Naraku covered his face with both hands, trembling from the pain in his heart, yet he had to suppress any sound.
In truth, he had long grown accustomed to enduring pain, ever since his previous life.
To what extent was he accustomed?
Years ago, when he was beaten and scolded by Uchiha Shinji, even to the point of unconsciousness, he didn't find it unbearable;
During Ninja training, he would frequently get injured and bleed, unable to rest in scorching heat or bitter cold, yet he didn't find it unbearable;
On the journey back to Konoha from the Land of Rain, he was utterly exhausted and weak the entire way, and then was stabbed, yet he still didn't find it unbearable;
When his bloodline limit sickness flared up, his entire body ached, especially after activating his Mangekyo, the pain intensified, yet he still didn't find it unbearable;
Being impaled through the chest by a sword, falling off a cliff, and lying on the operating table enduring the sensation of being cut into a thousand pieces until he lost consciousness—he still didn't find it unbearable... Only at this moment, thinking that Kakashi would cry after he left, did he feel every second stretch into an eternity.
So long that it felt like thorns densely covered his internal organs, bringing excruciating pain.
-- It turns out I'm the biggest fool of all.
-- If only I had realized this from the very beginning.
-- Realized that I... actually couldn't bear to make Kakashi sad at all.
Naraku took a deep breath, and when he lowered his hands, his face was already calm.
There was still time; he had to make plans early... Might Guy and his father went to the training ground to exercise, and Kakashi and Naraku returned to the ward to rest.
The afternoon sun was just right, filling the room with dry, warm air that made one drowsy.
Naraku leaned against the raised head of the bed, his eyelashes lowered as he finished the last page of the book in his hands, then thought about asking Kakashi to go to Tsunade's office to get the next one.
Just as he looked up to speak, the book was snatched away from him, and he was firmly refused: "No."
"I haven't even said anything yet... Alright."
Naraku grumbled, swallowing the latter half of his sentence under Kakashi's disapproving gaze.
"You should sleep, Naraku."
Kakashi bent down to return the hospital bed to its original position, and Naraku reluctantly lay down, closing his eyes to prepare for sleep.
But his mind was in turmoil; he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. The last time he turned over, he heard a sigh from behind him.
"Can't sleep?"
"...Mm."
"Are you uncomfortable?"
Kakashi came to the side Naraku was facing, wanting to see if he was running a fever again.
But Naraku recoiled slightly, avoiding his gaze and whispering, "No, the sun is just a bit dazzling."
Kakashi felt like he was almost immune to this.
No matter when, he could never get the truth about whether Naraku was in pain or sad from him.
"The sun, huh~"
Kakashi pouted, repeating it with a helpless yet meaningful tone.
Then, he didn't know what he was thinking, but looking at the empty half of the bed in front of Naraku, he directly took off his jacket and shoes, lifted the quilt, and lay down under it.
Because the bed was narrow, the two were very close, almost squeezed together. The shadow of Kakashi's shoulder happened to cover Naraku's eyes.
"Can you sleep now?"
Naraku was completely stunned, only his strong professional composure preventing his expression from breaking.
-- Can someone tell me what exactly is happening right now?
-- Is Kakashi's hidden perverted side awakening early?
-- This, this, this, buddy, aren't we a little too... intimate?
Even if Naraku could forcibly control all the muscles and skin on his face, he couldn't control his gradually accelerating heartbeat. He could only silently bury his slightly flushed face in the quilt, quickly closing his eyes and praying to fall asleep soon.
He was still secretly wondering: When I was a child, I slept face-to-face with Kakashi for many days, and it was never this awkward?
Naraku was utterly confused and flustered, wishing he could spend popularity points to buy some melatonin, and naturally, he didn't notice Kakashi's wavering gaze and reddened ear tips.
Kakashi, the instigator, was also stiff all over, as if lying on a bed of needles.
Only after he got into the quilt did he realize what he had done in a moment of impulse, and he couldn't very well get out again, so he could only tough it out and pretend not to care.
After a long while, there was still no movement in front of him. Kakashi cautiously peeked over little by little and found that Naraku seemed to have fallen asleep.
"Hoo..."
At this, the breath Kakashi had been holding in his chest finally dared to escape. Fearing that too much movement would wake the other, he just lay there, waiting for time to pass.
Perhaps the room was too warm, or perhaps he hadn't felt this secure in too long, for not much later, Kakashi also succumbed to drowsiness, slowly closing his eyes and drifting into slumber... They both slept straight through until evening, ending only when Kana came to deliver food, turned on the light, and let out a short, shocked cry.
"Kakashi!"
Kakashi, whose name was called, sprang up from the bed, instinctively trying to brace himself with his hand, but his right side was empty, and he wobbled and fell off the bed.
Before he could react to what happened, he received another punch on his head.
"What's wrong with you, the caregiver, sleeping in the patient's bed?! Isn't there another bed next to it?!"
Clutching his head, which had a large bump, Kakashi finally regained full consciousness. He had no defense for his impulsive behavior a few hours ago, so he simply sat on the floor and endured Kana's lengthy "scolding."
"Sister Kana, don't be angry... Kakashi has been too tired recently, so..."
Naraku quickly reached out to pull Kakashi up, pushed aside the latter's slightly long white hair that hadn't been trimmed recently, found the bump, and insisted on using Medical Ninjutsu to dissipate it, despite Kakashi's protests.
"No, you've used Ninjutsu many times today!"
"It's fine, the Healing Jutsu doesn't consume much Chakra..."
Kana watched these two unreliable fellows talking to themselves, completely unaware that anything was amiss, and felt her own head start to ache a bit.
"Alright, alright, let's eat first. Later, we'll go visit Aunt Mikoto."
Upon hearing this, Naraku suddenly looked up and, as expected, received Kana's affirmative reply.
"Yes, the baby was born this evening."
Naraku's expression darkened slightly, and he immediately received a flick on the forehead from Kana, lowering his head dejectedly.
"Forget those idiotic thoughts of yours! There's no fixed time for giving birth, and you can't be blamed for not being able to be there. Understand?"
Just as Kana was about to say a few more words, she saw Kakashi rub his hands together, then place his warmed palms on the spot where Naraku had been flicked.
Her fist tightened again, and Kana simply turned away, out of sight, out of mind.
-- Damn it! I really want to beat these two oblivious idiots!
Before her anger subsided, Kana heard Kakashi's hesitant voice from behind her: "Kana...?"
She didn't turn her head, asking impatiently, "What do you want?"
-- Finally realized your mistakes, have you two?
"Um, the food hasn't been given to me yet—"
-- Argh! I really should beat you two up after all!
...