Breaking Faith | Hatake Kakashi

Chapter 32 ~ Ten Years

{ A/N: Thanks so much for 1k reads, love you guys! xD }

Kakashi remained frozen in place, staring up in disbelief at Kurenai, he knew something was wrong, the look in her eyes said it all, pure horror.

"Kakashi!!" Guy called out, watching as Kakashi jumped up from his bed and sprinted out the room.

Guy exchanged a look with Anko before running after Kakashi, Kurenai and Anki following close behind. Kakashi weaved through the civilians of Konoha, picking up his pace at the sight of the Hospital in reach.

"Kakashi! Slow down!!" Anko snapped at the Jonin but was ignored, she let out a small grumble in annoyance as the four shinobi ran inside the building.

"What room is Akiyama Rieka in?!" Kakashi barked at the receptionist. "I'm sorry but I cannot allow anyone in there." The woman shook her head, infuriating the silver haired boy.

"Kakashi.." Guy watched helplessly from beside his friend, "Please, at least tell us if she is ok.."

The woman shook her head once more, "I wish I could but Tsunade-Sama has forbidden it."

Kakashi grit his teeth in annoyance, taking a step back from the desk just as a voice called out, "Kakashi!"

The four Jonin looked up to see the legendary Slug Princess before them, a grim look plastered across her face, "Come with me." 

Kakashi followed Tsunade as they made their way through the Hospital, leaving Guy and the rest behind. He found himself growing more and more worried as they entered the Intensive Care Ward, eventually arriving outside a certain room.

"She's in here" Tsunade slowly pushed open the door, walking inside with Kakashi in toe.

He felt a pang of guilt at the sight of her, she was laying unconscious on the bed, perfectly still. Her skin was a deadly white as she breathed heavily, her heart monitor beating wildly beside her. He walked up to her bedside, staring down in horror and her heavily bandaged body.

"What happened?" 

Tsunade looked between Kakashi and Rieka before sighing, "I don't know the details but apparently they were ambushed, her entire squad sacrificed their lives to insure she returned safely. They were all suffering from a type of poison called 'Veltrilum', it targets the chakra receivers in a person body, the poison breaks down the cells and kills the person from the inside out, within the first five seconds of receiving it, you're dead."

"Luckily for Rieka, she is an Akiyama, they're a tough bunch and its take more than that to kill one - especially one related to Fay-Sama." Tsunade explained, clutching her clipboard tightly.

"Who even is this Fay?" Kakashi asked, "Why isn't she in any of the history books?"

A frown made its way onto Tsunade's face, "To be honest Kakashi, I don't know. I was only six when she died."

Kakashi nodded, returning his attention to the sleeping brunette before him, "Will she be ok?"

Tsunade sighed, "I don't know, I did everything I could and its just up to her, unfortunately the skin around where the poison was injected has decayed so there is no way for me to fix it, there will be permanent scaring and Rieka will most likely be in pain for the rest of her days."

Kakashi gently took her hand in his, clutching it weakly as Tsunade continued, "There are certain medication that she can take but it'll only lessen the pain, that is all I can do for her."

He nodded, "Thank you." Tsunade frowned, she gently patted his shoulder before exiting the room, leaving the two alone.

::

Rieka awoke to find herself in a brightly lit room, after a moment of adjusting her eyes to the light she took in every detail. She was back in Konoha Hospital, most likely brought here by her squad, she looked over to see Kakashi asleep beside her, half his body hunched over her bed.

She went to sit up but was greeting by a wave of excruciating pain, she let out a small whimper before collapsing back down onto her bed. Rieka's breathing was heavy and fast, she clutched her chest only to find several layers of bandages.

Kakashi grumbled slightly, having just awoken, he sat up slowly, stretching out his limbs before he finally realised Rieka was awake.

"Kakashi.." She smiled lightly, relieved to see him.

Kakashi was frozen, staring at the brunette silently, at a loss for words.

"Glad to see you're up and out of bed." She chuckled lightly, peering up at him in fear, afraid of how he would react.

Rieka was beyond shock when she saw tears swell up in his eyes, "K-Kakashi?!"

She had only seen him cry a handful of times, only when Rin, Obito and his father died, but even then she didn't see him directly cry so openly in front of her.

"I-I thought I l-lost y-you..." He managed to croak out, Rieka could feel guilt swirling upside of her.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry.." 

Rieka's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared up at the silver haired Jonin, she processed his words for a moment before a small smile curled up on her lips. Kakashi froze when Rieka sat up, ignoring the pain she felt and instead pulled Kakashi into a warm embrace.

Kakashi was shocked by the action but eventually melted into the embrace, chuckling lightly as Rieka smiled, "You're such an idiot."

He felt the familiar warmth swell up in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, it took him ten years but Kakashi finally realised it.

He was in love with Rieka.