the hospital bed. "Den's been looking forward to trying some BBQ, if that sounds good to you."
"I'd love to eat with you and Sakura!" Lee says, beaming at me. I wrap my arm around him, helping him out of the bed.
"Let's get going them! The Korean place might be sold out soon!" I say, happily leading him out of the hospital.

Finding Sakura wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, but her pink hair was a piece of cake to spot in a crowd. Lee was the first one to notice her walking a ways in front of us.
"S-Sakura-san!" Lee yells, getting her attention. She quickly turns around, eyes wide in shock.
"Lee? What are you doi-" She stops, seeing me beside him. "Himi-Sensei? What are you guys doing?"
"Looking for you!" I say, smiling at her. "We've got a couple of hours and some BBQ with our names on it. Would you like to come?"
"Really?!" She asks, beaming at me. I nod and Lee blushes, nodding along with me. "Sure! I'd love to come!"
"Great, then let's get going!" I say, throwing my other arms around Sakura's shoulders. Den barks happily, trotting at our heels as we made our way to the BBQ joint. When we got there, I had to turn on my charm and convince the waiter to let me take in Den as well. It worked well. Apparently, Kiba brings in Akamaru often. Once we get settled around a round table, we quickly order an all you can eat meat plater. We fall into a simple, pleasent conversation. Spending time with them helped me ignore the aching in my chest and the heavy thoughts that weighed down the back of my mind. After a half an hour or so of talking with them, I'd even discovered that Lee had an enormous crush on Sakura. It was pretty obvious and adorable, the way he goes out of his way for her. It reminds me of how Gai used to act around me when we were younger. After years passed, he has only mellowed out slightly.