Fanning the Flames

Chapter Thirty-Seven

“Hold on a minute, brat,” Jiraiya insisted, grabbing the copy-nin's arm and swinging him back around to face them. “How were you planning on getting there?”

“Walk,” Kakashi retorted with an exaggerated eye roll. “Honestly Jiji, I don't have time for twenty questions. If you have something to say just spit it out please.”

“You can't walk that far,” Itachi said in a hollow voice. “I'll arrange a litter.”

“Nonsense, Gamabunta will take you. You'll be there in a few hours. Now, what happened here?” The sage tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the jounin to gather his thoughts.

“I'm not sure. Zetsu was dead when I arrived. Kisame was . . .” The copy-nin took a deep breath and slowly released it, willing his voice to remain steady. ”He was slicing off Ibiki's tattoo when I arrived. I can only guess at what took place before.” The lanky jounin slid gracelessly to the floor and buried his face in his hands. “This is my fault.”

“Senpai . . . you shouldn't blame youself,” Itachi ventured.

“Would you rather I blamed you?” the copy-nin snapped. “After all, it was your insistance on having a child that started this whole mess.”

“Actually, it was your insistance on doing it 'the old fashioned way' that caused all the tension.” The Otokage reminded him. “I just wanted your genetics.”

“Really?” the jounin hissed sarcastically. “I don't think so. I . . . never mind, you're right. I've been a fool. I've hurt Ibiki at every turn. He'll never take me back now.”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Jiraiya insisted. “All you have to do is say yes. You didn't see him when he showed up.”

“You saw him?” the copy-nin managed airlessly. “Why did you let him go?”

“He was waiting for Kisame,” Itachi explained. “Then they disappeared together. I wanted to come after them earlier, but Jiraiya thought they'd be alright. Kisame and Ibiki have always had an understanding.”

“Well, apparently that understanding extended to rape and torture.” Kakashi stood and took a deep breath. “In any event, there's no time for this. If you've got a ride for me old man, now's the time. Otherwise I need to get going.”

*^*^*

Hinata lifted her head from the cradle of her arms and glanced around the quiet lobby. This was the first Friday night she could remember when the ER wasn't filled with casualties. It was nice to be bored for a change. Better not to be here at all, she corrected herself. Of course, that wasn't an option. Fridays were usually the busiest night, and all the trauma surgeons were currently roaming the halls unsure of what to do with themselves during this temporary respite.

Just as she dropped her head back down on the desk the silence was replaced with a deafening chorus of barks and growls. Great, the Inuzuka again. She sighed and looked up, expecting the usual result of over-enthusiastic rough-housing. All the Hyuuga heiress could do was stare in shock as the smoke cleared to reveal the copy-nin's pack of nin-ken and a suspiciously still figure.

She hit the buzzer and leapt into action, checking for vital signs before carefully flipping the battered figure onto its side. She gasped when she realized the damaged shinobi was not Kakashi, as she had assumed, but Ibiki.

Hinata found herself being eased away as the trauma team came rushing in, each person silently and efficiently taking on their appointed role. “Excuse me medic-san.” She turned startled eyes on the largest hound she had ever seen.

“Yes, are you injured?” Hinata ventured.

“No, I'm fine,” Bull assured her. “Boss would like them to try and reattach this, if they can.” The menacing nin-ken gently placed the rolled up towel in the kunoichi's hands. “If they can't repair it, I'm sure the Boss will want to keep it, so be careful.”

“What is it?” Hinata finally ventured.

“Boss' mark. Otherwise he'll have to give his mate a new one.”

It finally dawned on the medic just what she was looking at. In her hand was a patch of human skin, the kanji for Hatake Kakashi permanently inked into its surface. “It's a tattoo,” she finally managed.

“Just be careful with it,” Bull cautioned. “Boss'll be upset if anything happens to it. Is he going to be alright?”

“Morino-san . . . I don't know.” The kunoichi looked at the scrap of flesh in her hand. “Let me take this in to them and I'll see what I can find out.”

“If he wakes up, make sure he knows Kakashi will be here as soon as he can. He can't teleport so it may take a while.” the nin-ken explained.

“Why can't he teleport?” Hinata asked, curiosity winning out over her natural reticence to pry.

“It's bad for the baby. Once he delivers I don't think it will matter anymore.”

“Hatake-san is having a baby,” the medic stated dully. “Why doesn't that surprise me. Anything else?”

“No, we'll just wait here,” Bull decided.

“This is a hospital, we can't have a bunch of dogs in the waiting room,” Hinata explained.

“We're not dogs, we're nin-ken,” the hound insisted before padding over to his pack mates and filling them in on what he had learned.

*^*^*

“Excuse the interruption Hokage-sama,” an unfamiliar medic cautiously got Iruka's attention. “Hatake Ibiki was just brought into the hospital. Do to the nature of his position we need your advice on what treatment he may have.”

“Whatever treatment he needs.” The Hokage grabbed his robe and headed for the door. “Hurry up Gen, we need to get to the hospital.”

“What happened?” the senbon sucker asked on the way.

“No idea,” Iruka said. “It must be serious if they need my approval for treatment though.”

As soon as they arrived the Hokage was hustled through the double doors into the operating suite, while Genma settled with the pack to see what he could find out. “Did your boss do this to him?”

“Hardly,” Pakkun sniffed. “It was his 'friend' Kisame. Boss is heartbroken. He's on his way, but since he can't teleport I don't know how long it will take.”

“Maybe I should go look for him?” Genma squatted on his heels, trying to decide if he should go hunting for the copy-nin while he was still en route, or if he should just wait until he showed up at the hospital.

Before he had a chance to ponder the question properly the sky visible through the waiting room's large windows grew dark and tinged with red, as though there were a giant conflagration off in the distance. “What the . . .” Genma's question was cut short when the double doors slid open and a long red tongue flicked through, depositing the jounin in question on the floor with an unceremonious thump before retreating.

“Boss, are you alright?” Pakkun studied the copy-nin carefully for any sign of distress. “Your mate's in the operating room. We don't know what's going on.”

“I need to be in there,” Kakashi muttered, levering himself upright and waddling toward the operating room.

“Oh no you don't.” Genma snagged the copy-nin's arm before he was halfway across the lobby. He pulled back, but didn't let go, when the jounin bared his teeth and let out a menacing growl. “You aren't sterile, it could be dangerous for him. Come sit with me. Ru will be out soon to let us know how he's doing.”

“I gave it to the medic, Boss,” Bull rumbled.

“And?” Kakashi managed hoarsely.

“She said they'd try. I told her to keep it for you if not.”

“Thank you Bull.” The copy-nin buried his head in his arms, blocking out the world around him as he sent up impassioned pleas to gods he wasn't sure he believed in. For the first time he understood the pain and fear Ibiki had experienced in Suna when his recovery was equally unsure. I've been a blind fool, he thought bitterly. Everything is always about me. This time, I'm going to concentrate on what 'biki needs.

Both men looked up when the operating room doors swung open and Iruka emerged. “What's going on? How is he?” A frantic copy-nin grasped the Hokage by the front of his robes and held him in place.

“He'll survive. I'm afraid they were unable to reattach this.” Iruka passed the small square of tattooed skin into trembling hands. “Hinata put a jutsu on it to preserve it. Now, would you like to explain what happened?”